Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, as always.

Chapter 7: Happy Family

Venusaur's POV

"Where the heck are those two?! They've been missing for the entire night!" I hissed in frustration as I glanced around, trying to spot Blaziken or Sceptile. Not that I cared to that extent about those two, but because their trainers would probably lose it when they discovered that two of their most skilled and experienced Pokemon (and in May's case, her starter.) had vanished into thin air.

"Hey, Venusaur! Why are you acting so anxious?"

I swung around and stomped forward angrily, stopping a few steps away from Blaziken. I noticed that the two of them were slightly wet, and remembered that it had been raining the entire night yesterday.

"You go missing for one whole night, and then show up and ask why am I acting so anxious?!" I screamed.

The Blaze Pokemon blinked. "Oops?"

Before I could yell again, I was interrupted by a voice that still made my heart skip a few beats, even after so many years and the size difference.

"Guys! I'm so glad I found all of you!" Bulbasaur nearly ran into me. The Seed Pokemon sounded urgent and looked very nervous.

"What's going on?" I asked. Sceptile and Blaziken shot the Seed Pokemon questioning looks.

"Glaceon and Buneary are giving each other the cold treatment. Literally." He said, glancing over his shoulder. In the distance, two jagged sky-blue beams slammed into each other, exploding in a cloud of snow particles.

"YOU NEED TO COOL DOWN, FLUFFY!" Glaceon shouted. She slammed into Buneary, throwing the smaller Pokemon back. Both Pokemon rolled down the hill that Bulbasaur had just came down from, landing a few meters away from the three of us. In response, Buneary clipped the Fresh Snow Pokemon with a Dizzy Punch to the jaw.

"YOU'RE SEEING STARS!"

Glaceon retaliated with a point-blank Shadow Ball.

"LIGHTS OUT, LOSER!"

I sighed. Apparently, Pikachu getting attached to Piplup wasn't having the effect he wanted.

"How long have they been at it?" Blaziken asked.

"Uh, a couple of hours? It's already noon, if you haven't noticed." Bulbasaur remarked.

"Let them fight it out." Sceptile said.

"That makes sen- WHAT?!"

"That's how enemies become friends. They fight it out until there's nothing left to fight over, and then they decide to talk nicely. It works, most of the time."

Bulbasaur shot the Forest Pokemon a look that had 'Yeah, right.' written all over it.

"Okay, maybe sometimes it fails. Unless you've got a better plan…"

The Grass and Poison Type starter shrugged.

"Getting tired, Fluffy?"

"Not as tired as you, Haze-eon."

"MY NAME'S GLACEON! GL-ACE-EON!"

"Sure thing, Phase-eon."

"ARGH! TAKE THIS!"

I blinked. "That would make that the fiftieth Ice Beam she fired, no?"

"Wasn't it fourty-nine?" Blaziken asked.

"I thought it was fifty-one." Bulbasaur sighed. "Are you sure this'll work?"

"Not really. But if you want to stop them, be my guest."

As predictable as ever, Bulbasaur charged at the fighting females, trying to separate them with his vines. He was rewarded for his efforts by a joint Ice Beam from the duo, before they resumed their backyard brawl with a frozen Bulbasaur getting a front-row view.

"Had… enough… yet… Furball?"

"I'm… just… getting… started…"

Simultaneously, both Glaceon and Buneary collapsed, panting heavily.

"See, I told you it would work." Sceptile commented, stretching his arms.

"At what cost?" I muttered. The fully evolved Hoenn Grass-Type starter shrugged.

"That's what the Pokemon Center is for, no?"

"Hey, guys? A little help here…" Bulbasaur managed to mutter through chattering teeth. I smacked the ice surrounding him with my vines, freeing the Seed Pokemon from his prison of ice. He rubbed himself against the closest thing he could find for warmth, which was my side, and I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Thanks."

"N-no problem." I quickly turned away to hide my blush.

"Hey, you two can take care of Pikachu's admirers, right?" Blaziken asked. Even as I nodded, she continued speaking.

"Good, because I promised the kid I'd teach him some moves. See you two later!" The Blaze Pokemon grabbed Sceptile by the forearm and dragged him off, even as I stared.

"Their relationship's improving. At least they're not at each other's throats anymore."

"No doubt." I replied.

Sceptile's POV

"What was that about?!" I struggled to control my anger as Blaziken dragged me off. Even though I could have, perhaps with a little difficulty, break free from her grip, a part of me wanted to find out who was the 'kid' she was referring to.

"I'm late. I already told you, I promised the kid I'd teach him some moves."

"Then why are you dragging me along?!"

"Because I think he needs a sparring partner. Try not to beat him up too badly, alright?"

"Whatever." I said. Whoever this 'kid' was, he or she must have made quite an impression on Blaziken. She rarely offered to help anyone in developing their combat skills. I began making a mental list of all the possible candidates, just to keep myself busy as the Blaze Pokemon dragged me along.

"Hey, I know you! What's he doing here?" The voice that shouted those words seemed awfully familiar. I examined the Combusken that stood before me, but he didn't seem familiar in the least to me.

"You evolved? That's good." Blaziken said. "You should recognize him. After all, you nearly cleaved him in two a few days ago, Sceptile."

"You're that Torchic?" I asked.

"Who else? That Scyther you fought?"

I felt a slight twinge of annoyance. If his tongue was as sharp as his combat skills, this would be one interesting fight.

"Oh, and something you should know, Sceptile." Blaziken said. "He's your son."

"WHAT?!" I heard him shout. I barely managed to keep the shock I felt in check.

"I'm his father? He's the one you told me about?" I asked.

"Yup." Blaziken replied. "That's probably the only reason why I've been training him every time I come back here. And you can finally put your skills to the test, Soldat."

So that was his name. Soldat.

"Just because he's my dad doesn't mean I have to hold back, right?" The Combusken asked.

"Even if I said yes, you probably wouldn't have cared." Blaziken replied. "Just try not to kill each other, alright?"

I shrugged, even as I ignited my Leaf Blades. This was probably going to be fun.

"The old man makes the first move."

I could have sworn that my eye twitched. Somehow, he managed to find a way to get on my nerves. And I thought an annoying, whining Torchic was bad enough…

No matter. I concentrated, summoning up an Energy Ball, before hurling it at him.

However, I found myself leaping to my right as the same Energy Ball flew back at me, whizzing past the spot where my chest had been. Soldat smirked, lowering his right leg.

"Not bad. Looks like those stories Mom told me were pretty accurate." He said, wedging his right claw into the ground like I remembered Blaziken did once when she was still a Combusken, and I expected him to run at me and swing the claw in an upward strike.

My guess was fifty-percent right. He did swing the claw up, but the unusually long Shadow Claw he'd invoked when his claws were under the soil did the dirty work for him, hitting me from about five paces away and sending me flying.

"Hope you enjoyed that limited edition of Shadow Claw!" Soldat called even as I hit the ground hard.

Venusaur's POV

"Great. Another fight." I heard Bulbasaur mutter.

"You want me to go stop it for you?" I offered, almost a little too quickly.

"I appreciate the offer, Venusaur, but you don't have to do anything like that."

"You haven't recovered from the shock of the sudden change in body temperature when I broke you out of that ice."

"I know. But this is a fight that doesn't need stopping." I spotted Sceptile being tossed back by a Combusken, before realizing that there was something familiar about the fighting style that he was using.

"Could it be that that Combusken is Blaziken's…"

"It's very likely. Blaziken doesn't teach just anyone how to fight, you know." Bulbasaur said, even as I noticed that some other Pokemon had begun to watch the fight.

Sceptile's POV

I ducked underneath another one of Soldat's claws as it sliced the air above my head, before I realized that it was a feint when he spun and the back of his right foot slammed into my chin. There were even fights, and there were one-sided fights. This one was really leaning towards the latter, and that was not a good thing.

I leapt backwards even as an Ember attack slammed into the spot where I had been lying. A claw stabbed at my chest, but I leaned to one side to avoid it, grabbing his outstretched hand and tossing him over my shoulder at the same time. Just when I thought that I had managed to gain some ground, I felt myself being jerked off the ground as Soldat flipped me over his shoulder.

Rolling to absorb the shock, I fired a Bullet Seed at him. Even as he shrugged it off, I swung my tail around, slamming it into the side of his torso. The impact tossed him back, but the Combusken dug his claws into the ground, stopping himself before springing back at me with a Shadow Claw that I barely managed to deflect by using my Leaf Blades.

"Looks like Blaziken trained you well." I said, shoving his claw upwards with one of my Leaf Blades and swinging low with the other.

"Looks like you need more training, and perhaps a few bruises." Soldat blocked the low swing by slamming his elbow into my forearm, pinning my Leaf Blade down into the soil. Even before I could jerk it free, he landed three quick kicks to my unprotected left torso, before spinning around and backhanding me with the side of his left claw.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, I tasted soil and dirt in my mouth again. At the same time, everything seemed sharper to my eyes. I felt as though every single tree, every blade of grass and clump of dirt was lending me strength, and knew that Overgrow had kicked in.

Not wasting any time, I tossed an Energy Ball at him even as I leapt to my feet. Soldat sidestepped it easily, but that was what I had been expecting him to do. Even as it whizzed past him, I fired a Bullet Seed at it, the yellow pellets quickly hitting the Energy Ball and causing it to explode in his face. Not really damaging, but it disoriented him for a moment. And in battles, even the slightest moment can mean the difference between victory and defeat, whether you take a hit or land one on your opponent.

The blunt side of my Leaf Blade came into contact with the back of Soldat's left heel, forcing him to one knee even as he launched an Ember attack at the place where I had been. The orange bolts of flame flew past my torso, missing me by a couple of inches.

Even as I swung my Leaf Blades again, they were blocked by two red crescents of energy that originated from Soldat's claws.

"Looks like Mirror Movedoesn't imitate color." He remarked, before he slammed his body into me, forcing me back even despite the power advantage that Overgrowth gave.

Blaziken's POV

"Hey, Blaziken?"

I glanced over my shoulder at Quilava. "What is it?"

"Why does that Combusken Sceptile's fighting seem to be using moves that you would have used?"

"He's my son."

"And is Sceptile the father?" Glaceon asked as she came up from behind me. Her blue fur had patches of brown in it from her earlier 'squabble' with Buneary. "Is he…"

"Yes." I spotted the Volcano Pokemon gaping at me from out of the corner of my eye. "Don't worry. Other than you, only Glaceon and Sceptile know who he really is."

"But wouldn't a Pokemon born to parents whose egg groups don't match be quite widely known?"

"The Professor and Tracey feel that he should be able to choose how to live his life himself." Glaceon said.

"That would make sense." Quilava said. "How'd Sceptile take it?"

"Pretty well. At least he didn't go crazy." I replied.

"Are you sure that's your son's first battle?"

"If you mean sparring, yes. Why?" I asked, puzzled. Quilava cocked his head to one side.

"Because he's making Sceptile look like a newbie than an experienced fighter." I turned around, only to see Soldat leap over Sceptile's head as though the act was as easy as breathing for him. The Forest Pokemon's Leaf Blades sliced through the air where he had been a moment ago, and the Young Fowl Pokemon charged at Sceptile even as he turned. Just before reaching his target, however, Soldat stabbed his left claw into the ground, lifting his body and straightening it such that he looked like he was doing a handstand with one hand, but pulled his claw out of the soil at the apex of the move. The momentum sent him into the air, before he landed behind Sceptile and swung a Shadow Claw around, just as Sceptile whirled around with his Leaf Blades.

Both attacks stopped inches away from their targets' necks.

"At least they remembered that this was a sparring match, not a real battle." Quilava remarked, even as both combatants lowered their hands.

"That was fun. See you around, old man!" Soldat called, before he headed back into the woods. I could have sworn I saw Sceptile's eye twitch in annoyance, even from this range.

"Well, it's clear who he inherited the love of battling from. Although that sharp tongue seems to be unique to him…" The Volcano Pokemon pondered. Sceptile's Leaf Blades faded away, leaving only the leaves on his forearms as he walked towards me.

"I think you trained him a bit too well." The Forest Pokemon remarked.

"Looks like he deflated your ego." I chuckled.

"I didn't have one in the first place. And you really should teach him respect." Sceptile winced as he put a hand to his lower jaw. "At least we all know who to go to if we want our teeth knocked out…"

"Or if we have sleeping problems. One kick and the problem's solved." Glaecon added.

"Except for the small detail that you wake up the next day with a headache." Quilava pointed out. "Why did you have Sceptile of all Pokemon fight him?"

"There's no better way to get acquainted than through battle." I replied.