Morninging talks

Steven looked up from his Pokenav when Vali stumbled into the kitchen looking more than a little tired. He didn't think she'd had a nightmare or a vision otherwise she would've been pale. He watched her stumble over to the coffee pot and pour herself a mug, "Long night?"

"The egg started to move last night," Vali answered as she began to put a small mountain of sugar and a river a cream into her mug, "Ash woke me up three hours after I finally went to sleep along with my pokemon,'

That would explain why Vali looked so tired, Steven understood just how breathtaking watching your first pokemon egg start to show those small signs of hatching. He did have to grimace at the amount of sugar she was putting into her body, "Perhaps you shouldn't use so much sugar."

Vali looked up from her mug with a grimace, "I'd rather be able to drink this, Steven. Coffee is a bit too bitter unless I use that much sugar."

"You shouldn't be drinking coffee anyway since you're still a growing girl," Delia chimed in as she set a plate in front of Vali, "That's the only cup you'll be drinking today, Vali,"

Vali gave Delia a mock salute, "Yes, Delia."

Delia shook her head lightly, "Where's Ash? I thought I'd gotten you both up?"

"Getting dressed, he'll also be cleaning his bedroom after breakfast," Vali took a sip of her coffee.

"Thank you, Vali," Delia giggled with a soft laugh and pressed a kiss to Vali's cheek.

Vali offered the woman an innocent look, "I have no idea what you're thanking me for, Delia. I didn't do anything."

"Uh huh," Delia shook her head.

Delia returned to cooking breakfast and Steven gave Vali an amused look, "You told Ash he couldn't watch the battle unless his room was clean, didn't you?"

Vali just smiled at him and began eating her breakfast. Steven followed her example as Ash made his way downstairs. Breakfast was a bit quieter than usual though it wasn't too surprising since Vali wasn't in the mood to make conversation. Ash was pouting at his sister who just smiled serenely at him. Delia was observing the two with more than a little amusement. Steven had to admit that this wasn't something he was used to since his home had been a mansion growing up and his father rarely around after his mother's death. It was a lot more homier and warm compared to the mansion that had been in his family for generations. When he eventually got a place of his own, he would definitely want something like this even when he became Hoenn's Champion.

After Breakfast, Ash went to go clean his room while Vali took her pokemon outside save for Idril since the Sandshrew was the most vulnerable to the cold and snow with her coming evolution. She had her fire-types carefully clear away the snow without causing any fires before taking a seat with them all around her. She spoke as they settled down, "Okay, today is going to be a special day. Balto will be battling his sire and will be evolving sometime after that," Various sounds of congratulations were given to her oldest pokemon family member, "Pikachu will be evolving today since Professor Oak cleared him. Pikachu," Pikachu looked at her, "After you evolve, will you be taking on a nickname?" Pikachu nodded after a few moments and she smiled at him, "I'll do my best to find a name you'll take pride in," She scratched underneath his chin, "Now, I think it's time I tell you the plan for our time in Pallet Town. Once we're done the demonstrations at the school, we'll be taking a few days to relax. That means we won't be training at all," She held up a hand to stall any protests, "I know that you guys love training and getting stronger. I love it too, but we need to relax. It'll allow our bodies to completely heal from any strain their under and allow us to completely refill on our energy. I'll be pampering all of you quite thoroughly."

Vali paused to allow them all the enjoy the knowledge they'd be pampered. Even Empress loved being pampered despite the fact she still didn't really like the fire-type master-in-training, it wasn't a surprise since she was really thorough when pampering them. She spoke after a few moments, "During the rest of our stay here, we will be getting some in depth training from Professor Oak and his pokemon. You'll be put through your paces and probably regret not enjoying yourselves more during the days of rest you'll have," She grinned at their dubious looks, "The man and his pokemon might be old, but they were Champions back in the day," She relaxed against Smaug's side, "Smaug, I want you to be careful. You're going to be battling Professor Oak's Charizard on his territory," Smaug looked at her with an eager expression, "He's a lot older than you and more experienced. You aren't going to win," Smaug gained a hurt expression, "Smaug, it isn't that I don't think you'll win eventually against him, but he's had decades of experience battling," She reached out and gently scratched beneath his right eye, "I want you to do your best against him, but don't get yourself killed. I'd rather lose a battle than lose one of my family. Okay?" Smaug snorted out a small puff of smoke before nodding, "That goes for the rest of you who'll get to battle against Professor Oak's team. Losing will happen, we aren't even close to being able to fight them to a stand still. What I want each of you to do while you battle is to do your best and put your hearts into it. This is where we'll see just how far you've come since becoming my pokemon,"

Pippin let out a soft mew tilting his head at her and she smiled at him, "Empress, Pele, and you will be battling as well. I know we haven't be training together for long, but this way we'll know just where you three stand. I'll also be getting extra information on how to train you three. Especially you, Empress," Empress snorted at her, "If I'm going to help you become the strongest Salamence out there, I'm going to need as much information as possible. Professor Oak has a Dragonite that probably won't mind taking you under her wing for a bit."

Empress perked up at the mention of another dragon-type and Vali wondered if she could convince Dragonite to help her connect with the Bagon better. Dragonite would probably do it if only for the amusement that would probably come from it. That old lady tended to get bored since nothing much happened in Pallet Town most of the time, she used to pop by the school back when the witch went and spend the day playing with the various school children that had the courage to approach her. Dragonite was one of Professor Oak's pokemon outside of Arcanine and Alakazam that actually seemed to enjoy it when she payed them a visit. She wondered how Dragonite was doing and couldn't wait to see the dragon-type who didn't show any sign of age compared to the other pokemon Professor Oak had trained. Then again, it wasn't that surprising seeing as dragon-type pokemon aged slowly to the point no one was sure when they would start to show signs of aging. Only members of the regional dragon-type training clans really knew the answer to that question, she would probably need to talk to Lance about that if she wanted an actual answer to how long certain dragon-type species lived.