Then, Alan heard a chomping sound. He lowered his arms to see Trapinch gnawing on the foot of Regice. Trapinch dedicatedly tried to chew into the ice, but it was too strong and Trapinch was shaken off and tossed to the side of the crater as Regice changed the focus of its Ice Beam.

  When Alan saw this, fear clutched his heart and he immediately returned Trapinch to its Pokeball. Just in time for the spot, Trapinch had just escaped from to be turned into a chunk of ice from Regices Ice Beam. But Trapinch gave Alan enough time to break free from the weakened bindings holding him and his friends.

  “Run! Get out of this place before we’re all frozen!” Alan yelled. They started to dash towards the exit as Regice charged another Ice Beam. Alan rummaged in his bag, desperately trying to find an item capable of delaying a legendary pokemon. He had gone through almost everything in the bag when he saw his savior, the terrible book he was going to throw away. Alan pulled it out and chucked the book straight toward Regice as they made their final dash to safety. At the same time, Ragice unleashed its Ice Beam and the two met in mid-air. The book was instantaneously frozen in a large block of ice and was shot into a wall, shattering into thousands of shards. Your contents were truly terrible, but you saved us all. Alan thought wistfully. He ducked behind the doorway as he made it to safety. Alan bent over panting, glancing over at Oliver and Clemence to make sure they were okay. They seemed to fine as far as he could tell, but Alan knew that they weren’t out of danger yet.

  “We’re not safe yet, we need to keep going,” He said. His friend nodded in agreement and took off running.

  Icy blue light shined from behind them and they hit the dirt as beam of pure Ice Energy blasted over their heads. They shivered as they were blanketing in freezing air, but they bounced up again and kept running. They continued dodging the frigid beams as they escaped down the tunnel.

  Alan almost cried as he heard the shouting from down the tunnel. He looked back, only to stare straight into the eyes of Regice. It raised both arms and built up a cataclysmic Ice Beam. He watched as it built up growing stronger and stronger. He squeezed his eyes shut preparing to be turning and a frozen yet incredibly dashing statue, then he the soft sound of paws landing on the ground. A sudden heat filled the air as he heard the sound of crackling flames. Alan peeked out from his backpack he was using as a shield. A large regal fox was standing between Alan and Regice spewing flames to counter the Ice Beam. He recognized the pokemon as Ninetales, a rare Fire Type pokemon that evolved from Vulpix. Surprisingly, it seemed to be countering the legendary pokemon’s attack. It was still beautiful and its fur still gleamed in the light of the fire, but it had battle scars and had the confidence of a well-trained battler. He looked back to see who its trainer was. It was James, he was holding a polished Ultra Ball in his hands.

  “What are you doing? Get moving. Run!” He yelled.

  His words shocked Alan into motion. He scrabbled to his feet, Alan pulled up Clemence and Oliver and dragged them with me as he began to run. He only stopped when they were safely around a corner. Alan curiously poked his head ot to see what was going on.

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  The Ninetales was masterfully dancing around Regice, periodically blasting it with its fire. Alan had never seen such a powerful and well-trained pokemon. He watched in awe as the battle continued.

  He only looked away when he noticed Oliver was tugging on his arm.

  “C’mon let’s get out of here. We’re not strong enough to help, we’d only get in the way.”

  Alan sighed.

  “Okay, let’s go,” and with that, they ran down the tunnel. They ran all the way back to the research center. Gasping for breath, they explained what had happened to the lead scientist, named Jared. He sent a retrieval team to help James. He seemed to care more about the room where Regice was found than James, though. He grilled them for everything they remembered, then he dismissed them to continue exploring.

  “Sorry, Alan, but we’re not going to risk our lives just to search some random ruins. You’re on your own.” Oliver said, apologetically. Clemence was nodding along behind Oliver.

  “Okay. That’s fine, I wouldn’t expect you to,” Alan said.

  On his own, Alan started to wander the tunnels, still making sure he wouldn’t get lost. After a few minutes, he was definitely lost.

  “Uhh, Trapinch. Any chance you have good navigational skills?”

  “Tra, tra,” it responded sadly, shaking its head.

  He wandered for what felt like an hour before he stumbled onto a new discovery. It appeared to be a strange shrine; multiple stone Baltoy stood around the room. It looked ancient, the stone was faded and cracked. There seemed to be a small stone house in the center of the shrine. The stone door shimmered, and a Baltoy teetered out.

  “What? How did you get here? You must have been stuck in there for a long time.” Alan said, confused.

  Slowly, the Baltoy started leaning and began to fall. But, Alan dashed forward and caught the unconscious pokemon before it could hit the ground.

  “Tired, huh? Well then, let’s get you somewhere safe.”

  He tucked it into his jacket, holding it safe to him.

  “C’mon, Trapinch. I know you like exploring, but let’s get this guy to the Pokemon Center.

  Trapinch nodded in concern, it forged ahead. Only realizing we were lost, after a few minutes of headlong dashing. Trapinch walked over and lay at Alan’s feet in dejection.

  “It’s okay, bud, you did your best,” he consoled. He picked up Trapinch and tucked him into his other arm. With both pokemon secured, Alan began to walk. He walked for what seemed like hours until he found a passage he recognized and walked out. Straight into the center chamber. Turning around in confusion he looked back at the smooth stone. He experimentally poked it with one finger. It felt for all the world just some regular rock, definitely some magic portal.

  Alan shook his head and headed for the Pokemon Center, there must have been something weird if the food they served down here. Shaking his head, he ran off to get some food, sleep, and get his new friend a check-up.