Naruto X Pokémon Cross-over
Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto or Pokemon
Summary: Death and Rebirth... Naruto Uzumaki, age thirteen, died by the hands of the one he once called 'Brother', Sasuke Uchiha. Upon his death however, two gods - Kami and Arceus - had other plans for the Child of Prophecy. Now reborn in the World of Pokemon, how will his new chance at life change with the Vulpix, Kurama, by his side? Read and Find out!
Pairings: NarutoXUndecided (?)
Naruto: "The Aura Shinobi"
Chapter 6
"New Starts and Farewells"
O-O-O
Last Time on Naruto: "The Aura Shinobi"
As the gurney crashed against the bicycle, the slumbering Pikachu twitched at the sudden noise and shake. A bleary brown eye fluttered open, as Pikachu awoke from his rest, "Pika…?"
O-O-O
Location – Kanto Region, Viridian City
Pokémon Centre, Lobby
Staring upwards, Naruto watched as the night's darkness was slowly ebbed away by the breaking of dawn. Of course, he had to get his mind around one important fact. He was still inside the Pokémon Centre, and he was currently looking through a hole that went through the roof of the centre.
The hole was large, slightly smoking, and went through from the Lobby to Roof. It was large enough to let at least ten people through it at once. And the cause of this humongous hole you might ask…
"How in the name of all that is Holy in this world, did you do that?" Naruto asked, as he turned to voice the question towards the shockingly – no-pun intended – recovered Pikachu.
Standing on-top of the reception desk, still covered with a few wraps and bandages, Pikachu was just as equally puzzled as Naruto, and merely gave the blonde trainer a shrug of his small shoulders as an answer. All Pikachu knew was that as soon as he had awoken from his slumber, he instinctively knew that Ash was in trouble, and that he needed to help.
Sitting comfortably on the desk, Kurama was also surveying the damage done by Pikachu and his powered-up electrical attack. Shaking his head, he gave the electric Pokémon a mock-pitying look, "I can just tell; you and Ash are going to have fun with those three idiots in the unforeseeable future, rodent." Kurama said, earning him-self a glare from the yellow mouse Pokémon.
"ASHTON KETCHUM…!" A loud female voice shouted, clearly heard throughout the Pokémon Centre, and one Naruto and Kurama knew who it belonged to instantly, "WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME WERE YOU THINKING YOUNG MAN!?"
Naruto chuckled as he saw Pikachu's entire expression go from moderately relaxed, to extremely frightened in half a second. "You know…" Leaning close to the frightened Pokémon, "That was our mother. The one you shocked before we left Pallet Town." He grinned.
Kurama snickered, watching as Pikachu froze upon hearing that, and looking at Naruto with a wide-eyed, jaw-dropped expression. It only took the electric Pokémon a few seconds to realise the full complications he might have caused for him-self, especially when Delia had picked him up back at Pallet Town. Not to mention all those other humans he shocked, due to close proximity.
With his fun done, Naruto left the petrified Pikachu and snickering Vulpix, and went off to save his brother from their mother's wrath. No doubt Ash had finally gotten the courage to call their mother after two days on the road. Of course, he had no excuse for not calling her sooner either. But given their situation, and what just happened not that long ago, he really didn't even have time to make a call back home either. So they were both in trouble, now that he thought about it.
As he made his way to where the public video-phones were located, Naruto had time to think back to how everything ended with their confrontation of Team Rocket.
Naruto had kept Jessie and James occupied, neither one having been properly trained as he was in actual hand-to-hand confrontation. Something he was going to thank his mother dearly. Kurama also made sure neither Rocket could pass him without getting burned in the process. But that all changed though, when a stampede of Pikachus – the ones that powered the back-up generator – literally ran over them, out of the door, and towards where they all knew was the lobby was located.
Naruto and Kurama had been pre-occupied trying not to get trampled by the small army of electric Pokémon, while Jessie and James took the chance to finally escape. When Naruto and Kurama were finally able to follow after the criminal pair, the two had arrived just in time to see Team Rocket and their Pokémon blasting away from a large explosion. Which Naruto learned later on, was a result of Ash's recovered Pikachu's electrical attack, mixing in and setting off Koffing's poisonous gas.
This led to the large hole being created through the roof. Both Ketchum brothers were grateful that Nurse Joy wasn't going to ask for compensation in damages, since they did help keep Team Rocket from stealing the entire centre's recovering Pokémon patients.
"You promised me, that you were not going to get into any kinds of trouble! What does getting in a fight with TEAM ROCKET mean to you!? To you WANT me to have a heart attack! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have Officer Jenny there, bring you back home!"
"Now ma'am, I may not be in your position as a concerned mother, but your sons are heroes. They not only helped defend and protect my good friend Joy, but also numerous injured Pokémon from a criminal organisation." Officer Jenny, the voice of reason in this confrontation between Parent and Child, tried to quell the raging mother over the phone.
After having received the emergency signal via the silent alarm systems within the Centre, Officer Jenny had rushed as fast as she could to provide help. By the time she arrived though, she watched as the criminal team were sent flying off into the night. Now she was running damage control, and by the request of Nurse Joy, she volunteered to speak with the mother of Viridian City's defenders.
Delia's glare redirected itself from her son, who sighed in relief, towards Officer Jenny, who recoiled slightly from the over-protective mother's look.
"Be that as it may, getting into a fight with Team Rocket was not part of my agreement in letting my boys go out on their journey." Delia's glare went straight back onto Ash, not letting the boy out of her sight for a second, "Speaking of which, where is your brother?"
"Present and accounted for, mom." Naruto spoke out, making his presence known.
He arrived to the amusing sight of his brother cowering as best he could in-front of their mother's image over the screen, while Officer Jenny wasn't too far behind. He knew very well the fury their mother could unleash. They should count themselves lucky her anger was towards Team Rocket.
As Naruto stepped into view, Delia's calculating gaze looked over her second son. This lasted for a minute or two, before Delia nodded to her-self. "You used your training, didn't you?" She asked, seeing how Naruto appeared the less ruffled of her two baby boys.
"Yep," Naruto replied with a grin, "And thanks by the way for signing me up for those classes."
Delia nodded in approval, "Glad to see how well that worked out. Now that you're here…" She gave a stern look towards Ash, "Maybe you can properly explain what happened." What followed next was an hour long tale of Naruto and Ash's first encounter with the infamous Team Rocket.
O-O-O -Break- O-O-O
Time-Skip
Sitting on the steps outside the Viridian Pokémon Centre, Naruto looked down at the shrunken Poké Ball that was in his hand, belonging to the newest and youngest addition to his team, Eevee. He still hadn't figured out if he was going to name the small fox-like Pokémon or not. It was easy for Kurama, but that might be as a result of knowing him for numerous years.
'Maybe I'm just over-thinking this…' With a sigh, he hooked the shrunken Poké Ball onto his standard Trainer's Belt – a belt that allowed Trainers to easily carry a number of Poké Balls at once – while he absentmindedly scratched the resting Vulpix by his side.
Right now, Naruto was simply thinking over on what to do. After the whole fiasco with Team Rocket, then the questioning from Officer Jenny for her report, Nurse Joy took it upon her-self to offer a free registration for the Kanto's Pokémon League Regional Championshipsas a reward for the brothers.
Both had been surprised that it was happening later this year, as neither one actually kept track on its official date.
The Indigo League, as it was called, happened to be the regional Pokémon League of the Kanto, and is held every four years (Quadrennial) at the Indigo Plateau Conference. It consisted of a network of Gyms and the Elite Four. To actually participate in this tournament, Trainers were required to earn themselves a minimum of eight Gym Badges from sanctioned Indigo League Gyms around Kanto.
"So this is where you were." Naruto looked up to see Misty standing behind him. Moving around the sitting blonde, the tomboyish girl sat down next to him with a huff, "You're brother is taking forever to register. Always asking questions about 'League-this' and 'League-that'." Shaking her head, "That brother of yours has a one track mind, there's no doubt about it."
Naruto chuckled lightly, shaking his head along with Misty. Sitting up straight, "I know what you mean." He said with a small smile on his face, "But being a Pokémon Master has always been Ash's dream. I'm actually not surprised that he's asking poor Nurse Joy all those questions." He admitted with a chuckle. He could only imagine what the poor Nurse was going through at this moment.
Misty just shook her head with a giggle, "I don't know whether that could be good or bad."
"You don't know the half of it…" Naruto muttered as he looked away.
Naruto had nothing against how singularly-focused Ash's mind worked. But no matter how hard he tried to convince his brother to think upon the larger picture, just in-case he wasn't able to achieve his dream in becoming a Pokémon Master, Ash stuck to his dream. He was quite persistent in that.
…
"I'm going to be Hokage one day, and there's nothing you can say to change my mind!"
…
Wincing as a short stabbing sensation went through his head, Naruto rubbed his forehead to ease the pain. 'Damn headaches…' Mentally cursing, he sighed as he leaned backwards onto the concrete pavement. It might be comfortable, but at least he could rest a little while.
"So, what will we do now?" Misty inquired, following in Naruto's example as she rested back on her elbows. It was times like this, where she could simply lay back and relax, that Misty enjoyed most.
Naruto turned to look at her with a raised brow in question. "We…?" He chuckled as he shook his head, "Sorry, but there's no 'we' to speak about." Pushing him-self to stand, he woke Kurama up with a nudge from his foot.
Now it was Misty's turn to look at Naruto in question, "What do you mean…?"
With a sigh, he looked at the tomboyish girl; "You're going to stay with Ash, to make him pay you back for that bike, aren't you?" She blinked, but nodded. Naruto nodded, "Thought so. As for what I meant before, it's very simple…" He grinned, "We're going our separate ways."
Misty shot up, sitting straight, eyes widened at what she heard. "What! Aren't you going to stay with your brother?" She asked, confused by this turn of events.
Naruto merely chuckled, but shook his head, "Nah. Little brother needs to learn to do things on his own. If I went with him, he'll never step out of my shadow." Misty's eyes softened hearing that, and it was something Naruto took notice quickly, "I take it, you understand…?"
Sighing, Misty nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I do." She started, "I'm actually the youngest of four sisters, but my older sisters are talented at what they do." Her expression switched from a defeated-look, to something akin to determination. "That is why I left home." She admitted, "I wanted to be known as something other than just the 'Runt' of the family."
"They over-shadow you?" Naruto questioned knowingly.
Misty cringed, but relented with a stiff nod. "They do…" She slowly admitted, though it came out like she had tasted something foul. It was hard for her to admit that fact, but it was unfortunately true.
Naruto stayed quiet, looking at Misty in a new light. She was just a girl, over-shadowed by her sisters, and labelled something she did not want to be known as. So she set out into the world, all in hopes in earning her-self some recognition. He could understand that, and he could respect that.
"It takes a lot of guts to do what you did…" Misty looked up at him, a little surprised at the praise he gave her, but gave him a grateful smile. "I can understand where you're coming from, given my case with Ash and everything. But it sounds like your sisters won't give you the chance I'm giving Ash." He gave her a smile of his own. With a two-fingered salute, he began walking away with Kurama by his feet, "Catch you later Mists. Take care of my squirt of a brother, ya hear?"
Misty scoffed, as she waved at the elder Ketchum, "Sure, give me the hard job."
Naruto laughed at the response. Skipping off the last step, he and Kurama made their way into the city. It was a new day, and Naruto was looking forward to seeing how the future played out. Not just for him, but for his little brother too.
'Good luck, little brother...' Naruto glanced behind him, looking at the Pokémon Centre.
O-O-O -Break- O-O-O
Location – Shopping District, Poké Mart
Time-skip
"Thank you sir, come again!" A male voice spoke out, as Naruto stepped out of the local Poké Mark store with his purchased item in hand.
Waving thanks to the clerk behind the counter, Naruto kept his eyes on the thin package in his hand, flipping it over as he read the details on the back. "A set of five stickers for every type, and doubles of every letter of the alphabet, and from numbers Zero to Nine, not bad." The blonde mused.
"Finally…!" Kurama snorted, seeing his trainer stepping out of the store, before following him in step.
Due to store policies, the small, uniquely coloured Vulpix had to stay outside. This unfortunately, at least for Kurama, brought a lot of unwanted attention onto him. He was somewhat grateful for the parents of overly-affectionate children, as they realised just by looking at him that he preferred not to be touched by hyper-energetic, dirt-covered kids. He had nothing against children, per-say, but he preferred to keep his prized, wonderful fur as clean as possible.
"Ah, sorry there buddy. Store rules and all that..." Naruto apologised, bending down to give a scratch behind Kurama's ears, which inevitably rewarded the blonde with a purr from his Vulpix companion.
Though Kurama, as stubborn as ever, would refuse acknowledging in ever doing any such action.
Slinging his backpack over to his front, Naruto placed his purchased item inside. "There, now I can worry about that later." Looking up, he quickly took note of the sun's position, "Looks to be around noon by now." Gazing down at his partner, "What's say we head for lunch somewhere?"
Kurama's eyes brightened at the question, "Fo~od! Oh thank the heavens you remembered! I haven't eaten since yesterday, no thanks to that team of idiots."
Even with the language barrier between them, Naruto chuckled at seeing how excited Kurama got at the mention of food. And frankly speaking, so was he.
Seeming to put on a regal posture, and with an energetic point of his paw, Kurama directed Naruto forward, "March my fateful servant, and let us find us a feast worthy of my attention!"
Rolling his eyes at Kurama's actions, Naruto made his way towards a Café he remembered seeing yesterday when he came to the city. He didn't even react much when Kurama climbed up his legs, clawed on the back of his jacket, and landed with a lazy plop on his left shoulder.
Giving his grinning Vulpix a look, he sometimes wondered about his Pokémon. There were times he believed Kurama wanted to beat the ever-living heck out of him, and then there were days he acted as if he would disappear and won't leave his side for days on end.
O-O-O -Break- O-O-O
Location – Viridian City Café: "The Candyland Café"
Sitting at a table outside one of Viridian's local Café's, Naruto was busy going through his Pokédex.
The café itself was a small establishment that surprisingly made sweets for not only humans, but for Pokémon too. As for Naruto's Pokémon themselves, they were both sitting on-top of the table, and busily enjoying their meals that their trainer had bought for them.
Kurama was enjoying a dry-snack, smothered with spicy chilli sauce. It was something Naruto knew the vulpine Pokémon enjoyed, being a Fire Type and all. While Eevee on the other-hand, apparently had a sweet-tooth, given that her food was covered with honey, while making it moist as well.
With his own food settling in his stomach, Naruto took time to go through his Pokédex to learn more about his only two companions. He was impressed with Kurama's information. But given how old his partner was, and how long he had him for, it wasn't all that surprising. In truth, he was considering taking Kurama up to the next level. But that was an idea he needed to think carefully, since once it's done, it can never be undone. It was also very expensive, if he remembered correctly.
Eevee on the other-hand however, had low stats and skill-sets. He knew that his newest companion was young, so he was prepared for what he saw. Looking at the obliviously happy Eevee, he reached out to rub the affectionate Pokémon's head, "Guess we got some basic training to put you through."
Eevee looked up at her new trainer, tilting her head cutely as she did so, "Vee?"
'What am I going to do now?' Naruto mentally questioned him-self. Leaning back onto his chair, he looked up towards the sky, 'I know I said Ash needed to get out of my shadow, God knows how long he's been following me all these years. But without him, this journey's going to be very quiet.'
Despite Ash's constant protests that they were both equal, he had always looked up to Naruto as the older of the two. It only got harder though, when Naruto started achieving things Ash never could do, or lacked the motivation. This included becoming Professor Oak's unofficial assistant, and then when he graduated in the top-rank in his Self Defence classes.
In the last few years, Naruto had obviously seen how large his shadow had become, and he worried greatly that Ash would feel in someway resentful towards him. Luckily that wasn't the case, and to the relief of Naruto, it worked to help motivate Ash to pursue in his own dreams.
Memories of Ash's triumphant battle – if you could call it that – over Team Rocket, brought a small smile to Naruto's face. 'Oh well, so long as he starts taking his own steps, I'm happy...' He promised their mother that he'd take care of Ash, and take care of him he would. Even if he wasn't technically joining Ash on his journey, he'd still watch over his little brother.
"Excuse me sir, will there be anything else?" One of the Café's waitresses asked, as she stood next to the table with a notebook and pencil in hand.
The young woman appeared to be in her early twenties, with short-cut brown hair, brown eyes, and wearing a custom-made maid outfit. The outfit itself was designed to look like one of the many cute Pokémon in the world. Ironically enough, this waitress' outfit happened to take on the appearance of an Eevee, with its light brown and white colours.
Momentarily surprised by the sudden appearance of the waitress, Naruto merely smiled up to the young worker. "Ah, no thanks, I'm good. Plus…" Motioning towards his happily munching Pokémon-duo, "I think they're still content with what they have. Thank you though."
Looking at the two Pokémon, the waitress giggled as she reached out and patted Naruto's Eevee on the head. "I see, very well then." Removing her hand, she gave a small bow towards Naruto, "If there is nothing else, I just wanted to remind you that we'll be closing in half-an-hour. We will re-open two hours later, at five in the afternoon, for the evening meals and specials." She straightened up.
Nodding his thanks, Naruto watched as the waitress walked back into the café. 'Damn, that's good customer service right there. So it's nearly three? Wasn't keeping track of the time, my mind is really not screwed on today.' Reaching down under his seat, Naruto pulled up his backpack, 'Guess I need to finish up my business here, before heading off to the nearest Gym.'
Placing the backpack on his lap, Naruto opened it before searching through inside. It didn't take long before he pulled out a "Kanto Region, Guidebook", a farewell gift that Delia had bought for her two sons. Flicking it open, he went over the many pages the small guidebook held.
'Alright, let's see. The nearest Gym happens to be located at Pewter City, the Stone Gray City. That's a strange title for a city. Wonder what Viridian was given…' He flicked back a few pages, 'Eternally Green Paradise, stranger name, and one of the few places to hold a higher-ranked Gym.' Snapping the book closed, Naruto tossed it back into his backpack, 'Which also happens to be closed, lame!'
It was one thing to see Pokémon Battles on television, but it was a new experience to view it live. He was actually hoping to see if the Gym was hosting any battles today, so that he might get an idea of what to expect when he returned for its Badge. However, when Naruto went earlier today, he found a sign informing would-be-challengers that the Gym was closed for renovations. There was nothing being done outside, so Naruto guessed it was inside that was being renovated.
Leaning back on his chair, Naruto looked up in thought, 'So from here to Pewter, that's about two, possibly three days worth of travelling by foot. Need to pass Viridian Forest though…' A small smirk came upon his face, 'Which is home to tons of Bug Type, and some Flying Type Pokémon as well; a perfect chance to build my team further.' With a plan set in his mind, Naruto merely waited on his two Pokémon partners to finish their meal.
What Naruto didn't know, was that Kurama kept shooting glances up at him. A small smirk on the vulpine Pokémon's muzzle, as Kurama counted down in his head, 'Three… Two… One…'
Naruto bolted straight on his chair, "Shit, I forgot to call the Old Man!" He yelled out, which might not have been the smartest thing to do. He was given dirty looks from numerous people around him, especially from the mothers who were with their children.
Sheepishly rubbing his head, he quickly stood and bowed, apologising to everyone. His mother had taught him manners, and by the will-of-God, as well as the wrath-of-a-mother, he was using them.
Kurama's smirk remained strong, as he quickly feasted away on his spicy meal, 'You haven't changed a bit, Naruto…'
O-O-O -Break- O-O-O
Location – Pokémon Centre
Looking at the tomboyish orange-haired girl in-front of him, Ash kept looking at her as if he didn't understand the words that came out of her mouth. "He said what…?" He finally questioned her. Of course, he knew what Misty said, but he just wanted to be sure he heard right.
Misty rolled her eyes. Since Naruto left, she had been sitting upon the steps outside of the Pokémon Centre, waiting for the black-haired Ketchum to finally come out. Only, when the boy finally did after half an hour or so, the first thing he asked was where his brother was. So she explained to Ash what Naruto had said and decided to do.
"Don't know how many times I'll have to repeat myself," She muttered, before she answered, "Your brother has decided to head on out alone." She stated firmly, making sure Ash was paying attention to her. Pointing a finger at him, "He wanted to give you a chance to step out of his shadow. That is something in which you should be very grateful for, I might add. Not many older siblings do that for their younger ones, you know" She said, almost wishfully.
"I see…" Ash turned his head to the right, looking at an equally stunned Pikachu that was standing comfortably on the boy's shoulder.
Pikachu merely shrugged to his trainer, unsure of this new development. But he wasn't going to say or complain about this, since that meant that crazy fox wasn't going to be around.
In some ways, Ash could understand Naruto's motives. He was actually happy that he was given this chance. That joy deemed a little though, at the fact he would not be doing his journey along-side his brother. It did leave Ash feeling a sense of excitement though, since they were now clueless on the team they would both eventually build. Just thinking about that, was making Ash itch for a battle.
Misty kept silent, waiting for Ash's mind to finally – and hopefully – register what she said. She was not one to repeat her-self, due her tomboy-ish nature, but she could see that this was not what Ash had seen coming. So if she had to repeat her-self for him to understand and accept, then she can at least be somewhat patient with Ash.
"So what will you do?" Ash asked, catching the girl off-guard by the question itself.
Looking off to the side, Misty's mind played back to Naruto's final words to her before he left, asking her to look after his brother. In all truth to the matter, she had no obligation to do that, other than to wait until Ash finally paid back for her bike he had fried. But on the other hand, this might have been the chance she'd been looking for. A way to make something of her-self, and finally move out of her own elder sisters' shadows, just like how Naruto wants Ash to step out of his.
"Guess I'll be joining you on your journey." Misty finally said, looking back at the stunned younger Ketchum. Eyes hardening as she narrowed them, she poked the boy on the chest, "But don't forget Ketchum, you owe me a new bike, and I'll make sure you'll pay for it sooner or later." She affirmed, before turning around and walking down the steps towards the streets of Viridian City.
Ash blinked as he watched Misty walk away. Turning to look at his partner, Pikachu was equally confused by this turn of events. It seemed as if they traded one travelling companion, for another already. "Any idea on what just happened, buddy?" The boy asked his Pokémon companion.
Pikachu slowly turned to give his trainer a deadpanned look. With nothing left to say, Ash – with Pikachu still sitting comfortably on his shoulder – went off after Misty. She may not have been his brother, but any company during his journey, was well welcomed in his opinion.
O-O-O -Break- O-O-O
Time-skip
"Damnit, damnit, damnit…!" Smacking his forehead for what seemed like the hundredth time, Naruto made his way through Viridian's many streets with Kurama trotting beside his feet.
After his two Pokémon had finished their meals, Naruto left the café, searching the city for a public video-phone booth. But try as he might, he wasn't having much luck. It wasn't to say he couldn't find one. On the contrary, he found well over a dozen. But for some reason, each booth was offline. Each one gave the same recording, that there were "Technical Difficulties", whatever that meant.
"Well, well…" A very familiar voice called out, halting Naruto and Kurama on their spot. Turning their heads around, both trainer and Pokémon spotted the owner of the familiar voice. Stepping up to the pair, Gary Oak laughed loudly as he padded Naruto on the back, "If it isn't my rival, him-self. Good to see you, Naruto!" He said, almost arrogantly as if being a rival was some kind of honour.
Gary Oak was about Naruto's height, with auburn coloured hair and black eyes. He was wearing dark brown shoes, long, dark coloured jeans that were tucked into his shoes, a light lavender shirt, and a darker lavender coloured leather jacket over it. Adoring around his neck, and in public display over his chest, was Gary's ever-present green and yellow coloured "Ying-Yang" necklace.
He also happened to be Professor Samuel Oak's grandson, while also being the younger brother to the ever elusive Daisy Oak, who Naruto had a slight crush on. A secret he never told a soul about, though his mother had somehow found out, but respected his wishes in keeping it a secret.
Naruto took a quick looking glance down at Gary's waist, and immediately noticed three Poké Balls hooked on his Trainer's Belt. His eyes were only there for a split second, before they went back to Gary's face. Nodding politely at the grandson of his mentor, "Gary…"
If it was possible, Gary's smirk grew. "So, my dear Rival of mine…" Looking around, Gary gained an amused look, "Dumped that idiot of a brother of yours, eh? About time, Ashy-boy was going to hold you back, you know." He stated, even using that annoying nickname that Ash loathed so vehemently.
Naruto's eye twitched, but kept his composure. He was quite protective over his brother, and that nickname didn't help. Kurama however showed no restriction, and growled quite loudly at Gary.
Jumping back in surprise, Gary looked down before he chuckled lightly at seeing Naruto's uniquely coloured Vulpix, Kurama. "Oh…" He said, almost disappointedly, and a little bit scared, "You're here too, Kurama." Gary was never on good-terms with the sadistic Vulpix, and he never knew why.
Bending down, Naruto picked Kurama up in his arms, and gently stroked the Vulpix's fur to calm him down. The effect was instant, as Kurama began purring lightly at how he was being pampered.
With his Fire Type now under control, Naruto looked at the now composed Gary Oak, "I would have figured you'd be at Pewter City by now. Didn't you leave Pallet Town in a car, Gary?" He questioned, actually remembering what his mother had told him before leaving home.
Apparently, the young Oak boy had left in a red sports car – not driving it, of course – filled to the brim with his cheerleading fan-club.
Naruto internally shuddered at the thought of those girls. They were somehow scarier than Ghost Type Pokémon, and Naruto was utterly terrified of those kinds of Pokémon. He didn't know why though, since he never actually seen a Ghost Pokémon before. Maybe he was just superstitious.
Gary grinned, "Ah, that…" Looking to the side, he rubbed the underside of his nose, "I decided to let the girls go ahead of me for the time being. They're waiting for me at the edge of town, since I still got business to do here…" He trailed off, giving Naruto a side-glance.
Naruto noticed the look, and gave the young Oak a quirked brow. "I take it whatever this business is, has to do with me, doesn't it?" He dreaded to ask, though he unfortunately knew the answer already.
Gary laughed, "This is why you're the only one worthy of being my rival. You are always connecting things before others, and as they always say – "Great minds think alike" – right?"
Sighing, Naruto pinched his nose to stave-off the headache that was Gary Oak. Naruto never once agreed to be Gary's so-called rival. Yet the boy was stubborn as a damn Tauros, and that particular Pokémon, happened to be extremely stubborn in nature. "What is it you wanted, Gary?" He almost regretted asking that when he saw Gary grinning. That was never a good sign.
With his right hand, Gary reached down to his belt, and pulled out his first Poké Ball. Enlarging it in his hand, he held it out towards Naruto. "I, Gary Oak, challenge you, Naruto Ketchum, to a Pokémon Battle!" He proclaimed, gaining the attention of numerous people around them.
Naruto and Kurama blinked in unison, getting Gary to sweatdrop lightly at how synched the two of them were. It got creepier as he watched both trainer and Pokémon tilt their heads to look at each other. What came next though, almost made Gary regret challenging the blonde, as both Naruto and Kurama gained a feral-like grin, and looked back at Gary with their grins still in place.
Letting Kurama go, as the small Vulpix landed on the ground in a battle-ready stance, Naruto fisted his hand and punched it in the air towards Gary, "So you finally got the courage to challenge me now, huh? Alright Gary, you're on!"
Gary smirked, taking a few steps back as he readied his Poké Ball for tossing, "I've been waiting for this day, for years."
Having saved Viridian City's Pokémon Centre from the notorious Team Rocket – though it was mostly thanks to Pikachu's intervention – Naruto and Ash have now split. Leaving his brother in the care of Misty, Naruto went off on his own. How will this decision affect the two brothers on their respective journeys? And how will Naruto fare against his meeting, and subsequent challenge of Gary Oak?
Find out Next Time in Naruto: 'The Aura Shinobi' – "Fire and Water, Goodbye Viridian!"
Chapter 6 End
