The boy's talk

"What exactly did you talk with Vali about last night?" Lance asked Steven as they walked through one of entertainment districts, "She seemed pretty distracted this morning and rushed out the door as soon as her pokemon had finished eating,"

Steven sighed deeply remembering that Vali hadn't even eaten much before leaving either only being concerned with ensuring her pokemon had been fed. He spoke with a slight frown, "I'm heading back to Hoenn."

"Seriously?" Lance looked at him in surprise, "What about your dig?"

"Father has someone taking over for me," Steven smiled lightly, "Thanks to the Conference, I've gained a lot of experience and confidence that I didn't have during my previous attempts. I think I'll actually be able to become a Champion this time around,"

Lance smiled slightly and nodded, "Good luck with that, Steven. I hope it works out."

"Thanks," Steven sighed deeply as he thought back to Lance's question, "As for your question, I asked Vali to join me,"

Lance looked a bit confused, "But shouldn't she be happy?"

"Blaine might be offering her a chance to become his apprentice," Steven answered feeling a bit bad, "And there is some other stuff especially given that Vali's only ever been in Kanto outside of her old home,"

"Shit," Lance's eyes widened, "No wonder she was distracted. I probably wouldn't be able to make a decision either," The red head grimaced, "Damn, I feel bad for her. She must feel very conflicted right now. I'm assuming the offer depends on how she does in the Conference which also deals with Blaine's personal opinion," Steven nodded and Lance sighed deeply, "You've just laid a very hard decision at her feet, Steven. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to do especially given that you'll probably be leaving within a week to two after the Conference ends,"

"Yeah," Steven felt bad for forcing this decision on Vali especially given her circumstances with the Lord of Flames.

"But you've also give her a good amount of time to make a decision," Lance shook his head, "Best to give her some space then, I bet she'll be asking her pokemon for some advice,"

"No doubt," Steven had known that when he'd asked her, "I hope that she'll agree to come along. It would be nice to show her Hoenn,"

"But what if she doesn't come with you?" Lance asked as they headed passed by one of the shops selling some form of pokemon treats that Steven knew Vali would probably want to check out at some point.

Steven knew that was very possible, "I won't protest despite being disappointed. I'll always be able to show her Hoenn at a later point in time even if it will likely not be as thoroughly as I'd like should that time be during when I'm Champion."

"I feel for you. For both of you," Lance shook his head, "I was planning to offer Vali a chance to travel with me through Johto as well,"

"You were?" Steven looked at him in shock.

Lance nodded with a grin, "Well, yeah. Seeing as I won't have to set up my challenges right away once I win the Conference, I'll be able to travel to my Johto and do everything back in my home Region. I'll get things set up, so that I can take down both the current champions one right after the other. Then it'll be a matter of setting things up so I can run the Regions my way."

Steven had known that Lance hadn't just thought this plan up over night, but that showed him how much thought the red head had put into all this, "Wow, Lance. You've really thought all of this out, haven't you?"

Lance nodded with a determined look on his face as he looked at everyone they passed, "Ever since I was a little kid and the teams were a big problem in the Regions, I wanted to make a change. I wanted to make it so no kid, no pokemon, no one would have to fear that something like Team Rocket was going to come after their partner," A bitter and hardened look came across the redheads face, "Not after my cousin's parents were killed in cold blood under Madam Rocket's orders before Silver or Gold could get to Blackthorn back when our little village was still just a dragon sanctuary that wasn't important enough to the police to warrant much interest,"

Steven suddenly felt a lot more connected to the red head than before, "Lance, I understand more than you probably know. My," He swallowed heavily, "My mom died in a Team attack back when I was a little kid on my family home. We don't know which one did it."

Lance gave him an understanding look and let out a low laugh, "That is what I want to change, Steven. The needless deaths that leave kids without fathers, mothers, uncles, and aunts not to mention the countless other family members that exist. Not to mention the pokemon, the ones who get used and left to rot when their use is up. The ones like Vali's Eevee or even Elrond. I want to change their stories," Lance clenched his fist, "If I can do that for these two Regions, I'll count it as a win. It's why I want Vali as one of my Elite, you know."

And Steven understood what Lance was trying to say very well, he smiled lightly, "Because Vali loves pokemon and will do anything to help them. She's helped both Eevee and Elrond already."

"There is that," Lance chuckled as they crossed a over a small bridge, "But it's more then that. I'm surprised you didn't say it, but then again, you've probably been somewhat blinded. Joseph's worded it pretty well, so I'll be stealing some words. Vali's a light. A bright fiery light that warms those that she cares for and beckons them close vowing to protect them. She'll protect them with everything she's got," He grinned pausing to lean against the railing, "The way she's raised Empress shows it. That Bagon was a stubborn little shit, I know many people probably would've traded her the moment she tried to hurt them. I bet she headbutted Vali a few times. Didn't she?"

Steven remembered Vali coming back to the Lab with Empress and Dragonite holding her ribs back during Christmas. He'd been more than a little angry with the dragon-type when he was told what exactly had happened, but Vali had reminded him that Empress' training was her responsibility not to mention how common injuries could be. Pushing down the flash of old anger that welled up in his chest, he nodded while looking away from Lance, "Yeah and managed to do a bit of actual damage once. Vali didn't do more than scold her and it confused a few of her pokemon."

"I'm not surprised," Lance shook his head as he stopped by the railing and leaned against it, "Vali probably stopped Dragonite from beating the shit out of Empress too," Steven looked at Lance in surprise, "I figured if she was training Empress at the Ranch, Dragonite would be there since Vali's one of the old girl's favorite people. Dragon-type's tend to keep an eye on those they care for when they're in the same area and I wouldn't be surprised if Dragonite followed you guys during your trip to Viridian City just to make sure Vali made it there alright,"

Steven would definitely be checking with Metagross to see if they remembered any pokemon following them to the city, "I see."

"That right there is why Vali's going to run into trouble when shit hits the fan," Lance looked out at the water losing his smile, "Just from hearing the stories I have about your journey, the luck she has is only going to make it worse. With the warmth she carries and a willingness to put herself into danger to protect those she cares for, the dangerous people of the world will make her their target and she'll get hurt. We need to make sure she's protected," The redhead's jaw set, "I'm not saying she's weak and her pokemon aren't. They'll have her back and do their best to protect her no matter what,"

"But they can't always do that," Steven's fist clenched a bit, "There are times they can't be with her and places they're not able to go, I get it," He looked at the red head wondering where this was coming from, "But why bring this up?"

Lance's amber eyes were filled with dark emotions as he turned towards Steven and began to speak in a lower tone than before, "When I went home, my mother was meeting with Gold who visits us from time to time to check on the pokemon. Normally this wouldn't be alarming, Silver was there too as was Crystal. The only time more than one of the Original dex holders are ever gathered together within my home is to ensure we're prepared just in case a new Team decides to appear," Steven's breath caught in his throat, "If this is happening in Johto, it'll be happening in Kanto meaning the other Regions will be following. We need to prepare our Regions for the Teams that are coming Steven whether they turn out to be like the most recent ones or like Rocket/Aqua/Magma."

"I understand," Steven was thankful someone had the guts to actually say something, "Thanks for saying something,"

"No problem," Lance nodded to him, "I was trying to find a good way to bring it up. Just wish it hadn't been because of Vali," The red head chuckled softly, "Funny how she managed to help me bring it up,"

"She has a weird way of helping stuff happen even without being present," Steven smiled slightly as he thought of his improving relationship with his father, "She's one of the most amazing friends I've ever had. I will never regret taking the chance on having her as my traveling partner,"

"I'm kind of annoyed you managed to snap her up first," Lance told him and grinned at the confusion painting Steven's face, "You weren't the only one that got asked if they'd travel with her for a little while. You ended up arriving at the lab a week ahead of me though,"

Steven realized how lucky he'd been to have Vali as his traveling partner, "Well I'm somewhat glad you were tardy though it makes me wonder if we might've ended up traveling together if you'd have arrived at the same time as me."

Lance blinked a bit and considered his words before shrugging, "Maybe, I hadn't considered that or really having a traveling partner before. It would've been interestin-"

"Hey!" They both turned at the shout and found Zaria running towards them with Vali following at a more sedate pace, "Lance, Steven, there you two are,"

"Were you looking for us?" Steven asked as Zaria skidded to a stop on the bridge.

"She wanted to wander with you guys and explore the area a bit more thoroughly," Vali explained as Zaria worked to catch her breath, "She found me while I was wandering around after I spent some time with my pokemon and Delia,"

Zaria stood up straight and pointed at them, "We need to have some fun together! We're probably going to be battling against one another meaning we need to do something non-competitive and fun!"

"Battling is fun," Lance pointed out.

Zaria made a face at the red-head, "Fun in a way that lets our pokemon rest like we're supposed to, Dummy."

"So I was thinking," Vali cut in before an argument could start up, "We could find some places to eat and window shop. Maybe find a theater or something, I've only really seen pokemon food shops so far, but I'm sure there might be something else here,"

"Sounds like a plan," Lance nodded his head lightly.

Zaria clapped her hands with a squeal and took off, "Let's go!"

Vali let out a low sigh, "How she has so much energy when she's up most of the night, I have no idea."

Steven looked over Vali carefully as they began to follow Zaria and noted that she definitely looked better than this morning. The talk with Delia and her pokemon had helped quite a bit. While she would likely wait until Blaine had made his offer, she'd probably gotten her thoughts settled into some form of order. A tightness he hadn't noticed in his chest eased up making it a bit easier to breath. Lance spoke as they all drifted after Zaria, "So Vali, you're probably going to be guiding Ash on his journey, right?"

"Yes though it'll be all his own. I'll be acting much like Steven did for me," Vali smiled lightly, "Why do you ask?"

"Seeing as it might be the first time you'll be going through Johto, I might try to tag along during some points if that's okay. If I'm not too busy with my Champion duties of course," Lance grinned at her, "Help to guide you guys through, I'd offer it now, but I figure you've got enough on your plate and will probably want to stay close to Kanto. Mew knows I stayed close to Johto during my first few years after becoming a trainer,"

"You did?" Vali looked at Lance in surprise while Steven grimaced a bit.

Lance nodded as they stepped around a small group of people, "I actually stuck by Blackthorn for a year once I completed my journey and competed in my first Conference to make sure my dragon-types were getting the best care they possibly could while we grew stronger underneath the teaching of my clans masters. It wasn't until we were sure we'd learned everything they could teach us that we set off on our own once again and this time for Kanto," He smiled lightly at her, "Had things worked out differently, I might've been your traveling partner rather than Steven or we both would've traveled with you as the two of us had been discussing before you'd arrived."

Vali's eyes went a bit wide, "Really?"

Lance nodded and shifted to rest his arms behind his head, "Kind of sucks because traveling with you would've been an awesome experience, I've always wanted to know what it would be like to travel with someone else beside my pokemon," He turned his head to grin at her, "So promise me to say when Ash's journey makes it into Johto, I want to help out the kid and experience what its like. Hell, I wanna know when you're in Johto even if it's for a short visit. We can meet up and I'll show you around, alright?"

Vali nodded with a grin, "Sounds like a plan, I'm looking forward to it though are you sure? It sounds like it'd be a lot of work especially if you'd be a champion."

Lance shrugged lightly, "Nah, you're one of my friends and Ash has grown on me. Gary is included in this as well. I'm sure Steven agrees with me on this."

"I do," Vali turned to him and Steven nodded with a warm smile, "It won't be a bother. I've known both of them for awhile after all,"

"Thank you both then," Vali looked relieved, "It's nice to know I won't be alone if I need some help,"

Vali surprised them both with a one-armed hug since they were on either side of her. Steven recovered quickly and carefully returned the hug even if it was somewhat awkward with Lance. Lance did the same on Vali's other side. She let them go soon enough when Zaria called out to her and hurried to catch up to the dark-type master-in-training. Lance spoke as they moved a bit more apart, "That was unexpected, I've never been hugged by Vali before."

"She doesn't hug people that often," Steven relayed as they moved to catch up with the girls, "But it is nice when she does. The first time she ever hugged me was after her first gym battle. She'd only had Balto, Smaug, Elrond, and Celina back then. All of them were in their first forms back then,"

"She won that one with Balto and Smaug too, right?" Lance asked narrowing his eyes and Steven nodded, "I'll have to see if they've got that battle recording public or not,"

"Probably not since it was the first gym battle," Steven shook his head.

Lance sighed, "Another more personal reason to become Champion then."

Steven looked at Vali and smiled softly as he thought of just how much she'd grown as a trainer alongside her pokemon since those first days. Looking at her battles both ending in wins and losses, he felt pride in helping her reach this point though almost all of it was done by herself. Each of her pokemon from back then to now, they'd grown quite a bit though both Aragorn and Houndour would have quite a bit of growing to do before they'd be ready to join their siblings on the battlefield. But if anyone could help them reach that point, it would be their mother/sister-figure, Vali.