"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Demon Talking"
'Demon Thinking'
--(Scene Change)--
A/N: Chapter 3, front and center. We see Naruto's first steps on his way to become a pokemon trainer. Nothing groundbreaking here, but I can't exactly have him seeing rare pokemon or battling legionaries this early on can I? A little note, people will not eat pokemon, that just seems wrong on so many levels to me. Pokemon aren't like pigs or cows, they have an intelligence and self awareness that rivals humans. I don't want to sound PETAish (shudders) but its the truth. Instead, lets just imagine there are ordinary animals in the pokemon world that are bred for food and are never seen. Not the best solution I know, but its the best I could come up with. Sorry the chapter took so long, I've been busy with stuff.
Someone asked for a list of his pokemon and their known moves in each chapter, so I will indulge. All pokemon and their known moves will be at the end of the chapter.
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Chapter 3 : First Steps
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Naruto didn't realize how much he missed the freedom associated with traveling. Even since his first "C" ranked mission, he had always loved roaming the lands, feeling free as a bird. He supposed it stemmed from the fact the he was always stuck in a village that hated him for most of his life, but for whatever reason, he just loved traveling. It was one of the main reasons he accepted traveling with the old pervert. Sure, learning new jutsu was awesome, but just being able to breath the fresh air was a reward.
The route to Viridian City wasn't the most entertaining thing ever, but he had been able to see a bunch of pokemon. Granted, they were common ones like Pidgey and Rattata, but it was still cool to see pokemon in their natural habitat.
This was his third day on the road so far, and he was just enjoying seeing the sights and experiencing nature for a little while. Well, that and training with Dratini. Of course, now that he had done that, he needed to find something else to do. Nature tended to lose its charm after a little while after all.
He was currently sitting against a tree, enjoying some sweet berries he had found along the way along with his favorite pokemon. Grated, it was also his only pokemon, so that is kinda a null point.
"Dratini" the pokemon squealed as it chomped down on the juicy berry and wiggled its body in delight. Dratini was a fan of food, of that there was no doubt.
"They are good, aren't they?" Naruto mused, agreeing with his pokemon as he bit into another berry. He was glad the professor had packed the book on edible plants. "So, what should we do now?" he asked, mostly to himself.
"Ti?" the pokemon said, looking up at her trained with a tilted head.
"We could try out hands at catching some more pokemon" Naruto explained, seeing the dragons confusion. "I mean, if were going to compete in this league thing, we're going to need some more friends to help us."
"Tini-Ti" the pokemon squeaked excitingly. More friends were always good! The more the merrier as far as she was concerned, well, as long as any other pokemon were aware what she was her trainers favorite. Dratini was still a young pokemon after all, playing was still something she liked to do.
"I guess that means we should see what we can find then huh?" Naruto said chuckling as he got up and felt Dratini wrap around his neck, her favorite perch. "Lets go find us some pokemon then" he said, as he set off into the surrounding fields.
--(A Few Minutes Later)--
Okay, to tell the truth, Naruto had no clue what he was looking for. How was he suppose to choose what pokemon to catch anyway?
'Hmmm' he thought as he continued to peek through grass and trees. 'Its mostly Pidgey and Rattata in the area, so that kinda limits my options. I've heard there are some HootHoot around, but it would be impossible to see them during this time of day. Hmmm...I guess a flying type wouldn't be to bad and could come in handy.'
"That settles it" he said nodding to himself, looking at his pokemon still curled around his neck. "We're going after a Pidgey." he decided.
As he spoke, it was like some unseen force reacted and a Pidgey jumped out of the tree and landed in front of the blond.
Naruto could only blink slightly as he saw this, talk about convenient. Giving a silent prayer of thanks to whatever deity was looking out for him, he prepared for battle.
"Okay Dratini" he said as the dragon uncurled from his neck and he got out a pokeball. "Are you ready?"
"Dratini" the dragon chirped determinedly. She was ready to prove herself to her trainer and to herself. It was time to kick some butt.
"Give Water Pulse a try!" he ordered, pointing at the Pidgey for no particular reason, I mean, Dratini was a smart pokemon, it wasn't like she needed to be told who to target.
The dragon, ignoring the unintentional insult of her trainer, formed the blue orb in her mouth and let it fly towards the bird at an impressive speed.
What Naruto didn't expect was for the bird to dodge to the side and fly in at Dratini at a high speed.
"Thats Quick Attack" he muttered, seeing the speed. "Dodge Dratini" he said quickly, watching the dragon nimbly get out of the way. Its slender body was quite good at dodging.
"Now use Body Slam" he yelled.
"Tini" the Dragon said as she slammed into the bird, instantly knocking it out.
"All right!" Naruto yelled as he threw his pokeball at the downed bird.
Watching in trepidation as the ball blinked a couple times, he gave out a cheer as the blinking stopped and the ball remained, pokemon captured.
"Sweet!" he said, pumping out a fist. "Look Dratni, we caught a Pidgey!" he yelled out in glee.
"DratDratini" the pokemon squealed in delight, curing herself back around her trainers neck and rubbing herself softly against his cheek. "Tini"
"You were awesome" Naruto said, petting her head. "That was great for our first pokemon battle."
Quickly checking his poketch, which he had strapped to his wrist before he left, he noticed the time.
"3:30" he muttered to himself, frowning in thought. "If we hurry we should be able to make it to Viridian City by nightfall, I can't say I would mind sleeping in a bed tonight."
"DratTini" the pokemon agreed. The dragon had taken to sleeping with him during his stay at the lab for some reason. While she would normally rest and travel in her pokeball, she seemed to enjoy sleeping with him better than in her pokeball. It wasn't that she disliked pokeballs, but she seemed to like being free better. It wasn't like Naruto minded or anything, but it was interesting. A unique pokemon for a unique trainer indeed.
"I know" Naruto agreed with his pokemon. "These grounds aren't very comfortable. All the sticks in the ground poke into my back"
So with his first pokemon caught, he set his sights north and began the moderate trek to Viridian City.
--(Four Hours Later)--
Viridian City was impressive, at least to Naruto's eyes. It was quite a bit larger than Pallet Town and it held a lot of the things Pallet town lacked, like shops, restaurants, and hotels. In retrospect, Naruto realized that Pallet town was quite small.
Right now, there was one thing Naruto was grateful for, the fact the pokemon centers were recognizable. It was the biggest building in the city with some unique architecture. The center itself was a domed building that seemed like it could house hundreds of pokemon and still have plenty of room for trainers to stay. At least he didn't have to wander around looking like an idiot.
Shaking his head, he walked into the center to come face to face with a rather pretty lady with pink hair wearing a pink nurses outfit.
"Hello" she said kindly. "I am Nurse Joy, how can I help you."
"Hi" Naruto replied with a small bow, best be polite to those who were healing his pokemon. "I am Naruto Uzumaki, can you please heal my pokemon?" he asked politely, handing over Dratini, who had been returned to her pokeball a little while ago, and Pidgey's pokeball.
"Of course" the Joy said with a smile, handing the pokeballs over to the oval shaped, pink Chansey beside her who was carrying a tray in which the pokeballs were set upon. "Will you be needing a room for the night?" she asked the obviously new trainer.
"Yes please" Naruto replied. While he did have more funds than he anticipated, there was no need spending it frivolously if he didn't have to. More money for emergencies was a good thing, you never knew when you might need it after all.
"Okay, great" Joy said, typing a couple things on her computer. "And can I get an ID please?" she asked.
"Sure" Naruto responded, taking his pokedex from his belt and handing it to the nurse.
"Thank you" Joy replied as she plugged the pokedex into the computer and then handed it back as Chansey re-entered the room. "Okay, you're room is registered" she said as she picked up the pokeballs from the egg pokemon. "And you're pokemon are in tip top shape" she added as she handed Naruto his pokeballs back. "Your room is number 24" she also added as she handed him a key. "Dinner should still be serving and breakfast is served from 6 to 10 AM, just follow the arrows to find housing area and cafeteria."
"Thank you Nurse Joy" Naruto said with a smile. That had gone on a lot smoother than he could have even hoped. Pokemon centers were really useful for traveling trainers.
Attaching his pokeballs back onto his person, he followed the conveniently placed signs and easily found the mentioned cafeteria.
It was a good size, and looked like it could seat a couple dozen people comfortably. There were a few trainers eating, but other than that it was pretty bare.
Walking up the front of the room, where there was an area packed with plates full of food, he grabbed one full of roasted...something and mashed potatoes and started walking towards an empty table.
Naruto wouldn't deny the fact that he was hungry, he had been walking for several hours straight after all. Thus, you really can't blame him for digging into his food with gusto. Of course, not everyone felt that way, and many nearby trainers backed away hastily in disgust.
An hour later, a second plate of food, a bathroom break and a quick change of cloths and we find the blond in bed staring at the ceiling. The room was basic, just holding a bunk-bed and a couple nightstands. The bed was comfortable though, an that was all Naruto cared about.
Now, you may ask what Naruto was doing going to bed at around 9 o'clock. Well, he did want to get up early the next day and set off to Pewter City so it was understandable. Plus, what else was he suppose to do? Sure shopping wouldn't be to bad, but it wasn't like he had any room to bring stuff along with him. If it didn't fit in his already stuffed backpack, he wasn't going to be able to bring it with him.
It was to thoughts of all the cool pokemon he would see in the Viridian forest that the blond fell asleep too. His dragon pokemon curled asleep near his head, well she was dreaming about the first battle of her career and how much she kicked ass. Of course, the fact that Pidgey was a low level pokemon detracted from the victory somewhat.
--(The Next Day)--
The Viridian forest was massive, much more so than he anticipated. Seeing it in person was a lot different than seeing it on a map. It was around nine o'clock and he had been on the path for a couple hours already. After having a quick breakfast at the pokemon center, he headed out into the forest that led to Pewter City.
Finding himself in a clearing with a river running through, he decided here would be the prefect place for some of the activities he had planned.
Now, you may be asking why he was stopping at nine instead of going straight through and trying to reach Pewter City as quickly as possible. The answer is quite obvious, he knew he needed to train his pokemon. He wanted to be the best and he would accept no less. Thus, he needed to train his pokemon a lot more before he was going to challenge any gym. He knew it was going to be hard work. Pewter City had a rock type gym, so Dratini's Water Pulse move should be highly effective, but should she get knocked out, he knew Pidgey, being a normal and flying type, would be mismatched. His options, train Pidgey up enough so that it could match up against a rock type, or catch a grass type pokemon.
While catching a grass type pokemon would be nice, he would have to train up Pidgey anyway, so that was going to be his focus. If he happened to see a decent grass type pokemon, well that would just be an added bonus.
"Lets go you two" he called out as he tossed two pokeballs out, idly catching them after they had released their pokemon.
"Dratini" the dragon said excitedly as she appeared.
"Pidg" the bird cawed, looking around. Naruto realized this was actually the first time he had released the pokemon since he caught it. He was pretty embarrassed about that, he didn't realize he wanted to get to Viridian City so bad.
"Hey Pidgey" he said. "I am Naruto, your new trainer, and this is Dratini" he introduced, gesturing to himself and the dragon.
"Pidgey" the small brown bird cawed, saluting Naruto with a wing and snapping to attention. "Pidge Pidgey"
"Errr...at ease" Naruto replied, sweat dropping as the bird settled back down. 'Great' he thought sarcastically. 'I have an insane bird who thinks its in the military.'
Shaking his head of the depressing thoughts, he whipped out his pokedex and quickly scanned the bird, wondering what attacks it knew.
"Pidgey, the flying pokemon" the robotic voice of the pokedex said. "Common in grassy areas and forests, it is very docile and will chase off enemies by flapping up sand. This particular specimen currently knows the following attacks. Tackle, Gust and Quick Attack." it informed before shutting itself off.
"Hmmm..." Naruto hummed as he thought this over. "Not too bad I guess, but we should work on some more flying type attacks and some general speed exercises would be nice too."
As it watched its blond trainer talk to himself as he formulated plans, Pidgey couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. It had a feeling it was going to be in for a rough time.
Unfortunately, it was all too right.
Naruto wanted his pokemon to be at their best, he wanted to help them become all they could be. While he did genuinely care for them tremendously, when it came to training, he was relentless. Thats not to say he was heartless, but he was very tough on them.
This little fact became evident to Pidgey as it dodged another water pulse that would have blew it out of the sky. The worst thing about this was that while it was getting weaker, Dratini's aim was increasing the the time it took to form the water attack grew less and less.
They had already been going at it for a couple hours with only a couple small breaks. At first, its trainer had had it go through a complicated series of hoops and branches in the forest to improve its speed...WHILE wearing weights. Then, after that, he had the demon dragon start firing water pulses at it while it had to try and dodge.
It was hell, or at least as close to hell as it could think of.
Back on the ground however, Naruto was thinking very different things.
'What an incredible growth rate' he thought to himself as he watched his Pidgey struggle to dodge the Water Pulse. 'Pokemon gain strength so fast, in only these couple hours, Pidgey and Dratini have increased exponentially. Not only is Dratini's Water Pulse more accurate and faster to form, but the entire attack's speed has increased. Plus, even with these increases, Pidgey is still able to dodge. Amazing...to increase performance to this extent would take a human months. Pokemon truly are monsters born for battle, even more so than ninja'
"Okay, thats enough" he called out to the pokemon, watching in amusement as they both fluttered wildly down to the ground, exhausted. "Good job you two" he said, chuckling as he heard two weak responses from them. "I can tell you two have gotten a lot stronger. Anyway, its lunch time!" he exclaimed, setting two bowls in front of his pokemon and digging into a couple sandwiches himself.
As he bit into his food, he mulled over the training of the last couple hours. It was going well, very well. Not only had Pidgey's speed increased tremendously, but its wing strength seemed to increase quite a bit, which was great. More wing strength should equate into more powerful gust attacks after all. Its Gust should be strong enough to send most pokemon flying.
It was silent for the time it took them to eat, though it had something to do with the fact that Naruto was deep in thought thinking and the two pokemon were far to exhausted to say anything.
Looking at his two pokemon, Naruto pondered what to do next. 'Using the same exercise would be kinda boring' he thought to himself. 'Perhaps I should test their battle skills..." he pondered, humming and not seeing the worried looks his two pokemon gave him.
"Hehehe" he chuckled to himself. "Yes, that may be a good idea" he said, smiling to himself.
As this happened, Pidgey and Dratini couldn't help but feel a shiver going down their backs. This did not feel good.
"Now..." he said, turning to face his pokemon who had finished eating. "Who's up for some more...tor...training" he said, with a grin.
"Tini" "Pidge" were all the two pokemon could groan out. There was still sun to burn, and it didn't seem like it was going to be fun.
--(Three Days Later)--
Pewter City was very...rock inspired. After spending three days surrounded by the lush forest, Pewter just seemed dead.
There were a bunch of houses and shops, but it all lacked a certain flair. It all just looked rough and ragged, like rocks. He supposed it was fitting though, considering the gym used rock type pokemon.
Now, it really should have only taken a couple days to reach Pewter City, not the four it had taken him, but he couldn't help himself but train Dratini and Pidgey against the swarms of Beedrill in the forest. Pidgey had even learned a new move that he was itching to use against the gym leader.
Currently, the blond was at the pokemon center reception area, awaiting Nurse Joy to heal heal his pokemon before he went to the gym to challenge the gym leader.
"Your pokemon are at full health" the pink haired nurse said from behind the counter as she say the blond trainer get up and pick them up. "And I must say" she said approvingly. "I rarely see such healthy and strong pokemon, you must train them very well."
"Thank you" Naruto said, blushing slightly in embarrassment. Here was a complete stranger complimenting him! "I will probably be back after I challenge the gym leader" he informed.
"Oh?" The nurse said. "Would you like me to reserve you a room for the night then?" she asked.
"Would you?" Naruto asked, eyes lighting up. "Could you make that two nights though?" he asked, tentatively.
"Of course" the nurse said cheerfully. It was refreshing to see such a nice and respectful young man. "When you come back I can give you your key."
"Thank you" Naruto said with a bow as he exited the pokemon center, his heart feeling lighter. It was still so heart lifting to experience such actions. He still wasn't use to people treating him with respect.
Back in the pokemon center, said nurse was speaking to another man.
"Did you really have to hide" Joy asked looking at the man wearing black and blue clothing.
"Yes" the man replied. "I could not reveal myself to him." he informed with a slight frown.
"Is he that special?" the nurse asked, looking at the blond boys back as he walked with both hands behind his head.
"Yes" the man replied, he too was looking at the boy, but with a contemplative look on his face. "He is strong, very strong. I will have to watch out for him" he informed as he exited the pokemon center, not seeing the boy any longer. "After all, aura is with him. Goodbye Nurse Joy" he said politely.
"Goodbye" Joy said, watching the mysterious man depart. She could only wonder what the future held for the blond. "Riley"
--(Pewter Gym)--
It didn't take long to find the gym. It did look like a giant pile of rocks after all, it was hard to miss.
"Hello" he called out as he opened the doors and gazed upon a standard looking pokemon battlefield with several boulders built into it.
"Hello young challenger" a man across the expanse of the room replied. "I am Flint, the Pewter City gym leader, have you come to challenge me?" he asked.
"Yes" Naruto replied, walking forward until he was standing in the challengers box. "I am Naruto" he said lamely, introducing himself.
"Very well" Flint said, walking forwards until he was in his box. "My wife Lola" he said, gesturing to a red haired women in the referees box. "Will be the referee" he informed. "This will be a two on two battle and only you may switch pokemon." he said. "Now get ready, go Geodude" he roared as he unleaded his first pokemon.
The pokemon looked like a round rock with two arms poking out of the sides.
"Geodude" it said, ready for battle.
Naruto merely raised an eyebrow at it. 'Not really worth using the pokedex.' he thought to himself. 'I already know what type it is, and its not like it can tell me the moves of someone elses pokemon.'
"Lets go" Naruto said as he tossed his pokeball. "Pidgey"
"Pidge Pidgey" the small bird said as it appeared in a flash of white, saluting Naruto.
"HAHAHA" Flint laughed as he say the bird. "You are using a normal and flying type against a rock type?" he asked incredulously.
As he heard this, Pidgeys eyes budged. "Pi Pidge" he said loudly, pointing its wing at Flint. "Pidgey Pid Gy."
"I agree with Pidgey" Naruto said a smirk forming on his face. "We're going to kick your butt. Are you scared?" he asked mockingly.
"Brave kid" Flint muttered under his breath. "I admire that" he admitted. "Geodude" he ordered "use tackle"
"Really?" Naruto muttered as he saw the rock pokemon move slowly towards Pidgey. "get into the air Pidgey" Naruto ordered, smiling as he saw the bird take flight and the rock to tackle air. "Use Gust" he said.
"Pidgey!" the bird roared as it unleashed its powerful gust attack forcing the rock flying back into a boulder, knocking it out instantly.
"G-Geodude is unable to battle" Lola said, amazed that the little bird could do so much damage.
"W-What?!" Flint exclaimed, seeing his downed pokemon. "Geodude return" he said softly, returning his pokeball to his belt.
'What a powerful attack' he thought, sweat building on his brow. 'A Pidgey can't normally toss anything more than a Caterpie with its gust. How the hell did he train his pokemon that level.?'
"Not bad" he said, with more gusto than he felt. "But try this on for size" he yelled as he tossed another pokeball. "Onix I choose you"
In a flash, a giant snake like pokemon made of rocks appeared.
"Wow..." Naruto muttered as he saw the pokemon. "Okay, that may cause a problem."
'Oh boy' Naruto thought to himself, frowning. 'Onix is far to heavy to be effected by gust or any normal attack.'
"Guess we're going to have to use that." he muttered to himself.
"Alright Pidgey" Naruto ordered, looking at the bird. "Get high into the air and build some speed."
"Gy" the bird said, hearing its trainers command. Getting as high into the air as it could, it swooped down towards the giant rock snake with tremendous speed.
"Now" Naruto yelled as he saw his pokemon near the rock type. "Use Steel Wing!"
Pidgey's wings lit up to a brilliant white as it approached the rock type. "Pidgey" it roared as it crashed itself into the rock type, a large plum of smoke emanating after it.
"Onix..." the rock type yelled in pain as the bird smashed into it. Steel was super effective against rock types after all.
"Pidgey?" Naruto called out, worriedly. As the dust cleared he caught sight of his bird laying on the ground, its eyes looking unfocused. It was unconscious.
"Pidgey is unable to battle, Onix is the winner." Lola said, sweat dropping at the sight. What good was Steel Wing if the pokemon that used it just crashed upon its use.
"Pidgey return" Naruto said as he returned his pokemon to its pokeball. "I guess its still to soon to use that move" he said to the prone pokeball in his hand. "You still can't control your flight after you use it. Oh well, you'll get it soon, don't worry." he said as he replaced his pokeball to his belt and drew another. "Its your turn" he said, throwing out his pokeball. "Dratini."
In a flash, the small, snake like pokemon emerged from its pokeball.
"Tini" she said happily as she wriggled around on the ground in delight.
"The final battle will begin" the referee said, shaking herself slightly. The first two battles had finished before she knew what was going on. "Onix vs Dratini, BEGIN!"
"Onix use Dig" Flint ordered quickly, smiling as he saw his pokemon burrow itself underground.
"Dratini, get into the air" Naruto said calmly, watching the ground.
Without a word, the dragon obeyed her trainer and floated gently into the air.
"Quick Onix" Flint ordered, seeing his plan fail. "Get out of the ground and use Iron Tail!" he ordered.
With a loud road, the rock snake appeared out of the ground, right in front of Dratini, its tail alight in a white glow.
'Perfect' Naruto thought, smiling slightly. "Now" he said "Water Pulse."
With all the speed it could muster, Dratini formed the blue orb of water in her mouth and released it, directly into Onix's face.
With a huge crash, the rock pokemon crashed to the ground.
"Onix is unable to battle, the victory goes to Dratini and Naruto" the referee said, raising a hand towards Naruto's side.
Flint could only blink as he recalled his pokemon. 'H-How did Dratini form that water pulse so fast?' he questioned himself. 'I've never seen something like that.'
"Congrats" he said after a few seconds, walking towards the blond boy and shaking his hand. "You have earned this" he said, handing Naruto a gray object. "The Boulder Badge"
'Yes' Naruto thought as he gazed upon the eight sided badge with a huge smile. 'First step, complete...'
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Dratini
Known moves: Water Pulse, Body Slam.
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Pidgey
Known Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Tackle, Steel Wing
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Not sure if I'm completely happy with this chapter, but I didn't find anything that yelled out to NOT submit it. Anyway, Naruto wins his first gym battle, yay. Now, before you yell that Naruto's pokemon are overpowered remember, this is the first gym and I don't see Flint as a very good pokemon trainer. There was a reason he failed to become a master and went back home, unable to confront his family after all. Anyway, hope you all enjoy.