Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! Here we'll be seeing a small timeskip of Naruto's time in Pewter City and the training he's been doing with his team, along with seeing him getting more battling experience. So, without further ado.
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Five days have passed since Naruto arrived in Pewter City, along with having lost his Gym Battle against Brock. Since then, the whiskered blonde had spent all his time training his Pokémon to be much stronger and prepared for his rematch against Brock. Along with having called his parents the day after he arrived in Pewter City, letting them know what's happened since he last called them. With Minato and Kushina offering their encouragement that he'll do better in his rematch, as well as some advice to help improve his training. Something that Naruto was grateful for.
Naruto had mainly focused on having them master their moves. Knowing that had been his main problem against Brock, that they still hadn't fully mastered their attacks yet. Though he's also now begun working on Charmander learning Dragon Breath and Dragon Rage, as well as trying to unlock Dragon Dance. Given that Brock would now be prepared for the other coverage moves he's taught his Pokémon, Naruto knew he'd need more surprises to use against him.
Along with having learned that Dragon Breath and Dragon Rage are actually basic Dragon-type Attacks. Which surprised Naruto, but also knew that'd make it at least a little easier for Charmander to learn them. And with the power boost he'll get from Dragon Dance, combined with the power from Dragon Breath and Dragon Rage, it should help them turn the tides when the time comes.
But while he's been focusing a lot on Charmander's training, the Uzumaki wasn't neglecting Nidoran's and Pikachu's training, having research some new moves they could learn as well.
Eventually deciding to have Nidoran work on learning Sludge Bomb and Ice Beam, two very powerful moves that'll really be useful. Along with the majority of Nidoran's other moves involved him getting up close to opponents, aside from Poison Sting. Something his battle with Brock showed could be dangerous, if opponents could grab hold of Nidoran.
As for Pikachu, Naruto was having him work on learning Agility to boost his speed even further, along with trying to unlock Electric Terrain. Both being good support moves, allowing Pikachu to move much faster than he already can and boosting his Electric-type Attacks.
As for the other moves they were learning, Charmander and Pikachu were getting better at maintaining Iron Tail and Nidoran was getting faster at using Dig. Along with Charmander creating more fireballs with Will-O-Wisp, as well as stronger ones to inflict more intense burns. And Nidoran's Poison Jab is getting stronger as well, increasing the chances of poisoning opponents.
Though Naruto also wanted them to get more experience in using their attacks in actual battles, rather than using them against targets and objects.
Leading to the Uzumaki heading back to the Pokémon Center and the battlefields, wanting to see if any Trainers there would want to battle him. Hopefully, Trainers that had any Rock-type and Ground-type Pokémon to better prepare against Brock's own.
Once he arrived, Naruto saw plenty of Trainers were already present. Seeing that a few were battling, others were trading tips for training, along with a few discussing and trading Pokémon. As well as several that were just watching the battles taking place.
"Hey, does anyone here have Rock-type and/or Ground-type Pokémon? If so, I would like to battle them." Naruto said, getting some of the Trainers to look at him before a couple got up.
"Yeah, I've got a Ground-type. I'm guessing you're planning to take on Brock." Said the Trainer, with Naruto nodding in a response.
"A rematch, actually. I want to get more experience in battling Rock-types and Ground-types, and I'm taking on any opponents." Naruto replied.
"Then let's see what you've got." The Trainer said with a smirk as they went over to one of the battlefields and stood across from each other.
"Come on out, Charmander!" Said Naruto while sending out Charmander.
"Char!" Charmander let out a cry and saw that they were now battling someone, the Lizard Pokémon ready to show how much stronger he's gotten.
"I see why you want to get experience if you intend to battle Brock with a Fire-type. Go Phanpy!" Said the Trainer, sending out their own Pokémon.
It was a small, horizon-blue proboscid Pokémon. It has large, floppy ears, which it uses as fans to cool itself. There are two red pads on each ear and another on the bridge of its short trunk. It had single nail on each of its four feet, and a short tail.
"Phanpy!" Phanpy smiled as it flapped its ears, while Naruto looked at it in surprise.
"A Phanpy?" Naruto said before pulling out his Pokédex and scanning Phanpy.
"Phanpy, the Long Nose Pokémon. Phanpy uses its powerful snout to express affection, not realizing its strength can send you flying."
"Yeah, you don't expect to see many of them here in Kanto, but they're a lot more common in the neighboring Johto Region. Now, ready?" Said the Trainer, with Naruto nodding as he put his Pokédex away.
"Yeah. Charmander use Metal Claw!" Naruto said, with Charmander charging at Phanpy with his claws glowing white.
"Use Defense Curl, Phanpy!" Said the Trainer.
"Phan!" Phanpy quickly curled up into a ball with a yellow outline surrounding it, just as Charmander reached the Long Nose Pokémon and began slashing it with his claws.
"Now use Rollout!" The Trainer said, causing Phanpy to start spinning at high speed.
"Dodge it, Charmander!" Said Naruto, knowing it'd be really damaging to get hit from that close.
Only for it to be too late as Phanpy slammed right into Charmander, knocking the Fire-type back.
"Charmander, dig your feet into the ground then try and grab Phanpy!" Naruto said, hoping that this would work.
"Ch-Char-mander-Char!" Charmander gritted his teeth as he tried regaining his footing as Phanpy kept rolling against him.
Before he eventually managed to press hit feet into the ground before then grabbing hold of Phanpy, gritting his teeth again as Phanpy kept spinning despite his grip.
"Now throw Phanpy into the air behind you!" Said Naruto, making the Trainers eyes widen.
"Phanpy, stop using Rollout and use Flail!" The Trainer said, with Phanpy uncurling from its ball.
Only for this to prove to be a mistake as with Phanpy no longer spinning, Charmander managed to get a better grip on the Ground-type Pokémon.
"Char-mander!" Charmander gave a cry as he spun around and threw Phanpy up into the air.
"Now use a focused Ember, Charmander!" Naruto said, with Charmander powering up before unleashing a large and concentrated fireball at Phanpy.
"Phanpy use Defense Curl again, then use Bulldoze!" Said the Trainer, making Phanpy curl up into a ball again and be surrounded by a yellow outline, just as the fireball hit.
"Phanpy!" Phanpy let out a cry from the fireball impacting it, feeling its body being burned from the intense heat.
Though the Long Nose Pokémon was able to focus enough before throwing itself towards the ground, slamming down hard and unleashing a series of yellow shockwaves from its impact. With the shockwaves speeding towards Charmander. Not only knocking the Fire-type off balance, but throwing him back as well.
"Now use Growl!" The Trainer said while Charmander was flying through the air.
"Py!" Phanpy uncurled itself before letting out a loud cry, releasing white shockwaves from its mouth as it did so.
With Charmander flinching from the loud cry as his attack went down, before grunting as he slammed into the ground.
"And next, use Flail Phanpy!" Said the Trainer, making Phanpy charge forward towards Charmander.
"You use Growl too Charmander!" Naruto said, with Charmander standing up and narrowing his eyes.
"Char!" Charmander let out a loud, piercing cry, making Phanpy flinch as its attack went down, though the Ground-type kept charging forward.
"Phan-py!" Phanpy slammed into Charmander before it began flailing around, striking Charmander with its legs, trunk, ears, body, any part it could hit the Lizard Pokémon with.
"Charmander use Metal Claw!" Said Naruto.
"Ch-Cha-Char-Charmander!" Charmander tried focusing in-between Phanpy's assault before finding a moment to strike and swung his glowing claws, stopping Phanpy's attack.
"Char-Char-Char-Char-Charmander!" Charmander didn't stop at one strike though, as he kept slashing at Phanpy while feeling his power growing a few times, increasing the damage of his strikes.
"Phanpy, use Defense Curl and Rollout!" The Trainer said, with Phanpy quickly rolling into a ball and be surrounded by a yellow outline.
"Phan!" Phanpy then charged at Charmander.
"Jump back Charmander and use Will-O-Wisp!" Naruto said, the Fire-type Pokémon jumping back just in time, avoiding Phanpy crashing into him.
"Mander! Charmander-Char-Char-Char-mander!" Charmander then began shooting blue fireballs at Phanpy, the Ground-type crashing through each one of them and being burned.
"Jump into the air to avoid the fireballs Phanpy!" Said the Trainer, with Phanpy bouncing up off the ground and into the air to avoid the remaining fireballs, before diving straight towards Charmander.
"Use Smokescreen, Charmander, then dodge!" Said Naruto.
"Char!" Charmander released a thick cloud of black smoke at Phanpy before jumping out of the way.
"Phanpy use Bulldoze!" The Trainer said, just as Phanpy dived through the smoke where it thought Charmander was.
"Phan-py!" Phanpy slammed into the ground, unleashing a series of yellow shockwaves that rushed towards Charmander, knocking the Fire-type Pokémon off balance and through the air.
"Now use Rollout again!" Said the Trainer, with Phanpy spinning around and turning straight towards Charmander before speeding at him.
"Use a concentrated Ember Charmander!" Naruto said, making Charmander unleash a powerful fireball as Phanpy rushed him.
"Use Defense Curl and charge straight through the fireball Phanpy!" The Trainer said.
"Phan!" Phanpy tightened itself up further into a ball as a yellow outline surrounded it, boosting its defense even further before it charged through the fireball.
"Charmander, use Iron Tail!" Said Naruto, knowing now was the chance to use Iron Tail and see if Charmander could really use it.
"Char…" Charmander jumped up as his tail and flame began flickering, while Phanpy grew closer towards him.
"Charmander!" Charmander's tail and flame then glowed a bright white, just in time as Phanpy reached the Lizard Pokémon.
With the two attacks colliding against each other, Phanpy spinning and pushing as hard as it could against Charmander's tail.
"Char-mander!" Charmander then gave a shout as he slammed his tail down on Phanpy, sending the Ground-type Pokémon crashing into the ground kicking up a large dust cloud.
"Phanpy!" The Trainer said, looking through the dust for their Pokémon before it began clearing, revealing Phanpy laying on the ground with swirls in its eyes.
"Ph-Phan…py…"
"Alright! We did it, Charmander!" Naruto cheered, happy they won the battle and seeing that Charmander could use Iron Tail in battle.
"Charmander-Char!" Charmander smiled along with his Trainer, pleased to see the progress he's made in action, while the Trainer sighed and returned Phanpy to its Pokéball.
"You did good, Phanpy." Said the Trainer before they approached Naruto and held out their hand.
"Great battle. You and your Charmander are definitely a strong team." The Trainer said, with Naruto shaking their hand and nodding in agreement.
"Thanks, your Phanpy is also pretty tough too. And thanks for the battle." Naruto replied, the Trainer nodded in response before heading back into the Pokémon Center to get his Pokémon healed.
"So, who's next?" Naruto asked, looking at the other Trainers that stood up, before one of them stepped forward.
"That'll be me. Let's rock, Sandshrew!" Said the Trainer, sending out their own Pokémon while Naruto kept Charmander out.
With Naruto managing to win the battle as well, while having Charmander use Iron Tail more often now that he could use it for real now.
Only for Charmander to end up losing against the next opponent who used a Sudowoodo, another Pokémon found in the Johto Region. With it proving to be much stronger than Phanpy and Sandshrew had been, though Naruto was able to take it down with Nidoran. Along with the Geodude the Trainer had sent out next.
The Trainer after that requested for a Double Battle, which Naruto accepted sending out Pikachu along with Nidoran. While his opponent sent out two other new Pokémon called Nosepass and Dwebble, Nosepass being from the Hoenn Region and Dwebble being from a far off region called Unova. But while Nidoran and Pikachu put up a good fight and managed to take out Dwebble, Nosepass proved strong enough to defeat them both in their weakened states.
After that, Naruto took a short break to let his Pokémon rest and recover with some potions before taking on his next opponent. Sending out Charmander again to face off against their Onix, succeeding in taking Onix down as it wasn't as strong as Brock's own. Only for them to then send out a Rhyhorn, with it taking out Charmander and Nidoran. Before Naruto was able to finally defeat Rhyhorn with Pikachu, using his own Iron Tail to deliver the final blow. Though Pikachu was taken out by Rhyhorn at the same time, resulting in a loss for Naruto since his opponent still had one last Pokémon.
The next opponent proved to be really tough, first using a Gligar, another Pokémon from Johto, and then a Cubone. With Pikachu managing to take out Gligar before being defeated by Cubone, though Charmander rested enough to defeat Cubone afterwards, if barely.
Now though, Naruto was on his final opponent with the match being a three-on-three battle. His opponent having used a Diglett and a Baltoy, with Diglett taking out Pikachu before being defeated by Nidoran, only to then lose against Baltoy. Leaving Naruto with just Charmander, who succeeded in defeating Baltoy.
"I have to admit, you've done really well, despite using Pokémon that are weak or ineffective against Rock-types and Ground-types." Stated the Trainer as they returned Baltoy.
"Thanks, I'm just glad to see how far my Pokémon have come in their training and getting plenty of experience against Rock-type and Ground-type Pokémon." Naruto replied, knowing these battles will go a long way for him during his rematch.
"Well I'm sure regardless of the losses, you'll definitely be ready when you go against Brock. But first let's see if you can handle my last Pokémon. Go Mudbray!" Said the Trainer, sending out their last Pokémon.
It was a quadrupedal, equine Pokémon resembling a small donkey. It has a dark brown coat with a cream-colored underbelly, muzzle, and circular markings on each cheek. A short, teardrop-shaped blaze extends up from its muzzle, and it has long, pointed ears with pink insides. Its large eyes have horizontal pupils. Black bangs hang over its face before turning into a stiff mane along its neck. Additionally, it has a short, black tail. Thick, cream-colored mud surrounds each black hoof.
"Bray-Mudbray!" Mudbray stood up on its hind legs, kicking its front legs in the air before going back to the ground.
"A Mudbray?" Said Naruto, pulling out his Pokédex and scanning Mudbray.
"Mudbray, the Donkey Pokémon. Mudbray are stubborn and independent. Their daily routine includes eating dirt and frolicking in the mud they kick up."
"Mudbray, here, comes all the way from the Alola Region, it's even farther away than Unova and is filled with Pokémon that are nearly impossible to see anywhere else." Said the Trainer, much to Naruto's amazement.
"I might have to visit that region one day, then." Naruto said, liking the idea of seeing so many rare Pokémon.
"Then be ready for a lot of surprises. But now, let's battle! Mudbray use Mud-Slap!" The Trainer said.
"Mud-bray!" Mudbray began shooting several mudballs at Charmander.
"Counter it with Ember, Charmander! Then get in close to use Metal Claw!" Said Naruto, with Charmander shooting several fireballs that collided against the mudballs, stopping both attacks.
"Charmander!" Charmander then charged at Mudbray with his claws glowing white.
"Use Bulldoze now, Mudbray!" Said the Trainer.
"Bray!" Mudbray reared back before slamming its hooves on the ground, unleashing a shockwave that rushed towards Charmander.
"Jump into the air to dodge it, Charmander!" Naruto said.
"Char!" Charmander quickly jumped into the air, avoiding the shockwave just before it hit before diving towards Mudbray, making the Trainer smirk.
"Now use Double Kick Mudbray!" The Trainer said, making Mudbray turn around and lift its back legs up.
"Mudbray! Mud-bray!" Mudbray then slammed one of its legs into Charmander before then slamming the other one into him, sending the Lizard Pokémon flying back and crashing into the ground.
"Charmander!" Naruto exclaimed while looking at his Starter, hoping he's alright, with Charmander getting back up and shaking his head from the hits.
"Keep it up Mudbray, use Rock Smash!" Said the Trainer, with Mudbray being surrounded by an orange glow before it charged at Charmander.
"Meet the attack with Metal Claw, Charmander!" Naruto said, getting an idea.
"Mander! Char-mander!" Charmander charged at Mudbray with his claws glowing white before jumping up and swinging his claws at Mudbray.
"Mud-bray!" Mudbray slammed into Charmander, just as the Fire-type swung his claws with the two attacks colliding together.
"Now flip over Mudbray and use Iron Tail!" Said Naruto, surprising the Trainer, while Charmander leveraged himself on Mudbray to flip over it.
"Mudbray use Iron Defense!" The Trainer said quickly as Mudbray gained a glowing white outline as it body briefly shined, increasing its defense.
"Char!" Charmander's tail and flame then glowed a bright white before he slammed it down onto Mudbray's back.
"Bray!" Mudbray let out a cry as it crashed into the ground from the impact of the Iron Tail, even with its increased defense.
"Charmander, jump into the air now and use Ember!" Said Naruto, making Charmander jump up into the air.
"Char-mander-Char-Char-Char-Charmander!" Charmander jumped up off of Mudbray's back before he began shooting fireballs at the Donkey Pokémon.
"Mudbray use Mud-Shot!" Said the Trainer, with Mudbray managing to get back up from the ground.
"Mudbray!" Mudbray then began shooting mudballs at the fireballs, stopping them from reaching it.
"Now use Rock Smash on the ground!" The Trainer said, making the Ground-type rear back into the air.
"Mud-bray!" Mudbray slammed its hooves down onto the ground, breaking it open and launching rocks into the air at Charmander.
"Char!" Charmander let out a cry as the rocks smashed into him before he fell back to the ground.
"Use Stomp, next!" Said the Trainer, upon seeing Charmander falling to the ground.
"Mud!" Mudbray ran at Charmander and jumped into the air to slam its hooves down on him.
"Charmander use Growl then Smokescreen!" Naruto said.
"Ch-Char-mander!" Charmander let out a loud, piercing cry, making Mudbray flinch as its attack went down.
Before it was then engulfed in a thick cloud of black smoke, blocking Mudbray's view before it slammed its hooves down on where it thought Charmander still was. Only to end up slamming its hooves down on the ground, while Charmander jumped out of the smoke cloud.
"Now use Will-O-Wisp Charmander!" Said Naruto, making Charmander start shooting blue fireballs into the smoke.
"Get out of there now Mudbray!" Said the Trainer.
"Bray! Mudbray-bray!" Mudbray ran out of the smoke, only to cry out a few times as it was hit by the fireballs and burned by them, but was able to escape the smoke.
"Charmander use Metal Claw next!" Naruto said.
"Charmander-mander-Char!" Charmander ran at Mudbray with his claws glowing white.
"Mudbray use Rock Smash!" The Trainer said, with Mudbray slamming its hooves down on the ground again, launching several rocks at Charmander.
With the Fire-type Pokémon swinging his claws and breaking the rocks as he continued on towards Mudbray.
"Now use Mud-Shot!" Said the Trainer once Charmander was close enough.
"Mudbray-bray-bray-Mud!" Mudbray shot several mudballs at Charmander, who had no time to dodge as the mudballs crashed into him.
"Char!" Charmander let out a cry as he was launched back by the mudballs, with the mud getting into his eyes and blinding him.
"Next use Bulldoze, Mudbray!" The Trainer said.
"Bray!" Mudbray reared back before its hooves into the ground, unleashing a shockwave that travelled towards Charmander and impacted him, sending Charmander skidding across the ground.
"Charmander!" Naruto said in concern for his Starter, with Charmander slowly getting back up and wiping away the mud in his eyes.
"Keep it up, Mudbray! Use Iron Defense and Rock Smash!" Said the Trainer, with Mudbray's body being surrounded by a white outline before its body shined as its defense went up.
"Mudbray!" Mudbray's body then gained an orange outline as it charged at Charmander.
"Charmander use Growl!" Said Naruto, having waited until Mudbray was close enough as Charmander let out a loud, piercing cry that caused Mudbray to flinch as its attack went down.
"Now use a concentrated Ember!" Naruto said.
"Charmander!" Charmander powered up before firing a large and concentrated, point-blank fireball at Mudbray, leaving it no time to dodge.
"Bray!" Mudbray let out a cry as it was thrown back by the fireball, with it intensifying the burns it got from Will-O-Wisp.
"Now let's end it with Iron Tail!" Said Naruto, with Charmander jumping into the air as his tail and flame glowed a bright white.
"Mudbray use Double Kick!" The Trainer said, while Mudbray slowly got up and tried pushing aside the damage it's taken.
"Mudbray! Mud!" Mudbray ran at Charmander, quickly turning around and lifted up its back legs before kicking on forward just as Charmander swung his tail.
"Char-mander!" Charmander's tail collided against Mudbray's leg, only for the Donkey Pokémon to cry out as it was thrown back.
With Charmander's tail pushing past Mudbray's kick and impacting its body, sending Mudbray flying back before crashing into the ground.
"Mudbray!" Said the Trainer looking at their Pokémon in worry.
"M-Mu-Mud-Mud…bray…" Mudbray tried getting back up, only to fall onto the ground with swirls in its eyes, making the Trainer sigh before returning Mudbray.
"Way to go Charmander!" Said Naruto while smiling at the Lizard Pokémon, happy to see how much he's improved.
"Charmander-Char!" Charmander smiled as well, feeling even stronger after all the battles.
"Good battle, your Pokémon have definitely gotten better at battling Rock-types and Ground-types after all that." The Trainer said as they shook hands.
"Thanks, your Mudbray was really strong too. And if all the Pokémon in Alola are like that, then I'll definitely be visiting it." Naruto replied, making the Trainer chuckle and nod.
"You'll see plenty of strong Pokémon, along with some familiar ones. Though be ready for some that look…pretty different." Said the Trainer with a smirk before going into the Pokémon Center to get their Pokémon healed.
While Naruto was curious about what they meant seeing familiar Pokémon that'd look different, before shaking head and returning Charmander to his Pokéball. Knowing after all the battling and training, his Pokémon will definitely need time to rest and recover.
*Later*
After leaving his Pokémon with Nurse Joy, Naruto decided to take a look around Pewter City to see what there was to see in the city. Given he spent most of his time focusing on training, he didn't really take the time to look around and see what there was.
'I did hear there was a museum filled with Pokémon Fossils. Maybe I'll go check that out, later.' Naruto thought, interested in seeing Pokémon Fossils and the kind of Pokémon that existed in the past.
Though before he could decide on what to do, the Uzumaki noticed a growing crowd of Trainers that were gathering around something. Curious of what was going on, Naruto went up to the crowd, moving until he could see what they were all looking at. Only to stop and mentally facepalm when he saw what was happening.
'You really haven't changed, Leaf.' Naruto thought, seeing that it was Leaf sitting behind a stand, pulling off another one of her scams.
Though it'd be hard for anyone to recognize her as Leaf, with her wearing a bandanna over her hair, large glasses covered her eyes, and a coat over her body that hid her clothes. While the stand she was at was filled with all different kinds of Pokéballs. But Naruto was more sure they were just regular Pokéballs painted to look like different ones, or potentially even just round objects she found that could pass as Pokéballs.
Deciding to just let Leaf carry on, Naruto moved back to avoid being seen, but still close enough to hear what she's saying.
"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen! And get your pick at my selection of Pokéballs! Are you looking to go traveling through caves or hoping to find some Pokémon that only come out at night? Then try the Dusk Ball, perfect for catching any Pokémon that's hiding in the darkness! Or perhaps you're looking to catch a Pokémon quickly to avoid a long drawn out battle? The Quick Ball is for you then, throw one of these and before you know it, you'll have a new teammate in no time. I have Pokeballs for any situation, Dive Balls for Water-type enthusiasts, Heal Balls for those that want to heal their Pokémon in an instant, and Dream Balls for those lucky enough to find a sleeping Pokémon to avoid battling, entirely! Get them while you can, because supplies are limited!" Leaf said enthusiastically, while mentally cackling as the Trainers all eagerly began paying for the different Pokéballs she had.
None of them even realizing that she's charging almost double what they'd normally cost. But given how most of them were new Trainers or still beginners, they simply thought they were expensive due to how much better they were compared to regularly Pokéballs.
'You know, I almost feel bad for conning them out of what's likely hard earned money…yeah, I can't even lie to myself, this is too much fun!' Leaf thought once she sold the last of her Pokéballs.
Before she made sure no one was around and discarded her disguise, putting her hat back on, smirking as she counted on how much she's now earned.
"This will certainly help me in getting the real versions of those Pokéballs, later on, and some TMs for my team." Stated Leaf, pleased at how her newest scam earned her a lot more money.
"You know if you keep this up, eventually you're gonna get in trouble." Naruto said, stepping out after all the Trainers left, while Leaf froze and paled upon seeing that someone was still here and caught her ripping off those Trainers.
"I didn't do anything, I swear! I didn't know they were fake Pokéballs! Someone gave them to me and told me to sell them! I was tricked and framed!" Leaf said, shooting up to her feet, panicking that she'd been caught and would get in trouble.
Only for the brunette to relax when she saw Naruto smirking at her, making Leaf smile happily at seeing him.
"Naruto!" Said Leaf happily as she and ran over and hugged him, which the whiskered blonde returned.
"It's good to see you too Leaf." Naruto said, happy to see his friend again.
"You too, but I didn't think you'd still be in Pewter City. I thought you'd be halfway to Cerulean by now." Leaf said, pulling back and smiling at him.
"I would be, but when I challenged the Gym Leader, I ended up losing since one of the attacks I was teaching Charmander failed. But I came really close to winning." Replied Naruto, making Leaf wince slightly.
"Ouch, sorry to hear that. I haven't actually challenged the Gym Leader yet, I've been focusing on training my Pokémon." Said Leaf, knowing that while Bulbasaur and Bellsprout would have the Type Advantage, she wanted to make sure they were fully prepared.
"And thinking of new scam ideas." Naruto stated with a smirk, which Leaf returned.
"You know me, so well. And if I'd known you were still here, we could have thought of new ideas together like we used to." Leaf replied, remembering how they used to brainstorm new ideas for scams and pranks when they were younger.
Given how both of them could be very mischievous, cunning, and quick-witted with her scams and Naruto's tendency to prank people. It lead them to becoming fast friends, along with working together a lot on scams and pranks. With Naruto admitting that compared to Ash and Gary, he was the closest with Leaf thanks to how similar they are.
Plus, there were times where Naruto saw that Leaf seemed like the only person who could match him in unpredictability, never knowing what she'll do next sometimes.
"Yeah. I'm guessing that some of those were actual Pokéballs that were just painted." Said Naruto.
"Naturally, but with a few surprise ones thrown in, since I may have put in a few fakes that were filled with sleeping powder from Bulbasaur, and I put a lot of Sleep Powder into them. So, say the Trainer isn't far enough away…" Leaf said as she trailed off.
"Then the Pokémon won't be the only one going nighty night. Nice one." Naruto said, knowing that'll definitely be a surprise.
"Yeah, I know. Now come on, all that work has made me hungry." Said Leaf, grabbing Naruto by the hand and running towards the Pokémon Center for lunch.
So, what did you think, good. Yep we see how much time Naruto's spent on training his Pokémon, having them further master their moves and planning on having them learning some new ones, knowing they'll need some new surprises to use against Brock. With Naruto then heading to the Pokémon Center's battlefields to challenge some Trainers with Rock-type and/or Ground-type Pokémon to build up his teams experience against them.
With Naruto's first opponent using a Phanpy, which Charmander manages to defeat before we go into a battle montage, showing Naruto winning and losing some matches, using Charmander mostly as his planned ace against Brock. Before reaching his final opponent with both having one Pokémon left, Naruto with Charmander and his opponent with a Mudbray. Leading to a tough battle with Naruto managing to win in the end, before going to get his team healed.
Finally we see Naruto exploring Pewter City and seeing what there is to do, only to find Leaf pulling off one of her scams by selling fake Pokéballs to Trainers. Leading to the friend reuniting and seeing how close they are, before the two go to get lunch and catch up. So, for those that like the story, thanks for your support. For those that don't or at least don't like the direction taken, you're more than welcomed to drop the story. But thanks for giving the story a chance anyway.
Storm out