Author's Notes

Heeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllloooooooooooooo People! CrimsonKyuubiSage here!


And Now, Onto Reviewing Your Reviews:

Elements1999- You fool... You can't stop them! They are everywhere! Everything! You are one of us whether you deny it or not! None of us can stand up and fight it... We... we can't... Many stronger than you have tried, but they are all pervs now...

night-fang223- Hmm... I "wonder" why a certain white haired super pervert isn't present...

SPark681- To put it bluntly, Bel has a crush on him, N has a developing crush, and Touko... well... she wants the D. Romantic feelings are a byproduct.


Disclaimer, I Do Not Own Naruto Or Pokemon


Chapter Start

-Unknown Location, One Week Later-

An icy wind danced through the air, freezing over the already winter-like landscape even more. This area was not one very traversed - rather, no one dared to traverse it. Countless stories and legends of people going into the frosty forest and never coming back had staved away many from even daring to leave their homes at night in a nearby town.

A lone figure stood in the snow, defiant of the warnings she received from the residents of Lacunosa Town.

"You cannot go! That forest is cursed!"
"Legends tells of a terrifying monster that appeared from the sky! It would appear in the town at night along with cold winds and take away humans and Pokemon alike that stayed out after dark to... to eat them!"

"And the worst part is... the legends... t-they're real!"

"... Good."

Circe's purple hair whipped around haphazardly in the chilled wind, her full-body outfit thankfully protecting her from the majority of the extreme coldness.

"Vul, Vulpix Vulpix Vul." Akane said, shivering slightly as the temperature was just enough to get past her natural fur coat warmth.

"Don't worry, Akane. We just need to do this one thing before taking shelter." Circe stated, pulling out a small, rectangular box that was around 6 inches in length and width, and 12 inches in height with a small red button located in the top left corner. She cleared away a small patch of snow, pressing the red button and placing the strange device in the center of the snow-free patch of dirt. The box released a few beeps as it began to activate, splitting into four equal parts that shot out and embedded themselves in the ground. The four parts quickly de-compacted into four long poles that shot upward.

"V-Vulpix..." Akane called out, shivering even more now.
"It's been done. We can go find shelter, Akane." Circe said, picking up her Fire-type companion and cradling her like a child. "It will all be worth it in the end, Akane..." she mumbled, walking down from the hill she was on, her back turned away as the metal box continued to de-compact. After two minutes, the strange device stopped transforming, a green light at the base of it and a red flashing light at the top.

Now all that was left to do was wait.

-With Naruto, Touko, and Bel-

"Finally! It feels like we took sooooooo long to get here!" Touko exclaimed as they walked past a sign that said 'Welcome to Striaton City'. The trio of Trainers had spent the entirety of last week training and catching new Pokemon in Route 2. Touko caught a female Patrat that she named Kiki, all the while training her other Pokemon as well. Bel had caught a male Purrloin named James, and, under the guidance of her fellow blond Trainer and Melody, begun her aura training. It was only meditation and learning to access her aura so far, but it was a start. And lastly, Naruto had not caught any Pokemon, focusing solely on training his own Pokemon and training Bel in the art of aura.

"It's only been a week, Touko-chan. Besides, the training was worth it." Naruto stated. Staring down the street, the blond man saw the sole reason that they were in this city, a large building that stood out amongst the others with a strange Pokeball-like symbol present. "So how are we gonna do this? Gym or Pokemon Center first?"

"Gym!" Touko replied, running towards the gym with a fiery determination in her eyes. "Look out world! I'm here to take on my... first... Gym." she yelled, faltering as she entered the building.

"Welcome to the Butler Café, how may I help you?" a young man asked. The man was quite tall, standing at 5'11" with green hair, green eyes, and light skin. He appeared to be wearing a waiter's outfit with a dark green tuxedo bow.

"Table for three, please." Naruto called out calmly, walking in alongside Bel.

"Ah yes, right this way." the green haired man said, grabbing three menus and gesturing for the trio of Trainers to follow.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Touko questioned, slightly peeved that her Gym battle would be delayed.
"None of us had breakfast, and it's nine o'clock." Naruto stated. "Depriving ourselves of the most important meal of the day wouldn't be a good idea."

"Naruto-kun's right. Plus, the Gym isn't going anywhere." Bel added.
"Ah... fine." Touko sighed, hearing her own stomach grumble before she gave in to her friends' idea.

"Hi, my name is Cilan and I'll be your waiter for today. Will you three need a minute to decide what drinks you would like?" the green haired man, Cilan, asked.
"Can I get a coffee, please? Light and sweet?" Bel asked.
"Same for me as well except decaf, please." Touko said.
"Do you have any hot teas?" Naruto questioned.
"Green, Oolong, Black, Mate, and Blooming." Cilan replied.
"I'll take some Green tea then, please. Thank you." Naruto stated.

"Certainly." Cilan said, walking away to retrieve their requested beverages and leaving the three Trainers to study the menu.

...

"Where is the Gym? I thought that this building was supposed to be it." Touko asked after a few minutes of silence.
"It is. The Gym also happens to be a café, and the Gym Leaders waiters." Naruto stated. "From what I've heard, you can't barge in asking for a battle, you've got to get a table first."

"Really?" Touko questioned.

"Really." Touko jumped back slightly in surprise when she heard Cilan's voice. "Here are your drinks. Two light and sweet coffees, one decaf one regular, and a green tea." he said, placing down the three drinks and a cup of cream on the table.
"I do believe we're ready to order?" Naruto said hesitantly, receiving nods of confirmation from Touko and Bel.
"Ah yes, what would you three like?" Cilan asked, pulling out a small notepad and pen.

"I will have the 'Avocado Toasts with Eggs & Siracha'." Touko stated.
"How would you like your eggs done?" Cilan questioned.
"Sunny side up, please." Touko said.

"One 'Avocado T-E-S', sunny side up..." Cilan mumbled, writing down the order.
"I would like the 'Buttermilk Biscuits & Mushroom Gravy', eggs scrambled, please." Bel stated.
"'Buttermilk B & M'..." Cilan muttered as he wrote down what he said. "And you, sir?"

"Yes, I will have the 'Chocolate Hazelnut Fruit Crepes' and..." Naruto started, gaining a hardened glint in his eyes. "The Pokemon League challenge."

"One 'Choco-Hazel Fruit Crepes', and..." Cilan paused when the blond man's last words caught up with his brain. "The Pokemon League challenge, eh?"
"For all three of us, yes." Naruto stated.
"The Pokemon League challenge?" Bel questioned.
"I must say, I am impressed. Not too many Trainers figure out the codephrase hidden on the menu. How did you figure it out?" Cilan questioned.
"It was written in the description of the 'Special of the Day'." Naruto replied.

"What?! No way! It... isn't..." Touko's voice trailed off as she read the text underneath 'Special of the Day', only to find her one-eyed blond companion was right. "... Son of a bitch." she mumbled.

"It's how we weed out Trainers who aren't ready or qualified to battle the Gym. Most of them are hot-blooded and eager to battle, so much that they don't pick up on the small details." Cilan stated. "I ask that you three keep this to yourselves, the system has not failed to this day since the codephrase hasn't been revealed by those who already know it."
"Very well." Naruto said, conceding to the green haired man's terms.

"Alright! I'll be right back with your food and inform my brothers." Cilan said before walking away.

"Oh, I can't wait!" Touko exclaimed. "Our first Gym battle!"
"Don't spoil your appetite." Naruto commented, slowly taking a sip of his tea. "Relax and enjoy breakfast for now, would you?"

Surprisingly enough, the three Trainers did just that. Relax and enjoy morning's meal.

-Café Sonata-

Maria shuffled around nervously in her chair, her heart beating a mile an hour. She tried to keep her composure, but couldn't help but feel nervous on the inside. She had changed out of her usual Unova Police outfit in favor of a more casual one. Now she wore a light blue midriff shirt that had a Poke Ball logo on the back, blue jeans that hugged her curves, and dark shoes.

'What if I screw this up - you can't screw this up, Maria! This is official business! Official...' Maria thought, her mind suddenly going to the gutter as she thought of herself and Iruka in business attire and...

"Maria-chan!" Maria quickly regained her composure, wiping the blood away from her nose as Iruka approached her. The heterochromatic Jenny blushed and quickly averted her gaze from the scarred man. Iruka too had changed into more casual clothing, now wearing a dark red jacket, underneath which he wore a plain white shirt, dark pants, and dark shoes. Unbeknownst to her, Iruka faltered slightly in his steps as he saw Maria in all her beauty. He swiftly regained his footing, acting as if nothing happened. "I-It's good to see you..." Iruka said, stuttering slightly as he spoke.

"Y-Yeah..." Maria said, her crush taking a seat in the chair opposite of her.

"So... how have you been? It feels like forever since we last met." Iruka asked.

"I've been doing great! I got promoted to detective last month." Maria stated. "What about you?"

"Not much, really. Other than this whole spiel about one of the recent Trainers." Iruka stated.

"Oh! Speaking of which..." Maria said, pulling out a tan folder and placing it on the table. "Naruto Uzumaki... quite the peculiar fellow."

"Peculiar?" Iruka questioned.

"It says that he's from the Orre region, but... something doesn't quite add up." Maria stated, a small frown marring her face as she opened up the folder.

"What do you mean?" Iruka asked.
"Here. See for yourself." Maria replied, pulling out a single photograph. "This was taken almost six months ago." she stated, handing the photo over to Iruka. It was a picture of five people, four of which Iruka could not identify. Going from left to right, the second person, Iruka was nearly certain of, was Naruto Uzumaki, standing in front of a purple haired woman and shaking the hand of the third person while the fourth and fifth persons stood behind the third.

What made his eyes widen, however, was the familiar notorious symbol present on the fourth and fifth persons' outfits... a red 'R'.

"Is that..." Iruka muttered, looking to Maria for confirmation. His fears were proven true with the two words that she uttered not a second later.

"Team Rocket."

-With Naruto, Touko, and Bel-

The three Trainers finally finished their meals and were whisked away by Cilan to battle, much to the brunette woman's delight, to a large spatial room, nearly as large as the dining hall they were in moments ago, but otherwise vastly different. Small stalagmites of various girth littered the battlefield, and Touko, Naruto, and Bel all stood off on one side while Cilan and his two brothers, Chili and Cress, stood off in the opposite side.

"So..." Cilan started.
"How would you three like this done?" Chili, the red haired brother, questioned.

"One on one..." Cress, the blue haired brother, started.

"Or three on three..." Cilan finished, allowing the question to linger in the air for a good minute while the three Trainers whispered among themselves. Sharing a few curt nods, Touko stepped forward, acting as their spokesperson.

"We've decided..."

Chapter End


Post Notes

AAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDD DONE! What is the decision the three Trainers have come to? Three one on one battles? Or one three on three battle? And what does Team Rocket have to do with all of this? Find out next time!

-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!