"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Demon Talking"

'Demon Thinking"

--(Scene Change)--

Disclaimer : I own nothing, that includes Naruto and Pokemon.

A/N: Here we go, chapter 2. I have no idea how the economy of the pokemon world works, so I made stuff up. None of it seems to unreasonable to me though. I see some of you like my way of making Naruto less of a moron, hehe thanks I'm quite proud of it myself. The idea just came to me and it seems like it would work really well. Now lets just see how long it takes for someone to steal my idea :p As for romance, I'm not really sure, its not really my thing. Considering I've never had a romantic moment in my life, any kind of my pairing I try would probably go horribly wrong. If you guys want one though, I could try one. I guess we'll just see how the story naturally progresses. This was kind of a weird chapter and I'm not sure I'm very happy with it.

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Chapter 2 : Beginnings

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It had been a couple of weeks since Naruto had arrived in the new world. He had done a lot of reading, acquainting himself with the environment, culture, and of course pokemon. He was simply amazed at how peaceful the world was. Murder, Theft, any sort of crime was nearly unheard of in this world. Compared to the world he came from, where assassination and war was commonplace, this world truly was paradise. Even though he had only been around for a short length of time, this place felt far more like home to him than the Leaf ever did.

It was a bit surprising to read more about the economy of the area. While he knew pokemon were important, he didn't know just HOW important they were to this society. The pokemon league had far reaching powers, from law enforcement to hospitals. Every trainer licensed be league was paid a salary (though beginning trainers received next to nothing), and high level trainers often lived a life of luxury as their salaries were enormous. The weirdest thing was that the citizens were willing to pay the taxes to pay these trainers. It was truly mindbogglingly how far reaching the creatures effected this world.

Another unusual thing, was the technology. In the field of pokemon, technology was very advanced, to a point where many people didn't know what various devices actually worked. Even with this high level of technology, most people lived relatively simple lives, and walked most places. It was very interesting to say the least, machines called "cars" existed, but most simply didn't own them. It seems that the industrial base in this world simply wasn't very developed or showed any sign of being developed.

Currently, he was outside with a dark blue serpentine looking pokemon at the lake where they had first met.

"Do you want to try again" Naruto asked to his dragon companion who was panting hard.

"Drat" the blue dragon said forcibly, not wanting to give up. Dratini wasn't looking the greatest. It was panting heavily and had several small bruises on its body. Luckily, since it was a pokemon, it would recover from its injuries extremely quickly. Naruto was still amazed at just how fast pokemon could recover. Most of the time, a nights sleep was enough for even the more serious looking injuries.

"Okay then" Naruto replied, looking concerned at the determined dragon. He had been trying to teach the pokemon a new move. He was surprised to learn the humans taught pokemon new techniques in this world, especially considering humans here didn't have any sort of unique powers. Apparently, if one observed a move, they could see how the other pokemon manipulated an element and try to get their own pokemon to preform it. Of course, this was extremely difficult and most trainers just let the pokemon learn new moves by themselves. Naruto on the other hand, took a more hands on approach. With his background knowledge in ninjutsu, instructing a pokemon on how to manipulate their energy wasn't really that hard. It took a lot of hard work, but it wasn't completely mind numbing.

The dragon, hearing its trainers command, opened its mouth and a blue orb began to form.

"Thats it" Naruto said reassuringly. "Hold it a little more Dratini, you can to it."

"Tini" the dragon grunted out in exertion as it struggled to maintain the ball.

"There" Naruto said as the ball reached the right size. "Release it, Water Pulse!" he cried out.

With a cry of power, Dratini release the orb of water and watched it hit the water and explode with considerable force.

"All right!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fist into the air. "Awesome job Dratini." he said with a huge smile as he ran his hand across the dragons soft back, chuckling as he heard it hum in delight.

"Drat-Tini" the dragon squealed in pride puffing out its chest. It had been a hard couple of days, but it had learned the move. It was rather proud of itself, after all, not many could learn such a powerful move in such a short amount of time.

Water Pulse really was the perfect move to teach Dratini. It had a lot of offensive potential, along with the possible status effect it could cause. That, added with Dratini natural affinity with water, made it the obvious choice.

Unknown to both of them, a pair of eyes was watching them from a hill above.

"Such skill" the man muttered with pride and slightly widened eyes. "And such a bond with his pokemon, it is rare to see."

The Professor wouldn't say he was spying, it was more like he was curious. He had watched as often as he could the blond train the Dratini as far as it could go. Even in the short amount of time the dragon pokemon had progressed by leaps and bounds. The training activities the blond came up with to improve its speed and such were incredible.

"He's being held back here" he said to himself sadly. He was a bit sad of course, he was getting on in age and the blond was excellent with taking care of the pokemon. Almost all the pokemon in the lab had taken an instant liking to the boy from Gary's Nidoking to Ash's Snorlax. It was truly rare to see a trainer who could form bonds with pokemon so easily. "He needs to go out and see the world." he said, a tone of finality on his voice, like he was convincing himself. "He deserves the chance to show the world who he is and what he can do."

Back down at the lake, the blond and Dratini were still celebrating.

"You rock Dratini" Naruto said, smiling. "Lets go back to the lab and see if the professor has any of that pokemon food you liked."

"Dratini" the dragon said in excitement, thinking about the delectable food as it rushed back towards the lab. It had burned a lot of energy trying to preform that move so many times.

Naruto could only give a chuckle as he ran after the surprisingly fast dragon.

--(Ten Minutes Later)--

Back in the lab, Naruto was munching on a sandwich while he watched his Dratini chow down on a bowl of pokemon food make specifically for small dragon type pokemon by the professor.

"It is good?" Naruto asked amusingly as he watched the dragon stuff its face.

"Drat" the Dratini chirped cheerfully, swallowing the food in its mouth and giving its body a cheerful wag.

"I see you two are finally having lunch" an older voice spoke up from the doorway.

"Hehe, yeah" Naruto replied, turning around to come face to face with the professor. "I didn't realize we had been out training that late" he said sheepishly.

"How did your training go by the way?" the Professor asked politely, not betraying the fact that he had been watching.

"It was awesome" Naruto said enthusiastically. "Dratini finished learning Water Pulse today!" he exclaimed.

"Really now?" the professor asked, fainting shock and awe, though it wasn't hard to fake. It WAS an extremely difficult thing to do, and for them to do it in only a couple of days, it was incredible. "Well, congratulations you two" he said with a big smile.

"Hehe thanks" Naruto replied with a huge smile.

"Tini" the dragon also responded quickly before returning to its meal.

"You two surly are amazing" the professor chuckled as he gaze focused on the happily eating dragon. "He must have worked really hard huh?"

"She" Naruto said, absentmindedly, still munching on his sandwich.

"Excuse me?" the professor asked with a puzzled expression. Naruto surly didn't mean the Dratini was a girl did he?

"Dratini is female" Naruto said, stroking the back of the dragon. "Aren't ya girl" he asked as the dragon gave a squeal of delight.

"Tin-Dratini" the pokemon agreed, nodding, enjoying the stroking of her back.

"How do you know?" asked the professor, astonished. There were no noticeable gender differences between male and female Dratini, only a select few like Lance and Clair, both dragon masters, could tell the difference as far as he knew. This could be a monumental discovery.

"I'm not sure" Naruto admitted with a shrug not looking very concerned. "It just feels like she's a girl ya know"

The Professor could only blink in surprise. Opening his mouth and not saying anything, he closed it back up, deciding not to press the issue. Heck, he didn't even know how to respond to something like that.

"I see" he said after a moments pause, finally remembering what he was going to say. "Naruto" he said seriously.

"Yes?" Naruto asked, blinking and strengthening up slightly unconsciously. He had heard that same tone of voice from the Third Hokage on important occasions. It could probably be a good idea to pay attention.

"You are a talented trainer, in fact one of the most talented I've had the pleasure of seeing." Oak explained. "I feel that you need to go out to see the world, to begin your pokemon journey."

"Pokemon journey?" Naruto whispered in surprise. Sure he had wanted to start one, as soon as he had read about the journey's and adventures that were possible, he was hooked on the idea. Granted, he greatly enjoyed spending time at the lab with the pokemon without a doubt, but this world intrigued him a lot. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, of course" the professor said with a nod. "You are being held back here, I really do think you need to go out and see the world."

"But what about the lab?" Naruto asked. Sure, he wanted to begin a journey, but he didn't want to leave if it meant putting strain on the aging professor. He had been nothing but wonderful to him. "Don't you need help with the pokemon?"

Oak chuckled slightly as he heard this. "I can handle them" he assured the blond. "I'm not an invalid, please do try to remember that. Besides" he added with a smile. "My grandson, Gary, is coming back to begin training in order to become a pokemon researcher, I should have plenty of help."

"But I don't have any supplies, or money" Naruto added. The money given from the pokemon league for a new trainer wasn't nearly enough to buy supplies and keep restocked. Most other new trainers got the majority of their money from their families after all.

"Not a problem" the professor said chuckling once again. "Given a letter of recommendation from a renowned member of the pokemon league, they will allocate more money towards a new trainer" he informed. Of course, this was completely false. As a former trainer of extreme talent, as well as that as a renowned pokemon researcher, he had a tremendous amount of money that he never spent or planned of spending. Helping pay for such a talented young man would be no problem, plus even though he had known the blond for a could of weeks, they had hit it off very well and formed a quick friendship. It may sound odd for two people of such different ages to form such a friendship, but the young man was as passionate about pokemon as he was, and he had very unique insights about them that baffled even him, the vaulted professor of pokemon. The blond's pokemon instincts were stronger than anybody he had ever met before. He knew the young man was far to noble to accept the money if he knew it was from him, but he felt it was his responsibility to guide the blond into becoming all he could be.

"I-I see" Naruto stuttered in surprise. "You would really do that for me?" he asked, almost not believing. This was far beyond housing him and treating him with respect. It was fully blown endorsement. Professor Oak was putting his reputation on the line just for him.

"Of course" the professor said with a small smile. From what he saw from the young man, it was obvious that nobody had ever paid him much attention. Even if he couldn't remember his past, he was still scarred by it, that much was evident from some of his behavior. "I even got this" he said as he pulled out a yellow backpack from behind him. "It has all the tools you will need in your journey. Some pokeballs, medicine, some food and other supplies." he finished, handing the backpack to the stunned boy. "And also this" he added pulling out a red device from a pocket. It was rectangular object and looked like the top flipped up as well. "This is my new pokedex" he explained proudly. "With the collaboration from professors all over the world, I've updated it with data for all known pokemon species in the world."

"Th-Thank you" Naruto stuttered as he looked at the bag and pokedex. "I-I don't know how to every repay you." he said with a bow.

"It is no problem" Oak replied with a big smile. "You are one of the most talented person I have ever seen in my life. Just promise to do your best."

"I promise" Naruto said confidently, regaining his normal vigor. "I'll become the best pokemon trainer ever!" he exclaimed. "Right Dratini?" he asked his companion who had been watching the exchange.

"Tin-Dratini" the small dragon squealed enthusiastically, mimicking her trainer as she went up and curled around his neck.

Professor Oak looked at the trainer and his pokemon with pride. It may seem a bit weird, but he really had been witness to the young mans "rebirth." He was been able to see his progression and enthusiasm with pokemon. Oak knew, from the first day he met him, that Naruto Uzumaki was someone special. He was willing to bet his reputation that Naruto was destined for something great.

Oh how correct he was. He could have never imagined the waves the humble and good natured blond would impact the pokemon world with.

"I guess I should leave tomorrow then huh?" Naruto asked, a tad sad. He had enjoyed his time at the lab a great deal and had learned about things he would have never thought possible. However, he knew it was time to move on. It almost felt like the world was calling out to him, daring him to explore and learn.

"Yes, that would be prudent" Oak said with a nod. "You have been reading up about Kanto so you shouldn't have any problems navigating." he added.

"I see" Naruto said as he stared at the crumbs that were the last remnants of his sandwich. "I guess I should say goodbye to all the pokemon then" he said getting up, careful not to disturb Dratini still wrapped around his neck.

"Good idea" Professor Oak said nodding with a chuckle. "They will miss you a great deal, saying goodbye will help ease it."

--(Five Hours Later)--

Saying goodbye to all the pokemon he had befriended was a lot more difficult that he thought it would be. First off, saying goodbye wasn't really a strong point of his in the first place. Secondly, it was damn hard trying to find all the pokemon in the corral that spanned for acres upon acres.

After five hours though, he had finally finished. Snorlax, Kingler, Skarmory, Nidoking, Pinsir, the flocks of Pidgey and more of course had all had their heartfelt goodbyes. It was rather taxing to tell the truth, it was hard to say goodbye to friends. He just hoped that Gary and Ash took care of their pokemon. If they didn't, well he would have to come back and kick their ass wouldn't he?

He gave a big sigh as he absentmindedly stroked his sleeping Dratini still curled around his neck. From what the Professor could tell, Dratini was still rather young, so it tended to sleep quite a bit. Well, all the training it did probably helped that as well considering all the energy she burned.

"Well, thats it" he said as he finally got back to the labs backdoor. That took a lot longer that I thought it would." he murmured to himself. Opening the door and walking into the dining room, he couldn't help but stare in amazement.

Food, and lots of food. Naruto felt his mouth salivate as he gazed upon all the edible goodness in front of him. Now, during his stay he was able to have more than ramen and he had to say, he loved pretty much all of the food in this world. He had even got over his dislike of veggies!

"Hello Naruto" A cheerful, female voice spoke up from the table, wearing an apron. She had brown hair and eyes and her face held a kind expression that never seemed to waver. While Naruto knew she was in her mid to late thirties, she could easily pass for twenty five.

"Hello " Naruto replied politely. He had met the women several times during his time at the lab. She often visited the professor of whom she was a student of and her kind disposition made here incredibly easy to like. Plus the fact that she made the best food ever made Naruto instantly like her.

"Going off on a pokemon journey" Mrs Ketchum said, lost in thought. "It seems like only yesterday that my Ash left on his journey." she finished, dabbing here eye as tears rolled down her face.

"Errr...yeah" Naruto replied, sweat dropping at the overly dramatic reaction, she seemed to do it quite often, especially when talking about her son. "I'm going to be leaving tomorrow."

"So soon" the women mused in surprise. "But the early bird catches the Weedle I guess" she said, nodding to herself.

"Oh, do sit down" she hurriedly said blushing, not believing she didn't invite the boy to sit down. This was his going away dinner after all.

Naruto did so, and longingly looked at all the food. Mrs Ketchum truly was a talented cook. He wanted nothing more than to reach and grab some, but he also knew the middle aged women also had quite a temper as well. Eating before everyone was at the table was a bit no no at her table.

"Don't worry" she said, seeing the blonds longing look at the food. "Professor Oak should be here soon, then we can dig in."

As if there was an unseen signal, said professor walked in the dining area wearing his usual white lab coat.

"My goodness" Oak said. "This is quite a smorgasbord you've prepared Delia" he said, sitting down and was soon followed by said women.

"Now" he said, raising a glass that was filled with well, something. "I believe we should give a toast to Naruto's future success."

"Here here" Delia said, raising her own glass and smiling. "To Naruto"

--(Two hours later)--

Dinner, or any food made my Mrs Ketchum really, was great. Naruto had eaten more than he probably should have and was now laying in his bed at the lab. To put it frankly, he was restless. He really couldn't wait until tomorrow and it was keeping him from doing anything. Dratini had been put into her pokeball to rest, and the professor and Delia were off somewhere talking, he really didn't know what to do.

"I know" he said, sitting up and and picking something off the floor. "I can see what the professor packed me." Setting his backpack on the bed, he opened it and peered inside.

It was crammed full of stuff, he didn't really know how the professor fit everything in. First off there were a couple changes of clothes. They weren't really anything supter special, but they were of high quality which was good. The shirts were a dark blue with some random designs on them along with some beige pants with plenty of pockets. Along with these were the ever important belt that had clips for six pokeballs and a pouch for his pokedex.

After moving those, along with some other clothing, he looked at some of the more intriguing stuff. Ten red and white pokeballs were there along with a bunch of potions and other antidote type medicines.

Shuffling through the bag, he found a fishing rod, some canned food, a lot of pokemon food, a book on plants and herbs, and some other basic things important for a journey.

"These'll help" he muttered to himself, pulling everything out of the main compartment and moving his attention to the pockets of the backpack "It seems like everything I would need to make it from town to town is here. Professor Oak sure was thorough." Pulling out a couple of oval shaped object from one of the pockets, he couldn't help but blink a couple times before he realized what they were. "A pokegear and poketch?" he whispered to himself, almost unbelieving. Both were new, and very expensive items. He would have protested such an extravagant gift given to him if he didn't know the professor would simply wave it off as if it were nothing. Neither were necessary for a pokemon journey, but they would both make it immensely more enjoyable. 'Thank you professor' he thought, touched as he returned all of the items to his bag and placed it back on the floor and laid in bed.

He couldn't help but marvel at where he was and what he was about to do at as he stared at the ceiling.

Back home, his future seemed assured. He would live by the sword and eventually die by the sword, such was the way of the ninja. Now, his future was open to interpretation, there wasn't a thing he couldn't do. He felt so free, like a caged bird being unleashed upon the world.

It was with these peaceful thoughts of a new, brighter tomorrow, that he dozed off, a pleasant, non forced smile blooming for the first time in his life. He was content, even if just for a moment.

--(Saturday - 8 AM)--

The smell of pancakes, waffles, eggs and bacon awoke the former shinobi from his slumber as his stomach gave a mighty growl.

"Ahhh" he said, yawning as he stretched out his arms. "Eh?" he asked as he looked at a pair of clothes draped across a chair in his room. They were identical to the pairs in his backpack.

Quickly moving to the attached bathroom he spent a little while in the shower, appreciating the hot water that he wasn't likely to experience again until he reached Viridian City. He wasn't sure how long he would take to get here, but he wanted to spend some time out in the wold to see some wild pokemon in their natural habitat.

Fifteen minutes or so later, he exited the room, in his new clothes and entered the dining room.

"Ahh, awake Naruto?" the Professor remarked as he sipped his coffee.

"Yup" Naruto replied as he helped himself to some of the food stacked at the table. One of the nice things about losing his chakra was that he no longer had to eat as much to keep his body going. True, he still had an above average metabolism, but it was nowhere near the insane level it used to be.

Breakfast was just some random chatting between the Professor and the blond. Dratini had been released and was happily chowing away at some of its favorite food.

"So are you ready Naruto?" the professor asked, finally asking a question pertaining to the blonds departure.

"I think so" Naruto replied as he pushed his empty plate away from him. "I think I can go alright" he added, biting his lower lip slightly in a uncharacteristic show of nerves.

"You'll do fine Naruto" Oak said, seeing the boys discomfort. "Just trust in yourself" he said in reassurance. "Besides" he added with a smile. "If you need anything, you can just give me a call. You have my number memorized and its programmed into the pokegear."

"Right" Naruto nodded to himself, feeling better. He wasn't really sure why he felt like this, he had gone into life and death situations and had never felt as nervous and apprehensive as he was not.

"Oh yes" the professor said as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a booklet. "Delia wanted me to give this to you. She also wanted me to tell you that she was sorry she wasn't able to make it here to see you off." he said as he handed the booklet.

Looking at it, he immediately realized what it was. It was a booklet of coupons for free meals all over Kanto. He was touched that a women he didn't even see that often had given him such a gift.

"Can you please give her my thanks?" he asked, carefully putting the gift into his bag. "I probably won't be able to see her before I set off."

"Yes, of course" Professor Oak said nodding idly picking up the plates on the table and setting them in the kitchen for someone to clean later, some aide would get stuck doing them most likely.

After that, they both went out to the front door, where they said there good-byes.

"Well, I dare say the next time we meet I hope to see you in some sort of competition" the professor said, looking at the young man in pride. "Just be yourself and you'll be fine" he finished, offering his hand to the blond.

"Yes!" Naruto replied, enthusiastically taking the offered hand and giving it a firm shake. "Next time you see me, you better be cheering for me!" he exclaimed as the handshake ended and he turned away from the lab and headed to the road that left town.

His journey had began, the markings of a legend were in place.

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Well, here it is in all its glory. It actually got done faster than I thought and was longer than I thought it would be as well. I know nothing really cool happened, but hopefully I established some needed backing info. Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, I can't catch them all. (get it? hehe). Anyway, hope you enjoy, please tell me what you think. I may or may not be able to get a new Naruto in the realm of the greek gods chapter out, I really haven't been hit with any inspiration for that lately.