Welcome back to Path of the Maelstrom! Listen, everyone, I want to sincerely apologize to you for leaving this fic for a year. A year? I was actually shocked to realize that. I never intended to leave the fic for this long, and let me tell you now, I will never do so again. Not a year. Six months? Maybe. But never again a year. So let me just shut up, and let you read on. Naruto's mini-adventure in Unova!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo and Satoshi Tajiri does.


"All guests please stay on the deck until the ship has come to a full and complete stop, and the shipmen give the all clear." The suave voice coming through the speakers scattered throughout the ship, urging sea weary guests not to rush the planks like a horde of Tauros. Instead, the fidgeting masses crowded every available surface on the deck, many jostling for positions by the railings to look at the incoming harbor of their final destination with anticipation and relief.

Three such grateful travelers hailed from Hoenn— a tall young brunette woman with interesting red marks on her cheeks, an even younger blonde-haired boy with crystal blue eyes and whiskers, and the youngest and smallest of the group a little girl with eyes bigger than should be allowed. All three stood by the railing and, the two youngest in particular, looked at the measures each worker both on the ship and on the harbor were taking to ensure that the boat was docked safely. The blonde however, was much more interested in the actual city.

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed, unable to close his gaping mouth or tamp down on the sparkle in his eyes. "This isn't even the biggest city but it's so . . . different. So . . . gilded."

"Unova is known as one of the most modern and metropolitan regions in the world, with no expense spared for cutting edge in everything they can do." Hana informed the blonde, just as impressed as Naruto but able to hide it better with the extra years of experience. "I read an interview once, in which a group from the region of America described the country as on par with their most famous metropolis New York, but on a much grander scale. They likened it to a mix of all the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, with a special touch of nature that harkened its connection with our own regions here on this side of the world."

"Sounds so . . . perfect." Naruto noted with wonder.

"Well look alive," Hana informed him, tapping Naruto on the back of the head. "We're docking now, so we can get off this boat and go into Unova."

"Yay! We're home!" Nia shouted happily, earning stares from strangers that Hana and Naruto had to compensate for with sheepish grins of apology. The three waited patiently, Naruto having to pick Nia up into his arms when the crowds got too thick, and were soon a part of the bustling stampede to get off the ship and onto dry land again.

"Whoa . . . you always get this weird feeling after coming onto land, like you can steel feel the waves rocking." Naruto mentioned quietly.

"Yeah I feel it too." Nia added, nodding seriously. Naruto snickered and let her down when they got to an area he felt like she couldn't get lost in, and took a look around. Drfitveil City was not the prime example of the metropolitan gem Unova really was, but it was a pretty little reminder that Unova still cared about things like rustic charm and quaint living. The buildings were painted in both soothing creams and tans, or in the colors of the ocean itself flashing myriads of blues to tourists walking along the roads. The roofs all looked to be done in shades of sunset orange or russet, creating a sun-dipped trail to the beaches. In the distance upon a small little island a few miles from shore, a lighthouse perched ever vigilant.

"Wow this is a nice place . . . it's like a suburban version of Mauville." Naruto commented.

Hana smiled. "They say surfers flock to Mauville while boaters flock to Driftveil. The culture difference is easily explained by that. Mauville is for wilder surfers, so you'll see lots of half-dressed surfers or party-loving people over there. Here, it's sweater sets and tea gowns."

"Tea parties are fun." Nia added in, Naruto and Hana smiling at her.

"Well is there anything you want to get before we go? It's two in the afternoon right now, so we can at least get over the Driftveil Drawbridge to Nimbasa city before nightfall." Hana asked them both.

"I think I've got enough supplies for my Pokémon . . . so we're okay here." Naruto answered. "Nia? Do you need anything to eat or drink before we leave?"

"No! I'm fine." Nia told Naruto surely, walking over to hold his hand.

"Okay! Then let's go. Since it's on the way we can walk past the market." Hana decided, secretly wanting the chance to check out even just a little of Unova before leaving. How many chances would she have to travel back here once at work in Hoenn once more? When trainers decided to take up permanent jobs in whatever region they chose, suddenly traveling became much rarer than when Pokémon leagues were the primary source of income. The three travelers started on their way, heads continually moving left and right to take in Driftveil City's charming small town atmosphere. The smell of ocean salt on the breeze was relaxing, and indeed the people of the city took things at a relaxed pace. Hardly anyone walked faster than a stroll. Yasu was given curious looks by those who did not yet know of the fairy eeveelution, and for those who knew they treated him with gasps and admiring stares as his snow white coat glinted with each shift of lithe muscles underneath. Yasu was quite possibly having the best time out of all of them, and it made Naruto giggle sometimes when Yasu would nearly glow with pride.

"Beauty is as beauty does, you smug mug." Naruto teased his best friend, laughing when Yasu squeaked in indignation before relaxing to his default calm mindset.

"You know Naruto, that's actually something I wanted to talk with you about." Hana spoke up. Naruto turned to look at the woman walking by his side, curious and open expression easing Hana slightly and yet reminding her to be tactful.

"About Yasu?" Naruto asked.

"Yes about him." Hana nodded. "Yasu is not balled, and I understand that because you got him years before your journey you never saw a need to do so but technically that isn't legal. Yasu, being not balled, is considered not legally your Pokémon."

"What?" Naruto squawked. "That's not true, my parents and I got paperwork to make sure Yasu was considered ours."

"Ah, but as a comfort Pokémon." Hana nodded thoughtfully. "Still, when you bring out a comfort pet into the world, you run the risk of that animal being balled by someone else, and unless you have the paperwork right then and there to argue that it can be a very complicated and sticky process where you'd have to bring in a lot of character witnesses to verify that you have cared for that Pokémon for more than 12 months."

"No trainer would just throw a Poké ball at a Pokémon clearly seen with a trainer." Naruto argued.

Hana nodded once again, though this time her eyes were sharp and he had this expectant expression on her face. "You can't think of anyone that would want to steal Pokémon? Especially rare, beautiful Pokémon like Sylveons?"

Naruto grew very quiet as the answers to those questions came to him. Indeed, this world wasn't without its fair share of villains, apart from the random Teams that would spring up in each region. There were Pokémon thieves and poachers, always looking for rare animals to bring in to the Black Market . . . he looked at Yasu, the sparkling white of his coat like freshly dropped snow. The velvety softness of his paws, his ribbons, were awed over by many friends and acquaintances. Yes, there was certainly something rare and beautiful about Yasu. Not to mention how strong he was.

Naruto sighed. "I see your point. But, I mean, even if I balled him he'd still be out here with me."

"And that's absolutely fine, lots of people keep one or two Pokémon out of their balls because of the nature of their bond. But, to be absolutely sure, please have Yasu balled and registered properly." Hana asserted, and Naruto nodded. He looked to Yasu again, contemplating what it would mean to have him balled.


The Market was a strange place, Naruto noted as they walked through. Nia skipped ahead only a few steps, content to prance with Yasu as the Sylveon happily stroked her face and hands with his ribbon feelers, nimbly leaping from side to side of Nia and engaging her in play.

The Market had natural healing methods, bitter roots that would lower friendships with Pokémon so they said, but Naruto decided they'd lower friendship just like parents giving children medicine would lower love. It would pop up again when the recipient felt better. It was more like a flea market, with odd bits and ends and every so often a refreshment stall. Still, it was nice to walk through just to see something different.

"You know what Naruto?" Hana suddenly spoke up. "We should stop by the Pokémon Center to get you an updated Pokédex, so you can learn about the Pokémon here."

"Oh that'd be awesome!" Naruto cried out. So with that, Hana quickly asked where the nearest Pokémon Center was and ushered her two charges to the building. Hana and Naruto immediately noticed the person behind the desk, and yet the differences were slightly telling. Certainly, the pink-haired woman was Nurse Joy but . . . this one sported a short, almost pixie cut and the uniform was slightly different.

"Huh, some things translate over no matter where you are." Naruto noted. Hana giggled and nodded. They walked to the computer area and dialed Professor Sarutobi, waiting patiently until the line clicked on.

"Mom!" Naruto called in surprise when instead of a tan, wizened face the youthful pale features of his mother appeared.

"Surprise!" Kushina called with a grin. "Na-ru-to, did you need something? Change in party perhaps?"

"Ah, no I was wondering if I could get an update for my Pokédex. I'm in Unova, but I won't be able to tell what Pokémon I come across without their national dex . . ." Naruto explained.

"Oh, good thinking!" Kushina realized, smiling at him. "Ok, is your dex hooked up? You should have a little usb cable or you can even do so wirelessly by syncing with the wireless provider."

"Ah . . . I think I can do it wirelessly." Naruto fiddled with the dex for a minute, a little familiar with the prompts and specs as he'd aimlessly fiddled with the dex before just to check all its features. "Ok, it's synced. What now?"

"Now, I send you an upgrade!" Kushina chirped, some clicking and tapping noises coming from her end as she worked with the computer. "OK, has it popped up yet?"

"Yeah it has! I pressed 'ok'— mom, can I have the number to the Uzumaki Aquarium?" Naruto asked suddenly, and his mother cocked her head slightly to the side in confusion.

"Ah? Arashi-nii's number works just as well . . . are you thinking of moving Kairi? I think she'll get a little lonely over there." Kushina pointed out.

"Well Kairi might go, but specifically I was asking for Tsunami. He'll be a Wailord soon and at that point it'll be harder to find him in the ocean. Plus I'll always have to have his capsule on me . . . it's better to send him to Uncle Arashi's ranch where he can get along with other Wailords and Wailmers, and get a proper amount of food." Naruto explained.

"Right! Arashi created that Aquarium for all of the family to use, paid for with the clan coffers, to house all our water-types . . . you know, he still feels slighted that I took out a lot of my Pokémon to bring over here to Hoenn! If oyu want, I can eve go and get Tsunami for you, and send him to Arashi-nii." Kushina giggled. "Sure, I'll send you the number later. Is that update still going through?"

"It just needs a little more. And what do you mean you can go get Tsunami?" Naruto asked."

"What I mean is that I went fishing just off Rustboro, and Tsunami was there to greet me. He looked quite pleased with himself . . . I think he's a little lonely, being away from his friends you know?"

"Well if you can that would be awesome . . . I left his capsule over there at the lab right?"

"You did! Okay, is the update loaded?"

"Done! Thanks mom, I'll let you know all the Pokémon I see here. Maybe I'll catch one," Naruto added with a snicker but then his face quickly fell. "Oh no— I promised I wouldn't catch any more Pokémon until Hikaru got comfortable."

"Hikaru?" Kushina questioned.

"That's what I named the Vulpix mom. He's prickly, and scared and angry . . . but it's a work in progress." Naruto shrugged.

Kushina smiled warmly saying slowly, "Oh, I see."

Naruto, confused by the sudden glowing look his mother was giving him, blushed in embarrassment at her coddling even virtually and said, "Well I have to go mom. I'll call you later!"

"Okay. Bye bye~" Kushina waved goodbye to them all and cut off the line, Naruto following suit as he opened up his dex and checked the new options. "Ah! I can do the same to my Poké nav actually . . . only I just need to go on to their website and download the upgrade there."

"It's not strictly necessary as I'll be your guide but . . . perhaps just in case. Will it take long you think?" Hana asked, arms crossed and her right index finger tapping slowly against her other arm.

"I don't know, the company says it comes out with software updates occasionally so it could be anywhere from two minutes to ten?" Naruto guessed with a shrug. "Oh, while I'm at it . . . here, Hikaru and Ran!" Naruto called summoning them from their Poké balls. The white lights morphed and died down into the forms of his Vulpix and Skitty, the feline immediately jumping onto Naruto's shoulders and nuzzling the side of his head with practically her entire body in a feat of supreme balance. "Yes, yes, sorry for keeping you in there so long." Naruto apologized, allowing the Skitty to have her way.

"What did you bring them out here for?" Hana asked, one eyebrow raising into a quizzical expression.

"I promised Ran that I would keep her out here with me as much as possible until I beat Fortree City's gym, to make up for not spending a lot of time with her." Naruto explained. "And Hikaru, I'd like for him to get used to me. He's my newest Pokémon and," he leaned in and kept his voice low so Hikaru wouldn't hear while he was being teased by Yasu. "I found him tied up in the woods, in bad shape . . . he doesn't trust me and I'm working on that."

Hana's eyes turned dark and flinty. Being not only a police officer who worked with Pokémon but the daughter of a prominent clan of breeders she took Pokémon abuse very seriously. "Did you report it to the police?" she asked sternly, and Naruto waffled.

"I . . . my main concern was Hikaru so I sent him to Professor Sarutobi's by catching him. I'm sure the Professor contacted authorities though. You're right, I should have—"

"That should have been your second action after sending Hikaru yes," Hana cut him off but smiled gently. "But I'm sure that was your first time seeing an abused Pokémon and it's really frightening. You did good just by making Hikaru your priority. Just, some Pokémon, depending upon their state and how much abuse they received can't form relationships with humans again. Don't force Hikaru, and don't make yourself feel guilty if it doesn't work out okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Naruto agreed. He then remembered what he wanted to do and got out his Poké nav, quickly getting to the website and checking map upgrades. "It says it should take five minutes approximately. I'm going to download it just in case." And he then remembered to send a message to his mother, so that he could know when she caught Tsunami, because then he'd be able to ball Yasu and keep the Sylveon with him instead of the ball being automatically sent to the lab.

"Good thinking." Hana confirmed. "So then let's just go sit in their lounge area and wait." With that the group went over to the lounge and seated themselves, Nia once again plastering herself to Naruto's side. Hikaru, eyeing the girl as he'd only seen her once, glared a little at her being so stuck to Naruto's side. A kit then . . . kits were weak, but they needed to be protected. Was the boy protecting this kit? Was she to be a new member?

Ran for her part, was always gracious in accepting new fans and quickly started to bat at Nia's hair bow tied up on her head. Nia giggled and raised her hand to fiddle with Ran's paws, which the Skitty allowed with a mewl of acceptance. "Big brother she's pretty."

"Thank you!" Naruto said kindly. "Her name is Ran. Do you want to hold her?"

"Oh please!" Nia nodded her head rapidly, hands held up for Ran to jump in them. Nestling Ran in her arms and against her body, Nia leisurely stroked Ran's fur and ears, tickling the large paddle of her tail. Ran soaked up all this affection, a real attention hog to the core. Hikaru watched his fellow tiny Pokémon and snorted at her absolute neediness, vowing never to be so dependent upon another's touch (ever again).


"So Naruto you have a lot of Pokémon?"

Naruto looked up from watching Nia and Ran chase each other around the trail to Hana, blinking at the sudden question and break in silence. "Huh?"

"You said before that you hadn't been spending much time with Ran, so I wondered if you had a lot of Pokémon." Hana asked, referring to his statement in the Pokémon Center.

"Oh! Oh, yeah I do." Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "I . . . On this journey I've discovered that I have poor impulse control and it's something I've been trying to work on recently. That's why I made the rule, no new Pokémon until Hikaru is comfortable with me, and wouldn't feel as if I might overlook or neglect him should I continue to get new Pokémon."

"That's a good policy." Hana noted. "But it makes me even more curious . . . just how many Pokémon do you have?"

"Um . . . twenty." Naruto answered after doing a mental count.

"Twenty?!" Hana laughed incredulously. "The average for a Pokémon trainer for their first year is, perhaps, ten— not including those years involved the Poké Dex project. You're only, what, four or five months in to your journey?"

"About there yeah. I just really couldn't help it, I love all of my Pokémon dearly so . . . but yeah, sometimes one or two will spend a while in the lab so I try my best to shuffle my team around but Ran seemed to have spent quite a bit of time in the lab and I missed her. I had spent a long time with my baby Pokémon, a Bagon named Yume because I wanted to raise her level to ten before putting her in the lab for the first time." Naruto informed Hana, who nodded along.

"Yes, with big Pokémon teams it can be hard to give them all a fair time. Personally, I only have five Pokémon, because I knew from the start of my journey I wanted to go into law enforcement and you don't need a huge team for that. In fact, as a trainee they give you a Pokémon to raise and care for who will eventually become your partner. It only helped that my rookie partner was the same type as my starter I received from my family." Hana told the younger trainer.

"That's pretty cool. Yeah, I never got the traditional starter either as you can see." Naruto chuckled, pointing to his Sylveon. "My Yasu was my first and best friend— the best even among humans!"

"You've got strong bonds with your Pokémon, and that'll carry you through a lot of hardships." Hana murmured with a grin.

"Big brother!" Nia's elated shout made the two look up to see the girl barreling down the path back to them with Ran right by her side. Nia stopped in front of Naruto but her shoe was caught in a dip in the road and she fell straight into Naruto. Naruto let out an 'oomph!' and only stopped himself from falling thanks to a quick reorientation of balance.

"Careful Nia, you could have hurt yourself!" Naruto chided, setting the girl on her feet again.

"Sorry." Nia mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"Hey, no worries. What did you want Nia?" Naruto asked, ruffling her hair and almost upsetting her bow. Nia pouted as she fixed her hair, but quickly brightened up as she remembered what she wanted.

"Big brother! You can train Rush now can't you? There's plenty of space now." Nia demanded, pulling up the Poké ball of the Tyrannitar and thrusting it forward to Naruto.

"Well . . . I can at least check Rush out." Naruto conceded. "I just hope I'm at a high enough level for him to listen to me."

"You have four badges right? That ought to be enough for him to see you as someone not to be trifled with. And more importantly, if he sees your good relationship with Nia he might be spurred to listen even more." Hana advised.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, giving a considering look to Nia as he took her capsule. With a grin he nodded. "Alright then, let's begin training. Come out . . . Rush!" Naruto lightly tossed the Poké ball and in a jagged beam of light Rush the Tyrannitar appeared, hulking and adorably confused.

"Ra?" Rush drew out, looking around with wide, innocent eyes that just melted Naruto straight through. Rush finally got a look at Nia and lit up like the sun, rushing to her on all fours before pushing the girl to the ground to smother her with kisses and nuzzles, yipping all the while.

"Oh my god he is so adorable." Naruto breathed in a low whisper to Hana, who nodded while giggling.

"Rush! Ru-rush!" Nia stuttered around his overwhelming affection, giggling her little head off as she patted and stroked the Pokémon's crest. "Hi Rush I missed you."

Rush warbled, butting his head into her body as he adopted a crestfallen look. Nia hurried to reassure him, planting a big kiss on his nose. "It's alright Rush! You did your best against that mean lady! Look Rush, look at who saved me!" Nia pointed to Naruto, who smiled and waved when Rush looked at him with confused eyes. "His name is Naruto. Say hi Rush."

Rush waved a little bashfully, and Naruto in a sudden burst of intuition knew why Rush wasn't fully trained. The bigger Pokémon had a heart of gold, and training him to be a fighter might not work out too well . . . but he would give it his best shot. "Hi Rush! Nice to meet you . . . I'm a Pokémon trainer, and Nia was thinking that you might like to train with my Pokémon so that you can protect yourself and Nia better should something else happen again."

Rush stood up straight, automatically bringing Nia up along with him but he also curled in on himself, looking said and ashamed. Naruto felt bad, taking a few steps forward to place a hand on Rush's back— the part he could reach at least, because Rush was huge.

"Hey Rush, no one is blaming you. I'm sure you're a strong Pokémon but that villain you went up against probably didn't fight fair I'm sure. So, I just think that maybe if you do some training you can be stronger and more confident to help Nia. Sound alright to you buddy?"

Rush peeked up at Naruto, a feat since he towered almost three whole feet above him, before nodding and uncurling just a little as I sensing he was out of the danger zone. Naruto grinned and stepped away, smile growing when Yasu stepped up right next to him. "This is my partner Yasu. Together, he and I are going to help train you to be stronger by the rime you and Nia arrive home. It's going to be tough . . . and you might not like everything we throw at you . . . but I guess it all depends on how willing you are to work for Nia's sake."

Rush stood straight and held his arms aloft as he gave a loud roar, looking determined. Naruto grinned wildly and said, "I like your spirit Rush! Let's get to work! So first thing's first . . . big Pokémon like you aren't expected to be fast so we can work on agility first. Trying to work on Pokémon moves while on the go is a bit tricky, and you're not ready for that yet. All I'm going to ask you to do is play a simple game: Tag. Your job is to tag Yasu. If you can't tag him by the time we stop for the night then you'll have to do ten repetitions an exercise I choose for you and you'll be exhausted because of it. If you can tag Yasu though, then I'll have Yasu tutor you in Iron Tail. Sounds good huh?"

Rush groaned, showing how wrong he thought Naruto was, but the boy just grinned cheekily. "Alright! So . . ."

And without missing a beat Yasu leapt up and landed almost daintily on top of Rush's head, if not for the larger creature making a pained sound and nearly folding in two, right before Yasu leapt off and ran away with merry sounds. "Tag! You're it." Naruto finished smugly. Rush heaved a sigh but no one missed the excited sparkle in his eyes as he wheeled around and ran after Yasu, his girth making his footsteps heavy enough to shake the ground as he ran on two feet.

"That's not training, big brother!" Nia whined, pouting up at Naruto. "Rush is just playing with Yasu. It looks fun . . ."

Naruto withheld a smile as Nia became distracted by the cavorting forms of the Sylveon and Tyrannitar. "This is training, believe it or not. Rush is training his speed and agility. Yasu is very fast, and I don't expect Rush to catch Yasu today . . . but he should be very close if not able to tag Yasu towards the end of the journey, and before we leave I'll spend a day teaching Rush iron tail."

Nia thought about it, very hard if her expression was anything to go by, and then nodded reluctantly. "Well, you are a trainer big brother. And a corinator—"

"Coordinator."

"So you're probably right about all this." Nia finished.

Naruto smiled and tapped Nia on the tip of her nose. "Yup. Just leave it to me Nia, and you'll see, Rush will be stronger in no time at all!"

"Yeah! Rush will be able to take on a . . . a . . . a DRAGONITE!" Nia yelled, hopping excitedly.

"Well maybe not that far . . ." Naruto muttered, but Nia was in her own imaginary world now, running ahead and forcing Hana and Naruto to chase after her. As Naruto yelled for Nia to slow down, feet pounding the turf as he pulled ahead, Hana had to laugh delightedly as she loped along behind the children at an easier pace while still keeping them in her sight. However for a second . . . just a second . . . Hana's face closed off and her eyes moved to a point just behind her shoulder in the thick trees on the side of the route. Nothing was there. Hana's eyes narrowed, and she looked back to the kids, her face opening with amusement and cheer once more.


Naruto, Hana, and Nia stood in a line as they watched the scene before them.

Yasu, dainty and fine boned, sat gleaming white underneath the afternoon sun as he carefully licked a paw and then rubbed that paw up and down his right ear. He sat atop Rush, the Tyrannitar gulping in huge breaths from where he was sprawled belly down on the ground.

". . . You okay Rush?" Naruto asked, voice quavering with the laughs he held back. Hana's lips twitched and she gently nudged Naruto to keep his composure. Rush groaned, eyes opening and rolling up to glare (pout) at the Sylveon on his back.

"Sylveon?" Yasu cooed, leaning down to look at Rush. Rush snorted and swung a heavy limb up, back feet digging into the ground to raise his lower half as he struggled up. Yasu cheered and leapt off, lading nimbly on the ground before Naruto. Rush got up, waited a few seconds, and then rose to two feet while moving his head from side to side.

"That's it Rush! Don't give up!" Nia cheered, running to the Tyrannitar to give him a huge hug, her little arms not even making it around his stomach. Rush looked down at her fondly and patted her head gently.

"Syl. Syl, veon, Sylveon." Yasu chattered, purring when Naruto rubbed his head and gave him a scratch behind the ears.

"How about we resume this after a break huh? I think Rush has earned it." Naruto mused, smiling as he watched Yasu practically melt under his ministrations. He stopped though, as a strange feeling overtook him and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. "Do you feel—?"

"Move!" Hana yelled, diving for Nia and pushing her underneath her body. Naruto and Yasu ducked as well, hearing a high whining sound that signified a powerful attack, accompanied by a rush of heat going over them and ruffling their hair and fur. Naruto felt almost singed by how close the attack was. The attack hit Rush head on who roared in pain as he was pushed back, moving several feet before his back hit against the trees with a thud.

"Rush!" Nia screamed, squirming under Hana's body. The Tyrannitar straightened up against the battered of the trees, eyes opening from slits of pain to blow wide with anger. Rush growled at the figure behind them, and the group scrambled up quickly to see their attacker.

"Oh, hello. I'm sorry you dodged my attack— it would have been easier for you if you had just died but . . . now you have to suffer." The man sighed, but his expression was pleasant and affable. He had his arms crossed loosely behind his back, and his eyes sparkled with malice.

Naruto had no clue as to his identity, but the robes the man wore were similar to his attackers on the Sunken Ship, except without the blue lining of Team Aqua or the red lining of Team Magma. No, this man's battle uniform was edged with purple, and his jacket was open to reveal a beige shirt, with a large purple rope tied into a bow behind his back around the waistband of his pants.

Hana rushed to stand in front of the kids, one hand flung out like a barricade and the other resting on the Poké balls lined up on her belt. "You! What are you doing here, Raiga Kurosuki?!" she yelled.

The man named Raiga smirked, his full lips pulling back over his teeth. "If it isn't Fallarbor's finest? Why, look at those markings, you might just be an Inuzuka. You are, aren't you? The boss would pay a nice bonus for your well-bred hounds. I'm here for the brat and her Tyrannitar. But if I accidentally mess the brat up, I'd still be okay with just the Tyrannitar."

Nia gasped and trembled with fear, and Naruto pushed her behind him. "You'll have to get through us before you can get to them!" Naruto growled, Yasu bristling beside him and Rush moving to back them up with a stony glare.

Raiga just kept on smirking. "You don't stand a chance against my Pokémon, either of you, especially a wet behind the ears trainer like you brat. Just give me what I want and I'll leave you with just enough life to maybe survive to the hospital."

"You're words won't intimidate us Raiga." Hana retorted. "Go, Manectric!"

From the light of his capsule came a pretty large Manectric, the electric-type Pokemon whose eyes were like shards of ice for all the feeling you could find in them. What horrified the trainers though were the scars on the Manectric's body, large rippled things that weren't hidden by the Pokémon's fur, along his back and neck. A collar, looking almost like a shock collar, went around his neck.

"What . . . what the hell have you done?!" Hana yelled at Raiga, furious at the clear signs of abuse and experimentation.

Raiga shrugged. "It wasn't me, I have no clue what they do in the labs. All I know is my Pokémon are three times stronger than they ever were and make no mistake about it, they were strong enough before. The boss is a real science geek, so he just loves improving Pokémon."

"You call that an improvement?" Hana whispered, staring at the scarred Manectric with ice cold eyes. "You're sick. Go, Arcanine!"

The large, beautiful evolution of Growlith appeared from the white glow like a flaming beacon in the middle of the greenery. It looked down at the Manectric and growled, hackles barely raising.

"Prepare to lose that Arcanine missy." Raiga informed her.

"Naruto, take Nia and go!" Hana ordered, never letting her sight stray from Raiga.

Naruto hesitated, unsure if leaving her alone was the best option. "But—"

"I'll be fine, just go!" Hana barked, and Naruto nodded curtly as he tossed Nia into Rush's arms and then led them all away from the scene, tearing off into the distance.

Hana breathed deeply. She wouldn't have to worry about any collateral damage hurting the kids, and thus could battle with a clear mind. Suddenly, Raiga's smirk turned into a devious grin, and she felt a pang of unease.

"You think it's going to be that easy?" Raiga laughed. "Like I didn't bring back up? We know about that Naruto kid . . . he'll be easy pickings for my partner."

"What?" Hana gasped. Maybe Raiga was trying to trick her, make her sloppy but . . . if he really was telling the truth . . . then sending those kids away from her was a dangerous idea! But no. She had to have faith in Naruto's skills as a trainer.

Hana glared. "If you heard about Naruto, then you should know he won't be easy to defeat. By the time I get done with you, I'll be able to help him. Now enough talking! Arcanine, Ember!"

"Manectric, Thunder Wave!" Raiga ordered.


"Big brother, we left Hana alone against that scary guy!" Nia screeched, clinging to Rush's body. The Tyrannitar had propped her on his back and was now running on all fours to keep up better with Naruto and Yasu.

"Hana is a trained police officer, has been for years!" Naruto explained, breathing controlled. "She'll be fine . . . the bridge! Come on, that's the Driftveil Drawbridge to Nimbasa City!"

They crashed through the last of the forested path and thundered on to the bridge, drawing quite a few confused and shocked looks from the few trainers walking along the path.

"Help!" Naruto called, waving his arms frantically. "Some guy named Raiga is attacking our friend back there! Please, get the police!"

"Whoa slow down kid, who the hell is Raiga?" An older teen in a blue shirt asked, stepping forward.

"I don't know!" Naruto groaned. "But he's probably a bad dude if my friend, a police officer, knows him. Just, please, he's trying to steal our Pokémon!"

"Alright, you guys wait with these kids and I'll go get some help!" A dark-skinned girl with a sweeping braid to the back of her knees shouted, running off to the town with a pink and purple feline in tow.

"Thank you, jeez, thanks . . ." Naruto panted, pitching forward to place his hands on his knees.

"It'll be fine kid." The older teen patted him on the back, reaching for a canteen of water at his side. "Here, drink— what the heck is that?"

"Huh?" Naruto turned around and looked back at where they had come from to see a Lucario walking forward. Only, the predatory intent in his eyes made it look more like stalking and this pressure seemed to come down upon them all. Naruto's eyes widened when he caught sight of the same style of grotesque scarring on the Lucario that he saw on the Manetric. It made the steel/fighting-type look like some kind of Frankenstein monster, with the deep scarring and stitching present on his shoulder, over his left eye, running across his abdomen and down his right leg.

"Arceus, what the hell happened to it?" The teen breathed, before his eyes hardened and he pushed Naruto back. "Stand back kid, run to town and stay there I'll hold him off."

The Lucario's stony gaze passed over the teen, and then to Naruto's group where something like malice flashed through briefly before settling into that dead stare again. Like a bird, his head twitched to the side, and then it spoke.

It's muzzle made no physical movement, and no actual voice was heard save for only in the heads of the trainers still on the bridge who clutched their heads and gasped in fright. "I need only the little girl and the Tyrannitar. Move, or else I will eliminate you."

The voice was just as dead sounding as its eyes looked, a slow and deep monotone that shook many people. The teen took a single step back before stiffening. "You're not going to touch these kids. I don't know what the hell happened to you, but telepathy isn't going to scare me. Let's battle Lucario! I choose you, Serperior!"

From the light of the trainer's ball, a regal serpent with a green body and crest with golden curls along it's sides appeared, looking haughty and disdainful at the Lucario. It's tail, tipped with leaf like tufts, slowly undulated along the floor.

"Pitiful." The Lucario commented. It suddenly crouched forward, and then blasted forward in a show of extreme speed.

"Don't let him touch you Serperior, use Vine Whip!" The teen shouted, and his Serperior lowered its head as vines shot forward from its body, snapping across the ground in a bid to catch the Lucario. The Lucario dodged them as if he was merely sidestepping leaves in the wind, without much care and still coming forward.

"Watch out, Luke, Lucario's aren't as affected by grass type moves!" A trainer suddenly shouted from behind Naruto and he turned with wide eyes to see a boy with dirty blonde hair also clutching a capsule.

"Right!" Naruto gasped, grabbing his Pokédex and scanning the Lucario. He read the information and then scanned the Serperior, wincing when he saw that nothing it did would be particularly effective against the Lucario even if it was a strong evolution. He got the feeling that whatever they did to the Lucario in the lab, it made it stronger than average. He looked at the list of possible moves this one could use and gasped when he saw one happening before his very eyes.

"He's using Swords Dance, get ready!" he called sharply. Lucario had started glowing blue and seemed to be meditating as swords appeared around him and started spinning. Serperior's whips tried to hit the weapons away but the whips were instead thrown back harshly and the Serperior curled in discomfort as its vine whips returned to its body.

"We've dealt with type disadvantages before, Serperior and I can handle this freak." The boy Naruto now knew was named Luke stated with a fierce sort of cold in his voice.

That seemed to snap the Lucario out of its meditation, and its eyes glowed red like blood. It slowly got up, the swords dissipating in the wind. "Freak?" it repeated the word softly, and for the first time Naruto could hear some emotion in its voice though he didn't know what the emotion was. He was more readily able to identify the next emotion though, as rage.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Lucario roared, and suddenly it was even faster, heading straight for Serperior.

"Serperior Leaf Tornado!" Luke shouted. The Serperior hissed out a battle cry and a swirl of very sharp, glowing leaves shot out straight towards Lucario. The other Pokémon didn't even flinch, didn't try to block or dodge as the leaves whipped and tore past him, catching on his body and creating long bloody cuts.

"He's just powering right through it!" A scared female voice cried, and Luke was too shocked to see someone just barrel through his attack to call for any sort of defense when the Lucario finally bore down upon his Pokémon in a Quick Attack. Naruto suddenly realized that they wouldn't be getting any sort of preparation or knowledge of what kinds of attacks Lucario would use, because Lucario wasn't a trainer who needed to command his Pokémon— he is a Pokémon who can fight his own battles without the need of a trainer.

"I have a name!" Lucario spat, attacking the Serperior again before it could hurtle away from the first attack, with hands tipped in shiny and sharp Metal Claws that dug gouges into Serperior's body and let blood spurt around it. "A name given to me by my great trainer, in honor of his precious brother. My name is RANMARU!"

"Serperior!" Luke screamed, seeing his Pokémon hurt so badly. "You bastard! Serperior use Mega Drain!"

"That's not enough!" The declaration was punctuated by Ranmaru shooting forward and avoiding the pellets of Mega Drain and slapping his palm upon the midsection of the Serperior. A sudden shockwave of power erupted from his palm engulfing the Serperior for a second before its limp and bedraggled body soared back into its trainer, both trainer and Pokémon blasted back from the Force Palm to land with sickening thuds further down the bridge by a female trainer with blue hair that screamed shrilly.

"Luke, Luke!" The trainer screamed over and over, hands fluttering and shaking the knocked out teen and his unconscious Serperior.

"You!" The red-haired trainer that had named Luke before was red-faced and furious, stalking forward to finish what Luke started when Naruto threw out an arm.

"No! This guy wants us, and I dragged you all into this! Take Nia and run in to town, it's her and her Pokémon Ranmaru wants and I'm not going to let him!" Naruto shouted, grabbing a pokeball. "That Force Palm is not supposed to be that powerful . . . this guy, I think he was put in a lab weren't you?"

"My master has a master over him, who promised to increase the power of all Pokémon under him to better serve. My master and I believe in the cause, and gladly gave ourselves over to the power of science . . . and look! I am stronger than any Lucario in this land. You cannot defeat me, I won't allow myself to dishonor my master Raiga!"

"Kid are you crazy he just went psycho on a Serperior! Luke was in the top ten of the Conference, there's no way you can beat it!" The trainer shouted.

"Just take them and go, please!" Naruto pleaded, as he called out his Pokémon. "Let's go, Shizuka!"

His Kirlia appeared in a pirouette and then rested at plie. "Kirlia." The call was modulated and cold . . . Shizuka could at once realize this was a dangerous foe.

The Lucario also took stock of Shizuka and deemed her perhaps a not completely worthless opponent, but still someone he could crush.

Naruto chanced one last look back and saw Nia and Rush still near him. "Nia, go now!" he sharply commanded.

Nia's eyes welled with hot tears as she shook her head. "N-no . . ."

"Go!" Naruto shouted. "Rush take her now and go or the same thing as last time will happen!"

Rush flinched, before reluctantly nodding and loping away with a crying and protesting Nia on top. The red-headed trainer took one last look at Naruto before following, stopping only briefly to help the girl grab on to Luke and his Serperior. Naruto, Shizuka, and Lucario were alone on the bridge.

"I will not allow the girl or the Tyrannitar to escape. If need be, I will crush you." Ranmaru told Naruto unfeelingly, as easily as telling him that the sky was blue and so was he.

Naruto swallowed. "Yeah, that's going to be tougher than you think." Naruto let a wave of regret for asking this of Shizuka to pass through him, before he banished it in place of determination and some bits of anger at the callous nature of the Lucario and his trainer.

"Shizuka!" Naruto called sharply. "Magical Leaf!"

"Kirlia!" Shizuka spun on her toes as the spiraling whirl of magical leaf hurtled toward the Lucario, who dodged it as if the attack came at him in slow motion. Ranmaru sprinted forward, a glint of steel in his eyes.

"Magical Leaf, make a wall!" Naruto demanded. Shizuka's hands came up in a stop motion as her magical leaf attack formed, thick and a temporary block for the Lucario who jumped back from it slightly. "Psychic!"

Shizuka's eyes glowed but Lucario merely darted back and forth, movements sharp and swift like a Arboc's as he headed for Shizuka with unerring speed.

"Shizuka Teleport!" Naruto called, and his Kirlia managed to get out of the way of Lucaroi safely. Which, as it turned out, didn't bother the Pokémon all that much. Ranmaru cared little for who he it, he wasn't taking this as an official Pokémon match and that's where Naruto messed up. Ranmaru swooped down upon the startled boy, a daedly intent in his eyes and Naruto came to the sickening realization as soon as he saw that black fist coming toward him.

A barrage of stars saved him, the attack from Yasu blasting into the Lucario and sending it back several paces, followed by a blast in the back from an enraged Kirlia's Magical Leaf.

If he had it me . . . I'd have been out for a while, maybe even dead, Naruto thought in a clinical manner. The revulsion and fear was balled into his stomach and threatening to rise up his esophagus but he had a battle to win so that could happen later.

"Shizuka use Imprison!"

Shizuka spun and opened her arms wide, as a force field came around Ranmaru whose eyes widened as he bashed and kicked at the force field. Shizuka winced every now and then but didn't let up, allowing Naruto some time to try and think of what to do.

Shizuka had some very interesting moves in her arsenal, and if push came to shove Yasu was more than up to the task of finishing up the job. Perhaps Future Sight was in order, Draining Kiss would be a good move but he wasn't sure if he wanted to risk Shizuka getting so close after seeing what Ranmaru did to the Serperior—

The crack like that of shattered glass startled Naruto as Ranmaru actually broke through Shizuka's concentration. Naruto numbly recalled that Imprison worked best to prevent the foe from using attacks known by the caster. And he was sure the fighting type new plenty of interesting moves.

"Shizuka-!" Naruto screamed, but it was too late to warn his Kirlia away. Ranmaru descended upon her with an aura sphere, the ball of energy hitting the other's midsection and with a screech of pain Shizuka was sent spiraling away to crash hard into the ground.

"Shizuka!" Naruto screamed again. "Shizuka Lucky Chant, keep him away!"

Ranmaru was relentless as he flew after the Kirlia but Shizuka was no slouch either as she immediately began to chant and the tentacles of power snapped and writhed around her, caging her momentarily. Ranmaru jumped away from them, and it gave Naruto a short reprieve.

"Shizuka Future Sight!" Naruto called.

"This will be over before two moves have passed." Ranmaru stated, the claws of his paws sharpening into Metal Claws as he slashed at the weaving, bobbing Kirlia. But Shizuka was grace incarnate in this, a love of dance and so she spun and swept away all attacks as Naruto banked upon the Future's fortune and worked with the present.

"He's close— Confusion!" Naruto called, and Shizuka spun once before her eyes locked on Ranmaru's and glowed red. Ranmaru flinched and jumped away, eyes narrowing. "We can't count on him being completely caught by it . . ." Naruto murmured to himself. "Magical Leaf again, keep it up!"

Shizuka sent wave after wave, and Naruto knew the Confusion was doing something as Ranmaru wasn't reacting as fast as before allowing for some of the sharp blade-like projectiles to catch him and leave him with the first set of wounds since they started. Still, the Lucario looked hardly bothered, as Grass attacks weren't as effective on Fighting-types but there was little else he could do. Naruto was mainly stalling in the hopes that one of the trainers from the bridge would bring reinforcements.

"I will not lose!" Ranmaru declared, some emotion coming back into his voice like before when he had been called a freak. Ranmaru suddenly darted to the side, and Naruto just knew, somehow, what the attack was.

The response was subconscious, a half-formed thought. "Teleport above and Toxic!"

Ranmaru feinted to the right before a heavy fist came down upon the space Shizuka no longer was, the Kirlia having teleported above him in the air and then reeling back to deal a punishing round of Toxic on the Lucario's head and shoulders. Ranmaru flinched and backpedaled furiously, shivering as the poison seeped in and started to take hold.

"Don't think I'll give you time to use Heal Pulse if you know it Ranmaru," Naruto snarled. "Psychic!"

The attack his true, and Ranmaru was flung back as if he'd been sucker punched and sent careening back several feet before flipping and sliding backwards in a crouch.

Ranmaru growled, molten fury in his eyes, before he jerked and looked at something over his shoulder. Something too caught Shizuka's attention and Yasu's, as they looked in the same direction Ranmaru did.

"Next time, I will destroy you Uzumaki Naruto." Ranmaru promised, turning back to glare at Naruto before leaping away, rushing back into the forest past the bridge.

Naruto stood stock still, eyes wide and his nerves taut at the abrupt and confusing end of the battle. ". . . Is he gone?" Naruto asked Shizuka, who waited a few moments before turning back to Naruto and nodding. Naruto sighed heavily, dropping to his knees and opening his arms for the Kirlia to crash into him. He and his Pokémon shared a crushing group hug as the adrenaline faded away and they allowed the uncertainty and fear to take its course.

"I don't think he was taking us seriously." Naruto admitted quietly, looking at Yasu and Shizuka. "I'm not sure we could have won."

"Kirlia . . ." Shizuka warbled, patting Naruto's cheek gently. He smiled softly at her, knocking their foreheads together lightly and keeping those rose colored eyes locked with his blue ones.

"You were amazing," Naruto told her emphatically. "You didn't back down once. My girl's not just a ballerina, she's a warrior huh?" The beaming pride of Shizuka made him chuckle, only to stop when they heard the sound of running coming closer.

"Are you alright?!" The concerned call came from a man who was either still young or just starting middle-age, Naruto couldn't quite tell. He had black hair and blue eyes and wore a very professional white shirt and blue pants with a large red tie. Behind him were a couple of the trainers from the bridge.

"Yes . . . the Lucario, Ranmaru, he fled just a few minutes ago," Naruto's eyes suddenly widened and he jumped up, surprising his Pokémon and the newcomer. "Oh no! Our friend, Hana, she was battling Ranmaru's trainer so we could escape— I don't know if she's okay!"

"Don't worry, I'm going to go and find her." The man assured Naruto, stepping up and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "My name is Cheren, I'm the leader of Aspetia Gym. I need you to go back to town and take care of your friends, while I go investigate this okay?"

"You got it." Naruto agreed readily. He'd already admitted that he probably couldn't have defeated Ranmaru and the Pokémon was working by himself. Up against his trainer Raiga, Naruto knew he wouldn't win. Speaking of . . . "The person Hana's fighting— she's a police officer in Fortree Town in Hoenn, and she went up against this guy named Raiga Kurosuki."

"Raiga Kurosuki?" Cheren repeated, and Naruto knew that name was familiar when the older man's face became grim. "The police have been called and they'll catch up. You guys," he turned to the trainers that got him. "Let them know about that name— Raiga Kurosuki. Chichi," he turned to the girl that had screamed for her friend Luke. "Take the kid back to town safely."

"Right! Come on— what's your name?" Chichi asked, smiling kindly at Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto replied, and Chichi nodded.

"Naruto, there's not much we can do now so let Cheren handle it. Let's go back to town, your little sister has been crying nonstop since she got to the Pokémon Center."


Naruto sat on a couch in the town's Pokémon Center, Nia sleeping with her body on the couch and her head on Naruto's right leg. He pet her hair absently as he waited for Hana and Cheren. He'd already waited about half an hour . . .

Sighing, he looked to Yasu who lay by his feet docile and quiet. Shizuka had been placed in her ball after a quick healing cycle, and Rush was placed away safely as well. He glanced up every time the automatic doors opened, but it hadn't been the people he wanted to see yet.

But, finally, when he glanced up at the opening of the door Hana's gaze locked on his as and Hana's face nearly melted with relief. She walked with a fast clip to the two kids, kneeling quickly and her hands lightly grasping Naruto's wrists.

"You're okay? Nia is okay?" Hana asked quietly, intensely. Naruto nodded taking his own inventory of Hana. Her left arm was wrapped in bandaged from the shoulder to her elbow, there was a bandage on her right cheek, several angry welts along her right arm and an air of exhaustion about her.

"We're fine. Are you? How'd you beat that Raiga guy? His Lucario, Ranmaru was crazy strong and I bet all his other Pokémon were just as jacked."

Hana smiled slightly, rising up to drop down on the couch next to him. "Yeah, his Pokémon were very strong, stronger than normal . . . but my Pokémon and I are very in tune with each other. What we lacked in strength we made up for with other things. Besides, it appears he only had three Pokémon with him, if the Lucario was his indeed. I have a theory that . . . the experiments they use to . . . enhance . . . their Pokémon might take a long time. Judging by those scars the process itself is rough. Raiga is a known thief, Pokémon and otherwise, so I can't believe he only had three Pokémon."

"No, in fact," Cheren's voice made them look up in slight shock. They hadn't realized the man had come close to them. Cheren smiled as he sat down on the couch opposite them. "Raiga was last known to have ten Pokémon, where exactly he kept the extra four is unknown as he's not exactly listed. So either his last four Pokémon are still being processed or . . ." he trails off, looking rather sad.

"You don't mean—" Naruto chokes off, looking down at the ground in disgust. For a long few minutes, there is nothing but silence. Then someone heaves a great sigh of some heavy emotion.

"We should stay the night here. Rest. Tomorrow we'll resume our journey to Castelia City, making a stop in Nimbasa City." Hana finally said. "I'll get us some rooms. Cheren. Thank you for your help."

"No problem. I'll make a call to the gym leaders, let them know to keep an eye out for things." Cheren said, smiling at them. "For now you two do need to rest, you've had quiet an exciting day. If you need anything before you leave, feel free to talk to me."

"Again, thanks a lot." Naruto quietly told him. Cheren smiled and nodded cordially, before leaving the center. Leaving a concerned duo of trainers and one peacefully sleeping little girl.


And that was the second part of this adventure! We've got two more parts to go and then we return to Hoenn for a crazy fast round before the next big event in this fic. So stay tuned, it won't be too long apart!

Love,

Bloody Mad~3