Visiting Blackthorn

Vali looked over Ash and Gary's battle practice from the tree-line without saying a word to either of them. They were working with Pidgeotto and Bellsprout having them battle against each other. Just as Pidgeotto struck what was the final blow, Bellsprout evolved earning excited shouts from both boys and Vali's narrowed eyes. While she trusted the plant pokemon, the Bellsprout-line could get out of hand when first evolving. When the glow of evolution faded, the newly evolved Weepinbell seemed to look around as acidic drool began to coil down from it's mouth.

Vali immediately took out the food she'd prepped as the boys celebrated and Ash shouted, "That's awesome, Gary! We both have second form pokemon now!"

"Mhmm!" Gary nodded as his eyebrows scrunch up, "Now give me a second, I remember Erika saying something about when Bell evolved,"

Vali relaxed a little at that. Ash frowned at Gary, "What do you mean? He looks fine. I mean he's drooling, but fine other than that."

"I know that, but he's drooling for a reason, Ash-boy," Gary looked at his Weepinbell carefully, "Erika said that when Bell evolved I needed to..." He frowned softly, "Dang it, I can't remember. What do I need to do? I know it's super important to ensure Bell won't be something or other later on..."

Vali moved into the clearing as she said, "You need to feed him, Gary. At the current moment, Bell is experiencing the downside of evolution just like a Teddiursa, Munchlax, and so many others. All the nutrients in his body have been used to evolve and now he's starving," She looked at the two boys, "Even a human looks tasty to poor Bell right about now, I believe we should get him some food," She smiled at them while hold up the bag of it in her hand, "Good thing I've got some."

"Vali!" The two cried out, "You're back,"

"For two weeks," Vali replied with a grin, "Now let's get this poor dear fed then checked out by Professor Oak,"

The two weeks were split up between spending time with her brothers and spoil her pokemon rotten as Delia had her help out around the house a bit. It was nice to simply kick-back and relax while enjoying time with her family. All of her pokemon were becoming relaxed with each day though her youngest pokemon needed battles of a lower level scale to keep themselves occupied. As such, she spent time allowing each of them to battle against trainers of their skill level. With their enhanced training, they won most of those battles, but still lost a few.

"Too think that even with just the two of them training together that they've managed to get this far, I'm shocked," Lance commented as they sat together watching Ash and Gary train against some of the younger dragons allowed out of the dens.

They had traveled to Blackthorn the day before Vali was due to leave for Vermillion. Vali leaned back against one of pillars that were splattered across the area, "Yeah, we might've helped, but it was all them in the end. Pidgeot and Weepinbell were good choices for them, it's almost poetic now that I'm looking at it," She smiled lightly as Ash managed to send a Bagon toppling backwards with a cry, "Ash's spirit is like the wind and Pidgeot is as headstrong as he is. But where he can't always be grounded, she can ground him and help him think things through. Gary is a planner and has a keen eye for details much like Bell. But when he get's too impatient, Bell reminds him to be strong and steady."

"I can see that," Lance hummed lightly as Vali ran a hand across Aragorn's back with a small smile, "So heading to Vermillion? What do you think it'll be like?"

Vali shrugged softly, "No idea, Surge has been quiet about training since I've been back, but I'm pretty sure it'll be really fun. I know that Smaug is looking forward to it if only for the chance to to run himself ragged again since he's been growing a little bit bored since we've been home."

"That sounds like him," Lance let out a laugh as he leaned a little bit further against Diaval's sleeping form, "It's funny to think of how much has changed in a year. You would have looked at training with Surge with some dread,"

Vali grinned a bit, "True though I'd have enjoyed the chance to learn regardless. And you would have struggled far more with each Elite, the last of the Johto would've beaten you," Aragorn rolled over her legs, "Ice against Dragon...You managed it well,"

"That Ninetails of his almost won, Chark just barely managed to cut it off," Lance looked over at Aragorn, "Four-tails now? He's certainly meeting your prediction of becoming as big as a Ninetails when he gets all his tails,"

Vali grinned as she rubbed behind Aragorn's ears, "And larger still when he evolves. Professor Oak's friend in the Orange Archipelago, Professor Ivy, is interested in both Aragorn and Idril. She wants to study them because of their shiny and King genes."

"Really? I knew someone was studying them, but not who," Lance looked at her curiously as Diaval shifted a little and yawned, "So Professor Ivy of the Orange Archipelago..."

"She's got a practically gigantic Vileplume," Vali took out her pokenav and showed him the picture of the Vileplume next to Professor Ivy causing Lance to gap at it, "She put me in contact with a guy that has a Mareep and a Milktank King. Thanks to both of them producing more than the usual amount of fleece and milk, he's able to feed them while still keeping the business booming. He helped me with a meal plan for this one," Vali grinned down at Aragorn as he wagged a tail at her, "He's pretty cool and is trying to find a king Combee for honey,"

"Huh sounds interesting," Lance shook his head softly, "So I guess the meal plan has helped?"

"A lot," Vali looked over at Ash and Gary once more, "He's a lot healthier and his weight is a lot more stable," She sighed deeply, "So battles in a few weeks, you've got me for both and Steven's coming for the Kanto Champion battle after the Johto one. What is the plan?"

"Plan?" Lance looked at her curiously.

Vali hummed softly, "Battle plans, future plans, and such, you do have a plan, right?"

"Yes," Lance nodded as he followed her gaze to the boys, "We'll go in hard, but fight smart. We've been studying both Champions, so we should be able to win. The Johto Champion won't be too hard since he's been falling behind in recent years. Kanto's going to be a bit hard, but we can do it. As for the future," He took a deep breath, "I want to ensure that pokemon won't be abandoned or abused so much. I want to make sure what happened with Thorin or that Magmar from Vermillion won't happen again. I want to make sure the League is free of corruption. There is so much corruption, Vali,"

The soft words and the dark look in Lance's eyes said a lot. Vali reached out and touched his arm, "You'll have help when I become your Elite."

"Glad to hear it," Lance grinned at her, "So Fire Lady, Vali?"

Vali snorted him, "How about no, I'll let Smaug burn your hair off the next time you say that."

"How about Fire Empress?" Lance said while reaching up to touch his hair slightly on impulse.

Vali snorted slightly though admitted that it was somewhat better than Fire Lady, "Why in the world would you call me that?"

"You've got to have a title if your an Elite, Vali," Lance told her earning an eye-roll.

"I'll be the first one to not have a title," Vali replied as she shook her head, "I'm not interested,"