Kasek: I have more ideas for this than my original "Clash of Pokémon" fic (which I got stuck on because I couldn't figure out how to make the story go AT ALL), so I'm deleting that and replacing that with this. Sorry for those who thought it had promise :'(

Naruto: Clash of Pokémon (Take 2: AU version)

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor Pokémon

Naruto rolled over in bed when the sun shined in his face. "Grr... I want my sleep..."

A voice called from downstairs. "Naruto! I've got breakfast for you! You need to eat up before heading out on your journey!"

The boy contemplated this. Sleep, or food? His stomach growled, and that was the end of that internal debate. He slipped out of bed, and without even bothering to exchange his pajamas for regular clothes (or to even remove his Growlithe-head sleeping cap) he headed downstairs towards the voice.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he was startled to see not one, but two (well, both) of his parents there. His red-haired mother was just putting his father's breakfast on the table, with a 'Here you go, Minato', and his father was reading a newspaper, his blond hair peaking over the top of it. Said man lowered his newspaper and smiled at his wife, gave a quick 'Thank you, Kushina', and turned to his son. "Yo, Naruto. Ready for your big day?"

Naruto gulped. "You... you actually came..."

Minato scratched the back of his head when Kushina glared at him. "Of course I came! This is a very, very big day in your life! I can't miss out on the day my own son becomes a Pokémon Trainer!"

His son appeared to hold back some remark as he sat down at the table and began eating his breakfast- bacon and eggs. Naruto felt his parents staring at him for a bit, and decided to speak up after his third bite. "Why are you guys staring at me?"

His father chuckled. "Well, this might be the last time we get to see you for a while, so we're memorizing what you're like."

Naruto blushed at the comment. "Er..."

Kushina decided to change the subject. "So, what Pokémon do you think you're going to get?"

Her son grinned at the thought. "They're all good choices, but I think... Charmander! Fire's great, and Charizard looks just plain awesome!"

Minato chuckled again. "So, do you plan on becoming a Pokémon trainer as good as me?"

Naruto nodded fiercely at the suggestion, his grin not fading. "Heck yeah! I'm even gonna surpass you, and become a Pokémon Master!"

His mother sighed. "Your father here is considered one of the top trainers in the world, and even he's not a Pokémon Master. What makes you think you can do it?"

Naruto seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Hmm... because! I have Dad's talent plus your talent combined!"

Kushina smirked at him. "Oh, really? Well, then, Pokémon Master Naruto Namikaze, you'd better hurry and eat your breakfast if you want to make it to Professor Sarutobi's on time."

--

After saying farewell to his parents at the door (he was forced to hug both of them, which he felt really embarrassed about), Naruto practically ran all the way to the laboratory of Professor Sarutobi, who was handing out Pokémon today. He saw Sasuke Uchiha walking out of the building when he got there, and stopped for a moment to talk to him. "Yo! Sasuke! What Pokémon did you get?"

Sasuke smiled. "Ah, Naruto! My family specializes in Fire-types, so I got Charmander."

Naruto's own smile faltered for a moment. "Ch-Charmander, huh? Yeah, his evolved forms are pretty cool. Congrats!"

The Uchiha boy nodded and began walking away. "It was good to see you one last time. Well, see you down the line, Naruto."

The young Namikaze nodded, said goodbye, and walked into the building. He looked around himself- there were three hallways that branched from here. "Hello? Professor Sarutobi?"

A voice called to him, but it wasn't an old man's. "Hey, Naruto! Good to see you."

Naruto turned to the voice, which came from the hallway to his right. He smiled upon seeing his teacher from school, Iruka Umino. The man was in charge of teaching about Pokémon. "Mr. Iruka! What are you doing here?"

Iruka chuckled at him. "I'm here to see off my students who decided they'd rather go train Pokémon than hang around the school any longer. I guess it's only natural you'd go for it."

Naruto scratched the back of his head just like his father did. "Heh, yeah..."

Another voice called out to him. "Boss! You're here!"

He looked down the opposite hallway, and there stood Konohamaru, Professor Sarutobi's grandson. Naruto grinned as the boy walked over to them. "Hey, Konohamaru! Where's the old man?"

"Who's an old man?" This time it really was Professor Sarutobi, who was walking down the hallway that was straight from the door. "Glad to see you're here, Naruto. However, I'm afraid I'll miss having you around. You were an excellent assistant around the lab."

The Namikaze boy's grin turned into a simple smile. "Heh... thanks, Professor. Maybe you can have Konohamaru take my place?"

Sarutobi looked towards his grandson, who had stars in his eyes at the prospect, and stroked his beard. "Well... if I train him a bit first..."

Konohamaru scowled. "What am I, a Pokémon?"

The other three laughed at that, and then Sarutobi turned and walked down the hallway. "Come along, Naruto. Time to choose your Pokémon."

Naruto eagerly followed, and soon they were in a room with a large table in the middle, with three Pokéballs sticking out of it. Naruto noticed as he circled it that they each had one of three symbols: a flame, a water drop, and a leaf. "Hey, hey! There's still a Pokéball for Charmander here! Does that mean that there's one left?" Naruto quickly grabbed the ball and held it high.

Sarutobi sighed. "Sorry, Naruto... I just like having three Pokéballs on that table at all times. Sasuke took Charmander."

Naruto gave his own sigh of disappointment when he opened the ball and nothing came out. He put the ball back in its slot and moved over to the one with a water drop on it. "Well, then... I guess I choose... Squirtle!" He picked up the ball and opened it, but again there was nothing inside.

The Professor forced a smile. "Oh, and... Hinata took Squirtle."

The young Namikaze paled. "Huh?! But... that only leaves... Bulbasaur..."

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong with Bulbasaur, Naruto?"

Naruto gulped. "Well, uh, it's just that... I dunno, Charizard's a dragon, Blastoise has got cannons on its back... and Venusaur is an overgrown lizard with an overgrown flower on its back."

Sarutobi chuckled at the boy's naivety. "Ah, but Grass-types have their uses, you know. Just because they for the most part cannot 'overpower' opponents, does not mean that they do not have their own ways to take out opponents."

The boy sighed before picking up the ball. "Well, if you say so... Bulbasaur, come on out!" he gave the ball a slight toss, and it opened in mid-air, releasing a large amount of red light that collected on the floor and turned into a small reptilian creature with a large flower bulb on its back.

The Professor kneeled next to the creature. "Bulbasaur, this is your new trainer, Naruto Namikaze. Take good care of him, alright?"

Bulbasaur grinned, and Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm the Trainer, shouldn't I be taking care of him?" The Bulbasaur glared at him, and then jumped up on the table and continued doing so. Naruto lowered his head to its level so they were eye to eye. They glared at each other for nearly a minute before Bulbasaur blinked. Naruto grinned and blinked rapidly to get his eyes back in proper form. "Ha! You blinked first!"

The small Pokémon growled, and muttered under its breath. Naruto turned to the others. "Well, I'll be seeing you later!"

After they saw him off, the Professor giving Naruto the necessary gear for a Pokemon Trainer, Naruto eventually found his way to the outskirts of town. He looked back at the town as he stood on the boundary line. "Goodbye, Konoha... hello, world!"

Kasek: I couldn't decide whether to go with an original land or Kanto, but it will be an original land.

Notes:

Sasuke is NOT EMO. Take note of this!!!

Naruto will not be the hopeless trainer you normally see in Pokémon/Naruto fics. He will still be somewhat naive, though.

I'm guessing this is gonna lean towards NaruHina, if you didn't see the summary.

Future chapters ought to be longer!