"Her dad's... what?" Ryan thought. He stuffed the thought for later as he turned his attention to the approaching battle in front of him.

"Nidoking, charge in with Brick Break!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking responded with a nod and started to run towards Leaf and Venusaur.

"Venusaur," Leaf got on Venusaur's back, where it's giant flower bloomed. "Use Wine Whip on the ground!"

"Got it!" Venusaur quickly launched it's vines and slammed them into the ground, propelling Venusaur and Leaf into the air, but low enough to the point where they didn't hit the ceiling of the open second floor.

"Use Energy Ball!" Leaf pointed at a spot ahead of Nidoking. A spiraling orb of green energy formed in front of Venusaur's mouth.

"Energy Ball!" Venusaur launched it's Energy Ball, blasting downwards towards where Nidoking was running to.

"Nidoking, use Protect!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking launched the green barrier around itself once more as Venusaur's Energy Ball closed in.

"Okay Venusaur, return!" Leaf pulled out Venusaur's Pokeball.

"W-what?" Ryan was taken aback. "Are you crazy?" Ryan thought aloud. He saw Venusaur nod as it returned to it's Pokeball, leaving Leaf in midair, who was about to plummet.

"I know she's a champion and all, but this is borderline insane!" Ryan thought aloud.

"Yeah." Squirtle nodded.

"Let's go, Pidgeot!" Leaf pocketed Venusaur's Pokeball, pulled out Pidgeot's Pokeball and threw it downward as she began to fall. Pidgeot materialized below her, and Leaf landed on Pidgeot's back. Operating on instinct, Pidgeot began to fly towards Nidoking with speed as Venusaur's Energy Ball collided with Nidoking's Protect.

"Nidoking, use Brick Break!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded. Nidoking raised it's arm to strike the incoming Pidgeot.

"Pidgeot, spin over to the right!" Leaf told Pidgeot.

"Gotcha!" Pidgeot tucked it's wings as it rolled to the right, spinning. Pidgeot, with Leaf holding on, spun past Nidoking's Brick Break attack! Pidgeot stopped it's spinning, stabilized itself and raised it's altitude.

"Use Aerial Ace!" Leaf commanded Pidgeot, who started to gain speed once more, towards Nidoking.

"Again? Fine then- Nidoking, stop her with Protect." The Pokemon Hunter called out. Nidoking prepared to release a green barrier like before.

"Quick Pidgeot, use Mirror Move before Nidoking puts Protect up!" Leaf commanded. Protect was in place around Nidoking.

"She's too late!" Ryan thought. "What was the Mirror Move for? If I remember correctly, it copies the last move made by the opponent... and it was Protect, right?"

"Looks like your Mirror Move failed! And you are still charging with Aerial Ace!" The Pokemon Hunter said to Leaf as she and Pidgeot kept flying towards Nidoking and it's Protect barrier.

"Another charging Protect wouldn't penetrate Protect! No attack can get past it!" The Pokemon Hunter proclaimed.

"What? Then what's Leaf doing?" Ryan thought aloud, with Squirtle listening.

"That girl's still charging... that must mean she knows how to break it down!" Squirtle thought.

"W-what the-" The Pokemon Hunter stumbled as he witnessed something he didn't expect. Pidgeot had broken through Protect like it was nothing,shattered it and slammed into Nidoking!

"How did you- of course..." Nidoking flew backwards towards the Pokemon Hunter and landed on it's back. The Pokemon Hunter understood what happened, clearly now. Pidgeot landed back on the ground and Leaf disembarked.

"I didn't use Mirror Move on Protect..." Leaf straightened her white fisherman's hat. "I used it on Brick Break."

"Huh? Oh yeah! Brick Break was the last move used, before Protect was put up!" Ryan realized aloud. "But how'd Brick Break broke down Protect?" Ryan wondered aloud. "I thought Protect was practically invincible!" A sharp ding noise suddenly emerged, which came from Ryan's pocket.

"That's the Pokedex!" Ryan thought as he pulled out the Pokedex and opened it.

Protect is a move that can ward off all attacks except for Brick Break. Also, if Protect is used side by side, it will fail on it's own.

"So that's why..." Ryan thought aloud. He looked between Leaf and Pidgeot, who seemed cool and collected in the middle of battle and to the Pokemon Hunter and his Nidoking, who was struggling to get up.

"Man... all of these new moves are starting to give me a headache. Wish it was as simple as it was all the way back when.." Ryan thought as he closed the Pokedex and pocketed it.

"That hunter's calm for some reason... but why? Leaf's beating the snot out of him!" Ryan thought as he looked at the Pokemon Hunter.

"Squirtle, I think we'd better watch out- something's up..." Ryan warned Squirtle.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Squirtle nodded, even though Ryan wouldn't understand.

"How can they stay so calm in the heat of battle like that?" Ryan noted. "I couldn't think or react quickly at all. I mean, what's different between this and football? Besides the fact I could get a Hyper Beam to the face..."

"Ryan!"

"Huh?" Ryan turned around to see where the voice came from.

"Professor Maple!" Leaf turned her head to see her cousin walk in, and turned her attention back to the battle.

"Where's Leaf?" Professor Maple asked Ryan, who pointed behind him.

"She jumped in when I was about to take a Hyper Beam..." Ryan explained.

"She's battling?" Professor Maple seemed a bit astonished.

"Yeah, and she's good- scratch that, amazing." Ryan added.

"Tell me about it- she hasn't battled in nearly a couple of months." Professor Maple told him as he watched Leaf.

"But anyways, we need to get out of here- battling here any further is gonna cause this place to collapse, along with all of the ancient hieroglyphs with it!" Professor Maple said.

"How're we gonna do that?" Ryan asked.

"Leave that to us!" Espeon jumped in.

"What Espeon said." Professor Maple added.

"Uh... what did Espeon say?" Ryan asked. Before Professor Maple could answer, a sudden chill filled the air.

"Why'd it get so cold all of a sudden?" Ryan wondered. He and Professor Maple turned back to the battle scene.

"Where'd Nidoking go?" Ryan looked around. No sign of Nidoking, meaning the Pokemon Hunter must have returned it to it's Pokeball.

"You have forced me to use my trump card." The Pokemon Hunter said through the fog that now enveloped the room.

"This is getting a bit creepy..." Ryan said as he saw his breath in front of him. "What's causing all of this, professor?"

"I don't know," Professor Maple turned to Espeon. "Espeon, can you see what's causing all of this?"

"Give me a moment." Espeon closed his eyes.

"Where's Leaf? I can barely see through this pea soup..." Ryan thought as he looked out into the mist. He barely made out a figure he faintly recognized as Leaf and Pidgeot.

"There they are- What the-" Ryan noticed something behind Leaf and Pidgeot.

"Leaf! Get out of the way!" Ryan leapt into the fog, shouting his warning.

"Wait!" Squirtle limped after Ryan, into the fog.

"There's another pokemon out there! It's a..." Espeon reported, but was cut off by Ryan's sudden shouting.

"Yeah, I got the picture when Ryan ran into the fog like that." Professor Maple commented.

"Leaf! Look out!" Ryan shouted as loud as he could. Leaf and Pidgeot turned to see a faint figure running towards them.

"Is that... Ryan?" She wondered. "Look out?" Leaf turned around quickly- a blue four-legged pokemon with bangs sat there, staring at them.

"It's a... Glaceon!" Leaf realized.

"Now, Glaceon, Icy Wind!" The Pokemon Hunter commanded through the fog. Glaceon seemed to hesitate for a bit, but started to shift the air around it. Particles around Glaceon froze as Glaceon prepared to use Icy Wind.

"Oh man! Pidgeot's weak against Ice- at least I hope that's an Ice type move... who am I kidding? Oh, Icy Wind's a fire type move...Ha-ha." Ryan refocused on the situation.

"Squirtle's barely able to walk, and he's back over there... I need Umbreon! I hope he's ready..." Ryan pulled out Umbreon's Pokeball and enlarged it.

"Umbreon, I need you! Use Shadow Ball to stop that Icy Wind, quick!" Ryan threw Umbreon's Pokeball over Leaf's head and it landed in front of them, letting Umbreon materialize there. Glaceon shifted a concentration of Icy Wind to launch at Leaf.

"Ryan needs me?" Umbreon said as he popped out from his Pokeball. A lost look still enveloped Umbreon's face, which was noticed by Leaf.

"Umbreon, look out!" Leaf warned. "Icy Wind's coming-" The concentrated Icy Wind shot straight towards them. "Use Shadow Ball like Ryan said!" Instinct intervened Umbreon's attitude as he suddenly formed a Shadow Ball to counter the threatening Icy Wind. The Icy Wind collided with Shadow Ball and disappeared, leaving Shadow Ball flying towards Glaceon, who dodged it.

"Alright! Good job, Umbreon!" Ryan complimented as he came up to Leaf, Pidgeot and Umbreon. He went over and picked Umbreon's Pokeball up and pocketed it.

"Close call, huh?" Ryan asked.

"Why'd you rush out like that?" Leaf asked with her arms at her waist.

"What do you mean? I saved you!" Ryan said.

"I had it totally under control! Pidgeot had Protect from Mirror Move!" Leaf explained.

"But the hunter recalled Nidoking! Wouldn't Mirror Move not work?" Ryan asked.

"Hey you two! Save it for later!" A voice yelled through the fog.

"Huh? That was Matt..." Leaf noted. "He's right though. We'll save this for later." She continued.

"Looks like Umbreon's ready to battle!" Ryan thought aloud as he looked at Umbreon, who faced Glaceon.

"What's with this sudden change? Are Pokeballs that magical?" Ryan joked in his head.

"The hunter's still here... but where?" Umbreon's nose twitched. "Her scent..." Umbreon looked around to find the source of the scent.

"It couldn't be coming from that Glaceon, so where's mom?" Umbreon wondered.

"Umbreon, we gotta get out of this jam, and we'll look for your mom!" Ryan said to Umbreon, knowing what was on his mind. Umbreon looked back with a hint of guilt on his face.

"Hey, forget about earlier! We all make mistakes, we're all human- disregard that last word." Ryan rubbed the back of his head with bashfulness at his mistake.

"Point is, it's fine- I understand why you did what you did, and truth be told, I would've done the same." Ryan continued. "So, let's work together towards the future, alright? We're gonna get your mom back, no mistake about it!" Ryan gave a thumbs up.

"This human, there's no mistaking it, he has a big heart." Pidgeot noted in it's head.

"Ryan, what a speech. Maybe there's more to you than a novice... but you're still a novice." Leaf thought and chuckled in her head. Umbreon looked at Ryan with wonder; wasn't he supposed to be mad that he was nearly killed- because of him and his sister?

"...Right!" Umbreon nodded and then faced Glaceon.

"I'm glad Taylor taught me how to pep talk... this kind of feels like a soap opera at the moment. What am I thinking? I gotta focus- Umbreon's gonna need me!" Ryan thought.

"Hey Leaf, why don't you let me take care of this one?" Ryan asked. "Besides, isn't Pidgeot weak against Ice type moves?" Ryan noted. Leaf seemed to be lost in a train of thought before she answered.

"Heh, fine by me..." Leaf said with a smirk. "Check your Pokedex for information you're gonna need on Glaceon."

"Right." Ryan was about to pull out his Pokedex, when he felt a small tug on his pants.

"Squirtle! You followed me?" Ryan redundantly asked. "Never mind that, you shouldn't have... you're still hurt. Here," Ryan knelt down and gently picked Squirtle up and held him like a baby in one arm.

"Leaf, can you keep Squirtle over there for me?" Ryan asked as he climbed back to his feet.

"Sure thing, but," Leaf noticed Squirtle shaking his head. "It doesn't look like Squirtle wants to." Ryan noticed Squirtle shaking his head.

"You want to stay close to me?" Squirtle nodded. "But you're still injured!" As soon as Ryan's point was brought up, Squirtle got up in Ryan's arm and climbed to Ryan's shoulder.

"I'm fine." Squirtle said as he held onto Ryan's shoulder. Ryan shrugged in his head.

"Okay, come on!" Ryan turned his attention to Umbreon and Glaceon, who were staring at each other for a bit.

"I'm surprised it didn't attack while we were busy..." Ryan thought aloud.

"You're right..." Squirtle thought as he looked straight at Glaceon. "Where did he get a Glaceon from? I don't recall him having one, unless..." Ryan pulled out the Pokedex once more and opened it.

Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokemon. It causes small ice crystals to form by lowering the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.

"Okay Umbreon, Quick Attack!" Ryan called the first move.

"Alright! Quick Attack!" A white trail followed Umbreon as he ran towards Glaceon.

"Glaceon, use Mist!" The Pokemon Hunter called out.

"Ryan, Glaceon's gonna use Mist to dodge and hide in this fog!" Leaf told him.

"She's right... what do I do? If I lose sight of Glaceon, it could attack from anywhere- literally!" Ryan thought.

"I don't think so! I'm gonna get you before you- huh?" Umbreon's nose twitched furiously.

"Mom's scent is getting stronger! How-" Umbreon thought aloud as he looked at Glaceon.

"This Umbreon smells familiar, but how? I've never met one before..." Glaceon thought.

"There's only one explanation-" Squirtle came to a conclusion.

"That's their mom!"

I finished this a lot quicker than I expected. I'll have the next chapter out soon, and no author's note again. Review if you want to!