Naruto: Johto Journeys

Chapter 26: The Path to Victory

"Pokemon" Normal speech

'Pokemon' Normal thoughts

"Pokemon" Pokemon that can talk

"Pokemon" Flashbacks

"Pokemon" Pokedex speech

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I don't own Pokemon. I do however, own this laptop and this story and NONE OF YOU CAN HAVE IT!

Ecruteak City-Pokemon Centre

Blackness was what he was met with before his eyes chose to open. His eyes immediately shut back closed as the light entered his eyes. With a groan of annoyance, Naruto rose up into a sitting position and surveyed his surroundings.

"What the hell?" Naruto muttered as he glanced around the room. It was pure white, the walls were white, the curtains were white, hell even the sidetable next to his bed was white. He then raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light that entered from his room window, but suddenly he became aware of his body's appearance. He looked down at himself and found himself garbed in a hospital gown, clad in only his boxers beneath said gown. His body was wrapped in bandages around his arms, face and torso.

'What the hell happened?' He thought. He then winced as his brain chose to grant its holder's request and the images of the battle with Ho-oh flooded his mind. The Rainbow Pokemon's Sacred Fire attack had done a grand job of damaging his body.

'Oh right. Sakura-chan and I were fighting Ho-oh and then Typhlosion and I were hit by the attack it used.' Naruto's eyes widened as he suddenly began twisting harshly from side to side as if he were looking for something, which he was.

"Typhlosion and Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed. He quickly climbed out his bed, wincing slightly from the sudden movement as blood began to flow more steadily through his veins. The time he had been unconscious had rendered his body immobile for quite some time so the pins and needles feeling going through his body came at him at full force. The blood rushed to his head as he had quickly sat up, clutching his throbbing skull as he began to move forward towards the door.

He stumbled a bit due to not walking in so long and he tripped as he reached the door, gripping the door handle as he finally reached it. He twisted the knob and the lock exited its space with an audible 'click'. The door opened and as he glanced up from the door handle, he looked to see no one was in the hallways of the Pokemon Centre he was most likely in. He stuck his head out of the door, he briefly glanced up and down the hallway, but he paid neither direction any attention as he took a random turn to the right and began to head down the halls of the Pokemon Centre.

He continued to slowly walk along the halls, gripping the wall for stability as his legs were slightly shaking. Suddenly, he saw the Ecruteak Nurse Shizune walk out of the supply closet that was near in front of him. The black haired woman looked down at her touch pad, checking off the supply stocks before glancing up, her ears picking up on the sound of laboured breathing.

She turned to face the direction of the sound and her black eyes widened when she saw the blonde Pokemon trainer nearing her location.

"Oh my...young man, you shouldn't have gotten out of bed! You were in a very bad physical condition when you were brought in, let me escort you to it." Shizune walked up to him, but before she could lead him back to the room, he pushed off of the wall and Naruto gripped the collar of the taller woman's outfit.

"Sakura-chan...and Typhlosion...where are they?"

"I'm sorry, young man, but you are not in any position to be making questions right now." Shizune replied with a calm tone.

"GOD DAMN IT, WOMAN! WHERE IS SAKURA-CHAN?! WHERE IS MY PARTNER POKEMON?! WHERE IS TYPHLOSION?!" Naruto roared, his cries echoing through the small hallways of the Pokemon Centre. Shizune stared in shock at the sudden rise in the boy's vitality. "They were there with me...Ho-oh...the fire...the Bell Tower...everything just went black." Naruto began muttering to himself and Shizune could only stare incredulously at the young Pokemon trainer. Then she began to recall the earlier events of the day.

Flashback

Shizune was sitting behind her desk, talking to her cousin from Viridian City in Kanto.

"Really? You did?!" Ecruteak asked. Viridian nodded with a smile as she raised up her hand, her fingers spread like an eagle's wings. On her ring finger was a shining sapphire stone laying atop the silver band for all to see.

"Yup, he proposed!"

The two Shizunes squealed, jumping up and down in excitement.

"So when's the wedding?!"

"We've decided to do it after the Pokemon League is over. I mean, it is only a few months away and that will go by just like that." Viridian said with a snap of her fingers. "Plus, you know men and their Pokemon battles."

"Ain't that the truth." Ecruteak replied as she bent forward, propping her hand up as she rested her elbow on the front desk and rested her chin in her palm. However, before the conversation between the two cousins could continue, the sound of the Pokemon Centre doors opening met her ears.

"Well, someone's just come in. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." The Viridian City Shizune gave a small wave to her Johto resident cousin and with a 'blip' her face vanished from the visual screen and Ecruteak Shizune hung up the phone. She patted her face as she prepared herself to see yet another damaged Pokemon. Despite having to see a damaged Pokemon almost every day, Shizune understood it was her job to be the smiling face for a Pokemon trainer and tell them it would be all right, no matter how extensive the damage.

The black haired nurse stretched her facial muscles and formed her signature smile before turning around. "Hello, welcome to the Ecruteak Pokemon Centre. How may I help you?"

"Please...help him." Came the voice of a young girl. Shizune opened her eyes, having closed them when she smiled, and she found herself stretching her eyelids wider than she thought. Before her was a young pink haired girl with vibrant green eyes, but she was covered in dust, dirt and had quite an amount of cuts covering her body. Beside the girl was a damaged Pidgeot.

The Bird Pokemon's body was in a similar state. Feathers were gone from parts of its body, showing the pink flesh beneath it and there were a few areas that had cuts which were shown to be cauterized by what would have obviously been high intensity flames, burning the wounds shut. However, despite the image before her, it was what was on the Pidgeot's back that truly struck her.

Resting atop the Pidgeot's back was an unconscious boy, blonde with whisker-like marks on either cheek. His clothes were torn and blackened from burns that also covered a good portion of his body. Bruises and cuts also covered them. The Typhlosion next to him was battered and bruised, but sported no burns due to having fireproof fur.

"Oh, by Arceus! What happened?!" Shizune quickly rushed out from behind the desk and knelt by Sakura as she fell to her knees. Pidgeot gently rested Naruto and Typhlosion down on the yellow tiled ground before its eyelids flickered up and down before it fell unconscious.

"There was...and then the...fire everywhere." Sakura spoke with barely even a full sentence, gasping in between each phrase.

"Calm down. Where are the Poke Balls for this Pidgeot and Typhlosion? Are they yours?" Sakura shook her head and pointed at the blonde beside her. Shizune went over to the unconscious boy and fumbled through the backpack and pulled out six Poke Balls. Not knowing which was the empty ones, she popped them all open and suddenly, four white flashes appeared before her as she saw the badly damaged forms of an Amphoros, Heracross, Quagsire and Dragonair.

"These Pokemon are in serious condition! Are yours in the same manner?" Shizune asked as she grew a serious look on her face. Sakura nodded as she presented her six Poke Balls to the nurse. Shizune took them and returned all of Naruto's damaged Pokemon to their capturing devices. She then took all the Poke Balls and placed them into the healing machine, the green light above it signifying its activation.

"Now come with me, we need to get you and your friend into rooms." Shizune said. Sakura nodded with a tired look on her face. Shizune carried Naruto on her back via piggyback while also helping to support Sakura as she trudged next to her. She led Sakura into a room and set her up on the bed, laying Naruto down on the chair used by visitors, attaching the heart rate and breathing rate monitors to the pink haired Pokemon Contest user.

Sakura immediately fell into blissful unconsciousness as she was placed into a suitable position to rest. Shizune injected morphine into Sakura's body to dull whatever pain she was feeling before looking over to the burned Naruto. She quickly picked him up and took him to the intensive care unit room and began to wrap his burned body in bandages.

As she attached an IV tube to his body and injected him with morphine, the blonde's blue eyes snapped open. He began to hyperventilate and Shizune rushed over to him, but he immediately grabbed her. His eyes shifted everywhere, looking anywhere but at her own face.

"Ho-oh...is back." He muttered before his eyes rolled back into his head. The blonde fell back onto his bed as his grip went slack. The rapid beeping showing that the boy's heart rate and blood pressure had skyrocketed, began to slow and Shizune's brown eyes could only watch the unconscious boy. She stumbled back, nearly losing her footing as she sat down in the chair beside the bed.

End Flashback

'If it weren't for today's medical technological advancements, I'm sure the boy would have been covered in burns for his entire life.' Shizune thought as she watched the fresh coat of skin that covered the blonde's person. However, her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, returning to what she knew was the more important topic.

"I may be a citizen of Ecruteak City, and thus I am familiar with our ancient folklore regarding the Legendary Pokemon, but...is Ho-oh really back?" Shizune asked. Naruto's panicked form watched her and he slowly nodded his head.

"How do you know of this?"

"I was told that the Lord of the Sky would return to the one who was chosen to bear the Rainbow Wing. I was that chosen." Naruto reached into his pocket and he removed the feather of Ho-oh. Its orange, white and green form shone beneath the lights of the Pokemon Centre and suddenly became encompassed in a rainbow. Shizune gripped the boy tightly as she watched the feather and followed its path as it returned to Naruto's pocket.

"You...You fought..."

"I did...Sakura-chan and I both did. We were hopelessly outmatched and I was a fool to think my team could take on a Pokemon with the powers that rival that of a god's." Naruto said with a sad smile. His blue eyes met her brown ones and Shizune watched with shock as she saw the hollow look in them. No child should ever have to have that look in them.

"Well, young man, before I tell you my reply to what you just said, please come with me. Your friend...Sakura-chan, she's the pink haired girl right?" Naruto's eyes widened and he nodded rapidly.

"Yes!"

"Well, she's alright and waiting for you in the living area at the main entrance of the Centre. I'll take you to her." Shizune draped her arm around Naruto's weak form and helped him walk through the halls.

"And my Pokemon? How are they?" Naruto asked.

"Yours and Sakura-chan's Pokemon are both fully healed. Though I think you should know that you have been laying unconscious for two whole days since the day you were brought in."

"T-Two days?!" He exclaimed. Shizune nodded. Naruto glance down at the ground, suddenly finding it very interesting as the conversation boiled down into stony silence, only their shoes meeting the tiles prevented true silence from rearing its head. Naruto squinted as he was met by the natural sunlight that entered through the windows of the Pokemon Centre's main entrance area. He raised his head and turned to Shizune.

"Thanks for the help." Shizune smiled at the blonde.

"It's my job to help, don't worry about it." Naruto nodded with a smile and then he was guided towards the main counter where Shizune reached behind it and pulled out his backpack.

"Ecruteak City may be famous for making kimonos, but I was able to have a new set of your clothes made. Also here." Shizune handed the boy a pair of crutches she always kept for her human patients who DIDN'T escape from their hospital rooms without her knowing. Naruto thanked her as he took them from her and then turned around. Shizune helped him as he headed for the bathroom where he quickly changed out of his hospital gown and into his clothes.

Afterwards, he headed back for the living area of the Pokemon Centre with the assistance of his crutches. He scanned the room and his blue eyes shone with happiness as he saw his pink haired friend sitting at a table near the Centre's window.

However, as he hobbled over to the pink haired girl's location, his eyes widened as he saw his black haired rival and, though he wouldn't admit it, best friend sitting next to her and sitting across from the pair was his lavender eyed female best friend.

"Hina-chan! Sasuke! Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out to his friends. The three turned and Hinata quickly leaped up from her seat and ran over to him. She stopped right in front of him as if contemplating whether or not to help him walk over. She then shook her head rapidly and her eyes became determined. Naruto blinked in confusion, but suddenly found himself being hugged tightly by the dark haired girl.

Naruto's blue eyes were wide and he looked down at the slightly shorter girl, her head buried in the crook of his neck. Naruto quickly got over his shock and managed to return her hug, albeit with only one arm since he had to use the other to keep himself upright with his crutch.

"Missed you too, Hina-chan." Naruto smirked as he rubbed her back lightly. Hinata let go of her blonde companion and stepped away with her face holding a red tint to it. She then looked up with a small smile on her face.

"Welcome back, Naruto-kun." Naruto grinned foxily before he walked with Hinata back to the table. As the two sat down, they were quick to gain confused looks on their faces as Sasuke and Sakura watched them with very mischievous looking grins and a knowing look in their eyes.

"What are you staring at, teme?" Naruto asked. Sasuke snorted.

"You really are dense, aren't you dobe?" Sasuke replied. Naruto growled at his rival before huffing as he crossed his arms.

"Is that anyway to greet a guy who literally got burned by a legendary Pokemon?"

"Is that anyway to greet a guy who got blasted by Lugia?" Sasuke retorted.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto, stop fighting." Sakura said as she slammed her hand on the table. The two males immediately quieted themselves, but they still held their glares, the anime lightning sparking between them causing both girls to sigh, sweatdrops forming on the back of their heads.

"Guys, I really think we ought to discuss what happened at our respective locations." Sakura said. The two boys immediately stopped glaring at one another and turned to Sakura, nodding in agreement. Everyone's expressions became extremely serious and a moment of silence passed between the four of them.

"We got our asses kicked. Hard." Was Naruto's blunt summary of their battle against Ho-oh.

"Same here." Sasuke said.

"The power of that the legendary Pokemon have...it's no wonder they were revered as gods within our world. Ho-oh took on literally everything we threw at it. Even super effective moves like Surf and Thunderbolt did little to slow it down, and even when we managed to weaken it and put it to sleep, not even a high grade Poke Ball like an Ultra Ball was able to keep it contained." Sakura said.

"We didn't aim to try and catch it like you all did, but Lugia was the same. We attacked with powerful moves like Blizzard and Shadow Ball since it was a Flying/Psychic-type Pokemon. Its psionic abilities are way beyond the scope of any Psychic-type I've ever seen and its water manipulation truly made its title of 'Beast of the Sea' become a reality." Hinata added into the conversation.

"I'm just curious about your battle though." Naruto said as he turned to Hinata. "When we were about to be attacked by Ho-oh's Sacred Fire attack, there was a bright flash of light and suddenly Ho-oh was gone. I was wondering if that happened to you guys when you fought Lugia."

"It did actually." Sasuke said. "Lugia was about to finish us off with an Aeroblast, pushing back all of our attacks, and just before it was about to gain much heavier ground that us, there was a bright flash of light and suddenly...Lugia was gone. It just vanished from sight. We had fallen unconscious after that."

"If you all had fallen unconscious thought, how did you get back to the main land?" Sakura asked.

"Well you see, when we got back up..." Hinata started.

"We had seen two images in the distance. It looked like Entei and Suicune."

"So they brought you back?" Naruto asked.

"You seem to be taking the fact that legendary Pokemon saved your lives quite well." Sakura deadpanned.

"Well, we've had quite a few encounters with them, remember. Not to mention, Suicune and Entei seem to be particularly drawn to Hyuga and I. The dobe seems to attract Raikou in the same manner."

"Yeah, but Sakura-chan was the one who brought me back...weren't you?" Naruto asked. Sakura's green eyes met Naruto's blue ones and she nodded.

"I was...but just not the entire way. Pidgeot was weakened from the battle with Ho-oh and well, Pidgeot had managed to get to the edge of the trail that led to the Bell Tower, but by then it was already too weak to carry on. I tried to carry it with some help from Meganium, but Meganium quickly ran out of energy and I couldn't carry two full evolved Pokemon and you by myself. I was exhausted from carrying you three with Meganium and well, Raikou just appeared."

"It did?"

Sakura nodded. "There was no explanation for it, but like Sasuke-kun said, Raikou is especially drawn to you as it looked directly at you while you were unconscious. Suddenly, Raikou summoned a lightning bolt from the sky, there was a flash and then we were in front of the Pokemon Centre. Luckily Pidgeot was able to muster enough strength to carry you all in."

Naruto tapped the table with his finger as he looked at Hinata and Sasuke. "Something big is about to go down. Legendary Pokemon are popping up and obviously not for a good reason. Not to mention there's the unexplainable reason as to why Lugia and Ho-oh, after just arriving into the world after awakening from their respective slumbers, just chose to disappear as quickly as they came. It makes no sense."

"So where do you think they went?" Sasuke interrupted.

"I don't know." Was the blonde's honest reply.

"But it's obvious that they are going to come back." Hinata said.

"What makes you say that, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I remember during that episode in Olivine City, Suicune had appeared to me while Naruto-kun and Lee-san had went to get medicine for Amphy. Raikou had done the same for Naruto-kun and Entei for Sasuke."

"Oh right, and we had that little vision thingy goin' on." Naruto said snapping his fingers.

"Vision thingy?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

"It's a complicated situation, but then again this involves legendary Pokemon so it's obvious that it would be." Sasuke said. "Anyway, continuing from where Hyuga was let off, the vision showed the Pokemon League's announcements and people being welcomed and whatnot. The entrance ceremony was about to begin for the Kanto-Johto Silver Conference Victory Tournament and suddenly, Nagato appeared on the viewing screen saying it was time for the world to feel his pain. Then two giant shadows, one that we now know are the ones belonging to Lugia and Ho-oh, appeared out nowhere. There was wind and fire raining down and then the vision ended."

"So that means that everything is going to happen at the Pokemon League?" Sakura asked.

"So it will seem, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a nod. "But we have a couple of months before the Pokemon League starts. We will have to go through Victory Road of course, in order to get to the Pokemon League stadium and then register for it. Afterwards, its just going to be training for the next few months until the Pokemon League starts."

"The dobe and I will be busy for that time, so it's best we collect our Pokemon and head for Victory Road." Sasuke said, however he paused as he looked between Sakura and Hinata. "Unless you all plan to do that split up plan we did before."

"Hina-chan?" Naruto turned to the girl sitting next to him.

"Well, Sakura-san and I were able to get enough time to journey to other towns during the time you and Sasuke spent getting your eighth badges and we were able to get our fourth ribbons. We only need one more ribbon to enter the Grand Festival and...well..." Hinata fidgeted as she tried to finish her sentence. She then looked at the blonde when said blonde placed his hand atop her head.

"It's okay, Hina-chan. You have your goals, I have mine. If you need to go off and get your fifth ribbon to get into the Grand Festival, it's no problem for me and Sasuke-teme. Ain't that right?"

"Hn." Sasuke snorted as he turned away.

"See, he's fine with it."

"Alright then." Sakura said as she clapped her hands together. "Now that that's settled, let's go by Nurse Shizune, get our Pokemon and then we'll split off and go our separate ways. From what I've been hearing from the news on my Pokegear, the next contest is to be right here in Ecruteak City and will take place tomorrow. It'll be in the Kimono Girls's theatre too so there's going to be a little show to go with the contest." Sakura said with a smile.

The group nodded and then they collected their Pokemon from the young nurse. They all took their respective trays which held each of their six, fully healed Pokemon.

"Thank you for everything you've done for us." Sakura and Naruto bowed to the young woman. Shizune bowed back, the Chansey and Blissey beside her doing the same.

"You're very welcome. Also, Naruto-san." The blond turned as Shizune held out a small egg.

"What is it?"

"It's a hard boiled egg made by Blissey. It'll help you recover much faster and it also acts as a pain reducer so you won't have to be using those crutches much longer." Naruto smiled brightly at that piece of information. He immediately ate the egg and felt its healing abilities working on him. He handed the crutches back to Shizune and with that the four trainers left through the doors of the Pokemon Centre.

"Sasuke-kun, come on, we have to spend what little time we have left together." Sakura said.

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm not going to see you or Naruto for the next few months. I am in desperate need to buy a new kimono and I need you to help." She replied.

"Wouldn't Hyuga be a better option then?"

"True, but Naruto has to talk with Hinata about something...isn't that right, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked in confusion and he saw the serious gaze she gave him. His mind suddenly flashed back to what he told her when he thought he was going to die fighting Ho-oh. His face turned red and he gulped audibly. Sakura then grabbed Sasuke and dragged him towards one of the small shops that sold kimonos in the ancient city.

After watching the two walk away, Naruto turned to Hinata with a chuckle.

"Those two..." Hinata shook her head.

"I pity the teme." Naruto laughed. There was a period of silence between the two and Naruto then turned to face pale eyed girl. "I'm glad to see you're alright, Hina-chan." Naruto said with a relieved look on his face.

"I actually thought you wouldn't get up." Hinata said with a frown. "When Suicune and Entei brought us here and I heard you were hurt, I..."

"Please, Hina-chan. You shouldn't worry." Naruto smirked. "It's me we're talking about." However, the smirk was quickly replaced with a frown when he saw Hinata's serious facial expression.

"Naruto-kun, don't joke about this. You got hurt fighting Ho-oh and it's a miracle you're even alive. I heard you got burned and your breathing was low, your heart was faint and..." Hinata began to tear up. "...when I saw you lying down, unconscious and in those bandages, I thought...I thought I would never be able to see you get back up." Naruto bent down and looked at the shorter girl as he rested his forehead against hers.

The contest contender sniffled as she held in her sobs.

"Hina-chan, look at me." The pale eyed girl glanced up and her pale eyes met his sapphire ones. "I'm alive aren't I?"

She nodded, "But Naruto-kun..."

"But nothing, Hina-chan. I'm alive and well and I can assure you that I'm not going to die."

"I was just so worried that..."

"I know, Hina-chan." Naruto wrapped the girl in a one armed hug and after a period of silence, he began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just that...it's a bit amusing to think how near-death experiences can change a guy's perspective on everything. I mean, here I was thinking I could take on a legendary Pokemon with nothing but my own team. I mean sure, we're strong. I've got eight badges. But..." Naruto glanced down at the ground. "...I never met that kind of power before. Nothing could have prepared me for facing against a god. Hina-chan, the truth is...I may act tough and fearless, but I'm just as scared as any other guy. I'm just as weak and vulnerable as any other trainer. I don't know if I'd be able to make it any further than where I've come. I...I'm scared, Hina-chan."

Naruto became silent and suddenly he found Hinata snaking her way out of his grasp and now had an agape mouth as he felt the impact of Hinata's palm against his cheek. It wasn't a hard enough to turn his head, but the slap was still harsh enough to get the sound to echo through the air.

"Naruto-kun, I've known you since we were in the Pokemon Academy. It's been nearly a year since our journey began and I still remember back when you were that little boy who always played the fool just because you knew you could and you weren't afraid to speak out against Professor Iruka's teachings when you thought he was wrong. You were brave back then and you are brave now. You aren't weak, in fact, you are one of the strongest people I know. Everyone experiences fear and doubt in their life, Naruto-kun, but you are the only person I know to have been able to rise above those feelings and keep striving forward. You don't let anything get you down and because of that you became the strong Pokemon trainer and person that I have come to lo-"

Hinata's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly swooped down and captured her lips with his own. Hinata froze, but her body reacted and she closed her eyes, pressing her lips back against his. It wasn't spectacular as they were both new to the action, but like any first timers, it was amazing to both of them. The kiss was only a few seconds, but felt like an eternity.

The two pulled away from each other and rested their foreheads against each other's.

"What was that for?" Hinata asked with a large blush present on her face, her eyes wide.

"Well, back when I nearly died fighting Ho-oh...when I thought I wouldn't have been able to see you again...everything just flashed before my eyes and out of everything that went through that split second of re-living my life, your image was one of the only constants present. I just couldn't imagine what would have happened if I had never been able to go through this without you and well..."

"So you're ready to answer my question that I had back in Mahogany Town?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup and I'm pretty sure you know the answer."

Hinata giggled, "True, but I want to hear you say it."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face betrayed his mock exasperation. "Hina-chan, I'm going to tell you the truth here. We are only thirteen and this is the first time I have ever felt this way towards a person, so I'm not going to lie and say that I do love you because I don't know what exactly loving someone is like, but I will say that I am heavily attracted to you. I like you very much Hina-chan and with everything that's going on, with ROOT and the legendary Pokemon and everything else, I swear on my life that I will make sure to protect you from it all and I will be there when you need me to be. That's the promise of a lifetime."

Hinata smiled warmly at the blonde. "I understand that you wouldn't understand the concept of love, Naruto-kun and I will accept that, but I'm sure with time you'll understand it. I reciprocate your feelings, Naruto Uzumaki and I will hold you to your promise of a lifetime." She then pecked him on the lips.

"So...where do we go from here?" Naruto asked with a confused look on his face.

"Well, television shows that you take me on a date, but...we're too busy to do that."

"Got a point there." Naruto chuckled. "Guess we'll just figure that out when we get our stuff over and done with?"

"You have your Pokemon League to prepare for and I have the Grand Festival to take as my own. Besides, we have each other's Pokegear numbers if we want to talk." Hinata said.

"Mhmm. Though because of this League preparation stuff I may not be able to make it to the Grand Festival and watch it live." Naruto frowned. "But I will do my best to try and make it there, or at least watch it on the television."

"I know you will, but you better make sure to watch the matches though for the Grand Festival. It may only be a month from now, but I'm not so spineless that I'm willing to let you get away with everything."

"Yes ma'am." Naruto saluted with a foxy grin. "So...we're good?"

"Mhmm." Hinata nodded stiffly. "I'll see you in a month?"

"Like I said, I'll do my best."

"I know you will."

Suddenly, there were a multitude of white flashes of light and all twelve Pokemon that made up the teams of both trainers stood before them. They then looked at their trainers before turning to one another with a simultaneous cry.

"What? What do you mean 'FINALLY!' Finally what?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Ty Typhlosion Phlo."

Naruto turned red from the blush that appeared on his face. "Shut up, Typhlosion. It did not take long for me to know I liked Hina-chan, I just needed to make sure." Typhlosion rolled its eyes at its trainer.

"Espeon Espe Espe Peon...ESPEON!" Espeon's tails suddenly lit up and she slammed her Iron Tail against the ground, causing it to crack. All the male Pokemon present gripped their groins out of reflex while Naruto gripped his out of fear.

"Yes, Espeon-sama." Naruto bowed to the Psychic evolution of Eevee. "Though I highly doubt I'd do anything to hurt her."

The purple furred Pokemon gave a nod of approval before grinning at Hinata as she patted her on the head. Hinata sweatdropped at her sadistic Psychic-type. After that, the Pokemon and their trainers performed a small dogpile as they celebrated their trainers finally getting together and also celebrating the fact that they survived their respective battles against Ho-oh and Lugia.

Afterwards, Naruto and Hinata then met with Sakura and Sasuke and once again, they headed their separate ways. Espeon, Meganium, Hinata and Sakura waved goodbye, Naruto and Typhlosion energetically waving goodbye as well. Sasuke and Feraligatr merely raised their hand and claw respectively, in farewell. Naruto then took out Pidgeot and returned Typhlosion to his ball, Sasuke doing the same with Feraligatr. The two then climbed atop the Bird Pokemon's back and with a mighty flap of its wings, the Bird Pokemon flew into the sky and headed for New Bark Town, the area which led to Tojho Falls and the Victory Road.

As they watched the two boys fly off, Sakura turned to Hinata with a wide smile. Meganium and Espeon doing the same. The dark haired girl stared with wide eyes as she saw her friend watch her with a look that a predator would give its prey.

"Details, tell me now. How did he do it? Did you kiss? TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

Hinata sweatdropped.

'Maybe I should re-think not going with Naruto-kun and Sasuke.'

New Bark Town

Kushina Uzumaki hummed to herself as she was washing the dishes after having just eaten her lunch. She turned off the tap and dried off the white dishes until they appeared to sparkle in the sunlight. She looked down as she watched Kyuubi walk in. The strong Ninetails nuzzled its trainer's leg.

"Hey Kyuubi. You still hungry?" She asked. The Ninetails shook its head before turning to the fridge. Kushina followed the red eyed fox's gaze and gave a sad smile when she was met with a picture of Naruto. It was the picture she took just before he was going to get his Pokemon from Professor Iruka. His trademark foxy grin threatened to split his face apart.

Kushina petted Kyuubi's head. "I miss him too, but I'm sure he's doing quite well on his journey. After all, he did get his eighth badge. Mikoto-chan told me he did very well in his battle against her."

"Nine." Kyuubi replied, but the canine Pokemon suddenly paused. Kushina looked at her Pokemon with a confused look, watching Kyuubi's ears twitch every now and then. After a moment of watching Kyuubi's still form, the crimson eyed Pokemon began to sniff the air and suddenly turned and bolted towards the door. The nine tailed Pokemon manuevered one of its many tails and turned the handle before rushing outside. Kushina followed after her Pokemon.

"Kyuubi, what are you..." Kushina's voice halted in her vocal cords. Following her Pokemon's gaze, she looked up to see a quickly approaching object. Suddenly the object became more visible, growing from being a small dot in the distance. Kushina squinted to block out the sunlight and saw the object was actually a large bird, a Pidgeot.

The Pidgeot suddenly zoomed towards her and Kyuubi and within a matter of seconds, the large Bird Pokemon came to a stop, flapping its powerful wings in front of Kyuubi and Kushina. The Pidgeot then landed on the ground and then knelt down, tucking its wings in. Kushina sneezed as she was affected by the dust cloud Pidgeot had kicked up and then her gray eyes widened as she saw two figures jump off of Pidgeot's back.

"Hey Kyuubi!" Naruto grinned widely. Kyuubi barked loudly and immediately plowed into its trainer's son, knocking him on his back and licked at his face. "Hahahaha, nice to see you too Kyuubi! Now stop licking me!" Naruto laughed before pushing the platinum blonde fox off of his body. The Ninetails stepped back and then the blonde got up off the ground, dusting himself off before looking up to see the surprised face of his mother.

Kushina stepped slowly towards her son, tears welling up in her eyes. "Naruto?"

"Hi, Okaa-chan!"

The red haired woman wiped away her tears before running towards her son and enveloping in a tight hug. "Oh, look at my baby boy. So grown up. It's been so long."

"Ack...Okaa-chan...choking...not...breathing." Naruto managed to wheeze out as his mother's grip held tightly around his neck. Kushina blinked in confusion before glancing down at her son, seeing his face turning blue from lack of oxygen. She quickly released him and laughed as she saw him gasp and colour returned to his face.

"It's so nice to see you again, Naruto." Kushina smiled.

"It's good to see you too, Okaa-chan." Naruto grinned. "It feels like I've been away for so long even though it's only been a year."

"Well, it warms my heart to see that you're alright. Though..." Naruto suddenly released a yelp of pain as he was gripped tightly by his ears. "...Hinata-chan told me that you were badly hurt while fighting a wild Fire-type Pokemon and got burned! How dare you put yourself in such a position! You stupid little boy, -ttebane!"

"Ow Ow Ow Ow! Okaa-chaaaan, not in front of Sasuke!" Naruto whined. Kushina let go of her son's ears and looked behind him to see the black haired boy who was sitting atop Naruto's Pidgeot with an amused smirk on his face.

"Oh, Sasuke, you're here too? I didn't notice you there. Did you finally get to beat Mikoto-chan?"

Sasuke merely took his badge case out from his backpack and opened it, revealing all eight shining badges. The Rising Badge seemed to shine brighter than the others though. Kushina nodded her head before turning to her downed son.

"So, Naruto, you have tell me everything about your gym battles. I doubt you and Sasuke will be heading fro Tojho Falls and Victory Road immediately." Kushina said.

"Well, we had actually planned on doing that, but..." Naruto's and Sasuke's stomachs both roared causing Kushina, Kyuubi and Pidgeot to sweatdrop at the two boys.

"Well, why don't you boys and your Pokemon have some food first before going to Victory Road, hm?"

"ALRIGHT! Can we have bacon?" Naruto asked excitedly. "Teme, seriously, Okaa-chan's bacon is the best bacon ever!"

"I'll see when I taste it, dobe."

Kushina laughed at the boys' exchange of words, seeing just how similar it was to when she and Mikoto talked to each other. She then led the two boys inside, Pidgeot and Kyuubi following behind them. Afterwards, Kushina proceeded to cook up a nice lunch for the two boys which consisted of some rice, Pidgey meat dipped in oyster sauce, diced bacon made from Grumpig meat that had been imported from the Hoenn Region, and some cold, refreshing Moomoo Milk to drink.

And for the Pokemon, well each of the Pokemon got a single bowl to eat and well... Red Gyarados, who was forced to stay outside with Rhydon and Rapidash due to their much larger sizes, had to be given an entire bag's worth of Pokemon food in order to sustain its appetite. After the two ate their fill and the Pokemon had finished their bowls of Pokemon food, Kushina began to look over both teams of Pokemon.

'Both teams are very well balanced. Naruto's has an edge due to the fact that he would have eventual Dragonite on his team and those are regarded as pseudo-legendary Pokemon, but it does help that Sasuke's team appears to have quite a few Ice-type users like his Sneasel, Feraligatr and possibly his Gyarados. Naruto's team has more type differentiation, while Sasuke has a few powerhouse team members. No doubt when these two are ready to fight in the Pokemon League, they are going to rip through their opponents to try and get at each other in the finals.' Kushina smirked as she remembered her time in the Indigo League Championship battles.

"Something wrong, Kaa-chan?" Naruto's voice snapped the red head out of her thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh nothing honey, just remembering." Kushina bent down slightly, noticing that her now thirteen year old son had gotten a small growth spurt. "Naruto, before you and Sasuke head off, just know that I am so...so very proud of you and the person you've become. You are an excellent Pokemon trainer and I know that you have what it takes to become the Champion."

"Thanks, Kaa-chan." Kushina hugged her son. As she held her son, her eyes focused on Sasuke who was awkwardly gazing at the ceiling. "And Sasuke, I'm sure Mikoto-chan is proud of you too. So since you are my son's rival, be sure to keep him on his toes, neh?"

"Hn. I'm an Uchiha, I don't hold back against any opponent, even if it is a dobe like Naruto."

"OI! TAKE THAT BACK!" Naruto roared as he broke free of his mother's hug and glared at Sasuke. Kushina then looked at the clock and saw it was almost four in the afternoon.

"You boys can fight on the way to Victory Road, now get on out of here. Remember, Surf along the waters until you reach the first land mass you see. Climb onto there and just follow the path. You'll find your way to Tojho Falls from there and then you'll pass through Victory Road from there. Good luck you two. Train hard during the months you have before the League starts after you register for the Silver Conference."

"We will, Okaa-chan. I won't disappoint you."

"I know you won't, Naruto."

And with that, Naruto and Sasuke returned all of their Pokemon to their balls, except for Quagsire and Feraligatr. Kushina watched as the two trainers hopped atop their Pokemon as they reached the shoreline of New Bark Town and headed off for Victory Road.

Getting through Tojho Falls was fairly easy, after all, it was basically just having Gyarados ride up the waterfalls and navigate through the few caverns to get through to the other waterfall which they had to scale down, via Gyarados again, and then got through to the other side of the falls before they found themselves traversing through Routes 26 and 27.

From that point, many trainers who labelled themselves as 'Ace Trainers' began popping up. However, Naruto and Sasuke easily tore through them all with their Pokemon, using type advantages and the surrounding area to take down the opposing Pokemon. The two then stood before the large gates that barred their path towards Victory Road.

The large black gates led to a large building that appeared to meld into the side of the mountain where Victory Road was situated. The two young trainers walked through the gates which had automatically opened for them and they entered the large building complex. Typhlosion and Feraligatr followed their trainers, looking up at the ceiling of the large building before they and their trainers were stopped.

"Halt!" Naruto, Sasuke and their partner Pokemon looked to the left and right and saw a single guard approach them from either side. The two were quick to take note of the fact that there were hallways that led to barred doors from where the guards were approaching them from, but they didn't question that, but instead focused on the fact that they were being blocked by the two guards.

"No unauthorized members can pass through this point." The two guards stood in front of Naruto and Sasuke with stern looks on their faces. A pair of Arcanine stood by their sides which were prepared to strike should lethal force be required.

"Don't worry." Naruto said. "We're trainers. We collected all eight gym badges and are here to pass through Victory Road to get into the Pokemon League and sign up for the Silver Conference Victory Tournament."

"Here's our proof." Sasuke said. Both he and Naruto reached into their backpacks and retrieved their badge cases. With a 'click', the cases snapped open and revealed their respective eight badges.

"Zephyr Badge, Bug Badge, Plain Badge, Fog Badge, Storm Badge, Mineral Badge, Glacier Badge and Rising Badge." One guard muttered to himself as he looked over the badges. He then reach into his pocket and took out a black light. He ran the black light over the badges and Naruto and Sasuke were a bit caught off guard when they saw an official Pokemon League seal was cleverly printed onto the surface of each badge, notifying the guards of their badges being legitimate and not being copies.

"Alright, the seal is present and you have all eight gym badges accounted for." The second guard said. The two guards and their Arcanine parted ways returning to the pathways that they were previously guarding. "Good luck going through Victory Road and the Pokemon League, boys. The best of the best come to take part in that tournament so remember to train hard during the time you have before it starts."

Naruto and Sasuke nodded to the guards before they looked at each other with confident smirks on their faces.

"Bet I can beat more Pokemon in the caves than you." Naruto challenged his rival.

"Dream on, dobe."

"Ty Typhlosion."

"Feraligatr."

With that the two entered Victory Road. The area was filled with many areas where boulders were to be moved and rocks were to be smashed, but Quagsire and Rhydon made sure to handle those areas. Of course, there was also the fact that there were numerous wild Pokemon that appeared to stop the young trainers from continuing to move through their territory.

Geodude, Graveler, Rhyhorn, Onix and the worst of them all...Zubat. All these Pokemon and a few more came out of the shadows of Victory Road to stop the two trainers from proceeding further through the caverns of Victory Road, and there were even times where young trainers had emerged to challenge the two boys as these trainers wished to cut down the competition they would face while also aiming to get out of Victory Road. However, with their well trained Pokemon, Naruto and Sasuke made quick work of taking down their opponents.

Not to mention they had managed to catch the Pokemon that they hadn't caught before, those being Ursaring and Donphan. The two Pokemon had their information recorded in the Pokedex as they were warped to Professor Iruka's lab.

Ursaring the Hibernator Pokemon. A Normal-type Pokemon and the evolved form of Teddiursa. Although it is a good climber, it prefers to snap trees with its forelegs and eat fallen Berries.

Donphan the Armour Pokemon. A Ground-type Pokemon and the evolved form of Phanpy. The longer and bigger its tusks, the higher its rank in its herd. The tusks take long to grow.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme...I see a light up ahead!" Naruto called out.

"Don't yell, dobe. I'm right here and yeah, I see it." Sasuke replied.

The two trainers and their partner Pokemon ventured towards slight, squinting as they neared it. The light then flooded their vision as they exited the cave complex of Victory Road. They blinked rapidly as their eyes got used to the presence of sunlight once more. The sky was a deep mixture of orange, red, yellow, thus showing them that it had taken them nearly the entirety of the remainder of the day to go through Victory Road as it was indeed sundown.

Their eyes widened as soon as they looked at what lay ahead. Even Sasuke couldn't deny the feeling of awe he was currently experiencing.

Before them stood a massive series of Greek-styled archways that outlined the brick pathway that led to the small entry building. The archways were composed of white marble and there were eight arches, each with a large marble image of one of the eight badges on the pillars. One the left pillars were the Johto badges while on the right were the badges that represented the Kanto region's areas. Even though it was composed of white marble, the architect who designed it still made it so that the badge carvings were painted in their original colours.

The first archway had the Zephyr and Boulder badges. The second had the Bug and Cascade badges. The third with the Plain and Thunder badges. The fourth had the images of the Fog badge and the Rainbow badge. The fifth with the Storm Badge and the Soul badge. The sixth archway had carvings of the Mineral badge and the Marsh badge. The seventh arch had the Glacier badge and the Volcano badge. The final eighth archway had its left pillar bearing the Rising badge and its right pillar bearing the Earth badge.

The emerald grass was neatly trimmed around the brick walkway and the grass led to a lush forest which surrounded the area.

Naruto and Sasuke continued to look around before they turned straight ahead. What lay beyond all the arches made their jaws drop.

The gargantuan stadium that stood before them was no doubt going to be the one they would battle in. The stadium was akin to that of the opera house found in Sydney, Australia, only it was twice as large and was painted a shining mixture of silver and gold.

The two young trainers, Typhlosion and Feraligatr walked along the brick pathway that led to the stadium before they were stopped by the entry way guard.

"Welcome boys, how may I help you?" The guard asked. Naruto gulped audibly as he shook with excitement, nervousness and a whole bunch of other emotions that were running through his system. The blonde managed to calm his nerves and he turned to the guard, the lone smirk on his face being the only thing he could do to keep himself from bursting into cheers and whoops.

It had been one heck of a ride. Battling trainers and wild Pokemon. Catching and evolving the Pokemon that had become the team he had traveled through the Johto region to reach this point. Taking down all eight gym leaders.

It all seemed like it took more than just a single year to do it all, but Naruto knew he wasn't dreaming as he looked down to see Typhlosion nudging his leg. The Volcano Pokemon gave a nod towards its trainer, the flames blazing on its neck as it looked ready, ready to take down all that stood in its trainer's path. Naruto took a shaky breath before looking at the guard and nodded his head.

"Yes, I..." Naruto couldn't believe his words as they left his mouth and the grin that followed afterwards. "...I would like to sign up for the Pokemon League."

(A/N: Alright, well that's it for this chapter. I know it's short for when I went through Tojho Falls and Victory Road, but even in game, as long as you know what you're doing and you kill all the Zubat that get in your way, it's a pretty simple method of getting through both cavernous areas. Now before you ask, no they didn't stumble upon ROOT's base when they were going through Tojho Falls. I know you all would think that and wonder how come they didn't, but in response to that, I will tell you all that it's basic evil villain protocol to always keep your base REALLY REALLY DEEP within the caverns of a cave complex should you choose to build one there. So obviously, Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be able to find it and neither would their Pokemon.

As for the trainers in Victory Road, yes I know in the game for HGSS and in the original GSC series of games, there were no trainers to fight in the Victory Road because your rival beat them all to a pulp, but now that Naruto and Sasuke had been traveling together to reach the Pokemon League, Sasuke (being the rival) didn't have the ability to beat the trainers beforehand and so I thought it would make sense to have people to battle now. I had used the Pokemon and trainers that are found in the Victory Road of FireRed and LeafGreen versions and so after much reading over of the story and counting over the amount of Pokemon caught and seen, I was able to find that there were 17 new Pokemon, including Kyuubi the Ninetails since I never added him to the recordings, to add to the 'Seen' portion of the Pokedex recordings.

Now then, from this point onwards, I will be focusing a bit on Hinata and Sakura as I want to get the contests and the Grand Festival out of the way. The Pokemon League is a few months from the point at which this chapter ended, so Naruto and Sasuke will have undoubtedly signed up for their Pokemon League entrance things and would then begin their own set of training and in that time, Hinata and Sakura would be busy with their contests and the Grand Festival.

I know I took forever to update this story, but I hope I will be able to type up the next chapter as quickly as I had done this one, as this one only took approximately a day and a half to type up.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter even though there isn't any action, but hey, at least I got through with the relationship stuff with Hinata and Naruto. Remember to review, review, review! Reviews help me get the motivation to write and helps me improve myself as a writer, so please tell me how I did with this chapter you guys.

P.S-Can't wait for Pokemon X and Y to come out. Disappointed with the name they made for 'Fairy-type', but maybe it'll grow on me as I play the game. Can't wait!)

Pokedex: Seen-168

Caught-102

Character Bio: Ruby

Eye Colour: Red

Hair Colour: Red

About: Ruby is one of three children of Nagato and Konan, twin sister to Sapphire and older sister to Wallace. She was born twelve seconds before her twin and as such, she is the eldest of the three children. Due to Nagato being the leader of ROOT, Ruby was made an admin in the ROOT organization at an early age alongside her siblings and was given her first Pokemon, a Charmander. She is a very kind person towards her family and is very easy going, but is quick to anger and has a fiery temper. She is extremely protective of her twin sister and little brother. She was very distraught when Konan, her mother, passed away and so she was very adamant in joining the Project Time Travel plan Nagato had made in order to bring her back. She is a very skilled trainer and with her Charmander now a fully evolved Charizard she is an even more deadly force among ROOT agents than she was before.

Naruto's Team:

Typhlosion(Male)

Pidgeot(Male)

Heracross(Male)

Quagsire(Female)

Amphoros(Female)

Dragonair(Female)

Hinata's Team:

Espeon (Female)

Butterfree(Female)

Nidoqueen(Female)

Jumpluff(Female)

Lapras(Male)

Togekiss(Male)

Sasuke's Team:

Feraligatr(Male)

Sneasel(Male)

Gengar(Male)

Rapidash(Female)

Red Gyarados(Male)

Rhydon(Male)

Sakura's Team:

Meganium(Female)

Azumarill(Female)

Porygon2(No Gender)

Jigglypuff(Male)

Vulpix(Female)

Pikachu(Male)

Akatsuchi's Team:

Golem(Male)

Steelix(Male)

Sudowoodo(Male)

Crobat(Female)