Research and calls home

From her research, Vali was able to conclude that Koga usually used between 4 and 5 pokemon per match unless it was for the last badge someone needed to qualify for the Indigo Plateau Conference. For those attempting to get their fifth badge, Koga only used 4 pokemon. The pokemon he commonly used for fifth badge battles were a Venonat, Venomoth, Ariados, and Weezing. It usually changed depending on the current season due to certain pokemon either going into hibernation, it was their mating season, or they were preparing for hibernation. With that in mind, she checked what Koga usually used during the fall season and found that he tended to use a Koffing instead of a Venonat and a Golbat instead of a Venomoth.

Thankfully, Vali wouldn't have too big of a problem outside of Golbat. Koffing and Weezing were highly vulnerable to fire-type pokemon due to the fact their internal gases were highly combustible. Ariados was a bug-type which put the battle mostly in her favor though she would definitely need to watch out for it's potent poison which was known to cause hallucinations and paralysis. Golbat would be the toughest opponent even if most wouldn't actually agree with her. If properly trained, they could be devastating on a battlefield especially if the battle was inside as most gym battles were. Most didn't train the Zubat-line because it too a lot of time, training, and effort to ensure the pokemon could function in sunlight, the only people that did were those on the League payroll like Koga or those that usually explored cave-like structures.

Seeing as there were rumors about Koga being ones of those considered for the Elite Four even if it would be years before anything like that happened, Vali would need to be extra careful during the gym battle. Poison-type pokemon were already something she was wary of, the pokemon trained by someone regarded as a master of the type was definitely something to be wary of. Based on the videos she saw, Koga was a lot like her when she battled. The man was sneaky in a way that appealed to her inner Slytherin which meant she'd have to pull out all the stops. That meant speedy pokemon, she'd have to talk to Professor Oak about switching Pikachu off of her inactive roster, but who would replace him? Celina? She wouldn't be able to reach her top speed in the gym and it would be easy enough to switch her back onto her inactive roster once everything was over. Mentally nodding to herself, she would need to speak with both parties.

And if Pikachu wanted, Vali would evolve him after the gym battle and, probably much needed, visit to the pokemon center.

Ash grinned as he held up the trophy he got during his class' sports day, "I got in second place, but it's still better than nothing. Right?"

"Right," Vali smiled at him as Balto sat in her lap, "And just think of every loss as a learning experience-"

"So I can do better next time," Ash finished with a cheeky smile as Pidgey cooed on his head, "I know, I know,"

"I can't wait to see the video when I come home," Vali told him making Ash lose his smile, "You okay, Ash?"

Ash looked a bit guilty, "Are you sure you'll be able to make it home for Christmas? Daisy never does."

Vali shook her head, "Ash, I will make it home for Christmas. It may not be on the exact day, but I will be home even if it means hiring a teleporting service to do it. I miss you and everyone else so much. I also need to make it home to get the Houndour egg Sirius promised me," She could see doubt shining in his eyes, "Ash, you know I'll do my best to make it home. Why are you doubting me?"

"It's just..." Ash trailed off before shaking his head, "Daisy always promises Gary that she'll be home for Christmas, but she never does. She's so busy with her journey that she seems to forget about everyone back here,"

"Ash, have I ever forgotten to call home when I get to a city?" Vali asked earning a head-shake, "Have I not been keeping up with news about you and everyone else back in Pallet Town?" Ash shook his head again, "Ash, I'm always going to make time for everyone even when I'm training for a gym battle. Don't you trust me?"

"I do," Ash shook his head wildly, "Of course I do, you're my big sister,"

"Then what made you doubt me?" Vali asked him with a frown.

Ash gained a troubled look on his face, "I...Gary...He told me that you would forget about us even when you send things home since Daisy does."

"Ash," Vali would need to tell Delia about this since it was definitely something that needed to be addressed by someone who was actually there, "Just because Daisy Oak gets so caught up in the stuff she does, it doesn't mean I will. I am not Daisy Oak, Ash. No matter what Gary says, I will never forget about home and everyone there. I know what its like to not have a true home or people that care about me,"

"I know," Ash looked less trouble, "Though it makes me feel bad for Gary,"

He frowned in concentration prompting Vali to ask, "What's up, Ash?"

"Vali, could you maybe check in on Gary too?" Ash asked earning a surprised look, "I just think that it might help Gary feel a bit less lonely. With Professor Oak and his sister being busy, he must feel a bit lonely when he isn't around me,"

"I can do that, Ash," Vali hadn't really been thinking about Gary all that much outside of getting him a souvenir or two, "I'll talk to Professor Oak and see about getting a number for his place so I can call Gary too,"

"Thanks Vali," Ash smiled in relief.

"I'll also talk to Professor Oak about seeing if Daisy can call home as well," Vali knew that it would probably do Daisy some good wherever she currently was, "Thank you for telling me about this,"

Ash grinned at her, "No problem, I know you want everyone to be as happy as possible without you being here."

"That I do," Vali spotted Delia walking into the room carrying the package she had sent home, "Looks like you've got something in the mail,"

Ash turned his head, "Cool! I can't wait to see whats inside! Bye, Vali."

"I think you'll definitely like your gift," Vali replied with a soft laugh, "Love you, Ash," She called out loudly enough to get Delia's attention, "See you later, Delia!"

"See you, Vali!" Delia called out.

Vali immediately dialed the Professor's number once she hung up. She managed to get into contact with Professor Oak a few minutes later, "Hello, Vali. This is a surprise, you usually give me one call a day when you do call the lab."

"I know," Vali decided to get right on with it, "Professor, I just finished talking to Ash and he mentioned something that Gary told him,"

"Oh?" Professor Oak gained a troubled look, "Is something wrong?"

"Do you know when the last time Daisy called home and actually talked to Gary?" Vali asked earning a frown.

Professor Oak's frown deepened after a few moments, "No, I can't really remember. She does call the lab twice a week to check in,"

"And does she ever make it home for Christmas?" Vali asked earning a wince, "Professor, I know that Daisy's busy with her own journey just like I am, but I really think she needs to come home for Christmas this year. With both of you busy and his parents not exactly in the picture, Gary is probably really lonely,"

Professor Oak sighed deeply, "You're probably right, Vali."

"It wasn't me that noticed it, but Ash, Professor," Vali corrected him, "Which brings me to the request I have. Can I have your home phone number so I can check in on Gary like I do with Ash?"

Professor Oak smiled and nodded, "Of course," Vali took out a pen and piece of paper before writing down the number as Professor Oak gave it, "Thank you for doing this Vali, I sometimes forget that Gary is just a child and needs to be around his family."

Vali nodded before grinning as a thought occurred to her, "Maybe all the stuff Ash and Gary get into is a way to get your attention~" She snickered as Professor Oak made of a face and groaned, "I've got a call to make. See you later, Professor."

"See you later, Vali," Professor Oak replied and the connection cut.

Vali dialed in the unfamiliar number and it was answered a few minutes later by Gary, "Hello-Vali?!"

"Hey, Gary," Vali grinned at the shocked boy, "How are you?"

"I'm good," Gary shook his head slightly, "Gramps isn't here if you're looking for him,"

Vali shook her head, "I'm not looking for him, Gary. I was actually hoping to check in on you."

Gary looked at her in shock, "You were?"

Vali nodded as Balto offered the boy a bark in greeting, "Balto wanted to say hi as well. I wanted to make sure you're doing alright since Ash seems to be doing well."

Gary flushed a bit, "I'm doing good."

"Oh? No subjects in school causing you any trouble?" Vali asked as she settled down for a talk with Gary.

Gary began shaking his head for a moment before nodding, "Uh...Yeah. I'm having some trouble with..."

Vali stood up after a much needed talk with Gary and headed to the lounge room. She sat down beside Steven, "That was a long talk, is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Vali leaned back in her seat as Balto flopped down next to her, "I ended up talking with Gary, he's Professor Oak's grandson who is Ash's best human friend,"

"Ah," Steven looked at her curiously, "Why were you talking with him?"

Vali began petting Balto as she said, "Ash brought up the fact that his sister doesn't seem to come home very often and I managed to figure out that she didn't call home. She only called the lab to check in with Professor Oak. I decided to talk with him since Ash thought he was lonely since everyone in his family that's around seems busy and his parents aren't really present in his life," She sighed softly, "I'm going to be making the same calls I do with Ash. After all, he's like another little brother to me and I really should've been doing this before. I feel kind of terrible that I haven't really talked with him since I left on my journey."

"Well, at the very least you're trying to make up for lost time," Steven commented as he looked back at his book, "Almost makes me wish I had an older sibling or something growing up. It would've been nice,"

"Same," Vali supposed that the twins and Oliver Wood had become something like her older brothers after awhile since they'd looked out for her as best they could during her school years.