Traveling Daze
Saffron City was much like how Vali remembered it though this time she didn't have a massive headache caused by an overly eager psychic. She didn't like the city very much and probably never would. She was quick to return Balto alongside Arwen before doing the same to Eevee seeing as the crowds were setting him on edge. She released Smaug while keeping her other pokemon in their pokeballs seeing as none of them would've liked the city that much or would have drawn too much attention i.e Idril. Steven followed her example by having just Squirtle out. While he could have his Sandshrew out, Sandshrew were not city pokemon nor did they enjoy the environment. They made their way to the pokemon center to have their pokemon and Vali's egg checked out. They got rooms for a night before taking showers and starting their laundry.
Once they were cleaned up, they went over their supplies after getting rid of all the trash that had accumulated. Vali noted that she would need to get more berries and some extra vitamins since she was starting to run low. Thankfully, she had another two months before berry prices went up with winter coming. If she was lucky, she'd probably be able to buy the berries in bulk at the department store in Celadon before the prices became too much. Unlike what most newbie trainers did the first time they got prize money, she was going to be very careful with her money. The first thing she had done the moment she could was put a majority of the money in her bank account. Half of that money then went into her savings account where it would stay until a rainy day, the rest would sit in her account until she needed it. Upon reaching Celadon, she would probably use a chunk of that money to buy herself winter clothes and other stuff she'd need for the winter.
Shopping and lugging everything back to the pokemon center was thankfully easy since the Pokemart was close to it. Since none of their pokemon had any real battle damage from the few battles they'd had during the trip to Saffron, they were returned within four hours. Vali's egg wasn't close to hatching which she had expected and it was in very good health. The Nurse Joy on duty had actually complimented Vali on how well she's taken care of the egg and offered some advice on what to do to ensure the egg stayed this healthy. Nurse Joy also gave her some books on raising baby pokemon and one on raising a baby Vulpix once she told the woman what pokemon had given her the egg.
After making sure they had all their supplies, they managed to leave Saffron city a little after ten. It was surprising that Sabrina didn't try to contact them, but Vali supposed that the psychic could tell neither of them wanted to see her just yet. Given that Celadon was close to Saffron, they didn't need to pack as much food or supplies. It would only take them three days to get to Celadon by walking and even less by riding. Steven and Vali decided that unless they encountered any trainers on the way to Celadon, they would ride most of the way.
Route 7 was one of the more scenic routes mostly due to the rather green scenery and how docile most of the pokemon were. Many trainers flocked to the area in hopes of catching a Growlithe or Vulpix though there were rarely any successful captures. Arcanine and Ninetales were more frequently seen in this area for some reason though no one had been able to figure out why. A common theory was that the ground had large deposits of Fire Stones. It didn't make much sense since Fire Stones were mostly found around areas with volcanoes or members of the Magmar line. Despite that fact, there were many attempts to get permits to dig and excavate the area which were met with heavy opposition. As one of the few areas in Kanto where the Growlithe and Vulpix-lines could be found in the wild, it was considered a protected area.
If it weren't for the fact that attempting to create another pathway between Celadon and Saffron was practically impossible due to how territorial the various pokemon in the area were, Route 7 might've become a true protected area where catching pokemon wasn't allowed and you would have to have special permits to get inside of it. Still, you had to have at least three gym badges or the approval of the League to travel Route 7. Because of that, you rarely found other trainers passing through unless it was getting close to the League Conference.
Vali ended up taking quite a few pictures and even got to play with some wild Growlithe pups under the watchful eye of their Arcanine pack mother. Arcanine and Growlithe packs usually had a mated pair of Arcanine with up to six pups. Usually two of the pups were older Growlithe that hadn't left their parents yet for whatever reason. Arcanine usually had a litter of three to four pups with a rare sixth. While the pack mother watched over the offspring with the help of the old pups, the alpha male went hunting or checking their territory for any outsiders. Unlike most wild pokemon, Arcanine and Growlithe were fairly friendly unless you tried to catch them then you were pretty much toast.
Balto enjoyed spending time with some of his kin and was a bit reluctant to leave since it had been awhile since he'd gotten to spend time with other Growlithe. Smaug enjoyed the visit if only because he got to fight the alpha male of the pack. He was out-classed, but not to the point of the Elder Rapidash. All her other pokemon liked the small break especially Idril and Terra as it allowed them to play with pokemon their own age. Terra had to learn how to keep from hurting the Growlithe pups, but enjoyed it none the less. Pikachu fretted a bit when the play fights got a bit rough showing off his mother hen side which cracked Vali up a bit. Even Eevee had some fun, he seemed a bit shocked when the pups invited him to play before joining in.
Steven ended up taking a picture of Vali under a dog pile of her pokemon and the Growlithe pups much to her mock annoyance. She knew everyone back home in Pallet would love the picture, so she couldn't be too mad about it. She knew Delia liked having pictures of her smiling and acting her physical age. When it came time to move on, Balto wasn't the only one sad to leave, but they had a journey to continue.