Lecture's and meetings Pt. 1

Bending down to pet Balto, Vali listened to Steven talk about Steel-type pokemon and what they could do. He was as passionate about Steel-types as he was about stones. That was the passion that was driving him to become a Steel-type master, he wouldn't let anyone dissuade him. The way he spoke was both to the crowd of eager faces and to himself. He answered any question asked of him with almost the same ease as Professor Oak. He eased the fears that some had while also ensuring that they understood why Steel-types weren't trained by just anyone. It was simply awe-inspiring and she felt the anxiety that had been eating at her since she realized that today was Saturday slip away the longer she listened to him. If Steven could do this, she could too.

When Steven finish his lecture, the crowd was a little reluctant to let him go, but eventually dispersed. Steven ran a hand through his hair seemingly exhausted, "That crowd was a bit bigger than I expected."

"You did place in the top three of the last Ever Grande Conference," Grace said with a soft laugh as she walked back into the room, "Even if we do focus on the Indigo League Conference, a lot of Kanto tunes into the other ones," She looked at Vali, "You're up after lunch and I'm sure you'll do just fine,"

Vali offered her a weak smile as the anxiety welled up again, "Y-yeah."

"Shall we go get some lunch?" Steven asked as he walked over to them.

Grace nodded and led the way towards a rather large cafeteria, "The food may not be restaurant quality, but it's better than any trainer meal."

They got their food and some for their pokemon before heading to one of the tables. Vali released everyone and gave them their food before starting to eat her own. Steven released all of his pokemon save for Aggron as the cafeteria's ceiling was a bit too low and the large pokemon didn't need to eat at the moment. From her own findings and Steven's lecture, the Aron-line rarely needed to eat more than twice a week once they evolved from their first state and only twice a month once in their final evolution. It made her plans to get a Aron of her own more realistic even if it finding one would be interesting. Taking a bite of the soup she'd gotten, she paused when a loud gasp sounded from nearby seconds before their table was ambushed by a trio of girls.

Vali recognized them to Grace's children and the future gym leaders of Cerulean City, Lily, Daisy, and Violet. They began to squeal as they shouted, "You're Steven Stone."

Sandshrew abandoned her food and darted over to Vali to cuddle against her legs. Shooting a glare to the triplets, Vali bent down and began reassuring Sandshrew. While she'd been getting better about deal with loud noises and being outside during the day, the small pokemon was still very timid. Once Sandshrew stopped shaking, she picked up the small pokemon as Pikachu carried over the bowl of food that the little one had been eating out of. With a small smile at the display, she got Sandshrew to begin eating again.

"Is that a shiny Sandshrew?!" One of the triplets squealed causing Sandshrew to whimper and hide against her stomach.

Vali shot the trio another glare causing them to flinch back before she began reassuring Sandshrew again. It took a bit longer to get Sandshrew to calm down and return to eating which only made her a little bit more incensed by the trio. Pikachu sparked at them angerly causing them to pale and move back a bit before he began to nuzzle Sandshrew. As soon as Sandshrew had calmed down and resumed eating, she turned to the trio with a frown, "I would prefer it if you didn't screech or make any more of high pitched sound around my Sandshrew. She is still a baby and hasn't been around humans for very long."

"Girls," Grace appeared behind the trio with a frown, "Apologize,"

The three paled and quickly nodded before uttering, "We're like sorry."

"I am sorry that they interrupted your lunch," Grace told Steven and Vali while glancing at Sandshrew in interest, "They get very excited when it comes to famous new comers and they really enjoyed watching your battles, Steven,"

"It is fine," Steven assured Grace before looking at Vali, "Is Sandshrew alright?"

"Yes though I'm going to have to return her after she finishes eating," Vali took a bite of her lunch.

Grace grimaced at that while shooting the triplets an annoyed look that had them shrinking back. The woman looked at Sandshrew curiously, "I haven't seen a shiny Sandshrew in years. Where did you come by her?"

"In Mount Moon a week after she hatched," Vali answered while keeping an eye on Sandshrew and make sure that she was still eating, "She quite literally stumbled upon us when she was looking for food. I caught her after giving her some food without actually noticing that she was a shiny pokemon. Surprised the life out us," She smiled as Sandshrew finished her food and began to snuggle into Vali's lap for a nap, "I haven't started training her yet. I will as soon as Nurse Joy gives the okay,"

Vali petted Sandshrew as she resumed eating her lunch. Grace shook her head lightly, "You must be a lucky person."

Vali snorted softly, "I wouldn't say that, but I wouldn't not say it either. Lady Luck and I have an interesting relationship especially when you consider my paternal families luck," Steven looked as curious as Grace and the triplets, "There's an old proverb from where I come from that pretty much sums it up: 'May you live in interesting times'."

"Well being a trainer already makes life interesting," Steven commented earning a snicker.

"Definitely," Vali grinned before continuing to eat her lunch.

Grace shook her head lightly, "Well, Vali, I hope that my daughter's antics haven't dissuaded you from doing the lecture."

"They haven't," Vali hadn't even been thinking about that, "I just hope they know that our battle tomorrow is going to be rough on them,"