Disclaimer
Let me just start out with the standard Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Pokémon, or any of the associated or mentioned franchises/companies, and I am not making a profit on this.
The image I am using was made by BlissfulGold on , and I am using it with their permission. Please check out their DeviantART page sometime.
-0-0-0-0-
Author's Note
There are times when I hate this fic, and times when I love it, and times when I just want to drop it. Sorry my updates are like once a season. Hopefully I'll be inspired to write more in the future.
PS: I am editing out the bit where Kubo is Shiny. He's perfect for Naruto as he is.
Review Response
61394: It's only illegal if you get caught, and besides, who says Tsuande and Jane are drinking alcohol? It might be Root Beer, after all (yeah, good cover story).
clynch3: Glad you're enjoying my work. Elements from Ultra Sun and Moon will be added. As for Ride Pokemon, there will be plenty of times the heroes will ride on Pokémon, but the game mechanic of them being able to call up Pokémon to ride them will not be added to this story.
Tops: I do want to have the heroes dressed up for at least one party, and will likely have a haunted house chapter. Also, thanks for remembering my birthday.
Wonderland Tea Party: Thank you for your review. I might PM you later to hear your ideas. Anyway, yes, Shino, Shikamaru, and the rest of them will make appearances later. As for Kiba, if you feel sorry for him now, just wait until you finish this chapter. And Toneri will not be joining the party, but he will make appearances as a rival character.
HushDon'tLetThemHearYou: Yes, Sasuke will not be turning evil in this fic and joining Orochimaru. Glad you are happy with my choice of not following cannon to the letter.
Thank you everyone for your reviews.
-0o0o0-
The Hero's Pokemon thus far:
Sasuke Uchiha's
1. Bayushi, a male Eevee with a rare snowy white coat.
2. Togashi, a male Charmeleon
3. Akodo, a male Shinx
4. Hitomi, a female Dewott
Naruto Uzamaki's
1. Kata, a male Riolu
2. Puck, a male Furret
3. Jet, a male Buizel
4. Kubo, a male Froakie
Sakura Haruno's
1. Waterlily, a female Marill
2. Owlowiscious, a male Hoothoot
3. Hiccup, a male Goomy
4. Athena & Hermes, female and male Kangaskhan and Kangaskid siblings
Former party members: Jane, a female Primeape
Hinata Hyuga's
1. Rhapsody, a male Totodile
2. Waltz, a male Butterfree
3. Aria, a female Buneary
4. Sonata, a female Fennekin
-0o0o0-
Pokémon Konoha
Chapter 19
"Okay Athena, you're up!" Sakura called, tossing the Pokéball into the air.
Sasuke smiled wickedly. "I can handle that. Go, Togashi!"
As the two trainers prepared to face off, Naruto and Hinata watched the mock-battle from the sidelines. After Athena materialized and realized she was about to fight, the Kangaskhan plucked Hermes from her pouch and set him down next to Hiccup, who was being watched by Hinata.
"Sending your strongest Pokémon against my newest?" Sakura said. "Oh, how very brave of you."
"VEE!" Bayushi hissed, insulted at the idea of Togashi being Sasuke's strongest team member.
"All's fair in love and Pokémon battles," Sasuke retorted. "But to be nice, Togashi won't use any Fire-type attacks. Can we start now?"
"Okay, fine," Sakura said, "Athena, use Fake Out!"
Sasuke didn't even see Athena move. She was just suddenly in front of Togashi, her hands glowing orange. She quickly boxed the Charmeleon on both ears, stunning him.
"Whoa, that was fast!" Naruto shouted from the sidelines.
"Awesome, now follow up with Double Hit!" Sakura ordered.
"Khan!" Athena's fists took on a glow, and she delivered a double-punch to Togashi's midsection and chest area. The attack shoved the Charmeleon back, but he remained on his feet.
"Yeah, now hit him again!"
"Don't let her gain more momentum," Sasuke said, staying very calm. "Block with Metal Claw and break her rhythm!"
"Char," Togashi grunted, leaning back. As Athena came at him with another Double Hit, Togashi met her attack with Metal Claw. The two attacks clashed and deflected one another, but Togashi was prepared for that. He stepped forward while Athena was still caught off-guard, clashing his metallic claws across her midsection and then her shoulder.
Athena groaned, stumbling backwards and flailing an arm in an attempt to keep Togashi off her. From the sidelines, little Hermes and Hiccup cried out in protest.
"Use your Dizzy Punch to knock him away," Sakura said.
Athena jumped backwards and dodged Togashi's next slash, winding up her right fist, which now had multicolored glow. Giving a cry, she rushed forward and delivered a terrific uppercut right into Togashi's chin, sending him up into the air. "Kangaskhan!"
"All right, bull's-eye!" Sakura cheered.
"Heh, not quite," Sasuke said as his Charmeleon rolled with the strike, landing in a handstand before flipping backwards to his feet. "Heh, now it's our turn; Togashi, use Thunder Punch!"
"Thunder Punch-?" Sakura said, but she was quickly cut off.
"Char-mel-eon!" Togashi slammed his fists together, creating a current of elecricity between them. Pulling his claws apart, the Charmeleon deflected another Dizzy Punch from Athena, before delivering a punch of his own into her gut.
Togashi followed up with two more Thunder Punches, one to the chest and the second to her face. The vicious assault sent her to the floor, knocked unconscious.
"Well done," Sasuke said, patting his Charmeleon on the shoulder.
"Don't worry Athena, you did your best," Sakura said, helping her Kangaskhan up. From the sidelines, Hiccup and Hermes had started to shout insults towards Togashi, but Sakura shushed them both. Athena put Hermes back into her pouch and Sakura returned them to their ball. After that, the girl turned back to Sasuke. "But when did Togashi learn Thunder Punch?"
"Just the other day, actually," Sasuke said with a light smile. "I bought the TM at the Pokécenter's mart when Naruto and I were on grocery duty and had it administered to Togashi."
"So Naruto knew about it already," Sakura said, glaring at Naruto from over her shoulder.
The blond just shrugged and smiled.
After arriving in Shinomen City, the heroes tried heading to the Safari Zone immediately- only to find themselves at the back of a very long line. Hundreds of trainers had showed up at the Safari Zone, eager for a shot at capturing Pokémon from the mysterious Amegakure Region. The huge influx of trainers meant that the Safari Zone had to establish a set of special rules until the tide of trainers subsided.
The first rule was simple: trainers now had to make an appointment for their turn in the Safari Zone. Of course, to do that, they had to stand in a long line for hours while the Safari Zone staff members took their names and gave them the time and date for their turn.
Secondly, all trainers were now restricted to capturing only a single Safari Pokémon, and they had only one hour to do it in.
Somehow, Naruto ended up getting the 'honor' of waiting in line to make the team's appointment (much to his chagrin). As it turned out, they'd have to wait only three days. So, while the four waited for their chance at the Safari Zone, they spent their days training hard, especially with their newest teammates.
Now, after three days of waiting, it was almost their turn, and frankly, the whole group was buzzing with excitement. After a series of early morning practice battles, the gang decided to cool off with a nice lunch near the park before heading to the Safari Zone.
Naruto noticed Sakura was browsing through her Pokédex as she idly chewed on a sandwich. "Hey, what's so interesting?"
Sakura was so engrossed in what she was doing that she jumped slightly. "Oh-! Uh, sorry about that." She laughed nervously. "I was just checking up on something about Owlowiscious." Sakura glanced over at where their Pokémon were eating, motioning towards the Hoothoot.
"Is something wrong?" Sasuke asked, passing a bit of ham to Bayushi, who was sitting in his lap.
"I bet she's just checking when he'll Evolve," Naruto suggested.
"Well, not exactly," Sakura said. "I was just checking up on something. The other day, I was reviewing the standard moves the Hoothoot line can learn, and guess what? They don't learn Confuse Ray normally!"
"Eh? How can that be? That's like one of his signature moves!" Naruto cried. Sasuke and Hinata were also surprised at the news, but they were both far more subdued about it than the blond.
"It's weird, I know. So I was just doing some research about Hoothoot," Sakura said, "and I think I found something. Have any of you heard about Region Variant Pokémon? -Don't answer Naruto," she added as the boy opened his mouth, "I already know you do, with your family's connection to Amegakure."
He frowned and suck his tongue out at her.
"I have," Sasuke said. "My mother has a Persian from Amegakure. She was a gift from Aunty Kushina."
"There's an Amegakure variant of Persian?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, look here," Naruto said, pulling out his Pokédex. He turned the device on and showed her a picture of a Persian Sakura had never seen: it was grey with thick fur, especially around its face, and the jewel on its forehead was blue.
"The Meowth line as originally introduced to the Amegakure region as gifts to the area's nobility," the 'dex explained. "The luxury and pampering they received is believed to have caused the line to become even more selfish and prideful. This resulted in their change to the Dark-type. The Persians of Amegakure have a thick, luxurious fur that both protects them and gives them great popularity amongst the natives.""
"That's amazing," Sakura said. She looked up at Sasuke. "How'd your mother even get one?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Aunty Kushina gave it to mom for her birthday a few years back."
"I-I can barely believe it," Hinata said, stuttering in her excitement. "I didn't know Pokémon could change like this."
"I know. Aren't Pokémon amazing?" Sakura said. "Prof. Tsunade taught me a little bit about Regional Variants. Every major region is supposed to have at least one of its own! Like how the Kumo Region has Onix and Steelix made of crystal."
"Or how the tropical environment of the Amegakure cause the Exeggutor there to grow twenty feet tall and become part Dragon-type because they're having a good time," Naruto added.
"...you have to be making that up," Sakura said flatly.
Naruto just smiled.
"Okay, but what does that have to do with Owlowiscious?" Sasuke asked.
"I was getting to that," Sakura said with a slight frown. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, according to the Pokédex, there's a very rare variant of Hoothoot that can Evolve into a different kind of Noctowl. These Hoothoot have a slightly different moveset than normal ones, including the move Confuse Ray!"
"Cool!" Naruto cried, "So there's a Konoha Noctowl? What's it look like?!"
"I haven't gotten to check yet," Sakura said, "give me a moment."
"Chi-"
"What was that?" Sakura asked up at the others; they had heard the small, pitiful cry too.
"Chika..."
"There it is again," Sakura said.
"Over there," Sasuke said, pointing towards a copse of trees near their picnic area.
The noise turned out to be coming from a small green Pokémon with a large leaf sprouting from her head, curled up in a ball and crying to herself.
"Whoa, it's a Chikorita," Sakura said, clearly surprised.
"Aren't those really rare in the wild?" Naruto asked.
Sakura nodded.
If the Chikorita had noticed the young people talking, she paid them no mind, and just kept on weeping.
Sakura noticed the poor thing was dirty, scuffed up, and looked hungry. "She looks like she's in bad shape." Sakura then realized the Chikorita was curled up around something. "Hey, look, it's a Pokéball! She must have a trainer!"
Finally, the Chikorita realized she was being watched. Gasping, she looked up at the four kids, and froze, fear evident in her eyes.
"Hey, take it easy," Sakura said softly, trying to look friendly. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Yeah, we're friends," Naruto added, smiling big. Out of the corner of his mouth, he asked Sakura, "So what exactly is her problem?"
"Ssh," Sakura hissed.
"Chi...Chika," the Chikorita said softly, softly rolling the Pokéball over to Sakura. She gestured meaningfully at it.
"Hmm, I wonder," Sakura said thoughtfully, picking the ball up and examining it.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked, trying to watch what the girl was doing over her shoulder.
"I think it's broken," Sakura said, pointing it at the Chikorita and trying to recall her. Nothing happened. "Yeah, defiantly broken."
"Chika, Chika!" the Chikorita cried, nodding vigorously.
"Wait. So we found a crying Pokémon and a broken Pokéball," Naruto summarized. He paused, thinking. "Uh, what does that mean?"
"It means she was abandoned, probably," Sasuke said bluntly.
The Chikorita's eyes started to bawl up with tears at Sasuke's words, causing Sakura to quickly stomp on his foot, hissing for him to keep his mouth shut.
"You don't kn-know that. Her ball could have gotten broken by accident, and she could just be separated from her trainer," Hinata pointed out, frowning at the boy.
"Chikorita!" the Chikorita shouted, jumping up and down to confirm Hinata's words. Sasuke, however, scoffed skeptically.
"So what are we going to do?" Naruto asked.
"I think the Pokécenter could help," Sakura suggested. "They can check for her trainer's ID on the ball and see if anyone has a missing Chikorita in the area. But first," she added, looking the poor Chikorita over, "maybe we should get you something to eat?"
"Chika Chikorita," she responded, smiling big now.
-0o0o0-
Four large bowls of Pokéfeed later, at the Shinomen Pokémon Center
-0o0o0-
"I've never seen such a small Pokémon eat so much food at once!" Naruto said in the center's lobby.
"We could call Puck the 'Bottomless Pit Pokémon'," Sakura quipped.
They were waiting for the center's nurse, who had taken Chikorita for some standard medical tests and to check Chikorita's Pokéball for her trainer's ID. However, it seemed to be taking a bit longer than normal, in Sakura's worried mind.
Finally, the nurse returned. "Excuse me, Sakura Haruno? May I speak with you for a moment?"
"Uh, sure?" Sakura said.
"What's that about?" Naruto whispered as Sakura followed the nurse out.
"She's problem going to tell Sakura that the Chikorita was abandoned, not lost," Sasuke said coldly.
"Cynic," Naruto spat, rolling his eyes.
-0o0o0-
"What's the problem?" Sakura asked, though she could already guess it wasn't good.
The nurse sighed. "We checked Chikorita's Pokéball had. And, I'm sorry to say, but as it turns out, she was released."
Sakura winced. "Are you sure? There must be some mistake. Chikorita's acting-"
"Like a Pokémon in denial," the nurse said, her voice firm. "Yes, it is unfortunate, but there are many cases like Chikorita's, when a Pokémon is still devoted to their trainer after they've been abandoned."
"But, she's heartbroken. She was starving! Why would someone do that to her?" Sakura demanded.
"Why do people do any of the cruel things they do?" the nurse countered. She slumped down into her seat. "In any case, we'll likely never know. Once a Pokémon is released, their Pokéball is wiped clean of any information of the original trainer. It's nearly impossible for us to find her original owner."
The sat in silence for a moment, before Sakura spoke up again. "So what will happen to her now?"
"For now, we just have to give Chikorita a chance to accept the truth and move on," the nurse said. "After that, it's possible she'll be sent to a professor to be given to a new trainer as a starter. Hopefully, one who will be kinder to her."
Sakura nodded glumly, wishing there was something they could do for the poor Pokémon.
-0o0o0-
Sakura returned and explained what the nurse had said.
Everyone's reaction to learning Chikorita had been abandoned was more-or-less what she expected. Hinata gasped but remained quiet, Naruto gave a few choice swears, and Sasuke just cynically grunted that he had told them so.
However, they didn't have the time to talk about it; they had one hour before their turn in the Safari Zone, so they had to hurry.
The Safari Zone's entrance was a large building with a big entrance; as always, it was packed full of trainers eager to catch rare and new Pokémon. Luckily, the heroes wouldn't have to push their way through that crowd today.
"Hey, there's the appointment desk," Naruto said, pointing. "I guess one of us should check in."
"I'll do it," Hinata offered. "After all, you waited in line all that time just to get us a turn."
"Aww, thanks," Naruto said, smiling. Hinata went over to the desk, and the rest of them headed for the waiting room. "That was sweet of her," the blond said as they walked into the room.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You ever wonder why she's so nice to yo- OUPH!"
Sakura had very abruptly shoved herself between the two boys, 'accidently' elbowing Sasuke in the gut hard enough to wind him. "-what Sasuke means to say is that we should take care to notice all the little things Hinata does for us-" she turned so only Sasuke could see her face, which had taken on a very menacing smile "-isn't that right Sasuke?"
"Eh? What is with you two?" Naruto said, watching them and not paying any attention where he was going. So of course, he crashed into someone. "Ouch! Oh, sorry about that!"
The boy Naruto bumped into was so scrawny, Naruto had actually knocked him to the floor. He had pale, chalk-white skin, with hair to match, and eyes that looked blue and ghostly. He bundled up in a light green clothes that covered every inch of skin below his neck, and a folded sun-umbrella was on the floor next to him. The boy was looking up at Naruto with his eerie eyes, and his mouth hanging open in shock.
"Uh, are you okay?" Naruto asked. He was still holding out his hand, which the boy had yet to take.
Finally, the boy hesitantly took Naruto's hand.
"Uh, hi," Naruto said awkwardly after pulling him up. "Sorry for bumping into you."
The boy stared at his hand for a moment before looking at Naruto. "Uh, hello."
There was a very awkward moment, which was broken by a giant of a man walking onto the scene. "Master Toneri, there you are." The giant's voice was that of a teenager, though his size and bulk made him look older. He had orange hair and eyes, and a kind look in his face. The giant noticed Naruto and the others. "Oh, hello. Who might you be?" He gave a small but friendly smile.
"I'm Naruto, and this is Sakura and Sasuke," Naruto said. "I, uh, kind of bumped into your friend there."
"Ah, I see," the giant said, resting a massive hand on the boy's shoulder. "Sorry, but Toneri's a bit shy. My name is Jugo, by the way." He gently pushed Toneri forward.
"Uh, hello," Toneri repeated, quickly bowing in a formal way. "Uh, I am Toneri Otsutsuki...hello."
They all stood in awkward silence for a few more seconds before Toneri turned to Jugo with a pleading look on his face.
The big man sighed. "Well, I guess we best be going."
By the time the words left Jugo's mouth, the pale boy had already started walking away very quickly, glancing back at them nervously and then down at the hand Naruto had took to help him up.
"Uh, sorry about that," Jugo whispered, looking ruefully at Toneri, "he hasn't had much practice talking to people. Don't take it personally."
With that, the giant left the three to go see to his charge.
"What was his problem?" Naruto asked aloud, crossing his arms.
"Well, the big guy said he's not good with people," Sakura said, watching the strange pair with mild interest. "He doesn't look very healthy to me; maybe the poor kid's been sheltered most of his life?"
"Or he's just weird," Sasuke said. "He said 'Otsutsuki', right? I think that's a clan of old bluebloods."
"You're one to talk, Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto teased.
Sasuke grunted. "Who cares anyway? Let's just find someplace to wait for Hinata."
-0o0o0-
Elsewhere...
-0o0o0-
Boss Orochimaru groaned as the helicopter lurched, preparing to land.
"Are you okay, Sir?" It was Kabuto, sitting across from him.
Orochimaru just waved him off and pulled himself to his feet. "We're here." He took a few uneasy steps before finding his balance, and made his way for the door.
"You're having more trouble traveling," Kabuto noted as they made their way down the stairs, but his boss silenced him with a glare.
They were in the middle of an excavation site, surrounded by recently unearthed ruins. This had been the fruits of the Otogakure Project: the long lost Temple of Legends. The complex's true name was lost to history, now only known by what other ancient civilizations called it. It took years and a fortune just to discover this ancient city, and even more to unearth it. Boss Orochimaru was willing to spend both.
As Orochimaru and Kabuto exited the chopper, they were greeted by six people. Five of them stood together as a group, four boys and one girl, in their mid-teens, and each one looking proud and defiant. They belonged here, by the boss's side, and they knew it. They were, after all, the Team Snake Executives, Orochimaru's chief lieutenants. Only their leader, Kimimaro was not present; he other duties to cover.
The sixth person stood apart from the others. Grey haired, bespectacled, and dressed in a lab coat, Dr. Fuji was the head scientist on the Otogakure Project. "Orochimaru, we-"
"No pleasantries," Orochimaru ordered. He was now walking with a cane Kabuto had handed him, and the look on his face made it clear he was not in a good mood. "Just tell me what you found. You were able to open the main complex?"
Dr. Fuji nodded, leading him to a large tent. Everyone else filed in behind them. "We were finally able to open the great doors, though there's an inner sanctum that's still sealed."
"Couldn't you just blast it down?" Kabuto asked bluntly.
Fuji glared at him, but it was Orochimaru that answered. "And risk destroying whatever history lies within? Kabuto, you're an excellent doctor, but a poor archeologist."
"Besides, there's more than just stone walls blocking the way," Fuji added. "We've encountered defenses, physical and supernatural, that have prevented entry to many parts of the temple."
"Supernatural?" Kabuto asked skeptically.
"Invisible barriers, unexplainable hallucinations, and more," Dr. Fuji explained. "The top sorcerer in your employ has been most useful in dealing with those troubles."
Kabuto scoffed, but Orochimaru ignored him. "Still, even if you haven't broken into the inner sanctum, did you find anything?"
"We already found enough archeological discoveries to take a lifetime to examine before we entered the main temple," Fuji said, showing various pictures of ancient wall carvings that decorated the temple's walls. Kabuto recognized a few, like one of the legendary Ho-oh, but several more he couldn't identify. "Once we were finally able to open the main temple's doors, however, we knew there was something more valuable inside."
"What made you think that?" Kabuto asked.
"We were attacked by the temple's guardians," Fuji explained. At Orochimaru and Kabuto's shocked faces, he elaborated. "Several dozen Golurk were guarding the temple's secrets. They must have been waiting in hibernation for thousands of years."
"That's impossible! Even Ghost-type couldn't survive that long without food or sustenance," Kabuto cried.
"You better believe it happened. We were there!" It was one of the Snake Executives speaking, Sakon. Next to him, his twin brother nodded. "Those things nearly killed us! They drove us out and attacked our camp. Dr. Fuji had to call up other Elites in just to fight them off!"
Kabuto was silent for a moment. "...I hope you caught at least one of them. I'd like to do some research on it."
Jirobo, the biggest member of the Snake Executives, nodded and held up an Ultra ball.
"Enough of this," Orochimaru commanded. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
Fuji stammered a bit, then nodded. "There was one room, dedicated to what roughly translates to as, 'The First One'."
Orochimaru smiled. "Mew."
Fuji nodded. "Yes. And as fate would have it, while the room's occupant had long vacated it, we were able to discover this." He held out one last picture. "It's just a picture, of course. The real thing's far too important to be handled casually."
Orochimaru took it, his smile growing to a nearly unnatural size. It was a picture of a single, pink hair.
-0o0o0-
Back in Shinomen City...
-0o0o0-
Hinata found her three friends sitting at a booth. "Hey Hinata, you missed all the fun. We just finished talking to someone shyer than you," Naruto said playfully.
Sakura gave him a sharp jab in the ribs.
"Ouch, I was only playing! Hinata knows what I mean! It's just a joke." However, Naruto noticed that Hinata was looking down slightly, and instantly regretted his poor choice of words.
"So, were you able to check us in?" Sasuke asked, wanting to cut off the subject.
Hinata nodded, and pulled out four tabs of paper. "Here's each of our numbers," she explained, handing each of them their tab. "You can see your estimated wait up on the screen."
"Ha, look, I'm up first!" Naruto exclaimed.
True enough, Naruto's number indicated he only had to wait roughly ten minutes before his slot opened up, as opposed to everyone else, who were set to wait twenty to thirty minutes.
"Lucky," Sakura said, playfully punching the boy's shoulder. "Okay, but let's go over the plan again, just in case."
"I'd hardly call it a 'plan'," Naruto said, rolling his eyes.
Due in no small part to having to wait three days until their turn in the Safari Zone, Sakura decided to make the most of it and researched how the Safari Game worked.
The Konoha Safari Zone was divided into several different sections, based on various different natural habitats, with different Pokémon favoring certain habitats. As it turned out, the Safari Zone had their Pokémon catalog listed, along with the area a trainer would most likely find them. At the start of their Safar Game, a trainer was allowed to ask a Park Ranger to drop them off in any area of the Safari Zone, as well.
As such, Sakura insisted that they look at all of the available Pokémon and decide what they wanted to catch the most. As it turned out, that was a bit harder than she expected, with so many new and different Pokémon from the Amegakure Region to choose from. Sakura thought that Naruto would be a big help there, but she forgot that he was Naruto, not a Pokémon encyclopedia. Sure, if asked a question about Ame Pokémon, Naruto could give a pretty good answer, but he couldn't simply rattle facts off about one Pokémon after another. Still, after three days of hard work, each of the friends had a fairly good idea of what they'd want from the Safari Zone.
"I'm going to catch a Noibat in the mountain region," Sasuke said, referring to the Unevolved form of Noivern. Apparently, he had been quite serious when he vowed to catch one while riding Kushina's Noivern.
"Hey, that's what I was planning, you copycat," Naruto said, frowning.
"It was my idea first," Sasuke responded, "so that makes you the copycat, doesn't it?"
"Oh quit it, you two," Sakura sighed. "As for me, I think I'll go for a Litleo, or maybe a Carbink. Klefi's nice too, though."
"Talk about spoiled for choice," Sasuke noted. "Well, at least all three will give you good Type-coverage."
"Type-coverage isn't as important to me as just having a Pokémon I like," Sakura admitted.
Naruto turned over to Hinata, who seemed lost in thought. "What about you? What Pokémon do you want?"
Hinata looked at him, still thinking. "Well, I don't really know. There are so many good Pokémon, and you never know which ones you'll run into."
"You seemed interested in Pancham," Naruto pointed out. "There's also the Cutiefly line; they're cute and strong."
"Yeah, but she already has a Bug-type," Sasuke pointed out.
"Well, maybe an Espurr," Naruto suggested. "Hey, they're shy and have psychic powers, just like you, Hinata!"
Hinata giggled. "We don't know that for sure, you know."
"'Kinda obvious at this point," Naruto responded. "Besides, Espurr's cute and have lots of hidden strength, so it fits someone like you perfectly!"
At this, Hinata blushed deeply.
Unfortunately, before the scene could develop further, Sakura's Pokénav beeped, indicating that she had a message.
'I see you, Sakura. Come over to my table, stat!' It was from Ino.
Sakura looked up in surprise, scanning the room. Sure enough, there was Ino, waving at her from across the room, sitting at a booth for two.
Sighing, Sakura rose to her feet. "Sorry, I've got to go check on something."
"Alright," Naruto said, making room for her to get out of their booth. Soon, the girl was out of sight.
"Hey, it's almost time for your turn," Sasuke pointed out.
Naruto gasped. "Oh shoot, I gotta go!" He jumped up and was already five feet away before he turned around. "Oh! I almost forgot; whatever you guys do, stay out of Meadow Section D!"
"Eh? What's so special about that place?"
Naruto scoffed and pulled out his Pokédex. "I just noticed it last night, but it's home to the most dangerous, terrifying Pokémon species ever! These things are known to kill people all on accident!" He flipped the device on and showed his friends what he was talking about.
-0o0o0-
There were two diet sodas at Ino's table; one for Ino, and the other, Sakura presumed, was for her. That alone sent a red flag up in the girl's mind. If Ino was trying to be friendly with her, she really wanted something. Ino's Tepig, Taran, was seated next to her, enjoying a bowl of roasted berries. Sakura noted that for a little piglet, Taran had wonderful table manners (Ino must have taunt him well).
"Well, what a small world it is," Ino said as Sakura took a seat across from her.
Sakura cut her off before she could continue. "Spill it, Ino: how long have you been stalking me?"
"Stalking you? Don't make me laugh!" Ino said indignantly, putting a hand to her chest. "I'm just as surprised to see you as you are to see me. Now, if you're done throwing around baseless accusations, perhaps you'd care to listen to what I have to say?" Next to her, Taran jumped up and shouted at Sakura in his trainer's defense, but Ino lovingly hushed him, telling the Tepig to go back to his berries and let mommy handle everything.
Sakura paused, realizing she'd been too hostile (not that she'd apologize to Ino for that). Sighing, she nodded for Ino to continue, taking a sip of her soda in an attempt at being polite.
"Well, all things considered, I think it's best we just skip the niceties and get straight to the point," Ino said. "I want to call in the favor you owe me."
Ino braced herself, expecting the other girl to snap at her; instead, Sakura just nodded and asked how. That got Ino smiling. "Here, look at this."
She pulled out her Pokédex, which pinged to life, showing a picture of a butterfly-like Pokémon with a vivid pink pattern on its wings. "Vivillon, the Scale Pokémon. The patterns on this Pokémon's wings depend on the climate and topography of its habitat. It scatters its colorful scales for a variety of powder-based attacks." The Pokédex then filed through several Vivillon pictures, each with its own unique wing pattern.
"Pretty," Sakura mused simply.
"That's not all," Ino, pulling out her Pokénav next and turning it on. "This is an advertisement for all the Amegakure Region Pokémon the Safari Zone's adding." She let the video play for a little bit before pausing it and pointing excitedly. "Look, right here!"
There, on the screen, was what looked to be a flock of Vivillon being released into the Safari Zone. The one Ino was pointing at, however, was different from the rest: it had a pretty purple wing-pattern.
"That's an Elegant Pattern Vivillon," Ino explained, "and according to the Pokédex, that pattern is very rare." She smiled, and looked directly at Sakura. "You're going to help me find it!"
"...what?"
"That's the favor I want from you: help me catch an Elegant Pattern Vivillion."
"You've got to be joking!" Sakura shouted, jumping up. "I had to wait three days to get in the Safari Zone, and I'm not going to waste on a golden Farfetch'd hunt!"
"Sakura, dear, you are causing a scene," Ino said firmly. "Sit. Down."
Sakura did so, crossing her arms.
Ino smiled smugly and continued. "Now, you forget that I'm smarter than you. For starters, I looked it up, and almost all of the Vivillon in the Safari Zone swarm in Meadow Area D. That cuts our work in half already."
"Okay, maybe, but it could still take hours to find one specific Pokémon!" Sakura said.
"Not if we work together," Ino insisted. "You just happen to have two teammates that are perfect for hunting down specific Pokémon."
"Eh?" Sakura asked, not sure who Ino was talking about.
"Your Marill and Hoothoot, dear," Ino explained. "A Marill's ears are like a sonar, and can hear cries of specific Pokémon from several hundred yards away. As for your Hoothoot, well, his eyesight is super sharp; once we find a swarm of Vivillon, he can help us locate the Elegant Pattern one by flying above them and spotting it."
Sakura mulled Ino's words over for a bit. "...I still don't know; it sounds like a long shot to me."
"Oh? So you're going back on your promise?" Ino asked coolly.
"No, I don't mean it like that!" Sakura insisted. "It's just-"
"-you're not grateful at all form at me bailing you out of trouble back in Winterborn," Ino said, turning away and putting her hand to her chest melodramatically.
Sakura growled, grinding her teeth, and slammed both hand down onto the table. "Fine! I'll help you find that stupid purple butterfly! Besides, I'm good enough to catch that Vivillon and my own Pokémon, with time to spare!"
Ino smugly took a sip from her drink. Some people were just so easy to manipulate.
-0o0o0-
"So, what was that about?" Sasuke asked bluntly as Sakura returned to their booth.
"You were watching me?" Sakura asked in return, blushing a little.
Sasuke shrugged. "Not much else to do. Besides, it's not like you were trying to keep your meeting secret, with you slamming your fists down like that."
Sakura laughed in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry about that. Uh, Ino and I are just going to work together in the Safari Zone. Don't worry about it."
"I'm not; I was just asking," Sasuke said.
"Is it about that favor we still owe her?" Hinata asked softly.
"Yeah. I guess it's a good thing to be able to scratch that off my list." She checked the clock. "Well, it looks like it's almost time for me to go. Bye!"
With that, Sakura joined up with Ino and the two girls were off; Ino tried waving goodbye to Sasuke, but he had turned away after Sakura left and paid no attention to the blond girl.
Sasuke and Hinata sat together silently for a little while longer. Sasuke was looking at the Safari Zone map and ignoring everything else. Occasionally, he would mutter something to Bayushi, but Sasuke completely ignored Hinata, inadvertently or otherwise. Sighing, the girl excused herself, saying she was going to use the restroom.
Hinata did not go unnoticed as she walked across the room, however. Sitting together in a poorly lit corner of the waiting room, three figures huddled together, wearing hats and coats with high collars.
"Hey, it's one of the Twerps!" Kin said in a hushed voice. "Let's get her!"
"You get her. I'm staying right here," Zaku grunted angrily. "If you want to get your butt thrown out of here, go for it, but I want a new Pokémon."
Next to him, Dosu nodded, glaring at the girl member of their trio. Both boys were still covered with scratches from when Kin's Chimecho had teleported them on top of a thorn bush. Both had not forgiven Kin for that either.
"But-"
"Zaku's right," Dosu said firmly, cutting Kin off, "there's no point in attacking them here, and we'll just end up getting kicked out. So shut up and stop being an idiot."
"Hmph! You're both cowards," Kin said sourly, crossing her arms and looking away.
"And you're a witch with a capital B," Zaku replied, taking out some ointment to spread over his cuts.
Kin groaned in disgust. "Can't you do that somewhere other than public? It's so embarrassing."
"Fine, you nag," Zaku said, rising to his feet. "I'll do this in the bathroom; I need to take care of the cuts on my back anyway."
"I'll help you. Then, you can do the same for me," Dosu said, following him.
Kin gave the two a suggestive wolf-whistle. "Now, now, boys. If you wanted time alone, you could have just said so."
"Ah, get bent," Zaku grunted.
Luckily, no one else was in the men's room, so Zaku just took off his shirt, and let Dosu tend to his wounds. "Thanks, buddy. But seriously, what are we going to do about the Twerps? What are they doing here at the same time as us?"
"It's just coincidence," Dosu reassured him. "They're here for the same reason we are; nothing more. If we try anything, they'll end up sending the cops after us. We'll just avoid the Twerps for now, and get them later!"
"Eew!" The shriek came from behind them: it was an albino-skinned young man, who was recoiling in disgust for some reason.
"What do you want?" Dosu demanded.
The boy actually flinched. Clearing his throat, he spoke slowly. "Uh, y-you're half-naked!"
"Yeah? What of it?" Zaku said, glaring. "Want me to take off my pants too?"
"NO!" the boy cried, waving his hands. "It's- uh, you're not supposed to be doing that in public. Y-You need to use a booth."
Zaku groaned. Was this guy for real? "What are you, my foster mother? Don't be such a prude, you pale-skinned freak!"
The boy's face attempted to look angry, but he came across as adorably childish instead. "You're rude- and mean, too!"
Dosu actually chuckled, looking around to see if anyone else was in the restroom. Aside from the three of them, it was deserted. Smiling wickedly, he whispered something to Zaku, then turned back to the boy. "You know what you are, kid?" The two started to walk over to the pale boy, who tried backing away at their sudden advance. However, he found his back to a wall.
"You are exactly what we need right now!" The two lunged, grabbing him from both sides, and dragged him over to one of the toilets, before shoving him headfirst into the bowl.
-0o0o0-
"Help-!"
Hinata was just exiting the woman's restroom when she heard a cry that was muffled as quickly as it came. It had come from the men's room, and more sounds of struggles and splashing water followed.
Hinata didn't know what was happening, but she could guess it wasn't nice. She should have called for help, but instead, she ran into the men's restroom, and gasped at what she saw.
It was the two boys from the Sound Trio, manhandling a third boy, who was dripping wet and crying. The two were trying to shove him into one of the bathroom's lockers, upside-down, while he desperately fought against the two bigger, stronger boys.
"Hey, shut up or I'll gag you with one of my old socks, you little freak!" Zaku threatened. "You brought this on yourself!" They continued their shoving.
"Stop that!" Hinata shouted.
Zaku and Dosu jumped back, dropping their poor captive, and turned towards Hinata. "It's the shy Twerp!" Zaku gasped.
"Oh great," Dosu sighed, realizing their cover just might be blown...unless they did something to shut the twerp up...like gag her and stuff her in one of the lockers. Maybe they'd steal her Pokémon while they were at it. The idea actually sounded pretty good. He started to reach for Baritone's Pokéball.
Hinata saw what he was doing. "Y-you leave him alone!" she ordered, steadying herself. "Leave now! I mean it! The police will be here any second!"
Zaku glanced over at Dosu, who wasn't fazed, and followed his lead. "Yeah, sure they are, Sweetie. Why don't you just leave, and forget you ever saw us?"
Hinata glared at the Sound boys. "I'm not scared of you!" She pulled two Pokéballs from her belt.
Dosu and Zaku both laughed. "Oh, we can fix...that..." They stopped laughing, eyes vacant and their mouths hanging open.
Hinata couldn't exactly explain what had happened. It was a strange, almost horrifying feeling. It was almost like, somehow, she could feel her anger flowing out of her eyes, like hot daggers, flying outward at both of the Sound boys. Hinata felt the sensation enter both of them, flooding their minds. She recoiled, and so did they; their fear blossomed, growing, flooding their minds. And just as quickly as it came, the sensation was gone.
Hinata blinked, and realized both Dosu and Zaku had run off in terror. Zaku had even left his shirt behind. However, Hinata didn't even care. She felt dazed and confused. She knew something important just happened. Something strange. But, she couldn't remember what that was...
"Hey...you just see what you just did?!"
Hinata jumped, shaken out of her daze. It was the pale boy. He was looking at her like she was the most amazing, wonderful thing he had ever seen.
"Wh-what d-do you mean?" Hinata stammered, suddenly realizing what just happened. She started to shake, mind ablaze with the possible ramifications of it all.
The boy, however, didn't seem to notice her fear. "You just made those two run away...with your mind!"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Hinata insisted, taking a step back. "I didn't to anything! Th-They just ran away on their own!"
"Yeah, because you made them!" the boy insisted, waving his hands and smiling big. He closed the distance between them again, much to Hinata's discomfort. "Your eyes were all shiny and glowing! It was sooooo cool!"
"I...I should go!" Hinata cried. She tried to run, but the boy grabbed her hand.
"Wait, don't go!" he pleaded. "I'm the same as you!"
"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, trying to take another step away from the boy. The worshipful way he was looking at her was disconcerting, just like how he kept trying to be as close as possible.
"I've got the gift, like you!" the boy cried, pointing at himself. Suddenly, his eyes went wide, remembering something, and he bowed, very formal like. "Thank you for helping me! My name's Toneri! Toneri Otsutsuki!" He straightened his back and waited, looking at her with his big, haunting blue eyes.
Hinata realized he was waiting for her to introduce herself. "Hinata...Hyuga. And, what do you mean, 'gift'?"
Toneri nodded, stepping back. "Look, I'll show you!" He concentrated, closing his eyes. Giving a strained grunt, he opened his eyes, which were now glowing with haunting light.
All around them, the light suddenly grew darker, and Hinata realized the shadows all around them were moving on their own, swirling around them like smoke. The strange ripple pulsed through the air, distorting the room itself. The mirror on the wall cracked, the pieces flying upward and sticking to the ceiling, while the locker doors all suddenly started opening and closing on their own.
Hinata gasped, and Toneri realized at last how scared she was. He broke out of his trance, eyes returning to normal, as did everything around them.
"You see what I mean?" Toneri asked her excitedly, reaching a hand out to hers. "We're different from everyone! You and me both! Back when I was all alone, I thought I was the only one; I read about people like me, but you're the first one I've ever met!" Once again, he was looking at her with unnatural attachment, invading her personal space as he stepped closer.
Hinata pulled her hand away from his before he could grab it, taking a step back. He was really scaring her now. "I-I'm...I'm sorry, but I have to go now."
Toneri's smile faltered. "W-what do you mean?"
"I have to go," Hinata repeated, forcefully this time. "I'm sorry, but I have to go right now!"
And with that, Hinata rushed away, leaving Toneri standing there, looking hurt and dejected.
-0o0o0-
There had been people running towards the men's bathroom to see what was going on, but Hinata barely noticed them, and as she shoved past them, they didn't try to stop her. There was also a commotion going on in the waiting room, someone shouting something about a shirtless boy, but Hinata didn't care about that either. She really didn't care about anything going on, in fact. All that mattered to the girl was finding someone to talk to. To talk about what was happening to her!
The first person to come to her mind was Naruto; he always seemed to know what to say at times like these. But he had already left for the Safari Zone. The same was true for Sakura, who would be Hinata's second choice. And Sasuke as well, though Hinata had to admit she wasn't sure he was the best listener.
Taking in quicker breaths, Hinata felt her heartbeat rise. What was she going to do? What was she going to do? What was she going to do?!
Clam down.
Hinata stopped everything; her breathing, worrying, and even twiddling her fingers. She quickly realized she was heading for a panic attack again, and that wouldn't help anything.
Somehow, just thinking this helped her. Slowly, Hinata took in a deep breath, and then let it out just as slowly. It was shaky, but she followed this with three more deep belly breaths, and by then, she could feel her pulse return to normal. She was still afraid at what just happened, but now, she was thinking much clearer.
"I need...I need to tell Father!" Hinata said aloud. If anything else, it was wrong to keep him in the dark after all that had happened, and surely the Head of the Aura Guardians would know what to do in a situation like this. Still, Hinata realized just the thought of calling her Father and speaking to him terrified her, for some reason. Would he be disappointed that she turned out to have strange psychic powers? Would the family elders see her even more unfit than when she was just Aura-less, and demand she be disowned?!
Stop that, the voice inside Hinata's head ordered her. Worrying like that isn't helping!
Nodding to herself, Hinata resolved to call Father and tell him everything. If she rushed, perhaps she could do it now before it was her turn in the Safari Zone-
-her turn! Hinata had completely forgotten about that! Gasping, she looked up at one of the screens in the waiting room. They had been calling her name!
"Oh no!" She ran to the reception desk, trying to blurt out her name and apologize for her tardiness as quickly as she could. "Hi- Hinata Hyuga! That's me!"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" the receptionist said, holding up both of his hands. "We're not going to knock you off the list for being a little late!"
"Th-thank you," Hinata said, blushing at her foolish panic.
"Hmm, you don't look so good," the receptionist said. He wondered if it the kid was just really nervous at the prospect of getting a new Pokémon, or if was something more serious. "Look, how about you sit down for a bit? No one's going to mind if you take a little breather, okay?"
"Uh, actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to make a quick call to my family?" Hinata said gently. She was twiddling her fingers together without realizing it.
"Sure, go ahead. There's a video phone right over there. Take as long as you like."
"Thank you!" Hinata said with a bow, before running off.
Taking one last deep breath, Hinata steadied herself and dialed up her family estate. It only took a ring and a half before one of the maids answered. After fussing over Hinata for a few seconds, the maid quickly transferred the call. Much to Hinata's surprise, it was not her father who answered, but Hanabi, her sister!
"Sister!" the little girl cried, happy as ever to see her, "I saw you on TV! I saw you!"
"Hanabi, calm down, calm down," Hinata begged, a little more forceful than normal. "Now, what are you doing answering Father's phone? I need to talk to him!"
"Oh...you weren't calling me," Hanabi said slowly.
"I'm sorry, Hanabi. I do want to talk to you, too, but right now, I have to speak with Father," Hinata explained, being as gentle as possible, "Can you please put him on?"
"Nope!" Hanabi responded, smiling big, "He's not here! So you'll have to talk to me!"
"What do you mean?" Hinata said, nearly squeaking.
"Daddy's not home, duh!" Hanabi said, as if it was obvious. "He had to go see Grandpa!"
"Oh?" That was news to Hinata; she knew her father and grandfather got along poorly, at best. From what she understood, Hiashi's decision to marry her mother had been source of contention between them, that only got worse as the years went on. "What happened?"
"Grandpa's dying again!" Hanabi explained, saying it as it were a funny joke.
Hinata sighed, knowing what Hanabi meant though she didn't like her demeanor about it. Their grandfather claimed to be dying almost once a month for the last year; Hinata secretly suspected he acted up because he was lonely and wanted his son's company.
"Hinata, what does 'making it stick,' mean?" Hanabi suddenly asked.
"What? Where did that come from?"
"It's just that, Daddy said that as he was leaving." Hanabi tried mimicking her father's deep, serious voice as best she could. "'I swear, if that old man isn't really dying again, I may just take a pillow and make it stick this time!' What does that mean? I tried asking Kikyo, but she won't answer!"
"Uh..." Hinata was speechless. "Ah, well, it means that Father's going to make sure Grandfather's pillows are nicely fluffed so he can sleep better!"
"Ha!" Hanabi cheered. She turned to someone off-screen. "See, I told you!"
"Gardevoir," the unseen person said, to the tone of 'of course that's what it means, you're so smart'.
Kikyo walked into the screen, sitting down and pulling Hanabi up into her lap. She was a Gardevoir, a human-like Pokémon that looked elegant and angelical.
Hinata smiled warmly. Kikyo had been her mother's first Pokémon, and had cared for Hinata and Hanabi as a nanny since they were born. Being a Psychic Pokémon, Kikyo found it easy to understand humans to a degree, and was even capable of reading and writing as well as any human. In fact, thanks to her telepathic powers, Kikyo was capable of projecting images, feelings, or thoughts to people, allowing her a limited form of communication. Having grown up with Kikyo, Hinata had found it very easy to understand even complex messages from the Gardevoir. In fact, Hinata often understood her better than even father, who had known Kikyo for all her life. That had always been chalked up to Hinata being an empathetic individual, someone a caring Pokémon like Kikyo could bond to. But now that Hinata knew she was 'gifted', as Toneri put it, she was wondering if her connection to Kikyo was an early sign of psychic abilities.
"Gard?" Kikyo asked over the phone, catching Hinata's attention. She waved at the girl caringly.
"She says she misses you," Hanabi explained, as Kikyo couldn't project telepathic messages over the vid-phone. "And that you should come home and play with me!"
"Gardevoir," Kikyo said, rebuking the girl gently.
"I'll keep that in mind," Hinata said playfully. "Do you know when Father's going to be home?"
Hanabi shook her head. "Nope, but he has to be back in a week. We'll be going to Ambersky City really soon!"
"Eh?!" Hinata gasped. Why on Earth would her father and sister be heading to the same city as she was, at the same time? Surely, it was just coincidence?
"Gardevoir," Kikyo sighed, putting a hand to her face and shaking her head.
"...oops," Hanabi said slowly, "I...don't think I was supposed to tell you that."
"Well, can you tell me anyway?" Hinata asked, now certain it was not coincidence.
Hanabi looked up at Kikyo, who just sighed and waved at her to go on head. "Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but I asked Daddy if we could go see your next Contest performance in person, and guess what? He said yes! So we were going to surprise you by meeting you in Ambersky!" Hanabi paused, suddenly realizing she might have said too much. "You won't tell Daddy I told you, right?"
"Uh, of course not," Hinata said slowly. Then something clicked in her head. "Wait, there's a Contest in Ambersky? And how did Father know I was going to be there?"
"Well of course there's going to be a Contest there," Hanabi said, "That's why you're going there, isn't it?"
"...well, I guess it is now," Hinata said, mostly to herself; she was not going to tell Hanabi anything about her supposed psychic powers. Not before telling her father. "But, do you know how Father knew I was headed there?"
Hanabi shrugged and turned to Kikyo, expecting her to answer.
"Gardevoir-gard," Kikyo said to Hanabi, motioning as she explained.
"Uh, I think Kikyo says he guessed?" Hanabi said slowly.
Hinata shrugged it off. Well, now she could at least talk to her father in person about her 'gift'. For now, the shock of this news had yet to really sink in, but Hinata was sure it would keep her up late tonight with worry.
"Oh, and guess what else!" Hanabi added excitedly. " Kikyo had babies!"
"What?! She did?"
The poor Gardevoir was trying to get Hanabi to shut up now, but the little girl was too excited to stop. "Yeah, and they're sooo cute! She laid her eggs when she was taking care of Grandpa while we were in Palace City with Daddy! They hatched when you were just leaving on your journey!"
"Oh my, how wonderful," Hinata said, smiling at Kikyo, who could only blush. She had a number of children in the past, but that was when Mother was still alive. After she passed, Kikyo didn't seem interested in mothering anymore. Hinata was sure Kikyo's renewed interest in raising children of her own was good news. "I hope I can visit them soon."
"Sooner than you think," Hanabi added, "and guess what? Daddy's going to-"
At this, Kikyo outright clamped her hand around Hanabi's mouth and shushed her. "Gard," she said in an apologetic tone, both to Hinata and Hanabi.
"I'm guessing this is something Hanabi is not supposed to be talking about?" Hinata asked gently.
Kikyo nodded, letting go of Hanabi's mouth.
"Puh, meanie," the little girl squeaked, sticking out her tongue.
Hinata thought for a moment. "Uh, Hanabi, can I ask you to leave the room? I...I want to speak to Kikyo privately, please."
"Ahhh, do I have to?" Hanabi asked, pouting. However, she allowed Kikyo to push her out of the room all the same.
"Gard," Kikyo said, returning to her seat and rearranging her dress. She looked up at Hinata and smiled. "Gardevoir?" she asked, in a tone that meant she wanted Hinata to say what was worrying her.
"I know you can't speak telepathically over the phone, but you can still type in the chat-box," Hinata explained. "And, really, I want you to, uh, 'record' what I have to say, and 'show it' to Father. You know, with your telepathy. C-can you do that?"
Kikyo smiled and started typing.
'Of course, Hinata. What is the matter? I'm listening.'
Sighing, Hinata nodded. "It's...a very long story. You won't believe it...I barely do!"
With that, Hinata launched into detail about her strange abilities, and that she was heading to Ambersky to seek help from an expert. She didn't tell Kikyo about the boy Toneri. She wasn't sure why, but just thinking about the way he looked at her made her uneasy. She was certain Kikyo would pick up on that and worry about her, so Hinata just avoided the subject.
When she was finished, Kikyo was wide-eyed and shocked, but her face soon returned to its natural angelic smile. 'I always knew you were special, Hinata,' she typed. 'I wish I realized how special. Perhaps I could have helped you sooner.'
"I-I should have called home and asked for you as soon as this started," Hinata responded. "I-It would have made things much better. I wish I hadn't been so childish and thought of that!"
'Don't be upset. All will be well,' Kikyo typed, holding her hand up to the screen.
Hinata smiled and help up hers as well. Though it was impossible, Hinata swore she could feel Kikyo's warmth through the glass. "Thank you. And, when Father and Hanabi go to Ambersky, please ask him if you can come...for me?"
"Gardevoir," she said, nodding.
"Okay. I...I should go soon, so, please call Hanabi back in so I can tell her goodbye?"
Hanabi was upset that Hinata couldn't stay longer, but Hinata promised they'd get to see each other soon. That made her happy, and she gave her sister no more trouble.
-0o0o0-
"Let's see," Naruto said to himself. He was in the mountain-like area of the Safari Zone, the most likely place to find a Noibat. So far, his quest had been fruitless, but Naruto's policy was to never give up.
...after over half an hour of searching, he was questioning that policy. Finally, his frustration reached its boiling point.
"ARRRGGG! Are there any Pokémon on this stinkin' rock!?" He kicked the ground in anger, knocking a stone up into the air and over the ledge, and hurting his foot in the process. "Ouch! Stupid rock-!"
Conk!
"OUCH! WHO THREW THAT?!"
Naruto jumped back at the cry of pain from below the ledge. "...I know that scream." Cautiously, Naruto peaked over the ledge, and saw who it was. "Sasuke, what are you doing here-? GAH!" He had to duck to avoid the stone he had kicked over the ledge being thrown at his head. "What the Houndoom did you do that for?!"
"Why the Houndoom did you hit me with it first?!" Sasuke retorted. Next to him, Bayushi hissed and spat at the blond.
"I didn't mean to, I just kicked it!"
"Idiot, what if you knocked me off the mountainside?"
"It would have been an accident!"
"I'd still be dead, moron!"
"And it'd still be an accident!"
"Apologize!" Sasuke demanded. By this time, he had climbed up the ledge so he could glare him in the eye.
"Why don't you make me?" Naruto said, glaring back. By the time the words left his mouth, Sasuke had him a headlock.
"Say it! Say it!" he demanded, tightening his grip.
"NEVER!" Naruto screamed in defiance.
The two struggled against each other for a few seconds, until their pushing and shoving caused Naruto's foot to slip off the side of the ledge. Luckily, Sasuke was able to pull back, causing both boys to fall backwards away from the edge.
For a moment, they were both too stunned to say anything. Finally, Naruto looked over at Sasuke and said, "Man, that was close. We could have really died!"
"Yeah. What the heck were we even fighting over, anyway?"
"...I don't remember; it must have been something stupid."
"Yeah, something not worth fighting over."
"You're right...sorry about hitting you with that rock."
"It's cool. It was an accident, anyway."
The two boys helped each other up. Bayushi was snuggling up against his master, glad everything was okay now.
"Hey, how much time do we have left?" Naruto asked.
"20 minutes, if we're lucky," Sasuke grunted. "A little less for you, seeing as you got in sooner."
"Darn, and I still haven't seen a Noibat yet."
"Yeah, same here. Hey, think we should team up? Maybe if we can make our way to higher grounds, we can-?"
"Ruff-ruff!" A playful barking interrupted Sasuke's suggestion. Turning towards the source of the sound, both boys saw it was an adorable, puppy-like Pokémon, wagging its tail as it backed again at them.
"Oh cool, a Rockruff!" Naruto cried, much more excited to see the dog than Sasuke as he pull out his Pokédex.
"Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon," the 'dex pinged. "Rockruff have lived with humans since ancient times, and are one of the two native canine Pokémon from the Amegakure Region, the other being Furfrou. Rockruff are a friendly species that love humans, especially young trainers, and will do their best to cheer up their trainers when they notice they are upset. Rockruff's Evolved form, Lycanroc, posses three different forms, depending on what time of day Rockruff Evolves."
"Ah, look how friendly he is!" Naruto said, pulling out the Luxury ball he had gotten from Haku. "I'm gonna catch it!"
At this, the Rockruff jumped up and down with delight, spinning around once before wagging his tail at Naruto and backing again.
"Seriously? I thought you wanted a Noibat?" Sasuke said.
"We're never going to find a Noibat in time at this rate," Naruto responded. "You can waste your time trying to find one, but I'm not- Hey wait up!"
The Rockruff dashed away, turning back to bark at Naruto to try and catch him. Seeing Naruto chasing after him, the Rockruff backed with joy and playfully ran out of sight, with Naruto following behind. "Wait! I haven't caught you yet! We can play later! Don't run off now! Darn it, I'm running out of time!"
"...that idiot," Sasuke grunted. He looked down at Bayushi. "Bah, we're not going to give up so easily, are we?"
"Eevee!" Bayushi said, nodding.
"Yeah, we'll show him! We're going to find a Noibat, even if it takes us all day...which we don't really have," Sasuke said slowly, looking down. "Ugh...maybe Naruto's right. Unless we catch something before our time's up, we'll have wasted three days waiting!"
"Vee!" Bayushi insisted, trying to cheer his trainer up.
"I don't know," Sasuke responded. "We've been looking this whole time, and we haven't seen any trace of a Noibat-"
"Eevee!" Bayushi suddenly cried, pointing at something behind Sasuke with his paw.
Sasuke whipped around, and saw a Noibat land on a nearby Oran berry tree. He stood in stunned silence, watching as the elusive little Dragon-type inspected various berries before plunking one and munching on it quietly. Sasuke looked over at Bayushi, who grinned back at him smugly.
"Veevee-vee," the Eevee said, as if to say, 'I told you so'.
"Okay, you were right," Sasuke said, pulling out a Pokéball. "So, looks like I'm going to catch a Noibat!"
He threw the ball at the Noibat; the Noibat's ears twitched in anticipation, and it threw its half-eaten berry at the ball, knocking it away. The Noibat fluttered up in the air, chirring angrily.
"Okay, so you're stronger than I thought," Sasuke grunted. Bayushi started to step forward, but Sasuke stopped him, pulling out a Pokéball. "For this fight, I think Akodo would work best! Go!"
His Shinx materialized, growling aggressively.
"Noi!" The Noibat flew backwards, unleashing a Supersonic attack.
The sonic screech reverberated in Akodo's ears, causing him to wince down and cover his ears. Sasuke shouted something, but the Shinx either couldn't hear him or was in too much pain to listen.
"Come on, shake it off!" Sasuke ordered in desperation. He then noticed the Noibat's wings starting to take on a glow. "Look out!"
The Noibat fired off an Air Slash, hitting Akodo right in the face. The attack stunned the Shinx, but also shook him free from the Supersonic's effects. Akodo rolled to the side, dodging a second Air Slash, and growled defiantly, body sparking with electricity.
"All right, Akodo, use Thunder Fang!" Sasuke said.
"Shinx!" Deftly ducking under another Air Slash, Akodo ran for the mountainside wall and leapt into the air, fangs bared and sparking.
The Noibat responded by firing a ball of shadow from its mouth, hitting Akodo in the face. Akodo was hit in midair, but he was able to roll with the attack, landing on his feet nimbly, scuffed up and panting but still ready to fight.
"Man, this thing's strong," Sasuke said. "Akodo, focus on dodging its attacks until you see an opening, then leap for it!"
The Noibat growled and fluttered upward until it was too high for Akodo to jump after; it fired two more Shadow Balls, but at this distance, it was easy for the Shinx to dodge ranged attacks.
"Heh, can't keep this up much longer, can you?" Sasuke smirked, noticing the Noibat panting. "Get ready-!"
"NOIIIIII!" The Noibat suddenly let out an ear-piercing shriek, its Supersonic echoing across the whole battlefield and honing in on Akodo's location. The Shinx winced as his sensitive ears were assaulted, falling to one knee.
However, in the next moment, Akodo growled in defiance, rising back to his feet, eyes glowing with red rage. Taking in a deep breath, he roared above the Supersonic, his body glowing and changing, becoming larger.
"Akodo, you're evolving!" Sasuke gasped.
The Noibat also realized what was happening, and dropped its Supersonic, gathering power for a Shadow Ball. Still glowing, Akodo leapt into the air after it, his new, stronger legs letting him jump faster and farther than before. Giving a vicious growl, Akodo's ice-coated teeth bit down on the Noibat with a burst of ice. Akodo fell to the ground, Noibat in mouth, and pinned it down with his is large paw. "Luxio," he growled, daring the little Dragon to try something else. Not that the Noibat could even hear him; after that Ice Fang attack, it was still in shock, half-frozen and twitching.
"Alright, we got him!" Sasuke cried, tossing a Pokéball.
It hit the Noibat and shook for a while before pinging shut. Sasuke, however, didn't even notice. Instead, he ran up to his new Luxio, affectionately ruffling his mane.
"Haha, you're awesome, Akodo," Sasuke said, petting him. "Good work."
"Eevee," Bayushi grunted, looking up at his rival, who was now twice his size.
"Lux," Akodo grunted back smugly. Bayushi hissed quietly and puffed out his fur.
Sasuke didn't know what was being said, but he was sure they were trading jabs of some sort. "Some things never change," he grunted, rolling his eyes. The boy walked over and picked up his Pokéball. "Well, in any case, we've done good, boys. We've done good. Come on, let's go find Naruto before he gets himself killed."
-0o0o0-
"Ha! Got ya!" Naruto cried, cornering the Rockruff at last. The Puppy Pokémon only smiled, playfully wagging his whole rear-end.
"Heh, you really just want to be caught, don't ya?" Naruto said, raising the Luxury ball high. "Well, then I'll catch-!"
FROOOM!
A jet of flames cut between Naruto and the Rockruff, causing the blond to stumble backwards on his butt.
"Not so fast!" a voice shouted.
A Growlithe ran up, growling at Naruto, followed by a familiar face.
"Kiba!?" Naruto cried in shock.
"Yeah, it's me!" Kiba growled, leaning on to his knee as he glared down at Naruto. "Surprise to see me? Of course you are, considering you got your gang to abandon me back in Winterborn!"
"Wait, what?" Naruto asked, perplexed. The gears in his head started turning. "Oh yeah, we did, didn't we?" he said, sounding surprised (but not guilty) at the realization.
"Of course you did!" Kiba shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. "That was your plan from the start! You leaving me behind on purpose!"
"Why would we do that?!" Naruto demanded.
"Because you feel threatened by an awesome trainer like me!" Kiba concluded, crossing his arms smugly. Then he added, more to himself than Naruto, "and because Hinata would like someone cool like me more than you if given half the chance."
"Growlithe!" Akamaru cheered, agreeing with his trainer.
"Like I'd be threatened by someone like you, you idiot!" Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet. He didn't really understand the second part of what Kiba said, but he knew it was insulting.
"Ha! I'm not the idiot, you are!" Kiba retorted.
While the two had their back-and-forth, the Rockruff behind Kiba whimpered, wondering why the two boys were fighting, when they could be playing with him! "Ruff-ruff!"
"Growl!" Akamaru barked back, saying hello to the fellow canine Pokémon. The two started sniffing each other.
"Huh?" Kiba said, turning around. His eyes lit up. "Oh cool! A new dog Pokémon!" He pulled out a well-polished Pokéball. "I'm gonna catch it!"
"Ruff?" the Rockruff said, tilting his head.
"Hey, that's my Rockruff!" Naruto shouted, angrily shaking his Luxury ball at them. "I was about to catch him when you interrupted me!"
"No way, I'm the dog lover, I'm going to catch him!" Kiba said, glaring.
"Yeah, well he was playing with me before you showed up, so he's mine!"
"Well now he's playing with Akamaru," Kiba pointed out. Sure enough, the two dogs were play-wrestling together. "So, he's mine!"
"No, he's mine!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Ah screw it!" Kiba shouted, pulling out a Pokéball. "I'll battle you for him!"
"Fine by me!" Naruto responded. He was about to reach for a ball from his belt, when he noticed a flash of white just within his peripheral vision. "It can't be!" He turned quickly, but only saw a glimpse of its six tails. Six white tails!
"Hey, hello? We're having a battle here!" Kiba called.
"Uh," Naruto groaned, looking back and forth, from the Rockruff, who was still playing with Akamaru, back to where the white tails were just a moment ago, his expression pained. Finally, he bolted for the flash of white. "Sorry!"
"Hey! HEY! Where the Houndoom do you think you're going?!" Kiba shouted after him. "We've got a battle!"
"You can have the Rockruff!" Naruto called back, "I'm going to catch that shiny Vulpix!"
"Wait, what?" Kiba tried asking, but Naruto had already jumped out of sight. "Hey, get back here so I can beat you!"
But the blond was already gone.
Next to Kiba, the Rockruff stopped playing with Akamaru. "Ruff?" he said, eyes getting watery.
"...so," Kiba said slowly, looking down at Akamaru, "it seems we've been forgotten and abandoned...again." He slumped down to his knees in a pout. "Why do they keep doing this to us!?"
"Growlithe," Akamaru said affectingly, patting his trainer on the back, as if to say 'there, there'.
"Ruff?" the Rockruff whimpered, looking from Kiba to where Naruto had been only a moment ago. He sniffled, and threw his head back into what was supposed to be a sorrowful howl, but quickly turned into a sobbing fit.
"That's right, he left you behind too!" Kiba said, putting an arm around the poor Rockruff. "We're 'left-behind' buddies!"
"Rockruff," the puppy sighed, snuggling up to his new friend. Akamaru did the same.
"Heh, don't worry, we'll get him for this," Kiba said, scratching both of dogs behind the ears. "Just you wait! We're going to track him down and teach him a lesson for abandoning a good boy like you!"
"Rockruff!" the Rockruff called, spinning in place and wagging his tail.
"Hey, I think I've a special Pokéball here just for an occasion like this," Kiba said, searching through his backpack. After a few seconds, he pulled out an extra shiny Luxury ball. "Here you go boy, go long!" Kiba shouted, throwing the ball far.
"Ruff!" the Rockruff cheered, running for the ball. He leapt high, catching it in his mouth, only to be drawn in. The ball didn't even wiggle once before it pinged shut.
"Alright!" Kiba cheered as Akamaru gleefully retrieved the ball and handed it to his trainer (not without a short game of tug o' war first, of course). Kiba looked at the ball, smiling. "Well, welcome to our family...Ryoga!"
-0o0o0-
"Hey, wait up!" Naruto shouted, ducking under a low hanging tree-branch.
The white Vulpix had led Naruto on one heck of a chase, through rocky crags, thorny bushes, and a copse of mountain trees. Though the Vulpix had almost lost him a few times, he had always managed to keep at least one of her white tails in sight at all times.
Finally, they had come to a clearing. "Come on, we're running out of time," Naruto said, tossing Jet's Pokéball towards her. "Jet, cut her off with Aqua Jet!"
"Bui!" Jet cried, rocketing off as soon as he materialized. In a flash, he landed in front of her, cutting off the Vulpix's escape route.
"Got ya'! Now, Luxury ball, GO!" Naruto shouted, tossing the ball at the Vulpix. It hit and absorbed her.
The ball wiggled as the Vulpix attempted to escape the capture net. "Come on...come on," Naruto murmured, clinching his fists. Finally, it pinged closed.
"Alright! Naruto ran up and picked up the Luxury ball, dancing like an idiot. "Hahaha! Yeah! I got my own Vulpix!" He fist pumped, and gave Jet a high-five.
Naruto smiled, looking at the ball now. "Okay, why don't we get to know you? Come on out!"
The Vulpix materialized, and instantly shrank down in fear. "Vulp!"
"Bui-" Jet began.
"VUL!" the Vulpix breathed out a flurry of ice and wind that knocked the surprised Jet off his feet.
"Buizel!" Jet cried, jumping back to his feet and pointing angrily at the Vulpix.
"Hey, stop it. She's scared!" Naruto said, grabbing Jet. The boy looked back at the Fox Pokémon. "But...how can a Fire-type use Powder Snow? Unless-!"
His brain went into overdrive. Naruto had never actually seen a shiny Vulpix; only his mother's shiny Ninetales, it's Evolved form. Now that he thought about it, his mother had mentioned that they were golden, not silvery white. He must have forgotten that in his excitement. Naruto also noticed the fur on his Vulpix's tails and head were much more wispy than any he seen...on a normal, native Vulpix. However, Naruto had seen more than just native Vulpix.
"Oh, you're not shiny at all!" Naruto said, slapping his forehead. "You're a Ame-region Variant, aren't' you?"
"V-Vulpix," she responded, shrinking down shyly.
"Hey, don't be scared!" Naruto said, taking a step forward.
The Vulpix flinched, drawing back even more.
Putting his hands up, Naruto took a step back, picking up Jet's Pokéball. "Oh, sorry. Heh, I guess I frightened you by chasing after you like that, right? Here, look-" he recalled Jet "-no one's going to attack you again. Better?"
"Vul..." she said slowly, not moving an inch.
"Ah, I'm really sorry for scaring you," Naruto said, slowly getting down to his knees, "but, I was really excited when I saw you, and not just because I thought you were shiny, you know."
The Vulpix gave him a questioning look.
"Okay, Okay, yeah, a big part of it was because I thought you were a shiny," Naruto admitted, unable to lie to such innocent eyes. He privately wondered what would happen if Hinata turned such a gaze against him. "But, that's only because my mom has a shiny Ninetales. She's soooo pretty! Not only that, but she's got an Ame Ninetales on her team too! Heh, you'd think I'd remember what a shiny Vulpix would look like, huh? I've been raised around baby Vulpix before, too."
"Vul," the Vulpix squeaked, inching up just a little bit.
"I guess you're pretty shy, aren't you?" Naruto said, carefully extending his hand. "I can understand that. One of my best friends, Hinata, is really shy too. But, she's awfully sweet once you get to know her. I'll bet you're the same, aren't you?"
Very slowly, the Vulpix inched forward, and gave Naruto's hand a quick sniff.
"See? I'm not so bad," Naruto went on, gently petting her head. "I'm sorry for scaring you so much. Think you can forgive me?"
"Vulpix?" she said softly, looking up at the boy. He put on his best smile for her.
"...pix," she said, rubbing up against him.
"Haha, I'll take that as a yes!" Naruto said, returning the snuggle with his newest Pokémon. A chill of temperature transferred from her body to his. "Oooh, that's cold! Haha, I forgot you're an Ice-type."
"Vulpix," she squeaked apologetically, pulling away and looking down.
"Hey, don't' worry about it," he said, pulling her back into a hug. "I don't mind a little cold. Besides, I'm a warm person anyway, so it's no problem for me."
"Vulpix!" She reached up and gave him an affectionate head-bump.
"Haha. Now, what are we going to name you?"
"Vulpix?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Uh, let me think for a minute," Naruto said. "Hmm, well, you're really pretty, even for a Vulpix. I should know, my mother breeds them!"
"Vul," his Vulpix said shyly, blushing.
"It's only the truth," Naruto responded. "Hehe, you really are like Hinata. She's too shy to take complements about her looks (or anything else), just like you. Hehe, don't tell her I said this, but I can't help but think of her as a fragile flower sometimes, even though she's not-" He paused, struck with inspiration. "Wait, a flower! That gives me an idea! How about we call you Snowdrop?"
"Vulpix!" Snowdrop cheered, snuggling up close to her trainer.
Naruto fought back the urge to shiver, smiling as he returned the hug. "G-Good g-girl!"
Laughing, Naruto set her down and held out his Luxury ball. "Okay, Snowdrop, let's call you back and find Sasuke!"
"I'm already here," a voice called.
Naruto turned, and sure enough, it was Sasuke, looking very proud and smug with himself.
Sasuke looked down at Snowdrop, who was now hiding behind her trainer's legs. "Huh, you caught a Vulpix? You really do take after your mother."
"And you look like yours," Naruto responded, sticking out his tongue.
"The same could be said for you," Sasuke pointed out.
"Yeah, but I also take after my dad. You look nothing like yours...which, considering how ugly he is, is probably a good thing."
"Watch it," Sasuke said, face darkening.
"Okay, okay, no more jokes," Naruto said, holding up his hand in surrender.
"Snowdrop's her name?" Sasuke asked, walking over to Naruto's side.
From his shoulder, Bayushi was gazing at Snowdrop with big, wide eyes. Spellbound, he tried jumping down smoothly to greet her, but instead he tripped and tumbled tail over head, landing flat on his face.
"Vulp!" Snowdrop squeaked, jumping behind her trainer.
"Vee..." Bayushi grunted, feeling humiliated.
"Sorry, she's a little shy. Try not to startle her," Naruto explained.
"I can see that," Sasuke said dryly.
He looked her over for a moment. "Snowdrop, eh? Kind of an ironic name for a Fire-type, don't you think? Even if she is white as snow."
"It would be if she was a Fire-type," Naruto responded, "but Snowdrop's an Ame Vulpix; they're Ice-types!"
At this, Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Oh, right, I remember seeing Aunty Kushina using one before. ...haha, I thought you just got lucky and caught a Shiny one."
"So did I, at first," Naruto admitted. "So, what did you get?"
Now, Sasuke had a proud smile on his face. "First, I caught a Noibat. Secondly, Akodo Evolved into a Luxio!"
"Oh, double lucky!" Naruto gasped. He gave Sasuke a slug on the arm playfully. "Let me see them!"
Sasuke smugly sent out both of his new Pokémon. Akodo purred proudly as Naruto looked him over, sitting on his hindquarters as the boy scratched behind his ears. Sasuke's Noibat, meanwhile, looked the situation over for a bit before lighting down on Akodo's head. The Luxio growled threateningly, but the Noibat just grunted something back before calmly folding his wings, looking at Naruto with wary eyes, as if daring him to try and pet him.
"His name's Yogo," Sasuke said, stopping Naruto from giving the Noibat a scratch behind the ears. "He's pretty defensive and brooding, from what I've seen. He was really hard to catch, but after Akodo overpowered him, he mellowed out a little. Still doesn't like being touched, but he's been compliant to my orders."
"You've only had him for what, five minutes?" Naruto pointed out.
"And you've had your Vulpix for less, and you can tell she's shy," Sasuke responded. "Still, both times I've let him out, Yogo's goes straight for Akodo's head and sits there unless I tell him to do something. I think he's trying to prove something."
Naruto and Sasuke had a good laugh. Akodo, meanwhile, noticed the white Vulpix peaking out from behind Naruto's legs. Giving a pur-like growl, the Luxio seemed to have hearts in his eyes. He moved up and tried saying hello to the cute little thing, not even realizing he had shaken Yogo off his head, who flew to Sasuke's shoulder and continued brooding without a sound.
Scared by Akodo's aggressive advance, Snowdrop cried out and hid behind the other side of Naruto's legs. Bayushi ran up and growled at Akodo, shoving into him, only for Akodo to return the favor. Because of the size difference, this meant that the Luxio easily pushed the Eevee away.
"Hey, both of you be lay off!" Naruto said, scooping up Snowdrop. He suppressed the urge to shutter at her cold temperature. "I told you, she's shy!"
"Great, something else for them to fight over," Sasuke sighed, recalling Akodo and Yogo. "Come on, let's get out of here."
Naruto nodded, and the two started walking off the mountain. Sasuke took out the tracking device/timer he had been provided by the Safari Zone administrators when he was let inside, and pushed a button, signaling for one of the rangers to pick them up.
"Hey, how do you think Sakura and Hinata are doing?" Naruto asked suddenly.
Sasuke shrugged. "Probably just fine. Considering we're the ones bad things seem to happen to the most, luck's probably on their side if anything."
-0o0o0-
"See, I told you this would be easy," Ino said, smiling smugly.
Sakura just rolled her eyes.
After only fifteen minutes of searching, the two had been able to locate a huge swarm of Vivillon with help from Waterlily's remarkable hearing. Of course, it helped that the Vivillon were not even trying to hide. Sakura had to admit, the picturesque scene was almost overwhelming, with so many beautiful wing-patterns flying about. "So now what?" Sakura asked from their hiding place behind a large bush. Hiccup was dozing in her arms, while Taren enjoyed smelling the nearby wildflowers.
"Now, send out your Hoothoot and search out the Elegant Pattern one," Ino instructed.
Sakura nodded and pulled out a Pokéball, only to stop. "Hold on, look over there." Sure enough, there was a single splash of purple amongst the fluttering ocean of color. "There it is," Sakura said. "So try and catch it already. Then my debt is paid and I can get on with my life."
"Well, aren't you just charming?" Ino said sarcastically, pulling how two Pokéballs. "Odette, Belle, go!" Ino's Swanna and Roselia materialized. "Okay you two, we're after the purple one. Odette, herd her over here with Air Slash, then put her to sleep with Sleep Powder, Belle."
"That's your plan?" Sakura asked in disbelief as Odette flew to follow her trainer's orders.
"I find the simplest plans work best," Ino said.
"Yeah, but there's like fifty Vivillon out there! What if they don't appreciate being attacked?"
"They'll scatter once Odette starts attacking," Ino said confidently. "Wild Pokémon prefer to avoid fighting trained ones."
The Vivillon flock- a kaleidoscope, as a group of butterfly Pokémon were technically called -noticed the Swanna intruder right away, some flying away and others watching as she passed by. Odette flew a wide circle around and above the purple Vivillon, sending the others scattering out of her path. Once perched in the air above her target, the Swanna attacked, sending whirling blades of air down at the Vivillon. None of them hit, but the attacks did cause the whole kaleidoscope of Pokémon to go into a panic.
"That's it, Odette! Drive her this way!" Ino shouted.
The purple Vivillon, however, had other plans. She bobbed and weaved, dodging Odette's attacks as she was driven closer and closer to Ino and Sakura. However, as she moved amongst the other Vivillon, Sakura noticed her releasing a red powder from her wings. "Ino, do you see that?"
"Huh? See what? Don't distract me. I've got to be careful not to catch the wrong one," Ino responded, preparing to throw a Pokéball at the purple Vivillon as soon as she was in range.
However, she stopped upon noticing the Vivillon kaleidoscope was no longer panicking. In fact, they were all now surrounding Odette, looking enraged. "...Swa?" the Swanna squawked, not liking how they were looking at her.
"VIIIII!" the purple one cried, firing a Psybeam attack from her antenna. Soon the rest of the flock joined in.
Odette screamed and tried fighting back, but her Air Slashes were soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of beams being fired at her from all directions. In a moment, she was sent crashing towards the ground.
"What the heck just happened?!" Ino cried, recalling her Pokémon to her Pokéball.
"I think the Elegant Pattern one use Rage Powder on the rest of them!" Sakura explained. She then noticed that the whole kaleidoscope's attention was now on Ino and her. "...and, I think they're still mad."
"VIII!" the purple one screamed again, firing a Psybeam.
"Belle, Petal Blizzard!" Ino shouted. Her Roselia's explosion of petals acted as both a counter to the Vivillon's attacks and as a brief smokescreen. "RUN FOR IT!" Ino cried, retuning Belle to her Pokéball. She scooped up Taran and bolted off.
"Wait for me, you coward!" Sakura screamed, running after her with Hiccup in hand. Behind her, the Elegant Pattern Vivillon rallied the rest of the kaleidoscope after them.
"Was this part of your brilliant plan, Ino?!" Sakura demanded, flinching as a Psybeam barely missed her to the left.
"Shut up and run!" Ino shouted ahead of her. Taran leaned over her shoulder and fired a Flamethrower above Sakura's head. She heard it hit a Vivillon, followed by the sound of it crashing to the floor. "Good boy, Taran," Ino said, patting him on the back lovingly even as she ran for her life.
"Goo!" Hiccup said, getting the idea. He slipped from his mommy's grasp and slid up her shoulder, breathing in deeply before letting loose a Dragon Pulse. The force of the attack nearly topped Sakura over, and blasted Hiccup from her shoulder into the air in front of her.
"NO!" Moving quickly, Sakura recovered her footing and jumped forward, barely catching her poor baby. "Let's not try that again, okay Sweetness?"
"Goo," Hiccup agreed, still in shock by what happened.
A few more Flamethrowers from Taran caused the kaleidoscope to keep their distance, but the Vivillon continued their chaise. And Sakura and Ino were both getting ragged from all the running.
"I- I can't keep this up!" Ino cried, nearly tripping. "How much longer are they going to chase us!?"
Sakura spotted a large berry bush, maybe fifty feet away. "Run for that! We'll duck in it for cover."
"Oh, yeah, like that'll work," Ino panted.
"It'll give us enough time to call out our Pokémon; maybe we can scare the flock off if we attack them with everything!" Sakura explained.
Ino nodded, and the two girls made a break for the bush, sprinting desperately. However, once they got close to it, the bush shifted as something stepped out of it. Something big.
The thing stood on two legs, shielding its eyes with one of its huge paw as it tried to make sense of what was going on. It was a pink faced Pokémon that looked like an enormous teddy bear, towering over the two girls. "Beee?" the Pokémon asked, patting its mouth, which was covered in berry juice.
"Huh?!" Ino and Sakura gasped, skidding to a sudden stop.
"Beee!" the teddy bear squealed, reaching out towards both girls with its huge arms.
"It's gonna crush us!" Ino cried, staggering backwards.
However, before the big teddy could grab either of them, a Psybeam blasted into its chest, followed by a second and third, sending it staggering backwards.
"Bewear?" the teddy gasped, looking up.
"Vi-Viv! Vivillon!" The Elegant Pattern Vivillon was shouting threateningly at the teddy bear, with the rest of her flock following her example. From the looks of it, the Vivillon was telling the teddy bear to get lost and not get involved.
"Bewear?" the Bewear asked, looking down at Sakura and Ino.
The purple Vivillon shot another Psybeam at the Bewear's chest. The teddy bear growled angrily, and shook a disapproving paw at the Vivillon, as if scolding it. The Vivillon responded by shooting another Psybeam-
-only for the attack to be intercepted when the Bewear slammed a fist down into the earth, causing a pillar of stone to burst forth from the ground. Sakura recognized the attack as Stone Edge; the stone pillars rushed towards the Vivillon and exploded, knocking her up high into the air and sending her spiraling towards the earth.
"MINE!" Ino shouted, throwing a Pokéball. The ball hit the Elegant Pattern Vivillon and absorbed it; when Ino caught the ball, it had already pinged shut. "I've got you now...Anastasia!"
"You're still catching her, after all she put us through?!" Sakura asked, bewildered. She barely noticed the rest of the Vivillon flock fluttering away in a panic.
"Of course," Ino said. "All the trouble she caused only proves how smart she is! Besides, all's fair in love and Pokémon battles, Billboard Brow!"
"Tepig!" Taran agreed.
"Ino, you wretched piglet! You nearly got us killed and you've still got that smug attitude?!" Sakura said, getting angry.
"Everything worked out just fine, thanks to this big fella' here," Ino responded, turning to smile up at the Bewear.
The Bewear looked left and right, and then pointed at itself, as if to say, 'Who, me?'. It giggled gleefully, covering its face.
"What kind of Pokémon are you anyway?" Sakura asked, taking out her Pokédex.
"Bewear, the Strong Arm Pokémon and the Evolved form of Stufful," the dex said. "Do not let this Pokémon's cute and friendly demeanor fool you; Bewear possess overwhelming physical strength, and often are able to absorb impressive amounts of physical punishment due to the line's Fluffy ability. Bewear are also extremely friendly, and have a habit of wanting to hug and hold its companions, though Bewear rarely know their own strength. There are many documented incidents of trainers and Pokémon being seriously injured and even killed by a Bewear's bone breaking hug. In its native Amegakure Region, Bewear's habitats are generally off-limits."
Sakura stared wide-eyed at the 'dex's screen, then looked back up at the Bewear, who was still giggling bashfully. "Ehehe, Ino?" Sakura called, not taking her eyes off the Pokémon as she backed away slowly, "Maybe we should leave this Pokémon alone...right now!"
"Way ahead of you!" Ino shouted somewhere behind Sakura. She glanced backwards to see the blond was already a good fifty feet away.
"EEEEEEEEE!"
Sakura turned back to the Bewear, who was squealing for joy as it danced in place, swinging its arms madly. One of its paws casually slapped a branch of the nearby berry bush, ripping the whole limb from the plant and sending it flying off in the distance. Then the Bewear slammed another paw onto a nearby rock, crushing it to dust. It looked up at Sakura, and smiled, holding is arms out wide. "BEEEEEEE!"
"AHHHH!" Sakura screamed, turning around and running for her life, with the Bewear stomping after her.
"Run for your life!" Ino shouted, having already taken off herself. "It's after you!"
"I know that you coward!" Sakura shouted back, daring to glace behind.
The Bewear skipped after her, seemingly unaware of the terror its 'prey' was in; each frolicking step sounded like thunder falling.
Luckily, it seemed that Bewear were not the fastest of Pokémon; the distance between the girls and it was steadily growing. However, having already fled from the Vivillon kaleidoscope earlier, Ino and Sakura were already tired and starting to lose speed.
"How are we going to stop that thing!?" Ino cried, glancing back to Sakura. This brief distraction caused her to lose her footing and trip. "OUCH!"
"OH, COME ON!" Sakura screamed, rushing to try and help the other girl to her feet.
A shadow loomed over them both. "Bewear!" the juggernaut squealed, holding out both arms and smiling down at them.
"If running won't work, let's try this!" Sakura said, pulling out a Pokéball. "Owlowiscious, use Hypnosis!"
The Owl Pokémon materialized and immediately sized up the situation. "Hoothoot," he chirped, fluttering to the left and right in front of the Bewear. His eyes started to glow. "Hoo-"
"Beeeeee!" the Bewear cheered, snatching Owlowiscious out of the air and pulling him into a terrific bear hug. "Bewear!"
"Hoot!?" Owlowiscious squawked, beating his tiny wings uselessly as he tried to escape.
"Owlowiscious! No!" Sakura screamed. She tried returning her poor Hoothoot, but she couldn't get a clear shot with him buried in the huge Bewear's grip.
"You let him go!" Ino shouted, turning to Taran. "Roast that bear with Flamethrower!"
"Te-PIG!" Taran raced around to the Bewear's back and hit it with a steam of flames. Instead of just causing a brief flash of fire, however, the blaze seemed to stick to the Bewear, spreading across the rest of its body.
"Be...wear?" the Bewear said slowly, releasing Owlowiscious (who fell the ground in a twitching pile before Sakura recalled him to his ball) and looking down at it's now flaming body. It was perfectly still for a movement...then it realized it was on fire. "BEWEAR!" Screaming bloody murder, the Strong Arm Pokémon flailed about in a panic, beating its arms against itself to try and put out the flames.
"What the heck just happened!?" Ino gasped. From behind the Bewear, Taran backed away bashfully, not sure if this was good or bad.
The Bewear turned to the two girls, and ran to them, flaming arms held out in a desperate plea for help.
"It's chasing us and on fire?!" Ino screamed, stumbling backwards.
"No, it wants our help!" Sakura said, calling Waterlily out. "Waterlily, take it down with Play Rough, then put out those flames with Water Gun!"
The Marill rocked towards the Bewear, hitting it with an explosion of pink dusk and stars. In spite of her small size, Waterlily was easily able to knock the panicking Pokémon onto its back. From there, she easily doused it in Water Gun.
"Beeeee?" the Bewear said slowly, looking up at the little Marill that just saved it. It smiled, and tried to pull her into a hug.
"...It's not a quick learner, is it?" Ino sighed dryly.
"MARILL!" Waterlily hissed, pushing the Bewear's arms away; while it was severally weakened after being set on fire, Waterlily herself was much stronger than her size suggested.
"Bewear!" the Bewear begged, only wanting to hug its new best-est friend ever!
"Oh, I can't take it anymore!" Sakura said, pulling out a Pokéball and tossing it at the Bewear. It hit, absorbed the stunned Pokémon, and fell to the floor, shaking two times before pinging.
"Well," Sakura said slowly, picking up the Pokéball, "I guess that takes care of that."
"You caught it!" Ino gasped, popping up from behind the other girl. "Why would you do that?! Didn't you just see how dangerous it is?!"
"Well, what else could I do? Leave it here, helpless and half dead?" Sakura responded. "Besides, maybe it just needs a trainer's firm hand. Bewear still is a super strong and cute Pokémon! With the right training, it'll be a real asset to my team. Anyway, who are you to talk? You still caught that evil Vivillon that tried to kill us!"
"It's hardly the same. For one, she only did that because we attacked her first-" Ino started.
"You mean because you attacked her!" Sakura pointed out. "And I don't want to hear the rest of it; I helped you catch that Vivillon, so my debt to you is paid! As of this moment, we're no longer a team."
"Hmph! Fine, be that way!" Ino scowled, turning away and crossing her arms dramatically. "We'll go back to being rivals! And on that note," she added, turning just enough to glare at Sakura, "I'll be seeing you in Ambersky City. There's another Coordination Contest coming up, so you'd better show up! And this time, I'll beat you fair and square!"
"I look forward to it," Sakura said, glaring right back. "You just got lucky things got out of control in Winterborn; this time, we'll get to face off for real!"
-0o0o0-
Later, at the Safari Zone's Pokémon Center
-0o0o0-
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke sat together, with the boys showing off their new Pokémon while waiting for Hinata to return from her safari.
"She's adorable," Sakura said, referring to Snowdrop, who was being gently brushed by Naruto.
The rest of Naruto's team was out so they could meet their newest member; Sasuke noticed that while Puck was memorized by the Vulpix, and even Kata blushed slightly, Jet seemed far from impressed. The Buizel just looked her over and nodded. Perhaps a charmer isn't so easily charmed, Sasuke mused.
Likewise, Sasuke and Sakura also let out their teams, though things were markedly less interesting for them, it seemed. Yogo paid little heed to the rest of Sasuke's Pokémon, content to quietly sit atop Akodo's head.
"Hey, wait a minute," Naruto said, now noticing something missing. He called off each of Sakura's Pokémon, pointing at them. "Waterlily, Owlowiscious, Hiccup, and Athena & Hermes. Where's your new Pokémon?"
Sakura groaned. "I don't know if I should let her out...she's kind of dangerous to be around."
Sasuke perked up. "That sounds interesting. What'd you catch?"
Sakura looked down, and muttered something.
"What was that?"
"...a Bewear," Sakura said.
Sasuke blinked. "Huh? You mean those cute bear Pokemon Naruto was warning us about earlier? What's the big deal?"
Naruto, however, cut him off. "Oh no," he said, face turning pale. "You didn't!"
"I had no choice!" Sakura said defensively. "It was either catch her or- Hey, wait a second. Why do you care what I catch?"
"Those things are evil! And really dangerous!" Naruto exclaimed. "It doesn't matter how cute and cuddly they look, they'll still smother you to death while you're screaming for mommy to come save you!"
Sasuke stared at his friend for a second. "...you were attacked by one as a child, weren't you?"
"That's besides the point!" Naruto cried.
"So you were attacked by one," Sasuke said, smiling now. He pulled out his Pokédex to get a good look at one. "Huh, really cute, isn't she? Hard to imagine you'd be scared of one of these things."
"I'm not scared of anything!" Naruto shouted, glaring.
"Oh, then you won't mind it if Sakura calls hers out?" Sasuke responded smugly.
"Come on, Sasuke, don't be a bully," Sakura said, frowning.
"You can't keep her in her Pokéball forever," Sasuke pointed out.
Sakura looked at Sasuke, then over to Naruto, who was trying to put on a brave face. She sighed. "I suppose you're right," she said, pulling out her Bewear's Pokéball. "Come on out, uh-" she realized she never named her Pokémon "-uh, come out."
The Bewear materialized, stretching out her arms wide and gleeful. She looked over at her trainer and smiled, waving. The Bewear then noticed all of the Pokémon and people around her. Oh joy! New friends! She wondered which one she should hug first?
Naruto gave a cry and dove behind his chair. Sakura noticed he was actually trembling with terror. "Uh, Naruto, if you're not comfortable with this, I can recall her."
"He's being a baby," Sasuke grunted, looking up at the big Pokémon. Boldly, he walked right up to her. "What's she going to do? Hug him to death?"
And with that, Sakura's Bewear scooped up Sasuke into her arms and gave him a terrific bear-hug. "BEEEEEEEEEE!" she squealed, giving an extra loving squeeze.
"Hah! Instant karma!" Naruto shouted from behind the chair.
Sasuke tried to shout something, but the air had already been squeezed out of his lungs!
"Lux!" Akodo screamed, biting down on the Bewear's shin; it didn't seem to notice, and continued hugging her new friend tightly.
"Hey! HEY! Stop that!" Sakura shouted, smacking her Bewear on the shoulder. It had just as much effect as Akodo's biting.
Athena pushed her way next to Sakura and grabbed the Bewear by the shoulder, spinning her around. "Khan!" she roared, using a voice that could command armies (or bunch of small unruly children, but there was little difference between the two). Once she had the Bewear's attention, she stepped aside and motioned for Sakura to continue talking.
"You can't go around giving people hugs like that! Now put him down!" She emphasized her words.
Blinking for a moment, the Bewear looked down at Sasuke. Slowly, she realized he was barely breathing. Giving a horrified gasp, she dropped the boy and backed away, bawling uncontrollably. He would have fallen to the floor if Sakura hadn't caught him. "Sasuke, are you okay?" Sakura asked, concerned.
"Don't worry," Sasuke gasped, trying to stand on his own, "I'm fine! I'm okay-!"
"Good!" Sakura said, pushing him aside as she turned to her bawling Pokémon. "Hey, hey, don't cry! I know you didn't mean do hurt him!"
Sasuke, unable to support himself, fell to the floor with a thud. Sakura didn't seem to notice.
"Look, I know you just want to make friends, but you have to learn some self-control," Sakura said, whipping a tear from the Bewear's eyes. She handed her a hanky.
Her Pokémon sniffled, took the hanky, and blew in it. In an instant, it was reduced to a tattered, dripping rag.
"Oh, that' so adorable," Sasuke grunted sarcastically from the floor.
"I told you they were evil!" Naruto said, helping him up. "You should have listened to me!"
By now, Athena had picked up a bowl of berries that was set out on one of the tables, free for Pokémon, and offered it to the Bewear, smiling gently. Still sniffling, the Bewear picked out a Pecha berry and happily munched on it; it was gone in two bites, and she quickly grabbed a second. And a third. Soon, there were no Pecha berries left.
"You must really like those," Sakura laughed. She thought for a moment. "I think I'll call you Momo."
"Bewear?" Momo said, tilting her head. She smiled, and tried to gently pat her trainer on the back. Sakura felt her knees nearly buckle under the force behind the giant paw, but she smiled nonetheless.
"Momo?" Sasuke grunted in disgust. "A cutesy name for a juggernaut like her?"
"She's just as sweet as a peach," Sakura retorted. "So naming her after a peach is perfect!"
"Call her whatever you like, just make sure she keeps her distance," Naruto said. "I like my lungs uncrushed and full of air."
"Don't be dramatic," Sakura said, waving her hand at him dismissively.
"Not wanting to be crushed by a giant care bear is hardly dramatic," Sasuke said darkly. He felt his chest. "Ugh, I think she bruised a rib, at least."
"What happened?" a soft voice asked.
It belonged to Hinata. She walked into the room, looking a little whelmed at the sight of Momo. Naruto noticed that Hinata herself looked very disheveled; her clothing was torn in several places, she was covered in dirt, and her hair looked like a Pidgey had turned it into a nest. "Hinata, what the heck happened to you?!" he cried.
"It's uh, a bit of a long story," Hinata said shyly, looking down and twitting her fingers.
"Well sit down and tell us," Naruto said, patting a seat on the couch.
"Maybe we should let her wash up, first?" Sakura suggested. However, instead of waiting for Hinata's answer, she just took the girl by the hand and lead her to the restroom, only turning back to say, "Behave yourself, Momo!" before leaving.
Five minutes of awkward silence later, the two girls exited the girl's bathroom, with Hinata looking much cleaner looking than before.
"So, what happened to you?" Naruto asked as they sat down together. "I mean, even if you were the last one in the Safari Zone, your time should have been up like twenty minutes ago."
"Well, there where a few things that happened before I got to enter the Safari Zone," Hinata explained, once again twiddling her fingers.
She took a breath, and told them about her run-in with Zaku and Dosu.
"You didn't tell security about them?" Sakura asked.
"I...I didn't think about that," Hinata admitted, a bit shocked at herself. "Y-you see, the boy they were bullying..."
She continued her story, explaining how she used her psychic powers to make the two punks run in fear from her, then, after pausing for a moment, she told them her strange encounter with Toneri.
"Whao," Naruto said, looking at Hinata with wide eyes, "sounds like you had an adventure."
Sasuke spoke up. "Wasn't that weird albino kid we met named Toneri?"
"You're right!" Naruto gasped. "I knew there was something strange about him!"
"Please continue," Sakura said to Hinata, cutting them off.
Nodding, Hinata went on to explain how talking to Toneri had scared her, and how she called home soon after.
When she got to the part where Hanabi mentioned their father's plan to meet up at Ambersky City, Naruto gave a whoop. "Well, it sounds like your dad's gotten rid of that stick up his butt and is going to be supportive of you for a change!"
"Naruto!" Sakura hissed, elbowing him to shut up.
He frowned, but then noticed the look on Hinata's face, and decided to drop it. "Uh, so that explains why you're late. But how'd you get all-" he searched for the right word "-scruffy?"
Hinata let out a chuckle that became a snort, and covered her face in embarrassment at the unladylike sound. "Uh, well, it's actually a bit funny. I had been wandering in the Safari Zone for a while, in a field area. I didn't really have any plans on what to catch; I just decided to enjoy the fields of flowers and see what I'd find." Hinata let out a gentle laugh as Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I eventually ran into a Rhyhorn. I wasn't really in any danger, though, thanks to Rhapsody. However, that's when the trouble started. You see, after the Rhyhorn got a thrashing from Rhapsody, it turned to run, but Rhapsody wasn't done yet; he was so excited by his easy victory that he leapt after the Rhyhorn and bit it on the backside. I grabbed hold of Rhapsody and started to shout for him to let the poor thing go, but by then, the Rhyhorn already took off, dragging me and Rhapsody with it! I...In hindsight, I should have just let go and recalled Rhapsody, but when it was happening, all I could think of doing was holding on for dear life!"
Naruto and the others gave a little chuckle, and Hinata went on.
"Anyway, after a while, the Rhyhorn managed to shake Rhapsody off. Unfortunately, I guess it had been bellowing for help, because by the time I got to my feet, we were surrounded by nearly a dozen other Rhyhorn! On top of that, it seemed we had crashed into a Lilligant's flower garden."
"What the heck is a Lilligant?" Naruto asked.
"You can check on the Pokédex," Hinata suggested. "I don't mind."
Naruto nodded and pulled it out. "Lilligant, the Flowering, and a female-only species. Lilligant's flower is known for both its beauty and its scent, which is unique to each specimen. The flower will wither if Lilligant's trainer does not take good care of her. Lilligant's fragrance has a calming effect on those that smell it, making them very popular with both people and Pokémon."
"It looks very pretty," Naruto said, tucking his 'dex away.
"Yeah, but let's get back to the story," Sakura insisted.
Hinata nodded "Well, the Lilligant looked almost murderous; the Rhyhorn had trampled her little garden, and she was not happy. For a few moments, everyone just stared at each other, waiting for someone else to make the first move. Finally, Rhapsody stood up and hit the closest Rhyhorn with a blast of water. After that, an all-out battle broke out. I had to send out the rest of my team: Aria, Sonata, and Waltz. Between them, the Rhyhorn, and the Lilligant, it was like a small war was taking place. A few of the Rhyhorn even started butting heads with each other! The Lilligant wasn't interested in fighting my Pokémon, thankfully. She was mad at the Rhyhorn, and they quickly became terrified of her Petal Dance attacks. Even so, during the massive battle, Sonata and Waltz were knocked unconscious; Rhyorn's Typing is very strong against both of them, after all. However, Rhapsody really shined. He must have taken down five Rhyhorn on his own!"
"Oh, cool!" Naruto cried.
"Thank you," Hinata said, "But, let me finish. I haven't gotten to the exciting part."
Naruto nodded dumbly, and got elbowed by Sakura for interrupting again.
Hinata took in a breath, and smiled. "Well, after all of that, the Lilligant looked us all over, and turned away with a huff; we had destroyed what little was left of her garden area, but I don't think she wanted to battle over it. However," Hinata added, "I did."
The other gave Hinata a funny look, and she explained. "During the fight, I noticed how beautiful and elegant the Lilligant was; they're natural dancers, you know, even in battle. My mother owned one, too. So, I...I decided I wanted to catch her!"
There was a low chuckle; it had come from Sasuke. "Finally," he grunted.
"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked.
"Think about all of the Pokémon Hinata's captured," Sasuke said. "First, she caught Waltz only because she was afraid Puck was going to eat him. Then, she added Aria to her team because they became friends after Hinata helped save her life. And Sonata was given to Hinata by Aunty Kushina. This is the first time Hinata's said she wanted to catch a Pokémon, square, without bonding with it."
Naruto noticed Hinata blushing, and frowned. "Yeah, so what? What's the big deal?"
"It's good," Sasuke said simply. "She's showing more...initiative."
Hinata cleared her throat. "Um, well, first, I tried just throwing a Pokéball at her. That...didn't work." She paused, wincing. "She didn't even get sucked into it. The Lilligant just whipped around and hit the ball with her hair so hard it shattered. She followed this up with a Petal Dance attack that knocked me, Aria, and Rhapsody all off our feet! Aria was back up first. She tried using Teeter Dance, but the Lilligant's Own Tempo Ability made her immune to its effects. With another blast of Petal Dance, Aria went down. Now, all that was left was Rhapsody. He got up and prepared to attack, only for the Lilligant to just attack with Petal Dance again. As it hit him, Rhapsody used Rage." Hinata paused. "It let him keep on fighting, though I could tell he was hurting; Rhapsody just ran through the Lilligant's next attack in a blind rage, and bit down on her flower with Ice Fang. She didn't like that, and blasted him with Petal Dance again. This time, she sent him flying until he hit an unconscious Rhyhorn. After that, the Lilligant turned to try and tidy herself up. Rhapsody, however, was not staying down. My little Totodile struggled to his feet, gave a defiant hiss, and Evolved into a Croconaw!"
"Cool!" Naruto cheered.
"What's more amazing is what happened next," Hinata said. "Flexing his stronger arms, Rhapsody picked up the Rhyhorn and threw it at the Lilligant as she was turning back towards him!"
Naruto let out a sound that was half a laugh, and half a gasp. "You're kidding me!"
"It's not impossible," Sakura pointed out. "Rage would have given Rhapsody extra strength, and the surge of adrenaline that comes from Evolution allows Pokémon to pull off impressive feats of strength and endurance when they first Evolve."
"Yes, well, after that, Rhapsody fell over, unconscious and drained," Hinata said. "I...I felt his state of mind, and I was glad he didn't have to keep on fighting. But, as for the Lilligant, well, she hadn't been able to dodge the flying Rhyhorn, and was trapped underneath it! She struggled, trying to pull herself out from under it, but in the end, she gave up and let me catch her."
Naruto laughed. "Well, you had one heck of an adventure, just like Sakura!"
They each took a turn explaining their experiences in the Safari Zone. Sasuke just grunted that he caught a Noibat like he wanted, and Naruto admitted he had more trouble chasing down Snowdrop than actually catching her (he forgot to even mention meeting Kiba at all). "You're going to get along great with her, Hinata," Naruto said. "She's really shy, but really sweet; like you!"
Hinata blushed deeply, and suddenly realized she wanted to change the subject. "Oh, I-I almost forgot to mention my Lilligant's name." There was a silence, and she realized they were waiting for her to continue. "Uh, Kagura! I've named her Kagura."
"Oh. Sounds classy," Naruto said.
They chatted casually for a minute, then a nurse came in. "Uh, there's a call in the lobby for a Sakura Haruno."
"That's me," Sakura said, getting up and following the nurse.
The call was from the Nurse of the Shinomen Pokémon Center. "Hello, Ms. Haruno. I hope I didn't interrupt you, but we have a bit of situation here I thought you'd want to know about."
"It's okay," Sakura said, feeling a bit confused. "But what's the matter?"
"It's about that poor Chikorita you brought in earlier today," the nurse explained. "I went to check on her, and found her gone! She's run away!"
"What? Are you sure about that?" Sakura asked.
The Nurse nodded. "Yes, I checked the security footage, and saw Chikorita sneak out; she even took her old Pokéball with her."
"Oh," Sakura said. "Well, what are we going to do now?"
"There's not much you or I can do," the nurse explained sadly. "I've alerted the local authorities to be on the look out for a missing Chikorita, but even if they find her, I suspect she'll just run away again. She's still in denial that her trainer abandoned her. I just thought you'd like to know about this; you seemed somewhat emotionally invested in her."
Sakura sighed. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Thank you, Nurse."
Sakura ended the call and returned to her friends, explaining what happened.
"Hey, maybe we can try and find that Chikorita," Naruto suggested.
"None of our Pokémon are trained in tracking," Sasuke pointed out. "Besides, we've got to get to Ambersky."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Naruto said, deflating a little.
"Thanks anyway," Sakura said, patting the blond on the back. "So now what are we going to do?"
"We'll stay the night in the city's center," Sasuke announced. "All of our teams could use the rest, especially Hinata's. Then we'll head out first thing in the morning."
