Training interlude intertangled with memories of the past

Zaria left after Vali gifted her with the small album of photo's that she'd taken of her rival's gym battle as well as a few photo's that included her newer team members. Zaria headed through Route 7 which was the fastest way to get to Lavender Town from Celadon. Once Zaria was on her way, Steven and Vali returned to the pokemon center to continue training their teams for the gym battle ahead of them. With the increase of focus on them, Vali's pokemon managed to master the TM's that she'd given them. Celina managed to learn Agility though it wasn't anywhere near good enough to use during a battle though that likely wouldn't change for awhile due to how much strain it placed on her body with each use. Celina's Agility training would have to take place at the end of their training for the day if only to ensure she had a good night's sleep to recover. Of course, she did have to keep her promise and give all of them another TM to learn if they so chose.

Vali ended up giving Smaug Toxic since he needed a non-fire-type offensive move and because he didn't want to learn Protect just yet. Celina was gifted Protect since she needed a defensive move under her wing. Balto was gifted with Sunny Day though Toxic would be next once he got Sunny Day down pat. Arwen was given Protect since it was a useful move. Terra was given Toxic with Protect next on the list. Idril was still working on the Shadow Claw TM that Zaria had let Vali borrow though it wouldn't be long until she got it down which would mean giving her Toxic which would give the Sandshrew a base to learn Poison Sting.

All of them got to work immediately once they'd been gifted their TMs and Vali sat down to watch over the training while she spent time cleaning the shell of her egg. Eevee curled up beside her watching the other pokemon. She spoke as she watched Balto help Celina with Protect since she seemed to be having some difficulty, "I'm glad that I ended up in this world," Eevee looked up at her with confusion in his eyes, "There was nothing like this back in my old one. Animals, even the magical ones, weren't as intelligent or powerful as you guys. Some came close, they were bonded to those with magic and were called familiars since the bond helped boost their intelligence. I had an owl which is a bird that's kind of like a Hoothoot only she was a snowy owl with snow white feathers flecked with black," She smiled sadly, "She was a really smart owl though I'm not sure if she was my familiar," She glanced down at Eevee, "What I mean to say is that despite how bad things can get here, I prefer it here even if I really miss my owl. The bond I have with everyone, even you, is something I never want to go without. I'll never be lonely again so long as I have you guys."

Vali saw Eevee's eyes soften a bit at her words though he was quick to look away from her to focus on the training pokemon. Perhaps she was really getting through to him, she smiled lightly while focusing back on her training pokemon.

With Vali's usual training schedule in preparation for the gym battle in place, Vali watched her team grow stronger. Balto was becoming even quicker and his fire attacks stronger. Smaug was growing more powerful as his body began to ready itself for evolution which pushed him to perfect all his attacks not just the new ones he'd learned recently. Celina was working hard on perfecting Protect while also working on the basics of Tailwind. Idril was becoming less timid with each battle she faced and more sure of herself which meant that evolution wouldn't be far off though the Sandshrew didn't show any physical change. Arwen seemed to concentrate better as she worked on perfecting her attacks. Terra was gaining more and more control over Ancient Power which meant that she wouldn't have much of a problem using the move when she finally evolved into her Pupitar form. Even Eevee was showing improvement, he could run longer with her and even pushed her to run faster sometimes.

Vali's team wasn't the only one to improve, Steven's Wartortle, Sandshrew, Lileep were improving as well. Wartortle was becoming larger and the fur around his ears seemed to be thinning. Lileep had grown larger and his body had begun to gain a slight green tint to it. Wartortle had become a bit more aggressive, but no where near how aggressive Smaug could be sometimes. He still lost his temper and tended to blast the one that annoyed him with a water gun though thankfully not a full powered one. Sandshrew was becoming a bit larger, his claws longer, and his back was beginning to sprout the tell-tale sign of quills. Lileep had become a bit more reclusive and tended to spend much of his time completely still in areas with high amounts of sunlight. With permission from Steven and Lileep, Vali documented the behaviors of the fossil pokemon with pictures.

As Steven had one of the few successfully revived fossil pokemon currently in existence, the scientific community had a high demand for any information that could be gotten. Vali made sure she took plenty of pictures and wrote detailed notes knowing that any missed information could get any future fossil pokemon hurt. Once Lileep evolved and everything was settled, she would be sending a copy of the information to Professor Oak while she sent the first one home. As Lileep's trainer, Steven would be given a copy while two would be sent to his father in Hoenn. One would stay with his father while the other would go to the fossil research department of Devon Corp. to be used to help further the research. Depending on how things went, the information would be given to the League and various institutes currently attempting to bring fossil pokemon back.

When Steven asked her why she wanted to do something like this despite not wanting to write a research paper, Vali had paused while taking a close up photo of Lileep's slightly scaled neck before saying, "Back in my old world, we had things called dinosaurs that went extinct and became fossils. Unlike in this world, the technology hadn't advanced enough to bring them back," She smiled a bit as her cheeks flushed, "I also want my own Amaura and to be able to see it become an Aurorus. I mean isn't it every little kids dream to be able to say they've actually ridden on the back of a dinosaur?"