Down The Slope

Chapter 1

Summary: Sequel for 'Reflection'. Naruto and the gang are on their way to Onsen Town, after acquiring four badges, two ribbons, complete teams, and a much-needed break, when several battling Pokemon causes them slide down the slope.

Speech and Thought (from now on) [genderless Pokemon speech will be completely capitalized]

"Human Speech"

:Pokemon Speech:

'Human Thought'

{Pokemon Thought}

Naruto, Naruko, and Hinata groaned and struggled to keep themselves from sweating as they paused from their hike. After a week of fun in Icecap Town, the trio thought that the comfortable air temperature as they descended the Kage Mountains would be a rather nice change. Too bad that the path that they were traversing was a long steep, rocky mountain trail, that one misstep would send them tumbling down the side of the mountain.

Naruto had finally acquired three more badges, bringing his collection to four. Hinata had also gotten a few victories of her own, acquiring two contest ribbons. Naruko was definitely enjoying the journey. Also, all three of them now had full Pokemon teams, though Naruto still had trouble with Cherry. Even some of their Pokemon had also evolved.

Once they had left Shinobi City, they decided to go to Storm City, since it was the closest. It was located in a bay and its beaches were beautiful. It was named by the fact that the place got hit by a barrage of storms every year during the spring and early summer. After getting their sightseeing done and souvenirs purchased, Naruto set off to challenge the gym. The Storm City gym leader turned out to be Professor Sarutobi's son, Asuma Sarutobi. Though he was a monkey Pokemon specialist like the old man, Gym Leader Asuma used flying-types for the gym battle. Asuma's Chatot was easily defeated by Flo's Ice Beam, but the Luvdisc got trumped by Asuma's Pidgeot's Aerial Ace. Naruto's next choice was Han, and after an intense battle, the Pichu won with Thundershock. It was during the battle with Asuma's third and final Pokemon, Staraptor, that Han evolved into Pikachu and won the battle. Naruto didn't even have to use Cherry or Shadow. With that, Naruto earned himself his second badge, the Hurricane Badge.

Oasis Town was their next destination. When they arrived there, they were in time for Hinata's first Pokemon contest. She used Spray for the appeal round and Heart for the battle round. Like the fortuneteller had said, Hinata had trouble in the final battle but still came out victorious. Hinata had won herself her first ribbon. After celebrating her victory and a goodnight's sleep, they set off to find the gym. Once they arrived to it, they found out from the gym leader's assistant and only trainer, a redheaded girl named Karui, that Gym Leader Kurenai Yuhi was on maternity leave after going into labor and birthing a healthy baby boy. That meant that Naruto was out of luck there. Before leaving Oasis Town, the trio discovered that Kurenai's husband was Asuma.

With no battle in Oasis Town, the trio crossed a forest to arrive in Hive City. The gym leader turned out to be none other than Shino's uncle, Gen Aburame. Gym Leader Gen was less creepy and more social than any other member of the Aburame family. Like the rest of his family, Gen trained bug-type Pokemon. His rules and conditions for a gym challenge were different than most gyms. Naruto had to choose two of Gym Leader Gen's five Pokemon to battle for the badge. Naruto chose the man's Ariados and Beedrill. It was somewhat of an easy win, as Naruto went with Han and Cherry. Han managed to knock out Beedrill and badly injure the Ariados with Iron Tail, then got defeated by the spider's Night Shade. Cherry had a hard time, as she was still fighting the affects of the soothe bell, but she used a well-aimed and well-shot Ember to wipe the floor with the Ariados. With that, Naruto earned his third badge, the Swarm Badge.

The long walk through the desert to reach Desert City was not worth it. It took the group two and a half days to arrive at the gate of the city. As soon as they located the gym, they discovered that the gym was closed for repairs. Apparently, Sasuke's group had been there just three days earlier. Sasuke had challenged the gym and won, while completely and utterly wrecking the gym in the process. The gym leader, a boy about the group's age with red hair and creepy eyes, informed that it would take at least two weeks to finish the repairs. So Naruto was out of luck. As the trio was getting ready to depart from Desert City, a sandstorm shrouded the city, making them stay a bit longer. While stranded in the city, they managed restock their supplies. The sandstorm lifted two days later.

It was about three hours after leaving civilization, that they were hit with another sandstorm, but Naruko quickly realized that that one wasn't a natural one but the Pokemon move. Soon they found the Pokemon that caused it. There was a Trapinch, Hippopotas, and Gible fighting over some food. They let them battle amongst themselves for a while longer to catch the ground Pokemon. When the trainers were sure that the wild Pokemon were weak enough, they hurled their Pokeballs. Naruto caught the Trapinch, which turned out to be female and named it Sahara. Naruko caught the Hippopotas, which was male and named it Sherman. Hinata captured the Gible, which was also male and named the little dragon Torpedo. These catches brought their totals up. Naruto had five, Naruko had five as well, and Hinata finally had six to complete her team.

After a week of walking through three forests, across three plains and over two rivers, and spending one night in an isolated Pokemon Center, and countless battles, the trio made it to a border town named Spring City. When Naruto and Naruko didn't know what a border town was, since they weren't paying attention in class that day, Hinata explained. A border town was place on the border between two countries. A long time ago, the region was actually five small nations that came together as one to make the region of Star. A drawn star has five points and each point represents one of the five countries of the union. After a few years, the region got named. Spring City was pretty much the only border town left. Not much was there. The only two things that got their attention was the 'Good Guy' fighting dojo and the contest hall.

They chose to check out the dojo first, since the contest was two days away. The dojo was run by a man named Mighty Guy. It was during Guy's tour of the facility that they made a discovery. Three familiar people trained there. The first one was Hinata's cousin, Neji Hyuga. The other two were a girl in Chinese style clothes and hair buns, named Tenten, and a boy who looked somewhat similar to Mighty Guy wearing green spandex, named Rock Lee. All three of them were also residents of Konoha Town. After a quick chat while having lunch and deciding to take a challenge, Guy explained to them the challenge rules. All battles are one-on-one. Victory over a dojo student was rewarded with an advanced item, such as Full Restores and stat enhancing mineral (Protein, Carbos, Zinc, Iron, and Calcium). Victory over a dojo assistant (Neji, Lee, Tenten) was rewarded with hold items or evolutionary items. Victory over the dojo master, Mighty Guy, was rewarded with a random fighting-type Pokemon and three TMs. Naruto, Naruko and Hinata huddled to decide. In the end, Naruto went straight for Guy, Naruko went for a marathon of battles, and Hinata just challenged her cousin.

Naruto had a hard time, but eventually defeated Mighty Guy. His reward was the Pokemon, Croagunk, which completed his team and named it Reaper, and three TMs of his choosing (Brick Break, Psychic, Aerial Ace). In one of her battles, Naruko's Magikarp, Serpent, evolved into Gyarados. Naruko won all her battles and ended up collecting a good amount of winnings. Hinata lost badly against Neji. Duke, her Riolu, was no match against Neji's Lucario, Kaiten. The twins comforted the Hyuga girl before she had a chance to cry. When Neji asked her why her Riolu was still weak, she told him that she was going for contest ribbons, not gym badges. With that, the trio left the dojo for the Pokemon Center so Hinata could get Duke ready for the contest.

When the contest came around, Hinata used Duke for the appeal round. While waiting for the results, Neji met her in the hall's lounge and gave her a few words for encouragement. She made it to the battle round and saw Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Guy sitting with Naruto and Naruko, cheering her on. She decided it was time. Knives the shiny Registeel made its debut and won the ribbon for its master, Hinata. After the contest, many trainers and coordinators wanted to trade to get their hands on her Registeel. She refused every single one of them. The next day, they said their goodbyes as Naruto got the location for the nearest gym.

It was during their hike through the semi-frozen landscape to reach Icecap Town, for Naruto's next gym battle, that Naruko caught her sixth Pokemon to complete her team. Pokemon number six was a female Absol she named Rixie. Naruto thought about taking Shadow to the Icy Rock to evolve him to a Glaceon, but decided against it since he really wanted an Umbreon. During his battle with the gym leader, Zabuza Momochi, that his Trapinch evolved into Vibrava before submitting to an Ice Beam from Zabuza's Glalie. It was thanks to Cherry and Reaper that Naruto earned his fourth gym badge, the Mist Badge. Naruko suggested that they stay there for a week to rest from all that walking.

Now they headed for Onsen Town, a small remote resort town with lots of natural hot springs, hence the name. Tourists travel from all over just to refresh themselves in the warm waters and mud baths. Though Naruko and Hinata were interested in relaxing there, Naruto wasn't. His only interest was in the Onsen Town Gym.

'After this, we'll head to Green City,' Naruto decided mentally as they started hiking again. 'The Forest of Death is near there. If the rumors are true, it's a great place to train—plenty of grass, bug, dark, and ghost-types there. If Shadow isn't evolved into Umbreon by the time we arrive there, then I might as well evolve him into Leafeon and rename him to something plant related like—'

A crashing sound stopped them from their hike. Up above the narrow mountain trail there was ledge where a wild, fully-evolve Metagross was tussling with several rock-type Gravelers and fighting-type Machokes. The massive psychic/steel-type swiped away the offending Pokemon as they lunged themselves at it. One of the swiped Gravelers rolled down the slope… and straight for the twins and the Hyuga girl, while Naruto and Hinata were using their Pokedexes.

With a yelp, they scrambled to the side to avoid being crushed. But before they knew what happened, the path started to crumble and the ground under their feet gave in. Screaming, they slipped down the slope heading for a flat boulder sticking out of the side of the mountain. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw the tired Metagross finally get grabbed and hurled over the edge. In a last ditch effort of consciousness, she pulled out a Pokeball from her backpack and threw it at the Metagross. The ball landed and rolled down behind them. Hinata never saw whether the catch was a success or a failure. Then there was a large boulder—

Something was wrong. Cherry and Sunset sensed this instantly when they escaped the confines of their Pokeballs and found themselves on the side of a mountain than on the hiking trail. And then, as they struggled to keep their footing, they spotted their blond-haired trainers and the Hyuga girl crumpled on the large boulder.

:…Whisker Face?:

:Mistress Naruko?:

When the pair of Vulpix didn't get a response from the humans, they carefully crept closer to them. All three humans lay still with their eyes closed as if asleep. The boy was in an awkward position on the ground, his bare skin was scraped up and there was blood on his face. Naruko and Hinata's injuries were nothing compared with the boy's. They only got a few cuts and bruises. Naruko also seemed to have a swollen ankle. Hinata had a swollen wrist, luckily it wasn't her throwing arm. It seemed that Naruto had protected the girls from the full force of the impact. Cherry and Sunset cringed at the metallic odor of blood and pawed their trainers on their shoulders to shake them.

:Hey! Whisker Face! Get up!: Cherry barked. :This isn't the place for you to be taking a nap!:

:Please wake up Mistress Naruko!: Sunset whimpered. :You're in danger here:

The young Pokemon trainers didn't wake up.

:What the hell is going on?:

:What he said.:

:Where are we?:

Cherry and Sunset looked a few feet up the slope to find that Han, Gloss and Duke had escaped their Pokeballs as well. The Riolu looked around frantically in confusion as he saw the trail of supplies from three exploded backpacks. The electric mouse and the normal cat spotted Cherry and Sunset crouched by the fallen trainers. Han glared and sparks danced around his face. Duke and Gloss started picking up the scattered items as they went down the trail to the downed trainers.

:What did you do?!: Han squeaked furiously.

:I didn't do anything!: Cherry growled. :We found them like this.:

:I don't believe you!: Han shot back. :It's always your fault!:

:No its not!: Cherry hissed.

:Why are you two fighting this time?: a new voice whimpered. :What's going on?:

Shadow the Eevee was loose now and taking in the scene with a confused expression on his face.

:Cherry hurt Haruto again,: Han said.

:No I didn't!: Cherry growled. :I didn't do…:

:WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP!: Sunset barked. :Han! My sister is telling the truth! We did find them like this already!:

:Naruto?: Shadow squeaked. He spied his trainer close to the edge of the large rock they were on. :Naruto!: The Eevee panicked and ran toward the human boy. The loose ground near the rock gave way under his little paws and he slipped even more down the mountainside. :Aah! Someone! Help me!:

Two other Pokeballs had come loose from the trainers' belts and wobbled to open up. Reaper the Croagunk and Heart the Buneary appeared and raced down the unstable slope to save the falling Eevee. Once they managed to successfully rescue Shadow, Reaper placed the two smaller Pokemon on his back, dug his feet into the ground and slowed down the sliding until stopping, before climbing back to the large boulder.

:Awesome save, Reaper!: Han cheered, pumping his tiny fists into the air.

:No problem,: the Croagunk grinned as he climbed up on the boulder and placed Heart and Shadow down.

:Thanks for the save you two,: Shadow said.

:Anytime buddy,: Reaper nodded.

:It's always good to help a comrade in need,: Heart smiled.

:So, Naruto, do you have any snacks for me?: the poisonous fighting frog asked. When they finally turned around and saw the three trainers lying there, they froze. :Er… Naruto?:

:Naruto…: Shadow pawed the boy's injured arm, while Heart went to try and wake up Hinata.

:What happened?: Reaper puffed out his cheeks with a croak.

:We don't know,: Han answered.

:They're really hurt badly,: Reaper murmured as he probed a tear on Naruto's orange vest.

All the commotion caused all of the small Pokemon to come out. Flo and Sahara stayed in their Pokeballs. Sherman and Rixie came out while Lady Luna and Serpent stayed confined. The Hippopotas landed on the boulder and the Absol buried her claws into the gravel to keep herself from sliding. Spray the Piplup, Kunoichi the Ralts and Torpedo the Gible also made an appearance and Knives stayed inside. After witnessing the scene in front of them, they started demanding an explanation. It took only a few minutes for Sunset to explained what happened.

:What do we do now?: Kunoichi wondered as she used her psychic powers to her best knowledge to try and heal Hinata.

:They're too big and heavy for any of us to move them back up to the trail,: Han muttered as he ran his tiny paw through the boy's blond hair.

:Can't Luna or Serpent do it?: Sherman asked hopefully.

:No! They're too heavy! Their weight could bury us in a landslide or cause this boulder to break off and send us deeper down the mountainside,: Cherry snorted.

:The only thing we can do is move them away from the boulder's edge,: Sunset said calmly.

It took the Pokemon a few minutes to sit the humans against the gravel while Duke and Gloss collected the items and used scent to place them with the rightful owner. When it was done, Reaper and Spray tried fixing the Uzumakis' backpacks and Hinata's messenger bag.

:We should wait for them to wake up,: Han decided. :When they wake up, we could help them find a Pokemon Center so they can be healed.:

Cherry frowned and stared down at the humans. They were so still and pale and quiet that it didn't seem at all natural. Her trainer was always so noisy and energetic…

:Do you really think that they'll just wake up on their own?: the Vulpix scoffed. :I say we go and find another human to help them out of here.:

:And abandon our trainers to whatever wild Pokemon that are around?: Han squeaked angrily. :No! We wait here and protect them until they wake up!:

:I'm not leaving Naruto!: Shadow declared.

:I'm not abandoning Naruko!: Gloss hissed.

:I'm staying with Hinata!: Heart said proudly.

:Leaving may not be such a brilliant idea,: Reaper said uneasily. :We could get lost! Besides, it's getting dark.:

:You guys are a bunch of cowards!: Cherry sneered. :You can't do anything for you selves now that you're tamed!: She turned away from them and started picking her way up to the trail. :I'll see you babies later when I find a human!:

The fox hesitated when she reached the flat and stable ground of the trail. She wasn't sure which way they three trainers had been heading, but there was sure to be humans in either direction. Marked trails and paths always indicated humans.

:Damn it!: Sunset barked. :Torpedo! Rixie! Follow her and keep her out of trouble!:

:Roger!: the Gible and Absol said in unison before heading for the trail.

:Alright,: Cherry said to herself as she ran down the trail at full speed. She used her nose to try and pick up the scent of humans. :Now to find a human…:

Minato Namikaze looked out over the mountains as the sun set behind him. He loved the Kage Mountains. He had grown up in Onsen Town, raised by his uncle, and knew the cliffs and ravines around the resort town. There were a lot spots on the mountains that were so isolated that no one ever knew about them. Minato had found a few such places, and was currently heading for one of them to camp out for a while.

Being the League Champion of the Star Region was not how he had imagined it would be. There was the respect and the recognition. And mostly, there was the knowledge that he was one of the most strongest Pokemon trainers in the world. But there were also so many obligations and requirements that went with the title. It was mandatory for him to participate in certain league tournaments and other official events. As one of the best trainers, he was also counted on to help the police with cases when the criminal organization, Team Sound, and Pokemon were involved.

Then there were the fans. In Star and out of Star. People from around the world looked up to him. When some fans recognize him, he couldn't just ignore them. He had to be polite and indulge them a little. Requests for autographs and pictures were the most common things when recognized. There were also the occasional punk trainers that thought they were better than him, even though they hadn't acquired the eight league badges.

Children that aspired to be trainers were definitely the best fans. It made it seem that being champion was worth it. The worst fans were the women. They all wanted to be his wife and bear his children. Every one he had met had that hint of lust in their eyes. The female fans were the bad side of being the champion.

…He needed get away from them, badly…

Minato never imagine that he would attract so many female upon earning his title. When he had first started as a trainer, he had been so young that girls didn't have a place in his mind. Even grown up, he hadn't thought about the consequences of achieving his dream. The only thing that was on his mind was Pokemon and how to get better.

'Maybe that was my mistake,' he brooded as the sinking sun created an illusion that the mountains were engulfed in flames. 'I only focused on what I wanted in the future, not what the future would be like. I never paid enough attention to what was happening around me. If only I had… If only she…'

A light static shock jolted him from his thoughts and he blinked, finding Akiko sitting on the ground in front of him.

"Sorry," he sighed. "Did I look too gloomy?"

The Raichu climbed onto his lap.

"Alright!" he chuckled and patted Akiko's head. "No more brooding on what a big idiot I am."

A metallic chiming sound caught his ears as he eased the Raichu onto his shoulder. At first, he thought it was a Chingling or a Chimecho, but those two Pokemon don't live at this altitude. Secondly, it sounded more like a bell as he listened. Minato looked around the mild brush that grew at that height for the source of the sound. But it found him.

The bushes rustled and a Vulpix jumped out into the open. Minato frowned at the little fox Pokemon as he pulled out his old and battered Pokedex. Then two more Pokemon, an Absol and a Gible, appeared.

The three Pokemon flinched at the sight of him and stared up at his face as if transfixed. They were panting heavily like they were running for a while. He got urged to capture them but then he heard the bell jingle again.

'A Soothe Bell, Blackglasses and a Soft Sand,' he noted. 'They already belong to someone. Damn!'

"Hello there," he greeted in a friendly and non-threatening tone so not to scare them off. "Are you guys lost?"

The three broke from their trance and yapped at him. Akiko jumped down from his shoulder and slowly approached the strange Pokemon. His Raichu engaged them in a conversation that only the four of them could understand while Minato watched patiently.

When the discussion ended, Akiko beckoned to him while the Vulpix and the Absol paced anxiously.

"So, we're going on a field trip, huh?" Minato asked. "It's late. Can't we do this in the morning?"

The Vulpix spat a small burst of embers at him. Minato yelped in an undignified manner and stumbled out of the way. Akiko disciplined the fire fox by sweeping it's feet with her tail. She gave the other two Pokemon Thunder warning shots when they tried to rescue the Vulpix.

"Okay, okay," Minato sighted. "We'll go now."

At his signal, Akiko released the Vulpix. The three Pokemon gave them both an ugly look before heading back the way they had come, periodically pausing to check that they were still following. Akiko seemed rather disgruntled by the audacity of the Pokemon, but Minato was more intrigued with why the Pokemon wanted to be followed.

'Camping can wait. This might be more important…'

Kushina sat on the bench of her back porch, staring over Lake End as the sun began to set behind the trees. Her Vaporeon dozed by her feet and her Kabutops crouched watchfully while the rest of her Pokemon lurked under the calm waters of the lake.

She missed her kids. For eleven years, her entire world revolved around them. When her mind wondered onto the past, she would distract herself by looking after Naruko and Naruto. But with her son and daughter away, there was escape from the shadows of her past. And her mistakes.

She could deal with the small mistakes. The big ones… those she ran away from like the devil was after her. Everybody always thought she was brave, but her boldness and impulsiveness was just a façade to hide her past and not have time to think—time to be afraid.

'I'm a coward,' she thought bitterly. 'I run away to escape. But I trap myself even more. My life is a mess.'

On the outside, she was fine. She had two loving children and a nice house in a nice town. But aside from Naruto, Naruko and her loyal Pokemon, she was alone.

She missed her family and her home region. She missed all the people she befriended on her journey as a trainer. She missed him.

But she couldn't go back there. Surely, they would all resent her for leaving them, for all the things that she had kept from them. Maybe they would even hate her. He would.

Kushina couldn't bear that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, hoping that the breeze would carry her words to the people that needed to hear them.

Then a chill went up her spine… as if it was a sign that something bad had happened to her babies.

'Please be okay my darlings…'

Shadow stared at the white full moon and shivered. Naruto, Naruko and Hinata were getting cold and Naruto was starting to breath funny.

:Why can't I evolve?: the Eevee wondered. :Han and Sahara evolved just fine. I should be able to evolve the same way. So why haven't I?:

:Naruto doesn't seem to mind that you haven't evolved yet,: Sunset said as she sat next to Shadow. :So yeah, Han evolved into a Pikachu and Sahara into a Vibrava. My teammate, Serpent, evolved into a Gyarados. One day, everybody will see how great the Uzumaki twins and Hinata Hyuga were. Ain't that right, Duke?:

:Heck yeah!: the Riolu replied, seeing the poor repairs to the bags.

:But will I still be with Naruto?: Shadow worried. :If I don't evolve soon, he might get fed up with me and send me away. He might replace me with a better Pokemon.:

:Doubt it,: Sunset muttered. :Even if you don't evolve, Naruto will still train you to be as strong as you can be. Mistress Naruko and Hinata are also doing it. So don't worry about it.:

:Okay,: Shadow nodded, ending the conversation.

A cold wind moaned through the peaks and Shadow snuggled closer to Naruto, as did the rest of the Pokemon with their trainers. His trainer always tried to do some night training in hopes that the Eevee would evolve. But Shadow hated the dark. As did the twins.

A creepy laugh drifted through the air.

:What was that?: Duke muttered.

:Probably just the wind,: Cherry whispered back.

The laugh grew louder and closer. :I'm not the wind.:

:Who's there?: Spray demanded.

A Gengar materialized in the air above them. :We are!:

:We?: Shadow whimpered.

:I got a bad feeling about this,: Kunoichi whispered to Heart.

:Yes!: the Gengar cackled wildly. :We!:

And then a Haunter, a pair of Gastlys, a pair of Shuppets, and a trio of Duskulls appeared out of thin air around the floating Gengar as Sherman buried himself completely under the loose gravel.

:Knew it,: Kunoichi whispered again. :Damn.:

:What do you want?: Reaper asked warily, his body shaking with anticipation for battle.

:We want to eat the humans' dreams!: the Gengar laughed maniacally. :Move aside and we might leave you alone.:

:But they're hurt,: Heart huffed angrily. :You can't eat their dreams!:

:You could kill them!: Duke growled

:We don't care!: the Haunter sneered. :We're hungry!:

The Haunter vanished then reappeared in front of them, disembodied hands spread wide. A cold sensation washed over Shadow, Heart and Gloss, but the rest of the Pokemon, except Sherman, were sent flying a few feet away and down the mountainside. All the other ghosts swooped in, aiming for the helpless humans.

:GO AWAY!: Shadow squeaked as he and the other normals tried to cover their trainers' bodies with their smaller ones. :Leave them alone!:

:Ugh! Normal-types are so annoying!: one of the Shuppets whined.

:I'll take care of them!: a Gastly said and extended it tongue to Lick Shadow.

Shadow shivered at the disgusting contact and charged in for a Tackle and hit… nothing.

:Moron!: the Gengar cursed and smacked the Gastly. :Ghost attacks can't touch normal-types! That's why they weren't affected when Haunter used Astonish on them. Use Curse—:

Reaper appeared out of the darkness and slammed into the Gengar. :Take that!: the Croagunk cried and lunged himself at the startled Duskulls in pursuit. :Come back here you white-faced sissies!:

Kunoichi teleported in front of them and used her Shadow Ball on two of them. Reaper knocked out the third one.

:Ow!: the Gengar grunted. :I hate Faint Attacks! Gastlys, Lick that frog!:

The two shadowy balls of gas moved to attack Reaper from behind as he focused on helping Gloss handle the Shuppets, but were interrupted by a combined burst of fire, water and electricity, knocking them out.

:Not so fast!: Han squeaked angrily, as the rest of the Pokemon were making it back onto the rock. :You didn't forget about us?:

:Argh! You're annoying!: the Gengar sneered and hurled an orb of misty light at the Pikachu. :Eat this!:

At first, Han just sat there after being hit with the attack. Then the Pikachu started to stumble and grope around. It was as if his body refused to listen to him, or that he was starting to hallucinate.

:Oh no!: Shadow trembled. :That was Confuse Ray!:

:Ugh!:

:Aah!:

Shadow flinched at the Croagunk and Ralts' cries and turned to find the fighting toad and the green-haired psychic trembling in paralysis. Reaper and Kunoichi had battered the two Shuppets into submission, but the Gastlys and Duskulls returned. The Gastlys had gotten a good Lick on both of them, and now they couldn't move.

Heart was helping Sunset with guided the Pokemon back onto the boulder. The ghost didn't seem to notice them. But where was Gloss and Sherman.

:Hmph!: the Gengar chuckled. :Now that those three annoyances are taken care of… lets eat!:

The Gengar, the Haunter, the two Gastly, and the three Duskulls crowded around the fallen trainers, brushing Shadow aside with their cold presence. As they started drawing hazy streams of energy from the humans, Sherman popped his head out of the ground and grabbed one of the Duskulls with his mouth and dragged it underground. Gloss swiped away the other two Duskulls and a Gastly with a powerful Shadow Claw, to which they finally submitted. Then she got put to sleep by the Haunter's Hypnosis. The trainers' breathing was starting to get worse and they started to moan and cry.

:Stop it!: Shadow cried and threw himself between the ghosts and the trainers. :You're killing them!:

:We don't care, you furball!: the Haunter snarled.

:Move or the Gastly will Curse you!: the Gengar threatened.

Shadow trembled in fear. Han was confused. Reaper and Kunoichi were still frozen with paralysis. Gloss was asleep. Sherman was dealing with a Duskull underground. And Heart was helping the rest of the Pokemon back up the slope. Plus Cherry, Rixie and Torpedo weren't back yet from finding help.

:No!: Shadow gulped. :I… I'm not moving. I won't let you hurt them!:

The Eevee started to glow, giving the ghosts pause. Then the little Pokemon's silhouette began to grow and change. When the aura of blinding light disappeared, a very different Pokemon crouched there. It was sleek and black. Yellow rings decorated its shoulders, hips, forehead, tail, and ears, which glowed faintly in the moonlight. Its eyes were red and glaring. Shadow had evolved into Umbreon.

:I won't let you hurt Naruto or the girls!:

Whew! Chapter 1 of 'Down The Slope' is done. It took me a while with all my other fics that I'm writing at the same time as this. And my sleep schedule is all messed now. Oh well, can't complain I guess. I enjoy writing these fics and reading everybody else's.

You know what to do know.

Please leave your review and I'll Chapter 2 up as soon as it's finished.