Two For Two
Part 1
Sorry for the long-ass wait. It's been really hot in my hometown and I don't work well in the heat. Also, I've been dog-sitting for two of my aunts.
Summary: Sequel to 'Poker Chips And Scary Woods'. Our favorite trio finally makes it to Stealth City for the tournament. Who is going to be Naruko's partner? Who is going to win it all? And who are Michael and Rose's friends?
Naruto looked out the window from the back of the bus. The landscape was darkened by the night. Naruko and Hinata were asleep with the Hyuga resting her head against Naruto's shoulder. They had been on the road now for two days and the next stop was their destination, Stealth City.
About two hours ago, they had left a truck stop where they stopped so that the passengers of the bus could stretch their legs, get some dinner from the diner, or if they wanted, battle other passengers or truckers. In addition, the driver had to refuel the bus. Since it was night, the trio did not feel like battling at all, so they went to the restaurant part of the stop. The resting period was an hour, so with their dinner taking a good forty-five minutes, they checked the general store next to the diner. After purchasing a few small trinkets, the trio went back to the bus and waited.
It was not long after leaving the stop that the girls fell asleep. Since Naruto was not tired at all, not even a bit, he just sat there, at the window seat, and started out the window. The only two Pokemon out were his Pikachu and Hinata's Riolu. They were curled up on their trainers' laps. However, Han woke up when Naruto let out a deep sigh.
"Hmmm…?" Naruto looked down after feeling a tug on his arm. "Sorry, Han. Did I wake you?"
The electric-type did not answer but just stared at him.
"I'm just thinking if you're wondering what I'm doing still up?" he explained to his Pokemon.
Han tilted his head curiously.
"I guess I'm also a little nervous about the tournament," he leaned his head back. "I wonder if Michael called them ahead, or letting us find his friends on our own."
Indeed, Michael had given them the descriptions of his friends, Jason, Eva, and Lance, who were in Stealth City and their Pokemon. The next morning, Michael and Rose were there at the bus terminal to see them off, along with their classmates. While waiting for their bus to be ready for departure, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba almost got into a three-way headbutting match right there in the waiting area. Of course, Ino and Sakura stopped them to protect Sasuke. After laughing for a bit, Michael gave Naruto a booklet that contained copies of all the pictures taken of his battle against Tsunade.
"Go to sleep," Hinata mumbled after being woken up by Naruto and Han's conversation. "It's eleven at night."
"Sorry," Naruto apologized as he leaned his head back and tried to sleep. 'Boy, I can't wait for tomorrow!'
The Stealth City Officer Jenny led a small group of officers through the forest north of Stealth City. Their only source of light this night was three flashlights and the moon. They were chasing a four-legged dark figure as it ran. The suspect had been causing a few problems at the market district of the city. Moreover, they have escalated in magnitude.
First, it was a few stolen pieces of produce from stands. Then, it was food right out of the hands of the citizens. Now, it was causing property damage, attacks on people, and the problems kept piling up. The worst part of it was that it was leading a group of wild Pokemon in its 'visits' to the city. The mayor of the city had ordered the police to stop it before it could cause trouble for the upcoming annual tag-battle tournament that was coming up.
"Come on, men!" Jenny hollered. "Let's get that Houndour!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" the officers replied as they followed the blue-haired woman.
The cops picked up their pace, as their Pokemon took off after the dark/fire-type. As they were coming to a clearing, the officers spread out, trying to surround it. When they made it to the clearing, they encircled the trouble-making Pokemon.
"Easy there," an officer whispered as they slowly moved closer to the Houndour. "We don't wanna hurt you."
The officers held their hands up to show that they did not mean it any harm. The police Pokemon crept slowly, tightening the circle. The canine felt cornered and let out a blood-churning howl. Suddenly, a horde of wild Pokemon ran out of the woodwork and rushed the cops. While the cops were distracted by the attacking Pokemon, the Houndour used Smog as a smokescreen. When the entire clearing filled up with the poisonous fumes, the dark/fire-type and it's friends ran for it.
It took a few minutes for the air to clear up, but by then, the Pokemon were long gone. Frustrated, Officer Jenny sat on a log, as another officer fed Pecha berries to the poisoned police Pokemon. An officer slowly approached the policewoman.
"Are you alright, Jenny?" the officer asked.
"No, I'm not alright, Shisui!" she snapped.
Officer Shisui Uchiha jumped back a bit at her response. He did not blame her. They have been after the Houndour for the past month, and they are not even close to stopping it. In addition, if these failures continue, Officer Jenny's career could be at stake. Even his.
"Come on, ma'am," the Uchiha offered his hand. "We got tomorrow to try again."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she took his hand and stood up turning to face the other officers. "Alright, men! Let's head back and get some shuteye!"
"So this is Stealth City?" Naruto muttered as he looked out the window as the bus made its way to the bus station in the middle of the city.
It was early morning, and the three young trainers shook off the drowsiness that remained after waking up at five. With the tournament being the next day, Naruto and Naruko were getting giddy in their seats. While they waited for the bus to exit the highway and enter the city, the trio chatted about what Pokemon to use and strategies. When the large vehicle was finally traversing through the streets, the trainers were in awe at the sight of the skyscrapers.
"Uh-huh," Naruko nodded. "At least it isn't as big as Green City."
Right as the clock hit seven, the bus entered the station's 'buses only zone'. When the bus stopped, they grabbed their bags from the overhead luggage compartment and climbed out into the cold morning air. After entering the warm building, they stretched to get blood flowing back to their legs. Off to the side against a wall, Naruto noticed a coffee vending machine.
"You two want some coffee?" Naruto asked pointing at the machine.
The girls nodded, needing something to properly wake them up. With a loud yawn, and Han riding his shoulder, Naruto went to buy some coffee. Right after inserting the coinage for the first cup, Naruko and Hinata, and Duke, joined him in front of the machine. Five minutes later, the trio walked out of the station and headed for the Pokemon Center, which their map indicated was right in front of the stadium where the tournament was going to be held. Naruto unleashed Sahara and Shinobi. Naruko only released Sarina.
"I'm hungry," Naruko muttered when they were a few blocks from their destination.
"Just wait a while more," Hinata said as her Riolu walked beside her. "We're almost there."
Almost immediately, Hinata felt a tug on her pants. Looking down, she saw Duke point at something. Looking up to see what he was pointing at. The Riolu had spotted the red roof of the Pokemon Center. It was only two block away and hidden behind some well-placed trees. After she informed the twins, they threw their now empty cups of coffee in a nearby trashcan and ran.
"Whew! Finally!" Naruto said as they stepped through the sliding glass doors.
"Yeah," Naruko agreed. "Let's get a room before we get breakfast."
Naruto and Hinata nodded. The twins returned their 'flyers' to their Pokeballs and Hinata went to the front counter.
"One room please?" Hinata asked the pink-haired woman at the counter.
"Alright," Nurse Joy replied handing her a key. "Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you and we will," the Hyuga bowed and turned to her friends. "C'mon you two, let's go."
Hinata led them down a hallway until they came to their assigned room. She unlocked the door and strolled in, followed by Naruto, then Naruko. The room had three single beds. They dropped their bags on the beds and went to get some food. In the hallway, they released a few of their Pokemon.
"I'm going to overfill my plate with how hungry I am," Naruko declared as they walked into the Pokemon Center's cafeteria.
"If you get a stomach ache, I'm not helping you," her brother declared with a chuckle.
"I wonder how many other trainers are going to be competing tomorrow." Hinata said as they got in line.
As they waited, Naruko noticed three trainers with their own meals make their way to a table. She did not know why they seemed important to her. It was when she grabbed her tray, that it came to her.
"Yo, Naruto, Hinata," she whispered to her companions.
"What?" Naruto muttered back.
"Don't those three trainers over there fit the descriptions that Michael gave us?" she asked pointing at the three trainers eating.
"Hm," Hinata and Naruto turned to look at them.
Then they saw them. The descriptions matched perfectly as they remembered them.
One boy, Jason, had spiky bright-blue hair and black elastic headband. His eyes were red as blood itself. A set of dog tags and a silver locket hung from his neck. He wore a red vest over a white short-sleeve shirt. A white trainer belt held up loose fitting jeans while blue-and-red sneakers rode his feet and red fingerless gloves covered his hands. They also noticed that he had a spiky ponytail.
The girl, Eva, had long straight blonde hair with large bangs and a black bangle. Her emerald green eyes needed help seeing by a pair of oval glasses. Her outfit was black, including the frame for her glasses. Her butterfly dress was black. Her pantyhose were black. Her choker was black. Her boots were black. The only things that were not black were her trainer belt, which was red, her gloves, they were light gray, the laces on her boots, those were white, and the dog tags.
The other boy, Lance, had white hair under a navy commander's hat. Sea-green eyes focused on the food in front of them. A green short-sleeve shirt with a Pokeball printed on the chest hung loosely under a denim vest. A white trainer belt held up a pair of blue cargo pants. Black and red motocross gloves hugged his hands. All-white sneakers rode his feet and a set of dog tags dangled from his neck.
"I think they are his friends," Naruto muttered. "They match perfectly."
"Alright!" Naruko grinned grabbing a tray and placing a large plate on it. "Let's get our grub and go say hi!"
"What?" Hinata and Naruto stammered grabbing their trays. "…Are you serious?"
"Yep," she nodded, picking her first breakfast item, three crispy blueberry waffles.
"B-b-but… we don't even know them," Hinata muttered, choosing a plain bagel and a packet of cream cheese.
"Yeah! All we've got to go with is Michael's info," Naruto said grabbing two waffles and some jelly. "And it ain't much."
"Stop being a pair of cowards and let's go," Naruko demanded as she continued to move down the line.
Naruto groaned and Hinata got a worried look as they followed the blonde girl.
They have been traveling together for months now and Hinata has barely gotten used to how much her journey companions could eat. So when she saw the twins' trays, she was not surprised by how much food was on them. Thought it seemed like Naruko finally had her brother beat. At the end of the line, she received some stares from her brother, Hinata, and some other trainers getting breakfast.
"What?!" Naruko demanded.
"Nothing," Naruto rolled his eyes with a shrug.
The other trainers looked away, muttering something about Naruko being a weird trainer for getting that much food.
"Let's go!" Naruko turned to the dining area and walked.
Naruto and Hinata looked at each other in confusion before following the blonde girl. The trio made its way through the large room with a nice view of the stadium across the street. Soon, they were standing at the table with the three trainers.
"What do you want?" the red-eyed boy asked upon looking up.
"Do you perhaps know a boy named Michael?" Naruko asked as Gloss jumped her shoulder onto the table.
Naruto and Hinata stood quietly beside her with Han, Kunoichi, Duke, and Floater were near them. Sunset joined her feline teammate on the table.
"Yeah," the white-haired boy replied with a sigh and a nod. "We do."
"So you're Naruto and Naruko Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga?" the green-eyed girl asked, eyeing the Glameow on the table.
"So he called you?" Naruto raised a brow.
"Yeah, Michael called us," the boy in the black headband nodded. "The name's Jason. This is Eva and that's Lance."
"Can we join you?" Naruko's arms were starting to get tired from carrying the weight on her tray.
"Yeah sure," Jason shrugged.
"Thanks," the trio nodded and took the empty chairs.
The twins started eating, shoving the food into their mouths. Hinata took her sweet time with her breakfast. The other trio of older trainers stared with wide eyes and dropped jaws as Naruto and Naruko gobbled their food. After devouring half her bagel, Hinata wiped her mouth and turned to the older trainers.
"So, are you three here for the tag-battle tournament, too?" she asked them.
"Just Lance," Jason replied as he dug into his own food. "How 'bout you three?"
"I'm pairing up with Naruto," Hinata said looking at her boyfriend. "Though Naruko doesn't have a teammate yet."
"I was planning of teaming up with Lance, even though I don't want to compete in the tournament," Eva revealed after emptying her bowl of cereal. "How about Lance pairing up with Naruko for the tournament."
Both said trainers almost choked when they heard that, which caused Lance's hat to fall onto the table. When they finally recovered, the sent glares at Eva before looking at each other. For some reason, Naruko blushed, though nobody noticed it.
"I guess that could work," Naruto muttered after swallowing the last bit of his breakfast.
"Then it's decided," Jason declared with a grin.
"Don't we get a say in this?" Lance whined, putting his hat back on.
"Not really," the blue-haired boy bluntly replied, shaking his head and getting up. "So stop whining." Then he turned to face the young trainers. "Meet us at the training area behind the Pokemon Center after lunch and we can train."
Jason picked up his tray and walked away, with Eva following him.
"Aw man," Lance sighed before getting to his feet. "Sorry for that. Gotta go."
The white-haired boy ran to catch up with his friends.
"That was weird," Naruto commented.
"Uh-huh," Hinata nodded in agreement.
Naruto and Hinata played with their Pokemon while they waited for Naruko to finish her breakfast. After leaving their trays on a conveyor belt-like thing to be transported to the kitchen through a window for washing, they headed for the videophone. The blondes sat in front of a screen while Hinata sat in front of another.
"Hello, mom!" Naruto and Naruko greeted the moment the saw the red-haired woman on the screen.
"Morning, you two," Kushina said with a relieved look. "I see you guys safely made it to Stealth City."
"Yep," Naruto replied. "And tomorrow's the tournament."
"Who're your tagging up with?" his mother asked.
"I'll be teaming up with Hinata," he replied.
"Then who're you going with, Naruko?" she asked her daughter.
"Some trainer we me earlier today," Naruko answered with a light blush that her mother noticed. "He's also here for the tournament."
"He?" Kushina gave her a look.
"Yep, her partner for the competition is a boy," Naruto said it before his sister could. "So, watcha doing now mom?"
"I was getting ready to leave for the lab," Kushina answered with a light yawn.
"Alright," Naruto nodded. "We just wanted to let you know that we made it here safely."
"Okay, bye," the red-haired woman smiled. "Call me again tonight and everyday during the tournament."
"We will, believe it!" he grinned as he and his sister waved. "Bye."
The moment the screen went black, Naruko ran to the videophone with the Pokeball teleporting/switching thingy near the front counter.
"Where're you going?" Naruto hollered when he took notice.
"To get Edilean!" she replied as she continued to run. "I haven't trained with her in almost two weeks!"
Hinata paused from t he conversation with her father, and looked at Naruto. He shrugged in response. Naruto stayed there as he waited for Hinata to be done before doing something.
"Bye, father," Hinata bowed before shutting off the screen.
"Come on," Naruto said getting to his feet. "Let's got find Naruko and look around a bit."
Naruto, Naruko, and Hinata returned to the Pokemon Center after a few hours and a nice lunch. Walking through the sliding doors, they took a hallway that led to the building's 'backyard'.
Naruko had swapped her Venomoth for the Steelix, which was happy to see her. Once the trio had left the building, they decided to check some of the sights. It was not long before Naruko and Hinata were dragging Naruto to shops. Somewhere along the way, the female blonde found a Gyarados jersey and bought it. The shirt was the only thing that was bought. They ate at a soup and sandwich shop.
When they stepped out through a single auto-sliding glass door into a very large yard. There were a lot of battlefields all over of all kinds. There were water fields with floating platforms, grass fields with a fresh cut and a few trees, and dirt fields, both plain and with outcropping boulders. Closer to the building, there were three circular concrete stages for coordinators to train. They found Jason and his friends training at one of the grass fields.
"Sup guys!" Naruto hollered as they neared the battlefield.
"So you guys made it, huh?" Jason said after finally noticing the young trainers.
"What?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You thought we weren't going to come?"
"It was starting to look that way," Eva muttered as she fed the Natu on her shoulder.
"Well, I need to train with and get to know my partner for tomorrow," Naruko stated.
"Well said," Jason nodded. "But first, why don't we introduce our teams to each other."
The trio looked at each other turning back to the other trainers.
"Okay," Naruto replied.
"Alright," the red-eyed boy grinned as he reached for his belt. "I'll start it off.
He threw six Pokeballs into the air and unleashed his current team. The Pokemon stayed close to their trainer. They were a Gardevoir, a Gallade, a Glaceon, a Pichu, a Latias, and a Flareon. The Gardevoir had its arms crossed and not really interested in what was happening around her. The Gallade wore a red scarf and it seemed ready to get into training. The Glaceon and Flareon sported matching black collars and sat patiently as they wait for orders. The Pichu immediately ran up to Jason's shoulder and looked cute with its pink bow. The Latias yawn as it shook off its sleepiness.
"I'm up," Eva said, pulling five Pokeballs from her jacket pocket.
To join her Natu, a Ponyta, a Drapion, a Spiritomb, a Latios, and a Misdreavus. The two ghost-type Pokemon made the twin cringe and jump back. All six of her Pokemon sported black leather chokers with bells and the same facial expression. Uninterested in anything.
"Whatever," Lance sighed snapping four Pokeballs from his belt.
His Lopunny and Mightyena were already on the field practicing, battling against each other. Once the Raichu, Zangoose, Hitmonchan, and Milotic appeared on the field, the battle became an all-out brawl. Lance face-palmed himself and let out a groan. The groan made the brawling Pokemon to stop and look at their trainer.
"Now it's your turn," Jason declared.
With a stern nod, the trio from Konoha Town called out their teams. Naruto's current line-up consisted of Han, Flo, Sahara, Shinobi, Floater, and Mari. Hinata's team was made up of Kunoichi, Duke, Heart, Torpedo, Riku, and Knives. Naruko's slots were filled by Sunset, Gloss, Lady Luna, Lucky, Rixie, and Edilean.
"Not bad," Jason complimented the trainers. "And they all seem to like you. Well, almost. That Chansey doesn't seem too happy to be here."
"Yeah… about that," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Mari has been pretty angry with me since I caught her."
"And that was almost three months ago," Naruko added.
"She didn't want to be caught," Lance said taking off his hat and tossing it onto the bench.
"Not at all," Naruto shook his head.
Kunoichi was in awe as she stared at the Gardevoir before walking over to it.
"Hmmm…" Jason walked up to the Steelix. "You do know that this Steelix is old, right?"
"Huh?" Naruko walked to her Pokemon's side. "What do you mean that Edilean's old?"
"She's a well aged Pokemon," he smiled softly. "I'd say, if you're lucky, that your Steelix might make it another twenty or thirty years before old age gets her. Just don't put her in stressful situations or she might not make it to ten."
"How do you know all this?" Hinata asked.
"I just pay attention," Jason shrugged then took notice of the two psychics. "Looks like your Kirlia and Char are getting along fine."
Everyone else turn to see Kunoichi and Char having a conversation.
"Umm… Can I ask you a question?" Naruko wondered.
"Shoot," Jason replied.
"I noticed that you three, as well as Michael and Rose, wear dog tags," she pointed out. "Why is that?"
"It bonds us as friends," he said holding his pair. "Now let's get to training."
"Yeah!" Naruko and Naruto grinned. "Believe it!"
"Alrighty then," Jason chuckled. "But first, let's properly introduce our Pokemon to each other as well as us."
Four hour later, al thirty-six Pokemon were sprawled out all over the field, tired. During the lengthy training session, a somewhat of a miracle happened. Mari finally started listening to Naruto's commands, properly. Jason even offered to teach their teams some new moves. He even had them practice their tag battle skill. And Naruto and Hinata kept on winning. Naruko and Lance could not synchronize up at all.
"So which team is going to win it all?" Eva asked as they all rested up for the day while watching the setting sun.
"We are!" both team answered with enthusiasm before glaring at each other.
The glaring match between the twins was so intense that electricity was visible, causing Hinata and Lance to jump back.
Jason laughed loudly. "It doesn't matter who wins, because it will definitely very interesting to watch…"
Here it is! The first chapter of this fic. In the next chapter, the tournament begins. Plus Minato has his own competition to worry about. Also, which tag-team do you think is going to win it? The Naruto/Hinata team? The Naruko/Lance team? Maybe some other team? It could even end in a draw. Read to find out.
Please review.
I need those reviews!
Bye.
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