A/N well, I know that it's been a long time, but I have been having some laptop trouble which would not end still won't end as I lost all my saved files, even one that I had for this as well, which is a pain in the rear end sadly. Hey, I have this chapter out at long last. So once again, sorry that it has taken so long. I hope the next one won't take as long.

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Demon/inner talking."

"Demon/Inner thinking."

"Pokédex"

'Pokémon talk.'

Chapter 11 Charmander the stray Pokémon

Ash and his friends were still making their way towards Vermillion City, which slowed down somewhat. Once again, they were now lost within a dense forest, something that neither Misty nor Sakura didn't like as they looked at Ash. So, Ash decided to look for any new Pokémon to catch. However, all he could see right now was a bunch of Spearow, and after what happened on his first day, he didn't want to risk it happening again.

Taking off the binoculars, Ash just sighed, which soon caught Naruto's attention, who was sitting on a tree stump. They had placed their back-pack; even Pikachu was sitting on the old log since Brock started looking at the map. "What's the matter, Ash?" Naruto asked as he stood up and walked over to Ash.

Ash looked at Naruto and gave the blonde ninja a light frown. "Well, there's nothing but Spearow around here, Naruto, and after my first day, I don't think I want a repeat," Ash said as he gave a deep sigh.

"Well, that's the least of our worries, isn't it?" Misty asked as she looked over at Ash with a frown on her face.

Naruto and Sakura sighed as both knew they would get into another one of their fights. "Well, here they go again," Sakura whispered to Naruto as she lightly giggled at this, something that even Naruto agreed with as he too looked to see what they were going to do.

"Just because we're a little lost doesn't mean I have to stop catching all the Pokémon I can, does it?" Ash asked as he looked at her with a questioning look on his face.

"Of course not, please enjoy yourself Ash," Misty said, rolling her eyes as soon as she sighed. "I can't go one step further. We've been looking for Vermillion City for ten whole days!"

"Hey Misty, there's a bug on your leg," Brock began as Misty jumped up, landing on top of Ash, who struggled to stay standing due to the surprising addition of her weight.

On the other hand, Naruto and Sakura laughed ever so lightly at what they were laughing at seeing their two younger friends. "Oh, this is so funny I wish there was a way we could take a photo of this," Naruto said, holding his sides.

"Oh wait it's just a piece of grass," Brock said, picking it up and laughing; his laughter only increased when Ash lost his footing resulting in the childish duo both landing in a heap.

"You know, I think we could use the time to let our Pokémon out and get some training, what do you think?" Sakura said as she smiled, seeing the look that Misty was giving Brock, who was still laughing while holding the piece of grass.

"Well… that would be a good idea! Furthermore, Bulbasaur and Oddish could use some training." Ash agreed, taking out the Poké Ball belonging to the newest member of his team. "Okay, Bulbasaur… let's do some practice, okay? I would like you to be ready when we face our first battle, after all!"

Bulbasaur and Oddish appeared from their Poké Balls, letting the two Grass/Poison types out, and both Pokémon smiled happily at the prospect of getting some training. 'That's good to know, Ash! I was starting to get a little restless there!' Bulbasaur said.

'Yeah, me too!' was Oddish's comment. 'Besides, if I want to be useful to Sakura, I'd better start training!'

Pikachu nodded before stepping forward. 'Well then… if you want, we can be your sparring partners! Okay, then get ready because you guys are going to need all the training you can get!" the yellow mouse stated, getting in a guard pose.

Bulbasaur smiled cunningly. 'Don't underestimate me! There was a reason I was the protector of the Pokémon back when I was with Melanie! Bring it on!" Bulbasaur said, he and Oddish getting ready to face Pikachu. Brock smiled at this, taking his eyes away from the map for a short while.

"Well, then I think Beedrill can use some training as well," Naruto said with a smile as he let out his Pokémon.

The bug-like Pokémon quietly shifted his eyes around and saw his trainer. "Hey, buddy, ready to get in some training?" Hearing this gave a yes to his trainer, knowing he was ready to do some training.

"So you ready, Sakura with Oddish?" Naruto asked as he looked at her with a smile and saw that Oddish was ready too.

Naruto looked over at Beedrill and then at Sakura with a light smile. "Alright, then Beedrill, use Poison Sting."

Beedrill nodded as the bug/poison Pokémon did what he needed to do without a moment's hesitation, aiming right at Oddish. Yet, the little grass Pokémon dodged the oncoming attacks and headed directly towards Beedrill.

For her part, Sakura smiled at her Pokémon as she knew the little Pokémon was doing well. "That's it Oddish, just keep moving, and once you get close use Tackle," Sakura said as she gave a smile.

However, Naruto smiled at this as he knew just what to do. "A good idea Sakura Chan, but I'm ready for that Beedrill quick move out the way!" Naruto ordered his Pokémon, who quickly did what asked.

And it was just on time, and by the time Oddish had reached Beedrill. "Well, that was good thinking, Naruto, but I'm not close to getting done yet."

"Well, same here, Sakura Chan, so I want you to be just as ready dattebayo," Naruto answered with a massive grin forming on his face as the two Pokémon continued to battle so that they could get a lot stronger.

After Naruto and Sakura had finished training, everyone returned their Pokémon to their Poké Balls as Naruto took the map from Brock to see where the Pokémon Center was. Since with the training they had been doing, their Pokémon would need the rest after the trainer they had just done.

Misty stood up with a huff, with Ash joining her. "Anyway, according to the map, we should be near a Pokémon Center," Naruto chipped in once again, looking at the map he picked up from Brock.

"Wait, really, Naruto, that's great. Let's go then," Misty said, already forgetting her earlier fatigue and charging in the Pokémon Centers direction.

The group noticed an enormous rock right in the middle of the path, casting a massive shadow. It wasn't the rock that got the group's attention; however, the Pokémon was sitting on top of the rock.

When they saw that the crackling noise was just a small fire burning on top of the rock, and it was a Pokémon safely placed on the tip of a strange lizard-like Pokémon's tail! Looking like a tiny orange-skinned dragon, it was about as tall as Pikachu, with a large mouth filled with needle-like teeth and black eyes, its skin covered in fine scales, and its hands and feet adorned with small, sharp claws. It was lying on top of the rock, looking rather sad and distressed, and it raised its glance as soon as he heard Ash and his friends, regarding them with a confused expression on its face. However, the most striking feature was that flame burning on the tip of its tail.

"Hey, but… isn't that a Charmander?" Misty asked, blinking at the strange lizard-like Pokémon.

"Uh… hello…" Charmander said despondently as the rest of Ash's team gathered around the place, and Ash took a good look at the Fire-type Pokémon with his Dexter. The answers came one second later, in the form of Dexter's monotonous voice.

"Charmander, the Flame Pokémon. It is a very lively Pokémon who normally has a lot of energy. Its health can be discerned by looking at the flame on the tip of its tail. Take extreme care. If the flame ever goes out, Charmander dies."

"Oh, wow! It's a Charmander!" Ash exclaimed. "I remember when I was about to pick my first Pokémon at Professor Oak's lab, and I had genuinely wanted to get a Charmander but wasn't able to."

"Oh, you wanted to get a Charmander, Ash?" Sakura asked him as she looked at the fire-type Pokémon and saw something wrong with the poor creature. Pikachu also gave its trainer a questioning look.

Ash realized he had put his foot in his mouth and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I mean…I had wanted a Charmander, to begin with, but I am pleased with the way things turned out. If I could do it all over again, I would still get up late so I could get Pikachu!" he said as he looked at the yellow mouse with a smile forming on his face. "After all, Pikachu is my buddy. But no, I can catch my own."

"I don't know Ash. The poor thing looks like it's in bad shape," Misty said as she looked at the Charmander with a worried look on her face as they all saw it was having a hard time breathing.

"I noticed that as well, but how could it get into this bad?" Sakura asked as she looked up at the little fire type.

"I'm afraid not..." Brock said, folding the maps as he approached Charmander as well. "Maybe we should take him to a Pokémon Center. I don't know what's up with him, but he isn't doing so well."

Ash then took out an empty Poké Ball and threw it at the Charmander. The Pokémon saw the ball coming and immediately swung its fiery tail in a circular motion to knock back the Poké Ball. The ball returned to Ash Ketchum's hands, and he gave it a questioning look.

"I know this Charmander's weak, but it still seems strong enough to fight back. Maybe Pikachu should battle it," Ash suggested.

"Maybe my water Pokémon can help," Misty tried as she looked at Ash and then Brock.

"But it's in bad shape I mean what if Charmander can't battle because it hurt or worse," Naruto said as he too looked at the Charmander, who was looking at them, wondering what they were going to do next. "So, what should we do?"

"I'm not sure but battling right now with is condition is not a good idea, Ash why don't you try your Poké Ball one more time, Ash," Brock told the raven-haired boy.

Ash nodded his head and threw the Poké Ball once more at Charmander. This time Charmander didn't fight back as he quickly got sucked into the Pokéball. The group thought they had gotten the Pokémon, but it soon broke free from the Poké Ball and glared at the group.

Pikachu decided to ask what was going on with the Charmander and why it acted so stubborn. Once Pikachu reached the rock, he immediately conversed with the Charmander. It gave Pikachu a strange look. Pikachu then began to talk to the Charmander. Once Pikachu had finished talking, it climbed back down the rock and went to the humans. "So, what's the story, Pikachu?" Ash asked them.

Pikachu then began to make various hand gestures and facial expressions to Misty and Brock's confusion. However, Ash was able to understand his Pokémon. "I see. A trainer already owns this Pokémon." Ash deduced as he looked up towards Charmander. "And this trainer left Charmander here on this rock promising to come back for it," Ash finished.

"Oh, he looks so sad..." began Sakura, looking worried for the Fire-Type Pokémon and wondered who his trainer is though it would be best not to ask about it as they needed to get to a Pokémon Center themselves.

"If he's waiting for someone, I think we better leave him..." suggested Brock, not liking this at all, but if his trainer was going to come back for him, they should let him be. "I think it's for the best his trainer takes care of him."

"I don't like the sound of that, but I hope his trainer comes back soon," said Ash before the group left the Charmander on the rock, not noticing that dark clouds were starting to form in the sky as slowly they started walking away.

"Well, there is not much that we can do, Ash." Naruto began as he looked at Charmander with a frown. Something was telling him that there was more going on than they knew. "But what..." That was all Naruto could think about as he and the others walked away.

Sakura saw the way Naruto was looking and knew that he and Brock were feeling the same as hell. Ash was worried too, there were all worried for the unfortunate Pokémon, but it had an owner; there was not a lot that any of them could do.

While continuing their trek to find a Pokémon Center, Ash still couldn't get Charmander off of his mind as he was still worried about the Fire-Type, and while he shouldn't be, he had a bad feeling that Charmander had got told to stay there on purpose like the trainer might not come back for him.

"Hey, guys! Look over there!" Misty's voice came, snapping him out of his thought a bit, and turned to what Misty found. "It's the Pokémon Center!"

"Finally, we better get inside right away!" said Ash, glad that Misty had found it, and they quickly made their way there, just in time too, as it was starting to rain right now.

Back at the rock, Charmander tried to protect himself from the rain with a large leaf covering a part of his body, mostly where the flame was, as he didn't want the water didn't put the flame on his tail out. What he didn't know, a small flock of Spearow's were nearby, and they looked like they were going to attack him when he least suspected it.

Inside the Pokémon Center, Ash and his friends watched as the storm was getting worse by the second, but that was the less of Ash's and Naruto's worries right now as Misty brought soup for him, Naruto, Sakura, and Brock. "I brought some soup." the orange-haired trainer told her friends. "Hope you like it hot."

"Thanks, Misty..." Ash said, frowning, and he still had this bad feeling as he and his male friends looked outside, seeing the storm.

Yet, Ash wasn't answering, and it wasn't like him not to do so either. "Ash..." began Sakura, noticing this and letting out a small sigh, then continued. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... I just can't stop thinking about that Charmander back there..." Ash said to Sakura as he had a worried look on his face.

"I'm sure he'll be fine after all, his trainer might be out to get him right now," Sakura said with a smile. "I mean, no trainer could be that cruel, right?"

Naruto soon smiled at hearing this from Misty, as Naruto nodded his head at what she told him after from what both ninjas had seen so far in this world, trainers cared for their Pokémon. "Charmander's trainer would surely have come for it by now. No decent human being would leave their Pokémon out in the rain like that."

It's then all five heard voices not too far from where they sat and noticed a group of male trainers having a conversation. "Just look at them, this is what I call a pretty cool collection." laughed the blue-haired trainer of the group, glancing at the six Poké Balls that he had on the table and giving a grin as he examined each one. "Way cool!"

"You're the man Damian." added the black-haired trainer, impressed with the Pokémon that the blue-haired male had with him, but across from them, Ash's eyes filled with anger when he heard that name. "Wait a minute, didn't you use to have a Charmander?"

"I did, but that puny thing was so weak, it couldn't even beat the weakest opponents," he told the other trainer next to him, not wanting to get seen with the Fire-Type he used to have with him. "Who needs a useless thing like that on my team, anyway?" The boy asked as he soon began to laugh.

"Bastard..." Naruto gritted his teeth; he was starting to have an awful view on that creep to which Sakura, Brock, and Misty were worried that he and Ash were both going to do something rash without the slightest thoughts of what will happen.

"I don't like that guy's attitude..." scowled Misty as she tightened her fists with anger.

"Me too, Misty, I already want to punch him for making fun of Charmander," Sakura added as she scowled the trainer.

Brock nodded to Misty's and Sakura's words and added. "Charmander may be weak against Water-Type Pokémon, but if he and his trainer work hard, they can be strong."

"So what did you do with that Charmander?" one of Damian's friends asked him.

"I left it at some rock in the woods. I mean, it's so stupid no matter what I do, it keeps on following me, so I finally got rid of it by saying that I would come back for it. I can't believe he fell for that trick!" laughed the blue-haired trainer, finding it amusing that his old Charmander is still waiting for him. "I bet with luck that rain will most likely put the flame out."

"That's it..." Ash decided enough was enough, and he decided to go towards that creep, thinking he needed a lesson on being a Pokémon trainer.

"I'm with you, Ash!" Naruto added with a growl as his eyes went a little red.

"Ash, what the..." Misty wondered what he was going to do as she and the others saw him making his way towards Damian and his group as they were laughing at how gullible Charmander was at this moment.

However, as they finished their laugh, something happened, and Damian felt a fist punching Damian hard in the face, shocking present in the area as they saw a furious Ash of all people had hit another person. "Ow..." muttered Damian, rubbing his cheek in anger. "What the heck is your problem?!"

"My problem is that you lied to your Charmander and left him out in the rain!" Ash shouted back, getting in Damien's face threateningly. "How could you do something that heartless? You know that if the flame of Charmander's tail goes out, he will die!"

"That's none of your damn business!" Damien said without feeling a single twinge of regret over his behavior. "If that stupid little weakling dies, that's one less weak and useless Pokémon in the world!"

"You are disgusting…." Sakura said as she advanced towards the group of bullies, with Misty and Brock close behind. Damien's friends stood up and grabbed their Poké Balls, ready to start a fight.

"Yeah, people like you shouldn't be trainers," Naruto said with a scowl as he tried to keep calm but could hear the voice of the Kyuubi inside.

"That's it brat let out all your anger..." The Kyuubi said with a whisper as Naruto closed his eyes.

"Naruto...?" Sakura asked as she looked at him and caught how his eyes changed from blue to blood red. "No, not here. I know what he did is so nasty, but there are other people here." She said, now frowning with anger as she took his hand into her own, which caused his eyes to go back to being blue once more.

"Do you want a piece of us, weaklings?" one of Damien's friends taunted with a cruel snarl. Pikachu slid into a battle stance, and all five human trainers grabbed their Poké Balls, seconds away from releasing their Pokémon inside the Pokémon Center. Luckily, Nurse Joy, who was on shift at that moment, took notice of this and quickly stopped everyone before things could get rough with a double clap of her hands.

"Enough, you guys stop this fighting right now!" Joy called them out. "This is a place where sick Pokémon are cared for! We do not care for childish arguments between trainers. If you have something to argue about, do it outside of here!"

'Aw, come on!' Pikachu protested. 'At least let me give a shock to this jerk!'

Both Ash and Damien turned their heads at the pink-haired nurse, saying nothing for a good five seconds before Damien shrugged his shoulders uncaringly. "Feh, I don't care about any of this. You should speak to this bunch of fools, as they started it all," he said before motioning to his gang to follow him in the other room. "C'mon, guys, let's leave this place! These idiots ain't worth it anyway!"

"Okay, Damien…" one of the bullies answered, while another one glared menacingly at Ash and Naruto, who just responded with a glare of their own.

"You don't know how lucky you imbeciles are…" he growled before following Damien and his group. The bullies walked out of the room, rudely slamming the doors as they exited and causing Sakura to wince in annoyance.

"Hmph… bunch of worthless low lives." Misty commented.

Nurse Joy sighed, annoyed. "You know, kids, I'm not letting you off the hook that easily." She answered. "While that Damien guy is a disagreeable fellow, he does have a point when he says that you are the ones who started it. Care to explain what the problem is?"

"The problem is, we heard that Damien guy gloating about how he lied to his Charmander, saying that he would soon be back to take him back… Instead, he left Charmander alone, and now the poor thing is alone under the rain," Brock explained, to which Joy put a hand to her mouth in horror and dismay. "There is a high risk that the rain will put out the flame on Charmander's tail… and we know what would happen if it ever goes out, right?"

It was then that Chansey noticed that Ash was leaving. 'Where do you think you are going?' She asked him, watching as he got his raincoat on.

"What's it look like?" asked Ash, not in a good mood with what is happening, and glanced at the pink Normal-Type. "I'm going to get Charmander and bring him back here since Damian isn't going to do so, let's go Pikachu!"

"Ash, wait!" yelled Misty, but she was too late as they were already out the door into the storm, and she let out a frustrated huff. "That boy can be so stubborn!"

"Maybe so, but we have to help Charmander out!" Naruto cried as he left and was then closely followed by Sakura.

The rain was pouring very heavily as the group ran through the forest. They truly hoped that the Charmander was where it was earlier so they wouldn't have to search for it. "Oh, I'm getting soaked. The rain is so heavy. My raincoat isn't helping much." Misty moaned.

"You could have just stayed at the Pokémon Center, you know Mist," Ash said to Misty.

"I've got to help a Pokémon in need," Misty said with a wink and a smile at Ash.

The group knew where they were going, so they took about ten minutes to reach Charmander from the Pokémon Center. Once the group reached the place, they gasped in horror at what they saw.

Charmander was huddled over and doing its best to cover itself with a large leaf. However, it wasn't big enough to cover its whole self, so Charmander mainly had it covering its tail flame. It was already getting low. It wouldn't be too much longer until it was entirely out. To make matters worse, a few Spearow had decided to attack and were pecking mercilessly at Charmander.

"Pikachu Thundershock!" Ash ordered as Pikachu immediately let loose the attack, and the electricity soared through the air, which effectively scared off the Spearow.

The group then rushed over to Charmander as Brock and Ash took off their raincoats and placed them over Charmander. Brock's raincoat covered the main body while Ash's covered the flame on its tail. Charmander didn't resist this time when they picked it up. The group then rushed back to the Pokémon Center as fast as possible.

"Come on, Charmander. You can't let your flame go out," Ash mumbled to himself.

The group soon arrived at the Pokémon Center and burst through the doors, panting heavily. "Is everything okay?!" Nurse Joy asked as she came rushing to the group.

"No, it isn't," Brock answered. "This Charmander needs help fast!"

Nurse Joy looked at Charmander and gasped. "There isn't much time," she said with concern as she took Charmander and rushed to the emergency room.

"I sure hope it's not too late," Ash said worriedly.

"We've done all we can so far. We've just got to wait and trust in Nurse Joy." Naruto told him.

"Right," Ash agreed as the group went over to sit down on the furniture in front of the emergency room.

"Damn that Damian, I should teach him a lesson," Naruto scowled as he clenched his fists but forced himself to relax. He honestly wished he could teach this guy a lesson.

"No Naruto, that little bastard is not worth our time, I hate it just as much as you," Sakura said as she looked around and saw how worried Ash, Brock, and Misty were right now, each one with a lot of fear on their faces. "But let's just focus on Charmander, okay."

What Sakura had said was correct. Damian just wasn't worth it. Ash and the others had no choice but to wait and hope Charmander would get better. "Okay, Sakura-chan."

After several hours of waiting anxiously, Nurse Joy finally stepped out of the Emergency Room. The group didn't waste any time going over to her. "How is Charmander, Nurse Joy?" Brock asked.

Nurse Joy paused but then smiled broadly. "Charmander was able to pull through. It should be just fine by tomorrow morning," she said as she showed the group Charmander, who was sleeping peacefully now.

"That's great!" Ash exclaimed with a smile as he and others looked at Charmander.

An hour later, everyone was getting ready to sleep since they had a stressful day. However, Naruto still felt angry over what had happened to Charmander, and Sakura was sitting next to Naruto.

Everyone was still very tired from earlier, and a yawn came before him, signifying that they needed some sleep if they all wanted to continue their way to Vermillion City in the morning.

The next morning soon as the sun started to rise and shine through the window of the Pokémon Center as Ash, Misty, Sakura and Naruto were all sleeping as they had pink blankets covering their bodies.

"Wake up, everybody!" Brock shouted in a panicked voice as the four woke up and looked at Brock, each one wondering what was going on.

On the other hand, Naruto soon realized why Brock acted like this, as the blonde ninja sighed. "It's Charmander, isn't it?"

Brock only nodded at this with fear; Ash and Misty looked at each other and frowned with sadness at what had happened. "Yeah, its Charmander, he left the ER," Brock said with a frown forming on his face.

It was then that they had all gone to where Nurse Joe had been keeping Charmander; they noticed that the window was open. From what they could tell, it seems Charmander used his head to smash open the window to get out. "Why did he leave like that?" Sakura asked, frowning as she and the others all knew where the fire Pokémon was going.

With the knowledge that Charmander had gone back to the rock to wait for Damien, something that had upset everyone, but there was not much they could do, for Naruto and Sakura, they knew that the Pokémon world was not all that good as they thought it would be. "I wish we could have helped Charmander realize that Damian is a jerk," Naruto said with a sigh as he looked in the direction that Charmander was going.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was not that far ahead, and they knew full well that Ash and the others would be coming this way soon, and the trio of thieves was ready for them, "Jessie are you sure we have what we need I mean with both Ninja twerps, they will just use what they know on us." James said as he looked at the female member of the team.

On the other hand, Jessie and Meowth smiled at this as they looked over to James. "Now, now James, remember what the boss told us?" the red-headed woman said as she smiled.

The trio of thieves had just returned to the Team Rocket base. After losing to the twerps, they knew that Giovanni would not be pleased by all this. "So, you're here then." A Rocket Grunt said with a frown as he looked at the three. "Anyway, the boss wants to see you three, right away."

The trio only nodded at this as they left right away to meet their leader of Team Rocket, as they knew that he wanted to get an update about the two ninjas they had told him about the two ninjas. And before long, they have arrived in Giovanni's office, but he was not there at the moment, but the other high-ranking members of Team Rocket were in the room as well, either standing against one of the walls. "Well, it's about time you three showed up." Professor Sebastian frowned as he looked at the trio with a frown on his face and soon adjusted his glasses.

"He's right, you two are a little late, and we had to come all the way from Johto," Hun said as she looked at the trio while her partner Attila nodded.

"Hey, we've been doing our job just like you. In fact, we've been keeping track of two kids that have strange powers!" Jessie yelled at the gray-haired woman.

Many other members said nothing about what was going on as they didn't care what the trio was doing. After all, Giovanni had called them in for a reason. "Alright, that's enough, all of you!" Dr. Zager yelled with a frown. "We have been called from our duties for a reason, and we just need to wait for the boss to show up."

The other members within the large room nodded as before long, Giovanni game into the room with a few of his most trusted men. As they all saw a blonde girl walking into the room with Giovanni, most knew her as the Black Tulip like the Iron masked Marauder. She, too, was well known. "Well, I'm pleased that you all could make it." Giovanni began with a smile as he soon pressed a button to his private office as they all walked in and took a seat.

"So, why are we here?" The Iron masked Marauder asked as he looked at the other high-ranking members, as they too wanted to know what was going on.

After all, it was rare that Giovanni called them all in like this, and they couldn't help but wonder just what was going on. "Well, now that we're all, I can tell you why I called you all here." Giovanni began as he soon gave a very dark grin, which they all saw and knew that this was something big.

Soon, Giovanni clicked the button as everyone looked at the screen and saw two images of Naruto and Sakura. Some of the members looked over at Giovanni, wondering why he was revealing them, two kids, as a few looked at their leader. "Sir, I hope you don't mind me asking this. Why are we looking at two kids." Tyson asked as he looked over to Giovanni. "I mean, what's so important about them?"

Giovanni could only smile at this as he looked over to Tyson. "Well, I'm glad you asked as its very interesting." he began and showed them what Jessie, James, and Meowth had recorded of their encounters with Naruto.

Once they were all shown the video of the blonde boy making clones and the pink-haired girl walking on water, they were all shocked at this and looked over to Giovanni as they all saw the smile he had on his face. "As you see, the two are far from normal, that is why I have called you all here." He said, looking at them all as each one was in deep thought.

"So you want to capture them, sir," Dr. Zager said with a smile. "I must say, knowing how and what they can do would help us a great deal."

Giovanni merely nodded at them as he smiled and nodded at them all. "Yes, but as you know, you all still have jobs to do and conduct."

The other members all nodded at this as Giovanni smiled. "And if we fail, then I have just the thing we may use to fight them with or at least test them." the leader of Team Rocket began as in the corner a set of blue eyes shined as it had metal armor covering most of it body. "Isn't that right, my friend?" Giovanni asked with a smile as he looked at the Pokémon.

The trio all sighed as they knew it was time to put their plan into motion. "Besides, we have two contraptions that Dr. Nimba and Dr. Zager gave us," Meowth said to the two humans with a smile on his face.

It was then the three got a phone call as the three looked at each other before they answered it. "It's Namba!" He yelled at the three and right in their ears before hanging upon them.

"Anyway we finally have a full proof plan to capture Pikachu and the two kids that the boss wants, I can't wait to test it out on them," Jessie said as she began to smile at her two partners in crime.

Jessie and James looked at each other and smiled as they pulled out a remote with a big blue button and two smaller yellow buttons just below. "Well, let's start it up." They both said as they both pressed the button together.

On the other hand, Meowth just watched as he began to wonder what the machine was going to do. "So what does this thing do anyway?" the cat Pokémon asked as he looked at what it was doing and saw it becoming a drill which soon started to dig its hold in the ground. "Not another, hole driller, we've tried this already!"

"If at first, you don't succeed, then just keep trying. Besides, we also need to trap the three twerps in the hole." Jessie said as she looked down at the cat-like Pokémon.

"Besides Meowth, this time we'll remember were the hole is," James added with a reassuring smile on his face while Meowth only sighed, showing that he was still worried.

With that said, the two humans began to cover the ground with sticks then followed by some dirt and even some grass to blend it all in. "Are you two sure you're going to remember where the hole is this time?" He asked and eyed the two who were getting out one of the next machines.

"Quit your complaining Meowth, I'm sure it's going to work," said James, though they needed to be ready quickly as sooner or later the trainers will be coming this way.

"Besides Meowth, we also have this that all the doctors gave us," Jessie added with a smile looking over to James and Meowth. "Thanks to this."

Ash and co were heading their direction right on cue, and the Rocket trio laughed as they hid behind some bushes nearby. "Wait for it…. Wait for it…" whispered Jessie, watching as Pikachu walked onto the trap to their glee only to see he didn't fall through it. "What the… It's too strong, you used too many branches!"

"Me? You're the one who filled it with too much dirt!" hissed James, not being too happy about being accused of this situation. On the other hand, Meowth wouldn't allow them to get busted and scratched his claws right on their faces.

"Quiet!" he growled at the two as he watched back to see Ash and Co then walked onto the trap apart from Naruto and Sakura, who stopped.

Both Naruto and Sakura saw the road and that something was wrong with the road and stopped before walking onto it, as they looked at each other quickly. "Wait, you guys!" the two ninjas cried.

Nevertheless, it was too late as the three fell into the hole that Team Rocket dug, while after seeing this, Pikachu slowly walked over from the other side to see what had happened and looked down at them. It's then they all heard a burst of laughter, and both Naruto and Sakura had a terrible feeling about who it was. "I can't believe they fell for it," Meowth said as he began to chuckle.

At this point, they looked over and saw that Team Rocket was standing right there, and each one was wearing a rubber suit. "Oh, it's you three again," both ninjas said as they looked at the trio.

"Come with us, Pikachu, you belong to us now," James said as he gave a smile, while Pikachu tried to use a Thundershock on them, yet it did nothing to them, as all it did was make the three evil-doers laugh even more. "Rubber won't conduct electricity."

"Well, it just shows how smart we are. I mean true, this is not really my color, but what can I do," Jessie said, looking at the blue rubber suit that she had on right now.

"Hey, enough of the talking, let's hurry up and get Pikachu!" Meowth yelled at the two humans.

Before they could do this, Naruto and Sakura stepped in front of Pikachu, ready to defend and prevent Team Rocket from taking Pikachu away from Ash. "You're not going to get Pikachu, you loser." Sakura began as she looked over at Naruto as she had a Kunai in her hand. "So, we'll just have to beat you up."

"Got that right, Sakura Chan. As long as we are standing right here, Pikachu will stay safe," Naruto added with a smirk on his face as he looked at the three and gave a large grin at the three trouble makers. "So how about you let Pikachu go before me and Sakura kick your butts."

However, all the two members looked at each other first and then back, and both Naruto and Sakura laughed at the two ninjas. While they were confused about what they were laughing at, the two ninjas, Naruto and Sakura, looked at each other, while Pikachu was confused.

"What so funny, you three?" Sakura asked as she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at the three with a now unimpressed look on her face.

The three just laughed as they soon looked at the two ninjas. "Oh well, nothing much, just that you will both be coming with us, you two," Jessie said as she looked over at Sakura with a smile that she could still clearly see with the rubber suit she was wearing right now.

"Yeah, right, there is no way that we are going with you!" Naruto yelled angrily at the three, knowing what could happen to him and Sakura.

As the trio laughed, they soon pulled out an odd contraption. "What the hell is that thing meant to do anyway?" Sakura asked as she and Naruto looked at it.

Yet both Team Rocket members could only smile at each other. "Oh, you two little kids are about to find out," James said with a smile forming on his face.

Once again, the two ninjas looked at each other. Unsure what the trio was planning or up to, but both knew they needed to be very careful. "You may think that your two are so smart," Jessie began with a smile as he raised that device at the two, who put up their guard. "But, we will get you no matter what."

"Ha, that won't work," Meowth said with a smirk as he then looked at Jessie with a smile. "Okay, Jess fires it on one of them."

Jessie fired the gun like contraption as a pink sticky bubble gum-like substance came out, wrapping around Sakura and trapping her. "No, Sakura!" Naruto cried out as he moved to get the pink stuff off her, yet it started to stick to his own hands. "What the hell is this stuff?" Naruto yelled and the troublesome trio.

Jessie simply looked at Naruto as she smiled at him. "Oh, it's just something that some of the top minds that we at Team Rocket came up with."

"We knew full well that with the skills that you and the girl have, we wouldn't stand a chance, so the top minds came up with this that should trap the two of you from doing a thing to us," James said with a smile.

The only response Naruto gave was a growl as he looked at them. "Well, I won't be so easy!" Naruto yelled at the three. "As I said before, I will never help you!"

Team Rocket only laughed again as they got ready to fire their weapon once again. "And don't bother trying to get free, what your touching now is also meant to be super sticky that it was made, so that you couldn't get free from it," James said as he saw Naruto was trying to pull his hands away.

"See, little boy, you're stuck now, and soon you'll be completely trapped too," Jessie said with a smirk forming on her face.

Jessie fired it once more with a smile as Naruto tried to pull away, but as the trio had said, his hand was stuck, and he, too, found his body trapped. He soon landed right next to Sakura with a hard thud and just looked at her in her green eyes and gave an apologetic look. "Sorry, Sakura…" Naruto said as he tried to get free.

"It's not your fault Naruto just please don't use the damn fox's power," Sakura said as Naruto nodded, knowing the Kyuubi would want that. "Pikachu, you need to run!" Sakura yelled to the little yellow mouse.

"We'll use are anti-Pikachu rubber balloon bazooka," James said as he got the bazooka and aimed it right at Pikachu.

Once they fired the gun, a red balloon soon came out, and Pikachu was doing the best that he could to run away from it, yet it was catching up to him and with Ash Brock and Misty stuck in the hole and Naruto and Sakura trapped and unable to get free. The unfortunate Pokémon could only run away from it, hoping that he could get away from the ball, Pikachu did look up at the red ball and still kept on running, but the balloon was catching up with Pikachu.

Before Pikachu knew it, he had been captured inside the balloon and tried to use a Thundershock to get free, but the balloon is also out of rubber, it did no damage to it, as all team Rocket did was look at the trapped Pikachu and laughed lightly and looked at each other. "Yes, we did it!"

"No, they got Pikachu and Naruto and Sakura as well." Ash cried, hearing that his Pokémon and two friends were in trouble. Ash tried to get out of the hole he was in, yet he kept falling back into the hole every time he tried to climb out. "Come on, guys, we need to help them!" Ash cried out to the two.

"We'd love to Ash, but the thing you're standing on us," Misty said with a sigh and a few grunts of pain as Ash was standing on not only her but also Brock.

However, the three soon heard the laughter of Team Rocket as the three trainers looked up at them and saw Naruto and Sakura tied up in the pink stick goo. "Why hello down there. Thank you so much for dropping in," Jessie said as she looked down at them with a smile.

"Don't worry, your Pikachu and two friends are safe with us," James said with a smile as he held Pikachu in the rubber balloon, to which Pikachu was crying and doing what he could to at least get free from it.

"Well, I think it's time we get out of here," Meowth said with a smile as he looked at the two tied-up ninjas and smiled at them both. "Come on, you two keep moving, and don't think about trying anything funny."

However, just as they turned around, ready to leave, thinking they had won, the three Team Rocket members were stopped as even Naruto and Sakura were shocked as they looked at each other but were also worried. "Charmander?" The two asked as the little fire-type Pokémon looked at the three criminals. And they could tell he was not happy.

Charmander just looked at the three with a scowl as he growled at the three. "Hey, what's the deal with this thing?" Meowth asked as he looked over at the Charmander, wondering what was going on and why it had come here in the first place.

It was then that Charmander began to talk to them as he even pointed at the three, "Ha, it's saying you better give Pikachu back to those guys right now and let the other two humans go free." Meowth said as he translated what Charmander had told to the three.

"It's got to be joking," Meowth said as he looked over to Charmander.

"Now step aside, you insolent little firebug, we haven't got time to play with you," James said as he pushed Naruto and Sakura forward to make them move.

"Team Rocket plays ruff, so get moving," Meowth said, doing his best to put at least some fear into the little fire Pokémon.

On the other hand, Charmander soon closed his eyes before letting out a powerful flamethrower attack at the three, who were shocked by this as the fire soon engulfed the trio, which burnt them to a crisp as they simple dropped Pikachu.

For a while, they both just looked at Charmander; both they ran away from it. "See, didn't I tell you we needed fireproof uniforms!" James cried as he ran away along with his teammates.

"Just shut up and keep running!" Jessie yelled back.

It was then, as the three were running away from Charmander that Damian saw what had happened and was a little shocked by what he had seen. The reason why he was even following Ash and his friends was to get some payback for what Ash and Naruto had done to him last night. "Charmander beat them?"

Back at the ditch, Naruto and Sakura were helping Ash Misty, and Brock got out from the hole, as Brock just looked at Charmander, who had come back.

"See Brock Charmander knew we cared for him, that's why he's here," Misty said as she looked at Charmander with a smile on her face.

"Charmander, how would you like to come with us. I'm afraid your trainer won't be coming back," Ash began as he and the others just smiled at the little fire-type Pokémon.

"Yeah, you'll be better off without that jerk," Naruto said with a massive grin on his face.

Yet before anyone could even talk to the little fire Pokémon, they heard a voice they were all hoping that they wouldn't have to hear again. "Hey, Charmander, been looking all over for ya," Damian said while having a smug look on his face.

"Oh great it's you again, I was hoping that we would never see you again!" Sakura said as she then looked over at Damian with a look of anger on her face at the so-called trainer. All she wanted to do right now was punch the blue-haired boy in the face for putting Charmander's life in danger the way that he did.

"Sakura is right what do you want now?" Naruto asked with a frown, forming knowing that this would not go well at all for them.

"I came back for Charmander like I promised," Damian answered with a smug smile on his face as he looked at Charmander.

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other in shock, knowing that this was not the case and none more so than Naruto as he looked at the trainer in the eyes and knew there was more to why he came this way. Even Charmander was shocked by this as he looked at his former trainer, wondering if this was true, but he knew that he couldn't trust him either.

"Careful this trainer has already abounded you once before," Brock said as he knew that Damian might do this to Charmander again, something he knew none of them was not going to let happen.

"Charmander is my Pokémon I'm the one who caught it, remember?" Damian said before he crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his former Pokémon while still having a smug look formed over his face.

"Damian, you bragged about how you abounded Charmander," Naruto said with more anger in his voice as he tightened his fists. "Even went on to say it would have been better for it to die!"

"Good thing I did, that only toughed him up anyway what's wrong with dumping off a weak Pokémon," Damian said and gave a very light laugh. "I wasn't going to come back for it, but now I've seen what it can do. I'm delighted I ran into you guys."

When Charmander heard this from his former trainer, the little fire Pokémon lowered his head in sadness at hearing this as both Misty and Sakura bent down to comfort the small Pokémon. At the same time, Sakura shot Damian a few glares.

"The best thing is I didn't even have to raise Charmander myself," Damian said, not caring about the hurt look that his former Pokémon now had on his face.

"That's horrible you should be disgusted for saying something like that," Misty said as she just wanted to leave or at least tell someone just how nasty person Damian was; someone like him shouldn't be a trainer.

"Raising a Pokémon is the best part of being a trainer," Brock said as Ash nodded along with Naruto and Sakura, all three of who loved to teach and help their Pokémon grow to be even stronger.

"You wish it's the most boring part of the job," Damian said as he looked at them with a scowl hating what they were saying to him.

"How dare you call yourself a Pokémon trainer?" Ash said with disgust in his voice as he looked at Damian, who didn't even care what the others said about him.

"You see Charmander, he doesn't care about you; he just wants to use you so he can win badges and matches," Misty said as she looked up at the trainer with a frown forming on her face.

"Charmander, return right now!" Damian yelled as he threw the Poké Ball right at Charmander.

However, Charmander just looked at the Poké Ball coming towards him and used his tail to send the Poké Ball back to Damian; this resulted in the Poké Ball hitting the trainer right in the face. It was something that the other humans found very funny since he had it coming for a long time.

"That does it. I'll crush you with every Pokémon I've got!" Damian yelled with anger as he looked over at Charmander and the others, ready to get back at them for what they did. "Besides, I wanted to get back at you for what you did."

Charmander then uses his Flamethrower attack on Damian, but it doesn't stop there as Pikachu uses his Thundershock on Damian, making him scream. However, even when they had finished. They noticed Damian was still standing, very burnt from the two attacks.

Damian wasn't close to finished yet as he looked at the humans with a growl on his face. "I'm not done yet."

"You should give up already," Sakura said with a huff as she and the others didn't want to do this anymore, knowing that he was not worth it.

On the other hand, Damian just looked at Sakura and Misty and snorted at them both. "You know what I don't care what you two bitches think. Besides, it's not like you two a gorgeous or anything, just two worthless girls if you ask me."

Hearing this made Naruto angry and Ash when he heard Damian insult Misty the way he did. "That's it, I will not let you say that to Sakura!" Naruto said as he moved towards Damian along with Sakura as well.

"We'll handle him, Ash," Sakura said with a smile forming on her face as she soon looked at Damian, who was just looking at her and laughing weakly.

"Oh, you think you can fight me girly," Damian said as he closed his eyes and laughed once more, but just as he did so, he felt a fist hit him right in the face and was then soon sent crashing down to the floor. Heck, he even lost a few teeth as well. All Damian did was slowly look up to see who did it.

And he found out that it was none other than the girl who was mocking him. "What was that you were saying about me and my friend Misty?" Sakura asked as she looked down at him with a smirk forming on her face, already wanting to punch him again. "Oh, and just so you know, Damian, that one was for Charmander; the next will be for Misty."

However, Damian was now backing away after he had wet himself in fear at seeing what Sakura was doing, mainly thanks to both ninjas letting out a large amount of killing intent at the horrible trainer. "I think it will be best that you leave now," Naruto said with a scowl as he picked the boy up by his shirt. "And if we ever see you again well next time, I will deal with you, got it!" Naruto said with a growl while his blue eyes went a deep red.

Damian nodded with fear and ran away from them as fast as possible. "Go ahead, Ash…" he heard Brock speak up, encouraging the younger male to take Charmander in. "I'm sure Charmander will be a great Pokémon."

"What? Brock, I…" Ash began as he looked over to his friend with a questioning look, hoping that Brock was alright with Ash getting Charmander.

"He's right, Ash," added Misty, knowing that it's for the best if the raven-haired Ketchum becomes Charmander's new trainer. "After all, you were the one who rescued him during that storm, and also don't worry; I have a feeling he hasn't forgotten that right?"

Remaining silent, the Fire-Type nodded while remembering having heard from Nurse Joy and Chansey that Ash and the others had risked his life to save him from dying the night before, and he was surprised that the trainer tried to capture before had done so just for him. This response was all Ash needed to make his final decision. "Alright, welcome to the group, Charmander!" he said to the newest member of his team as he threw a Poké Ball and watched as the Pokémon went inside it without fighting back.

"Looks like you got a Pokémon and a new friend." smiled the red-haired trainer, glad to see that Charmander had decided to go with them on their journey, and they knew Ash would raise him to be a great Pokémon.

"Well, it seems that they have failed again," Giovanni said as he had watched the events take place on the large screen.

The Team Rocket Leader had observed everything that had happened; this was due to him sending some men to watch the trio.

At the same time, he watched how they dealt with the two ninjas and some cameras looking at what was going on. Giovanni was watching as the three had lost once again. Giovanni was none too pleased by this, but this didn't bother him as he smiled. "Well, then I think it's full time we see what they can truly do," He said as he looked over to the Pokémon hooked up in wires. "Soon, my friend, soon we shall see what they can do." He said as the Pokémon in question eyes went blue while Giovanni just laughed ever so lightly.

A/N well, guys, as you can tell, Mewtwo will be showing up to see just how powerful Naruto and Sakura are; remember, this is still part one of Naruto and Sakura right now. And I have to say doing that to Damian felt so good, but I think I let him get off lightly after the shit this prick pulled on Charmander. Tell me if he should have got it worse, and remember, Naruto and Sakura won't kill him, but they will kill darker people later on and only if needed.

Anyway, many asked for a list of the Pokémon that our heroes are getting. So, below are all the Pokémon that they have captured so far. Remember to ask if you want them to get more Pokémon, and they will get them. Until next time, please leave me a review, and more changes are starting to happen now. Anyway, please leave a review and what Pokémon one of the five should get, and yes, May will show up as well but won't join till Hoenn.

Ash's Pokémon

Pikachu, Butterfree Pidgeotto Bulbasaur Charmander

Brock's Pokémon

Onix Zubat Geodude

Misty's Pokémon

Goldeen Staryu Starmie Clefairy

Naruto's Pokémon

Eevee Beedrill Spearow

Sakura's Pokémon

Pidgey Oddish Butterfree (female)

Update note: I fixed this chapter on 18/01/22