"Where did that damn demon brat go?!"

Naruto held a hand over his mouth, trying to calm his shaky breaths. He had just ran the entire length of Littleroot Town, and while it is one of the smaller towns in Hoenn, it's still a lot.

A couple of civilians circled the area. Naruto would've sighed a breath of relief if he wasn't afraid to be heard. None of them were advanced smellers, so it's almost guaranteed that he'd go undetected. After ten minutes of searching, the blonde watched as the civilians finally dispersed.

The child collapsed on the grass then and there, panting. That was a close one. The civilians were getting real persistent this time. He may have stamina, and he may enjoy the attention he receives during the chase, but when the civvies actually catch up to him…

Naruto stared at the sky. It was a nice day out. There was even a gentle breeze. The boy lolled his head to the side, following the direction of the wind pattern. If only he could stay here forever…

Then his eyes caught the sign. Route 101.

Naruto jumped. In his surprise, a burst of electricity dispelled from his cheeks, causing him to wince in pain. At the back of his mind Naruto noted that he's getting better at not falling unconscious from his own electric blasts. Still, that was not the important issue. The important issue was that he's on Route 101.

Where the Tall Grass is.

Where it's legal and common to enter into blood-spilling battles.

While Naruto is by no means a coward, he avoided the Tall Grass at all cost. People do not like him. So if there's a concentrated area of fighters, and if you combine it with the previous fact, certainly no one can blame him for scrambling away while flailing his arms.

Mid-run, however, a cry pierced through the air.

"H-HELP!"

Naruto gulped, stopping his running. A cry for help, that's never a good thing. Still, this is the Tall Grass, so it could be extremely dangerous-

Aww, to heck with it.

"I'll save you!" exclaimed Naruto, bursting into the scene. The boy doused himself in electricity, ignoring the painful recoil from the action, then tackled the pokemon who was doing the chasing.

"You..!" It was a Zigzagoon Gijinka. He growled at Naruto, barring his teeth.

Naruto shivered a bit, his attack going down, before shaking his head. "Don't chase people! It's not fun!" His cheeks flared with electricity, dousing his body again, before slamming once more into the Zigzagoon.

Naruto stumbled back, his body stinging from shocking himself. The Zigzagoon took that opportunity to tackle the boy down. Naruto gritted his teeth, latching a hand onto the Zigzagoon's arm. With a rough yank, he pulled the male down with him.

"Take this!" Naruto cried. His cheeks let out a burst of electricity. With his body engulfed with electrical power, he slammed his elbow into the Zigzagoon's back. Finally, the Gijinka went unconscious.

"Whew… You saved me. Thanks a lot!"

Naruto twitched, residue electricity still shocking him. Still, through the pain, he grinned and turned around. "No problem! I was just in the area, and uh…" he faltered. "Aren't you..?"

The Mudkip Gijinka grinned at the blonde. "Professor Birch? That's me!"

Naruto never really interacted with the man. Birch is the region's professor, why would Naruto get a chance to interact with him? He's too much of an important figure. Both of them living in Littleroot does nothing to change that fact.

"Nice to meet you!" Naruto stood up straight, placing the grin back to his face. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto waited for the inevitable look of disgust. The one that was always accompanied with his name in Littleroot, where people simply do not like him for whatever reason.

Instead, to the blonde's surprise, Birch simply looked speculative. "Nice to meet you too! Actually, this is not the place to chat. Come, Naruto. Let's go to my lab."

Naruto stared at him. "Huh?" Yet Birch had already started walking, gesturing for Naruto to follow. Naruto quickened his pace to match his. "You want me in your lab?"

"Well, you've been injured from the fight." Birch shrugged. "The least I could do is treat you."

"You're… Going to heal me..?" Naruto visibly brightened. "R-Really?!"

"Haha, of course kid! Anyone can pop by my lab for a heal. There aren't any Pokemon Centers in town, so my place is always open." He gave Naruto a curious look. "Where do you usually go to heal?"

"Oh! Uh…" Naruto ruffled his hair a bit. "Whenever the Old Man visits, he tends to patch me up."

"The Old Man…" echoed Birch, "Do you mean Professor Sarutobi? He only visits twice a year. What do you do during the rest?"

The blond eagerly nodded. "Yes, that old man! Well, otherwise, I just rest for a couple hours. Sometimes I eat berries to speed it up if I find any!"

"That's... " Birch trailed off. "...Different. Hey look over there, that's my lab!"

It's true, up ahead at the end of the street was the Birch Laboratory. Naruto dashed ahead, giving the lab some sort of awed look.

"I've always passed through here, but I never actually went inside!" The blond bobbed his head. "Is it really as messy as they say it is?!"

Birch appeared to be pouting, turning the doorknob open. "Hey, I've just never got the opportunity to clean!" he insisted.

The sound of laughter was heard from inside the lab. "Because you're too busy doing fieldwork, right?"

"Oh, May, you're here!" Birch ushered Naruto inside. The boy gaped at his surroundings. The place had technology strewn everywhere, boxes filling in whatever empty space it can find. It's a wonder how anyone can find anything in here.

"Welcome back, dad!" The Torchic Gijinka, May, waved to her father, before looking at Naruto. "What is he doing here?" Her voice was light. While thankfully not filled with distaste or hatred, it had undertones of curiosity and confusion. Naruto can deal with that.

"He's here to use the healing machine. He saved my life, you know. Treat him well." With a grin, Birch ruffled Naruto's hair. Unfortunately, with all the electricity running through the boy, Birch's entire arm became paralyzed. "...Note to self, never do that again. I'm going to fetch a Paralyze Heal for myself. May, why don't you show him the Healing Machine?"

"Sure thing!" chirped May, "Follow me."

Naruto nodded, matching May's pace. "So Professor Birch's your dad?"

"Yep," said May, popping the 'p'. "Oh, and let me guess. You saved his life by beating up a Poochyena?"

"Zigzagoon, actually."

May sighed. She cupped her hands to her mouth and began to yell in the direction of where Birch disappeared to. "Dad! How many times have I told you to not bother the Tall Grassers?!"

"It's for fieldwork!" came the protesting voice.

The girl rolled her eyes, before stopping in front of some sort of glass chamber.

Naruto's mouth went into an 'o' shape. "Is this the machine?"

"It is. I just need to input some data, you enter the glass chamber, I press a button, then do do do do do~ you're healed." On the glass chamber was some sort of panel. May began to press a bunch of buttons, before turning towards Naruto. "So what Pokemon are you? You're obviously an electric type, but I don't think I see your species very often…"

"Oh, I'm a Pichu!" Naruto openly grinned at her. "The Old Man says that's why my electricity keeps going haywire. It's supposed to stop hurting once I evolve, though!"

May hummed thoughtfully, but before she could reply Birch entered the room.

"Actually, Naruto, I wanted to speak to you about that." The Professor was spraying the remains of his Paralyze Heal on his arm.

"Speak about what?" asked Naruto, eyes wide.

"Nope!" cut in May. She opened the glass door and shoved Naruto inside. "Heal first, discussion later. Be sensible, dad."

As May shut the glass door, Birch huffed. "I am sensible."

His daughter ignored him as she pressed a couple of buttons. The inside of the chamber glowed, and a cheerful tune was heard. A couple of seconds later, the glow faded away and the door opened. "All done!"

Naruto blinked, looking dumbfounded. "That's it?"

"Yup. Step out of there. Are you feeling better?" asked May.

The blond followed her instructions, stepping out of the Healing Machine. He blinked, rolled his shoulders, then flexed his arms. He stared in wonder at the appendage. "I… I feel great!"

Birch smiled. "Good. Now, what I wanted to talk to you about… First off, thanks for the help with that Zigzagoon. Tall Grassers are dangerous!"

"No problem!" chimed Naruto sheepishly, ruffling the back of his head.

May scoffed. "Dad, you're the region's professor, you could've totally handled it."

Birch ignored her, stroking his chin. "But about your battle with him… What move were you using? The one where you covered yourself in electricity then tackled your opponent?"

Naruto beamed at him. "That was Thundershock!"

"Naruto… Thundershock doesn't cover your entire body," said Birch.

"Of course it does! I just let all that electricity cover my body then use tackle! Pretty cool, huh?"

May tilted her head to the side. "But… Pichus can't learn tackle..?"

Naruto blinked. "They can't? But I feel more powerful when I use tackle, so it's not a normal human tackle…"

"Yeah, that's because it's Volt Tackle, the signature move of the Raichu evolutionary line," explained Birch. "Under special circumstances it's given at birth, if not you can never learn it, making it very rare."

"Woah, I can use a rare move?!" exclaimed Naruto, bubbling in excitement, "That's awesome!" His excitement caused his cheeks to flare with lightning. Professor Birch sidestepped to the right in order to dodge a stray flicker, which instead hit a wall.

"Calm down," cut in Birch with a laugh, "It's great to be excited, but remember that I'm a water type and electricity hurts." He winced at the thought, before straightening himself up. "Still, there's something you should be concerned about. While Volt Tackle is extremely strong, it gives off recoil damage. Didn't it hurt using Volt Tackle on the Zigzagoon?"

Naruto blinked. "Well, yes, but doesn't using electricity normally hurt?"

"I mean, hurt more than usual." Professor Birch placed the Paralyze Heal on a table next to him. "Using your electricity hurts as a Pichu, but when you evolve as a Pikachu it shouldn't be a problem. Volt Tackle is different. Since you're shocking yourself with electricity, it's extremely powerful, but even as a Raichu it would still hurt. It's probably in your best interests to master another electric move alongside it. What else do you know?"

"Well…" Naruto crossed his arms. "The Old Man said that all Pichus are born knowing Thundershock and Charm…"

"Ooh!" May raised her hand. "How about we have a little pokemon battle?"

"Huh?"

"To get you to stop relying on Volt Tackle. Let's have a battle, but you're restricted to only Thundershock and Charm!" She clapped her hands. "It'll be fun!"

Naruto shrugged. May is a Torchic Gijinka, so there shouldn't be any type disadvantages. The level gap, he's unsure, but since she's just in the first stage it shouldn't be that big of a deal. "Sure, why not!"

The two settled into battle positions, while Birch looked worried for his lab. Finally, after eyeing each other for a while, May dashed forward.

Her right hand glowed as she swiped in front of her for a Scratch. Naruto staggered to the right to dodge it. His cheeks began to generate electricity.

"Thundershock!" he called out as the electricity whirled. However, the electricity expanded too much. Just before it circled his entire body, May cut in.

"Oh no you don't!" she warned. She opened her mouth and shot out some round balls of fire at Naruto's face. Naruto fell back, clutching his face. "No Volt Tackle! You use less energy for Thundershock!"

"Ow!" whined Naruto. He rubbed his slightly singed cheeks. "Fine! Thundershock!" The electric pouches in his cheek beamed with light. Still, just like last time, it began to surround his body.

May scowled, shooting another round of Ember at Naruto's stomach. Naruto fell back, clutching the wounded area. "You still use too much energy!" she scolded, "Thundershock is supposed to be easier!"

"But… But…" Then Naruto stared at her, eyes wide, showing off his baby blues. His face was scrunched up into an adorable pout, whisker marks on each cheek adding to his cuteness. "It's really hard..!"

May's scowl disappeared, and her movements began to falter. "Oh… Uh… Well…"

Then Naruto's adorable face turned sinister as he gave her a normal human tackle to the ground. "Ha! So Charm works just fine!" He rubbed his hands together. "Now c'mon! Thundershock!"

His cheeks flared with electricity once more. It flickered for a moment, and May patiently waited for it to strike her. Unfortunately, the electricity simply engulfed his fist, and the girl sighed. She used Ember on Naruto to make him get off.

"Still not it!" she complained, "Are you even a Pichu?!"

"I am!" yelled Naruto, twitching his ears as if to accent that fact. "And stop using Ember on my face, that hurts! How would you like it?!"

And with that statement, Naruto imitated May's movements for using ember and mocked-blew forward. The only thing the two were expecting was air.

Instead, balls of fire shot out, hitting May straight in the face.

Naruto stared boggled-eyed while May gaped, clutching her face in disbelief.

After a moment of silence, May spoke. "...A pichu can't learn a fire-type move. They just biologically can't."

"Then what did I do?" Naruto squeaked.

Professor Birch, who was silent during the entire match, spoke. "That… Appeared to be Ember that you used."

"I didn't know I could do that!" Naruto's surprise turned into a grin. "Awesome!"

"That's not possible!" cried out May, "Do it again!"

Naruto complied, blasting another Ember onto May's face. Seeing the bundles of flames made him fist pump the air in excitement.

"I can use Ember!"

"Hey! Watch the face!"

The Pichu Gijinka stuck out his tongue. "Payback for using Ember on my face!"

"But!" protested May, " How can you use Ember?!"

The two turned towards Professor Birch for answers. In response, Birch grimaced. "I… Have no clue either." He coughed in his hand. "But, the thing is, there's still much we don't know about our own powers, despite having pokemon professors like me. Plus, Pichus aren't very common in Hoenn. There could always be something that we've missed."

"I… I guess that's true…" May turned towards Naruto. "You still can't use Thundershock, though."

Before Naruto could reply, Birch interrupted. "But now Naruto isn't so defenseless, right?" He stroked his chin. "It gives me an idea, actually."

"What idea?" asked Naruto.

"Over at Mauville City, there's a Manectric named Wattson. He specializes in Electric Type Gijinka. If you go over there, he might figure out why you can't use Thundershock," explained Birch.

Naruto gasped. "Really?!"

"Really," said Birch with a nod. He then walked over to a computer and began to type something. "But in order for you to go travelling, you need a Trainer's Card. It'll allow you to have free access to the Pokemon Center's facilities. I'll set up one for you right now."

"You will?!" Naruto shuffled his feet a bit. "You're being awfully nice…"

Birch waved him off. "You really saved me from that Zigzagoon and besides…" He stopped typing to give Naruto a smile. "I can see a lot of potential in you."

Naruto didn't respond, dumbstruck at the compliment. No one has ever treated him this nicely before, except for the Old Man. How could he have not tried to talk to the professor before?!

"Now stand over there so I can get your picture." Birch pointed to a blank wall. A camera was facing it.

Naruto bounced over to the empty canvas and gave his biggest smile. Professor Birch pressed on a button and a quick flash lighted the camera. Then, a printing noise was heard. A card was printed out of a slot. Birch took the card in his hands, turning it over a bit to see that everything's in place, before handing it over to Naruto.

"All done."

"Wow!" gushed Naruto, inspecting the card as if it was a new toy. "It's so glossy! And I look awesome!"

"Now go heal. May, set up the Healing Machine." Birch watched as his daughter sauntered over to the machine and entered information. "So Naruto, you should pack up your things after healing. It's a long journey ahead, so the sooner the better."

"Oh, it's okay, I don't have anything to pack!" chirped Naruto. The door to the Healing Machine opened and he jumped inside. The door closed, and Naruto sighed in relief as he felt his injuries fade away.

"Nothing to pack?" questioned May. "Valuables? Sleeping Bags? Food? Money?"

"Don't got any," replied Naruto. The door re-opened and the boy slipped out. "Too expensive. As for money, I don't go anywhere without my Gama-chan, so I don't have to worry!" He pulled out his Politoad-themed wallet in order to show it off.

May stared at it. "...Cute," she finally commented, face blank.

"Let me slip in some money for you," said Birch, pulling out a wad of pokedollars. "It's a short walk from here to Odale Town. Once you get there, you should invest in a backpack for sleeping bags, food rations, and maybe some potions."

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "A-Are you sure? I mean, I've lived outside before, it's not that big of a deal-"

"I insist." Birch pushed the money into Naruto's hands. "The world outside of Littleroot is actually very different. It wouldn't do for you to be unprepared."

Naruto was silent for a moment, before a big wide smile threatened to split apart his face. "...Thank you."

Birch looked away. "Y-Yeah, kid. Don't sweat it." He turned back towards him. "Stay safe, okay? Call me at a Pokemon Center before the day ends."

Naruto nodded eagerly, saluting. "Got it!" He ran towards the door. "Bye Professor Birch! Bye May! Thanks a whole bunch!"

"Bye Naruto!" the Birches chorused.

Eventually, the orange-clad child disappeared from sight. Birch sighed, sitting on one of his office chairs. May eyed him.

"...So. The demon brat," started May.

Birch frowned at her. "Where did you hear that, May."

"The adults. It's a very small town, you can pretty much hear them chasing after the kid everyday. Everyone says he's bad news, so I've been avoiding him too." May crossed her arms. "But… Talking to him now, he seems like an okay kid. Why do people hate him? Why are you so eager to get rid of him?"

"I'm not eager to get rid of him-"

"You been avoiding him like all the other residents here," proclaimed May, "And you sent him off to Mauville, which is dangerous, and explicitly tried to make him go 'right away'. You didn't even try to get a Gijinka with Fly to bring him there. So why are you trying to make him get killed right away?"

Birch groaned, rubbing his temples. "He needs to stay away from Littleroot, May-"

"But why-"

"-for his own safety!" Birch stood up, gripping so tightly on his lab coat that his knuckles were turning white. "Believe it or not, it's safer for him to leave Littleroot, because no one knows him outside of here. Littleroot Town is small, and already dead set on hating the poor boy."

"...But why do people hate him?"

Birch sat back down, sighing. "Like I said, our town is very small. The only thing noticeable about us is the lab. Then, there came great news. A new champion was was known! The residents were excited, because the champion came from Littleroot, their very own hometown!"

"Minato Namikaze!" exclaimed May, "I heard that he was amazing! But… He died from a house fire, didn't he..? What does this have to do with Naruto?"

Birch grimaced. "No one really knows what happened that day. All they know was then when the fire cleared up, only Naruto was found alive."

"What? But what was Naruto doing in that house?" May tilted her head to the side. "And do the residents really hate Naruto just because he was alive ?!"

"You have to understand May, Minato was a great man. Everyone adored him, and when that's taken away… Well, anger blinds all thought. I left Naruto alone most of his life because I figured he wasn't my problem. I had a lab and my family to think about. I thought that someone out there had sense to take care of a defenseless baby." Birch bowed his head. "I didn't realize he was having it so bad. Or… Maybe I did, but I just didn't want to think about it."

May was silent for a moment. Her father was wringing his hands in the silence. Finally, when she thought he had enough, she spoke.

"That was stupid of you."

Birch let out a shaky breath. "I know that now."

May took a seat on the chair next to him, closing her eyes, trying to digest all of this information. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

"Wait… Minato died from a house fire..!"

"Yup." Birch gave her a wry smile. "If the villagers realize that Naruto could use Ember, they'd have more of a reason to go after him. That's why I sent him away so soon. He's safer out there, where while a Pichu using Ember may be weird and noteworthy, his journey would toughen him up and he won't be chased by mobs."

His daughter shifted nervously in her seat. "...Do you think he'll be okay?"

Birch shrugged. "He's lived most of his life on his own, and many kids his age travel at this time. I don't know, but for some reason, I think he'll manage just fine."

With that, the father and daughter left the conversation as it is.

Meanwhile, halfway through Route 101, Naruto stared at the sky.

"Wait, where is Mauville City anyway?!"