A boat was anchored in the middle of the water while the sun glistened across the multiple gentle waves crashing against the ship. Mr. Briney stood at the hull of the ship while Peeko landed on top of his left shoulder while crossing his arms as he looked over the ship into the clear water below, multiple Clamperl sitting on the seafloor, Tentacool moving around while Magikarp swam around with all of their interests in their minds. Between the pokemon, Naruto swam around with Genji as he admired all the Pokemon. He had put on his waterproof bandages before immediately jumping off the ship onto the water below before Genji followed him in. Naruto always had a fascination with the ocean and wanted to swim amongst the Pokemon he had loved, and he took any chance to take a swim around his hometown with Genji since Littleroot had expanded to have a port in the last few years, and he always had the uncanny ability to breathe well underwater, almost as if he bonded with it.
Naruto went down to the floor with Genji and saw the different pokemon, seeing a Wailmer swimming around before he looked at Genji with a smile as both swam back up, Genji a lot more smoothly as he navigated the water as fast as the Magikarp around them and went to the surface before Naruto finally surfaced and shook his head around, letting the water in his hair shake out as it fell down with its wetness.
"Genji, you wanna go back down?" Naruto asked Genji who nodded with a smirk as Olympus came into his arms. "Poi-Poi!"
"You want to go down with us Olympus?" "POI!" Naruto smirked as Artemis flew stood at the top of the ship while soaking in the sun with her wings and admiring how clean they looked before Mr. Briney walked up.
"It is a nice day to go diving, I'm shocked at how well you are accustomed to the water, it's almost like you can breathe underwater with how long you were under there." Naruto grinned up at the man before saying, "Of course, people in Littleroot called me 'Whirlpool' for a reason, I was always in my element training in the water or jumping around. I had way too much energy when Littleroot got modernized and me and Brendan took our time to explore everything we could do around, including diving looking for Star Pieces, Pearls, Stardusts and rare Pokemon we could befriend." Naruto smiled and dived again, Olympus in his hands and Genji swam around them as Olympus admired the seafloor and the Pokemon around.
"Froga-Frogadier." Genji swam ahead and led Naruto ahead before they surfaced and Olympus gathered its breath before cheering as Naruto softly pet it before they dived again. Multiple pokemon started swimming around them as Olympus looked around while Naruto smiled and looked around, seeing some Wailmer swimming around in a pack before he went closer to them as they flowed by him before he was propped up and then brought to the surface, water splashing around as he held Olympus in his arms while standing on the Wailmer's head before he got brought back to the ship by the Wailmer pack as he smiled and pet the one who brought him back before they started swimming away.
"WAILLLLLL!" The whole pack shouted out as they floated away while Naruto held Olympus softly next to his own chest before it floated onto his shoulder as Genji came on the sip and stood next to him before Artemis flew down and perched herself on his other shoulder, making sure her talons didn't harm her trainer.
"Gramps, I have a question." Mr. Briney chuckled at the nickname Naruto gave him before he said, "Ask away little bugger."
"Have you ever been to the Alola Region?" Mr. Briney looked at Naruto who smiled back at him before he shook his head, "Sadly, I've never docked at the ports of Alola. I can truly tell it's an amazing place, but in my youth there was no need to head there as they hadn't set up anything besides resorts and I was dedicated to my work. I took no breaks from the moment I started sailing until the day I retired to my lodge."
"You should go there sometime." Mr. Briney saw Naruto smile at him before he continued, "It'll really help bring the paleness outta your skin gramps." He joked with a grin as Mr. Briney's eyes flared up before Naruto then said, "It's also nice to go see more of the world, even if you already explored most of it during your prime. I plan to see the world, why can't you finish it?" Naruto grinned and jumped back into the water while Mr. Briney mulled over what Naruto had said before shaking his head with a bellow of laughter. "Damn youngin, making me want to take a vacation." Naruto swam back down to the seafloor and felt something next to him and saw multiple Sharpedo around him as bubbles came out of his mouth before the Sharpedo swam fast ahead into the depths and he saw a mass of charred metal on the floor. He looked down and saw a broken down ship that looked to be burnt as there were holes in the steel that looked to be burned through. He swam down to the metal and saw the Sharpedo floating around the metal, one nearly brushing against him before one of their jaws glowed and they used Crunch to bite through the metal.
"What are they doing?" He thought to himself before seeing all the Sharpedo use Aqua Jet on the destroyed ship, breaking through and then seeing multiple books coming out of the parts they destroyed as well as meat flowing out as he then swam towards the books that he saw and grabbed them, seeing they were in waterproof bags before swimming up towards Mr. Briney's ship as he surfaced.
"Gramps, there was a destroyed ship on the seafloor!" Mr. Briney raised his eyebrows before he saw the books Naruto had in his arms before Naruto threw the books on the ship before yelling, "GENJI! COME HELP ME!" Naruto and Genji dived back down as the Sharpedo pack began to eat the meat that came from the ship before they saw Naruto and Genji pass by, following them slowly as they wanted more meat. Naruto looked at Genji who nodded before using Double Team to search around the ship before Naruto looked behind him and saw the Sharpedo staring at him and the original Genji before they went past and also looked around the ship.
"I thought they would be aggressive since they could've taken this as us looting in their territory." Naruto wondered before feeling the need to breathe and going back up and gathering his breath. He then dove back down and saw Genji coming towards him with multiple empty Pokeballs and books before Naruto grabbed them and swam back towards the ship. He shook the water out of his hair and placed the books and Pokeballs down before Genji jumped out of the water next to him and placed something down. Naruto widened his eyes at the object, which was a sword with melted edges and silver hilt that looked extremely burnt.
"What the…'' He then felt more things splash out of the water behind him as he saw the Sharpedo pack jump out of the water before melted metal started flowing upstream.
"Interesting, 'Pokemon Myths and Legends,' 'Geography of Hoenn Region,' what were these doing on that shipwreck?" Mr. Briney read the titles out loud before Naruto saw one last book floating towards the ship, one that was completely torn apart and basically illegible, but he was still able to see three numbers.
"763…" Naruto whispered as Mr. Briney saw the burnt pages along with the numbers.
"Do you think a Pokemon destroyed the ship?" Naruto nodded before saying, "It wasn't just any pokemon, it had to be one that knows fire type moves, otherwise the ship's metal wouldn't have been melted." He then looked at the broken sword and then said, "Whoever was on this ship also tried to attack it judging by the swords." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sword before Mr. Briney brought up a valid point. "If it was a fire type, do you think…" He couldn't finish the sentence as Naruto had known what he was going to say and put his hand up. A fire type in the middle of an ocean, anyone could've guessed what conclusions were being drawn.
"Dewford is close to here, same with some other islands. I just want to know what happened to these people and the pokemon. Hopefully, whatever attacked this ship doesn't come after us." He then looked at his team with a smile. "Nice job you two, Artemis, are you able to patrol around and see if there are any clues to what happened to this ship?" "Same with you Peeko?" Both birds nodded their heads and flew off with Naruto looking down at the Sharpedo pack searching throughout the ship's remains while Olympus floated beside him and Genji dived back down.
He couldn't afford to be lax at this moment.
xXx
"DAR!" "WING!" Both pokemon returned with caws of haste as they landed on the ship. Naruto ran out by himself as he returned to his two other family members and Mr. Briney stood by the wheel.
"You found something?" Both Pokemon nodded and pointed southeast.
"South from here is Dewford and a couple islands. I'm guessing whatever it was made it to the islands." Naruto nodded and then gave Artemis a nice head rub. "Alright, you can rest now Artemis. Thank you." He returned her and then sat down while in thought. "If it was a fire type, it must be extremely weak or on the verge of death right now." His teeth clenched at the thought of a pokemon being near death before the ship moved and Naruto's eyes sharpened as the Sharpedo Pack flowed away. He saw the waves crash against the ship as he stood up and looked out to the sea, calming himself down and looking on the bright side as he normally did.
"I hope it never gave up. No one should raise a sword against a Pokemon, bastards." He frowned as he unconsciously moved his hand to the back of his head and looked slightly up with a neutral gaze before looking at the books and reading the one called, 'Landmarks of the Pokemon World." He saw it was written recently by a person named Cedric Juniper. He turned to Hoenn and saw the many places of interest that his home offered and saw an interesting section.
"Sky Pillar, similar to the Dragonspiral Tower in Unova, is said to be connected to a legendary pokemon, the Sky Dragon Rayquaza. Legends say the people of Hoenn prayed to Rayquaza when a meteor shower befell them and built Sky Pillar to honor Rayquaza. Only the strong may go past the many floors above, lethal traps covering the inside while a thick layer of fog and air along with the many hostile Pokemon attacking anything that tries to go with a flying-type and dragon-type pokemon or anything that can fly, including planes and hot-air balloons. The meteors that Rayquaza dispelled landed in the middle of Hoenn by Mt. Chimney, becoming the landmark known as Meteor Falls (see next page)." Naruto read aloud before he closed his eyes. "Meteor Falls…"
"NARU! Don't worry I got you, bro!" Brendan's screams echoed while hanging onto the green meteor as water rushed forward, pounding against the two while jagged meteors sat below them.
"BRENDAN DON'T LET GO! IF YOU LET GO WE'RE DONE." Naruto's crying voice shouted out as their father's voice echoed.
"BOYS I'M COMING! GENJI COME HELP TOO!" Their father's voice echoed above them before both kids touched the green meteor and a deep roar was heard before everything went black. The last thing Naruto saw was a flash of deep green that overwhelmed him and Brendan.
"Kid, hey kid." Naruto opened his eyes suddenly and saw Mr. Briney standing over him with a smirk.
"You were lost for a second there kid, had to make sure you weren't gone." Naruto kipped up and said, "Well, I had to at least enter my mind at some point, ya'know." He smiled at the man who then said, "We're close to a couple islands and around 12 minutes away from Dewford." Naruto nodded and saw a couple islands in the distance, most notably the first one. Burnt trees and leaves smothered the black sand of the beach as well as many boulders with deep scars on them as they looked ready to be toppled.
"Was there a war here or something?!" Mr. Briney exclaimed as the ship parked and Naruto hopped out and stepped in the sand, seeing the ash spread from the sand as water washed over it. He walked along the coast before seeing melted chains in the water, ripped apart with spiky protrusions on the outside of the heavy collar that accompanied the chains.
"I think I know why the pokemon destroyed the ship we saw." Mr. Briney saw the collar and Naruto's fury, his eyes burning with anger as underneath his bandages his arm burned bright red.
"Whoever these people were wanted to capture and forcefully put it under these chains and threatened it with swords." Naruto's eyes began to change color before he closed them, Mr. Briney watched on with silence and shock as Naruto looked in his direction with cold eyes.
"Scum. Whoever did this deserves to be locked up."
"Did I see his eyes flicker?" He asked himself before he shook his head and rubbed his eyes, watching Naruto stomp on the metal chains and snap them apart before he looked deeper into the center of the island, his eyes following as they saw the path of destruction that led to the other side of the island where a town lay in the distance, ash creating a line in the water that pointed to a sign that lay by this town in the far distance, people swimming in the distance oblivious and ignorant to what had happened on this island that was so close to them.
"Dewford Town, whatever had escaped had gone there and is hiding there among the people." The town was sort of far away, Naruto was sure nobody had come to this island except for maybe the gym leader to check out the damage. He looked back at Mr. Briney, who came to the same conclusion as both walked back to the ship in comfortable silence, Mr. Briney putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder to calm him down while he graciously accepted the care.
"Don't worry youngin, we'll find that pokemon and make sure whoever had tried to harm it never tries it again. We'll make sure to give em' a good beating!" Naruto nodded slightly and said, "Thanks, gramps, now you're speaking my language!" Naruto then stopped and looked at the island and its damage before deciding that he didn't like its look and saw some pokemon looking at its destroyed habitats. Namely, the Wingull and Tailow before he brought out his pokemon and decided to help the Pokemon.
"Wait, Gramps." Naruto walked back and took out his bag before taking out a couple berries and laying them on the ground for the Pokemon to eat before he buried some into the ground and called out his team.
"Hey you three…" The team looked around the area and saw the burnt trees and destroyed land as Artemis especially looked distraught.
"I want to fix this land, are you willing to help me?" The three nodded, each wanting to restore the land since Artemis and Genji grew up with nature as their protector, while Olympus wanted to experience everything nature offered due to being cooped up in the Aether Foundation and Ultra Space.
"POI!" "FROGA!" "DAR!" Naruto smiled and said, "Alright, Genji clean up the beach with Scald and Bubble to cool it down. Olympus, use Pin Missile to take down the burnt trees and Iron Tail to break down the boulders. Artemis, use Synthesis on the leaves and seeds and have them grow. Then I want you all to help with moving the boulders into a good position around the island." All three began their jobs as Naruto began to grab at burnt logs before Mr. Briney joined him.
"You know kid, you're a class act. Most people would've just left this island alone, but I never expected someone to actually help restore it." Naruto shook his head at the praise before he looked at the island and said, "This place was a home to some Pokemon, it would be a crime to just leave them without a home." Both began to carry the logs back to the beach before he saw Tailow and Wingulls begin to use Peck and Wing Attack on the broken trees before the Wingulls began to use Water Gun while Genji used Scald, getting rid of the ash on the sand and restoring it to its golden form before he saw many Pin Missiles being released into the air by Olympus while Artemis used Seed Bomb on the boulders and extra trees, eventually making the island flat with a lot of clutter on the floor before Artemis used Ominous Wind to whisk away the clutter, leaving the seeds behind before it got to the middle and began to glow green, Naruto walking next to her before putting his bandaged arm on its head for praise before it fully used Synthesis while unbeknownst to everyone, Naruto's arm began to glow a bright green as Artemis squawked with power.
"DARRRRRRRR!" The seeds began to grow into small weeds, the stems growing out from the ground before they grew into full trees in a matter of seconds while everyone grew shocked.
"What the…" Naruto looked wide-eyed at Artemis who herself was shocked. "Was that a type of Frenzy Plant? How did Artemis do that?!" He then looked at his arm and widened his eyes even more before seeing the slight green stop shining underneath the bandages before he shook it off, albeit keeping it in the back of his mind, the question lingering on his mind.
"Did I do that? I know those marks act up sometimes but I didn't expect them to give Artemis more power!" Naruto kept his calm though and simply smiled at the shocked pokemon. "Great Job Artemis!" She looked at him with a confused look before seeing her trainer grinning at the island and seeing the Wingull and Taillow settle down in the overgrown trees that cut off the sky while they were in the shadows, looking down on him with joyous eyes for the home being restored. Naruto sat in the shade, calm winds flowing throughout as his pokemon, still confused but happy to see he calmed down, sat with him, enjoying the serenity of the new island before Mr. Briney spoke up. "You know what kid, I see great things in you." Naruto smiles at the old man before seeing Peeko go speak to the other Wingull while his Pokemon listened in, before Genji jumped up and grabbed a piece of Rock before going to the sand and sketching something, a rough image of what was supposed to be five men with masks and two pokemon that he couldn't make it before Genji spelled it in English. "Five men in masks, with Sneasel and Pawniard." Genji nodded as Naruto narrowed his eyes before going up to the other Wingull and Taillow. "Excuse me, but these five men with masks, what type of Pokemon were they keeping captive, do you know what the pokemon was that escaped from them?" They shook their heads as Naruto clicked his teeth before sighing and looking at Mr. Briney. "Gramps, we need to get going, maybe we can find out where the pokemon is in Dewford Town since the ash line goes there and just what happened to it." Mr. Briney nodded and went back to the ship to start it up while Naruto thanked the other birds and laid out some Oran Berries he picked from Rustboro City. "You can have them, stay safe you guys." The birds squawked in happiness for him as he pet his Pokemon who followed him back to the ship before they leaped on and Mr. Briney steered the ship away from the island as the hull faced toward a port, the port of the next city as Naruto saw the sign in the distance.
Dewford Town: A Small Island surrounded by the Sea
xXx
"There's a big ship at the dock!" A child's voice shouted as Naruto, who was now wearing a white shirt with a sun design, silk shorts and sneakers, looked at the 16 people on the beach as they all stared at him in wonder. "Um, gramps, why are they staring?" He asked with a confused tone as Mr. Briney walked up to the hull and the people recognized him. "Ah, don't worry kid, they're not used to seeing a bunch of people here besides themselves and the occasional challenger for the gym, since that is what people mainly come here for." Naruto saw how they were mostly tanned and greeted them with a wave and his signature grin before jumping off the ship, his pokemon resting in their pokeballs while Mr. Briney stayed on the ship. "I'll be on the ship most of the time while we're here kid, just come to me when you're ready to go to Slateport." Naruto nodded as he waved Mr. Briney and Peeko bye for now and walked through the town, looking at the places they offer, seeing a very interesting design for a Pokemon Center as well as a rocky path that led to a jagged rock island. He raised an eyebrow as he saw blasts and rocks getting destroyed on that island before he went up to one of the locals, a girl with blue hair in martial arts style clothes who seemed to watch over the town before seeing him and walking towards him.
"Yo! You seem new around here. What's your name?" Naruto waved and said, "The name's Naruto, I just arrived in this town to battle the gym leader, and I saw blasts going off at that island over there." He noticed her narrowing her eyes at the mention of him coming here for the gym leader, as she seemed like one of his disciples and also looked shocked at the fact he could see the blasts on the island.
"That island is our gym leader and my teacher Brawly's training spot. Right now, he's in serious training and he can't be interrupted. To go see him, battle with me! I'm his disciple Tessa, and I'll make sure to test you to see if you're worthy to face Brawly!" She pulled out a pokeball as Naruto smirked and nodded. "Fine then, I accept your challenge. Do you want to battle in some place of your choosing?" Tessa pointed to a battlefield outlined by chalk on the top of the cliff that overlooked the buildings as he nodded before he ran to the cliff and jumped on the many rocks up to the top before he saw Tessa on the ground below him looking at him with a gob smacked face before she started to climb the rocks up there while he waited for her and admired the horizon, the sun high in the sky while waves crashed lightly against the sandy beaches and islands in the distance before he heard grunts and saw Tessa finally get up to him. "What took you so long?" He said with a snicker as she glared at him. "S-shut up, I didn't expect it is all, I thought we were going to take a different path up here!" She yelled as he got up and went to one side of the battlefield while she went to the other and took out her one pokeball. "I've been training this pokemon since I was a child, you won't even get the chance to face Brawly! Go Meditite!" She threw the Pokeball and out came a light blue and white bipedal pokemon with pink ovals on its cheeks. It sat in a yoga position before standing up and took a fighting stance, immediately realizing a battle was coming and prepared itself.
"Interesting, it looks very well-trained." Naruto commented before taking out Genji's ball, wanting it to get a good warm-up in before going to look for the gym leader and also the pokemon that had escaped from the chains. "Genji, show her your strength." Tessa widened her eyes at Genji as he looked at the Meditite and looked back at Naruto who just nodded. "Just a 1 on 1 Genji, she is the disciple of the gym leader." Genji nodded as the Meditite could feel the strength rolling off of Genji and nearly took a step back before tightening its fist. "You can make the first move." Naruto offered politely as Tessa had a roll of sweat go down her face before she planted her foot. "Meditite, use Meditate!" Meditite began to glow light blue as it closed its eyes, feeling its strength go up as Naruto nodded, it was a good first choice. "Genji, use Smokescreen, then follow it up with Aerial Ace." Tessa widened her eyes at the second move as black smoke flooded the area from Genji's mouth, and before Meditite could even react it was pounced upon by Genji, who kicked it hard with an Aerial Ace and sent it across the battlefield. "Meditite, if you can hear me use Meditate again before using Detect!" Naruto heard this and decided to say, "Genji use Water Pulse and throw it at the ground." Meditite used Meditate again to level up its strength even more before Genji sent a Water Pulse into the ground and a large wave rolled out of it, Meditite dodging on impulse using Detect before Genji eyed Naruto who nodded with a smile before it used Acrobatics and smashed Meditite into the ground, Tessa looking shocked at how it used a move without its trainer's permission and before she could chastise Naruto about the lack of control over Genji, he sent her a look. "If you're going to comment on how I don't have control over it, don't bother. Genji knew what to do because he gave me a look and knew what I was planning. We have such a large bond that it becomes very easy for him to see what I'm trying to communicate to him through facial expressions alone."
Naruto then decided to end it, "Genji, use Scald across the battlefield to trap Meditite before ending it with Acrobatics." Tessa then shouted, "MEET THE ATTACK, USE FOCUS PUNCH!" Genji used Scald on the field, also hitting Meditite who felt its skin start to boil. "NO, IT'S BURNED!" Tessa tightened her fist as she watched Naruto who seemed to be utterly focused on the battle before looking at her and nodding with a smile and mouthed "nice fight" before Genji rushed the Meditite with Acrobatics who could only try to use Focus Punch as an attempt to block before the two moves clashed and even with the two times attack boost, it was overpowered without difficulty by the Acrobatics before a dust cloud formed and Genji stood over the Meditite with no scratch on its body while the Meditite laid on the ground fainted and Tessa fell to her knees in shock of how easily dominated she was in the battle before Naruto walked up to her Meditite and began healing it with a Rawst Berry and a Sitrus Berry before she ran up to her Meditite who looked a lot better and giving her respect to the trainer who just beat her. "Thank you for healing Meditite, I really appreciate it." Naruto just waved it off with a smile and put his hand on the back of his head, "It's no problem, just happy to help." He gave her his foxy grin as she nearly blushed bright red at the sight before taking his hand and helping her up before he decided to give her some tips. "Some advice for you, don't use moves like Meditate when you're in the middle of getting attacked, instead wait until you can find an opening, and also teach Meditite moves like Bulk Up for attack and defense, and also moves like Substitute and Double Team to create openings, and also for Pokemon that are more special oriented like Ghost Types, moves like Foresight and Calm Mind can be really useful." Tessa took the words to heart and Meditite also began to think on the moves it can learn before they both looked at him and pointed their fist at him and Genji respectively before they all fist bumped and she decided to give him her PokeNav number before running off to go train in the gym, a new flurry of ideas for training entering her mind as Naruto just laughed and congratulated Genji.
"Nice battle, you did great." "Frog." "Relax, it was just a warm up, remember we have other things to do. You wanna go in the ball for now or stay out?" Genji shook its head before they both walked towards the edge of the cliff before jumping back down slowly and then walking towards the island that Tessa said Brawly was training on, seeing the waves crashing against the path that was undoubtedly clear because of the low tide before seeing a man with blue hair and orange goggles lifting rocks while some of his pokemon trained beside him, seeing a Hariyama and Machoke sparring alongside him as Naruto looked at them impressed before the Hariyama noticed him and Genji and tried to attack, Naruto jumping back with a backflip before stopping Genji from using Aerial Ace as Brawly finally noticed them and took his goggles off. "Yo, who are you, dude? Why're you interrupting my training?" Naruto noticing he wasn't annoyed and more curious, decided to respond in kind, "I saw the blasts over here and decided to investigate. I asked your disciple Tessa, and she said you were training over here before we battled and I beat her, and now I'm here." Brawly seemed impressed at the notion that he beat Tessa, and the way he said it so nonchalantly made it seem like it was an easy task before taking notes of Naruto's features and realizing this was the trainer Roxanne told him about.
"Brawly, there's a trainer coming your way soon from my gym named Naruto who has near gold hair and violet eyes, and be prepared, he's far stronger than any 2nd gym trainer, you might wanna use your 4th or 5th gym badge team to go against him, because his pokemon should not be underestimated. He beat me with no trouble at all, you'll have your hands full." Brawly saw him and the pokemon beside him, a Frogadier, and grew excited. "Yo, you're that Naruto trainer, the one Roxanne told me about." Naruto grinned foxily and nodded, "Looks like I made a good impression on her if she told you about me."
"Yeah man, she told me all about how you deserve a 4th or 5th gym battle for my badge, I hope you live up to the hype she gave you tomorrow, unfortunately my gym is closed for today since I have to go investigate something in Granite Cave."
"Is it an ash line?" Brawly looked confused on how Naruto knew that before saying, "Yeah, there was an ash line that led to my town from a burnt down island, and as the gym leader I gotta protect my town with my life. I saw an ash line in the sand lead down into Granite Cave from that island, how do you know that?" Brawly asked as Naruto pointed to the island and Brawly saw the island in the distance, trees once again shrouding the island as Naruto nodded. "I restored that island and found a sunken ship in the ocean. When I went diving with Genji here, we found broken swords as well as a type of tag number for whatever was captured and escaped, numbered 763." Brawly's face grew dark at the thought of Pokemon poachers and trafficking around his waters before he saw Naruto look at him with an even darker look. "On the island, we also found broken chains before the ash line came here, and we found out from the Pokemon that lived on the Island that there were multiple men with blank masks that had the pokemon Sneasel and Pawniard." Brawly nodded and then put on his black and orange shirt before looking at Naruto who nodded, as both ran back to Dewford Town while their pokemon followed them and then saw the ash line going into Granite Cave and saw the dark ash line that led into the darkness that was Granite Cave before Brawly released a pokemon from an Ultra Ball before calling out, "Sableye, help us out." Out of the red beam arose a bipedal Pokemon with a dark purple body, armed with sharp teeth and claws with pale blue, gemstone-like eyes and also a red gemstone on its chest, and its back has a blue and green gemstone as well as another red gem before it grinned at Brawly and looked at Naruto with a prankster-like smile, which Naruto liked as he himself was a prankster.
"A Sableye, interesting." Naruto thought aloud as Brawly smirked, "It's used to confuse trainers who only expect fighting types, maybe you'll face off against it in our battle. Sableye, use Flash." "Sable." The gemstone eyes that Sableye had began to produce different color lights as they glowed, creating a sort of mobile flashlight before they followed Sableye into the cave, Brawly leading the way for Naruto as he had traversed the caves many times before. They followed the ash line until it ran out around the 2nd level of the cave, running into many Makuhita, Aron, and Geodude that watched from behind in fear as Naruto noticed the fear they had as they continued ahead. "What could they be so afraid of?" Brawly looked at him confused before Naruto explained, "The pokemon here, they're all afraid of something, they're hiding behind rocks and watching us with a sense of fear. What scared them so much?" He wondered aloud as Brawly saw the normally ready to attack Makuhita in the cave now hiding behind rocks and looking towards the large Hariyama for guidance, same with the Machop looking at the Machoke before Naruto and Genji felt movement around them and stopped Brawly. Brawly looked at him with confusion before everyone there felt something there that made all the wild pokemon around them shiver.
Bloodlust
"Whatever is watching us is not friendly. Keep walking, and they'll show themselves, eventually. If we go down to the last floor, it may attack," Brawly whispered to Naruto, who nodded as they continued walking before going down to the last floor, seeing a ring of purple fire lighting up the area around before the bloodlust got stronger. Something wasn't happy before they all heard a voice. "Are you with them, or are you against them?" The voice felt strained, like it was very forced before Naruto spoke up. "You're talking about the men with the masks, aren't you? Trust me, we are not with them, I want to find them and crush them for whatever they did to that pokemon in the middle of the sea, and make sure the Pokemon is safe!" Brawly then added, "Same with me, I won't allow my town to be endangered by Pokemon traffickers and it will not stand with me. If I find these men with masks, they will be brought to justice for crimes against Pokemon and I will make sure they never see the light of day again for drawing weapons against Pokemon!" The bloodlust seceded a bit as the voice heard what they said.
"How should I trust you two, after all humans have done to me, after all the experiments? WHY SHOULD I TRUST HUMANS AGAIN?" Naruto widened his eyes at the thought of Pokemon Experimentation and grew more mad. "Are you 763?"
"And If I was 763, why would it matter to you?"
"You're telling me, THAT THEY EXPERIMENTED ON HUNDREDS OF POKEMON?! Naruto yelled with a dark tone, his symbol burning red underneath his bandages as Genji also looked angry and nearly blew a fuse while Brawly tightened his fists even more as his Pokemon began to think of if they were experimented on and grew incensed at the thought. Naruto's eyes began to change to red at the thought of these humans taking advantage of Pokemon for experiments and said, "You asked why it would matter to me? Because I grew up around Pokemon, and hearing Pokemon going through experiments, whoever did this, I'll stomp them into the ground."
The bloodlust finally left the area, the voice now declaring, "Humanity is driven by greed, lust for power and knowledge, and the thought of furthering themselves. All the humans I have seen have acted like this, only using Pokemon for their own gain, using them as tools. Humans have done this to me, why should I trust them again?" Brawly then countered, "If that's the case, why do so many pokemon trust humans around the world? sensible humans love Pokemon, and we live in harmony with them. If you are a pokemon that has been experimented on, then the people who did this are not sensible, they are like you described. Greedy, selfish, and wanting power. Do not group all humans together with each other. We love Pokemon, isn't that right Naruto!" Naruto then yelled, "Exactly! I've been with Genji ever since I came to this region from a place that treated me like trash, that treated me less than a human from a young age. We have a bond unlike any other, we've been with each other for most our lives and he taught me all about pokemon, and I will never part with him EVER! He is my family!"
Purple fire began to emanate from a source as Sableye looked to where the fire was being made before purple fire spread around the roof of the floor of the cave, lighting the area fully up as movement was then seen as something jumped into an entrance in the cave. "That's where one of the exits is, come on Naruto!" Naruto and Brawly ran into the cave room that had light coming through and saw something jumping out of the cave at the top as Brawly said, "Hariyama, throw us out of the cave and I'll return you!" Hariyama nodded as Brawly returned Machoke before Hariyama threw him and Sableye up before he grabbed the edge and climbed himself out before Genji wall-jumped out and Hariyama threw Naruto, who did the same as Brawly and climbed out before Brawly returned Hariyama and released it again before they saw a flame line leading towards a cavern.
"That's where the shrine is, come on!" Naruto and Brawly ran with their Pokemon besides them following the flame line before they jumped down into the cavern below, landing in the water that surrounded the land before they hopped out of the water and saw a figure that both recognized but grew shocked at the features. Naruto released his Pokedex to make sure what he was seeing was what he was actually thinking of as the Pokedex repeated.
"Vulpix, The Fox Pokemon. From its mouth spew flames that seem to resemble the spirits of the deceased. Some people mistakenly think this fire is a ghost."
"A Vulpix, but how? What did those people do to it?!" Brawly said, completely stunned at what he was witnessing as the Vulpix in front of them had dark red fur with white tails, as if its fur had been permanently dyed. It had blood-red eyes, and the eyes had a vertical slit as its pupils. The Vulpix was eyeing them with purple fire surrounding its tails as it prepared to attack before asking, "YOU SEE WHAT HUMANS HAVE DONE TO ME NOW?! THEY'VE CHANGED ME, TRYING TO INPUT THE BLOOD OF OTHER POKEMON INTO ME! THEY'VE SCARRED ME, THEY TORTURED ME. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM, WHEN I FIND HIM, I WILL KILL HIM!"
"Who, who did this to you? What was this person's name?!" Naruto asked as his blood boiled at the sight of the Vulpix who had suffered and now bear the mark of whoever tortured it, its appearance forever changed by humans.
"His name does not matter. And it won't matter, because when I find him, he will DI-" The Vulpix was interrupted as 5 men with masks suddenly jumped into the cavern and one immediately rushed it with chains as Vulpix couldn't see it in time before the man got kicked in the arm, the snap being hard by all around as Vulpix widened its eyes at Naruto, who kicked the man's arm hard and broke it before kicking him in the chest, sending him back to the other men as the man who had his arm broken didn't seem to register or even scream out in pain as Brawly stood next to Naruto, both trainers standing in front of Vulpix protectively as Naruto took savage pleasure in breaking the man's arm before giving the men a freezing glare that Genji doubled as he prepared a Water Pulse while Hariyama's arms glowed, Machoke crossed its arms in preparation and Sableye started to use Shadow Claw.
"WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THIS ISLAND?" Brawly's voice boomed as the 5 men released their Pokemon, 2 Sneasel and 3 Pawniard, Naruto noticing how the Pokemon seemed to have lost all emotion and just looked dead inside.
"Naruto, these guys aren't going to talk." Brawly said as he was ready to order his pokemon before Naruto agreed with the sentiment as he looked at the 5 men with pure red eyes, the rune beneath his bandage glowing with even more fury than before, grinning at them before saying, "Yeah, and if they won't talk, we'll force them too."
"I don't know what you want with this Vulpix here, but I am not about to let you capture a Pokemon to torture it again. You will be going to jail and never seeing the light of day again! Hariyama, use Arm Thrust, Machoke use Cross Chop, Sableye use Shadow Claw!" All three of Brawly's pokemon attacked as all 3 of the Sneasel wrapped around while the Pawniard used Protect and tried to attack Naruto before he jumped and yelled, "Genji, use Smack Down!" Genji jumped in the air and fired multiple rocks at the Sneasel who cut them apart with Night Slash before rushing Genji who dodged easily. "Knock them down, use Quick Attack to speed up and then use Low Kick." The Sneasel couldn't keep up with Genji as he smacked them aside with Quick Attack, piling them up before using Low Kick and smacking the 3 Sneasel to the ground. "Hariyama, use Brick Break! Machoke, Focus Blast! Sableye, use Shadow Sneak!" Hariyama raised its arm in the air before crushing the Pawniard as Machoke sent a blast of fighting energy at it, effectively knocking it out of the battle while Sableye tried to catch the 2nd Pawniard off guard before it activated Night Slash and clashed with it. The 5 men then rushed Brawly and Naruto trying to jump them before purple fire rained down on them, the Vulpix jumping on Naruto's shoulders before releasing a huge purple Fire Blast, crushing the 3 Sneasel as well as the 5 men while Naruto then said, "Genji, aim for the last Pawniard. Use Water Pulse." Vulpix also used Flamethrower and aimed for the Pawniard, both Water Pulse and Flamethrower hitting the Pawniard before Vulpix's eyes then glowed gold and started using Extrasensory on the men, lifting them up as a spiral of psychic energy came from its eyes as it smashed the men into the ground.
"THESE MEN, THEY ARE FOLLOWERS OF THAT MAN. WHERE IS HE, WHERE IS DANZO?!" Vulpix yelled out as the burned men before they got up once again with the chains as Vulpix then sent an Energy Ball at the chains, destroying them as Naruto and Brawly saw its eyes glowing yet again before walking up to the men, preparing to arrest them before the 5 men saw what was about to happen and popped something into their mouths before they all went still as Brawly and Naruto unmasked one of them, seeing foam coming out of his mouth.
"They… they popped cyanide pills. They…" Brawly didn't want to finish his words as Naruto's eyes grew hollow at the sight of the 5 men on the ground, dead.
"They killed themselves, just like the others." Vulpix sounded out as Brawly and Naruto both turned to it. "When I was captured and experimented on, people who would fail a mission would undergo torture and if they failed over one mission, their leader would force them to make a choice. Either become another experiment, or death." Naruto nearly threw up at the thought of it all as he saw one thing hanging from one of the men's necks. A headband with a metal plate on it, and the metal plate having a leaf symbol in the middle with a slash going through it.
"These guys…" Brawly turned to Naruto and saw the headband in his arms. "They're from the Kaiho Region, and from what Vulpix said, their leader is named Danzo."
"There's a man on an International Watch List right now named Danzo Shimura, charged for crimes against humanity, crimes against Pokemon, Pokemon experimentation, and many other charges."
"DANZO SHIMURA, HE'S THE ONE. HE'S THE ONE THAT DID THIS TO ME!" Vulpix spit out with anger at the mere mention of his name while Naruto tried to remember something Hiruzen once told him after one of the days where he stayed at the Sarutobi Estate.
xXx
"Naruto, do you know anything about the higher-ups of Konoha?" Hiruzen asked the young boy who was playing with Hiruzen's Infernape, known as Enma.
"Why should I know about those old farts?" He said innocently as Hiruzen laughed while beside them was a teenage boy that had short black spiky hair, olive skin and brown eyes as well as a Monferno beside him. The teenage boy fell to the ground laughing before saying, "Well Naruto, if you're going to grow up here. You have to know about the council of Konoha City." Naruto then stuck his tongue out and made a fart noise, "Eh, no thanks Asuma-nii, nobody treats me right here, anyway. I want to travel the world like Pervy Uncle Jiraiya!" He shouted out with a thumbs up as Hiruzen then nodded and said, "Well, let this be a lesson then so you can at least have a basic sense of politics in some cities around the world." Naruto nodded as Hiruzen then grabbed a whiteboard and began to draw some figures on it.
"You see, in Konoha City, we have the Champion of our region, your father Minato." Naruto frowned at that but said nothing as Hiruzen continued, "The Champion is the strongest of the region and thus has to make some laws of the region, however in Kaiho it's different. The first champion of our region, Hashirama Senju, your Auntie Tsunade's grandfather decided that to take some duties off of the champion, the members of the Elite Four would inhabit different cities in the region, becoming what we know now as the four pillars of Kaiho. Suna City, Kiri City, Kumo City, and Iwa City are where the members of the Elite Four reside. Then, Hashirama decided he was going to have a council of members he trusts for his city, which is Konoha City. So he elected people he knew could make good decisions, and thus the council was formed, the other major cities also copied these ideas as well. The council right now is full of people from my reign as Champion as well as some people Minato has hand-picked. The people from my reign are Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. They were on my council, and I want you to never trust them." Hiruzen said as Naruto's eyes grew wide. "But why gramps, you picked them for your council."
Hiruzen sighed and suddenly looked a lot older than before, "That's because when I picked them Naruto, they were young, and we grew up together. I picked them because I thought I could trust them, but I could always see that they, especially Danzo, were too power-hungry. They got too greedy, started getting corrupted within their own power, and only I was able to keep them in check. The other council members saw the signs, but unfortunately Hashirama made an error when he made the council." Hiruzen then facepalmed and said, "That old fool, he always saw the good in people, so when he made the council, he made a rule that said should the city like the council members, they can go for repeat votes, and thus Danzo, Koharu, and Homura continued to get re-elected due to the good faith they have with the people, and now Minato is the only one that can keep them in check, and I've lost a lot of respect for Minato, especially with what he's been doing when it comes to the people and you. Never trust this city Naruto. I've loved this city my whole life, but even I know that there are snakes in the grass waiting to just get rid of you. If Danzo, Koharu, or Homura ever come to speak to you, ignore them, and hopefully someone can get rid of them so this city can finally flourish again."
xXx
"Danzo Shimura, he was on the Konoha City council before, right?" Brawly turned around and raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that? You don't have access to an International Watch List? Only trainers that are classed as Pokemon Rangers get those."
"Cause before I moved here at 6, I was from Konoha City." Brawly tried to speak up but saw Naruto didn't want to continue the conversation and obliged before they turned to Vulpix who was still eyeing them with ire. "So, what shall we do with the Pokemon?" Naruto asked as Brawly returned the pokemon the men had before sending a silent prayer as he said, "These pokemon will be sent to a nature preserve that helps Pokemon rehabilitate. As for the men, they have to be buried." Naruto nodded as he didn't agree, they didn't deserve the respect, no they deserved far worse, but he couldn't say that out loud as Brawly made Hariyama and Machoke pick up their bodies before Naruto looked at Vulpix, walking up to it as it prepared its tails for an attack before Naruto dropped it a Sitrus Berry. "You deserve it, I know you may not trust humans and I understand that, but the least I can do is at least try to help you." Naruto walked away as the Vulpix looked at him before begrudgingly eating the Sitrus Berry as it thought to itself about the two humans that had protected it from capture and ward off the people that held it captive for so long.
It was free now, free from captivity, free from those chains.
"Why help me? Why do it when you have no reason to?" It asked the two trainers as Brawly had sent his Hariyama to deliver the bodies to the Dewford Town graveyard as well sending Machoke to deliver the pokeballs to the Pokemon Center before Naruto said, "I consider pokemon to be my family, after all when my world was all dark, it was Genji that I first met in the wild before we went somewhere that we were appreciated. Before that, I was looked down upon, spit at, and considered a monster. Genji is my brother, and Pokemon to me are sacred, they are humanity's partners, and to see a pokemon in need of help and wanting to escape these people, why would I let you get captured again?" Naruto said solemnly as Brawly looked at him with a sad look, it sounded like wherever he was before he came to Hoenn was a shit place to live in. "I grew up around here in Dewford and the small population, and grew attached to the Pokemon in Granite Cave as well as the waves. Pokemon protected me, so I made it my mission to befriend many types of pokemon out there, and as a gym leader I can do that. I battle with my partners, and I grow the bond that we share." Naruto looked at Brawly with respect as they fist-bumped, they were people that agreed when it came to pokemon. Vulpix just looked at them before speaking to the pokemon. "You, the Frogadier and Sableye. Do you like these humans? Are they humans that you would consider trustworthy?"
Genji looked insulted at the notion of Naruto being untrustworthy and Sableye nodded its head yes when it heard the question. "Froga-frogadier. Frog-froga! FROGADIER!" Genji began shouting as Vulpix looked stunned before it looked at Naruto specifically before looking at the Sableye. "Sable-Sableye. Eye-Sable!"
"You, you trust humans that much?" Vulpix then shook its head with a glare, "I can't understand. You called him a brother…" it pointed at Naruto as Genji wholeheartedly agreed as Naruto looked at him graciously. "And you called him a mentor figure, someone helping you grow stronger…" Sableye went up to Brawly who looked touched and grinned at the Vulpix.
"After all humans have done to me, I just can't understand. Humans have ruined me, they've changed me. Why should I trust pokemon that, for all I know, could be fooled by their trainers?" It snarled at the two before Naruto walked up to it and kneeled in front of Vulpix, before releasing his bandages for the first time as Brawly widened his eyes and gasped at the marks that Naruto had on his arm. Marks that he saw before. "Those marks, Earth, Sea, and Sky…" Naruto looked back and nodded at him. "Yeah, these marks… I've had them since birth. Don't tell anyone I have them." Brawly nodded as Naruto looked back at the Vulpix who was also wide-eyed. "I was also wronged by humans, treated like trash. Maybe not at your level, but these marks cost me my first life. One that I never want to revisit again. I left that life a long time ago due to people who actually accepted me and helped me get away. Then I met Genji, and my new family of humans. They took me in, and treated me like family, like I was born to them. I used to hate people too, but some people in this world are worth trusting. There are dark sides to both of our races, pokemon and people." Naruto moved his arm close to Vulpix as it stopped preparing to attack and simply stared in wonder. "But I left the past behind, accepting the fact that those evil people are gone from my life now, but they may come back in the future, and I need to conquer my negative emotions if I do confront them. This journey of mine, it's for me and my family, my partners. I want to be strong, and I want to grow as a person, learn about the world and help anyone I can. This isn't just about me, and if anyone, be it people or pokemon, needs help." Naruto's hand finally landed on Vulpix's head as it looked at him with a stoic gaze, "Then I'll help them, which is why I want to help you. Let's make a deal; let me show you the upside of the world, the trust between Pokemon and people, I'll take care of you, and you'll join my family and I'll help you with whatever goal you need, and in-turn, I won't ask anything of you, except for your trust. I will get you to trust me Vulpix, you may never trust humanity in general again, but I want you to trust me, and I'll help you in any way I can. My name is Naruto, and my dream is to be legend! Do we have a deal, Vulpix?" Naruto took out the Timer Ball that he bought earlier and raised it to Vulpix, the pokemon simply staring at him with a mix of contempt or wonder, trying to see if his words were simply lies.
"If I make this deal, will you help me bring Danzo to the justice I wish to serve him? Will you help me get stronger so I can deal this justice out?" Naruto nodded immediately and said, "I swear, on Arceus's name, that I will help you, or my name isn't Naruto Birch!" He grinned at the Vulpix as Brawly noted the wind had shifted as Naruto called upon Arceus's name, the oath being taken into account as Vulpix was now convinced this trainer was one that was genuine. It may be awhile, but this trainer was going to keep his word.
"Deal."
Vulpix pressed the button on the Timer Ball as it got sucked inside, the ball shaking a bit as it finally poofed, Naruto looking at the Pokeball with a happy glance as he looked up to the sky, and raised the ball as high as he could while Genji stood next to him and Brawly watched from a couple yards away with his Sableye, both smiling as Brawly now knew that Naruto would be great, perhaps even the greatest. His words made him want to believe, it got him fired up. Naruto looked at Brawly with a smile as he turned to the sky again and shouted for the world to hear.
"Welcome to our family, Vulpix!"
xXx
"Yo, when is our shift over for this? I wanna go home, man." A sailor whined out to a fellow sailor as they stood at the top of a lighthouse that overlooked a large city with a massive port and a beach right beside it.
"I don't know matey', check the time, I think no more ships are docking today. Maybe we can skip the shift?" The sailor, keeping an eye out on the binoculars said as they then heard a loud horn cut through the area, a ship in the distance barreling towards the port as the sailors looked shocked and then a voice that yelled, "LAND HOOOOOOOOO!"
"What is this ship, nobody said anything about a cruiser docking here, prepare!" Multiple sailors went outside the lighthouse to the docks as the cruiser stopped in the port as a shadow jumped off the cruiser and landed in front of the sailors, posing with its hands on its hips with a savage grin.
"HAH, Gramps said I couldn't run the Black Tower or White Treehollow and challenge the Elite Four if Unova was my first region, so Hoenn was the next choice. There's a Battle Frontier here too, I can't wait to challenge it when I'm stronger!" The sailors mumbled about "Black Tower? White Treehollow?" before one of the sailors moved up and asked, "Hey, who are you?!"
The figure grinned at the sailors before running and flipping over them, looking at the city ahead of him before looking at a map, as the sailors now had a clear view of him. It was a boy with fiery orange and red hair, red eyes, exclaimed fangs, white ragged tank-top with black ragged shorts and red sandals as well as a necklace of different Pokeballs. "Hmmmmm, it says that Slateport City has no gym, but a lot of trainers pass through here when they come from Dewford or Mauville, I wonder if I can stay here for a week and battle some. Maybe we can be rivals!" The boy said with a grin as he looked at the map for some places where he could catch more Pokemon for his necklace to be more full. "Right now, I only have Larvesta, Gible and Dratini, hmmmm."
"HEY KID!" The boy looked at the sailors with a grin as one stepped up with a pokeball ready. "TELL US WHO YOU ARE, OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO DETAIN YOU!" The boy grinned at the group of sailors and pulled an Ultra Ball off his necklace.
"My name? My name is Benga! And I will surpass my gramps and lead Unova to greatness! I'm looking for strong rivals and friends, but you lot look too weak. This will be an easy warmup for us, huh partners, NOW LET'S GO LARVESTA! SHOW THESE GUYS HOW IT'S DONE BACK HOME!"
Notes:
It's been, awhile y'all. University and my job has been beating my ass I am not going to lie, but I have been drafting up for a while and finally felt it was the right time to post again. Sorry I took such a long break from this story especially. But I am back, at least somewhat. I don't have schedules for my story, so hopefully I can accommodate.
But yeah, chapter 5 is finished, and Naruto's next Pokemon has been caught, an experimented on Vulpix with gray fur and purple fire. I will explain all of that during Vulpix's backstory, why the fur is different, why the fire is purple, all that down the line.
Why Vulpix chose Naruto: Cause Naruto is a human who went through something agonizing because of other humans. Naruto essentially saw a kindred spirit within Vulpix, and even went as far as to show the birthmarks underneath his bandages (not glowing obviously) to get Vulpix to at least hear him out on the deal he proposed. Vulpix hates humanity, but saw Naruto and Brawly and the love and trust they have for their pokemon and decided to make a deal, one that Naruto swore on Arceus's name he was going to keep.
Meteor Falls and Konoha Council Flashbacks: Meteor Falls one was a small hint at what happened to Naruto and Brendan for both of them to receive Rayquaza's mark. As for the Konoha Council flashback, it was something I made up on a whim, just thought it up at the time and thought it fit in nicely with how Danzo continued to get re-elected while also showing Hashirama's flaw in trusting the people with everything, something Minato also has a problem with.
What Naruto's Marks Did to Artemis: Amped Artemis up, in that moment when Artemis felt the mark power her, she used a modified Frenzy Plant even though she doesn't even know the move yet, showing that Naruto's marks can be used in different circumstances for different things. Rayquaza's mark powers up a Pokemon when Naruto is feeling extremely at peace or happiness, and you'll see the others
How Brawly Knew about what the Marks mean: Revealed Next Chapter
Tessa: For those that watched Pokemon Advanced, it was the trainer Shauna that Ash fought before Brawly. She is a Battle Girl in the games known as Tessa, so I just chose that name.
Benga: Here what I was waiting for! That's right, Benga will be traveling Hoenn and competing in the Ever Grande League, and will be one of Naruto's main rivals besides Brendan and someone else I'll reveal later on. I really want to give Benga more focus, and him being in this story actually makes me so damn happy. As for now, he's staying in Slateport for a week, and Naruto will be coming at him very soon.
But yeah, like always leave reviews about whatever is on your mind and PM me your ideas so I can see if I want to implement them. As always, love y'all and hope I can put out a new chapter after I finish my first semester in a month.