And welcome back readers to another installment of Path of the Maelstrom! Please enjoy Naruto's second Contest, and look forward to the next chapter!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. I do not own Pokemon, Satoshi Tijiri and Nintendo do.
Naruto took a deep breath of the sweet-scented air, grinning widely. "We're here Yasu! Verdanturf Town!"
Because it was so near a mountain range, the town of Verdanturf undulated with hills, and at the top of one such hill, Naruto could view what seemed like the entire place. He could see from the rustic avenues and lush parks, to the luxurious neighborhoods on the other side like some sort of parallel dimension. It was full, it was big, and Naruto loved it.
First thing's first. Naruto called out Mika and Kairi. "Okay everyone, I'm going to explain some things to you. First of all, I'm going to be trading you guys for some of my freshly caught Pokémon. This does not mean you're being forgotten or left behind! Rather . . . think of it like a vacation. You all worked super hard, but now I need to help our newest members so that they aren't far behind you guys ok?"
Seeing them nod in confirmation, a little more at ease with what would be a completely new process for them, Naruto pats them all on the head and smiles. "Good! You'll like where you're going. Professor Sarutobi is really nice— and you'll get to meet my mom too. So play nice with the other Pokémon that might be there, and I'll see you guys again soon. Bye!"
He recalls them and walks with Yasu following diligently to the Pokémon Center. Walking in he glances around at all the trainers and smiles wryly at the ever present Nurse Joy. One day, would he be able to tell them apart?
"Hi, I'd like to put my Pokémon through a healing cycle please? Only, this guy doesn't want to go in his Poké ball. Also, can you just check this egg for me?" Naruto pointed to Yasu as he spoke, and then pulled out the Egg container gifted to him by Dr. Kairi. It was she who told him with a wry grin that he was now the proud owner of a Bagon egg, and boy how he had whooped. Woke up half the neighborhood, literally.
Nurse Joy smiled happily. "No problem! This will take a only a few minutes, so if you'd like you can sit down over there."
"Thanks!" Naruto smiled, and walked over to the couches. Sitting on one, he pulls out his Poké Nav and decides to plan out the places he'd like to go after hitting Mauville. "I know I said I'd hit Dewville . . . but there are so many other places to go! Maybe when I get my Swablu evolved and strong, I can head over to Crossgate Town and join the Poké Ringer competition . . . and Camerupt Point is choice for some great shots! Of course I want to hit the A-B-C Islands and maybe even Wailmer Island . . ."
As Naruto mumbled to himself, Nurse Joy approached him silently. With a cautious look she ventured, "Excuse me, would you like your Pokémon now?"
"Huh?" Naruto perked up. "Oh, oh yeah sure! Thank you." Putting away the Poké Nav with his possible hits highlighted, Naruto got up and followed Nurse Joy to the counter, where Yasu crouched, waiting to pounce on his owner.
"How you feeling buddy? All better?" Naruto laughed, catching Yasu when the Eevee descended upon him.
"All your Pokémon are healthy and well-rested. As for your Poké Egg, it should hatch in a couple weeks. Thank you for coming to the Pokémon Center!" Nurse Joy gave Naruto his egg a light bow, and Naruto returned it as he carefully clutched the egg.
"Thank you as well, Nurse Joy." Naruto murmured, and with a parting wave took his Poke balls and moved to the transfer machine.
The PC booted up, and Professor Sarutobi smiled, eyes wide in surprise as he looked at Naruto. "Well! It certainly has been a while." He chuckled.
"Sorry I never called for a visit Professor," Naruto smiled. "I've just been so busy. You know, entering Competitions, winning battles, getting more Pokémon . . . the usual."
"Oh yes, not to mention fighting off Team Magma . . . the usual." Sarutobi raised a grey, thick eyebrow.
"Oh no big deal." Naruto huffed, thinking Professor Sarutobi was only talking about the incident near Rustboro City.
"Oh? Young Kiba made it out to be a big deal my boy." Sarutobi corrected, laughing at the look of horror on Naruto's face. "Oh, so your parents don't know about this adventure do they."
"Don't tell them!" Naruto groaned.
Sarutobi laughed even harder. "Ah, reckless youth! Now, I am quite interested in that egg Naruto . . . is that a Bagon egg?"
"Yeah, I got it from Dr. Soraishi, he found them and gave us all eggs for helping him and I was really . . ." he trailed off before shaking his head sharply. "Listen I'm not calling for that, though next time I see Kiba he's in for a world of hurt. I want to transfer Pokémon."
Sarutobi hummed in consideration. "Yes, I see you've already caught some extras, it's quite incredible Naruto-kun." He shared a twinkling look with Naruto. "Not even young Sasuke has caught as many as you have."
Naruto grinned wickedly, basking in the pleasure of knowing he was ahead of his friend/rival. "Oh really?" he cackled. "Well what can I say . . . I just have a way with Pokémon! Oh, I also have this little one . . ." he held up Swellow's Poké ball. "I won him off of a guy . . . he was a real jerk. Can you do anything about that?"
"Hm, why yes of course. That seems to be a registered Poké ball given to beginners to help them keep track. It'll be easy to call whichever Professor this male is with and switch it over to you. Now, who do you want? Just send over your end and I'll fill in on mine." Sarutobi proceeded with the process.
Naruto transferred Swellow, Mika and Kairi. "I'd like my Solrock and Lunatone."
"Alright, and just out of curiosity who am I getting?" Sarutobi asked.
"Besides that Swellow, Mika and Kairi." Noticing the old man's questioning look Naruto clarified. "That is to say, my Silcoon and Magikarp respectively."
Sarutobi grinned. "Nicknames huh? Well I'm no better, considering I named my Slaking Devil . . . fitting for that never-ending thorn in my side. A Magikarp eh? Hoping for a Gyarados like your mother and father?"
"Yup!" Naruto nodded proudly.
"Hmm," Sarutobi mused. "Kairi isn't really a name I'd choose for a Gyarados though . . ."
Naruto opened his mouth to retort, and then froze. Thinking about it . . . how could he in all good knowledge go around calling a fierce Gyarados a name like Kairi . . . ?
"Ugh. Okay, that was a mistake on my part." Naruto grumbled, thumping his head with his fist.
"Well, at least you have an out." Sarutobi pointed out, amused. "Some trainers who bother naming their Pokémon usually change the name once the Pokémon evolves, to something more fitting."
"They do?"
"Sure! What, you thought I had the foresight to name my formerly lazy Slakoth Devil?" Sarutobi asked.
"Good point Professor. Ah! Okay, my Poké balls are here. Thanks a lot!" Naruto smiled.
"Good luck on whatever your next adventure is Naruto. Hopefully it won't involve crime syndicates anymore." With that last parting jab, Professor Sarutobi signed off leaving a grumbling blonde boy at the PC.
"Old man is such a smartass." He complained.
Returning to the front desk, Naruto asked Nurse Joy for a room key which he was given promptly. After that he took Shizuka, Aoi and Hige out for some training at a local park the Nurse Joy was kind enough to give him directions to.
"Okay you guys, they start up competitions this week so I want to hit the one on Friday. Hige I'll be using you again but afterwards I'll be sending you to Professor Sarutobi's for a break, and Shizuka it'll be up to you ok?"
"R-r . . ." Shizuka seemed to tremble so Naruto was quick to soothe her.
"Hey it's okay!" he smiled. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Instead of Hige getting all the attention it'll be you winning me ribbons. Sounds good right?"
"R . . . Ralts!" Shizuka quietly confirmed, smiling.
"Great!" Naruto clapped, getting right to business. "Hige, you know quite a few moves by now. Take down, Iron Tail, Assurance, Shadow Ball . . . Taunt, Odor Sleuth, Sand Attack and Bite. Here's what I want you to learn by the end of the week: Finish up Iron Tail, I want to beef up Sand Attack into Mud Slap and Counter. As for you Shizuka," he turned to the pensive Ralts. "You know Magical Leaf, Lucky Chant, Charm, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport, and Psychic. For now just work on Psychic to see if you can lift anything for extended periods of time. Aoi work on Bubble with the trees around you, and let's work on Rain Dance okay? Work around yourself and then see if you can spread it out. So let's get to work okay?"
Naruto sets up Hige for Sand Attack, having Hige practice with dirt clods and working to force them into balls of dirt witth force. Shizuka went to work lifting fallen branches and the stones around her, working her way up in sizes, while Aoi worked on decimating his chosen tree. Yasu pawed at his leg, whining for an exercise as well.
"Well, Yasu . . . there's not much else we can teach you until you evolve. Either you wait for an evolution or we can search for a stone. Sorry buddy— you can try and learn Covet or Refresh but I'm hesitant to try and work for that one." Naruto offered, frowning at the drooping ears. He scratched Yasu's ears and smoothed down the fur on his side, smiling. "No rush remember?"
"Vee . . ." Yasu murmured. Naruto was about to say something more, but both were interrupted as a dark blur torpedoed right into Yasu's sude sending the Eevee tumbling away. Naruto laughed as the dark blur was revealed to be Hige, and watched as his Poochyena and his Eevee chased each other yapping heatedly. Well, heatedly on Yasu's part at least.
Naruto was grateful that Hige knocked Yasu out of his funk, however literally, and resolved to by the pooch a new toy. He pulled out the two Poké balls containing his newest Pokémon Lunatone and Solrock. Hm, he'd have to name them.
"Come on out you two!" With twin jets of light Lunatone and Solrock revealed themselves. "Good morning!" Naruto grinned. He admires the solid orange of Solrock's body and the cool yellow spires that jut from it like a characterized sun. But the real prize would have to be his Lunatone with blue eyes like the night sky and a brighter golden hue to its stone body, signifying it as a shiny Pokémon.
"Sol . . ." Solrock glowered at the boy he remembered defeated it, and Naruto held up his hands in a peaceful gesture.
"Come on now, don't be like that. It's not like you would have listened to me and just agreed to come, and I really wanted you on my team! You're going to be a great addition to my team, you and Lunatone. How about giving me a chance huh? Ask my other Pokémon I'm not half bad as a trainer and I won't mistreat you guys."
Solrock simmered slowly, but Naruto could sense the heat that radiated from it in its previous anger start to fade and took it to be a good sign. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Good. How about you Lunatone, you willing to work with me?"
Lunatone took a moment to answer, but agreed. "Lunatone."
"Excellent! So let me just scan you . . ." Naruto took out his Poké dex and scanned one after the other. "So Solrock you're . . . wow, genderless? Okay . . . You know Tackle, Confusion, Rock Throw and Harden. Okay, good, good you're at a decent level. How's about we get to work on Fire Spin okay? As for you Lunatone . . . genderless again! And you know Tackle, Harden, Confusion and Hypnosis. Let's work on Psywave, and later I'll call up my brother Kurama— one of his partner's has a Lunatone that learned Earth Power and can help me teach it to you."
Naruto turns and is about to walk over to the tree he set up his backpack before suddenly remembering something. "Oh! I forgot, I haven't named you two yet. Solrock . . . I'm going to name you . . . Taiyou. Do you like that?"
Solrock seemed to mull it over, slowly rotating in place, before stopping to face Naruto and squint his eyes in a u-shape, as if to show he was smiling with his eyes. Naruto laughed, and nodded saying, "Good! Lunatone . . . well it's cliché but Mikazuki is the best I got. Better than Tsuki though, right?"
Lunatone agreed, using the same eye-smile method as Solrock. "Luna!"
"Okay so Mikazuki and Taiyou . . . let's get to work!"
The group worked for a couple of hours, and then Naruto stopped them to let them rest in their Poké balls. Yasu trotting beside him, Naruto walked around the town of Verdanturf, taking in the sights. He stopped by a little café that allowed Pokémon to come out of their balls and eat, ordering them some treats while he happily devoured an ice cream sundae.
Afterwards he ventured over to the Poké Mart, perusing the wares and contemplating some things to buy his Pokémon. After all, they were both rewards for working hard and incentives to keep up the good work. He settled on a fluffy toy to buy his Skitty, it resembled her tail. But for the others . . .
"Hm? Yasu look at all these! Their comb sets . . . maybe we can get you one huh? I'm sure Ran would enjoy it too. And oh! Look, special stuff for aquatic Pokémon, some rubs to make their skin or scales shiny. Well, why not I'll buy the lot!" Naruto exclaimed, excited with the new items. Yasu shook his head at his excitable trainer, following him through the store.
Naruto picked up some potion and super potions, poison heals and paralyze heals. For fun, he picked up an orange hat for himself. After buying everything and putting them away in his bag, he took Yasu up and back to the Poké Center, the sun getting ready to sink into the ground. He had four days to prep Hige for another contest, and he wouldn't waste a second of it!
It was Friday afternoon, he had left his Pokémon and baby Bagon egg in the care of Nurse Joy, and Naruto had gotten number three this time. While he waited, Naruto brushed through Hige's fur, the young pup melting under the careful attention and gentle fingers of his trainer. Naruto smiled gently— looks like his investment in that brush set would pay off well into the future.
"So, it's almost time. You ready?" Naruto asked his Poochyena, who turned around and yipped, tongue lolling out in a funny grin. "Good!"
Putting away the brushes and checking his white suit one last time, Naruto waited for his call as the second person was already up. He had awed over the Charizard that the first contestant brought up, but was disappointed in his way of execution, believing it didn't do the powerful lizard justice. Same thing with the Blastoise that came up behind him, the way he had splashed the audience and judges with sprays of water would not earn that trainer any extra points. Seeing the second boy walk off, Naruto got up and put Hige in his Poké ball, walking towards the stage. Fedora tipped forward slightly to the left, Naruto walked confidently onto the stage as the announcer brought him forward.
"Let's give a warm welcome to our third contestant, Naruto!" The announcer, a woman like last time only with black hair done in an angular bob with side bangs cheered with a wave of her glove covered hand. The audience cheered appropriately as Naruto waved a hand in greeting. The other holding his Poké ball.
"Just like we practiced Hige." Naruto whispered. Like last time, he tossed the ball up once and caught it casually. He tossed it again and in a voice loud enough to be heard by all but totally relaxed he called, "Let's go, Hige!"
A jet of white light brought forth Hige into the air. Hige flipped once— twice— three times, and landed on all fours. He puffed up his chest and barked loudly, with a proud tilt to his muzzle. The crowd lapped it up with gusto, and Naruto grinned at Hige's obvious relish of the attention.
"Shadow Ball and Iron Tail!" Naruto commanded. Hige barked sharply, firing a Shadow Ball at an angle so that it wouldn't climb too high too fast. With a burst of speed he takes after it, tail glowing in preparation for his Iron Tail. He leaps up, coming just above the Shadow Ball and driving his tail into it, making it explode outward in a burst of dark energy like a Supernova. He lands on all fours, right front paw pushed forward and chest pushed out as he flings his head back and howls, a haunting melody.
"Remarkable! It's like something right out of a movie!" The announcer gasps, placing a hand delicately to her cheeks. The judges give it similar positive reviews, earning him a sold score of 27. Naruto is fairly confident he'll be going off to the next round, and with a bow he recalls a similarly bowing Hige and saunters back to the contestant's waiting room. Entering the room he's treated to a few glances and even fewer quiet compliments or congratulations. He returns them graciously, but he has to bite back a sigh as he drops on the couch. His first contest was much more exciting— or at least the people were . . . he wonders what other contest halls Daisuke is destroying with Reaper . . .
Fifteen more contestant go up, Naruto only taking notice of a Wartortle, a Skitty for future reference, and a Dusclops. At the end of the Appeals round the scores are given and the contestants going on to the next round are determined. Naruto is surprised to see so few going on— only four people!— different than his first contest but perhaps that was because Rustboro was larger than Verdanturf?
The announcer sweeps her arm across the stage and with a perky smile and cheerful air lists the contestants going on to the final round. "The contestants who made it to the next round are . . . "Rei, Yuki, Yukari, and Naruto!"
"The first match is between . . . Yuki and Naruto!" The crowd cheered for the first match, and in the waiting room the two named contestants looked at each other passively. Naruto eyed his opponent— he was the one with the Wartortle. They stood and walked together to the battle stage, though they shared no words on the walk through the hall. As they stepped upon the stage Naruto turned to Yuki.
"Good luck." Naruto murmured, inclining his head. Yuki nodded back briefly, and they both moved to opposite sides of the stage.
The announcer looked between them, making sure they were ready. After nodding to herself, the announcer's cherry red lips stretched into a winning smile and her hand raised in the air. "Let the match . . . begin!"
"Wartortle, come on out!" Yuki shouted, his Wartortle coming out with a fierce snarl and a cry of its name.
"Hige, let's go!" Naruto cried, Hige coming out with fur bristled and eyes sharp.
"Wartortle," Yuki shouted. "Bubble!"
"Hige, Mud Slap." Naruto said calmly. Hige barked affirmatively, dealing out hard packed fast balls of dirt that blew through the bubbles and a few hit Wartortle who flinched, rubbing his face where one hit.
"Wartortle, another Bubble—"
"Take down!"
"Arf!" Hige shot forward, a streak of dark grey as he moved with speed that the Wartortle could not match. Looks like Yuki only focused on appeals, not on the battle round Naruto reflected as he watched Hige barrel straight into the unprepared bigger Pokémon. Though Take Down did inflict damage on the user as well as the recipient, he trusted the damage wouldn't be enough to faze Hige even if the Wartortle still had some energy left.
Luckily for him, the Wartortle was simply not equipped to handle such a hit and when he went down he didn't get back up. He was unconscious.
"Wartortle is unable to battle— Poochyena is the winner!" The announcer cried out. Naruto grinned, laughing at Hige's flip for joy. Recalling Hige, Naruto bows to his opponent and the audience before leaving back to the waiting room. He passes the next two contestants, Yukari and Rei and he smiles at them briefly before going in the room and putting Hige for a minor healing cycle, all they allowed in the contests for the winners. Hige wasn't hurt in the slightest, but Naruto figured better safe than sorry— at least his pup would have full energy.
He couldn't see their battle but in the end, Yukari and Mudkip won and Naruto knew who his opponent would be. They would have five minutes of rest before the final match . . . Naruto blew out a breath, sinking down a little on the couch. This was nothing like his first contest . . . no Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji that he knew was in the stands . . . no Daisuke to joke around with. How lonely.
The door opened and Naruto spared it a curious glance as Yukari came in, marching straight over to the Heal Machine.
"So, looks like it's going to be you and me eh, Naruto-san?" Yukari pipes up, and she smiles at him. Naruto takes a moment to look her over, having not given her much thought before. She had light blue hair the color of his Bagon egg styled in a half-up half-down style, spilling over her bare shoulders shown off by her peach and white lace dress that swept the floor. Dove grey eyes sparkled at him and he remembered to respond.
Smiling he said, "It appears so Yukari-san. Shall we wish each other luck?"
"You bet!" Yukari agreed firmly. The five minutes of rest passed after what seemed like only a brief moment. Soon enough Naruto faced Yukari on the opposite end of the field, both braced for battle.
The announcer stands in the middle of them, at the edge of the field by the judging panel. "The final match of the Battle Round, the battle to determine our Verdanturf Town winner, will now . . . begin!"
"Come on out, Mudkip!" Yukari trilled, spinning gracefully as she tosses the ball up, a slow flick of her wrist.
"Hige!" Naruto called, tossing the ball up and Hige arcing out to hit the field ready and raring. The Mudkip and Poochyena stare each other down; both determined not to let their trainers down.
"Mudkip, Mud Slap!" Yukari cried.
"Dodge it Hige!" Naruto ordered, and Hige snarled as he nimbly sidestepped and ran past the line of fire. Hige ran around it, starting to straighten out and run towards the Mudkip.
"Don't let him get to you Mudkip, Water Gun!" Mudkip's cheeks bulged before unleashing a concentrated Water Gun which Hige dodged, running alongside it.
"Shadow Ball Hige!" Naruto shouted, and Hige brought forth a Shadow Ball that hurtled toward his opponent.
"Cut the Water Gun and move away Mudkip!" Yukari squealed worriedly, but she gave a sigh of relief when Mudkip managed to make it in time, unscathed. "Great! Mudkip Take Down!"
"Counter!" Naruto shot back.
Mudkip shot forward with a speed that startled Hige— but his job, the purpose of the ove itself was to take the shot so that it could be returned two-fold. His body became outlined in orange as Mudkip shot forward.
"No Mudkip stop!" Yukari screamed, but Mudkip couldn't stop the full powered charge to bodily tackle the Poochyena. So when he hit him, Mudkip was blasted away by in essence, his own force. He flew back and hit the ground with a heavy thud, rolling away.
"And we have the first damaging move of the match folks! That's a loss on Yukari's side!" The announcer commentated. On the scoreboard Yukari's points shrunk, and the clock showed three minutes left.
Yukari grit her teeth. "You ok Mudkip?"
Mudkip got up, nodding. "Mud!" it affirmed.
Yukari grinned. "Then we're not done by a long shot!"
Naruto grinned back. "Good, I'd hate for our battle to be done so soon, just when it was getting interesting."
"Mudkip, Growl!" Yukari commanded, hoping to buy some time to think up a new strategy. Mudkip growled but it was so cute Hige could only let his tongue loll out of his mouth and relax himself. "Now tackle!"
Mudkip shot forward again but Hige was prepared for that speed this time, and jumped up over the blue Pokémon. Mudkip in his surprise, stumbled forward and nearly tripped as he stopped.
"Let's show him how it's really done Hige— Howl!" Naruto shouted, grinning wickedly. Hige yipped an jumped forward, chest pushing out with an intake of breath before he stretched his neck out and ducked his head to face the Mudkip. He howls out as loudly as he could.
It worked. Mudkip squeaked fearfully, trembling on the spot.
"Now Take Down!" Naruto cried.
"Dodge!" Yukari cried. Mudkip heard her, and unlocked his muscles to move and it worked in a way. He didn't take the attack head on, but he wasn't able to get out of the way completely and so his flank was dealt a critical blow by the Poochyena.
"Another hit from Poochyena leaves this Mudkip down another few points! However, despite the damage coming from his own attack Poochyena is still damaged and thus loses a few points as well!" The commentary continued. Yukari's points lowered even more, to a little below half while Naruto's points were only shaved off by a few.
"Mudkip, get up!" Yukari pleaded. Mudkip struggled up, turning around and breathing heavily but the fire in his eyes said he still had more to go. "That a boy Mudkip!"
"Hige, you alright?" Naruto asked, seeing his Poochyena get up and shake his head, as if to shake off something. Hige looks back at his trainer and barks happily, nodding. "Alright then, let's keep going!"
"Only one minute left folks! Let's see what last attack these two great contestants have up their sleeves!" The announcer cried, revving the crowd up for a grand finale.
"Mudkip, Water Gun!" Yukari ordered. She might just win this, if she could take down Naruto's points enough . . . !
Naruto smiled. "Hige, Shadow Ball up high!"
Mudkip exploded with Water Gun, but Hige like before dodged— only this time he leapt up high, and aimed directly at Mudkip. His aim was true, as the dark ball of energy hit Mudkip head on and sent the Mudkip crashing to the ground.
Naruto watched with bated breath, as Hige alighted and skipped back to stand in front of his trainer. A cloud of dust prevented them, and everyone else from seeing what really happened.
"Ladies and gentleman . . ." The announcer murmured, shading her narrowed eyes as she tried to look into the cloud. Her eyes widened as the dust finally settled. "It appears we have a winner! The winner . . . is Naruto and his Poochyena!"
Naruto's eyes widened, and a slow smile crept across his face. A huff of laughter escaped him, then a chuckle, and then a full blown laugh.
"We did it Hige!" Naruto yelled, catching his Poochyena and lifting him up high. "We won our first Ribbon!"
"Arf! Arf!" Hige barked, tongue flicking out to lick Naruto's face when it was close enough. Naruto laughed, putting the Poochyena down as Yukari walked forward, her Mudkpi already balled.
"That was a good match Naruto. Seems you earned that Ribbon!" She congratulated, holding out a hand. Naruto took it in his hand and shook it, the two kids smiling at each other.
"Thanks. I wish you luck on your next competition!" Naruto said, smiling.
"Thanks!" Yukari accepted his wish gratefully, smiling at the cute blonde boy in the dashing white suit.
"Um . . . you okay?" Naruto asked innocently, head cocking to the side as he observed her suddenly red cheeks.
The next day, Naruto was once again on the line with Professor Sarutobi. "Good morning professor!" Naruto greeted.
"Naruto, what can I do for you this fine morning?" Professor Sarutobi asked genially. Before Naruto could answer though, a commotion on the Professor's side startled them both.
"Uh, Professor . . . ?" Naruto hesitated.
"I think . . ." Sarutobi hedged. "That's your mother Naruto."
"Naruto~!" The chirp made said boy cringe. Soon enough the smiling visage of Kushina came running in from another room, nearly pushing Professor Sarutobi to the side in her eagerness. "Hey~"
"Hey mom!" Naruto laughed. "I've sent Hige over, he deserves a nice long rest. Professor, let me have . . . ooh, Skitty or Swablu . . ."
"Take Skitty, and I can help you train your little Swablu!" She grins. "Taking up after mama with a hopeful Altaria eh? And you've got a Gyarados too, like me and your dad. I'm sooo proud of you sochi~!"
"What the hell is she on?" Naruto asked Professor Sarutobi.
"Hey hey, language!" Kushina chided playfully, and Naruto balked. Usually the use of what Kushina called dirt-mouth language would result in a chastising far harsher than just that.
Professor Sarutobi sighed. "We hired a new helping hand today . . . turns out his hand isn't that steady and he shot your mom with a tranquilizer dart. The results have been . . . rather odd as you can see."
"Isn't that dangerous?! Shouldn't she be in the hospital or something?!" Naruto yelped.
Kushina laughed. "No way, it's fine, it's fine!" She trailed off in more laughter, and Professor Sarutobi picked up the conversation. "Your father is here as well with her, so she'll be going home to sleep this off in a while. She should have been gone already but she heard your voice, and— well."
Kushina grinned. "Can't leave without seeing my baby!"
Naruto groaned, but let her be. The woman was drugged after all. "Then you can have pleasant dreams, maybe of your baby winning the Verdanturf Contest."
"Eh?!" Kushina yelped. "You won— ah, congratulations Naruto-chan!"
"Indeed, congratulations Naruto-kun." Sarutobi stressed the honorific with a helpful wink to the embarrassed boy who smiled back at him thankfully.
"Thanks guys." Naruto murmured. A 'ding' took his attention away from the screen and he looked over at his new Pokémon with a grin. "Ok, my Skitty is here! Looks like I'll be heading off then."
"Where will you go now?" Sarutobi asked.
Naruto hummed in thought. "I've got a date with a Wailmer . . . at Mauville City!"
So ends this chapter, and i hope to see you all in the next one! Please continue pointing out any mistakes you see in the information or fights regarding the Pokemon and I will do my best to correct them as well as offer sincere and humble apologies for each mistake. You watch six seasons of Pokemon and think you're an expert, and then suddenly realize how freaking inept you are . . .
Love,
Bloody Mad~3