"Have you found any signs of Cyndaquil yet?" I asked Chikorita.

"Chiko," Chikorita shook his head.

We were still following my newly caught Spinarak to where - hopefully - Cyndaquil and possibly Emily could be.

We continued walking. I took the time to watch the Pokemon egg carefully. It shook a little, but I doubt that it would hatch so soon.

"It can take days for a Pokemon egg to hatch, depending on each type of egg," my grandparents' advice came back to me.

Suddenly, Spinarak stopped. Chikorita looked alert and I could feel myself instinctively tensing up.

A strange cone-like thing was flung at us. Spinarak leaped in front of us and used that unfamiliar attack again.

To my surprise, that cone thing didn't even have a scratch on it. I was even more surprised when it moved - by itself!

Is it a Pokemon? I thought, taking out my Pokedex.

"Ferroseed, the Thorn Seed Pokemon. Ferroseed absorb minerals from rock by penetrating the walls of caves using their spikes."

The Ferroseed didn't look friendly. It launched a fury of spikes at us and I had to quickly hide behind a rock to prevent myself from being hit.

I quickly checked my Pokedex for my Spinarak's moves. "Spinarak knows Pin Missile, Night Slash, String Shot and Poison Sting," my Pokedex said.

So that's the move, I thought. Night Slash. It looks pretty cool.

I cast a quick glimpse at the battle. I quickly called Spinarak back to me and it listened, but it didn't look happy.

"Listen," I told it. "We need a plan to get through Ferroseed's defense. Chikorita, you can back Spinarak up. Spinarak, you have to land powerful and more precise attacks. Other than Poison Sting, your other moves will do good - but not super effective - damage to it."

"Chiko!" Chikorita said.

"Spinarak," Spinarak said, acknowledging my words.

"When you are ready, let's go," I said.

Spinarak leaped onto the rock, ready to battle. "Use String Shot!" I ordered.

Its String Shot had Ferroseed all wrapped up, but the String Shot was broken by Ferroseed's Spikes attack.

That's no good, I thought in frustration.

The Ferroseed used another attack - Rollout. It would be super effective if it hits Spinarak.

"Spinarak, aim and use String Shot at the bottom," I said, remembering how the other Spinarak stopped Phanpy before, when they were taking Cyndaquil.

Ferroseed was stuck, unable to free itself, giving us the chance to do serious damage.

"Spinarak, use Pin Missile!" I called.

The attack hit five whole times, which injured Ferroseed greatly - or at least I hoped.

"Finish it off with Night Slash," I ordered.

The move knocked Ferroseed out. Just as we were about to celebrate, at least nine more Ferroseed jumped out of the bushes.

We were surrounded. Spinarak glared at them with hostility while Chikorita stood in front of the unhatched Pokemon egg protectively.

I put my hand on Salamence's Pokeball, but they looked like they were going to attack if we dared to make a move.

"Looks like we have to fight our way through," I said grimly.

"I can help," Emily's familiar voice said.

I spotted her with a Pokemon that I don't recognise. However, it didn't look like she had found Cyndaquil.

Instinctively, I took out my Pokedex. "Wooper, the Water Fish Pokemon. Though they prefer to live in cold water, these appealing Pokemon forage for food on land..."

"Seriously, there's no time to check your Pokedex!" Emily shouted.

"...They are kept warm by a layer of insulating body fluid," my Pokedex continued.

The Ferroseed sprung at me and my Pokemon. Before they could touch us, Spinarak used its String Shot to get us away.

"That was close," I sighed.

"Wooper, use Yawn!" Emily said.

The Ferroseed stopped. They looked sleepy and fell asleep. I would celebrate, but unfortunately, I fell asleep along with them and my Pokemon.

"That worked really well," Emily commented.

"Wooper!" Wooper cried with a grin.

Phanpy popped out of its Pokeball, still tired but looked curious. "Phan," Phanpy nudged me.

The next thing I knew, I was pelted with small shards of ice.

"Ugh, I'm awake," I shook my head, trying to shake my drowsiness.

"Thanks Phanpy," I said, patting it. "Return - you need your rest."

I also returned everyone else back into their Pokeballs. "I hope there's a Pokemon centre nearby. Phanpy is injured and everyone else is tired or asleep."

"Is Wooper your Pokemon?" I asked Emily.

"No, it's just trying to help me," Emily said. "It was showing me where the Ariados' nest is."

"Okay, let's go and fetch Cyndaquil!" I said, bending down to grab the Pokemon egg container.

It's time to find the answer.