5/1/11- I might have skipped quite a few chapters in the revisions, but this battle irked me, with the lack of many things. hopefully you enjoy this!

"Okay Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash commanded to Pikachu. Pikachu nodded as he started to sprint faster and faster until a white trail appeared behind it, showing his speed and power in his attack. Eevee stood, battle ready, but didn't know what to do. Ryan had to act quickly.

"Jump, Eevee!" Ryan quickly commanded in response. His command reached Eevee in time as she nodded and jumped. Eevee looked down and saw Pikachu run past her previous spot. Pikachu stopped his Quick Attack and turned to see Eevee land gracefully on her paws.

"Wow, Eevee can jump!" Ash commented as Ryan agreed with a thumbs up. Eevee gave a slight hop for joy as she absorbed their praise. Umbreon rolled his eyes, since he knew she could actually jump higher, while Ryan couldn't help but chuckle at the cute scene.

"Ryan, try to attack Pikachu!" Ash told him. Ryan nodded as Eevee focused her attention back to the battle, thanks to a quick shout from Umbreon.

"Let's see... Eevee, use Sand-Attack!" Ryan commanded. Eevee nodded as she began to slightly dig into the battlefield's dirt and gather piles of it in her paws. She rapidly tossed streams of a dirt and sand mix towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, jump and use Iron Tail!" Ash calmly reacted. Pikachu jumped with a slight spin, dodging Eevee's Sand-Attack. Pikachu's tail started to glow with a steel shimmer as he began his descent.

"Iron tail? What's that? I gotta do something!" Ryan frantically thought. He was caught off guard by Iron Tail, but he quickly pulled himself together. This was what Ash was training him for! It was time for him to show what he learned.

"Eevee, roll to the side to dodge!" Ryan quickly commanded as Pikachu slammed into the ground with its Iron Tail. Eevee had leapt to the side, narrowly escaping Pikachu's attack, but she was slightly hurt from the sheer power from Iron Tail's collision with the battlefield.

"Eevee! Are you alright?" Ryan asked as Eevee was still laying on the ground, panting in fatigue. She panted a few more times and quickly got to her paws.

"Y-yeah!" Eevee determinedly said as she got up and faced Pikachu, who stood waiting. Pikachu knew Eevee was worn out, just from looking at her. Eevee was covered in a mix of sweat and dirt from the multiple attacks Pikachu threw at her. Umbreon was surprised at Eevee's drive.

"Come on sis, you can do it!" Umbreon cheered. However, he knew his sister didn't much energy left.

"You can do it Eevee!" Dawn cheered on from her bench. Piplup also gave words of confidence as he sat next to his trainer.

"Ash really knows how to train people! Ryan and Eevee seem so much more in sync now!" Dawn thought as she looked between Eevee and Pikachu, who seemed to be enjoying themselves. After Daniel led them to the outdoor battlefield and left to take care of homework, she decided to sit in on Ash's training session with Ryan.

"Eevee looks really tired. Then again, they've been training for about an hour!" Dawn noted in her thoughts. Eevee's fatigue was obvious to everyone watching, as she continued heavily panting.

"Hey Eevee, why don't you take a break? Come on back here!" Ryan suggested. Eevee hesitated for a second before deciding to run over to Ryan, who kneeled down to pet her. He felt Eevee's exhaustion through her moist fur.

"Take a nice long rest, okay?" Ryan half asked and half stated to Eevee. She nodded as she sat next to Umbreon and exhaustingly laid down on her belly. Ash looked at them and decided to give them a break. He called Pikachu back, who jumped onto Ash's shoulder, and walked over to where Dawn sat.

"Phew! I think it's time for a break," Ash said as he sat next to Dawn. Pikachu hopped from his shoulder and onto the bench, where Piplup was. The two pokemon high fived each other, something they picked up from their trainers, and began talking.

"No kidding! You guys have been training for nearly an hour straight!" Dawn remarked as she checked her Poketch clock.

"An hour?" Ash said in utter surprise. "Didn't seem like an hour."

"Well, you were totally into the training, so it's not too surprising. Awesome job, training him!" Dawn complimented as they looked at Ryan, who was sitting next to Eevee. He was making funny faces at Eevee, making her giggle uncontrollably. Umbreon couldn't help but smirk at the faces.

"Thanks, but it wasn't really me, you know?" Ash said, which slightly confused Dawn.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Dawn asked. Was she missing something? "You helped them out, right? So..."

"Only a little bit. Well, a lot with the type stuff. I mean, they're still rough around the edges, but they aren't looking too shabby either!" Ash said. He knew the massive amount of time it took to help Ryan understand most of the pokemon type advantages. The explanation took a good portion of the hour they had trained in.

"Once they caught on, they seemed like naturals!" Ash commented as he looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, but it still shone through the partly cloudy sky. He felt a gentle wind blow across the battlefield, carrying loose bits of dirt and sand along with it.

"So, I see you've been training!" A voice suddenly said, causing everyone to find the source. Professor Maple stood on the end of the battlefield where Ash was earlier. "I can't wait to see what you've picked up," he added as he pulled a Pokeball from his lab coat pocket. Ryan quickly stood up with Eevee in his arms.

"Just a sec!" Ryan told him as he quickly ran over to the bench where Ash and Dawn sat. "Do you guys mind if Eevee rested here?"

"Sure," Dawn nodded as she took Eevee into her arms. Eevee yawned and cuddled up on Dawn's lap as she closed her eyes for a nap. Ryan thanked her and went back to Umbreon's side.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Ryan yelled across the battlefield. It felt like the wind was picking up, as more loose sand and dirt from earlier started flying.

"Okay then," Professor Maple enlarged the Pokeball in his hand and threw it in the air. "Let's go, old pal!" The Pokeball opened in midair, releasing the pokemon inside onto the battlefield. A light purplish cat with a tail that split into two at the end appeared as Professor Maple caught the Pokeball and pocketed it.

"What is that?" Ryan thought as he examined the pokemon Professor Maple sent out. "Maybe the Pokedex knows." He pulled the Pokedex out from his pocket and flipped it open.

ESPEON: THE SUN POKEMON. IT USES THE FINE HAIR THAT COVERS ITS BODY TO SENSE AIR CURRENTS AND PREDICT ITS ENEMY'S ACTIONS.

"An Espeon? What type is it? Oh, how do I work this thing?" Ryan thought as he tinkered with the Pokedex's controls.

"It's a Psychic type!" Ash suddenly yelled out to Ryan. Ryan yelled back a thank you as he closed and pocketed the Pokedex.

"It probably wouldn't hurt if I could get an instruction manual on the Pokedex... but anyways, Espeon senses an enemy's actions through air currents?" Ryan thought as he felt the wind coming toward him.

"Espeon's weak against Bug, Ghost and Dark types and Shadow Ball's a Ghost type move!" Dawn yelled advice to Ryan.

"Isn't Umbreon a Dark type?" Ryan wondered as he looked at Umbreon. "Umbreon, you ready?" Umbreon nodded with determination.

"Alright, lets do this, Umbreon!" Umbreon hopped onto the field and into a battle stance. Espeon calmly stared at the battle ready Umbreon, which slightly confused him.

"I'll let you make the first move, Ryan!" Professor Maple offered.

"Okay then!" Ryan wasted no time in choosing his attack. "Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!" Umbreon charged his Shadow Ball in nearly a second and a half and fired.

"Shadow Ball!" Umbreon called as Shadow Ball flew with a high speed towards Espeon, leaving behind a trail of shadowy particles.

"Shadow Ball should be really effective against Espeon!" Ash commented. Dawn looked at Professor Maple, who stood still, not giving Espeon the command to dodge. Espeon merely looked back at Professor Maple and they both nodded.

"Why isn't Espeon dodging?" Dawn wondered as Shadow Ball hit, causing an explosion and caused smoke to appear around where Espeon was.

"Wow, could it have really taken one hit? No..." Ryan thought. His suspicions were confirmed as the clouds of smoke lifted. Espeon was safe, behind a shining yellow barrier.

"What the?" Umbreon reacted in surprise. "How did Espeon take that head on?" Umbreon wondered. Ryan unknowingly repeated the same question aloud.

"Light Screen," Professor Maple said as the smoke completely cleared up.

"It reduces special attack damage," he continued to explain. Espeon lowered Light Screen, shook its fur and stretched it's legs out.

"Shadow Ball didn't even scratch Espeon!" Dawn noted. It looked like Espeon had woken up from a nap, instead of being in a battle.

"Looks like it's our turn. Espeon, use Agility!" Professor Maple told Espeon as it nodded and started to pick up speed as it ran. In a split second, Espeon disappeared from Ryan and Umbreon's sight.

"Whoa!" Umbreon remarked as he tried to keep an eye on Espeon. It was like Espeon was invisible! Espeon literally ran circles around Umbreon, waiting for a command from Professor Maple.

"Espeon, use Swift!" Professor Maple finally commanded. A barrage of stars flew by Espeon and toward Umbreon. Ryan instinctively reacted with:

"Quick, jump up and dodge it Umbreon!"

"Gotcha!" Umbreon jumped as Ryan said, avoiding Swift's stars. Swift completely missed Umbreon!

"I wouldn't say you're in the clear yet," Professor Maple smirked. The Swift attack suddenly swerved around and hit Umbreon in midair, sending him flying and tumbling on the ground.

"Umbreon!" Ryan called out as Umbreon landed and rolled back in front of him. "You alright?"He asked Umbreon, who got up, looked back and nodded.

"That's good..." Ryan looked at Espeon and thought, "Maybe I can lure it closer and use Bite?"

"Okay Umbreon, use Shadow Ball again!" Ryan said as he pointed at Espeon.

"Shadow Ball!" Umbreon fired the Shadow Ball as soon as it formed. Professor Maple debated on whether or not to mix it up, after all, if he really wanted to end the battle... he would've done it in the first thirty seconds. He figured he may as well see what Ryan was planning.

"Espeon, dodge!" Professor Maple commanded. Espeon disappeared from sight, thanks to Agility raising Espeon's speed.

"Where'd Esp-" Ryan's answer appeared in front of Umbreon before he could finish. Umbreon took a step back in surprise. "Quick, use Bite Umbreon!"

"Dodge, and use Headbutt!" Professor Maple countered. Umbreon lunged at Espeon with his Bite attack and nearly made contact before Espeon disappeared from sight again.

"Huh? Argh!" Umbreon thought for a second before being slammed from behind with a Headbutt attack from Espeon.

"No! Umbreon!" Ryan gritted his teeth as he went over his remaining options and plans. "What can I do? Espeon's too fast to attack, even up close!" Umbreon got up to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Umbreon's tired... this battle might not last much longer!" Ryan thought as Espeon looked back at him. It almost looked like it was smirking at him.

"Matt's definitely letting him have it," Leaf thought as she stood a distance away from the battlefield. Squirtle stood by her side, also watching the battle occurring. The two arrived at the battlefield around the time Ash and Ryan began sparring with Eevee and Pikachu. Ever since, they stood watching events unfold.

"Oh, come on Umbreon. If only Ryan could actually lead," Squirtle thought as he looked at Umbreon, who looked tired.

"Squirtle, there he is. If you want to go to him, go ahead. It looks like he needs you," Leaf said as she took a seat on the grass.

"Huh? What about you?" Squirtle asked. Almost as if Leaf could understand Squirtle, she answered:

"I'd rather stay here." Squirtle shrugged and decided it was her choice. He decided to "coach" Umbreon from the side, if Ryan couldn't get the job done, and ran off.

Leaf looked back and forth between Professor Maple and Ryan, who were issuing commands. "It's been a while since I've even seen a battle."

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!" Leaf heard Ryan give the command to Umbreon, who charged the Shadow Ball and fired it.

"Dodge, Espeon!" Professor Maple calmly countered. Espeon disappeared from sight once more as the Shadow Ball zipped past where Espeon was.

"Hmm. Umbreon may have the type advantage, but..." Leaf thought aloud. Espeon reappeared in front of Umbreon, and Professor Maple wasted no time.

"Use Headbutt!" Espeon charged at Umbreon with its head down. Leaf could have sworn Umbreon looked back at Ryan and they both nodded.

"Espeon's too fast. I wonder if..." Leaf thought aloud again, but she was suddenly interrupted.

"Thinking about a way to beat Espeon, Leaf?" Leaf turned around to see where the voice was coming from.

"Professor Rowan!" Leaf said as she saw him. Professor Rowan smiled and walked over to where Leaf was and sat down next to her.

"I hear you have been having issues battling," Professor Rowan started. Leaf only stared at the ongoing battle as Professor Rowan spoke.

"Umbreon, jump and aim Shadow Ball at the ground!" Professor Rowan and Leaf saw Umbreon jump up and dodge Espeon's Headbutt.

"I don't think so! Use Light Screen, Espeon!" The yellow barrier popped up around Espeon as Umbreon fired Shadow Ball. The attack hit the barrier, causing an explosion and smoke to appear like last time.

"Is that all you've got?" Professor Maple called out through the smoke.

"Hmm... Matt is not a defensive kind of trainer, wouldn't you say Leaf?" Professor Rowan asked. Leaf blankly stared down at the battlefield, but answered Professor Rowan's question in her head.

"He's right... is Matt testing him? Then again, Matt probably would have settled this in a few seconds, if he wanted to." Leaf suddenly saw Espeon fly back with a cry.

"Espeon! You alright?" Professor Maple asked. Espeon nodded and faced the clearing smoke. Umbreon stood, panting heavily. Professor Maple was surprised that Ryan could actually land an attack on Espeon.

"Come on Umbreon, you can do better than that!" Umbreon turned around to see Squirtle standing next to Ryan.

"Squirtle!" Ryan and Umbreon said as they realized Squirtle was next to them.

"You... actually... came!" Umbreon said through his breaths.

"Well, someone had to keep an eye on you two," Umbreon seemed to sweat drop at Squirtle response.

"I guess Squirtle isn't going to change his mind about Ryan anytime soon," Umbreon thought. "But he should, sooner or later. Even he's not this stubborn enough to keep this up."

"Umbreon, you have to focus on the battle!" Squirtle reminded him before he drifted off into his thoughts.

"You ready to go again, Umbreon?" Ryan asked after few seconds of letting Umbreon catch his breath.

"Yeah," Umbreon nodded as he took a couple of deep breaths and faced Espeon, who calmly stood waiting.

"I see you've found a way past Light Screen!" Professor Maple yelled out to Ryan.

"I just recalled something you said about Light Screen; it blocks Special Attacks and since it does, apparently Shadow Ball's a Special Attack," Ryan began to explain. He thought maybe it would give Umbreon some more time to rest if he could drag this out.

"So, how'd you get Shadow Ball past Light Screen?" Professor Maple curiously asked.

"Shadow Ball didn't get past Light Screen, so I just had Umbreon crash down with a Quick Attack under the smoke's cover," Ryan finished explaining.

"So... he sort of realized Quick Attack wasn't blocked by Light Screen. Not bad for a rookie," Professor Maple thought as Espeon looked back at him. They looked at each other, like they were conversing, until Professor Maple shrugged and Espeon turned back to the battle.

"Good work you guys!" Ash cheered along with Pikachu and Piplup. "He finally landed an attack on Espeon!" Ash said to Dawn, who still held the sleeping Eevee in her lap.

"Yeah, but look at Umbreon!" Dawn pointed at Umbreon, who was panting heavily. "It must be super tired from taking those attacks from Espeon," she noted. Ash took a look at Umbreon and at Espeon. Umbreon looked battered up, while Espeon still looked fresh and ready for battle.

"You ready over there?" Professor Maple asked as Espeon stood ready for another attack. Ryan hesitated. What else could he do? The one attack he landed on Espeon had little to no effect on it,and Umbreon was worn out!

"If only Umbreon could hide somewhere for a brief moment before attacking... like a jack-in-a-box. But where could he hide? There's only the ground and nothing more. Hold on," Ryan thought as he looked at the battlefield. Small dents from the pokemon attacks littered the ground. "I've got an idea!"

"Umbreon, could you come over here real quick?" Ryan called. Umbreon nodded and ran over to Ryan, who kneeled down and started talking in a low voice.

"I know you're exhausted, but I've got a plan," Ryan began, to Umbreon and Squirtle's interest. "Okay, so here's what you do..."

"Huh? What's he doing?" Professor Maple thought as he saw Ryan acting something out.

"What is he doing?" Professor Rowan thought aloud.

"I have no idea professor," Leaf said as she looked at Ryan, Umbreon and Squirtle. Ryan was motioning with his hands and pointing to the ground, while Umbreon and Squirtle listened.

"He must have some sort of plan... look at what he's doing," Professor Rowan said as he and Leaf noticed Ryan using both of his hands to motion at the ground. He used both hands to scoop up a pile of dirt and he pointed at the hole left behind.

"I wonder..." Leaf thought aloud. "Is he trying to teach Umbreon a new move?"

"And that should let you rest for a bit before attacking! You ready to give it a shot?" Ryan asked Umbreon, who nodded. "Okay, let's finish this!" Umbreon jumped onto the field to continue the battle. Squirtle couldn't believe what Ryan had planned.

"There's no way this can work, no matter how good the plan is. Umbreon's too tired," Squirtle thought.

"So, it looks like they have a plan now. Let's see what it is," Professor Maple thought. Espeon nodded, almost like it heard Professor Maple's thoughts.

"Umbreon, Shadow Ball!" Ryan commanded. Umbreon launched a charged Shadow Ball at Espeon. The Shadow Ball was smaller than the earlier ones, signaling his fatigue.

"This is getting kind of old... we'll mix it up. Light Screen!" Professor Maple commanded. The Shadow Ball hit the Light Screen, and it produced an explosion and cloud of smoke like earlier. Professor Maple took a guess on Ryan's plan. "I'm guessing you added something after you charge in with Quick Attack, huh? Not this time, Espeon, use Swift!" Stars flew by Espeon and through the cloud of smoke, dissipating it.

"What the?" Professor Maple exclaimed in his head as he saw Umbreon digging its way into the ground. "Umbreon's using Dig!" He realized, but quickly noticed something.

"Umbreon's too tired to dig. It's not going to dodge it in time," he thought as he saw the foot deep hole Umbreon made. Umbreon was still slowly digging, but he was too tired to keep going. Swift landed its mark, sending Umbreon back in front of Ryan.

"Umbreon!" Ryan thought he saw swirls in Umbreon's eyes as Umbreon lay dazed on the ground. He thought he was seeing things; that stuff was for cartoons.

"I guess we can call it a battle there!" Professor Maple said as he pulled out Espeon's Pokeball.

"Great job Espeon, take a nice, long rest!" Espeon nodded as it returned to it's Pokeball when the red beam hit it. Professor Maple pocketed it and proceeded towards Ryan.

"Aww man, Umbreon was close to using Dig!" Ash said to Dawn. They both looked at the spot Umbreon used Dig; the hole was shallow.

"Guess they have work to do with Dig, huh?" Dawn asked Ash, who nodded as they got up from the benches and approached Ryan.

"Umbreon, you did great out there," Ryan said as he took Umbreon into his arms.

"Thanks..." Umbreon thanked Ryan as he looked up. Battling was more tiring than he originally thought.

"Hey, that was a nice battle! It was your first, right?" Professor Maple asked as he approached Ryan.

"Thanks professor. Yeah, it was our first battle," Ryan answered.

"Hmm, this kid really did decent for his first battle... he's still got some kinks to work out, but..." Professor Maple thought as he looked back at the shallow hole.

"You did great with that into consideration," Professor Maple said to Ryan. "Is that Leaf?" He noticed Leaf and Professor Rowan walking up to the field.

"Hey! I thought you were going up to your room?" Professor Maple asked. Ryan was confused as to why he asked him that, until he realized that he was talking to somebody else. He turned and saw Leaf and Professor Rowan walking up to him.

"Squirtle wanted to find him, so I helped out," Leaf answered, motioning towards Ryan.

"Oh. Thanks!" Ryan said as he looked down at Squirtle in slight amazement.

"Hmm, really...? Then what're you still doing here?" Professor Maple pressed on. Leaf stammered for a second, trying to come up with an excuse, but failed.

"Got'cha...!" Professor Maple exclaimed with a wink. "Maybe getting her back into battling won't be as hard as I originally thought..."

"Hey, great job you guys!" Ash complimented as he and Dawn approached Ryan.

"Thanks, but it's mostly thanks to you! I mean you did help me out alot," he reasoned.

"It was mostly you! It might've taken a bit for you to learn, but once you got it, you were like a natural," Ash commented. Ryan rubbed the back of his head with one hand as his other arm held Umbreon. He was getting complimented by Ash Ketchum! Ryan gladly fist pumped in his head.

"Matt," Professor Rowan cut in urgently. "Now that the battle is over, what are you going to do about the other thing we discussed?" He looked at his former pupil with a serious stare.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Ryan asked. Professor Maple hesitated for a second.

"Should I tell them? Professor... why do you want them involved?" Professor Maple debated in his head. Was it wise to mention this to the kids? He knew Professor Rowan had faith in them, but he wasn't so sure. Then again, if his mentor trusted them, he figured he should too.

"Well, I think everybody should listen in then," Professor Maple reluctantly motioned. A hint of a smile appeared on Professor Rowan's face.

"Before you tell us, can we get back to the Pokemon Center? For Umbreon and Eevee?" Ryan asked, looking at the sleeping Eevee in Dawn's arms.

"Oh! And we need to check up on Brock!" Dawn suddenly remembered.

"I guess so, but we can't waste time. Come on," Professor Maple motioned for everybody to follow him back to the Pokemon Center.

"I wonder, why's he serious all of a sudden? It must be big, whatever it is." Ryan thought as he followed the others. He looked up at the sky as hints of the setting sun were beginning to disappear.