Hello all Storm here with a new chapter! Here we'll be seeing May catch her second Pokémon with this one also being one she catches in the anime, only much earlier, along with a look into some other individuals from the Elemental Nations, some less friendly than others. So, without further ado.
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Not long after leaving Rustboro, Naruto had come out of his surprise of Roxanne's kiss and began walking beside May and Max. Though he had still been surprised, not expecting the Gym Leader to kiss him on the cheek like that.
Thankfully, neither May nor Max said anything, with the three walking in silence down the route.
After a while of walking though, May perked up when she saw something up ahead off to the side of the path.
"Hey, what's that? Is that a Pokémon?" May said, getting Naruto and Max to look at what she saw.
It was a Pokémon, a pink, feline Pokémon with a stumpy body and four short legs. On its face is a cream-colored, crescent-shaped marking. It has slit-like eyes and tufted ears with purple interiors. Its slender tail has a bulky pink section at the end, terminated by three pin-like structures with yellow ball-like tips.
"Yeah, it is. I think that's a Skitty." Said Max, recognizing what Pokémon it was.
The Skitty was currently in the sun, and seemed to be enjoying the rays on its coat.
"Aaah, it's so cute." May cooed pulling out her PokéNav Plus, while Naruto scanned it with his Pokédex.
"Skitty, the Kitten Pokémon. Skitty will get completely caught up in pursuing any moving objects that catch its eye."
Skitty:
Gender: Female
Ability: Cute Charm
Moves: Sing, Disarming Voice, Assist, Double Slap
Egg Moves (Locked): Fake Tears, Wish
"Oh, those are some good moves, and it's so cute! That settles it, I'm definitely catching that Skitty." May said, wanting to catch Skitty and knew it'd make a good addition to her team, along with in Contests.
"Let's go, Torchic!" Said May, letting Torchic to battle Skitty, while the Kitten Pokémon also jumped up.
"Skit?" Skitty looked around for what disturbed her relaxation, only to see Torchic and May in front of her, and realized what was going on.
"Okay Torchic, use Ember!" May said, with Torchic nodding and jumping into the air.
"Torchic!" Torchic spat out a stream of embers at Skitty, who quickly jumped to side, dodging the attack.
"Skitty!" Skitty opened her mouth and shot out a beam of purple hearts, accompanied by a loud shrieking voice.
Torchic was unable to dodge the attack and was knocked out of the air, but was able to get back up.
"Torchic use Peck!" Said May.
"Tor-chic!" Torchic charged Skitty and began pecking at her, before giving a final peck that sent Skitty tumbling back.
"Now use Will-O-Wisp!" Said May.
"Chic!" Torchic sent a blue fireball at Skitty, burning the Kitten Pokémon.
"Skit!" Skitty flinched from the burns, before jumping towards Torchic, ready to hit her with Double Slap.
"Torchic dodge and then Scratch!" May said, with Torchic nodding, before jumping to the side, avoiding Skitty's tail.
Torchic then jumped towards Skitty, and began scratching her with her feet, further damaging the Pokémon. Believing that Skitty had been weakened enough, May pulled out a Pokéball.
"Alright, go Pokéball!" Said May, throwing the Pokéball at Skitty, with her being sucked in, once it made contact.
For a few moments, May watched as the Pokéball shook, waiting to see if she successfully captured Skitty, or not. Finally, the Pokéball stopped moving and gave off a ping sound, making May smile widely.
"Alright! I caught Skitty!" May cheered, while picking the Pokéball up.
"Torchic!" Torchic jumped up, happy to have helped her trainer catch another Pokémon.
"Way to go, May!" Said Max.
"Yeah, you've really improved May, defeating and catching both Wurmple and Skitty. And I guarantee that they'll grow stronger, just like Torchic has." Said Naruto, with Torchic holding her head up in pride, while May smiled at them both.
"Thanks Naruto, and I couldn't have done it without your help." May said, knowing it was thanks to Naruto's help and training, that she's gotten stronger.
May then pulled out a Burn Heal and a Potion, before letting Skitty out of her Pokéball.
"Skitty?" Skitty looked up at her new trainer, curiously, while May knelt down and smiled at her.
"Hi Skitty, it's really great to have you join my team, and I hope we'll be able to work together." May said, before healing Skitty of the burns and restoring her strength.
"Skitty!" Skitty smiled at May and brushed up against her leg, making May's smile widen.
"Glad to have you aboard, Skitty." Said May, before returning Skitty to her Pokéball.
"Well let's get going, we still have a long way to go to Verdanturf." Said Naruto, with May and Max nodding in agreement.
Though just before they could start walking again, they were shocked, when Skitty's Pokéball suddenly opened, with the Kitten Pokémon coming out.
"Skitty!" Skitty started running around and chasing her tail.
"Uh, is that normal?" May asked, not knowing Pokémon could come out of their Pokéballs on their own.
"I…don't think it is." Said Naruto, not knowing this either, given none of his Pokémon have randomly left their Pokéballs.
Not knowing what else to do, May simply returned Skitty to her Pokéball, with the trio now continuing on their way.
*Later*
After some time, the three had soon arrived at a clearing, where they decided to take a break for lunch. With them letting out their Pokémon, so they could eat as well, with the others also meeting Skitty, before they all started playing together.
Once lunch was prepared, Naruto set out the Pokémon food, with all of them quickly rushing to their food, while shielding it from Wurmple. All of them having quickly learned that the Worm Pokémon ate a lot, and if they weren't careful, she'd devour their food, as well.
But their relief, Wurmple was still happily eating her own food.
"Hey Naruto, what'd you put in Wurmple's food?" May asked, given by now, Wurmple would have eaten all of her food and tried eating the other Pokémons' food by now, while sometimes trying to eat hers, Naruto's and Max's food, as well.
"Oh, I added some Enigma Berry to Wurmple's food, this way she'll be filled up, by her own food, while the others can eat, without worry of Wurmple getting it." Answered Naruto, surprising the two.
"Wow, that's a great idea Naruto. But how'd you know to use Enigma Berries?" Max asked, knowing Enigma Berries are very filling and would be good to put in Wurmple's food.
"Actually Roxanne told me back in Rustboro, after we learned how much Wurmple can eat." Answered Naruto.
"Oh, you talked to Roxanne about it." Said May, now annoyed to hear Naruto had help from Roxanne.
"Yeah, she also gave me some other tips on how to make the food for our Pokémon, and what's best for them. I also asked her if she knew the best food to give Pokémon that are used in Contests." Naruto said, not noticing May's annoyance, with the Coordinator being surprised at the latter information.
"Why would you ask her that?" May asked, with Naruto looking at her, confused.
"Why wouldn't I? I wanted to make sure I could help you in any way I could, when you enter Contests, that includes helping make your Pokémon the best they can be, both with their moves and their appearance." Naruto said, surprising May.
"You, did that for me?" May said.
"Of course, I said I'd support you in becoming a Coordinator, and that includes helping you and your Pokémon in any way that I can. Don't forget May, if you ever need me for anything, I'll always be there to help you." Naruto replied, while smiling at her.
"Anything?" Repeated May, blushing lightly, as her mind drifted to a few different implications of what that could entail.
"Yep, anything you want me to do for you, I will." Answered Naruto.
Though when Naruto looked at May and saw the growing blush on her face, his eyes widened as he realized just how his words might have sounded.
'Kami damn it!' Naruto thought, quickly looking away with his own blush.
'Do anything I want.' Thought May, as her mind drifted farther and farther away to less innocent thoughts.
May quickly banished those thoughts to the back of her mind and looked anywhere, but at Naruto, with her own blush.
Seeing this, Max rolled his eyes at their behavior. It was very clear to him that Naruto had developed his own feelings for May at some point, during their time in Rustboro City, but neither of them have confessed to liking each other. Probably out of worry of ruining their friendship.
'He's able to jump in the way of a Seviper and let it bite his arm, along with jumping off a fifty story building to chase after a thief. But when it comes a girl he has feelings for, he's basically a preschooler with his first crush.' Max thought dryly.
Honestly, he's close to calling the others, just to start a betting pool, to see who will confess first.
They all continued eating in silence, with Naruto and May slowly getting over their embarrassment from Naruto's words and phrasing. Once all of them were done, the three moved onto training their Pokémon.
May was practicing with Wurmple and her moves, especially String Shot, something May could definitely see that being used in Contests. She was also having Skitty practice her own moves to get a feel for them, and see how they could be used.
She was also going over the notes Janet and Chaz gave her, to see the details of the different rounds of Contests.
"Hey May." Naruto said, while walking up to her, getting the Coordinator's attention.
"Hey Naruto, what're you doing over here?" Asked May.
"Well I promised to help you, and I intend to keep that promise. So, what do you need that I can help with?" Naruto asked, while sitting next to May, with the girl looking at him in surprise.
"But don't you want to train your own Pokémon?" May asked, while thankful for Naruto's offer, she also didn't want him to end up neglecting his own training.
"Don't worry, I have a couple Shadow Clones training with them right now. Besides, I also planned to start my own personal training, as well." Naruto replied, knowing he'll need to get stronger as well, if they ever ran into any Missing-Nin from the Elemental Nations.
"Well, alright. Right now, I'm looking over the notes from Janet and Chaz." May said, while smiling at Naruto in thanks.
*Later*
"Okay, ready Torchic?" May asked, while looking at her Starter, who nodded in determination.
After looking over the notes from Janet and Chaz, Naruto and May had come across Combos, where a Coordinator uses two or move moves to create a beautiful affect, perfect for Coordinators to use during Contests. Naruto had suggested a Combo May could try to do with Torchic, with May liking his suggestion and explained it to Torchic.
Now they were going to try it out to see how it goes.
"Okay Torchic, use Attract!" May said.
"Torchic!" Torchic winked, while creating several hearts that spun around her.
"Now, use Will-O-Wisp on the hearts!" Said May, with Torchic covering the hearts with blue flames, turning them into blue flaming hearts.
'Wow, it's working!' May thought, excited and amazed at the display.
Unfortunately, Torchic started struggling to maintain both moves at once, before she lost her concentration. The result was the flame-covered hearts to go flying everywhere.
Seeing this, Naruto quickly grabbed May and pulled her out of the away, to avoid getting hit. Though not expecting this, May lost her balance and fell backwards into Naruto, causing them both to end rolling across the ground. Thankfully, they stopped rolling, with Naruto laying on the ground, with May on top of him.
"I think we should work on Torchic's concentration first, before trying more Combos. Given she is trying to use more than one move at the exact same time." Naruto said, realizing that could have been a problem.
"Yeah, but at least it worked for a little bit." Said May, pleased that Combo was able to hold for a little bit, before failing.
Opening their eyes, Naruto and May's faces immediately turned bright red, when they saw how close they were, along with the position they were in. May laying across Naruto, with her hands on his chest and one of her legs pressing against his groin, thankfully not hard enough to cause any pain, while Naruto's hands were holding May's butt.
Realizing how compromising this was, the two quickly separated from each other and looked anywhere, but at each other.
'May has a really nice butt.' Naruto thought, despite himself, he couldn't help but admire how it felt in his hands.
'Wow, Naruto is really toned, in more places than one.' Thought May, while rubbing her leg, having felt Naruto use his own "Harden" for a moment.
"I-I'm really sorry May! I just saw the ass-I mean Combo fail, and didn't want you getting hurt!" Naruto said quickly, while covering his slip up.
"O-Oh it's erect-I mean perfectly fine! No harm done!" Replied May, while blushing at her own slip up.
Meanwhile, Torchic rolled her eyes, while watching the two with a dry expression. She was honestly thankful that she was a Pokémon, so she didn't have to worry about these complicated human mating rituals.
After standing up, Naruto and May took a few moments to calm down their hormones, before looking at each other.
"We're going to have to be more careful, when practicing your Combos. We're just lucky the attacks weren't too dangerous." Naruto stated, with May nodding in agreement.
"Yeah. Torchic are you ready to try again?" May asked.
"Torchic." Torchic nodded, wanting to keep trying, until they got better at it.
With that they continued practicing different Combos, along with working on Torchic's concentration. While the Combos would still sometimes fail, the more Torchic used them, the longer they held up, which was good progress.
Though not long after, Naruto felt one of his Clones dispel, showing that his Pokémon had completed their own training.
"Hey May, my team's finished their training, and I'm gonna start my own. Will you be alright continuing on your own?" Naruto asked, as May nodded at him with a smile.
"Yeah, I think we've got it down to where we can handle it one our own. Thanks for the help, Naruto." Replied May.
Nodding, Naruto went to where his Pokémon were, and returned them to their Pokéballs.
Once that was done, Naruto created sixty Shadow Clones, ten to practice Water Style Ninjutsu, ten to practice Earth Style Ninjutsu, ten to practice Wood Style Ninjutsu, ten to practice non-Elemental Jutsu like the Rasengan, ten to practice Clan Jutsu, and the final ten was to spar against.
"Come at me with everything you have." Naruto said, wanting to push himself to his limits, wanting to get as strong as he can, as quickly as he can, so he'll be able to protect his friends from whatever threats they encounter.
'No matter what, I will protect my precious people!' Naruto swore, as his clones charged at him.
What Naruto didn't notice, was on a nearby tree, a crow was watching him intently, before it suddenly dissolved into a group of smaller crows that flew away.
*Galar Region*
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Galar Region, Itachi Uchiha opened his eyes and hummed, pleased to see how hard Naruto is pushing himself.
"Perhaps Naruto will be able to do, what Sasuke ultimately couldn't." Itachi muttered to himself, while taking a moment to mourn his brother, before turning his attention to Kisame.
His partner was currently burning the bodies of some Missing-Nin, that were arrogant enough to attack them, just to stroke their own egos, by killing them. Thinking they had a chance with their numbers, only to be cut down by the two S-Rank Missing-Nin.
'Naruto will also have his own share of people that'd like to see him dead, for one reason or another.' Itachi noted mentally, knowing Naruto will have his own target on his back.
Especially if he's found by Konoha Refugees that blame him for what happened, because of him running away from his "duty" as Konoha's Jinchūriki. Or just for holding the Kyūbi, and potentially his heritage, since Minato and Kushina had enemies not just outside of Konoha, but in it, as well. And that's not counting any Missing-Nin he may encounter, also.
There's also that prison break, that happened during the Konoha Crush, given how all of Konoha's Ninja had been called in to fight the Suna and Oto forces, giving the prisoners a chance to escape.
Kisame noticed Itachi sit across from him, while idly turning the fish that was roasting over the fire, as well.
"The Akatsuki isn't going to exist much longer, with the war going on in the Nations. The others will either die, or defect and flee here for new opportunities. That is, if Madara and Pein haven't hunted them down and killed them for their defection, already." Kisame stated, having known the moment they left the Elemental Nations, it was unlikely they'd ever return.
"True. That means we are no longer partners, so if you wish, you may leave and go off on your own, Kisame." Said Itachi, knowing they were no longer obligated to work together, and could do whatever they wanted, now.
"You can't get rid of me that easily, Itachi." Kisame replied, having taken a liking to traveling with the Uchiha.
Itachi said nothing, but simply gave a short nod.
Once the fish was done, the two Missing-Nin ate in peace.
'At the rate Naruto is going with his training, he should be ready in three years' time. Perhaps even less than that, once he starts pushing himself even harder, when he starts encountering Missing-Nin.' Itachi thought.
*Hoenn Region*
Back in the Hoenn Region on Route 116, Mizuki suddenly sneezed, with Tsubaki looking at him in worry.
"Mizuki are you alright? Are you getting sick?" Tsubaki asked in concern, having fled with Mizuki, after he broke out of jail.
"I'm fine Tsubaki, just a sneeze." Replied Mizuki with a "kind" smile.
"Alright, but let me know if you need anything." Said Tsubaki.
"Of course." Mizuki said, before scoffing quietly, when she looked away.
'Like I'd need from a weak-willed bitch, like you, except to use as a stress reliever.' Mizuki thought, while sneering.
Honestly, he couldn't believe that all it took was a few sweet words from her old Academy Love, and she's doing everything he says. Hell, she even hid the fact that he was a spy for Orochimaru, despite the fact they he was betraying their village for one of its most notorious Missing-Nin. If it wasn't for the fact that she was useful to him, and good source of stress relief, Mizuki would have killed her already.
'But once I find that damn Demon Brat and kill it, then the stupid bitch will have run out of uses.' Mizuki thought, scowling, before smiling sickly at all the ways he's imagined torturing Naruto, before killing the little bastard once and for all.
Mizuki's attention turned up ahead of them, where his eyes widened, when he caught sight of Naruto, May and Max. Though he then gained a malicious smirk, as now he'd not only get to finally kill the demon brat, but make him suffer before killing him.
"Actually Tsubaki, there is something I need you to do." Mizuki said, knowing he'll soon have his revenge on the Demon Brat.
So, what did you think, good. Yep May has caught Skitty once again, before she and May begin working on her Contest training, starting with practicing Combos, only for their first attempt to almost blow up in their faces while also leading them to a rather compromising position. Afterwards Naruto then starts his own training not knowing he was being watched before we go all the way to Galar where Itachi and Kisame are with both knowing that the Akatsuki will soon be gone, with Itachi now observing Naruto to see if he can succeed where Sasuke couldn't. Finally we head back to Hoenn where we see Mizuki of all people and his loyal lapdog Tsubaki, with Mizuki catching sight of Naruto and co., and forming a plan to get his revenge. Now onto the Omake.
Omake: Shadow Chimera
'Well, this worked out better than I thought it would.' Thought Hiruko, looking at the giant glass container that held his latest creation.
A lot of things have happened, most of which Hiruko never expected to happen in his life.
The first, being that he had been forced to go through with performing his Chimera Jutsu, without being able to obtain Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan. But given with the war that was going to happen very soon, Hiruko knew time was of the essence. But thankfully, Hiruko was able to find a good substitute in the form of a Chinoike Clan Member, he found. Allowing him to use the complete ritual, before packing up his research and equipment, while leaving the Elemental Nations for the Server Regions.
He had traveled to one of the lesser known Regions, known as Orre, one with hardly any people in it, thankfully. This allowed Hiruko to set up a new lab, without worry of any interferences, not that he had anything to fear from these people, given their lack of Chakra. But he also didn't want the hassle of being hunted by the authorities.
However, not long after he set up shop, Hiruko had been approached by an organization, known simply as Cipher. At first, he had considered simply killing them all, that is until their leader told him what Cipher's plan was, and it intrigued Hiruko, to say the least.
Being able to physically close the doors to the hearts of Pokémon and turn them into much darker and unrestrained versions of themselves. It definitely piqued Hiruko's interest.
So, after some debating and bartering, along with trading research, samples and test subjects, Hiruko agreed to join Cipher. Of course, he didn't actually have any loyalty to the organization, and at the first sign of weakness, or seeing it was a lost cause, Hiruko was leaving.
But for now, he had a new project to work on. Possibly his greatest one, one which will give birth to the ultimate Shadow Chimera.
'Isn't that right, Shadow Lugia.' Hiruko thought, gazing at his creation, before its solid red eyes snapped open.
Yep this time we get a look at a villain with Hiruko having traveled to the Orre Region and joined with Cipher, working to create the ultimate Shadow Chimera. So, review if you liked go away if you didn't.
Storm out