Disclaimer: Both Pokemon and Naruto belong to both of their respective owners, I own nothing. Well technically, I own my puppy. Or maybe he owns me, I don't even know anymore.

Author's note: So somebody on some forum I lurk on, I'm not sure which but I think it was Space Battles, brought up doing a cross between Naruto and Pokemon where they replaced chakra with Pokemon mechanics. And the idea stuck with me. Hell even as we speak I'm already working on the next chapter of this, and honestly, that kind of motivation just doesn't happen to me. Pokemon universe has plenty of things that can take the place of Naruto nonsense: psychics, aura adepts, and spirit mediums being just the tip of the iceberg.

I cannot promise that this will be completely all original, as I have read a lot of fanfiction over the years, and it may subconsciously influence my writing. Nor can I promise that this will be the best of this cross that you will ever see, as honestly "The Power of Pokemon Partnership" and anything by Quill of Molliemon will probably shit all over this. Seriously stop reading this right now and go read those just so that you can be properly disappointed . But I will try my best.

And one more thing before I wrap up this already overlong author's note. Please let me know if you see any inconsistencies or grammar errors in this work. Arceus only knows how long it's been since I've attended any kind of English class and it probably shows. Also if you have any ideas to make this better please drop me a line, I may not implement it, but I'm always open to other options. And please for the people on here with nothing better to do, flame away, because it's frickin' cold outside and I could use the warmth.

Chapter One: Into the Tall Grass.

Deep in whirlpool country, an island surrounded by whirlpools and massive Corsola reefs, lies a village that was left to the elements. The streets that were once bustling now stand empty, the store fronts and homes that were once vibrant and colorful were now faded and in shambles. If one were to walk through the streets they would swear they could see movement out of the corner of their eyes,but would turn to see nothing.

In the center of this (possibly literal) ghost town that was once unofficially considered the sixth great shinobi village, lies a temple. This weathered temple is the only building in the village that shows no sign of battle damage. The Uzumaki Seal Temple.

The inside of the temple as far as the eye could see was covered by unown script; the walls, the ceiling, even the floor. Each and every unown character gives off a slight bluish glow. Every now and then the glow flickers, the stressed seals having operated without a caretaker far longer then they had any right to.

Deep in the hidden places of the world, the beings dubbed legendaries toss and turn, those sensitive to such things feel a chill run through their spines.

An eye opens.

Naruto was starting to get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, Mizuki-sensei didn't like him after all. This was definitely not an area that any gennin, prospective or otherwise, could hope to navigate safely.

There is a tradition in the Konoha Ninja Academy that, at the end of their second year of training, all the cadets are taken and split up amongst several training grounds designated for beginners to catch their very first pokemon (barring any student owning a clan Pokemon). This Pokemon is almost always the cadets main partner for the rest of their career. The cadet is allowed a brace of kunai and shuriken, some berries, three basic apricorn balls, and the academy standard survival gear. They have exactly 12 hours to catch a Pokemon, or they're dropped from the program.

Today was supposed to be one of the best days in his life barring passing the final exam and becoming a full fledged ninja. Today was the day that he was supposed to catch his first pokemon. Instead he's lost in the middle of the woods in an area that he was pretty sure was not cadet rated, up a tree away from any other people that might have been able to help him. He's already been chased by an Ursarang, nearly mauled by a Persian, almost stung to death by a swarm of Beedrill, and don't even get him started on the Houndoom pack. Not a single one of those pokemon were supposed to be in an area cordoned off for beginners. And to top it all off, he was down to one pokeball and a small pouch full of Oran berries.

He really should have known better. Since when do good things happen to him? He just thought that if you can't trust your teacher to do right by you and put you in a relatively safe environment, then who can you trust?

Still, he wasn't gonna give up. Naruto Uzumaki has never backed down from a challenge. He was out here to catch his first pokemon, and Arceus as his witness that's what he's gonna do. And when he gets out of here he's definitely punching the hell out of Mizuki-sensei. First, he just has to find a pokemon that won't just kill the ever living crap out of him.

"Ok, the rivers out, pretty sure I saw some Crocanaw scales surfacing here and there. Can't go west because those Houndoom are still on full alert, which is a shame as a Houndour would be damn near perfect. I wouldn't mind a teddiursa, but being killed by Mamabear is not my idea of a good time. Damnit how hard is it to find a Pokemon that won't destroy me in these woods?!" That last part may have been a little to loud as the murcrow in the neighboring trees did not look to happy with him.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Feet don't fail me now!"

And Naruto was off like a shot, every now and then throwing rocks at the Murder of Murcrows behind them. It took about a half hour to lose them, Naruto had brilliant idea to hide inside a hollow log until they got tired of searching and took off.

Still in the log, Naruto took a deep breath in relief, only to freeze again when he heard some rustling outside. Moving slowly, Naruto peaked his head out, and beheld a Dearling still bearing it's light brown, almost white winter coat with a hint of spring starting to come in. It looked young and fairly frail, but there didn't seem to be a Sawsbuck around, meaning that this one had just struck out on it's own. It was perfect.

Going slowly so as not to startle the little thing, Naruto hoisted himself out of the log. The Deerling's ear twitched, and it went very still. Naruto knew he had to act fast if he didn't want the scared little thing to bolt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his little pouch of Oran Berries.

"Hey little guy, you hungry? Calm down buddy, I'm not gonna hurt yah," Naruto inched his way closer to the baby deer pokemon, stopping every time it flinched so as not to spook it further, "I've got some nice juicy Oran berries here, just for you, if you want them."

Naruto was less then a foot away from the pokemon now, with his hand stretching the rest of the way holding out the aforementioned berries. The Deerling cautiously sniffed his hand, then hesitantly began to dig into the little morsels.

Watching the Deerling finish off his food, he laughed as it tried to nose through his pockets looking for more. "You know, I came out here today looking for a partner, would you like to come with me? I can promise that so long as you're with me you'll never go hungry."

The deerling looked him in the eyes before reaching up and chewing on his hair.

With a laugh, Naruto said, "I'm gonna take that as a yes," pulling out his white apricorn ball and tapping it gently onto the Normal/ Grass type, which promptly converted the pokemon into poke' energy. The ball shook once and then immediately went still.

Naruto couldn't contain himself any longer, "Yes, I caught my first pokemon, datteboyo!"

"Caaawww"

And the Murcrow were back.

"And that's Ino back with a Oddish. It looks like this years Pokemon catching trial is almost is almost over, only a few stragglers left," said Iruka Umino, marking down Ino's pokemon down on the list.

"I'm just glad we don't have too many injuries this year" replied Mizuki Touji, his assistant instructor.

"Yeah, just a couple of scratches and light bites from some Rattata Kits, we got off lucky this year," that was Susume Namada, the special kunoichi classes instructor.

"So who do we have left, Iruka?" Mizuki asked.

"All we're waiting for is Shikamaru (who probably already completed the task and is napping somewhere), Chouji (who's probably with Shikamaru), and Naruto (god knows what that boy's doing). Everyone else has already either passed or failed."

"Ten ryo says he doesn't pass," Mizuki smirked.

"No bet," said Susume, "I've seen way too many wide eyed kids just like him, enchanted by the world of ninja and pokemon, but unwilling to put in the work. He might be a good kid and all, but he just doesn't have the talent or the work ethic to make it as a shinobi. It's better he fails out now, than getting his comrades killed later."

"Now hold on," Iruka interjected, "I think Naruto has a better than even chance of passing. His theory work isn't all that great, but his trapping and tracking skills are in the upper ten percent of his class, and his conditioning is second only to Sasuke and Kiba's."

"Your faith in Naruto is very moving Iruka, but unless you're willing to put your money where your mouth is, it doesn't mean much," Mizuki taunted.

The other chuunin instructer scoffed, " you know what, fine! Ten on Naruto passing."

"Well I'm glad someone here believes in me," was all Mizuki heard before he found himself folded over Naruto's fist in his gut, "Sorry Mizuki-sensei, but I promised myself that if I made it out of that death trap that I would punch the hell out of you. Running from Ursarang and Houndooms was not how I wanted to spend my day. Iruka-sensei I'm gonna get my pokemon checked out by the medic, and then I'm gonna eat ramen until everything is fine again."

"Wait, Naruto, what is your pokemon?" Called out Iruka, gesturing towards his clip board.

Despite himself the gennin wannabe gave a tired grin, "It's a Dearling and it's the best pokemon in this whole damn village!"

A few minutes after the cadet's departure, Mizuki managed to stand under his own power.

He sucked in a breath, "Hoo boy, say what you want about him but the boy packs a hell of a punch!"

"Where did you send him to, that made him so mad?" Susume asked.

"Dunno," he replied, "lemme check on my list here... Let's see... Uzumaki... Uzumaki... Ah, here we are, I dropped him off in training ground number 32."

"Ohhhh, that might be why he's mad at you." Said Iruka, as Susume flinched.

"What, what's wrong with training ground 32? It's on the list of approved training grounds for academy students!"

"And normally that would be true. You haven't been an instructor that long, or you would probably know, but this time of year is when the mating migration passes through," Susume explained, "so instead of all the usual young pokemon, Naruto ran across a whole swarm of territorial parents."

Mizuki winced, "I'll have to make it up to him somehow, maybe I'll hook him up with a new care kit dedicated to Grass types."

Iruka smiled in approval, his friend may be callous sometimes and a little mean spirited, but he would never intentionally hurt a child.

Naruto looked around his new quarters with satisfaction. When an orphan prospective gennin catches their first pokemon they are assigned new housing in order to properly raise and train their pokemon. Normally Naruto would have to share this house with three other cadets, but he lucked out in there being an odd number of prospective gennin this year so he had a a four bedroom house with a decent sized yard to himself.

"So this is it Deerling," Naruto said to his starter, "this is where we are gonna live from here on out. It's a little bare for now, but eventually we, and what ever future team mates we acquire, will make it home."

The fawn pokemon just nuzzled into him. He was happy with where ever so long as there was somewhere warm to sleep and plenty to eat.

Naruto glanced side long at his partner, "you know, I just realized that I never gave you a name," the pokemon just stared at him, "I think since I'm gonna be Hokage and you're gonna be the most badass pokemon there ever was you need a name that fits. How about... Super Ramen King!"

Until that moment Naruto had never known a deer could deadpan. Today was a day of discoveries. It took a while, as Naruto was really bad at naming things, but eventually they agreed on a name.

"So it's decided! From here on out, your name is Yuki!" Yuki chose to show his approval by once more chewing on his hair. "Yeah, it's perfect for you because of your light colored fur!" Naruto at this point in time is completely unaware that Deerling, much like the trees of Kohona, change colors with the season.

"From here on out Yuki, there's no turning back. We're gonna be the most badass ninja team Konoha has ever seen!"

And then Yuki decided to introduce Naruto to the much less glamorous part of being a pokemon trainer: picking up after them when they do their business.

Chapter End

AN: What, you thought they would get their first Pokemon in a nice safe lab. Naw, you're a ninja now scrub, go catch your own.