Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating for a long time now. I'm now done with my final exams, and my freshman year! I'm going to be a sophomore now! Yays! Enjoy this chapter! I tried to make this chapter longer than my usual ones, since I haven't updated for a while now. =)

Run In With The Hyuugas

"Hey, have any of you seen TenTen?" inquired Sakura, finalizing realizing that their Chinese friend weren't with them.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her since her weapons got eaten by Aron," replied Naruto.

"The last time I saw her was when she was running somewhere and yelling something along the lines of 'How dare you eat my precious weapons! They were a gift from someone important! I'll hunt you down if it's the last thing I do!' Yeah, she said something like that," explained Ino.

Meanwhile, with TenTen…

"What kind of devil would do something like this? I'm going to hunt you down, you crook! Those were my most prized possessions! A long time friend gave it to me for beating him in battle! That happens once in a lifetime! I'll KILL whoever it was!" ranted TenTen, scourging the forest for the criminal.

Back to the large group

"Hm, I thought I heard something. Must be the wind," thought Sasuke.

"Ah, we're here! Mauville City! Ino, race you there!" challenged Sakura. The rosette and the blond dashed towards the city, leaving the boys behind.

"Man, how much more troublesome can women get?" Shikamaru asked himself. He yawned and lazily walked to Mauville.

"Come on, Shikamaru! Aren't you the least bit excited? I am! Look out Kakashi-sensei, 'cuz the Dynamo badge is gonna be mine!" cheered Naruto. Sasuke muttered, "Idiot" and walked away from him.

"Hey, teme! Wait up!" shouted Naruto, running after Sasuke. Shikamaru and Chouji both walked really slowly towards the city, not giving a care in the world.

"Ha! I got to the center first, Billboard Brow," taunted a panting Ino.

"No way! My foot stepped in a second faster than yours," replied an equally tired Sakura.

"Whatever! Let's get some rest and wait for the guys. I'm pretty sure Shikamaru and Chouji are going to take their time. It's going to take a while for them to get here," muttered Ino.

"I'm sure Naruto's running towards the Pokemon Center right now. He may even be competing with Sasuke-kun," Sakura thought out loud.

"Hey, Sakura, you know that there's a Pokemon Breeding Center in Mauville, right?" asked Ino. Sakura gave a small nod. "Then why don't we visit it when the guys get here? It'll be good experience. We'll get to see how the Pokemon are taken care of." Sakura nodded in agreement.

The doors of the Pokemon Center, then, swung open, revealing a panting Naruto. "I got h-here first, Sasuke-teme!" he half panted, half shouted.

Sasuke calmly walked up beside Naruto. "You idiot. I wasn't even running," he replied. The Uchiha casually strode in the room. Naruto was leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath. Once the four of them sat down somewhere, Naruto started babbling on how he caught the Aron and how it was a tough battle. Sakura and Ino listened half-heartedly while Sasuke paid no attention to the babbling blond.

The center doors swung open again, to reveal a yawning Shikamaru, and Chouji munching on a new bag of chips. Ino stomped towards them and yelled, "You two always take your time doing something! Why can't both of you speed up for once?"

"I can't. It's too troublesome for me," replied Shikamaru, nonchalantly.

"Geez, fine. Okay, now that we're all here and rested, let's head off to the breeding center!" declared Ino. Shikamaru started to object, but the young girl was already walking off.

"What a drag. She's too enthusiastic for her own good," commented Shikamaru.

"Well, Ino's Ino. We can't really change her. Let's go, guys!" said Sakura, following Ino. The four guys followed the girls to the breeding center as well.

Once they reached the center, the first thing that caught the two young girls' eyes were the number of Pokemon eggs neatly arranged on shelves. Sakura and Ino both walked in a daze towards the shelves and examined the Pokemon eggs.

"Well, thank you leaving you Pokemon in our hands again, Hyuuga-sama," said a man's voice.

"I'm so sorry, Neji. Really. I didn't even know a Pokemon could do something like eat iron. I really loved the kunais you gave me," followed a feminine voice. Sakura's ears perked up, as well as Naruto's. Both of them turned to the direction of the voice to see—

"TenTen!" shouted Sakura and Naruto, simultaneously. The Chinese brunette looked up and smiled. "Hey guys," she greeted.

"You weren't with us when we got here," stated Naruto.

"Well, yeah, but I had to come here anyway. I had to meet a good friend of mine," replied TenTen.

"I see. And he's the gym leader of Mosdeep, right?" asked Sakura.

"Right. Him and his younger cousin. I'll introduce you to them once they come out," offered TenTen.

Right on cue, two young people emerged from the other side of the room. One of them had a proud atmosphere surrounding him while the other had an insecure air crowding around her. The young boy had long brown hair tied in a low ponytail while the young girl had short purple hair. One trait that really stood out was that they both had eyes like pearls.

"Hey, Neji, Hinata, these are some of the friends I've made while coming to Mauville," said TenTen. Neji seemed uninterested while Hinata started twiddling her fingers and blushing. The Chinese brunette introduced each of them to the two Hyuugas, and they all shook hands. Neji and Sasuke exchanged glares instead of a handshake.

"It feels like the tension's suddenly gotten unbearable," joked TenTen, pretending to loosen her collar. She quickly backed away when the two prodigies glared at her instead. "Are you guys here to pick up your Gallade and Kirlia?" asked TenTen, changing the subject.

On cue, Hinata's Pokeball opened and a enthusiastic Kirlia leaped out. She did a little twirl, spotted Hinata, and hugged her tightly. "Looks like your Kirlia really loves you," said Naruto, flashing Hinata his grin.

"Um, Kirlia and I h-have been together s-since I was e-eight," replied Hinata.

"Aren't you going to evolve her into a Gardevoir or Gallade?" asked Sakura.

"W-Well, Kirlia isn't very f-fond of evolving yet, s-so, I'm letting her choose to evolve or not," answered Hinata.

"Your Kirlia looks like it was well raised," commented Sasuke, getting closer to Kirlia to examine her. Sakura switched on her Pokedex and got some information on Kirlia.

Kirlia, the Emotion Pokemon. It is said that a Kirlia that is exposed to the positive emotions of its trainer grows beautiful. This Pokemon controls psychokinetic powers with its highly developed brain.

"Your Kirlia's beautiful! You must be a very optimistic person, Hinata," praised Sakura. Hinata blushed lightly at Sakura's compliment.

"Thank you," whispered Hinata.

"Neji, show them your Gallade," pleaded TenTen. Neji sighed, but released his Pokemon anyway. A strong, but stoic looking Gallade materialized in front of them.

"I'll admit, you have a really strong looking Gallade," complimented Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura's jaws dropped. Sasuke was never a person to compliment a person's Pokemon just by looking at their traits. Naruto suddenly got more determined to train his team. Neji seems like a really strong opponent.

The teens were interrupted by the owner of the Day Care. "Kids, why don't you come on back and let your Pokemon run wild there? There're a lot more Pokemon at the back. Let them relax there," suggested the old man.

"Well, I think my Pokemon needs some fun time. Sakura, you in?" asked Ino. The rosette nodded and the two friends raced to the back.

"Neji, aren't you coming?" asked TenTen.

Neji scoffed and said, "I'd rather be training, TenTen. Hinata-sama, let's go."

"Come on, Neji, have some fun! You're too serious," teased TenTen. She suddenly grabbed Neji's hand and dragged him out back.

"Hinata, are you coming?" asked Naruto.

"W-Well," started Hinata.

Naruto didn't give her time to finish. "Let your Pokemon run wild there. I'd like to see your other Pokemon too. I'm sure you a strong gym leader. Be prepared to fight Sasuke and I, okay?" Naruto took her hand and led her to the backyard.

Only Sasuke was left, standing. "Aren't you going to join your friends?" asked the owner. Sasuke shook his head, and casually walked out of the Day Care Center.

In the Backyard

"Wow, look at all those Pokemon!" said Naruto, overwhelmed by the sight.

Hinata walked up beside him and said, "W-Well, this is a day care, and the only one in Mauville too, s-so it's very popular. A lot of people trust t-the owner."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Naruto. He took out all his Pokeballs and let his Pokemon run free. "Okay guys, go out and have some fun!" Naruto's four Pokemon immediately ran off, trying to bond with other Pokemon at the Day Care.

"Y-You have some pretty strong looking P-Pokemon too," complimented Hinata.

Naruto grinned and replied, "Thanks Hinata. Hey, let your Pokemon out too. I really want to see them." Hinata fumbled around in her pockets and got out two Pokeballs. She threw them all into the air, they opened up, and let out two Psychic Pokemon.

"Spoink, Smoochum, go out a-and have some fun. Kirlia, you too," said Hinata, turning to her very first Pokemon.

"Hey, your Pokemon are in their pre-evolved forms. Don't you want to evolve them?" asked Naruto.

"W-Well, like I said, I d-don't want to evolve them u-unless they want me to. I-I don't train them as much as my cousin does e-either," answered Hinata.

"I see. Hey, are you hungry, Hinata?" asked Naruto, out of the blue. Hinata hadn't even answered when Naruto took her hand again and pulled her to a nearby tree. He sat her down then he sat down. Naruto dug around in his backpack and took out two cups of instant ramen. Then, he pulled out a bottle. Naruto poured the hot water in the two ramen cups, and gave one to Hinata. He smiled at her and said, "It's fun to eat while watching your Pokemon have some fun."

Hinata was blushing, hard. Naruto was being very nice to her, and she wasn't very used to it. She looked around and spotted Shikamaru napping under a nearby tree. A Slowking, Stantler, and Ivysaur were napping, along with Shikamaru, and Chouji was eating chips with a Munchlax. A Butterfree sat on his head, and a Hippopotas lounged in a lake, nearby. Hinata tapped Naruto's shoulder and asked, "T-Those two there don't look very enthusiastic. A-Are they always l-like this?"

Naruto nodded and replied, "Watching the clouds and sleeping are Shikamaru's hobbies. Chouji's always eating too." He slurped some more of his ramen. Hinata slowly, and quietly ate her ramen. Suddenly, Naruto got up and examined Shikamaru and Chouji's Pokemon. He commented, "Shikamaru and Chouji actually have some good Pokemon." Then, he sat back down and leaned against the tree. Having finished his ramen, he waited for Hinata to finish hers.

Hinata was getting faint. No one had ever been this nice to her before. The girl tried really hard not to pass out, and she was doing a good job at that. The Hyuuga ate her ramen slowly, while watching the blond beside her.

With Sakura and Ino

"Alright, Marill, Masquerain, Sunflora, Jigglypuff, and Bayleef, come on out!" called out Ino. Her five Pokemon materialized in front of her and Sakura. The rosette got closer to the Pokemon and admired them.

"Your Surskit and Chikorita evolved. Nice work, Ino," complimented Sakura.

"Thanks, Billboard Brow. How are your Pokemon? They've gotten stronger, right?" asked Ino.

"Of course, pig! Okay guys," said Sakura, taking out her four Pokeballs. She threw them up and called out, "Combusken, Skitty, Eevee, Cherubi, you're up!" Her newly caught Cherubi floated around Sakura and Ino, and finally landed on Sakura's head.

"Well, that's a really cute Cherubi you caught!" admired Ino. Sakura got Cherubi to come down, and let her play at the center. She let her other Pokemon run wild as well. Ino continued, "Good work to you too, evolving your Torchic."

"Thank you, Ino. I appreciate being finally, recognized by you," said Sakura.

Ino nodded and asked, "Hey, do you have an outfit for the Escargot Cup yet?" Sakura froze and slowly turned her head towards Ino.

"Uh, I didn't know we needed to have an outfit for this contest," replied Sakura.

Ino sighed and suggested, "Why don't you and I go and shop for some outfits? I don't have one yet either."

Sakura nodded and said, "Sure. Do you think it's a good idea to leave our Pokemon here?"

"We'll tell the owner that we left them. I don't think he'll mind," said Ino.

"Okay, so, do you plan to go now?" asked Sakura. Ino nodded, and the two girls walked back to the center.

With Neji and TenTen

"See how much fun some of your Pokemon are having, Neji?" pointed out TenTen. Neji's Riolu and Xatu were running around, while his Gallade remained by his side. "It's no joke when some people say the Pokemon reflects their trainers' personalities," thought TenTen with a sigh.

The Chinese girl had let her own Pokemon out too. Her Staryu, Cloyster, and Croconaw were all soaking in a huge lake, filled with water Pokemon. TenTen looked around, enjoying the sight of lots of Pokemon relaxing and having fun, when she saw Naruto and Hinata sitting under a tree. "Those two look like they're having a great time. I think Naruto's the first person who Hinata has spent free time with," thought TenTen.

TenTen turned around, but bumped into Neji, who was staring, hard, at his cousin and Naruto. TenTen looked back and forth between Neji and his cousin. The Chinese girl then looked intently at Neji. "I know that look. He doesn't approve of Naruto getting close to Hinata. Oh great, this is going to turn out ugly!" TenTen tried to talk to Neji, but he was already striding towards Naruto and Hinata, his Gallade following suit. "Good luck, Naruto, dealing with Neji," prayed TenTen.

Hinata was just finishing up her ramen when she sensed an ominous presence approaching her and Naruto. She quickly drank the remaining soup and stood up. Neji walked up to the two of them and glared at Naruto. The blond was already asleep, so Hinata had to shake him awake. Naruto groggily woke up to meet Neji glaring down at him. The blond quickly stood up and faced Neji.

"Uzumaki, was it?" Neji asked.

Naruto replied, "Yeah. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki, I warn you to stay away from Hinata-sama. You are wasting her time," said Neji, threateningly.

Naruto got annoyed and retorted, "Well she needs to have some relaxation. You can't stop her from doing what she wants!"

"Uzumaki, unless you want to suffer a humiliating defeat, I advise you to step away from my cousin," threatened Neji.

"What if I don't? You know what, Neji? You're acting all high and mighty, but you need to learn to relax. You're just like Sasuke-teme!" said Naruto.

"Do not compare me to the Uchiha. You are a nobody, Uzumaki. Hinata-sama is the heir of the Hyuuga clan, and she needs to train much more if she hopes to become the leader of the Hyuuga clan someday. You are just having a bad influence on Hinata-sama," said Neji, nonchalantly.

"I'm a nobody? A nobody?" shouted Naruto, getting angry. Hinata suddenly stood up and tried to break up the fight between the two of them.

"You are not recognized by anybody. That would make you a nobody. Your fate has already been determined. You cannot reach your father," taunted Neji.

"I'm not as strong as my dad, but you can't go around telling people they're not 'fated' to become this, or not 'fated' to win! You can't determine that! You won't know unless you try!" retorted Naruto.

Neji grimaced and replied, "Then why don't we settle this right now? My Gallade versus your strongest Pokemon."

"That's fine with me!" replied Naruto. The blond ran off to find his Pokemon.

Hinata turned to her cousin and said, "Neji nii-san, that was o-over the line. You shouldn't have d-done that."

"Hinata-sama, that boy needs to learn his place," replied Neji.

"I can't believe you would chase a-away the one person I-I have become close f-friends with!" Hinata semi-shouted.

Neji wasn't even slightly affected by his cousin's words. The Hyuuga prodigy spotted Naruto running back to him. When Naruto got back to the Hyuugas, he suggested, "I don't want to destroy the peace this center has for the Pokemon, so I suggest we fight somewhere else."

"Hn, fine with me," replied Neji. He turned to Gallade and commanded, "Gallade, use Teleport." Gallad's body glows multicolored, then he sends multiple white energy rings that surrounds Naruto, Neji, and Hinata. The three of them disappeared, and so did Gallade.

With Sasuke

"I need to train more, and catch more Pokemon," thought Sasuke. He was messing around in some thick grass, then climbing up a huge rock formation. Once he got to the top of the rock formation, he called out all his Pokemon. Sasuke glanced around the environment, and saw that there were Whismers, Loudreds, and some other Pokemon on land, and Pidgeys, Starlys, and Wingulls flying in the air.

The Uchiha sighed and thought, "At least there are some Pokemon here. Okay, let's train." Sasuke commanded, "Grovyle, use Leaf Blade. Sneasel, Ice Shard, and Houndour, Swift!" The three Pokemon charged towards the Whismers and Loudreds and attacked. The wild Pokemon defended themselves, but Sasuke's Pokemon worked on improving their speed. They tried to not let the wild Pokemon attack them again.

At one point, a Loudred used Hyper Voice on Sneasel, but the ice/dark type Pokemon used Slash to get back at the Loudred. While Sasuke was commanding his Pokemon, he sensed an ominous presence, close to him. The Uchiha examined his surroundings once more, and spotted a very unique Pokemon: an Absol. Absol looked very stunning, but it also had a threatening aura around it. The young teen took out his Pokedex to examine it further.

Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. Absol live in steep mountainous regions, and rarely venture down into areas inhabited by humans, but should an Absol be seen by humans, it is said that catastrophe is soon to follow.

"The Disaster Pokemon, huh? This is one unique Pokemon. I can't let it escape," planned Sasuke. He commanded his three Pokemon to attack Absol. Absol immediately sensed his attackers, and quickly used Double Team to surround them. Then, the Disaster Pokemon used Slash, simultaneously on the three Pokemon. "He's too fast! I can't let it get away!" a determined Sasuke thought.

"Sneasel, Night Slash! Grovyle, use Leaf Blade again," commanded Sasuke. Sneasel's claws glowed purple, then it charged towards Absol for a hit. Absol jumped out of the way, but Grovyle got it from behind with Leaf Blade. The Disaster Pokemon fell, giving Sasuke an opening.

"Grovyle, Sneasel, Houndour, finish it!" shouted Sasuke. His Pokemon, once again, charged towards the fallen Absol, but before they could attack, Absol opened his eyes and stood up. Absol glared at all three of them with its eyes glowing red.

"It's Leer!" thought Sasuke. Once all three Pokemon were frozen in place, the scythe on Absol's head glowed white, and it swung its head, sending a white crescent blade of energy at the three Pokemon. The attack successfully hit Grovyle, Sneasel, and Houndour, sending them flying backwards. Sneasel used its claws to lessen the impact of being blown away. "Now Razor Wind! I need to turn this battle around," thought Sasuke.

"Sneasel, use Ice Beam!" shouted Sasuke. Sneasel sent out bolts of icy energy towards Absol, but the Pokemon dodged them gracefully.

"Houndour, now, use Shadow Ball!" Houndour jumped from behind Sneasel, and sent multiple Shadow Balls towards Absol. Absol used another Razor Wind attack. However, once the attack hit the Shadow Balls, the Shadow Balls were spread out. Absol stopped in its tracks, since it there was a dark purple wall between him and Sasuke's Pokemon.

Suddenly, ice shards and a Flamethrower attack came directly towards Absol. The Disaster Pokemon took the hit, and once it was down, Grovyle came at it with another Leaf Blade attack. Absol was knocked back, again.

Sasuke took the chance to throw an empty Pokeball at Absol. The Pokeball hit Absol, opened up, and bathed it in red light. Once Absol was inside, the Pokeball shook furiously. Sasuke watched in anticipation as the Pokeball shook, then slowlystarted to settle down. The red light on the Pokeball then switched off, and the capture was complete.

Sasuke was panting now. Absol's capture was harder than he thought. His Pokemon were all out of breath as well. Sasuke walked to Absol's Pokeball and picked it up. He smirked and thought, "That's enough training for today." The young Uchiha returned all his Pokemon to their Pokeballs and started to climb down the mountain. However, something caught his attention. A group of people and a Pokemon materializing in the thick grass, underneath. Sasuke scoffed and muttered to himself, "Naruto and the two Hyuugas? This should be interesting." He sat down to watch the event.

With Naruto, Neji, and Hinata

"Well, which Pokemon are you going to use?" asked Neji. Naruto threw his Pokeball into the air and Marshtomp materialized in front of him. Neji ordered his Gallade to take his stance. Hinata was on the sidelines, trying to be the referee. If she couldn't stop them from fighting, she might as well be a referee. "Begin," said Hinata.

Naruto launched the first attack. "Marshtomp, use Mud Shot!" Marshtomp fired a stream of mud from its mouth. Gallade stood there, unmoving.

Neji closed his eyes and concentrated. Neji commanded Gallade telepathically, "Psycho Cut." Gallade, then, moved forward, the blades on his arms glowing blue. He crossed his arms in front of his body, blocking the stream of mud. Then, he jumped into the air, and sliced Marshtomp with his blades once he got down.

Naruto was frustrated now. "Marshtomp, use Mud Bomb!" Marshtomp quickly got back up and fired multiple balls of mud towards Gallade. The psychic Pokemon dodged them gracefully.

"Confusion," commanded Neji, telepathically, once again. Gallade's body was outlined with blue energy, his eyes glowed blue, and took control of the mud balls that Marshtomp was firing. Gallade, then sent the mud balls back at Marshtomp. Naruto's Marshtomp was hit mercilessly, with its own Mud Bomb attack.

"Water Gun!" shouted Naruto. Marshtomp fired a stream of water at Gallade, but once again, its Confusion took control of the water. This time, Neji commanded Gallade to control Marshtomp as well. The psychic Pokemon flung Marshtomp far away from him. Marshtomp hit the mountain that Sasuke had climbed. Naruto was now worried about Marshtomp. However, the Mud Fish Pokemon wouldn't back down. He got back up, and prepared to attack again. Naruto didn't want to continue the match anymore since he didn't want to push his Marshtomp so hard.

"Backing down now? Too late," said Neji. "Psycho Cut." Gallade's blade glowed blue again, and he charged towards Marshtomp.

"I know what that attack does now," though Naruto. He commanded, "Marshtomp, dodge it!" Before Gallade could reach him, Marshtomp jumped into the air. Then, he fired multiple mud balls at Gallade. What happened next was unexpected for Naruto. Gallade twirled multiple times, and launched multiple blue rings at toward Marshtomp. Each ring hit the mud balls, destroying them, but a lot more rings hit Marshtomp. The Mud Fish Pokemon fell to the ground, hard. When Naruto ran up to check on him, he was knocked out.

"Marshtomp can't b-battle anymore. G-Gallade is the winner," said Hinata. Neji went up to Gallade and patted his shoulder in appreciation.

Naruto whispered, "You did a great job, Marshtomp. Get some rest now." The blond returned Marshtomp to his Pokeball. He turned to Neji and said, "You're a really tough opponent. I look forward to battling you again at Mosdeep."

"Get stronger. Or else, it won't even be a challenge," taunted Neji.

"You and Hinata are fighting together at the gym, right?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. The Mosdeep gym has two gym leaders. Are you saying you're going to battle us with a partner?" Neji inquired.

"Sasuke and I are working together to achieve our goals. We'll train harder than before, and beat your gym!" declared Naruto.

"I hope Uchiha will put up a much better fight, and I hope you will get stronger," said Neji. He commanded Gallade to use Teleport on the three of them again, and they disappeared from the grounds.

On top of the rock formation, Sasuke smirked. "The Hyuugas' gym will be a tough gym to beat. I'd better get stronger too." He then, started to climb down the mountain and go back to the Pokemon Center.

Meanwhile, with Sakura and Ino

"Sakura, check out these Pokeball seals. You may want to use them in the Escargot Contest," recommended Ino.

"Ino, I thought we were here to buy some dresses for the contest?" asked Sakura, who was already holding two shopping bags in her hands.

"Well, we got some food for ourselves and our Pokemon for the rest of our journey. Isn't that a good thing?" inquired Ino, who was already picking out some Pokeball seals. She continued, "You'll want these seals, Sakura, trust me."

Sakura gave up and looked at the seals on display. "I might as well take advantage of shopping," thought the rosette. The two friends bought six Pokeball Capsules each, and picked out several Pokeball seals.

Ino picked out some heart seals, floral seals, and foamy seals while Sakura got some fire seals, electric seals, and party seals. Once they got their seals in a small bag, they set out to find some dresses. They hadn't gotten far when Ino suddenly rushed inside a shop, dragging Sakura with her.

Ino looked around the shop and rushed to grab a gorgeous blue dress, when she found another person trying to get the same dress.

"Sorry, but this dress is already taken," said the other girl.

"Well I didn't see you pay for it," retorted Ino.

Sakura ran up to Ino, and gasped. "Karin! You're here too?" Karin looked at Sakura and grinned.

"You're surprised? Now let go of the dress, blondie," taunted Karin.

"No way! This dress actually compliments my blond hair, unlike your messed up red hair!" retorted Ino.

"Wait, don't tell me you're actually planning on entering the Escargot Contest," assumed Sakura.

"Full points for pinky. Of course I'm entering the contest," said Karin, still pulling on the dress.

"You said you hated contests, and coordinators," said Sakura.

"Well, since you put up a good fight, I wondered if other coordinators can do the same," replied Karin.

"Ugh, that's it! Stone, paper, scissors for the dress," suggested Ino.

"That's just stupid," replied Karin.

"If you don't, the dress will tear," warned Ino. Karin sighed, "Fine." Sakura grabbed the dress and let the two girls play stone, paper, scissors.

"Let's play best of three," suggested Ino.

"I don't care. Just get on with it," said an impatient Karin.

Karin won the first round, but Ino won the second round. In the third round, both girls were waiting for the other to go first. Finally, they both went. Ino had paper while Karin had stone. Ino jumped for joy, grabbed the dress from Sakura, and ran to pay for it. Karin got frustrated, and stomped out of the store.

Ino came back to Sakura and took out the dress. She showed it off to Sakura. The dress was really beautiful. It was a light blue, strapless evening dress with a cluster of gems beading along the front and back. There was a cut out along the back as well. "It's really beautiful, Ino. I'm sure you'll look stunning in it," complimented Sakura.

Ino smiled and replied, "Thanks Sakura. Now, let's find a dress that you'll look gorgeous in." Ino's eyes scanned the store. She picked out some dresses for Sakura, but they didn't match her that well. Sakura looked at some dresses herself, and soon, her eyes landed on a short, red dress. She took it and examined it.

It was a red cocktail dress with a v-neckline. Slender straps upheld the neckline, and beneath the chest, a sparkling band of rhinestones adorned the waistline. The dress ended right above the knees. At the back, there were criss-crossed bold straps with rhinestone embroidery in the center of the cross. Sakura gaped at that dress. Ino came up to her and examined the dress as well. She held it up to Sakura and looked at her intently. The blond's face lit up and nodded in approval. Once Sakura had paid for the dress, the two friends left the store to go back to the Day Care Center.

The Day Care Center

When Sakura and Ino entered the center, she saw Naruto sitting alone in a corner. Sakura walked up to him and asked, "What happened to you? You look very… lifeless."

Naruto raised his head to look up at the rosette, and sighed. "I had a battle with Neji, and ended up losing; very badly, I might add."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naruto. With some more training, I'm sure you'll be able to beat him. Heck, I'm sure you can beat him when we get to Mosdeep for your badge," reassured Sakura. She gave Naruto a short, friendly, hug. The blond smiled at Sakura and got up.

"You haven't gotten your Pokemon back, have you?" asked Naruto.

"No. Ino and I were shopping for our dresses. Why aren't you back at the Pokemon Center yet? It's already past lunchtime," said Sakura.

"I just wanted to be alone. I'll be going back now. See you there Sakura! You too, Ino!" Naruto waved and ran to the Pokemon Center.

"Wow, he recovers fast when you talk to him," pointed out Ino.

"I think of Naruto as a brother. I don't have any brothers, so I think of him as one," replied Sakura. The two of them hunted down their Pokemon and returned them to their Pokeballs. A while later, Ino had rounded up all her Pokemon, but Sakura was missing her Skitty.

"Skitty, Skitty, where are you?" called out Sakura, searching all over the place. She went through some tall grass and saw Skitty with another Skitty, chasing each others' tails. "There you are, Skitty," whispered Sakura. She bent down to pick up Skitty, but the other Skitty tackled her.

"Ouch! Hey, what do you think you're doing?" shouted Sakura. Ino came running up to Sakura and asked what was wrong. "That Skitty tackled me. Calm down, I'm just trying to get my Skitty." Sakura's Skitty also tried to talk to the other Skitty about how she was her owner.

"From what I can see, that Skitty's a male Skitty," said Ino.

"Okay, so what are you trying to say?" asked Sakura.

"Your Skitty's a female Skitty," continued Ino.

"And?" asked Sakura.

Ino slapped her forehead and replied, "That male Skitty's being overprotective of your Skitty. Don't you think for the slightest bit, that your Skitty likes that male Skitty, and vice versa?"

"Oh, really?" asked Sakura.

"I don't know. I just think that. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right. Anyway, just get you Skitty back to her Pokeball," suggested Ino.

Sakura got up, took out Skitty's Pokeball and returned her to it. Sakura and Ino then walked back to the Pokemon Center.

When they got there, they saw that their companions either, had already finished eating, or were finishing up eating. Their Pokemon all finished eating. Nurse Shizune asked them if they had their lunch yet, and both of them said no. Shizune got some food for both of them, and their Pokemon. Naruto and Sasuke went off somewhere to train together, as did Neji and TenTen. Ino deduced that Shikamaru was probably in their room, napping, and Chouji went out to buy chips.

"So, it's just us girls," commented Ino. Hinata seemed too shy to say anything. "Come on, open up to us. Don't be shy," persuaded Ino.

"U-Um, what do you want me t-to say?" asked Hinata.

"For one, you seem to be pretty comfortable around Sakura's friend, Naruto. Any thoughts on him?" asked Ino.

Hinata immediately blushed, beet red and replied, "U-Um, well, h-he's a really sociable boy, a-and he's easy to talk to a-and bond with. He's also really c-c-c-cute." Hinata blushed even harder.

"It's normal for a girl to like a guy, Hinata. Don't be so embarrassed to talk about him," comforted Ino.

"M-My family would never approve of s-someone like Naruto," said Hinata.

"You mean your cousin?" asked Sakura. "He did look very emotionless; kind of like Sasuke sometimes."

"T-The only person Neji nii-san opens up to i-is TenTen. She's a-also his training partner," explained Hinata.

"What about you? I thought you were his gym partner," said Sakura.

"I am, b-but he doesn't think I-I'm worthy of being a-a gym leader," confessed Hinata.

"He needs to know that you can't change who you are. Just be yourself, Hinata, and get stronger. Are you planning on entering the contest here?" asked Ino.

"W-Well, I want to, b-but I don't know if Neji nii-san will let me," stuttered Hinata.

"Sakura and I will sneak you in as a competitor. Do you have a contest pass?" asked Ino.

"I do. I wanted to compete i-in contests, b-but my father put the burden of being gym leader o-on me, s-so, I don't have t-time for contests anymore," admitted Hinata.

"Well, just come with us, and we'll get you a spot there. If your cousin asks, we'll explain it to him. I'll take the lecturing, or whatever he gives," said Ino.

"Thanks Ino. Now I don't have to battle him or anything, like Naruto did," teased Sakura. Ino gently punched Sakura's arm.

"T-Thank you, Sakura and Ino. I'm very grateful," thanked Hinata.

"No problem, Hinata! It feels nice to help out a friend," replied Ino.

"Ino, let's register now. If we don't I think we're going to be too late," suggested Sakura.

"Oh yeah. Let's run there now!" said Ino.

"N-No need for that. K-Kirlia, use Teleport," commanded Hinata, throwing up a Pokeball. Kirlia appeared, and, like Gallade, sent rings of white energy that surrounded the three girls. Then, they disappeared, along with Kirlia.

This chapter's longer than my other ones, and I didn't want to put off the Naruto and Neji fight until next chapter, so I put the battle here. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please, please, please review! I'm motivated by the reviews you guys give me! ^_^