9.5K words. That's good enough, right?
"That was so not cool, " said Kiba as they walked away from the restaurant, "That steak cost 200 dollars. You should have given me a warning or something."
"The room would have cost you the exact same amount," said Naruto holding a bag of takeout, "Besides, how was I supposed to know you'd fall out of your chair and flip the table?"
"Whatever, man," said Kiba, "I hope you got your all laughs in because there's no way I'm buying you anything ever again."
"All this over a steak?" said Naruto as they turned I to the street with the pokecenter, "I thought our friendship meant more than that."
"That was before you made me make a fool of myself in front of that waiter! Let's not get into this now. You should head on up to the room I wanna check on Yari and Akamaru."
Naruto rolled his eyes as he walked past the automatic doors of the pokecenter. Apollo and Shinobi had both chosen to eat at the restaurant and while the two had been eating, Naruto had decided to get something for Fū.
The girl had seemed pretty frazzled and she probably wouldn't have left the centre before she got confirmation that her pokemon would be alright.
If they wanted to get through the next couple of hours peacefully then having a happy roommate would probably help.
Naruto reached the door of their room and he opened the door slowly as he clutched the takeaway bag in his left hand. Fū must have already been in her room because the room was devoid of any life.
The bathroom lights were on and Naruto walked inside to switch them off after putting the food down on his bed. Once he was inside, he noticed that the mirror and glass walls of the shower were all covered in steam.
"Did she just take a shower?," said Naruto as he connected the dots and as if to confirm his suspicions he slipped on a puddle of water.
Naruto fell to the ground hard and a stream of curses left his mouth as his head spun. The cold water sank into his clothes and hair causing Naruto to groan in annoyance.
"Thank goodness nobody was here to see that," said Naruto before pulling himself up into a sitting position.
Unsurprisingly, the noise must have attracted the attention of Fū who opened her door and rushed out with a baton in her hand.
"Who the–Naruto?" said Fū her tone changing from aggressive to confused as she took in the sight of her roommate, "Are you okay?"
Fū had changed into sweatpants and a long-sleeve shirt, and her hair was still clearly damp from her shower. Naruto waved off her concern as he stood up and made his way to his bed.
"Yeah," said Naruto shaking off the last effects of the hall, "I wanted to switch off the bathroom lights, but I slipped on some water."
"Sorry about that," said Fū sounding a bit embarrassed, "I was going to clean up, but I kinda fell asleep on my bed. You coming in woke me up."
"That's okay," said Naruto before his eyes drifted down to the baton still I'm Fū's hand, "Were you expecting someone else?"
Fū followed Naruto's gaze and she looked away from him as she said, "I kinda forgot that I was sharing this room. It's been a long day. Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it," said Naruto before snapping his fingers, "Oh yeah. I figured you'd be pretty hungry so I got you some food from this restaurant. It's a burger and some fries. If their steak is anything to go by you're gonna love it."
Naruto held out the paper bag and Fū looked stunned by the turn of events. Finally, she took the bag from Naruto and smiled at him.
"Thanks. I am feeling pretty hungry. Today was hectic."
"Same here. Kiba and I had to take a massive detour on our way from Saisho. Some massive battle trashed the route we were gonna take. It added a couple of hours, but Kiba was able to catch Yari so it's not all bad."
"Yari?"
"That's his Spearow. He has two other pokemon. Akamaru is his Rockruff and Tsūga is his Drilbur."
"He already has three pokemon?" said Fū as she and Naruto sat on opposite ends of his bed, "He's moving fast..."
"I guess so," said Naruto, "I have two like you, but Apollo, my Treecko, was my starter. Shinobi is the child of my parents' Greninja and my mom gave him to me just yesterday. "
"Those are some pretty strong pokemon," said Fū her voice rather low in volume, "Your parents must be proud of you."
"I hope so," said Naruto softly his tone becoming calmer, "Their jobs keep them super busy so I never see them anymore, but I like to think they're proud of me. What about your parents? Were they trainers too?"
"I don't know," said Fū stuttering over her words, "I'm a ward of the League. I got placed to live in some small town in eastern Sanka. I lived in their orphanage until I was 9. I can't even remember that much of my time there. I just remember being the loneliness."
Fū's story was as sad as it was sobering. Naruto was frustrated by how little he got to see his parents and yet there were others like Fū who never got the chance to meet their own parents. It caused a few emotions to bubble up inside him that he really didn't want to get into.
However, just as Naruto was about to speak a wide smile spread across Fū's face. Tears had begun to leak from Fū's eyes, but thankfully Naruto had nothing to worry about as she wiped them away.
"Sorry about that," said Fū once she regained her composure, "I don't really like speaking about that time in my life. It sounds bad, but things really did get better. I signed up to become a Trainer and I got sponsored to go to the Taki academy by its gym leader. She took me under her wing and she even gave me Naka when I arrived. She taught me almost everything I know about pokemon. "
"She sounds awesome," said Naruto and Fū nodded as her eyes seemed to stare off into space.
"She was."
Suddenly, the door slammed open and Kiba walked with a wide smile on his face completely unaware of the sombre mood of the room. The sound of the door hitting the wall jolted the other two occupants of the room and Naruto growled before throwing his pillow at Kiba's face.
"What the hell?" said Kiba as he snatched it out the air before he turned towards Naruto and Fū, "What the hell was that for, you jerk. I just wanted to tell you to get ready because tomorrow you're going down."
"First of all, you're making a lot of noise, dog breath," said Naruto and he smirked as Kiba threw his pillow back at him, "Second of all, you're the one going down tomorrow. There's no way I'm going to lose to you."
"In your dreams, Naruto," said Kiba before he noticed the confused look in Fū's face, "It's Fū, right? I'd never forget the name of someone so–"
"Okay," interjected Naruto as he clapped his hands, "That's enough from you, Kiba. Go grab a shower and rest up. I don't want any excuses for when you lose tomorrow. I need to get some practice in before the Konoha tournament and you should be a decent challenge. "
Kiba looked ready to blow a gasket, but he was once again cut off as Fū spoke up her voice laced with surprise.
"You guys are going to the Konoha tournament?" said Fū as she looked at Naruto, "I'm entering as well. I heard about it from a friend and since I was in the area to catch Chōmei. So you guys are headed into the forest tomorrow?"
"Yeah," said Kiba as he flopped down onto his bed, "Our sensei said it would be a good test for us and that we should have at least three pokemon for it. I can't wait to stick to it those cocky city jerks. What do you think the prize for winning will be? Maybe a Beldum or Dratini? I'd prefer a Larvitar, but I mean..."
"It's nothing that big," said Fū her face showing her amusement, "I think second and third place get an evolution stone of their choice."
"That's actually not bad," said Kiba and Naruto agreed with him fully. Evolution stones were either manmade or found in nature and were imbued with a specific type of energy.
Whenever certain species of pokemon came into contact with these stones then it would cause then to evolve. They were rather rare and even artificial ones would cost the average trainer quite a lot of money.
"I'm glad you're happy with those, Kiba," said Naruto and he battled to not smirk as he added, "Those are great prizes, but since I'm coming first I'm sure they'll have something better to give to me. If it's a TM I might let you use it, Kiba. Maybe it'll help you catch up to me."
Fū sensed an argument was going to rise up between the two and she rose to her feet, "Calm down, guys. You guys still need to get a lot of training in before you can even think of winning. Konoha Academy is really good. I'm sure a lot of their students will be entering and you shouldn't underestimate them."
As much as Naruto hated to admit it, Fū was right. There were going to be hundreds of other Trainers all vying to win and they really had to start grinding down now if they wanted to have a shot at winning.
"Hey Kiba," said Naruto as he turned to the other boy, "Let's delay our battle. I need to catch another pokemon soon and I'm sure there'll be some Trainers in the forest who we can challenge instead. The three of us need to get to Konoha as soon as possible. They have a Trainer Hall where you can practice moves and challenge other Trainers so it'd help prepare us better."
"Fine by me," said Kiba, "I already have three pokemon so I'm just going to focus on getting some drills and combos right. We can face each other a few days before the tournament instead. Anyways, I'm going to hit the shower. I'm beginning to feel a bit ripe."
A few seconds later and Kiba had grabbed his towel and a change of clothes before getting into the bathroom. Not long after, the sound of running water filled the room as Fū and Naruto sat in comfortable silence.
Fū was pretty much done eating and once she threw the wrappers away Naruto suddenly sat up in his bed.
"Hey Fū," said Naruto as he sat in his bed, "Do you wanna travel with us to Konoha? You're already entering the tournament and the Halo Forest is pretty dangerous. It'd be a lot safer in numbers."
"You want to go with me? " said Fū and she seemed genuinely surprised by the question before finally nodding her head, "I guess you're right. The Forest is dangerous and you guys seem pretty cool. I'm in. What time do we head out?"
"That's great. This is gonna be awesome! We should probably wait for Kiba to get out before agreeing on the details, though. He can be a bit of a pain."
"Who can be a bit of a pain?" said Kiba as he walked out in his sleeping clothes his towel hung over his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," said Naruto before adding, "Fū's going to travel with us to Konoha. We need to hammer out the details and make sure we're ready to hit the road when it suits all of us. "
The three Trainers discussed their options and due to things like having to stock up on some supplies and having to wait for Naka and Chōmei to recover.
Naka and Chōmei should be fully healed early in the morning and the stores would be open so they could get whatever they needed for their trek through Halo Forest. The forest was immense and easy to get lost in according to his map. It was said to take about four to five days to get through to Konoha from Forest's Edge on the safe route.
Naruto's Ultradex told him that there were also two pokecenters if they ran into serious trouble. Naruto still had Shizune's first-aid kit so short of a serious injury then they would be fine. Unfortunately, the centres had no rooms so they would be roughing it for a while.
"Okay," said Naruto as he rose from his bed, "So I'll stock up on supplies for all three of us while you guys wait for your pokemon. It's gonna be a rough couple of days, but we'll be alright. We should aim to leave by half-past eight."
"Fine by me," said Kiba before yawning, "I'm feeling pretty beat. Is that all or can I go to bed?"
"Ugh, fine," said Naruto and his shoulders dropped further when Fū also let out a yawn, "Goodnights guys. I'm going to shower so the bathroom will be busy for a couple of minutes. See you in the morning. "
A few minutes later, Kiba and Fū were asleep and Naruto made sure to be extra quiet as he changed into his sleeping clothes. It was only as his head hit the pillow that he realises just how tired he was and barely a minute later Naruto was fast asleep.
"Ow!" shouted Kiba as he clutched his finger, "Did you really have to bite me, Yari? Maybe I should just let you starve."
"I told you it was a bad idea," said Naruto as Apollo sat behind his neck, "You haven't built a rapport with Yari yet. It would be dumb to get that close that soon."
"Shut up, nerd."
The barb had no real heat in it and Naruto and Fū both laughed at the misfortune of their companion. It was already their second day of travelling through Halo Forest and despite Kiba's best efforts, he hadn't quite bonded with Yari.
The Spearow was quite fierce and she had made it clear that she still had a bit of an issue with her defeat. It had only gotten worse when Akamaru had been able to take her down without using Thunder Fang at all this time.
"I think Yari is just feeling a bit annoyed that she lost to you and Akamaru twice already, " said Naruto and the bird let out a low squawk, "I wouldn't worry too much, though. She's been on your shoulder for the entire day and she's only bitten you twice. If she had a real issue with you she would have flown away."
"I guess you're right," said Kiba calmly before his voice suddenly rose, "What I don't get is why you and Fū have had no issues with Shinobi and Chōmei. Is it just me?"
The two mentioned pokemon were walking ahead of the group and seemed to get along quite well. For the past couple of miles, Shinobi had been perched on the horn of Chōmei who barely seemed to notice the added weight at all.
It was interesting to watch as Shinobi managed to keep his balance even as Chōmei switched from walking on its feet to all fours and even flying through the air. The Heracross was very upbeat and seemed to have no issues with Naka who had decided to stay in her pokeball.
"That's not our fault," said Naruto as he turned to Kiba, "Besides, Tsūga loves you already. I haven't caught a wild pokemon yet so we have to wait and see until then. As for Fū, maybe she's just got a way with pokemon?"
"That's not quite true," said Fū as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I once got attacked by a Geodude when I was in the academy. That really scared me."
"What did you do to it?" asked Kiba out of curiosity and he was surprised when Fū, in a massive departure from her normal behaviour, growled under her breath.
"Nothing! I just don't like Rock types! Or Dark types! Or Steel types! I've had a few bad experiences is all. Why are you making such a big deal about it?"
"Okay," said Kiba slowly as he exchanged a glance with Naruto, "Don't tell us what you did. The truth always comes out, Fū...It would be better if you just told us now that way you can–"
A beep from Naruto's dex cut Kiba off and the three of them halted in their tracks. Naruto fished out his dex, but he let out a sigh as he read the notification out loud.
"Inconclusive, " said Naruto as he swiped with his finger, "Somehow, it could be anything from a Skitty to a...Mamoswine?Thanks a lot, Kiba. Your voice broke my pokedex."
"How is that my fault?"
Naruto ignored Kiba's indignation as he called for Shinobi. The forest had a lot of Bug and Flying types so Apollo would be on the back foot in a fight. Plus, Naruto hadn't really had a chance to use Shinobi in a fight. Other than scanning his moves and ability he had no experience with using Shinobi.
"Okay, Shinobi you're up," said Naruto and in a show of athleticism and bravado Shinobi sprung into a spinning backflip before landing right in front of Naruto.
Akamaru and Chōmei retreated to their trainers and so Shinobi had the space to move around. There wasn't much space, to begin with, as trees were littered all around them, but Shinobi had already proven to be dexterous and Naruto was sure he could handle whatever it was.
Suddenly, the sounds of leaves being displaced emanated from above them before a grey blur swooped down towards Shinobi.
"Use Water Pulse," said Naruto and Shinobi obeyed as he shot a concentrated sphere of water to his target.
The attack connected head-on with the attacker stopping its attack cold. The pokemon retreated to the air where it's identity was revealed as it let out a loud screech.
"A Starly?" said Naruto as he took in the pokemon, "That's awesome! Alright, Shinobi use Water Pulse again! Rapid-fire!"
A flurry of small, but quick Water Pulses soared through the air as they homed in on the Starly. Starly was able to avoid the first few, but then got hit by three spheres in a row.
This seemed to set it off and it began to rapidly flutter its wings kicking up a large cloud of dust. Naruto shielded his eyes from the massive Sand Attack, but he was still able to give Shinobi an order.
"Dodge with Quick–"
A loud cry interrupted Naruto's order and he was dismayed to realise that it came from Shinobi. The cloud of dust died down and Naruto looked back at the battle just in time to see Shinobi roll to a stop.
The bubbles around his chest had burst and he seemed a bit disoriented, but he recovered quickly. Shinobi hopped back up to his feet and turned back to Naruto clearly having shaken off Starly's Quick Attack.
Naruto had to get creative here. Too many Water Pulses would tire Shinobi out and Starly would pick him off easily. Starly would keep blowing through Shinobi with Quick Attack who lacked the type coverage to–
"That's it," said Naruto as he snapped his fingers, "Go after Starly, Shinobi!"
Shinobi sprang into action as he bounced off various branches and tree trunks until finally he was within striking distance. Starly had been tracking his movements and as the Froakie jumped off one last branch it sped towards its airborne target with a Quick Attack.
"Lick! Then use Water Pulse!"
"What the hell are you thinking, Naruto?" said Kiba as the two pokemon bore down on each other, "That move won't work on–What the hell?"
Kiba's query was cut off by himself as he took in the sight of Starly flying straight through Shinobi as if he wasn't even there. The Froakie turned in the air and bounced off a branch before jumping towards a confused Starly.
"Awesome, Shinobi!" shouted Naruto and he took out a pokeball as the Froakie fired a Water Pulse at a stunned Starly.
The attack hit Starly dead-on who began to twirl towards the ground. Naruto expanded his pokeball before throwing it at unconscious pokemon. The pokeball opened and sucked Starly inside it with a beam of red energy.
The ball only shook once before it dinged signifying a successful capture. Shinobi landed next to the pokeball and he picked it up before throwing it towards Naruto who caught it deftly.
"Thanks, Shinobi. You were awesome!" said Naruto and Shinobi nodded once before closing his eyes as a jubilant Chōmei and Apollo as well as a reluctant Yari went over to him.
"What the hell was that?" said Kiba as he thrust a finger in Naruto's face, "Starly should have mowed down Shinobi, but it went through him like he wasn't even there!"
It was Fū who answered Kiba as she stepped between the boys, "That's the special ability of the Froakie and Kecleon line, Protean. It changes the pokemon's type to the move it's about to use and since Lick is a Ghost-type move—"
"Quick Attack did not affect him," finished Naruto as he minimised Starly's pokeball, "Froakie has no moves that would be super effective on Starly so I had to improvise a little."
"Huh, " said Kiba, "I should brush up on abilities more something like that would be pretty useful. If you keep this up then maybe you'll stand a chance of making it after all. Anyways, let's hit the road. We've wasted enough time already."
Kiba walked off leaving Naruto and Fū behind who smiled at Kiba's impatience. They walked off after him as he led the charge while their pokemon stayed in between them and Naruto Fū who were bringing up the rear.
"I'm surprised you got it so quickly, " said Naruto as he put Starly's ball away, "I only remembered he had it because I scanned him and Apollo with my pokedex."
"It's nothing really," said Fū as rays of light from the afternoon sun snuck in through the canopy, "I read a lot about pokemon in my free time. They also showed a lot of old battles on TV and I saw something similar happen, but that with a Cinderace instead. I'm pretty any decent Trainer would know that."
"You shouldn't sell yourself short," said Naruto glancing at her only for a second, "I don't know if you've noticed, but Kiba and I aren't exactly the most humble guys around..."
Fū let out a short laugh causing Naruto to smile, "A bit of an understatement, but still. You've got to back yourself. If you don't believe in yourself then who will? Your team feeds off your confidence and they work hard for you. Doubting yourself would only let them and yourself down."
Fū didn't answer and the silence hung between them for a while before she finally responded, "You're right. I shouldn't sell myself short. This has been my dream since I was a kid and there's no way I'll start doubting myself now. "
"That's the spirit," said Naruto before stepping up his speed, "Let's catch up with Kiba. You still need a third pokemon and with the way he has been walking he's probably scaring everything off."
Fū followed after Naruto as they recalled all their pokemon before running after their overly eager companion. Kiba was walking a lot faster than either of them had expected and he was barely visible through the trees.
They eventually caught up with the boy and as a casual conversation began to flow between the three of them, not one of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them from the treetops.
"Wow, Naruto," said Kiba as he ate from his plate, "I'm seriously considering travelling with you throughout Sanka just for your cooking. This is great."
"Enjoy it while it lasts," said Naruto as he finished up with his own plate, "It's your turn for the next two nights so you better make sure we don't die from whatever you cook up."
"Don't worry," said Kiba as he put his plate down and stared into the fire, "What I'm gonna cook up will make your food taste like cardboard. Isn't that right, Akamaru?"
Akamaru yipped in agreement from his position a little away from the campfire. The other pokemon were all gathered in a circle eating except for Starly who was separated from both Trainers and pokemon.
Naruto put his plate down and approached the pokemon who other than a wary gaze ignored his presence as she went back to eating her food. Starly and Yari had both chosen to hunt for their food and it had been nerve-wracking waiting for both Kiba and Naruto as they half expected their newest pokemon to flee.
In the end, they had worried for nothing and they returned with a couple of Rattata and berries. Yari seemed to have warmed up to the rest of the team, but Starly understandably would take more time.
"Sorry about that earlier," said Naruto and Starly only looked up once before returning to pecking at her food, "Do you want to join me on my journey? I'm out to become the greatest Trainer and I'll need your help with that. What do you say?"
Communication with pokemon was a curious thing. The vast majority of pokemon seemed to understand what humans were saying without much of an issue. This connection only seemed to deepen the more time a Trainer would spend with their pokemon.
It seemed as though in the same way pokemon could freely understand and communicate with other pokemon of various species, they were also able to communicate with humans.
It was one of the most confusing things about pokemon. Scientists were completely befuddled when pokemon raised in complete isolation from humans and pokemon would still be able to communicate freely.
The experiments had been deemed too harsh and had been shut down before much headway could be made. It wasn't something Naruto really thought about, but in moments like these where he could see Starly react and process what he said it was hard not to be reminded of those studies.
"Plus you'll get to fight Shinobi again."
That seemed to do the trick as Starly let out a chirp and spread its wings. Naruto smirked as the bird pokemon flew onto his shoulder as they walked back to the campfire.
Kiba had gone somewhere and in his place was Fū who had returned from the forest and she turned towards them as Naruto sat down in his earlier seat.
"Kiba said he had to go...uh...freshen up," said Fū with some hesitation before she took in the sight of Starly on Naruto's shoulder, "So you've managed to work out your differences?"
"Yeah. Starly and I are ready to take on the world," said Naruto before snapping his fingers, "I need to think of a nickname for her. Do you want a nickname?"
Starly let out a high-pitched whistle and Naruto cleaned out his ear before saying, "Okay, so you do want one. What about Zephyr?"
Starly's distaste was evident as she leapt off Naruto's shoulder before landing at his feet. She tried to peck at his feet and Naruto pulled them back before any harm could be done.
"Okay," said Naruto as he looked at an amused Fū, "Zephyr is off the table. What about Ajax?"
This time Naruto wasn't fast enough and Starly pecked him on the ankle before letting out a screech. Naruto hissed at the pain before rubbing his ankle in pain.
"Those names are great, you psycho!" said Naruto as he glared at an annoyed Starly, "Zephyr means wind and is also the name of–"
Starly leapt towards Naruto again, but she halted in her actions as Fū spoke up.
"What about Wisp?"
To Naruto's surprise, Starly didn't immediately reject Fū's suggestion and instead she flew over to the girl and waited expectantly.
"Seriously? You want her to pick the nickname? "
A happy whistle was his answer and Naruto sighed.
"That's not a problem, is it?" asked Fū as she took in the sight of a disappointed Naruto, "I kinda said the first thing that came to my mind."
"It's not your fault," said Naruto smiling at Fū before scowling at Starly, "Someone just doesn't want one of my awesome nicknames, but it's all good. Maybe you can satisfy the diva over there."
"What about Diva?" said Fū half-heartedly dismissing the idea immediately.
Starly let out a chirp before flying into the air. It flew around in a couple of intricate patterns, drawing the attention of the other pokemon. Starly soaked up the attention before landing in front of Naruto.
Apparently, Starly quite liked that name.
"That's the one you want?" said Naruto and Diva let out another chirp, "Well if the boot fits..."
"What's this about a boot?" said Kiba walking back into the clearing.
"Starly thinks Naruto sucks at giving nicknames," said Fū, "So she asked me to give her a nickname."
"Makes sense," said Kiba as he watched the newly christened pokemon fly over to the other pokemon, "He either goes too literal or too flashy. Sometimes simple is better, you know?"
"Tell me how you really feel, guys."
Naruto's dry response only caused his companions to crack up even more at his expense. After a long while, from Naruto's point perspective, they finally calmed down and they moved onto other topics.
It was a very casual mood and it made Naruto forget that they were in fact in a forest filled with dangerous pokemon. It was something they only remembered as all three got into their sleeping bags in preparation for going to bed.
"Who's on fire duty?" said Naruto and he was met with silence from Fū and Kiba, "Oh come on guys...I cooked today. Again!"
"You know how it goes," said Kiba, "You were on the last shift last night so that means you're on the first tonight. Anyways, goodnight Naruto! Wake Fū up next! I need my beauty sleep. "
With that said and done, Kiba turned away in his sleeping bag and Fū smiled sympathetically before returning to sleep. Naruto grumbled under his breath as he rose from his sleeping roll and made his way back to the fire.
Only a few of the pokemon had decided to sleep under the stars. Namely, Apollo, Naka and Akamaru. The rest were all in their balls waiting for morning. Naka and Akamaru were fast asleep, but Apollo seemed to awaken as Naruto sat down on a log near the fire.
"Hey, buddy," said Naruto as Apollo came to rest in his lap, "I kinda got the short straw tonight, but that's the last of it I swear. Only two more days left in this damn forest and I swear we'll walk through the night until we reach Konoha."
Apollo let out a low chirp and it seemed as though he was already succumbing to the call of sleep. Apollo barely weighed anything and Naruto smiled as his starter seemed to snuggle even closer to him.
Apollo was by far the most affectionate of all his pokemon. Shinobi tried to keep up a dignified appearance at all times and Diva was a bit too much of a snob to get close with him.
Damnit...Diva was a good nickname...
Naruto didn't let that get him down, though, and instead he took out his Ultradex. It rarely left his pocket and it was proving useful to him. It had the most common move trees for all pokemon and this allowed to figure out what to focus on.
Apollo had Quick Attack (like most agile pokemon), Double Kick, Mega Drain and finally Aura Sphere. The Sceptile line was renowned for their sheer speed and propensity for physical special attacks.
In a way, Apollo and Shinobi were similar in that they were both fast and heavy hitters, but didn't have much going for them in terms of defence. This would only be an issue at the beginning as these weaknesses would fade as they grew stronger.
Naruto can still remember Gamabunta taking a Zap Cannon from his father's Alakazam. Somehow, Gamabunta had pushed through it before finishing off Alakazam with a wicked Night Slash.
In the end, his father had beaten Jiraiya 6-5, but that had opened Naruto's eyes to the sheer skill and power S-rank pokemon and their trainers had.
Top-tier S-rank trainers had pokemon that had these quirks that set them apart from any other. Jiraiya's pokemon all seemed to have unreal vitality and defences while his father's pokemon were all blindingly quick.
There were other examples, but that wasn't what was important. What was important was that Naruto had to make his own pokemon stand out in a different way from usual and Apollo was his inspiration for what his niche would be.
It wasn't going to be easy, but Naruto had full faith in his current and any future members of his team as well as himself. They weren't going to fail because failure wasn't an option.
Naruto was about to return to his Ultradex to look through some more stuff when a sound from the forest drew his attention. Apollo sat up immediately as he scanned the area for any signs of life. A second later, Apollo took off in a random direction and into the dark woods.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Naruto ran after Apollo who seemed to be doing his level best to tear a path through the forest. Apollo was far and away faster than Naruto, but the trail he left behind made it easy to track his starter through the forest.
The chase continued for a few minutes before Naruto was forced to a stop. Apollo was standing in the centre of a small clearing and it was only now that Naruto could see the red haze present in his starter's eyes.
Hypnosis.
Apollo must have been lured here by one of the Ghost-types that skulked through the darker parts of Halo Forest. Ghost types weren't intrinsically evil per se, but those that grew up in the wild were known to be unsavoury, to say the least.
Apollo seemed to have grown tired of standing still and he tensed for a second before collapsing in a heap. Naruto rushed to Apollo and he breathed a sigh of relief once he saw that Apollo was fast asleep.
The sound of wood snapping drew his attention and Naruto knew he was screwed. His camp was too far away for Fū and Kiba to hear him much less reach him in time and whatever was out there was about to take its pound of flesh from Naruto.
"Okay, Naruto," said the boy to himself as he wildly looked around, "Just because Apollo got hit with Hypnosis doesn't mean a Ghost-type is stalking you. There's tons of other pokemon native to this forest that can learn Hypnosis..."
Naruto's panicked voice pierced the silence and it was probably the only thing keeping him from freaking out completely.
"Pidove can learn Hypnosis," said Naruto as he returned Apollo to huis pokeball, "Ralts too. Uh, Hoothoot and Noctowl. Politoed? Wait they're not native to here..."
There was still one indigenous pokemon that could learn Hypnosis and it was the one option that Naruto liked the least. Suddenly, Naruto's Ultradex let out a beep notifying him of a pokemon's presence.
A chill ran down his spine and as Naruto turned towards the source of the cold he was greeted by the red eyes of a pokemon he had been praying to not see.
"...Gengar..."
Fully evolved pokemon were rare in the wild and were absurdly powerful. Gengar were known to take a maddening amount of time to evolve from Haunter and it was said they evolved by absorbing spiritual energy from their prey leaving them dry and hollow husks to wither away.
The Gengar seemed to bask underneath his fear and the smell of noxious fumes were released as it let loose a bone-chilling cackle. Naruto was about to just make a break for it when suddenly Gengar's eyes flashed red.
Naruto felt his body begin to fall to the ground before he was caught by the wispy arms of the Gengar. As he lost consciousness, the last thing he felt was a sharp pain in the neck before everything turned to black.
"Oi. Wake up."
Naruto groaned as he felt something nudge him in the side. Naruto waved it off and simply turned away from the disturbance to his sleep. It seemed as though whoever was bothering was persistent and Naruto was forced to slap the offending limb that kept poking him.
"Ow! That hurt, you jerk! You wanna play hardball? Fine, let's play! Akamaru, use–"
"No!" said a voice and as his mind rose from the daze of sleep, Naruto was able to place them both. Fū and Kiba sure were making a racket. Didn't they know Naruto was dead tired?
"Naruto," said Fū as she shook him softly, "It's already 7. We're supposed to leave in 10 minutes. The more time you sleep, the more time we'll end up spending in this stupid forest."
That seemed to do the trick as Naruto finally opened his eyes and he was greeted by Fū kneeling over him while an annoyed Kiba stood a little bit away.
"Oh man," said Naruto as he stretched his arms above his head, "Don't worry, guys. I'll get dressed super quick. Please help me pack my stuff? Sorry but we gotta hurry."
It was a promise that he kept and within two minutes Naruto had changed into his spare clothes. His timing was perfect as it coincided with Fū and Kiba packing away the last of his stuff.
Kiba tossed his bag at him and despite its heavy weight, Naruto caught it quite easily. He put his old clothes in there and it was only then that he realised Fū and Kiba were already ready to hit the road.
"How long did you guys try to wake me up?"
"Around ten minutes," said Kiba as they cleaned away the last of their traces from their campsite, "Fū woke up for her shift and she found you fast asleep by the campfire. She had to cart you over to your sleeping bag and apparently you haven't moved since she dumped your lazy ass."
"Why were you so tired?" said Fū as they finally hit the road, "You even fell asleep in your shoes. Do you need time to rest?"
Naruto shook his head and he tried to remember what happened last night, but he was drawing a blank. It was like clutching at sand. He could only remember bits and pieces of last night.
"I could have sworn a pokemon got in our camp last night," said Naruto and while his voice started off sceptical it slowly grew in confidence.
"Really? What pokemon?" said Kiba curiously, "The fire didn't chase them away?"
"No wait," said Naruto his brow scrunched in confusion, "Apollo got drawn to the woods and I chased after him. That's it...I followed him into the woods before he stopped in some random clearing. "
"Are you being serious?" said Kiba his voice relaying his scepticism, "You sure this wasn't a dream or something?"
"I don't think so," mused Naruto as he stopped walking, "The last thing I remember was a beep from my Ultradex then a flash of red."
Naruto stopped walking as he rubbed the back of his neck, "It was so surreal. I don't even remember what I got attacked by or how I got back to the fire."
"Maybe Apollo would know, " said Fū and Naruto smiled at her before withdrawing Apollo's pokeball.
Apollo appeared in a burst of light and Naruto wasted no time getting down to business, "Apollo, do you remember anything weird about last night?"
The usually playful pokemon seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and thought back before shaking his head in the negative. Naruto slumped in disappointment before recalling his starter.
"Thanks, Apollo."
"Hey, don't be so down," said Kiba as he threw an arm around Naruto's neck, "I have dreams that feel super realistic too. I once fell down the stairs running from a giant Ariados. I broke my arm too...Point is you just had a bad dream. Nothing more, nothing less."
Naruto didn't seem confused, but under the concerned looks of his friends, he allowed the matter to drop. The dream had felt super real to him, but Kiba was right. He was probably just blowing things out of proportion.
"I think you're right," said Naruto as he started walking, "Come on, we've wasted enough time as is! I have had enough of this stupid forest. As soon as Diva becomes a Staraptor, I'll try for my Flying License. Walking is for losers."
"I bet Yari will become a Fearow before Diva becomes a Staraptor."
"That's not fair! Diva has to evolve twice while Yari only needs to evolve once. That's a sucker's bet."
"I'm not hearing a no..." goaded Kiba and he didn't have to wait long for Naruto's response.
"You're so on," said Naruto, "You're going to regret those words."
Throughout this all, Fū was quiet as she trailed behind the two boys. She had a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. As Naruto and Kiba got deeper into their argument, her smile faded as she kept her eyes trained on one thing.
Naruto.
"Diva, use Wing Attack. One last time!" shouted Naruto and Diva let out a screech before diving down towards her target – Tsūga.
"Dodge it!" shouted Kiba, but it was all for nought and Diva slammed into Tsūga before pulling away. The Drilbur was already beaten up and Diva's attack was the final nail in the coffin.
"Don't worry too much about it, Tsūga," said Kiba as he scooped up Tsūga, "It was a bad matchup. We'll fix your problem with fliers soon. Konoha is only a couple of hours away."
"That's two for two! First Yari and now Tsūga! You sure you don't want to make this a 3-on-3? Apollo is ready for Akamaru!"
"You're such a sure winner," said Kiba as he recalled Tsūga, "But no let's keep this a 2v2. We're almost in Konoha and I want to run past the Trainer Hall before it closes."
Kiba was right. They had covered quite a lot of ground yesterday and now they were set to arrive in Konoha by the middle of the afternoon if all went well.
"Can we stop for lunch?" said Naruto as he held his stomach, "I'm starving!"
"It's your fault for making us cover so much ground yesterday, " grumbled Kiba, but he did sit down and begin to prepare himself something to eat.
Again, Kiba was right. Naruto had found a new spring in his step and as they inched closer to Konoha his excitement bubbled over. It was what led to his first battle as a Trainer and while it was unranked it was still awesome.
"Didn't you eat like six apples since breakfast?" said Fū as she sat down near the other two, "Where are you putting it all?"
"A man's gotta eat," said Naruto while focusing on preparing his food, "Oh yeah. Fū, don't you need to catch another pokemon? We're going to be out the forest in like two hours and you still haven't caught a third."
"Tell you what," said Naruto as he turned to the girl, "I'll go with you to find a pokemon and then Diva can lead us back to Kiba. How's that sound?"
Fū paused for a second before saying, "That sounds great. Thanks–"
Fū was cut off as a brown blur jumped into the clearing and picked up her red backpack. The thief leapt back up to the treetops and let out a loud chirp that had Naruto's Ultradex respond immediately.
"Buneary, the Rabbit pokemon," chimed in the mechanical voice of Naruto's dex, "Its ears are strong enough to shatter a boulder to dust."
"That's my bag," said Fū and the Buneary seemed to taunt Fū before leaping away with her bag held in its ears.
"Kiba, stay here and watch our stuff," said Naruto as he took Diva and Apollo's pokeball while Fū picked up Naka's, "Stay here. We're getting that bag back."
Kiba couldn't get a word out before Naruto and Fū were chasing after the thief. They ran through shrubs and over logs and it seemed to take somewhat of a strain on Fū who began lagging behind Naruto.
Naruto made sure to keep half an eye on her as he focused on the fleeing pokemon. It was extremely quick, but Naruto was able to keep her well in his sights as he bore down on her.
The Buneary seemed to realise she was being chased and she dropped down from the trees and instead tried to lose them by dropping to the forest floor. Naruto was forced to leverage between catching Buneary and keeping up with Fū and in the end, it was instinct that guided him.
"Hop on," said Naruto showing his back to Fū who thankfully didn't question him and simply got on his back.
The chase was back on and Naruto ignored Fū's shrieks of surprise as he sprinted to catch up with the elusive pokemon. The girl was barely a hindrance at all and Naruto felt proud the fruits of his training with Tsunade were showing.
Finally, they burst into a less wooded area and they were greeted by the sight of Buneary digging through Fū's bag. It didn't seem to notice their approach and so Naruto released Diva and Apollo simultaneously.
Fū also let out Naka and the Chimchar was on red alert as it took in the oblivious form of the thief. The pokemon all moved on a silent cue from their trainers and soon the bag was retrieved by Diva and a confused Buneary was restrained by Apollo and Naka.
Naruto gestured towards Buneary and Fū took that as her cue as she stalked towards the defeated looking Buneary. It seemed to cower away from Fū slightly and that caused her to soften her disposition.
"Stealing is bad, you know?" said Fū and the Buneary seemed to let out a huff, "Why would you steal?"
Buneary didn't answer and instead seemed to be focused entirely on pulling away from the grasp Apollo and Naka had on her.
"Let go of her," said Fū and after only a moment's hesitation, both pokemon let go of the culprit. Buneary seemed surprised by the gesture before cowering in embarrassment as her stomach rumbled.
"You're hungry, aren't you?" said Fū as she rubbed the top of Buneary's head, "That won't do. Diva, please give me my bag. "
By now, Apollo and Naka had backed off fully and Diva dropped the bag gently next to Fū. The girl reached into the bag before pulling out an apple.
"Here," said Fū softly, "I hid one of these from my friend over there. He eats way too much."
"Hey!"
Buneary seemed wary of the offer, but she grabbed the apple using her ears and assessed it before taking a large bite out of it. Fū sagged in relief as she watched Buneary eat and she gave the poor thing another apple when she finished the first one.
By the time Buneary had finished the second apple, Apollo and Diva were both back into their pokeballs. This seemed to intrigue Buneary who was looking at Naka's pokeball on Fū's waist.
Buneary tapped the button but was left disappointed when nothing happened. Fū seemed to understand what Buneary wanted and she took out a pokeball of her own and held it towards Buneary.
"You want to come with me?" said Fū drawing a nod from Buneary, "What about your friends and family in the forest?"
Buneary seemed to grow silent at that and at once Fū swept it up in a hug. Buneary wrapped it's ear around Fū's necks returning the hug as best it could. Fū finally pulled away after a couple of seconds.
"You ready?" said Fū to Buneary who immediately nodded. A second later, the pokemon was drawn into the pokeball and it dinged immediately signifying a successful capture.
Fū let out Buneary almost immediately who seemed to be very happy. She ran to Naka and engaged in chatter with her new teammate.
"I guess that's your third pokemon. I can see why Chōmei follows your lead so easily. You have a good heart."
Fū rubbed the back of her neck as she rose to her feet and said, "I guess so? I don't know I just had this feeling–"
"Watch out!"
Whatever Fū was going to say was cut off as Naruto managed to sweep her and her pokemon off their feet as he dove forward. It was no moment too soon as a tree fell right where they just where.
Naruto sprang back up to his feet and he was surprised to see what had caused the tree to fall. Naruto's dex let out a beep before chiming up just as he placed a hand on Diva's pokeball.
"Scyther, the Mantis pokemon. It slashes through grass with its sharp scythes, moving too fast for the human eye to track."
Sure enough, a diagonal cut was found in the tree stump and Naruto realised that for whatever reason the Scyther was mad at them. Fū realised this too and she made Buneary step behind her as she turned to Naka.
"Ember"
"Diva, back Naka up with Wing Attack."
Diva flew out her pokeball her wings already beginning to glow with energy before Scyther struck. It evaded the small flames shot at it by Naka before striking out with both of its scythes.
There was a flash of white before both Naka and Diva were sent hurtling away. They were recalled swiftly and Naruto yelled at Fū to run. He pulled on Fū's arm and together they both fled even as the buzzing of Scyther's wings emanated from behind them.
Naruto grabbed his Ultradex and he pressed a button before there was a sudden rush of air. He ducked to the ground and it was a motion that saved his life as Scyther struck out with one of its scythes.
Fū was now behind him and they were both stock-still as Scyther seemed to line up for another strike. Naruto felt cold sweat gather on him as Scyther leaned back clearing preparing for another strike.
This time its blades glowed a harsh red and Naruto bit back a sigh as Fury Cutter came into life on Scyther's blades. That attack became stronger the longer it was in use and even if they somehow survived the first strike the second would ensure that they were finished.
Scyther sped towards them and as Fū let out a desperate scream Naruto closed his eyes. All his dreams and goals would never be achieved and all because of some pokemon that had attacked them for no reason.
There would be no Konoha Tournament, no badges, no Conference and no becoming the Champion. Instead, he was going to die in this forest with a girl he had only met a few days prior.
No way in hell was Naruto going to accept that.
It was weird. Naruto knew he felt different and like different different. He had been feeling peculiar since he fell asleep on fire duty, but this was different and in a good, no, a great way.
Naruto finally opened his eyes and as Scyther inched towards him he did the most amazing thing of his life. He weaved through the swiping slashes of Scyther and even as the red glow of Fury Cutter almost blinded him he was still able to take in the surprised look of Scyther before his fist nailed it right in the chest.
There was a glow of white before Scyther was sent flying backwards. Scyther ploughed through a couple of trees and its unexpected departure was punctuated by the sound of its exoskeleton cracking from Naruto's punch.
Scyther's Fury Cutter had the unintended consequence of cutting through multiple trees as it was sent sailing and Naruto let out a sigh of relief as a multitude of trees collapsed onto the pokemon.
Naruto dropped to his knees as his hands began to shake from how close he had come to death. He was barely aware of Fū collapsing next to him. He wasn't sure when, but somehow their harsh breathing morphed into hysterical laughter.
They pulled each other into a hug as the scariest experience of their life drew to a close and Naruto was blinded by Fu's green hair as he slowly regained his composure.
Once they were both calm, which took quite some time, Fū asked the question that was on both their minds.
"What just happened?"
"That's what I'd like to know."
The unfamiliar voice shocked the two Trainers and they sprung apart as they whirled on the newcomer. They were greeted by a woman who had wavy purple hair and was accompanied by a hulking Pidgeot and a sinister-looking Bisharp.
"Are you the ones who triggered Konoha's Emergency Patrol system?" said the woman and Naruto sagged in relief as he nodded.
"Yeah," said Naruto as he pulled out his Ultradex to show her the flashing screen, "We got attacked by a powerful Scyther. It knocked out two of our pokemon almost immediately. I thought this was supposed to be the safe route?"
"It is," said the woman and she offered her hand out to the two teens, "My name is Yugao Uzuki and I'm one of the Emergency responders. I flew out over here as fast I could. Luckily, I wasn't too far away. We've been getting reports of a Scyther terrorising trainers, but we haven't been able to catch it. Where is it?"
Naruto and Fū exchanged a glance before pointing to the pile of felled trees. Yugao glanced between them and the pile before her eyes settled on Buneary who was still outside her pokeball.
"How did you take it down?"
"We got lucky," said Naruto cutting off whatever Fū was gonna say, "We hit him hard and fast while he was preparing a move and it backfired badly."
Yugao stared at them intently before nodding. She withdrew a pokeball before releasing a Gallade that practically oozed power.
"Do you have anyone else travelling with you?" asked Yugao and Fū nodded as she pointed in Kiba's direction.
"Alright," said Yugao as she recalled her Pidgeot and Bisharp before placing one hand on Tsuki and offering the other to Naruto and Fū, "Tsuki found him. We'll teleport there and from there to the pokecenter. You may need to swing by my office to get your statement on paper. The rangers are supposed to corral the stronger pokemon away from the safe routes. I imagine Mayor Sarutobi won't be pleased with this."
Naruto grabbed Yugao's hand and Fū did the same to him. They both exchanged a glance and Naruto was immediately able to tell what Fū was asking.
What the hell just happened?
Naruto didn't know, but he was gonna find out. The red glow of the Fury Cutter had jogged his brain into hyperdrive and Naruto was finally able to recall what happened in the clearing with the Gengar.
He had a strong feeling that whatever happened that night was the reason all of this had happened.
"Have you ever teleported before?" asked Yugao and she smiled sympathetically when Fū shook her head in the negative.
"The first time's always the worst."
"Wait, let me–"
Fu's words were lost to the wind and the group of trainers disappeared in a flash of blue leaving behind an empty forest.
None of them had noticed the eyes on them from the treetops. The figure stayed high above the ground before enlarging a pokeball and releasing a strange red and blue pokemon.
"Deoxys, use Teleport. My work here is done."
There was a second flash of light and soon the clearing was devoid of any life once more.
Yugao Uzuki
Rank: #49
Grade: A-rank
Points: 10, 700, 500
New pokemon:
Naruto:
Diva, a female Starly
Fū:
An unnamed female Buneary
Wow, guys.
Your response has been great. This took longer than expected, but ey here we are. Please drop some reviews and tell me what you thought of the chapter.
I loved hearing from you guys and thanks to everyone who reviewed the last few chapters.
Sorry for those expecting to see some of Konoha, but that needs a few chapters of its own. Naruto, Fū and Kiba traversed the supposedly safe Halo Forest and came out of it shaken, but safe.
Naruto and Fū finally got their third pokemon and now it's time to grind.
Deoxys was the first legendary in this. Unexpected? I'd imagine so.
This is also gonna be pretty long as you can imagine. I mean Naruto needs 16 badges and that's only the main quest. So you better strap in and get comfortable, people.
Feel free to PM about whatever if you're so inclined. My door is always open.