Naruto: Johto Journeys

by KitsuneDragon

Naruto is a young trainer who wishes to become a Pokemon Master. With his trusty Cyndaquil by his side can he overcome the challenges he will face and make his dream a reality? Pairing: NarutoxHinata and SasukexSakura.

41. Chapter 41:Finding a Purpose

Naruto: Johto Journeys

Chapter 41: Finding a Purpose

"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!

(A/N: Hey guys, thanks for reading the latest chapter. The reviews were awesome, as all of you had positive things to say about it. The number is a bit low for my liking, but I'll take what I can get. This story will soon be coming to an end, about seven chapters are left before the story is finished and I can add a fourth story to my list of completed ones, but like I said in the author note of the last chapter...there will be a Hoenn region sequel that will be based off of the Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby versions.

Also, to answer the Guest reviewers for chapter 40; I will be using a mixture of both Naruto characters and Pokemon game characters. Team Aqua and Team Magma will be featured as they are, along with Steven, the Hoenn Elite Four and maybe the Hoenn Gym Leaders if I can't find a Naruto character equivalent for them.

Hope you all enjoy this next chapter and your reviews are what helps give me the drive to keep writing this thing other than personal enjoyment. A little positive reinforcement and constructive criticism goes a long way so remember to review at the end of the chapter.

P.S- For the entirety of this story from this point onwards, I will be placing Insert Music bits for you guys to listen to as you read the battles that take place. So if any of you readers want some epic sound to go with your epic reading, then you can follow the tracks I place in the story, to your leisure. Also, a note that if the music runs out before the battle is over, then just replay it until it is.)

Pokemon League Stadium, Indigo Plateau

The Next Day

The sun shone brightly in the expanse of blue, white clouds drifting lazily through it in order to act as a source of shade for the spectators below for the short amount of time that they could. The sound of the multitude of spectators cheering echoed through the air as the atmosphere in the Indigo Plateau was positively electric.

"Charizard, finish it off with Seismic Toss!" The Flame Pokemon roared loudly as it sped off towards its exhausted foe. Charizard grabbed Dragonite by its shoulders, spinning it around so that its back faced it. The thin, yet powerful arms of the Fire/Flying-type Pokemon snaked themselves underneath Dragonite's armpits before Charizard took off into the skies, flapping its wings with large and powerful strokes. Once the blue eyed dragon of a Pokemon reached a suitable height, Charizard began to fly in a circle, gaining momentum and speed with each revolution.

Once it had reached its maximum speed, Charizard made one final revolution before rocketing straight towards the ground. With its speed being increased by the force of gravity, there was no stopping the Flame Pokemon's attack as Dragonite's exhausted form, now coupled with dizziness, was slammed down on the ground with enough force to generate a massive cloud of smoke and dust.

"No! Dragonite!"

The dust and smoke cloud dispersed to reveal the unconscious Dragonite laying at the feet of a panting Charizard. Charizard then released a roar of victory, breathing a stream of fire into the air. The referee and commentator nodded in satisfaction at the seeing the defeat of the Dragon Pokemon before raising her arm into the air.

"And Charizard finishes off the match by defeating Dragonite with a Seismic Toss!" Anko shouted before pointing to the victorious trainer. "Satoshi Taijiri has defeated Wataru Chiba and moves on to the semi-finals of the Silver Conference!"

"Yeah, alright!" Satoshi whooped before running onto the field and hugging his Charizard. The Flame Pokemon released a growl and a smirk at its trainer before breathing a tongue of fire at him. Satoshi released a cry of surprise before he was revealed to have been turned a charcoal colour from the ash that now covered his form. He breathed out a black cloud of smoke before looking at the amused form of his winged Pokemon.

"Charizard...why?" Charizard did not reply and just tapped the Poke Ball on its trainer's waist before vanishing as a stream of red energy into the capturing device. The laughter of the crowd did not serve to lift Satoshi's embarrassed visage as he walked towards the viewing area to go clean up. Anko chuckled into the microphone as she watched Satoshi and Wataru walk off the arena floor.

"Well folks, this is shaping up to be one hell of a Silver Conference!" She shouted. The spectators loudly showed their agreement with the purple haired commentator. "I know right?! Now then, we have three more matches for today and all of which I am sure will flabbergast you! These are the final rounds after all, and only the best of the best are left here for you to watch! After all, there is no better form of entertainment than watching people try to beat the crap out of each other with their Pokemon! So, for the next round, put your hands together for the next match of the day!"

On the main big screen, two profile images of the next two trainers appeared and Anko smirked. "The next match is between the soon-to-be-legendary, Sasuke Uchiha and his opponent, the woman with the most-est and the ghost-est, Kikuko Sugiyama!"

From the tunnel-like entrance of the viewing area, the young Uchiha and his elderly opponent walked out onto the arena floor. Sasuke glanced out of the corner of his eye, observing his opponent. Kikuko was an elderly woman who looked to be the same age as Professor Sarutobi, probably in her late seventies or early eighties. Her wrinkled skin was a dark cream colour with a few liver spots scattered across the visible areas, her veins largely visible due to her advanced age. She had black eyes that were sharp and calculating, and her hair was grey, but the remnants of her original hair colour, a dark blonde, were visible in some areas. Her clothes consisted of a dark violet dress with a white apron of somesort worn over it, a set of olive coloured stocking and a pair of matching dark violet shoes. In her hands was a brown, wooden cane..

Sasuke took a bit of a faster pace so that he would reach the farther end of the arena. When the two took their positions, Kikuko smirked at the dark haired boy.

"You're quite considerate for a stuck up Uchiha, aren't you?"

"Hn." Sasuke grunted in reply to the masked insult. In the stands, Izuna and Mikoto were frowning deeply at the jab at their family's stereotype. Kikuko's smirk quickly vanished and Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion as he saw the deep frown that appeared on the elderly woman's face.

"So I hear that you are one of the boys that Sarutobi's taken an interest in. That old duff was once tough and handsome. But that was decades ago. He's a shadow of his former self. Now he just wants to fiddle with his Pokedex. He's wrong. Pokemon are for battling! Sasuke, I'll show you how a real trainer battles!"

'Well someone has past issues.' Everyone thought as they glanced at Hiruzen. The creator of the Pokedex placed his face in his hands and shook his head.

"It was fifty years ago. Why can't she just let it go?" Hiruzen muttered.

"And on that note, let the battle begin! Professor, musical accompaniment please!" Anko shouted. Hiruzen pressed the button on the music player and the music blasted through the speakers as Kikuko and Sasuke both drew forth their Poke Balls and tossed them into the air.

(Insert Music: Pokemon FireRed/Leafgreen- Elite Four Theme)

"Go, Haunter!" Kikuko tossed her Poke Ball into the air.

"Gengar, take her down!" Sasuke sent forth his own Ghost-type Pokemon and in simultaneous flashes of white light, the pair of Pokemon appeared on the battlefield.

"And it looks like it's a battle between ghosts as Kikuko's Haunter is sent out to combat its evolutionary form!" Anko announced.

"Gengar, use Shadow Ball!" Sasuke commanded. Gengar held out its arms and a blob of shadow quickly materialized in the Shadow Pokemon's hands.

"Geng!" The blob of shadow fired at Haunter, but the Gas Pokemon quickly flew around the attack.

"Haunter go in close and use Hypnosis!" The Gas Pokemon flew straight towards its evolutionary form at high speeds, Sasuke's and Gengar's eyes widening at the sudden speed of it. Once Haunter was in close enough, its disembodied hands latched out and grabbed Gengar by its shoulders before its large eyes glowed with an evil red light.

"Haunter Haunt!" The Gas Pokemon then began to activate its Hypnosis attack, but Sasuke smirked as he looked to Gengar.

"Gengar, Psychic attack!"

"What?!" Kikuko's eyes widened as Gengar's eyes glowed a violent electric blue that seemed to drown out the evil crimson of Haunter's. The super effective attack struck Haunter with terrific force, the Ghost/Poison-type being unable to dodge since it was in such close proximity to Gengar.

"Haunt!" The telekinetic force struck Haunter and sent it flying through the air as its disembodied hands were released from Gengar's body, flying back to join its user. Haunter quickly recovered shaking its head from side to side to rid it of its dizziness. Kikuko's eyes narrowed when she saw her opponent's Pokemon dive into the ground and looked to her Pokemon.

"Haunter, fly up!" The Gas Pokemon obeyed its trainer without question, shooting skyward, and just as it did so, Gengar flew out of the ground from Haunter's shadow.

"Gengar, bring Haunter back down with Psychic attack and follow up with Shadow Ball!"

"Gengar Gengar Gen!" The Shadow Pokemon cackled as its eyes shone with electric blue light once more. Haunter's flying form was suddenly halted as an aura of blue surrounded its body, Gengar's arm outstretched in its direction. Gengar then pulled its arm towards itself, Haunter's body mimicking the action.

"Haaauuunt!" The telekinetic forces acting on its body damaged Haunter as it was pulled in and Kikuko could watch as Gengar's free arm charged up an ebony spheroid of pure shadow energy.

"Geeeen-Gar!" Gengar shoved the Shadow Ball against Haunter's body.

"HAUNTER!" The Gas Pokemon cried out in pain as the super effective strike exploded against its body. The small cloud of smoke and shadow dispersed as quickly as it came, and Kikuko's Pokemon fell to the ground, unconscious.

"And Haunter is unable to battle, Gengar wins!" Anko announced as she raised the blue flag which signaled Sasuke's victory. Kikuko returned her Haunter to its ball without any change in her serious expression before looking over Sasuke's Gengar. She placed the Poke Ball in her dress pocket after shrinking it before taking out her second ball.

"Crobat, I choose you!" Kikuko sent out the four-winged evolved form of Golbat, its ever angry looking expression meeting the amused one of Gengar. "Attack with Air Cutter!" Crobat nodded before shooting above Gengar's position and harshly flapped its two upper wings. With a loud cry, Crobat unleashed powerful arcs of pressurized air that zoomed towards Gengar.

"Gengar, dive into the ground and attack from below with Psychic!" Sasuke ordered. Gengar obeyed and quickly vanished beneath the earth, a small dust cloud forming as the Flying-type move crashed down on the ground. Gengar then burst out of the area where Crobat's shadow was, but to its surprise, Crobat had flown down to meet it head on.

"Crobat, use Shadow Ball!" Kikuko commanded. Opening its mouth, Crobat unleashed a massive burst of poisonous, purple sludge at Gengar. The Shadow Pokemon quickly raised its arms and protected itself against the attack, but unleashed a harsh cry of pain as the super effective attack exploded against its body. Gengar flew through the air and managed to right itself just as Crobat fired off another Shadow Ball.

"Use Psychic to take control of the Shadow Ball and fire it right back!" The Shadow Pokemon's eyes shone with electric blue light and the Shadow Ball was halted in midair before being shot straight back at its user.

"Crobat, dodge it!" Kikuko cried out.

"Psychic attack!" The young Uchiha ordered. Crobat quickly went into a loop-de-loop to avoid its own redirected attack, but just as the Ghost-type attack exploded against the far wall of the arena, Crobat was suddenly sent careening through the air as Gengar had performed its follow up Psychic attack, sending the powerful telekinetic attack at the four winged bat. Crobat grunted in pain and was sent flying back through the air.

"Crobat, regain control and fire an Air Cutter attack!"

"Gengar, counter with Shadow Ball!"

Crobat quickly righted itself in the air and then sent forth the arcs of pressurized air while Gengar summoned forth a spheroid of pure shadow.

"CRO!"

"GAR!"

The two attacks raced towards each other and caused a small explosion upon colliding.

"Crobat, scatter the cloud with Air Cutter and follow up with Sludge Bomb!" Crobat did as it was told and the Flying-type move dispersed the cloud of dust before a burst of violet, poisonous sludge was sent at Gengar. Gengar's eyes widened, not expecting the Poison-type move and quickly raised its arms in reflex.

"Geeeng!" The Shadow Pokemon hissed as the poisonous substance burned against its arms, but luckily the attack didn't inflict a Poisoned status on it as the sludge dripped right off when Gengar flicked its arms.

"Gengar use Shadow Ball!"

"Crobat, use Shadow Ball right back!"

The two orbs of shadow energy were charged and fired off causing simultaneous explosions. The two high level Pokemon rushed each other and fired off numerous amounts of Shadow Ball attacks at each other, trying to take the other down. Crobat went into a barrel roll to avoid an attack from Gengar, but the Shadow Pokemon avoided the four winged bat by diving down and then striking from below. Crobat deflected it with an Air Slash before unleashing a Sludge Bomb attack, but Gengar deflected the attack with a Psychic attack before following up with another burst of telekinetic energy. Crobat ducked underneath the attack before sending out a Shadow Ball only for Gengar to go into a loop-de-loop to dodge it.

Crobat used its aerial superiority however to get in close to Gengar, but Sasuke took advantage of the close proximity between the two Pokemon.

"Confuse Ray!" Kikuko ordered.

"Hypnosis!" Sasuke shouted out.

The two Pokemon's eyes glowed blue and red respectively and suddenly, the two fell to ground zero. Crobat snored while Gengar got back up, stumbling around like a drunkard.

"Gengar, attack with Psychic!" Gengar stumbled around for a bit, groaning as it fought against the confusion, but in the end it managed to attack. Gengar fired off a burst of telekinetic energy and the super effective attack nailed Crobat's slumbering form and sent it spiraling through the air before it crashed down on the ground at Kikuko's feet.

"And after a titanic aerial battle, Gengar steals victory from Crobat!" Anko announced. "This makes it a two-to-one win for Sasuke! Will the Son of Dragons pull off another great win like he did against Shizuka Reimei yesterday?! Or will his Gengar be felled by what Kikuko has in store for the young Uchiha?!" The rhetorical question went unanswered, but Kikuko and, surprisingly, Sasuke, both recalled their Pokemon.

"And apparently, Sasuke chooses to recall his Gengar! A smart move in my opinion considering it needed to get out of that confused state from Kikuko's Crobat! Now what will the young Uchiha do?!"

"Arbok, go!"

"Rapidash, I choose you!"

"And Kikuko sends out her serpentine terror while Sasuke responds with the Fire Horse Pokemon!"

Arbok hissed dangerously at Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pokemon responding with a defiant snort and stomping of its hooves. The two Pokemon glared at each other before Sasuke made the first move.

"Rapidash use Fire Blast!" Rapidash reared back on its hind legs before inhaling a great deal of air. Fire swirled and collected within the equine creature's mouth before Rapidash stamped its feet down while unleashed the massive ball of fire. The fire ball then exploded outwards to form a five pointed star of burning red and yellow flames.

"Arbok, dodge it with Double Team and take down Rapidash by wrapping around its legs!" Kikuko ordered.

"CHARBOK!" The Cobra Pokemon cried out before its body flickered. Suddenly, a few doppelgangers of the serpentine Pokemon appeared before the Fire Blast crashed down on the ground. The multiple Arbok were lost to the storm of fire and smoke, but the original Cobra Pokemon's increase evasiveness allowed it to emerge out of the smoke relatively unharmed, only a small burn located on the back of its hood. The Poison-type Pokemon slithered along the ground with amazing speed. Rapidash's eyes widened as Arbok snaked around its legs and its hood expanded, making the already large serpent appear to be even larger.

A mild amount of fear coupled with a lack of balance had Rapidash stumbling before it fell to the ground.

"Arbok use Earthquake!"

"Get out it by using Flare Blitz!"

"What?!" Kikuko's eyes widened as her Pokemon was suddenly wrapped in flames as Rapidash expelled the orange flames from its body. The cloak of fire then turned a startling shade of blue before a massive explosion occurred. Both Pokemon were caught in the explosion as they were sent skidding in opposite directions, but Rapidash only took on the recoil damage while Arbok took on a major amount of it.

Arbok hissed in pain as it rose back up to its full height while Rapidash climbed back onto its hooves.

"Arbok use Giga Drain!" Arbok rushed at Rapidash and immediately bit down on the Fire Horse Pokemon's neck. Rapidash unleashed a whinny of pain as what looked like red energy flowed out of the bleeding wound before turning green as it entered Arbok's jaws. The move wasn't very effective due to it being a Grass-type move, but it served to rejuvenate Arbok's heavily damaged form as it retracted its fangs and slithered away as Rapidash slammed its hooves down on the area where its head had been while it was retreating.

"Earthquake attack!" Kikuko ordered.

"Not gonna happen! Rapidash, use Bounce!"

Arbok raised its tail and slammed it down heavily on the battlefield, seismic waves racing across it as a result. However, the Fire Horse Pokemon leaped into the air with its powerful leg muscles and thus avoided the Ground-type move before arcing in the air and diving towards its Poison-type opponent.

"Arbok, jump and meet Rapidash in midair! Wrap around its midsection and throw it down before following up with Sludge Bomb!"

"No way!" Sasuke shouted out in alarm as he saw Arbok's body coil like a spring. Its muscle tightened before quickly relaxing as it pushed off into the air. Arbok coiled around Rapidash's body, hissing in pain due to the fiery mane that stretched along the length of the Fire Horse Pokemon's body. But the Cobra Pokemon powered through and with a loud "CHAAAARBOK!" flipped its body in midair, forcing Rapidash's own to do the same, before releasing the Fire-type. Rapidash whinnied in alarm before releasing another cry, this one being one of pain.

The cry of pain was only enhanced in volume as Arbok spat out a glob of venomous poison from its jaws, splattering it over Rapidash's body. The hissing sound of the acidic substance burning against Rapidash's flesh was audible for a few moments before some of the poison vanished to show Rapidash's bare flesh, stripped of its fur and visible for all to see.

Younger children had their eyes covered for a few moments as they moved their parents' hands aside and the audience winced in unison upon taking note of the poisoned Pokemon's injured area.

"Come on Rapidash! Get up!" Sasuke encouraged his Fire-type. However, weakened and poisoned, Rapidash's attempt to climb to its feet was slow and clumsy.

"Finish it off with Earthquake!" Kikuko ordered. Arbok nodded as it fell before flipping in the air and lashed out with its tail. With terrific force, the rear appendage slammed down on Rapidash's back and forced back down to the ground and the force of the earth racked Rapidash's body. The Ground-type move was proven to be as super effective on Fire-types as it was made out to be as Rapidash's eyes rolled up into its head as it blacked out from the pain.

Arbok then slithered off of Rapidash's body and flared its hood, hissing in victory.

"Poisoned by the Sludge Bomb attack, Rapidash had no way to escape the Earthquake attack that followed! Arbok defeats Rapidash and so Kikuko takes the win for this round!" Anko shouted into her microphone as she held up the red flag.

Sasuke held out his Poke Ball and the red string of energy converted Rapidash into its own energy form, sucking the Fire-type into the sanctity of its spherical form.

"You did well." Sasuke muttered as he shrunk down the Poke Ball. "Now we take her down! Rhydon, attack with Earthquake!" Without missing a beat, the Drill Pokemon emerged from its Poke Ball with a loud roar and stamped down on the ground as it did so. Seismic waves rushed across the battlefield, but Kikuko was quick witted despite her advanced age. It was one of the pros of being a Pokemon trainer at her age.

"Arbok, counter with your own Earthquake!" Arbok nodded and slammed its tail down on the ground. Its own seismic waves collided with Rhydon's and the two cancelled each other out, but Rhydon took advantage of its Earthquake being a sort of distraction and thundered across the arena floor.

"And Rhydon shows that despite its heavy size, it has a great deal of speed!" Anko commented.

"Rhydon, attack with Hammer Arm!" Rhydon's arms glowed with white light before it roared out a battle cry. Rearing back its right arm, the Rock/Ground-type Pokemon attack, but Arbok dodged the attack and began to snake around Rhydon's arm.

"Attack with Giga Drain!"

"Smack it off, Rhydon!" As Arbok opened its jaws, aiming to sink its fangs into the softer areas of Rhydon's flesh by its neck area. However, Rhydon used its free arm to smack Arbok against the side of its head, disorienting it for a brief moment before gripping the Poison-type and raising it into the air.

"GROAR!" Rhydon slammed Arbok into the ground with Hammer Arm infused force causing the Cobra Pokemon cough up a bit of blood and spittle. Rhydon then raised both arms overhead to slam them down, but Arbok quickly avoided the attack. Rhydon acted just as quickly and shifted to go for another swing of its Hammer Arm, but Arbok used Double Team to let its doppelganger take the blow before coiling its body and crashing its body against Rhydon's chest with enough force to send the heavy weight Pokemon back a step.

Arbok then shot forth and bit Rhydon's neck and the Drill Pokemon roared in pain as the Grass-type move that was Giga Drain, began to suck the very energy from its body. The super effective move did a great deal of damage while replenishing Arbok's own, but Rhydon was able to pry the Poison-type off of it by grabbing it by the tail. The Cobra Pokemon hissed in pain as it was slammed down on the ground with great force, but to the surprise of both Pokemon and trainer, Arbok's rear appendage was detached from its body, still wriggling as if it were still attached to the brain bearing body.

"Arbok has it's own share of natural abilities. Like a few regular reptiles, Arbok and Ekans have the ability to sever their own tails to distract prey while they get away." Kikuko explained. "Now Arbok, attack with Sludge Bomb!"

Arbok then attacked with Sludge Bomb, aiming to blind the evolved form of Rhydon with a shot at the eyes.

"Duck under it Rhydon, and strike back with an uppercut! Use Hammer Arm!" To the surprise of Kikuko and Arbok, Rhydon did avoid the attack by ducking and then swung its arm upwards. Time seemed to slow down for the Poison-type as the glowing limb neared it body and then with a deafening snap of the jaw and the removal of one of Arbok's lower fangs, Arbok was struck with the Hammer Arm attack, sending it a few feet into the air. Rhydon then took a step forward and struck with a strong straight punch and Arbok coughed up a glob of blood as some of its bones were cracked from the impact of the Fighting-type move.

"Now follow up with Stone Edge!" Rhydon stamped its feet down on the ground and pieces of the arena floor shot up into the air before the Drill Pokemon spun on its heels and its tail sent the sharp pieces of earth at Arbok. The pieces of stone embedded themselves deep within Arbok's hood, some hitting along the length of its tail as well.

"CHARBOK!" Arbok cried out in pain before it crashed down on the ground, blood staining the arena floor.

"Now finish it with Earthquake!" The Ground-type attack was brought about as Rhydon raised its foot before crashing it down with devastating force. The seismic waves rattled Arbok's body and due to it being super effective, Arbok was down for the count.

"And with a rattling Earthquake attack, Rhydon puts down the tenacious Arbok for this fight! It's now a three-to-one loss for Kikuko right now, but can she turn the tides with her next Pokemon?!" Anko shouted into her microphone.

"Oh, I believe I will." Kikuko chuckled as she enlarged her next Poke Ball after recalling Arbok. "Misdreavus, go!" The Screech Pokemon appeared out of its capturing device before focusing its red irises on Rhydon's panting form. It seemed as if the Giga Drain attack from earlier was beginning to get to it.

"Rhydon, let's take this one down too!" Sasuke encouraged his tired Pokemon. "Attack with Stone Edge to distract it! Then charge to get in close and attack with Hammer Arm!" Rhydon nodded before stomping its feet on the ground, sharp pieces of rock shooting up into the air from the rocky epidermal layer of the battlefield. The Drill Pokemon then spun on its heels and slapped the sharp pieces of stone at Misdreavus before taking off after them, arms alight with white light as it readied itself to use Hammer Arm.

"Psychic." Kikuko said calmly.

"Mis!" The Screech Pokemon's yellow sclera and red irises were lost in a sea of blue light as it activated its telekinetic abilities. The burst of telekinetic energy tore through the air, scattered the Stone Edge attack's rock shards and then crashed against Rhydon's chest. The Rock/Ground-type Pokemon's eyes widened in pain, unleashing a loud gasp as blood and spittle escaped out of its lips. Rhydon crashed down on the ground, but managed to roll with the force, climbing back to its feet. However, Misdreavus suddenly appeared next to it.

"Grrrr?" Rhydon's tired form gained a confused expression, but that confusion quickly became a mixture of realization and terror as Misdreavus opened its mouth.

"RHYDON, COVER YOUR EARS!" Sasuke shouted as he decided to follow his own advice. However, the command came one moment too late as Misdreavus unleashed an ear splitting screech. As if to show why it was given the title of the Screech Pokemon, Misdreavus's loud screech echoed throughout the stadium and forced even Anko and the closer members of the audience, Pokemon and human alike, to cover their ears. Rhydon's vision began to swim as the high pitched sound waves entered its inner ear, nauseating it. Rhydon stumbled forwards before falling onto its forelimbs and knees, vomiting slightly due to the nausea.

"Oh! And Rhydon is nauseated to the point of vomiting due to Misdreavus's deafening screeching!" Anko exclaimed.

"Shadow Ball attack." Misdreavus opened its mouth before charging up the orb of pure shadow. The powerful spheroid of shadow then rocketed out of the small Pokemon's mouth, but the large amount of force that impacted with Rhydon's body was enough to send the damaged Pokemon through the air before it came crashing down at Sasuke's feet.

"And Rhydon is K.O-ed!" Anko shouted. "That's put it at a score of three-to-two now for Sasuke! What will Sasuke do against this powerful Ghost-type?!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth as the Poke Ball's string of red energy transformed Rhydon into a stream of red energy as well, returning the Drill Pokemon to the capturing device. However, the young Uchiha was quick on the draw to summon forth his next Pokemon.

"Sneasel, let's take that thing down!" The dual type Pokemon appeared out of its ball with its ever-present, cocky smirk. However, that cocky smirk became one of annoyance when Misdreavus stuck out its tongue in retaliation. The two red eyed Pokemon proceeded to glare at one another before attacking per their trainer's orders.

"Misdreavus, attack with Shadow Ball!"

"Bat it aside and attack with Metal Claw!" The Dark/Ice-type nodded its head before its claws glowed with silvery-white light.

"SNEA!" The Sharp Claw Pokemon lashed out with its Metal Claw in a sideways slash, smacking aside the powerful Ghost-type attack and reducing it to mere wisps of shadow before taking off towards Misdreavus.

"Misdreavus attack with Psychic when it gets close enough!" Kikuko commanded.

"Move in a zig-zag so it wouldn't be able to track you well!" Sasuke countered. Sneasel began to run with its high speed movement, but proceeded to perform the zig-zag motions, forcing Misdreavus to shift from side to side in order to try and keep track of the Dark/Ice-type. Sneasel then stopped running in a zig-zag motion and went in for a head on strike, rearing back its Metal Claw. The Steel-type move neared Misdrevaus, but Kikuno saw an opportunity for an attack.

"Use Thunderbolt, Misdreavus!" A bolt of golden lightning flashed out of Misdreavus's body and bore down on Sneasel's form. The Electric-type attack then generated a loud explosion and a cloud of dust mixed with sparks of leftover voltage from the powerful attack. However, Kikuko and Misdreavus's eyes widened when the dust dispersed and Sneasel was nowhere to be found. A small crater in the ground being the only remnant of where it had once been.

Sasuke smirked as he seemed to look past Misdreavus. "Faint Attack!" Kikuko and Misdreavus had their eyes wide while the audience and Anko broke out into cheers as Sneasel suddenly flickered into existence behind Misdreavus. With a powerful cry Sneasel lashed out with a strong swipe of its claws, the Metal Claw attack raking down Misdreavus's form and dealing a great deal of damage.

"Thunderbolt again!" Kikuno exclaimed.

"Dodge it and use Faint Attack and Metal Claw again!" Sneasel vanished from view as the Thunderbolt attack generated another small dust cloud before reappearing behind Misdreavus and delivering a strong shoulder tackle as the Dark-type move registered with Misdreavus's form. The super effective attack was then followed by the glowing, silver claws of the Sharp Claw Pokemon. Misdreavus tumbled through the air, but Sneasel appeared to its left and delivered another strong Faint Attack and then flickered behind Misdreavus, and then to its left, striking again with the powerful Dark-type attack while simultaneously avoiding the Psychic attack and Thunderbolt that aimed to strike it.

The final attempt at trying to hit Sneasel ended in failure as well. The Shadow Ball was torn apart into wisps of shadow energy as Sneasel went in for a straight line attack and then flickered from view before reappearing above Misdreavus and dealing a powerful downward slash that left a trail of black behind it due to how fast the attack was.

"Now finish it with Metal Claw!" Sasuke ordered.

"Snnnnneeeaaaaa-SEL!" The dual type Pokemon stabbed its claws forth and impaled Misdreavus through what some would call the Ghost-type's stomach area. Sneasel then withdrew its claws and Misdreavus's eyes rolled up into the back of its head as the great deal of pain caused by the impaling strike rendered it unconscious.

"And in amazing show of speed and strength, Sneasel effortlessly takes down the powerful Misdreavus! What a show this is turning out to be folks!" The guest MC announced. The spectators loud cheering showed their agreement with the purple haired beauty as Kikuko recalled her Pokemon.

"You've done well, youngster! But now you're down to my strongest two Pokemon!" Kikuko smirked. "Gengar, attack with Shadow Punch!" In a burst of light, the capturing device unleashed the Shadow Pokemon onto the battlefield before it lashed out with a strong straight jab. Gengar's shadow suddenly lengthened, stretching towards Sneasel while also taking on the shape of a fist.

"Dodge it!" Sasuke ordered.

"Fool! Shadow Punch can never be avoided!" Kikuko declared. And true to her word, Gengar's Shadow Punch attack was not able to be avoided and Sneasel's eyes widened as the shadow arched in the air and nailed Sneasel across the side of its face. Blood dripped from its now burst lip, but the Sharp Claw Pokemon flipped in midair before skidding backwards.

"Faint Attack!" Sasuke ordered. Sneasel ran forward before vanishing in a blur of movement. It then reappeared behind Gengar and struck it in the back. The Shadow Pokemon did not expect the fast paced attack and was sent careening through the air before recovering.

"Now use Shadow Claw!" Sneasel's claws were then wrapped in shadow, lengthening and sharpening to take the shape of its own natural weapons. The Sharp Claw Pokemon then took off towards Gengar.

"Counter with Shadow Punch!" Gengar's fists were clenched tightly before they were enlarged and massive fists of shadow were stretched out from its arms. Shadow Punch and Shadow Claw collided with terrific force, generating a massive shockwave as a result. The two Pokemon did not back down however as they just simply attacked one another again and again. Even when they were struck, they continued to fight. Blow after blow was met with only one or two managing to get through the bombardment of attacks, but when they did, they were devastatingly painful.

However, Sneasel won the battle as it was hit in the face from a Shadow Punch only to counter with a long range attack.

"Attack with Blizzard now!" Sasuke ordered. Sneasel inhaled deeply before unleashing a powerful gust of freezing wind and ice from its maw. The powerful Ice-type attack hit its mark and Gengar was sent flying backwards through the air only to recover and dive into the ground.

"Gengar, use Hypnosis!"

"Strike back with Shadow Claw!"

Gengar appeared out of the ground and then grabbed Sneasel by its shoulders, eyes glowing red. Sneasel's eyelids flickered up and down, but before it could succumb to the effects of Hypnosis, with a defiant cry it delivered a brutal Shadow Claw strike that tore across Gengar's stomach and sent it flying through the air before it crashed down, the momentum causing it to skid backwards for a few moments before it came to a complete stop.

As it did, Sneasel fell forward on its face, unconscious and snoring.

Anko raised both flags as she observed both Pokemon to make sure they were both unconscious. "And it's a tie! Sneasel is out via Hypnosis while Gengar is out by that Shadow Claw attack! Both trainers are to withdraw their Pokemon for the next round!"

Sasuke and Kikuko didn't miss a beat as they simultaneous called back their respective Pokemon and then threw out their next Pokemon. In a flash of light, Sasuke's Gengar appeared, but Kikuko's final Pokemon was revealed to be a Gengar as well. However, Sasuke could see from the look in this one's eyes that it was much more experienced, more fit for battle, stronger by a large margin.

"And both trainers send out Gengar! How will this play out?!" Anko shouted.

"Your Gengar is weakened from earlier battles, boy." Kikuko cockily informed her opponent. "You would be better off sending out that Red Gyarados of yours to battle my Gengar."

"We'll see about that." Sasuke growled out. "Gengar, use Shadow Ball!"

"Gengar use Shadow Ball right back!"

Both Shadow Pokemon unleashed their charged orbs of pure shadow energy and caused a massive explosion at the point of collision. However, Kikuko's Gengar flew through the smoke cloud in an effort to use it as a cover, but Sasuke and his own Gengar had seen that tactic far too much to not expect it to be used so Sasuke's Gengar had shot high into the air.

Its body glowed with golden electricity before it held its hands high into the air, electrical charge pooling between its palms.

"Gengar, use Thunder!"

"Gengar, counter with Thunderbolt!"

Sasuke's Gengar unleashed a wicked thunderbolt from its hands, much larger and obviously packing more power in its form that the golden bolt that Kikuko's own Electric-type attack had. However, the Electric-type attacks were still forced to fight for dominance as they clashed in midair. The smell of ozone permeated the air of the arena before an explosion of lightning occurred.

"Use Psychic!" Kikuko ordered. Her Gengar then collected the voltage in the air and sent forth a Psychic enhanced bolt of electricity at Sasuke's own Shadow Pokemon.

"Gengar, counter with Thunder and then use Shadow Ball!" Sasuke's Gengar fired off another wicked thunderbolt that clashed with Kikuko's own, easily overpowering it since it was made of only leftover voltage from their earlier clash of electrical charge. The Thunder attack struck Kikuko's Gengar and sent it rocketing towards the ground.

"Roll with the fall to avoid the Shadow Ball!" The elderly woman commanded. Her Gengar did as it was told and rolled with the fall, absorbing some of the impact that came with the meeting with the ground and was sent skidding from the force of the shcokwave made by Sasuke's Gengar's Shadow Ball attack. Kikuko's Gengar then flew back into the air and unleashed a Thunderbolt attack, the bolt of golden lightning arcing through the air at great speeds.

"Dodge it and counter with Psychic!"

"Counter with your own Psychic and then use Sludge Bomb!"

Sasuke's Gengar performed a barrel roll to avoid the electrical attack before its eyes glowed with blue light. However, Kikuko's own Gengar's eyes took on the same appearance before they held out their hands.

"GENG!" They shouted out as they sent forth their bursts of telekinetic energy in unison. The two then began to soar around each other, launching Psychic attacks at one another. Ripples of blue energy were the only way for people to tell that there was actually an exchange of attacks going in the skies of the arena. However, Kikuko's Gengar quickly went into a loop-de-loop to avoid the latest attack from Sasuke's Gengar before stopping at the highest point of the aerial maneuver.

Kikuko's Gengar opened its mouth and then spewed out a large glob of violet sludge. Sasuke's Gengar released a hiss of pain as it raised its arms to block the Poison-type attack, the substance slathering over said limbs.

"Gengar, use Thunder!" Sasuke commanded.

"Redirect it with Psychic!" Kikuko responded.

"Dodge it and then use Shadow Ball!"

"You use Shadow Ball as well!"

The elderly woman's Gengar's eyes glowed with electric blue light as it caused the massive bolt of electricity to turn around in midair and head straight back towards its user. However, Sasuke's Gengar quickly moved to the side, avoiding the strike before charging up a Shadow Ball. Kikuko's Gengar also fired off a Shadow Ball and the two Ghost-type moves collided in midair. Sasuke's Gengar then flew through the resulting smoke cloud and tackled Kikuko's Gengar.

"Hypnosis and then Psychic!" Sasuke ordered. Kikuko's eyes widened.

"NO!" But it was too late as Sasuke's Gengar's eyes shone with an evil red light. Kikuko's Gengar became slow its movements as it became drowsy before being slammed into the ground by the telekinetic burst that shot forth from Sasuke's Gengar. The two Gengar crashed into the ground with terrific force, cracking the earth beneath them, but Sasuke's Gengar was the only one standing as it panted heavily over Kikuko's unconscious Pokemon.

"GENGAR!" The Shadow Pokemon exclaimed in victory.

"AND THAT'S THE END FOLKS! SASUKE UCHIHA'S GENGAR HAS SHOWN TO BE THE BETTER OF THE TWO, TAKING DOWN KIKUKO'S GENGAR AFTER A GRUELING EXCHANGE OF BLOWS! SASUKE UCHIHA MOVES ON TO THE SEMI-FINALS!" Anko's exclamation was met with a great deal of applause and cheers from the audience. Sasuke's Gengar fell to the ground in exhaustion, passing out after hearing it was the victor. Sasuke smirked as he recalled his Pokemon, noticing the genuine happiness present within the everlasting grin on Gengar's face.

"Oh, my! You are something special, child!" Kikuko chuckled as she recalled her own Ghost-type Pokemon. "You win. I see what that old duff sees in you now. I've nothing else to say. Run along now, child." Kikuko said as she looked at Sasuke. With a nod of her head, the elderly Pokemon trainer retreated to the stands where the losing competitors could watch from, seating herself beside Shizuka Reimei. Sasuke gave his opponent a nod of acknowledgement before entering the viewing area.

"Way to go, teme!" These were the words Sasuke was met with upon reaching his seat. His blonde haired rival roughly clapped him on the shoulders and grinned widely. "You were really fighting out there. Guess it just goes to show that the people here are getting harder to beat. I mean, if Gengar lost, you would have had to send out Feraligatr or Gyarados."

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed. "She was much better than I thought."

"You are a stellar trainer, Sasuke-san, but...you must take into consideration the fact that no one here in the Pokemon League is a weakling." Shino advised the raven haired boy. "Even the elderly and young people such as ourselves, we are not weak."

"What about Kiba?" Sasuke argued.

"Every category has its exceptions, but that is not my point." Shino explained. "You know as well as I that your are too prideful in your lineage. You may be an Uchiha, but even powerful trainers such as mother have been defeated by the likes of us. Not to mention that Izuna-sama was once felled by Naruto-san's father."

Sasuke remained silent at that and turned his head away from the Bug-type user.

"And now the third match of the day will begin! As per our handy dandy computer's randomizer program, the next battle is..." Anko paused for dramatic effect. "Shinob Aburame versus Ryuu of the Orre Region!" The crowd erupted into applause upon hearing the next pair of fighters. Sasuke and Naruto turned to Shino before looking in the direction of the Orre Region native.

The Champion of The Under was sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed, an air of confidence surrounding him. His eyes then opened before glancing in the direction of Shino and nodded to the young Bug-type specialist.

"You are the most tactically gifted trainer in this tournament, Aburame-san." Ryuu spoke with a baritone voice that matched his towering appearance. "I look forward to seeing just how skilled you are with Bug-types in comparison to your father."

"I look forward to facing an experienced trainer like yourself as well, Ryuu-san." Shino spoke as he rose from his seat. The dark haired teenager was about to follow after his opponent to the arena floor, but paused as Naruto spoke.

"Shino!" Shino turned back slightly, his dark glasses-covered eyes meeting Naruto's blue ones. He raised an eyebrow as the son of a Champion was looking at him with a serious expression. "I know that your strategy is to play it safe, analyze your opponent's moves and then create an effective counter. It's a god strategy, but this guy...Ryuu isn't someone you can afford to hold back against. The moment that battle begins, you go all out."

"Understood, Naruto-san." Shino said before walking off.

On the Battlefield

Shino took his place on the red box of the arena and stared at Ryuu as he was standing on the opposite side of the field in the blue box. Anko looked back and forth between the two trainers and nodded her head.

"And both trainers are ready to start!" Anko raised her flags into the air and swung them down. "Let the battle begin!"

(Insert Music: Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire- Wild Pokemon)

Acting immediately, both trainers pulled out a Poke Ball and tossed it into the air. In simultaneous flashes of white light, the two Pokemon that were chosen to fight appeared on the battleground.

"The mysterious Ryuu sends out the Dark-type Eevee evolution that is Umbreon, but Shino responds in kind by sending out his powerful Pincer! This is anyone's game, but so far, Shino has the type advantage!" Anko announced. Ryuu and Shino stared at one another, but were actually sizing one another up. Pinsir gnashed its teeth while clinching its pincers menacingly, Umbreon replying in kind by growling and having the rings on its body glow with a seemingly otherworldly light.

"Umbreon, use Dig!" Ryuu commanded.

"Pinsir, meet it underground by using Dig as well!"

Both Pokemon leaped into the air before burrowing beneath the earthen layer of the arena floor. Members of the audience leaned forward in their seats, their eyes straining with the hope that they would, at that moment, magically develop X-Ray vision so that they could see what going on underground. However, the moment wouldn't have been needed as the earth began to rumble for a few moments before a massive crash was heard.

From a newly formed hole in the ground, Pinsir and Umbreon were shown to have come out, Umbreon biting down on Pinsir's left arm while the Stag Beetle Pokemon had stabbed the claws of its right arm into the side of the Moonlight Pokemon.

"Now use Superpower." Shino said. Harshly wrenching its claws from the Dark-type Pokemon, the Stag Beetle Pokemon used the same free arm to deliver a powerful hammer blow down on Umbreon's skull. The Moonlight Pokemon unleashed a loud yelp of pain as it smashed down on the ground, cracking it from the force of the impact. Pinsir then raised its arms high above its head to deal a final blow, but Umbreon's eyes snapped open as it prepared to react.

"Protect!" A burst of green energy appeared out of Umbreon's body, forming a sizable dome that deflected the attack while also sending Pinsir skidding backwards due to it being in such close proximity during the dome's formation. The Stag Beetle Pokemon gnashed its teeth in annoyance as the dome of energy flickered out of existence.

"Umbreon use Dark Pulse!" Umbreon reared up on its back legs before slamming down its forepaws and unleashed a powerful pulse of dark energy that raced out from the point of impact. Pinsir quickly crossed its arms in front of its body in order to protect itself, skidding backwards a bit further only to be sent flying through the air as Umbreon had followed up with a Shadow Ball attack.

"Now use Dig to reach its location and strike from below!" Ryuu commanded. "Then while it's hurt, attack with Shadow Ball again!"

"Breon!" The Moonlight Pokemon dug beneath arena floor as Pinsir landed on the ground, digging its claws into the earth in order to slow its movement with friction. When the Bug-type came to a complete halt, the ground beneath its feet cracked before bursting apart as Umbreon emerged. The Ground-type move proved to be successful as it nailed Pinsir straight in the chest, however, Umbreon was incapable of following up with a Shadow Ball as Pinsir's tough exoskeleton allowed it to absorb much of the power from the blow, and recover much quicker than Umbreon and Ryuu would have expected.

"Slam it down into the ground and then use Superpower." Shino stated. Pinsir gained a glint of malicious intent in its eyes as its hands wrapped around Umbreon's throat and raised the canine Pokemon high into the air. With a loud cry, the Stag Beetle Pokemon slammed its opponent down onto the ground with terrific force before releasing the Dark-type Pokemon and delivering a strong hammer blow after clasping its claws above its head. The super effective attack did its job, blood flowing out of Umbreon's mouth as the internal damage brought about by a few ribs cracking, and Umbreon was unconscious.

Shino's Pinsir then stomped down on Umbreon's downed form and made a 'come at me bro' motion towards Ryuu. The Orre Region native narrowed his eyes at the cocky nature of the Bug-type before recalling Umbreon.

"Your Pokemon's attitude is rather unsatisfactory." Ryuu commented. "They say a Pokemon's nature is also reflected from it's trainer. What does that say for you?"

"Nothing whatsoever, Ryuu-san." Shino replied coolly. "But what does your Umbreon's defeat speak about you?"

Anko made a hissing noise as she licked finger and placed it against her skin. "Burn! And the Aburame wins the round of verbal insults as well as the first battle! Shino Aburame is on a roll today, folks!"

Ryuu took out his second Poke Ball and tossed it into the air. In a flash of light, a Noctowl appeared in the skies above. The dark brown feathered Owl Pokemon hooted as its sharp eyes zeroed in on Pinsir's form.

"Noctowl, attack with Psychic." Ryuu ordered. Nowtowl's eyes glowed with electric blue light before sending out a powerful burst of telekinetic energy. The attack raced towards Pinsir, but Shino would not have his Pokemon injured as he gave out his order.

"Avoid it by using Dig." Pinsir leaped into the air before diving into the ground, its pincer attachment eating away at the earth to create a tunnel. A small cloud of dust exploded outwards as the Psychic attack collided with Pinsir's former location.

"Noctowl, generate heavy winds with Air Slash and drive Pinsir out of the ground by aiming for the hole." Noctowl nodded and then flew over the hole Pinsir had vanished into.

"HOOOOO!" The Owl Pokemon screeched like the avian creature that it was before unleashing powerful arcs of pressurized air. The Air Slash attacks then flowed through the tunnel Pinsir had made for its Dig attack, and the pressurized winds then acted upwards and forced Pinsir out of the earth through the hole made by the earlier Dig attacks from its exchange with Umbreon. Pinsir was groaning in pain as it hovered in the air, damaged by the super effective strike.

"Now Noctowl, attack with Air Slash and follow up with Steel Wing." Noctowl flapped its wings once more and delivered a powerful arc of pressurized air at Pinsir before following directly after it, its wings glowing with silver light that left a trail of silver behind to mark its movement.

"Pinsir, use Protect to block the Air Slash and then catch Noctowl by the wings." Shino ordered. Pinsir nodded and generated an orb of green energy around its falling form, defending it against the Flying-type move. The defensive move quickly vanished from view, but the Bug-type acted just as quickly and its arms lashed out, gripping the now steel hard wings.

"Pinsir, attack with Superpower." Pinsir delivered a brutal uppercut to the beak that sent Noctowl shooting skyward while it fell.

"Power through the pain, Noctowl, and use Sky Attack!"

"Use Superpower again to soften your landing and then attack with Guillotine!" Pinsir landed heavily on the ground, its body shaking a bit as the shock raced through its exoskeleton covered body. However, the Stag Beetle Pokemon was given no time to recover as Noctowl's form was wrapped in a powerful orange aura. The aura then expanded outwards, blazing like a raging fire as it took on the shape of a massive bird.

"HOOOOOOOOOOO!" Noctowl trilled out its cry as it descended before slamming down on Pinsir's body. A massive explosion occurred that shook the battlefield and resulted in an equally massive cloud of dust and dirt.

"Wow! It's only the second round and already we have giant explosions going on in this battle!" Anko commented. "Now as the dust begins to settle as result of Ryuu's Noctowl's use of Sky Attack we will now see that..." The dust cleared away when Anko paused and revealed the cracked exoskeleton of Pinsir's unconscious form, but next to Pinsir was Noctowl, its left wing partially crushed and had blood flowing from the areas where Pinsir's spikes had stabbed into its body from the crushing retaliation. "Amazing, folks! It seems that even when Noctowl scored that hit with Sky Attack, Shino's earlier order to use Guillotine was successful! The One Hit K.O move crushes Noctowl's wing and damages some ribs and the Owl Pokemon is down! This round is a draw!"

The two trainers held out their Poke Balls and red beams of energy stretched out, returning their respective Pokemon to their capturing devices. Ryuu and Shino nodded in acknowledgement to one another.

"Brilliantly done, Shino-san. But with my two weaker Pokemon out, it's time for my heavy hitters to take to the field, and I'm sure you are aware as to what the first Pokemon I will be using is." Ryuu enlarged a Great Ball in his hands with a smirk.

"I am. And I have prepared for it." Shino replied as he enlarged his Poke Ball.

In a flash of blue light, Ryuu called out the formerly sleeping giant that was Snorlax while Shino unleashed a Heracross onto the field.

"And it's out! Ryuu has sent out the undefeated titan that is his Snorlax! Throughout the entirety of the Silver Conference, Ryuu's Snorlax has never once been beaten! Will Shino's Heracross be capable of besting the beast, or will it just be another victim?!"

Ryuu chuckled. "Oh, a Heracross. You really did aim to take out Snorlax didn't you?" Ryuu's dark eyes then narrowed as a serious expression formed on his face. "But let's see if you can. Snorlax, use Earthquake!"

"SNORLAAX!" The Sleeping Pokemon stood up from its seated position before stomping its foot on the ground. Seismic waves raced out from the point of impact towards Heracross, but the Single Horn Pokemon opened out the shell area on its back and its wings buzzed to life.

"Heracross avoid it and attack with Close Combat!" Shino ordered. Heracross quickly went into a loop-de-loop and then appaeared to flicker out of view as it took on a burst of speed at the apex of the aerial maneuver. With the Ground-type attack avoided, Heracross then materialized in front of Snorlax, the momentum of the high paced flight carrying over into the rapid movement of the punch it lashed out with.

With destructive force, Heracross's right jab nailed Snorlax in the stomach and a grunt elicited from the Normal-type giant's throat. Heracross then followed up with a left jab before leaping into the air and crashing a powerful uppercut against Snorlax's chin. The Single Horn Pokemon then flipped in midair before delivering a strong axe kick to the skull with its right leg before crashing down its second leg. Heracross then performed a final chop strike while raking its claws down the length of Snorlax's body. The strike did its damage, but Snorlax's thick body prevented any blood from being shed.

Snorlax panted in exertion as it powered through the pain of the Fighting-type barrage of attacks.

"Now attack with Megahorn!"

"HERA!" The Single Horn Pokemon's horn shone with a pale green light as it bent its legs. Driving its body upwards through its knees, Heracross leaped towards Snorlax's head, intent on delivering a final blow. However, to both Shino's and Heracross's surprise, the Sleeping Pokemon suddenly raised its arms high above its head.

"Ice Punch, Snorlax!" Ryuu ordered. With the downward momentum from the swing being increased by gravity, The glowing blue fist of Snorlax impacted with the powerful Bug-type attack. Heracross flapped its wings furiously, hoping to gain some type of advantage that would allow it to push back the Ice Punch, but it was to no avail as Snorlax's other Ice Punch smashed down and forced Heracross to the ground.

"HERAC!" Heracross gasped out in pain, bouncing back up into the air due to the recoil. However, Snorlax continued its own onslaught of physical attacks as it delivered another Ice Punch, smashing Heracross back down into the ground. Another Ice Punch followed after, and then another.

"Now use Body Slam!" Ryuu's command was obeyed as Snorlax tilted forwards, aiming to flatten the Bug/Fighting-type Pokemon.

"Heracross, use Close Combat on the ground to push yourself out of the way!"

"You won't get away that easily, Shino-san! Snorlax follow up with Hyper Beam!"

"Use Endure!"

Heracross quickly performed the Fighting-type attack, slamming all four of its limbs down on the ground to go into a series of backwards somersaults. Rolling out of the way of the attack, Heracross quickly jumped to its feet and hopped backwards as it went with the backward momentum of its movements, but suddenly Snorlax tilted its head upwards. It seemed as if Snorlax wouldn't allow the fact that it was lying down on the ground deter its trainer's orders and so, a powerful orb of golden yellow and orange energy swirled to life within Snorlax's open jaws.

"SNOOOOORLAAAAAAAAAX!" The compact sphere exploded in the form of a powerful beam of destruction. The attack tore through the battlefield, leaving a trench behind it before it slammed against Heracross's form. However, the Single Horn Pokemon crossed its arms in front of its body as it took on a glowing red appearance. Heracross gritted its teeth as it was sent skidding backwards from the force of the powerful Normal-type attack, and was only sent back further as the Hyper Beam generated a massive explosion.

When Heracross came to a stop, the weakened dual type was panting heavily, resting on one knee and had its right arm hanging lazily. The Hyper Beam managed to dislocate the limb it seemed.

"It now has to recharge, Heracross." Shino informed his Pokemon. "Attack with Close Combat and finish off Snorlax!" The Single Horn Pokemon nodded to tis trainer before rising back to its feet. However, the pace was slow as it began to take off into a run. Too tired to utilize its capability of flight, Heracross was forced to traverse the length of the battlefield on foot and thus it was giving enough time for Snorlax to recover from the Hyper Beam.

"It'll be too close by the time Snorlax recovers." Ryuu muttered. "No time for Earthquake or Hyper Beam and the proximity would be too close to go with Body Slam...Snorlax attack with Ice Punch when you recover!" The Sleeping Pokemon nodded as it shakily pushed its heavy body off the ground. Now on its hands and knees, the massive Normal-type continued to rise to its full height before rearing back one of its arms. The claws were clenched tightly before the entire paw was encased it ice blue energy, trails of frost flowing from it.

"HERACROOOOSS!"

"SNOOOORLAAAAX!"

The two Pokemon neared each other and unleashed their attacks, however, the audience was in shock when Snorlax was the one to score the blow. The Ice-type Pokemon nailed Heracross in the centre of its chest, cracking that area of the exoskeleton while also encasing it with a coat of ice. However, Heracross's tenacity proved to be its saving grace as Shino took advantage of his Pokemon's position and uttered a counter.

"Now Heracross...Reversal!"

Ryuu, Anko and every single other member of the audience watched in amazement as Heracross gripped Snorlax by the arm that had used the Ice Punch attack.

"HERAAAAAA..." Heracross's physical strength seemed to double, increasing to levels that one wouldn't have thought to be possible as the Single Horn Pokemon then twisted its body and swung Snorlax over its head.

"No way..." Ryuu muttered in surprise, his dark eyes wide in amazement and shock.

"...CROSS!" Heracross slammed Snorlax down on the ground, creating an earth shaking impact, cracking the ground and causing a small crater to form as a result. The Fighting-type move was super effective and Snorlax now lay on the ground unconscious, blood leaking from its mouth due to the internal damage, as well as from the wound to its skull. Heracross was panting exertion as it stood over its opponent, but then quickly succumbed to the same fate as it coughed up a glob of blood and fell to the ground, partially encased in ice.

"Spectacular!" Anko exclaimed. "The seemingly unbeatable titan has been defeated by Shino's Heracross! With an amazingly timed Reversal attack, Heracross has done what has never been done before! The round has ended in a draw, but the lead is still held by Shino Aburame as he holds four Pokemon while Ryuu only has three! It's still anyone's match at this point folks!"

Shino and Ryuu returned their Pokemon and Ryuu looked down at his Snorlax's Great Ball with a small smile. He then glanced up at Shino. "I must say, Shino-san...you are far more interesting to battle that your father. You both sport great tactical maneuvers in yours battles, but you...you are still capable of knowing when to let your Pokemon's natural tendencies to overcome obstacles shine through. I never would have expected you to use Reversal and defeat my Snorlax."

"Your words are very kind, Ryuu-san." Shino nodded. "If I may be so bold as to say that Heracross is actually my toughest offensive Pokemon, your Snorlax being capable of taking on its Close Combat attack was quite surprising. It seems that being the Champion of The Under is not just a title."

"Of course." Ryuu said with a mock bow before reaching to his belt and drew forth his fourth Pokemon, Shino reaching for his third. "However, I must warn you...my last three Pokemon, are far more powerful than Snorlax. Let me show you the first one, go!" The Poke Ball Ryuu tossed snapped open and in a burst of white light, the Big Jaw Pokemon that was Feraligatr stood on the arena floor.

"Gatr." The Water-type growled out. Shino had responded by sending out his Yanmega. The Ogre Darner Pokemon's large form hovered in the air, staring blankly at its opponent with unblinking, red eyes. Yanmega moved rapidly as its wings buzzed, creating a loud buzzing sound that was annoying to those that paid any attention to it.

"Feraligatr, attack with Hydro Pump to distract before attacking with Ice Punch!" Ryuu ordered.

"Use Double Team to avoid continuously." Shino commanded his Pokemon. Feraligatr inhaled deeply, its belly swelling slightly before its cheeks bulged and a ferocious blast of highly pressurized water was unleashed. The attack raced towards Yanmega, but the Bug/Flying-type Pokemon quickly generated a series of illusionary doppelgangers. One of the ten copies was washed away by the raging waters before a second and third were destroyed by the double Ice Punch attacks. Feraligatr then shifted to the left and struck another copy while tearing through another with its tail. The sixth and seventh clones were destroyed by Feraligatr ripping its fans through one while the other was taken down via Ice Punch.

"Feraligatr punch the ground!" Ryuu ordered. Feraligatr roared as its reared back its fists and punched the ground. The ice spread outwards like a shockwave before numerous ice pillars erupted out of the sheet that encircled the Big Jaw Pokemon. The copies of Yanmega were all speared through the by the ice spikes, but when they were all removed, it was revealed that the original Yamega was no longer there.

"Aerial Ace." Shino told his Pokemon. Feraligatr's eyes widened when Yamega seemed to just appeared. There was barely any shift in the wind as the Bug/Flying-type emerged on the Big Jaw Pokemon's left, slamming harshly against it. Feraligatr grunted in pain as it skidded to the side and lashed out with an Ice Punch in the form of a left hook. However, Yanmega's Speed Boost ability came into play as it vanished from view and then slammed into Feraligatr's back sending it stumbling forwards. It was then struck in the face, a tooth flying out before it was quickly replaced by the one directly underneath it, and chest causing it to backpedal before being dealt a crushing blow to the skull. Feraligatr was woozy for a split second and thus Yanmega was given the opportunity to strike Feraligatr dead centre in its stomach.

Blood was coughed up by the Water-type as it skidded backwards and then Yanmega began to generate afterimages, bombarding Feraligatr with Aerial Ace after Aerial Ace, only managing to raise its arms to deflect the attacks.

"Feraligatr, strike the ground with Superpower to generate a shockwave to disrupt Yanmega's movement." Ryuu commanded.

"FERALIGATR!" The massive Pokemon roared as it was encased in an orange-brown aura. The Big Jaw Pokemon then slammed its arms down on the ground and the ground cratered beneath the point of impact and generated a massive shockwave. Yanmega's afterimages were torn apart and the original Yanmega was revealed, being blown back slightly by the winds.

"Now grab it!" Feraligatr dropped down on all-fours, increasing its speed beyond what it was when it was bipedal. It then leaped and bit down on Yanmega's tail, the powerful jaws crushing the Bug/Flying-type's tail like it was made of glass. Pieces of bone and exoskeleton fell to the ground as the Water-type tasted blood on its tongue, its fangs stained with blackish-green blood.

"Now slam Yanmega into the ground and use Waterfall." Feraligatr swung Yanmega high into the air before slamming it into the ground.

"YAN!" The Ogre Darner Pokemon cried out in pain only to release another cry of pain as Feraligatr reared its arms back, encasing them with water before swinging them down with terrific force. The speed and power of the attack was revealed by the fact that the water around Feraligatr's arms seemed to form a stream that marked their path, forming a miniature waterfall. The force of a waterfall met Yanmega's body and made the Bug/Flying-type cough up a bit of blood.

"Escape by using Supersonic." Shino ordered.

"YAAAAAAAAN!" The evolved form of Yanma buzzed its wings coupled with a high pitched shriek of somesort. Feraligatr backed away as it held the sides of its head. It began to see triple as it state of confusion caused it to stumble around, something which gave Yanmega enough time to recover.

"Aerial Ace. Aim for the back of the knees." Shino ordered. A split second later, Feraligatr felt the back of its lower limbs being struck painfully.

"GATR!" The large Water-type roared as it was sent down on its knees.

"Your Feraligatr is stronger than your Snorlax, that much can be seen." Shino admitted as he observed his Pokemon continuing to bombard Feraligatr with Aerial Ace attacks. The Big Jaw Pokemon was practically helpless since Yanmega continued to gain speed due to Speed Boost and Feraligatr could not react in time to properly block or dodge the attacks. "However, Yanmega is unmatched in terms of speed. There are a few ways to overcome Yanmega's speed, but unless you can figure it out within the next few seconds, your Feraligatr is done."

"I already have, Shino-san." Ryuu replied. "Feraligatr, use Waterfall on the ground!" Feraligatr managed to snap out of its confusion and then complied with its trainer's orders. Red eyes dilated with reptilian rage before slamming water encased arms down on the ground. A pulse of water raced out from the point of contact with the force of a raging waterfall and sent all of Yanmega's afterimages into oblivion. However, as soon as it did, a bright glow of gold shone high in the sky. Ryuu cursed inwardly as he saw Yanmega having already gathered a large amount of solar energy in its open mandibles.

"Shit." Ryuu cursed. "Feraligatr use Hydro Pump!"

"Too late." Shino muttered calmly. "Yanmega, Solar Beam!"

The pressurized blast of water tore through the air as Yanmega unleashed the powerful beam of concentrated sunlight. Weakened by the onslaught of Aerial Ace attacks from earlier, Feraligatr's Torrent ability kicked in. The shining blue aura that surrounded the Big Jaw Pokemon gave it enough power to push back the Solar Beam attack so that the explosion occurred close to Yanmega. The shockwave ripped through the air and generated a powerful explosion of water and light and Yanmega was sent into a downward spiral towards ground zero.

"Feraligatr, finish it off with Ice Punch." Feraligatr thundered across the battlefield on all-fours, both of its forehands glowing with icy blue energy the closer it got to Yanmega. Once it reached with striking distance, Feraligatr roared and leaped into the air, jaws wide and fists reared back. Closer and closer it reached to Yanmega and went to deliver the finishing blow...but Shino had other plans.

"U-Turn!" He ordered the Ogre Darner Pokemon. Ryuu's eyes widened as Yanmega lashed out with its broken and bloody tail. The lash served to injure Yanmega more than Feraligatr, but it did its job. Yanmega was surrounded by a glowing green orb of energy and was sent back into its Poke Ball, completely avoiding Feraligatr's Ice Punch. Acting quickly, Shino had already sent out his next Poke Ball and his Forretress slammed down on the ground, one of its four protrusions already preparing the charge of electricity that built up at its tip.

"Zap Cannon." Shino adjusted his glasses, catching the light of the electricity so that it reflected off of his lenses.

"FOOOORRETREEEESS!" The orb of concentrated electricity energy approached Feraligatr at a breakneck pace.

"Feraligatr, use Hydro Pump to avoid the Zap Cannon!" Ryuu shouted out to his Pokemon. However, due to being caught extremely off-guard by the sudden use of U-Turn, Feraligatr, for all of its experience and power, was unable to avoid the Zap Cannon attack.

Feraligatr then unleashed a roar of agony as it was engulfed in a storm of electricity. The electricity burned the less armoured areas of Feraligatr's scales and had its body twitching as it crashed down on the ground. Stray sparks of voltage flowed across its body before Feraligatr released one last growl of agony, and then fell into unconsciousness.

"And Shino Aburame has done it again, folks!" Anko exclaimed into her microphone headset. "Despite Feraligatr's strength, it was no match for Yanmega's speed, but just as Ryuu seemed to turn things around with holding off that Solar Beam with his Hydro Pump, Shino's usage of U-Turn to escape and attack with his Forretress's Zap Cannon was nothing short of brilliance! Feraligatr is unable to battle and so Forretress wins!"

The crowd erupted into a storm of applause as Ryuu could only stare in shock as his Water-type was felled by the powerful Electric-type attack.

VIP Box, Pokemon League Stadium

"Wow." Hinata, Sakura and Akatsuchi gaped in amazement at Shino's tactic.

"Espeoooon."

"Mega."

Meganium and Espeon expressed their own feelings of shock as well.

"I honestly thought it was all over when Ryuu countered that Solar Beam." Hinata said. "Shino-kun is amazing."

"I know right!" Akatsuchi exclaimed.

"That's Shibi's boy for you." Kushina said as Minato nodded in approval. "You've done a really good job with that brat of yours, Shibi." Kushina offered Shibi a thumbs up and the Bug-type gym leader gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

"You must be very proud." Fuka told her fellow gym leader. Shibi didn't turn to the leader of Goldenrod City, but he did nod in agreement.

"Shino has exceeded my expectations of him in this tournament. I would have been unable to think of a manner in which to escape Ryuu-san's Ice Punch if I were placed in Shino's position. The use of U-Turn was completely unexpected and a very much appreciated one. As a gym leader, I would say that I chose well as to name him my successor, and as a father...you are indeed correct, Fuka-san...I could not be more proud of Shino."

"So much youthful feelings! Shibi-san, your declaration of affection towards your son is most youthful" Lee muttered as he wiped his eyes, rivers of anime tears flowing from them.

"Geez Shibi, for an emotionless guy you sure know how to make a guy turn on the water works." Tenten added. The surrounding gym leaders wiped the stray tear that threatened to escape from their eyes and nodded in agreement with the Steel-type master. Shibi merely sweatdropped.

"It was not my intention to..."

"Just shut up and take your credit where it's due." Shinno said as he clapped the Bug-type master on the shoulder.

Back on the Battlefield

Ryuu returned Feraligatr to its ball and looked at it with the look of shock still present on his face. However, that shock quickly became one os seriousness mixed with a bit of amusement. "I must say, Shino-san, I did not expect such a thing from you. It was much more...free-thinking compared to what your father would do."

"You do not know my father, and I am not him." Shino said. "You make the mistake of thinking that just because I am the son of Shibi Aburame that I am like him. As Naruto-san had said on the first day, just because he is the son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, does not make him them. Talent and skill is not inherited by genetics, and one's own tactics and stratagems cannot be inherited either." Shino's voice then became uncharacteristically cold. "Now send out your next Pokemon, Ryuu-san."

"Hmm, it seems you aren't as emotionless as your father as well." Ryuu replied with a smirk, said smirk only growing as he saw Shino's eyebrow twitch. The serious expression then returned to Ryuu's face as he took out an Ultra Ball this time. "You have done well to force me to use this Pokemon. It's not my strongest, but it is definitely a close second. You will not be able to defeat this Pokemon with your tactics, Shino-san. I will assure you of this fact."

In a flash of gold and white light, Ryuu unleashed his fifth Pokemon.

"DRAAAAAAAAAA!" The Dragonite hovered for a few seconds in the air before slamming down on the ground with a serious expression present on its face. The Dragon Pokemon was obviously powerful and Shino sweated slightly as he observed its powerful form.

"Forretress, attack with Mirror Shot." Shino commanded. Forretress's body rotated as it fired off numerous spheres of glowing silver energy from the cannon-like protrusions on its body before they curled through the air and shot towards Dragonite.

"Dragonite, generate a wall of defense with Ice Beam and then attack with Dragon Pulse." Dragonite nodded and then opened its jaws. An orb of ice blue colured energy appeared before the Dragon Pokemon fired off the Ice Beam. Jagged bolts of icy energy crashed down on the ground and Dragonite formed a semi-circular wall in front of it. The Mirror Shot orbs crashed against the defensive structure, cracking it heavily as a result, but it served it purpose to protect Dragonite. The clear substance refracted the light unevenly as it made Dragonite's image distorted, but it was still capable of revealing the glow of silver and violet that came with Dragonite' preparation of Dragon Pulse.

With a mighty roar, Dragonite unleashed the vortex of energy from its mouth, shattering the ice wall in the process as it barreled towards Foreetress.

"Defend with Protect."

"FORRESTRESS" The Bagworm Pokemon cried out as it summoned forth the protective dome of emerald energy. A massive explosion occurred as the Dragon-type attack slammed against the barrier, but that did not stop Dragonite. The Protect barrier fell just as soon as the Dragon Pulse attack ran its course and the Dragon Pokemon showed off its high levels of speed, clearing the distance between itself and the Bagworm Pokemon in the blink of an eye.

"Thunderpunch." Ryuu ordered.

"DRA!" The Dragon Pokemon unleashed its fists as they were now cloaked with golden, electrical energy. A ferocious uppercut was dealt to the Bug/Steel-type before a powerful straight jab followed after, sending Forretress flying through the air.

"Now finish it with Ice Beam." Ryuu stated coldly. Dragonite fired off the burst of jagged icy energy bolts from its mouth and hit Forretress while it was still flying in the air. The Bagworm Pokemon unleashed a hollow cry of pain as it was struck before being completely encased in ice. Frozen and defeated, Forretress had lost the battle.

"And due to being knocked conscious and, to add insult to injury, frozen, Shino has lost this round!" Anko raised the blue flag. "The win goes to Ryuu's Dragonite."

"Yanmega, attack with Aerial Ace." Shino commanded as he tossed out the ball containing his heavily injured Pokemon. Yanmega panted as it hovered in the air, blood still dripping from its crushed tail and mouth thanks to the injuries given to it by Feraligatr, but it still went through the attack Dragonite. Vanishing in a blur of movement, Yanmega tore through the air and then materialized in front of Dragonite to deal the powerful blow...only to suddenly be sent crumpling to the ground as Dragonite delivered a ferocious downward punch to the skull in the form of a Thunderpunch.

"It's super effective!" Anko cried out. "Without even the need for a command, Dragonite has downed even Shino's speedy and strong Yanmega with an electrifying Thunderpunch!"

Shino returned Yanmega to its ball before taking out his own fifth Pokemon. "Scizor, go!" The evolved form of Scyther emerged from the Net Ball that Shino threw.

Hinata raised her eyebrows at that. "That Scizor came out of a Net Ball."

"Yeah, so?" Sakura looked at Hinata oddly for bringing up such a random fact. "What about it?"

"It's probably the Scyther that Shino-kun used to win the Bug Catching Contest in National Park outside of Goldenrod." Hinata said. "Akatsuchi-san, you remember it?"

"Kind of." The young Hiker replied. "Hmm, a prize winning Scyther turned Scizor. Shino's really takin' care of his Pokemon. I wonder how it'll fare in a Pokemon battle against that Dragonite."

"Use Swords Dance and then get into close proximity." Shino ordered. Scizor made a few intricate motion with its arms and suddenly an aura of power surrounded its body. With its power raised, the Pincer Pokemon took off at a high speed and was already in Dragonite's face. "Now attack with X-Scissor!"

"Meet those X-Scissors with Thunderpunch!" Ryuu commanded.

Scizor's pincers were suddenly wrapped in a pale green glow while Dragonite's forepaws were cloaked in golden electricity.

"DRA!"

"SCIZOR!"

The two Pokemon clashed in a titanic battle of claws versus pincers. Scizor went for a swipe to the head only for Dragonite to duck under the strike and go into a double straight jab to the abdoment. Scizor quickly sidestepped the first jab before bringing down one of its pincers to deflect the second jab and then went into a backhand spring to avoid the following uppercut. Once its completed the acrobatic movement, its knees bent and then its wings buzzed as it pushed off, taking on a burst of speed.

"Use Iron Head!" Shino ordered. Scizor's skull gained a bright shine to it before it impacted with Dragonite's Thunderpunch, but Scizor's blow carried more force behind it. The Dragon Pokemon was sent skidding backwards only for the Pincer Pokemon to follow through with its powerful Steel-type attack with an X-shaped slice with both pincers, Scizor scored a hit across Dragonite's chest and left an X-shaped slash wound behind before going into a series of slashes to the body.

Dragonite ducked, weaved and bobbed to avoid the onslaught of strikes before raising both arms to avoid the two downward vertical strikes and then opened out with its forearms, opening out Scizor's guard and leaving the Bug/Steel-type open for the double jab Thunderpunch to the chest. Electricity flooded the Pincer Pokemon's body as Dragonite continued to onslaught, delivering an uppercut to the chin that sent Scizor a few feet off the ground before it was pulled back down to the ground as Dragonite brought up its knee. The joint hit Scizor fantastically hard against the Pincer Pokemon's face sending it rising up into the air before Dragonite clasped its hands high above its head and brought down its Thunderpunch in the form of a devastating hammer blow that crashed down between Scizor's wings.

The blow was like a crack of thunder had echoed across the battlefield as Scizor's back was scorched from the electricity.

"Sci...zor." The Pokemon panted before it was sent flying through the air as Dragonite spun on its toes and lashed out with its thick tail. The rear appendage nailed Scizor across the face, but the Bug/Steel-type used its wings to right itself in midair before taking off into the sky.

"Flash Cannon attack!" Shino commanded. Scizor nodded and it opened out its pincers. Red, black and silver energy swirled within the spaces between its pincers, forming a compact orb of multicoloured energy.

"Dragonite, attack with Ice Beam!" Dragonite charged up an orb of ice blue energy within its open jaws and prepared to counter Scizor's attack.

"SCIIIIIIIZOR!" Scizor fired off the powerful Steel-type attack.

"DRAAAAA!" Dragonite met the Flash Cannon with its Ice Beam and the two powerful attacks clashed in midair, generating a bright flash as they struggled for dominance. However, due to Scizor's move being the stronger one as a result of type advantage, the attack managed to tear through Dragonite's Ice-type attack and the Steel-type move barreled towards Dragonite.

"Do a barrel roll and then fire off a Dragon Pulse!" Dragonite did as it was told, performing the aerial maneuver before firing off a Dragon Pulse. The vortex of silver and violet was countered with Scizor firing off another Flash Cannon. An explosion formed in the air, a shockwave pushed against both airborne Pokemon and soon the skies of the Pokemon League were light with flashes of silver and violet as Flash Cannon clashed with Dragon Pulse. However, after the latest clash, Scizor was caught off-guard when Dragonite was ordered to rush in closely.

Flapping its wings, Dragonite called upon the speeds that gave it the ability to traverse the world in 16 hours. A sonic boom raced throughout the air and Dragonite's form encompassed Scizor's in its shadow.

"Ice Beam attack!" Ryuu commanded. A flash of blue erupted across Scizor's vision and that was the end for the Pincer Pokemon as it was encased in a block of ice, its pained expression forever present until it was to be healed in the Pokemon Centre later that day. Scizor fell to the ground like the hunk of ice that it had become and Dragonite hovered in the air with a triumphant look on its face.

"And Scizor is the loser of that fantastical aerial battle! Dragonite is the winner!" Anko shouted as she raised the blue flag once more to signal Ryuu's victory with Dragonite. Shino's eyebrow twitched as he recalled Scizor into the Net Ball before pulling out his final Poke Ball. "And Shino prepares to fight Ryuu's Dragonite with his final Pokemon! Will Shino be able to snatch victory from Ryuu's Dragonite like he did with Snorlax, or will this be the end for son of Shibi Aburame?!"

"Well old friend, it is now time for you to face your opponent." Shino said as he enlarged the capturing device. "Ariados, I choose you!" In a flash of light, Shino's starter Pokemon, the one that was once a tiny Spinarak, was now a powerful Ariados.

Ariados the Long Leg Pokemon. A Bug/Poison-type Pokemon and the evolved form of Spinarak. It spins string not only from its rear but also from its mouth. It is hard to tell which end is which.

"Ariados, let's go and attack with Psychic first!" Ariados's eyes glowed with blue light before it unleashed the powerful burst of telekinetic energy. Dragonite's and Ryuu's eyes widened as they saw the ripple of blue that sped across the battlefield. The attack was unexpectedly quick and the power it packed behind it caught the two off-guard as well as Dragonite was sent tumbling through the air.

The Dragon Pokemon recovered, shaking its head from side to side to cure it of its dizziness, but that gave Ariados another shot at the Dragon Pokemon as the Long Leg Pokemon's eyes shone once more and Dragonite found itself rocketing to ground zero. With a resounding crash, Dragonite slammed into the ground and created a small crater as a result.

Dragonite groaned as it rose back to its feet only to suddenly find itself stuck as Ariados was now crawling towards it along the length of web it had shot from its rear end. The sticky silk had already been crafted to form a massive spiderweb and Dragonite was stuck in a few of the lines of the substance. Ariados's speed to traverse the length of its silk.

"Now Ariados attack with Poison Jab and then follow up with Cross Poison!" Shino commanded. Ariados nodded as it leaped from the line of silk it was walking along before shooting another threat that attached to the web it had created, and that Dragonite was partially stuck to.

"Dragonite, stop it with Ice Beam!" Ice traveled along the length of the silk that stuck to Dragonite and a bit beyond and the Dragon Pokemon shattered the ice, freeing itself before firing another burst of icy energy at its opponent, but Ariados swung itself around to avoid the Ice-type attack before going with the momentum of the swing while drawing back its frontal legs. The tips of the Long Leg Pokemon's limbs excreted a bit of violet poison at the tips before they lashed out and struck Dragonite across the face.

Lines of purple poison laced with crimson blood formed across Dragonite's face as it was struck another time before being hit in the chest by the Cross Poison attack. The poisonous substance had Dragonite howling in pain as the attack reopened the wound caused by Scizor's X-Scissor attack, but this time, poison was added to mix, thus increasing the level of pain for the Dragon-type.

"Now go in for a Psychic attack and finish Dragonite off with Cross Poison." Shino ordered. The Long Leg Pokemon's eyes shone with electric blue light as it unleashed a burst of telekinetic energy that had Dragonite skidding backwards. Dragonite panted, falling onto one knee as it clutched the bloody and poisoned wound on its chest, wincing heavily as the poison affected it.

Ariados then rushed forth at breakneck speeds, its legs coated in the violet venom that seemed to glow in the sunlight. "ARIA!" The Long Leg Pokemon then leaped at Dragonite and raised its limbs before lashing out.

"Dragonite, Outrage!" Ryuu ordered. Dragonite's eyes snapped open and its body suddenly unleashed a bust of reddish violet flames.

"DRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Dragonite roared, its rage apparent as it rose to its feet. The Dragon Pokemon's Outrage attack had Ariados flying through the air in obvious pain before it crashed down on the ground. Ariados quickly climbed back to its feet, but the Long Leg Pokemon's eyes widened as it watched its opponent traverse the length of battlefield and deliver another burst of dragon-based, flaming fury. The reddish violet flames were unstoppable as they crashed against Ariados's body again and again. The final blow was then struck as Dragonite rushed Ariados and delivered a powerful should tackle that actually broke off one of Ariados's pincers and sent it flying through the air.

The Bug/Poison-type zoomed past Shino's form and slammed harshly against the wall of the arena behind him. The Pokemon had created an imprint from the force of the impact and one of its frontal legs was shown to be bent at an unnatural angle, a bit of bone protruding from the joint area.

"Arrrria...dos." The Pokemon entered into a state of unconsciousness and fell to the floor from its imprint in the wall.

"Outrageous! And that's an intended pun!" Anko informed her audience. "Poisoned and battered, it appeared as if Dragonite would be down for the count, but Dragonite powers through the pain and performs one of the strongest Dragon-type moves, Outrage! Unstoppable and unrelenting once used, Outrage batters the opponent with reddish flames of pure unadulterated rage and it seems as though Dragonite had some righteous fury on its side! The winner, and your third semi-finalist, Ryuu!"

Anko's announcement was met with silence at first as the audience processed the information. Then they exploded into applause and cheers, while those that supported Shino were frowning deeply, but clapped out of respect for the great fight he put against the Orre Region native. Shino remained standing as Ryuu returned Dragonite to its ball and patted it affectionately.

"You did a wonderful job out there old friend." He said as he shrunk the Ultra Ball back down to size. He then looked across to Shino. "Shino-san, I must say, you put up quite the fight. Truly you are one of the most tactically gifted opponents I have ever been graced with, and I am sure you will only get better with age. I look forward to a day when we meet on the battlefield once more."

As he was talking, Ryuu had walked across to Shino, the young Aburame just standing there as his former opponent stopped in front of him.

"However...while I may have been lucky considering Dragonite's situation, you would not have been able to win if you were capable of forcing me to draw out my strongest Pokemon." Ryuu muttered as he leaned down to Shino's ear. "Because when you deal with fire...you get burned." Shino didn't reply, merely standing there as Ryuu walked off the arena floor.

Shino remained standing there for a few moments as he contemplated his former opponent's words before he began walking towards the area of the stadium where the Silver Conference's losing competitors would go. However, the young boy was stopped when his father was suddenly by his side. The two citizens of Azalea Town stared at one another before Shibi walked off towards the VIP section, Shino following dutifully behind him.

There was an awkward silence between the two before Shino spoke. "I apologize for my lack of strategic maneuvers, Otou-sama. I had apparently been too caught up in my own string victories to account for the strength of Dragonite and I lost. I have brought you shame and I apologize for that."

"Shino." Shibi spoke as he and his son climbed the stairs to go to the VIP section. "You did a stellar job here in this tournament. Not many at your age can they have made it to this portion of the Kanto-Johto Silver Conference Victory Tournament and fought an experienced trainer like Ryuu-san to such an extent. You were the first trainer to best his Snorlax when no one else could, and you showed off Bug-type Pokemon in ways I could not have thought possible. You have no need to apologize, Shino." Shibi planted his hand on Shino's head as they walked out of the darkness of the stairway and into the light of the VIP section to see Hinata, Akatsuchi and Sakura there with Espeon and Meganium to greet him excitedly, while also receiving compliments from the other gym leader, Kushina and Minato.

"You have exceeded my expectations and I could not be prouder."

The two glanced to one another and the younger Aburame nodded to his father. Though he tried to hide it by adjusting his collar and glasses, Shibi could not repress his smirk when he saw the single tear that traced down from his son's left eye. Shino then walked off as he was hugged by Sakura and Hinata.

"Shino-kun, that was amazing!" Hinata exclaimed. "I never knew you were so good!"

"Yeah Shino. I knew you were smart, but you really had a lot of guts and strategies goin' on out there." Sakura complimented him.

"And the way you brought down Feraligatr and Snorlax was just totally badass!" Akatsuchi clapped the younger boy on the shoulder. "I'm sure you would have given Naruto or Sasuke a run for their money."

"You'd probably lose, because I mean let's face it...it's Sasuke-kun. I'm not sure about Naruto, but Sasuke-kun could beat you." Shino raised an eyebrow at the insult mixed in with the compliment.

"Oi!" Hinata huffed. "Naruto-kun could handle Shino-kun just as well, if not better than Sasuke-san."

"Nu uh, Sasuke-kun's way better."

"Whose boyfriend helped saved the time stream?"

"Whose...well he's not my boyfriend yet, but still...Sasuke-kun helped too."

"Like the good little sidekick he is." Hinata shot back. Sakura looked at the formerly shy Hyuga with an incredulous look.

"Oh no you didn't! Sasuke-kun is no sidekick!"

"Last I checked, Naruto-kun gave Sasuke-san Lugia when Naruto-kun helped take down it and Ho-oh! Not to mention that Naruto-kun was the one who caught Me-" The pale eyed girl was pulled back with a hand covering her mouth as Minato chuckled nervously as he glanced around the VIP Box along with Kushina and the other gym leaders.

"Ummm, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, as much as I'd like to hear people argue about why my son is better than Mikoto's..."

"OI!" Mikoto shouted out, huffing indignantly as she was ignored.

"...the stuff that happened that day is still hush hush, and will probably will continue to be. So, if you wanna do that, do it after the tournament and not in an arena filled with over one million spectators and numerous cameras and sound systems set up all around said arena. Okay?" Hinata and Sakura blushed in embarrassment, the young Hyuga poking her fingers together like she used to as she regressed back into her shy persona a bit.

"Yes, Namikaze-san." The two girls nodded. Shino looked to Akatsuchi, Espeon and Meganium as the two were guided back to their seats by Naruto's father.

"Are they always like that?" The Bug-type trainer asked.

"Espe Espeon." The Sun Pokemon replied.

"Not since the tournament began. I guess competition brings out the worst in those two girls, though it does serve some good for Hinata seeing as it shows just far she's come seeing as how...well you knew how she was before. You went to the Academy back in New Bark Town with her and Naruto, right?"

"I did, and I admit that Hinata's more outgoing nature is a very welcome change..." He sweatdropped when he saw Hinata and Sakura had turned away from each other, but were still glaring at one another from the corner of their eyes. "...for the most part."

Shino and Akatsuchi then took their seats behind the two girls, Espeon and Meganium sitting beside their respective trainers. They uttered cries of affection as they were petted. Once the battlefield had been switched out for its newest replacement field, Anko's voice echoed throughout the stadium.

"And now for the final battle of the day! The boy who looks for blood, the bone crusher, the boy who seems to be a very open sadist...Gaara of the Orre Region!" There was applause for the red head, but no cheering of any sort, except from the more...eccentric trainers and people who accepted Gaara's level of sadistic battling. "And his opponent, the son of a Champion and, this title is yet to be trademarked by the source who gave it to me...the Johto region's Number One, Hyperactive Knucklehead...Naruto Uzumaki!"

"It suits him." Sakura said. Hinata, Shino and Akatsuchi couldn't argue there, and neither could his parents as they nodded in agreement to the title the purple haired announcer gave for their son.

Viewing Area

Naruto stared at the screen with a flabbergasted look on his face. "Sources?! What the hell kind of sources does she have that they gave me a nickname and title like that?! Personally, I would have gone with Number One Badass and Super Awesome Pokemon Master!"

The blonde then turned and glared at his rival when the young Uchiha was actually fighting back a snicker, but the snort of amusement broke through. "Oh come on, dobe! That entire title just screams you."

"Fuck you, teme!" Naruto said. "I bet you are Johto's Number One Emo with a Pidgey Ass for a Head."

"I resent that comment." Sasuke growled out. "Anyway, save the banter for later, dobe. You have a battle to do, but...and I'm not saying this because I care, because I don't...but watch yourself out there. There's something not right about that Gaara guy."

"As if the sadistic laughter and smiles didn't tell me that enough." The blonde muttered as a reply before heading to the tunnel that led to the arena. Beside him, Gaara was silent and stoic. However, as they drew closer to the tunnel's end, the red head turned to his to-be opponent and smirked.

"Give me a show, Naruto Uzumaki. I hope to see if you are the one who will give me purpose."

"Ummm...okay?"

The two teenaged boys then walked away from each other. Naruto took the red box while Gaara had the blue one.

"You boys know the rules so let's get this final battle of the day underway! Naruto Uzumaki versus Gaara!" Anko raised her red and blue flags before swinging them down. "BEGIN!"

"Pidgeot, I choose you!"

"Go, Fearow!"

The two Normal/Flying-types emerged from their Poke Balls in simultaneous bursts of white light. The two Pokemon paused for a bit as they stared at one another before their surprised stares became full on glares. It was a common fact that Pidgeot and Fearow were natural enemies, and being trainer Pokemon wouldn't stop that feud.

Not for a bit.

(Insert Music: Pokemon Origins- Mega Charizard X Theme)

Without even a command from their trainers, the two shot towards one another with a powerful flap of their massive wings. Pidgeot pulled up slightly and lashed out with its talons, but Fear barrel rolled out of the way before arcing to get behind the Bird Pokemon and stab forth with its beak. Pidegot shot skyward for a moment as it went into an arc, but once the Bird Pokemon reached above its brown feathered opponent, it tucked its wings in and went into a sharp fall.

Fearow glanced up with its sharp eyes and then raised its wings to put itself into an upright position. Fearow flapped its wings to push itself backwards before lashing out with its talons in an attempt to rake them across Pidgeot's flesh as it fell. However, Pidgeot's own sharp vision allowed it to keep track of the movement of its opponent and lashed out with its own talons. The feet of the two Flying-types locked and they went into a free fall, trying to peck each other's eyes, and other areas of flesh, apart.

Closer and closer the two grew to the ground, but the two natural enemies quickly pushed apart, unlocking their talons and landed on the ground harshly in front of their trainers.

"FEAROOOOOOW!"

"PIDGEOOOOOO!"

The two Flying-types screeched at one another before settling themselves.

"And in an amazing show of aerial maneuverability and flying prowess, Fearow and Pidgeot have attacked without even a command from either of their trainers. Said trainers didn't even make any motions to stop their Pokemon I might add." Anko glanced at the red head and blonde. "What a way to start off the final battle of the day. Fearow and Pidgeot are natural enemies that fight each other for food, territory and now it appears they are going to fight to see who gets the chance to move on to the quarterfinals! Let's see which avian will prevail!"

"Pidgeot use Aerial Ace!" Naruto commanded.

"Mirror Move!" Gaara replied. Fearow's eyes glinted as its brain processed the aerial maneuverings of Pidgeot's Aerial Ace attack, copying the Flying-type move down to the feather positioning that Pidgeot had. The two avian Pokemon released a powerful battle cries as they raced towards one another.

"Go into a Drill Peck attack!" Gaara ordered.

"Deflect it with Steel Wing!"

"Counter with a Steel Wing of your own!"

Fearow rotated at high speeds as it tucked its wings tightly against its body, visible lines of air resistance forming around the tip of its beak as it performed Drill Peck. However, just as Fearow neared the Bird Pokemon, said Bird Pokemon's wings glowed with silvery-white light.

"PIDEGOO!" Pidgeot's Steel Wing clashed harshly against Fearow's Drill Peck and easily overpowered it, sending the brown feathered Pokemon tumbling through the air from the painful strike. However, Fearow quickly recovered and zoomed towards Pidgeot, its own wings glowing with silvery-white light. The attack was swift and strong, nailing Pidgeot in the chest and sent it careening through the air, but Pidgeot managed to right itself and go into a sharp dive to avoid the follow up strike. Pidgeot then climbed back up and aimed for a strike to Fearow's neck, but the Beak Pokemon went into a backflipping motion to dodge and then lashed out with its wings, clashing against Pidgeot's own and generating a resounding clang.

Pidgeot and Fearow then went into a dangerous aerial dance as they attempted to strike the other down with Steel Wing. Clangs occurred at each point of collision, but Pidgeot's more muscular frame proved to be what brought it an advantage in the clash for as Fearow climbed high to meet Pidgeot's descending form, the Bird Pokemon pushed back against Fearow's form and nailed the Beak Pokemon the chest and sent it rocketing to the ground.

"FEAR!" The Beak Pokemon cawed in pain as it rolled on the ground.

"Dig your talons into the ground and regain your balance, Fearow." Gaara ordered.

"Take advantage of its period to recover and attack with Fly!" Pidgeot flew a bit higher into the air before arcing slightly to give it a bit more momentum as it spread its wings out widely and streaked towards Fearow, leaving a streak of colour behind its body from the speed it moved at.

"Move forwards to avoid the attack and use Steel Wing to quickly redirect your movement!" Gaara ordered. "Follow up with Drill Peck!" Fearow rolled on the ground before pushing itself up with its wings and dug its sharp talons into the ground, leaving small scratch marks on the battleground. Pidgeot's attack was avoided as Fearow hovered lowly in the air before flapping its wings to push itself forward. Pidgeot then released a surprised cry as it smashed down on the ground with terrific force, its high speed motion and weight causing the ground to crater slightly from the impact of Fly. The shock of the impact ran up its body and caused it to wince in pain, immobilizing it slightly. However, that gave Fearow enough time to activate Steel Wing.

"FEAR..." Fearow slammed its wings down against the ground, pushing its body backwards and reversing direction to attack Pidgeot. "-OW!" The Beak Pokemon cried out as it went into a high speed rotating and nailed Pidegot in back with its Drill Peck. Blood stained the beautiful feathers of the Bird Pokemon as it was sent to the ground and Fearow stood atop its body, holding it down by its neck with its talons before rearing back its neck to deliver another Drill Peck attack.

"Yes, Fearow! End the battle!" Gaara grinned manically. "Show me the blood!"

"Like hell you will!" Naruto shouted in defiance. "Pidgeot, reach back with your talons and scratch Fearow down its back to free yourself and then follow up with Aerial Ace! Afterimage tactic!" Pidgeot's eyes snapped open and it bent its lower body forwards, both pairs of talons digging deeply into Fearow's flesh. Six lines of blood and shredded feathers were created and Fearow unleashed a cry of pain, its talon grip being weakened as a result. Pidgeot then pushed itself up and reared its head back, hitting Fearow in the lower part of the beak with its hard skull to send the Beak Pokemon stumbling backwards.

"PIDGEOT!" The Bird Pokemon pushed up into the air and went into a loop-de-loop, vanishing from view as it reached the apex of its movement.

"Fearow, it will appear behind you! Use Steel Wing to defend!" Pidegot then reappeared behind Fearow and the Beak Pokemon lashed out with a Steel Wing, expecting the Bird Pokemon to strike from behind. However, both the Beak Pokemon and its trainer were caught off-guard when Pidgeot's image faded out of existence only for the Bird Pokemon's actual form to appear behind Fearow's turned around form. The sharp beak of Pidgeot dug deeply into Fearow's body, right between the wings and sent it flying forwards with a spray of blood following behind it.

Fearow cawed in pain as it struggled to rise to its feet, grunting as it felt the sharp pain between its wings from attempting to do so.

"Now finish it with Fly!" Pidegot soared high into the air and then dove straight back down. Gaara merely watched as the Bird Pokemon crashed down upon his own Normal/Flying-type and Fearow released a sharp caw of pain as the Flying-type attack hit home. A small dust cloud formed, and when it cleared, it revealed Pidgoet standing triumphantly over Fearow's unconscious form, its talons wrapped around Fearow's neck.

"Pidgeo." Pidgeot cooed as it released Fearow from its grip before walking in front of Fearow's form, turned around and scuffed some dust against Fearow's face.

"And that's the end of this amazing first round!" Anko shouted. "The sky battle ends with Pidgeot as the victor and Fearow eating the dirt, and as per Pidgeot-Fearow match regulations, Pidgeot got the chance to make Fearow eat dirt. Literally."

"Nice job, buddy." Naruto said as he grinned at his Flying-type.

"Pidgeooo." The Bird Pokemon cooed in satisfaction at being praised.

"Hehehe...Hahahahahahahahaha!" Gaara's soft chuckles grew in volume until it became full blown laughter. "Yes! This!" He pointed at his downed Fearow. "This is what I wanted! A challenge, a fight that will make me question was my purpose is! What it means to be a Pokemon trainer! Will you fight o the death like I do or will you spare the lives of your opponents! The weak are meant to die is what I was always taught, but your obvious morality makes this battle much more exciting for me, Uzumaki!"

"What...What is wrong with you?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing at all, Uzumaki." Gaara grinned toothily as he held his hair tightly in his hand while returning Fearow to its ball. "Fearow is to be put down after this."

"What?!" Naruto and the members of the audience stared at the obviously mentally unstable teenager. "What are you talking about?! Fearow fought for you and just because it lost you're going to kill it?! Gaara, I've seen enough death seven months ago!"

"And you of all people should understand then! The world accepts the strong and rejects the weak! The strong have purpose and the weak have none! The weak perish while the strong thrive! That is the purpose of the trainers! To separate the weak from the strong and to give purpose to those that are of the latter! Now let's see if you are ready to see if your life is worth something, Uzumaki!"

Gaara took out his next Poke Ball and tossed it into the air. "Steelix, attack with Thunder Fang!" The Iron Snake Pokemon materialized in a burst of white light and as soon as it did, it coiled its body and struck forth with its mouth ajar, its dull fangs cloaked with sparks of voltage.

"Pidgeot, dodge it!" The Bird Pokemon climbed high into the sky, easily clearing the height of Steelix and hovering in the air as it slammed down on the ground. A small dust cloud was formed as Steelix's attack missed and its red eyes turned skyward just in time to see Pidgeot dive towards it, using Fly.

"Your little bird doesn't stand a chance, Uzumaki! Steelix, crush it in your grip and use Crunch!" Steelix nodded as it gained an equally manic grin on its face as it encircled Pidgeot's descending form and then lashed out with a harsh snap of its jaws. However, Pidgeot's form quickly vanished from view showing it to be an afterimage, nailing Steelix on the back of its head with its beak. The attack barely did any damage and Steelix was quick to take advantage of the recoil that came with trying to pierce an iron hard hide.

"Attack with Iron Tail!" Gaara ordered.

"GROOOOOAR!" Steelix roared as its tail glowed with silvery-white light. Steelix's tail lashed out like a whip, sharp and quick, and nailed Pidgeot across the body. The durable Flying-type was sent crashing to the ground in front of Naruto, but just as Pidgeot aimed to climb back to its feet, Steelix delivered a another Iron Tail. Pidegot's eyes were wide as it released a cough of blood and its left was broken with a snap that seemed to echo in Naruto's ears.

"Now Thunder Fang! Crush it!" Gaara chuckled. Steelix roared and then took Pidgeot up in its mouth and applied electricity throughout its fangs, electrocuting Pidgeot.

"Oh! And Gaara shows off his brutality again by delivering a powerful combination of Iron Tail and Thunder Fang!" Anko shouted. "And from that, not even I have to declare it to say that Pidgeot is down for the count with that attack!" The Thunder Fang attack ended and the Iron Snake Pokemon proceeded to throw Pidgeot into the air and then wrap it in its tail, applying pressure after doing so.

"NO!" Naruto then took out his Poke Ball. "Pidgeot, return!" Naruto called out. The Bird Pokemon was quickly converted to its energy form, being sucked into its capturing device. The blonde released a sigh of relief as he looked at Pidegot's ball before turning to glare at Gaara and his Steelix. "You murderous psychopath! What the hell is wrong with you?! I don't care what it is that makes you think it's okay to go for the kill, but this isn't the ROOT War! Killing is not allowed here! How are you people even allowing this?!"

Naruto turned to Anko and Izuna as he asked this. "Yes, the rules clearly state that brutality in a Pokemon battle is allowed, but this is crossing a line! He tried to kill Pidgeot!"

"It's because I haven't killed anything yet." Gaara said. Naruto turned to his opponent.

"Huh?" He replied intelligently.

"As a foreigner in this place and a competitor, I have been granted a form of diplomatic immunity that grants me the ability to do what I wish while within the Kanto-Johto region. If I break the rules, then I am treated as severing the ties that grant me my immunity, however...because you all have the sense to recall your Pokemon before I can kill them, I am thus safe. Your own commonsense is my saving grace in this tournament! My attempt to kill is then not treated as such!"

"You...You monster!"

"I've been called worse." Gaara replied coldly. "Now send out your next Pokemon and let's continue, Uzumaki."

"You..." Naruto gritted his teeth. "Fine...you want a battle to prove your purpose! I'll show you that your purpose is to get your ass handed to you by me! Quagsire, use Earthquake!" Naruto threw his Poke Ball out and the Mud Fish Pokemon appeared on the battlefield. The Water/Ground-type then turned around and raised its heavy tail into the air and smashed it down on the ground with terrific force.

Steelix unleashed a resounding roar of pain as the super effective strike raced up its body, the seismic waves dealing a great deal of damage to it.

"Don't be weak, Steelix! Counter with Iron Tail and then Double Edge!"

"Deflect it with Hydro Pump and finish Steelix off with a Surf attack!" Naruto ordered. Steelix spun its body around to build up the necessary momentum before lashing out with its shining tail. The Steel-type attack rushed towards Quagsire, but the Mud Fish Pokemon quickly expanded its cheeks as a large amount of water pooled within them.

"QUAAAAAAAG!" Quagsire expelled the voluminous amount of water and deflected the iron hard tail and sent it off-course and smashing into the stadium floor a few metres away. Quagsire was sent skidding from the shockwave of the impact, but it did not prevent Quagsire from acting as its body was encased it water. The water increased in height and volume until it became a massive tidal wave that nearly matched Steelix in height. The tidal wave crashed down on Steelix's form when the Iron Snake Pokemon had tried to perform Double Edge, and the super effective attack pushed Steelix back until it collapsed onto the ground and then proceeded to crash down on the downed Steel/Ground-type.

"Steelix is unable to battle!" Anko announced. "Quagsire wins the match!"

Gaara returned Steelix to its ball before taking out his third Pokemon. He tossed the Poke Ball into the air and in a flash of white light, Naruto and Quagsire were staring into the eyes of a Pokemon they had never physically seen before.

The new sight was a humanoid, bipedal Pokémon that resembled a green scarecrow made of cacti. It had yellow eyes and its mouth was composed of holes on its face. It had numerous spikes along the length of its arms, legs, and neck. A pattern of green rhombi extended down the front of its body. On its chest were two small dark green rhombi. There was a triangular, dark green feature on its head that resembled a hat with spiky tips.

"What...What the hell?"

VIP Box

"Oh, definitely interesting to see." Minato commented.

"Who's that Pokemon?" Hinata asked.

"Espeon Espe?"

"Meg?"

The two Pokemon tilted their heads in confusion as well, wondering what the Pokemon they were looking at was.

"That, my dear daughter in-law to be..." Kushina spoke, her comment making Hinata blush slightly. "...is a Cacturne. It is the evolved form of a Pokemon called Cacnea and is a Grass and Dark-type Pokemon. They are normally found in the desert regions of the Hoenn Region. Cacturne would definitely be able to thrive within the Orre Region. Pokemon from Kanto, Johto and Hoenn have been known to migrate to Orre, especially Pokemon that thrive in desert climates since nearly the entirety of Orre is a desert wasteland."

"Well given that description, it's no wonder Gaara has one." Akatsuchi commented.

"Do you think Gaara has anymore Hoenn region Pokemon?" Sakura asked.

"Once Naru-chan takes down that Cacturne, we'll see." Kushina replied.

Back on the Battlefield

Cacturne's yellow eyes seemed to glow within its dark sockets as Naruto and Quagsire looked at it. Due to being a native of the Johto region, Naruto was rarely acquainted with Pokemon of the Hoenn Region, especially since the Academy barely even brushed up on the topic of extra-regional Pokemon.

"And true to his roots of being from the Orre Region, Gaara sends out his mighty Cacturne! This Pokemon is obviously not from Kanto or Johto so it's obvious to deduce that this Pokemon is of the Hoenn Region originally, having migrated to Orre! This Pokemon is new to me beyond that, and judging by Naruto's expression, he can't tell what kind of Pokemon this Cacturne is just like me! With a new Pokemon on the battlefield, let's see how Naruto fares!"

'Hmm, a Hoenn Pokemon huh?' Naruto thought. 'It looks like a mixture of a scarecrow and a cactus, so it's possible that it could be a...Grass-type?' Naruto guessed. 'But then that puts Quagsire at a disadvantage and that thing looks pretty fast so Quagsire might not be able to keep up. Alright, I'll start off with an Earthquake and Blizzard to distract it and then recall Quagsire and switch out for Ampharos since it knows Signal Beam. Plus Iron Tail will help me out a bit as well.'

"Alright, let's do this!" Naruto exclaimed. "Quagsire, attack with Earthquake and then follow it up with Blizzard!"

"QUAG!" The Mud Fish Pokemon cried out as it turned out and raised its heavy, flat tail high into the air.

"Cacturne, use Pin Missil and strike the bottom of its tail before it hits the ground." Gaara ordered.

"Cacturne!" The Scarecrow Pokemon's rhomboid protrusion glowed with a light green light before they shot out of its body like missiles. They arced through the air just as Quagsire was about to slam its tail down, creating a small explosion upon contact with the ground, and Quagsire's tail.

"Quaaaagsire!" The Water/Ground-type rolled on the ground from the force of the shockwave before rolling back onto its feet.

"Don't let it get to you, Quagsire! Use your Blizzard attack!"

"Faint Attack!" Naruto's eyes widened at Gaara's order and Cacturne suddenly took off at a breakneck speed, vanishing from view just as the gust of ice and wind flowed out of Quagsire's mouth. The sheet of ice spread across the area of the arena floor where Cacturne had once been standing, and Quagsire's and Naruto's eyes were wide when the Hoenn native Pokemon reappeared in front of the Mud Fish Pokemon.

'Since when does a Grass-type...know Faint Attack?' Naruto thought. No Grass-type he knew could use that attack. He was drawn out of his thoughts as Cacturne had struck Quagsire with a shoulder tackle, sending his Pokemon skidding backwards a bit.

"Now use Sucker Punch!"

"Quagsire, hit its arm with Blizzard!"

"CACT!"

"QUAG!"

Cacturne unleashed a strong right hook before releasing a cry of pain as the Ice-type attack dealt a significant amount of damage by freezing the entirety of its arm. However, Cacturne powered through the pain and carried through with Sucker Punch, delivering a strong uppercut with its left. Quagsire was sent stumbling back from the strong attack only for Cacturne to follow up with a glowing green arm.

"NEEDLE ARM!" Gaara roared.

"CACTUUURNE!"

"The hell is a Needle Arm?!" Naruto exclaimed. And at that moment, he saw what it was. A powerful straight punch nailed Quagsire directly in the face and sent the Mud Fish Pokemon careening through the air before it crashed down on the ground with devastating force. Quagsire rolled for a couple of moments before coming to a stop. The Mud Fish Pokemon was still conscious, but barely.

"Cacturne, Needle Arm again!"

"Quagsire, return!"

Naruto recalled his Pokemon and the Scarecrow Pokemon came to a stop, but winced a bit as the ice from the Blizzard attack bit at its flesh due to the numbing cold, and the fact that it was a type disadvantage, working against it.

'Sucker Punch and Faint Attack it can use.' Naruto thought. 'Those are Dark-type moves. So that means that it could be a dual type...a Grass-type and Dark-type Pokemon. Geez, Hoenn has some cool, but freaky, shit over there. Alright, change of plans! I send out...' "Heracross!"

Naruto pelted the Great Ball into the air and in a flash of blue light, the Single Horn Pokemon landed on the battlefield with a confident look on its face. "HERAC!" The Bug/Fighting-type bounced on its toes like a Hitmonchan ready to fight, punching the air much like the boxing Pokemon would do.

"Alright Heracross, that thing is called a Cacturne!" Naruto informed his Pokemon. "It's a Grass-type and a possible Dark-type, so we're gonna go in fast and strong! Aerial Ace, let's go!"

"Heracross!" The Single Horn Pokemon freed its wings and buzzed them rapidly to go into the air. Heracross then performed a quick loop-de-loop in the air and then vanished from view after reaching the apex of its flight.

"Keep up with Heracross by using Faint Attack!"

"Cact." The dual type Scarecrow Pokemon nodded before vanishing in a blur of speed as well. The arena was then silent for a few moments before a series of clashes was heard from random areas of the battlefield. The invisible combatants then became visible and revealed the two Pokemon in a a deadlock, Heracross's horn pushing against Cacturne's crossed arms, both Pokemon attempting to push back the other.

"Alright, we got it now Heracross!" Naruto grinned toothily. "Take it down with Close Combat!" Heracross's eyes gained a glint of satisfaction before it reached out with its arms and grabbed Cacturne by its arms.

"Turne?" The Hoenn Pokemon gained a surprised expression before it found its arms being forcefully uncrossed. With its guard no longer present, Heracross leaped up at the slightly taller Pokemon and delivered a crushing knee strike to the abdomen area before buzzing its wings to get a bit higher. It then grabbed Cacturne by the back of its head and pulled it down while driving its other knee into its face.

"Cac! Turne! Cac! Turne! Cac! Turne!" The Scarecrow Pokemon unleashed a cry of pain for each time Heracross delivered a knee strike. After the final one, a blow that had sand dripping from the nasal area of Cacturne's face, Heracross spun and delivered a strong roundhouse kick to the side of its head. Cacturne stumbled for a bit before being grabbed by the arm. The limb was locked and Heracross delivered a strong elbow strike to the joint area and the audience winced as they saw part of the cactus-like Pokemon's arm tear and snap a little.

"CAAAAAACTURNE!" The cry of pain was increased in volume as Heracross then delivered a strong two punch combo to the chest and then bent its knees, driving its body up to strike with a powerful uppercut that had Cacturne hovering in the air for a moment.

"Now finish it with Megahorn!" Naruto ordered.

"HERA..." Heracross's horn glowed with a pale green light before lashed out with it. "...CROSS!" The powerful attack was super effective and Cacturne was sent careening through the air before crashing down into the ground with enough force to form a small crater.

"And Uzumaki does it again! Gaara's down three Pokemon while Naruto only has one lost! Seems the son of a Champion will be seeing that position like his father really soon if he keeps this up!" Anko commented as she saw Cacturne lay defeated and unconscious, sand flowing like blood from its injured body.

Gaara grinned once more as he recalled the Pokemon. "Uzumaki, you are definitely a fighter! To deduce that what Cacturne's typing is through merely its appearance and attacks is quite a feat...you are definitely the one I wanted to fight! I can feel my skin tingle and blood boil, Uzumaki! I've never felt so alive! Continue to do so, Uzumaki!" Gaara chuckled. HELP ME FEEL ALIVE!"

Gaara then took out his fourth Poke Ball and unleashed his next Pokemon.

"Another Hoenn Pokemon." Naruto grumbled. "But at least I can tell that this one's a Fire-type since it has...oh dear Arceus, are those volcanoes growing out of its back?!"

Indeed they were. Gaara's next Pokemon was revealed to be a quadruped Pokémon that resembled a Bactrian camel. It had two gray volcanoes on it. It also had a stout body with red shaggy fur and three blue ring-shaped markings on both sides. It had bangs on top of its head, droopy ears, and a tan, furless muzzle

"CAMERUPT, ATTACK WITH FISSURE AND THEN ROCK SLIDE!" The Eruption Pokemon raised one its forelimbs before smashing it down with destructive force. The entire arena floor shook as a streak of pure force tore apart the earth and generated a massive fissure.

"Heracross, use Aerial Ace to dodge it!"

"Hera!" Heracross quickly flew into the air and performed the aerial maneuver to avoid the attack and then crashed into Camerupt's body. The heavy weight Pokemon winced from the blow, but did not budge. Heracross then leaped back as Camerupt slammed its hooves down on the ground once more and sent a flurry of rocks high into the air. The Rock Slide attack bombarded Heracross, and the Bug/Fighting-type Pokemon was injured a bit as it managed to avoid most of the rocks.

Heracross hovered over the crevice caused by Camerupt's Fissure attack, but suddenly the miniature volcanoes on Camerupt's back began to rumble and shake. Lava and fire spewed out of the vents and then arced, making it look as if a meteor storm was falling towards Heracross.

"ERUPTION ATTACK!" Gaara grinned widely, his insane expression still present.

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "It knows Eruption?!"

"Let's see you fight this, Uzumaki!" Gaara chuckled. Unfortunately, he couldn't. Heracross was not able to avoid such heavy amounts of fire and burning rock and soon was sent plummeting to the earth, burned and unconscious from the super effective attack. Naruto took out his Great Ball, recalling the Single Horn Pokemon with a grimace.

"And Naruto returns Heracross and sends out..." The Mud Fish Pokemon appeared on the field once more. "...his trusty Quagsire! But it seems that it's still tired and in pain from its tangle with Cacturne!" Like Anko had said, Quagsire was tired and wounded. A nasty bruise had formed in the centre of its head where Needle Arm had made its mark, but the Mud Fish Pokemon was still able to fight.

"Alright, Camerupt use Flamethrower!"

"Counter it with Hydro Pump!"

The powerful blast of pressurized water easily overcame Camerupt's Flamethrower, turning it into wisps of steam.

Gaara gritted his teeth. "Fissure!"

"Disrupt it with Earthquake!" Naruto ordered. Quagsire nodded and slammed its tail down on the ground just as Camerupt did the same with its front legs. The crevice creating attack was nullified at the halfway mark as the seismic waves from Quagsire's Earthquake attack disrupted it. The Ground-type attack then continued on its path and Camerupt unleashed a loud cry of pain as the attack racked its body.

"Now finish it with Hydro Pump!" The Fire/Ground-type Pokemon teetered from side to side as it tried to overcome the pain only to suddenly be on the receiving end of the voluminous burst of highly pressurized water from the Mud Fish Pokemon. The attack had Camerupt roaring in pain as it was sent flying through the air before crashing down at Gaara's feet, soaked and unconscious.

"And that's number four!" Anko announced. "Gaara has lost Camerupt, another one of his devastatingly powerful Hoenn native Pokemon! Quagsire seems to be the trump card of the day day folks! First it was the tower of steel, Steelix...now it's the burning quadruped, Camerupt...so let's see if the Mud Fish Pokemon can pull off a third win!"

"I choose you...Swampert!" In a burst of white light, a relatively large Pokemon appeared on the field.

"Okay, now this is just getting annoying." Anko muttered. "I have no idea what the hell this thing is other than it's name is Swampert! Stop using damn Hoenn region Pokemon and use something I know about!"

Swampert was shown to be a bipedal Pokémon. It had a large cobalt blue body and large, three-fingered hands. It had two orange gills that protruded from round patches on its cheeks. Its head had two large semicircular black fins that extended from the top of its orange eyes to the back of its head. Its tail fin was big, broad, and black. It had a white underside and orange ridged portions above its hands and three-toed feet.

"Alright, let's test this thing out!" Naruto told his own Mud Fish Pokemon. "Quagsire, attack with Earthquake!"

"Swampert, attack with Earthquake as well!"

The two Pokemon reared up their respective appendages, Quagsire with its tail, and Swampert with its arms, before slamming them down on the ground. The powerful seismic waves rattled the arena floor before colliding with one another, cancelling each other out.

"Swampert use Surf!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Swampert's body being engulfed in water and the water expanded into a massive tidal wave. "A Water-type." He said it as more of a statement than a question. "Alright, Quagsire, freeze that Surf with Blizzard and then use Earthquake to shatter it! Follow up with a Hydro Pump attack!"

"Quagsiiiiiiiire!" The evolved form of Wooper unleashed a powerful burst of freezing wind and ice that quickly spread out over the massive tidal wave that was Swampert's Surf attack. Soon, the entire wave was reduced to being a giant wall of ice. However, the ice wall was quickly shattered apart as Quagsire crashed its tail down and seismic waves collided with it. The Earthquake attack reduced the frozen Surf attack to mere shards and Gaara watched as his Water/Ground-type Pokemon was sent falling to the ground as Quagsire fired of a Hydro Pump at it.

"Swampert, counter with your own Hydro Pump!"

"SWAAAAAMPERT!" The fully evolved form of Mudkip roared as it unleashed its own powerful torrent of raging water. The two Hydro Pump attacks collided in midair and unleashed a powerful explosion of water sent Swampert back a bit before it managed to right itself in the air.

"Swampert, attack with Earthquake!"

"Make it slip up with Blizzard!"

Quagsire breathed out a Blizzard attack from its wide maw, freezing the ground where Swampert was about to land. However, due to Swampert's durable and heavy form, it broke through the ice and continued with its Earthquake attack. The seismic waves rushed across the battlefield and Quagsire cried out in agony as its body was racked with the forces of the earth.

"Now get across with Surf and finish the battle with Focus Punch!" Swampert nodded before generating a massive tidal in order for it to traverse the length of the massive field in only a few seconds. Quagsire, who was panting in exertion, could only watch in shock as Swampert fell with the wave as it reared back its fist. The fist glowed with a powerfully bright blue aura as Swampert tightened its focus.

"SWAAAAAAMP..." Swampert attacked. "PERT!" The Focus Punch crashed down on Quagsire's head with destructive force and had the Mud Fish Pokemon slamming down on the ground with a traumatic head wound. Blood flowed from the strike to the skull, a testament to Swampert's strength as it took a powerful blow to make a Quagsire bleed from a strike to the head.

"And with a quick exchange of blows between these two beasts of water, Quagsire's run comes to an end as Swampert brings the hammer down with a Focus Punch!" Anko announced. "Naruto Uzumaki has only three Pokemon left while Gaara has two! Naruto, send out your next Pokemon!"

"Ampharos, I choose you!" Naruto tossed the Poke Ball and the Light Pokemon emerged from its ball. "Alright, it's a Water-type from what I've seen so far. So Ampharos, attack with Thunderbolt!"

"AMPHAAAAAAA!" The Electric-type Pokemon unleashed a powerful bolt of sapphire coloured lightning from its body, however, Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw Gaara had a cocky grin on his face. His grins were always insane, never cocky, Naruto observed so that meant he messed up when he used Thunderbolt.

'But the only thing that I could do to mess up when using an Electric-type attack is if...' Naruto's eyes widened as he quickly put the pieces together. "...is if I attacked a Ground-type! That thing is a Ground-type!"

"Your deductions are quite impressive, Uzumaki." Gaara chuckled along with Swampert as the Mud Fish Pokemon allowed for Ampharos's Thunderbolt to flow through its body and into the ground. Swampert bashed its knuckles together to show it was completely unharmed. "Now attack with Earthquake!"

"Jump into the air to avoid it and strike with Signal Beam!"

"AMPH!" Ampharos did as it was told, leaping just as Swampert slammed its arms down on the ground and generated a burst of seismic waves that had the earth shaking. However, as the Light Pokemon was airborne, the ruby-like gem in the centre of its forehead glowed with multicoloured light. Energy charged within the gem before being unleashed. The Bug-type move rocketed across the battlefield and nailed Swampert in the chest, sending the durable Pokemon skidding backwards.

Ampharos landed on the ground took off at high speeds uncommon for the Light Pokemon species, its tail shining like silver.

"Swampert, Focus Punch!" The Mud Fish Pokemon recovered from the Bug-type attack before raising one of its fists. Its focus tightened rapidly and the raging blue aura flashed to life around its fist. Ampharos then leaped and performed a front flip to build up momentum while Swampert reared back its arm.

"AMPH!"

"SWAMP!"

Both Pokemon lashed out with their assaulting appendages and Iron Tail collided with Focus Punch with devastating force. A shockwave raced out from the point of impact and the two Pokemon gritted their teeth as they tried to overpower the other.

"Focus Punch again!" Gaara ordered.

"Twist your body and deflect it! Then go into a front flip for a vertical strike!" Naruto countered.

"SWAMPERT!" The Water/Ground-type roared as it lashed out with its other fist, but as the second Focus Punch was about to make contact, Ampharos twisted its body and shifted aside Swampert's first arm before smacking its Iron Tail against the second arm. With both limbs wide apart, Swampert's guard was wide open and so Ampharos performed a quick front flip.

"AMPHAROS!" The Light Pokemon cried out as it smashed its iron hard tail down on Swampert's skull.

"SWAAAAMP!" The Hoenn native Pokemon cried out in pain, causing its bipedal form to drop down to all-fours.

"Now follow up with Signal Beam!"

"Counter with Hydro Pump!"

Ampharos's forehead gem glowed with a bright multicoloured light before it unleashed the powerful Bug-type attack, nailing Swampert right in the face. However, the durable Pokemon rolled with the fall, quickly climbing back to its feet, before inhaling deeply and expelling a powerful blast of pressurized water. Ampharos was struck with the powerful Water-type attack.

"Evaporate it with Thunder!" Naruto commanded.

"AMPHAROOOOOOOS!" Ampharos unleashed a powerful burst of electrical energy, and the blue bolt of lightning crashed against the Hydro Pump. The water was flash heated, turning it from liquid to gas in an instant.

"Now follow up with Signal Beam!" Naruto shouted.

"Dodge it and then user Earthquake!"

"Jump over it and go into an Iron Tail attack!"

"Smash it down with Surf!"

Swampert growled as it ducked underneath the multicoloured beam of energy, a small explosion occurring behind it, before it raised its arms high into the air.

"SWAMPERT!" The Mud Fish Pokemon roared as it smashed the limbs down on the ground. The force of the earth exploded outwards and headed towards Ampharos, but the Light Pokemon quickly avoided the attack by leaping into the air. Ampharos then went into a series of front flips as its tail shone with silver light. However, as Ampharos descended, the Water/Ground-type Pokemon's body was enveloped in water.

"SWAAAAAAM..." Swampert's body rose as the waters increased in volume and the small tidal wave fully encompassed Ampharos in its terrifying visage. "...PERT!" The Surf attack smashed down on the Light Pokemon with terrific force and Ampharos was then washed away by the raging tides. The Surf attack was then brought to an end with Swampert standing a few feet away from Ampharos's unconscious form. Swampert then, without orders, charged up a Focus Punch and prepared to bring an end to the Electric-type Pokemon's life, but Naruto would not have any of it as he recalled his Electric-type.

"This attempt on my Pokemon's life thing is getting really old Gaara." Naruto spoke with venom in his tone. "You want to play rough with me?" Naruto pulled out a Poke Ball and enlarged it. "Then let's pay rough. Dragonite, let's end this!" Naruto's Dragon Pokemon quickly appeared on the battlefield and Gaara grinned at the prospect of fighting the powerful Pokemon.

"Swampert, attack with Surf!"

"Evaporate that wave with Thunder and then use Dragon Rush!"

Swampert summoned forth the mighty tidal wave, its massive form encompassing Dragonite in it's shadow. However, the Dragon Pokemon's antennae released numerous sparks of golden voltage.

"DRAAAAAAAAA!" Dragonite unleashed the powerful burst of electricity, and the wicked thunderbolt raced through the air and collided with the wave. The water was flash heated and was turned to steam in its entirety. Swampert's eyes widened as it fell and its eyes widened even further when Dragonite rushed towards it. Its body was coated in a powerful blue-violet aura that took on the shape of a roaring dragon. The dragon-like aura roared and Swampert released a gasp of pain, blood flowing from ts mouth as Dragonite crashed against its chest.

Time seemed to slow down for the Mud Fish Pokemon before the impact registered with its body and Swampert was sent careening through the air. A sonic boom was heard a split second later and Swampert was struck in the, right between the shoulder blades as Dragonite performed another Dragon Rush attack. Swampert was continuously battered around in the air like a rag doll, sonic booms, Swampert's cries of pain and the roars of Dragonite filling the atmosphere.

"Amazing! There have been a lot of Dragonite being used in this Silver Conference, but never have I seen a Dragonite that could use Dragon Rush in this manner!" Anko watched in awe as Dragonite's aura was merely a streak of blue-violet due to the speed at which it moved at.

The onslaught of strikes came to an end when Dragonite hit Swampert in the chin to send it skyward only to catch the Mud Fish Pokemon around its ankles. The Dragon-type Pokemon then allowed gravity to takes its hold on it before going into a series of front flips to build up momentum. Once the necessary momentum was achieved, Dragonite swung Swampert down and the Mud Fish Pokemon unleashed a loud cry of pain as it landed on the ground, creating its own personal crater.

Dragonite then fell after it, smashing down Swampert's back and caused a small cloud of dust and a shockwave. The dust then settled and Dragonite hopped off of Swampert's unconscious form as blood leaked from its lips due to the internal damage.

"Despite Swampert gaining the victories over Quagsire and Ampharos, the powerhouse is defeated by Dragonite! Naruto wins this round, and now Gaara is down to his final Pokemon!"

"Hahahahahaha!" Gaara laughed as he clutched his red hair tightly, his eyes seemed to shake within their sockets as he looked at Naruto. "Yes! The rush! I can feel the rush! Uzumaki, you are definitely fun to fight!"

"Gaara, stop this!" Naruto shouted to his opponent. "You plan to fight to the death and plan to kill your own Pokemon for losing to mine! Just because they lost does not mean they are weak, and that they deserve a death sentence!"

"They do!" Gaara shot back with a snarl. "That's the way of the world! That's the way I was taught, especially since my own father taught me that ideology!"

"Y-Your...Your father?"

"Oh yes, he taught me everything. That everything has a purpose and that once something or someone dies, then those people and/or things...no longer have something!" Gaara then pointed to the tattoo on his forehead, the kanji for 'Love'. "That was my father's way of showing me love is what my mother always said...until her purpose was fulfilled trying to protect me!"

Flashback

Seven Years Ago

Cipher Key Lair, Desert, Orre Region

Gaara sat in the corner of the blank white room that was his quarters.

"132...133...134...135...1...2...3...4..." The six year old boy had been counting the tiles on the ceiling for the past few hours. His mother and father had told him to wait in the room while they prepared him for the latest test battle. He liked to battle with Pokemon and it was fun, but for some reason, his father would always be disappointed. Even when he won, he would only be praised by his mother.

The teal eyed boy frowned as he bounced up and down on his bed, drumming his little fingers against the soft bed. It was white, just like everything else in the room. The six year old sighed before getting off the bed and went towards the door. The motion sensors detected his movement and they slid open for him, and when they did, the little red head broke out into a run.

He observed the grunt members of Cipher as they did their labourious tasks or scientific work. Their white armoured forms were always dazzling in his eyes, and the scarfs around their necks added to the stylishness of their appearances. If it were from the point of view of anyone outside of the criminal organization of Orre, they'd be completely shell shocked if they learned that this young boy, no older than six, made his dream...his aspiration...to be a member of Cipher's adminstration. His father told him Cipher was going to change the world, and once they finished the test project his mother was helping with, he would be an important part. Gaara smiled with innocence and childish glee as the prospect of pleasing his father.

The young boy skidded to a halt when he saw his mother exiting her personal laboratory. He grinned widely before jumping and wrapping his tiny arms around her leg. The young woman was caught off-guard and nearly tripped, but managed to catch herself before looking down at the cause of what could have been a painful meeting with the ground.

Gaara smiled up at the Cipher scientist that was his mother as she smiled back down at him. She was a pretty, young woman with a tanned complexion, something that was commonplace in the Orre region. She had shoulder-length, sandy-brown hair which framed her kind-looking face, and indigo-coloured eyes. She was dressed in a tight, black, long-sleeved shirt and pants, a pair of white high heeled boots and wore a long lab coat over her shoulders.

"Gaara, sweetie, I told you I'd come get you after I was done working?" She spoke sweetly to her son. Gaara pouted cutely as his mother ruffled his spiky hair.

"But Kaa-chan, I was so bored." He replied. "I counted the tiles on the ceiling..." He looked at his fingers and raised each one as he counted to himself. "...twelve times."

"Oh my." Karura raised her eyebrows. "I would imagine you would get bored from doing that all day. Well, I have some good news for you then." Gaara's teal eyed brightened at that.

"Ooooo! What?! What?! Tell me, tell me!" He jumped up and down excitedly causing Karura to giggle in amusement. Karura was about to speak when the door behind her opened to reveal a tall, lightly tan skinned man wearing a black shirt and pants, a pair of white boots, and a white lab coat over his shoulders. His hair was a dull shade of red and was in the same spiky style as Gaara's. His eyes had dark irises and his face bore a stern expression. Gaara looked at the man and suddenly, it was if someone had hit a switch on the young boy.

His happy expression vanished, replaced with a look of indifference and his eyes lost the vibrant and cheerful light that was present when he looked at his indigo eyed mother. Karura frowned at the sudden change in her son, but when dealing with a father like her husband...well...you tended to change for the worse.

"Otou-sama." Gaara spoke with a cold, monotonous voice. Gaara's father narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doing out of your room, Gaara?"

"Kogane, don't be mad at Gaara." Karura said as she rose to her feet. "Gaara was just bored sitting around and doing nothing. We did leave him for a few hours, so his boredom and wanting to leave is well warranted." Kogane looked between his wife and his son before nodding his head in acceptance.

"Very well." Kogane spoke. "But, it is a good thing that he is here. We were just about to get you in order to prepare for the latest test run. Karura." Karura nodded and then held Gaara's hand as the three walked into the laboratory. Gaara kept up his face of indifference, but was secretly in awe as he looked upon the numerous amounts of bright and shiny equipment in the lab.

Karura could tell her son was fascinated as his head was snapping around in every direction, drinking in the appearances of every single thing around him. However, the two were distracted from their little moment when Kogane returned with a Poke Ball in hand. A dark violet and black aura was wrapped around the Poke Ball, but it was invisible to the naked eye so Gaara was unable to make a reaction to it as he was handed the Poke Ball and the aura was wrapped around his hand.

"Test subject number 45." Karura spoke with pride as she placed a hand atop her son's head. "We are very confident that you'll be able to fight with this one, Gaara."

"Really?"

"We shall see." His father replied with his ever militaristic tone. "Go downstairs and head to the battlefield. Karura and I will watch from the observation deck and study the battle as we always have. Do not disappoint me, Gaara."

"Yes, Otou-sama...Okaa-sama." Karura frowned at her boy's formal tone and sighed. By Arceus, she was a terrible mother...and she knew it. She did what she could to make up for it, but in the end she was merely manipulating Gaara's childish innocence to make herself feel better. Sometimes she wondered how her family would have turned out if they weren't a part of Cipher.

Gaara was then led to a door that opened to reveal a downward, spiraling staircase. Once they reached the bottom, another automatic door detected their movements and opened to reveal a massive steel crafted battlefield. Kogane and Karura clapped their hands and the lights responded, activating and illuminating the area.

It was routine for the six year old. Enter the arena, take his position, crush the opponents and then wait for the next one. This had been going on over nearly a year for Gaara, and so, with an emotionless expression, he took his place on the battlefield and held the dark aura encased Poke Ball. Kogane and Karura then walked back up the stairs and circled around the hallways to reach the observation deck.

Gaara watched across the battlefield as he saw two young Cipher grunts walk in, Poke Balls held tightly in their hands as well. They looked no older than seven or eight years old. Cipher was not above using children as soldiers in their quest for world domination, much like ROOT. Not that they had any affiliation to the organization of the Kanto and Johto regions, but it was possible some of their recruitment methods were based off of ROOT's. Many had spoken against such methods of recruitment, but those members were...well, let's just say they were never seen again.

Kogane then leaned down to the microphone in the observation room and cleared his throat. "Begin Shadow Pokemon battle trial number 1234." The red haired scientist of Cipher then pulled away and watched the battlefield below as his son and the two young Cipher grunts threw their Poke Balls into the air.

"GO!"

In three simultaneous bursts of white light, the Pokemon emerged from the balls. Two Koffing hovered in the air, small puffs of noxious gas oozing from the vents in their relatively spherical bodies. On the opposite end of the field, a Sandshrew stood with its dark eyes staring intensely at the two Poison-types. Unseen to the naked eye, both the Koffing, and the Sandshrew's body were cloaked in a blazing aura of what appeared to be pure shadow before it vanished.

"Activating control collars." Karura muttered as she tapped the screen of her touchpad. Down below, the silver bands that were worn around each of the three Pokemon had a blinking red light that suddenly switched to green.

"Begin." Kogane spoke into the microphone. The two Cipher grunts and Gaara nodded their heads and the battle began.

"Koffing use Tackle!" The two grunts commanded.

"KOFF!" The two Pokemon rushed towards their opponent, but Gaara and Sandshrew merely watched the two Poison-types as if they were insignificant before a powerful aura of shadow swirled around its body like a shroud of violet fire.

"Shadow Rush." Gaara stated coldly. Sandshrew then vanished from view before the Koffing could make impact with the small Ground-type and then Sandshrew slammed into one of the Koffing, pushing off of the Poison-type's body just as it went flying through the air, and crashed into the second Koffing's body, slamming it into the ground. The two Koffing lay on the ground, unconscious from the swift yet powerful Shadow move.

"Sand!" The Mouse Pokemon stood triumphantly over its defeated foes before snapping in the direction of the two young grunts as they released two more Koffing each, placing four on the battlefield in total.

Kogane leaned down to the microphone in the observation room. "Gaara, what did I tell you to do before?"

Gaara's emotionless face cracked for a moment before a light of insanity appeared within his eyes, a small grin spreading across his face. "If victory is assured, do not incapacitate. The weak have no purpose." Gaara's manic grin grew even more as he pointed at the four Koffing. "Sandshrew, Shadow Rush! Kill them all!"

"Koffing, use Shadow Rush!" The two Cipher grunts ordered their Poison-type Pokemon. The Koffing and Sandshrew suddenly unleashed bursts of shadow-like energy from their bodies. The Pokemon collided with one another numerous times, shockwaves racing out from the points of impact after each Shadow Rush attack. Suddenly, the four Koffing rushed towards Gaara's Sandshrew only for the Ground-type rodent to cross its arms in front of its body.

With a strong cry, Sandshrew uncrossed its arms and unleashed a powerful burst of shadow energy that sent Koffing flying off in separate directions. Two of them slammed into the left wall while the third Koffing crashed into the right wall, all of them meeting the vertical surface with devastating force, enough to slightly crack the concrete. The fourth and final Koffing was sent flying back towards the two Cipher grunts, obscuring their field of vision.

"AH!" The two child grunts screamed as they raised their arms as a feeble form of defense against the oncoming Pokemon.

From her position in the observation room, Karura watched with wide eyes as she saw the Koffing shoot towards the two young grunts and Gaara's Sandshrew following right behind it to go for the final blow, its claws wrapped in shadow-like energy. It wasn't the fact that Gaara's Shadow Pokemon was about to go in for the killing blow, it was the fact that she recognized the voices of the two child grunts on the battlefield that were facing off against her youngest son.

"No! Kogane, you didn't!" She turned to the father of her children with complete shock and betrayal on her face. "Gaara! Don't! Call of Sandshrew!" But it was too late as the Mouse Pokemon's Shadow Claw attacked ripped through the flesh of the Poison-type Pokemon and stabbed through the mask of one of the grunts, while the second set of claws tore through the visor with much more ease since there was no Koffing to act as a way to slow down the momentum of the strike.

Blood flew from the heads of the two grunts as they stumbled backwards a bit before falling to their knees as Sandshrew mercilessly ripped its claws free from the now dead Koffing, and the two Cipher grunts' heads. However, Gaara, who bore a look of malicious intent, suddenly gained a look of shock as he saw the bodies of the two child grunts fall forward, the helmets shattering apart as they did so. Behind the visors of the helmets, Gaara could only watch with complete horror as the blood coated faces of his older brother, Kankuro, and his older sister, Temari, fell.

"Huh?" Gaara stood a few slow and steady steps forward before taking off into a sprint. His Sandshrew, which stood off to the side, watch in confusion as its trainer ran past it and fell to his knees. Temari and Kankuro, his nine and eight year old siblings respectively, now lay dead at his feet as a result of the commands he gave to his Pokemon.

"No! No! I killed them?!" Gaara clutched his hair tightly in his hands. "Temari! Kankuro! I killed them! AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Gaara's scream echoed throughout the enclosed battle arena, tears of anguish flowing from his eyes. He had killed his own siblings...his own brother and sister. Distracted by his emotions of fear, sadness, self-loathing and a myriad of other emotions, Gaara never took notice of the fact that the three other Shadow Pokemon, the Koffing, had steadily rose back into the air. With the memory of their defeat still fresh in their Shadow corrupted minds and hearts, the Koffing's bodies all began to release a glow.

Gaara's Sandshrew rushed past him and the green eyed six year old felt time slow down for him as the rush of adrenalin came back when he saw the three Koffing attack. Sandshrew leaped into the air to intercept and as the four Pokemon neared each other, another sound met his ears.

"Gaara!" The red head's eyes widened as a shadow encompassed his body. With her arms wrapped tightly around his tiny body, tears streaming down her face from both her youngest- now sole surviving- child's ordeal and the loss of her other two children, Karura looked down at Gaara as the three Koffing slammed against Sandshrew, their bodies now at the peak of their inflation as they prepared to detonate.

"Gaara, I love you...and I'm sorry. For everything."

Gaara didn't even have time to respond as the three Koffing performed Self-Destruct. The gases in their bodies ignited and their bodies burst apart, vanishing into the sea of green flames. Sandshrew's eyes widened and its cry of pain echoed through the air as its form was immediately lost to the blaze, and said blaze continued to expand outwards as a massive dome of fire, poisonous gas and smoke.

Gaara was then forced to shut his eyes as he felt the soft kiss of his mother's lips against his forehead for the last time.

End Flashback

"They served their purpose. That is why they are dead...you still have a purpose to fulfill, Gaara"

"That was what my father had told me when I asked why I was still alive when my own mother, the only person I ever loved, had been the one to die in the explosions." Gaara chuckled insanely once more. "The experiments had continued for a few more months, but soon Cipher had been defeated, completely shut down after the attempt to create a Shadow clone of the legendary Lugia from one of the few Silver Wings left behind by the Beast of the Sea. Shadow Lugia aka experiment XD001, was a complete failure. The authorities of the Orre Region had ended up taking down Cipher, along with their accomplice, Team Snagem. Me and my father then moved to Pyrite Town where the we ended up living a completely dysfunctional lifestyle!"

Naruto was silent along with the rest of the stadium as the speakers made Gaara's story a region wide tale.

"When I turned ten, I ran away from home with my Pokemon and decided to head for the Kanto region where I decided to try and find a new purpose in life. Back in Cipher, my purpose was to test the training capabilities of himself with regard to Shadow Pokemon, and so with Cipher gone, I now hoped to find a new purpose, a meaning for my existence by taking part in the Pokemon League Silver Conference Victory Tournament." Gaara returned Swampert to its ball before pulling out his sixth and final Pokemon.

"I will find my purpose." Gaara muttered as he glared at Naruto, and then his eyes gained a wild look in them along with an insane grin stretching across his face. "I will find my reason for living, and I'm sure you will be the one to help me find it...Naruto Uzumaki!"

Gaara then opened the Poke Ball and a massive burst of light erupted forth from it. The light twisted and shifted until it finally solidified into the massive Pokemon that was Gaara's final combatant; a large, bipedal, dinosaurian Pokémon with a green, armour-like hide covering its body. It had two pairs of pointed teeth: one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. Several spikes of varying sizes protruded from the back of its head, neck, and shoulders. Both sides of its chest, the center of its back, and its knees had two triangular holes. There was a gray, diamond-shaped patch of scales covering its belly, and a smaller one on its back. It had three claws on its feet and hands. A ring of spikes surrounded the tip of its tail.

"SHOW THEM YOUR PURPOSE AS MY STRONGEST, TYRANITAR!"

Tyranitar the Armour Pokemon. A Rock/Dark-type Pokemon and the evolved form of Pupitar. Extremely strong, it can change the landscape. It has an insolent nature that makes it not care about others.

Suddenly, the wind picked up as the massive Pokemon roared and a sandstorm was formed out of nothing. Its Sand Stream ability had been activated and Dragonite and Naruto were forced to raise their arms to shield their eyes from the buffeting sandstorm.

"And it's a battle between these two high level Pokemon!" Anko shouted as she placed her hand on her skirt, preventing it from flying up due to the raging winds of the sandstorm. "Dragonite and Tyranitar are two Pokemon that each have been granted the title of what is known as a pseudo-legendary Pokemon. Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon are Pokemon that are capable of having abilities and power that put them on the scale of strength similar to that of a Legendary Pokemon's, so with two of them on the field, we're bound to see some epic battling! Now if you excuse me, I'm going to hide inside from this sandstorm!"

As Anko ran away, Dragonite and Tyranitar glared at one another before roaring. Tyranitar raised it foot and stomped down heavily and the entire battlefield was rocked as it used Earthquake. However, Dragonite was hovering in the air so as to prevent itself from being damaged by the powerful Ground-type attack.

"Tyranitar, use Stone Edge!" Tyranitar stomped its feet on the ground once more and a large amount of sharp rocks rose into the air as they were freed from the arena floor. The Armour Pokemon then spun on its feet and lashed out with its heavy tail, sending the large pieces of rock zooming towards it opponent.

"Dragonite, tear those rocks apart with Thunder!" Dragonite winced a bit as it was buffeted by the sandstorm before it attennae glowed with golden electricity. With a battle cry, a wicked thunderbolt was launched from the Dragon Pokemon's body and the Thunder attack crashed against the Stone Edge attack, blasting them apart and turning the stone into rubble. The Thunder attack then continued onwards and struck Tyranitar in the chest.

The Armour roared in pain and anger as it was sent skidding backwards, but quickly stomped its feet to gain some footing.

"Stone Edge and then Rock Slide!" Gaara commanded. The green scaled pseudo-legendary did as it was told and stomped on the ground, freeing numerous pieces of rock from the arena floor. Tyranitar then lashed out with its tail, sending some of the airborne rocks at Dragonite while also sending a few skyward. Dragonite's eyes widened and its unleashed a strong bolt of electricity that destroyed the Stone Edge attack, but the Dragon Pokemon had to quickly dodge the bombardment of rocks from above due to Rock Slide.

Dragonite flapped its wings and barrel rolled and twisted to avoid the storm of stone, however, the sandstorm buffeted Dragonite and some of the sand got into its eyes. The Dragon Pokemon was forced to rub its eyes to regain its sight, but that left it open for the remainder of the Rock Slide to strike it. Dragonite cried out in pain as it was hit and sent back to the ground, being bruised heavily from the super effective attack. Dragonite gritted its teeth as it climbed back to its feet, but Tyranitar had already lashed out with a Stone Edge attack.

"Dragonite roll to the side and then use Thunder!" Naruto ordered. The Dragon Pokemon nodded and rolled to the side, avoiding the sharp rocks and then summoning forth a powerful bolt of golden lightning. The attack struck Tyranitar in its chest and sent the Armour Pokemon skidding backwards from the explosive force.

"Now follow up with Dragon Rush!" A sonic boom was heard as Dragonite spread its wings and took off at mach speeds. The blue-violet aura that cloaked its body took on the image of a roaring dragon and the Dragon-type attack collided with Tyranitar with destructive force. The Armour Pokemon gritted its teeth in pain as it was sent skidding backwards even further.

"Strike from the left now!" Tyranitar aimed to slash at its opponent with its sharp claws, but Dragonite vanished with a sonic boom and then struck from the left. Tyranitar was sent rolling on the ground, climbing back to its feet with help from its momentum. However, the heavy weight Pokemon was then sent to the opposite side as Dragonite struck from the right. Tyranitar flew through the air as it was struck from behind and then Dragonite descended from above for a final strike.

"DRAAAAA!"

"TAAAAAAAR!" Tyranitar roared and then held out its arms and grabbed Dragonite by its shoulders. The Armour Pokemon gritted its teeth as it was sent skidding backwards as the force of the Dragon Rush attack pushed against it. Tyranitar roared in defiance as Dragonite roared with effort, but the Dragon Pokemon's eyes widened when Tyranitar then dug its claws into its shoulders. The sharp weapons dug through Dragonite's tough scales and the Armour Pokemon then pulled Dragonite towards it before opening its jaws and clamping them down on Dragonite's right shoulder.

"DRAGONITE!" Naruto cried out in alarm as a spray of blood shot out of his Pokemon's body. The crimson fluid stained the bitten area as well as Tyrnaitar's snout and teeth. Dragonite raised the arm that didn't have its corresponding shoulder nearly torn off and then proceeded to deal a series of harsh blows to the side of Tyranitar's head. The Armour Pokemon growled in irritation and clamped its teeth down harder of Dragonite's shoulder. More blood flowed from the wound.

"Dragonite, get it off with Thunder!" Dragonite's eyes snapped open as it called upon its electrical attack and the burst of voltage erupted from out of its body. Tyranitar's strong teeth were removed from the Dragon Pokemon's shoulder as it roared in pain, the voltage flooding its body. Dragonite then grabbed onto the sides of Tyranitar's body and flew high into the air.

"Dragon Rush!" Naruto ordered. Dragonite's body was cloaked in the blue-violet aura of the powerful Dragon-type attack and the two pseudo-legendaries neared the ground at a terrifying pace.

"Tyranitar, use Earthquake to soften the landing!" Gaara called out. Tyranitar quickly twisted its body to adjust its position so that it would land feet first and the two Pokemon crashed down on the ground. Dragonite flapped its wings and went back into the air as Tyranitar skidded on the shaking earth, its Earthquake attack doing the job of allowing it survive the powerful Dragon Rush attack.

Naruto and Gaara turned to one another and glared at each other, their teeth gritting.

"DRAGONITE..."

"TYRANITAR..."

Both pseudo-legendary Pokemon then glared at one another, their eyes narrowing before they opened their jaws. Golden yellow and orange energy swirled into their mouths to become compact spheres of concentrated energy.

"HYPER BEAM!" The two trainers commanded simultaneously. The two powerful Normal-type attacks exploded out of their spherical forms and became powerful beams of destruction. The two attacks tore through the air at great speeds before colliding against each other. A massive shockwave occurred as the two attacks clashed with each other and the two psuedo-legendary Pokemon tried to exert more and more energy with the attempt to overpower the other. The two Hyper Beams couldn't overpower one another and so the built up energy exploded outward.

A massive flash of light accompanied the explosion and the force of the blast wave was enough to cause the Sand Stream sandstorm to subside. The light then died down and the massive cloud of dirt and dust dispersed to reveal both Dragonite and Tyranitar standing tall. The Armour Pokemon snarled at the Dragon Pokemon as it growled back at its opponent.

Dragonite panted as landed back down on the ground, Tyranitar panting heavily as well.

"Come on Dragonite! You can do this!"

"Tyranitar, do not fall to this weakling!"

"DRAAAAA!"

"GROOOOOOAR!"

The two Pokemon roared in defiance against each other as they glared at one another.

"Tyranitar, attack with Stone Edge!"

"Dragonite, Outrage!"

The Armour Pokemon crashed its tail down on the ground and the earth rumbled and shook and numerous, large pieces of rock and stone erupted forth before being smacked through the air by Tyranitar's tail. Time seemed to slow down for the Dragon Pokemon as the Rock-type attack approached it, but Dragonite suddenly unleashed a powerful burst of reddish violet fire from its body. The Stone Edge attack was sent completely off-course, each rock flying off in a random direction. Dragonite roared again and another burst of reddish violet fire raced across the battlefield, hitting Tyranitar in the chest, making the durable Pokemon gasp in pain. Dragonite then unleashed one final burst and the Outrage attack crashed against Tyranitar's body with explosive force, generating a massive storm of fire and dust upon contact.

When the dust settled, Tyranitar stood slightly hunched over, standing in a massive crater that was littered with reddish-violet embers scorch marks decorating its durable body, and smoke wafted off of its back. Dragonite panted in exertion as well. The two pseudo-legendary Pokemon hunched over and each took a single step forward out of defiance to fall...before they both collapsed.

There was a moment of silence as the audience registered the fact that the battle was over.

"Is it over?" Anko asked. "I mean..." She cleared her throat. "...It's over! After a titanic clash between these two massive titans, it ends in a draw! Tyranitar, the Pokemon said to crush mountains, and Dragonite, the very definition of what a Dragon-type Pokemon should be, have both fallen! However, due to Naruto still having one Pokemon remaining in his roster, Gaara loses and the blonde Uzumaki wins the match! I repeat, Naruto Uzumaki is the winner!"

The crowd erupted into applause and cheers, some standing up from their chairs as they did so.

"And so, your four semi-final combatants for the Kanto-Johto Silver Conference Victory Tournament are...Satoshi Taijiri, Ryuu, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki!" The images of the four trainers appeared on the screens around the stadium. "Prepare for the next day of battling, because you four are going to battle with everything you've got! And that's all for now, folks!"

Anko then turned off her microphone as the stadium prepared to clear out.

Naruto held out his Poke Ball and returned Dragonite with a small smile. "To think...you were that tiny, innocent Dratini all those months ago, and now...you're on your way to becoming a Champion. Well done, Dragonite." Naruto walked across the battlefield towards the insane Orre region native, the young boy hunched over the body of his Tyranitar.

"You know...you were really strong, Gaara." Naruto said.

"How?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion at Gaara' question. "How can you be so strong? You fight with no drive to find your purpose, and yet...you win."

"You know Gaara, the thing about humanity is that we have no definitive purpose." Naruto replied. "You don't need someone to tell you what your purpose or what your destiny is. As humans, and Pokemon do this as well, we shape our own destinies. In fact, I met a Pokemon who was just like you. It had lost everything...its home was gone, it had no family, no friends...its only self-given purpose was to kill everything that entered its home in order to keep itself from being found, and to stay in isolation. You lost everything, Gaara...and so, I'm willing to help you like I'm willing to help that Pokemon." Naruto held out his hand to the Orre region native. "The first step to helping a mentally unstable person like you is to give them someone to talk to, and if you'll let me...I'll be that person."

Gaara stared at Naruto in shock, his green eyes meeting Naruto's blue ones. "R-Really?" Naruto nodded. "Why?"

"Because I want to, but..." Naruto's eyes turned cold as he let loose the persona he had for the ROOT War. "...you threaten my Pokemon ever again, you try to kill them, and I will not hesitate to do the same to you."

Gaara stared into Naruto's icy orbs before nodding slowly. Naruto grinned widely as his sunny persona returned and he gripped Gaara by the hand and pulled him up to his feet. "Good, now return your Tyranitar and get yourself together...we're going to have a long talk tomorrow morning."

And with that Naruto ran off as he saw his friends and family coming onto the battlefield to greet him. Hinata ran up to him and he twirled her around as she tackled him, kissing him heavily on the lips. As Naruto set her down, he was clapped on the shoulders by his father and Akatsuchi while being embarrassingly kissed on the cheek by Kushina.

Gaara sighed as he looked away from the happy group and down at his unconscious Tyranitar. He returned the Armour Pokemon to its ball before rising back to his feet. With a genuine smile on his face, Gaara glanced back at Naruto out of the corner of his eyes as he walked out of the stadium. Naruto Uzumaki was definitely someone who would help him find his purpose in life again, he had no doubt about that.

(A/N: FINALLY! I'M DONE! Sheesh, that took forever to write. First off, I'm sorry to you readers who waited so patiently for me to make this chapter, but I had hit a heavy writer's block when I was making Gaara's flashback story, and a bit from when I was making the battles. But as you can see from the length of this chapter, I powered through it and I made it. Truth be told, I would have finished this yesterday, but once it gets to about midnight, my mind starts to slow down and things start coming out forced and it seems really bad.

Now then, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the battles that occurred, especially Naruto versus Gaara. I tried make it a bit difficult for Naruto since he has never fought Hoenn region Pokemon, but it would be a bit easy to deduce their types, but not their secondary ones. I mean, you can't really tell that Swampert is part Ground-type or that Cacturne is part Dark-type just from looking at them.

The next chapter will be the quarterfinals and so the Pokemon League is coming to its close after the next two chapters. Prepare yourselves for some more epic battles.

P.S- A thanks to KuramaFTW for making Ryuu and his team. Apparently, Ryuu is based off of KuramaFTW's actual self and his team is a team he has in one of his Pokemon games. So, there, I have seen to it that Kurama gets his credit for his OC.

P.S.S- The cameo characters in this chapter, Wataru and Kikuko, are the Japanese names for Lance and Agatha. And in the previous chapter, chapter 40, the cameo characters are both game and anime characters. Yuki is the male player of RSE aka Brendan, Haruka is May, Itsuki was Will, Siba is Bruno, and Kyo was Koga.)

Pokedex: Seen-255

Caught-255

Character Bio: A

Eye Colour: Black

Hair Colour: Pale Blonde

About: Thirty years ago, A was a young and promising trainer. He was a prodigy with the ability to train the Pokemon he had to reach the best of their abilities. During his youth, he had received an Eevee as his starter Pokemon, eventually turning it into a Jolteon, and journeyed across the Kanto region to take part in the Gym Leader challenge to prove he was the better trainer between himself and his rival, Minato Namikaze. A was a brilliant trainer indeed as he was capable of winning the Pokemon League tournament by besting his rival in the finals, defeating the Elite Four and felling Izuna Uchiha to take the title of Champion. However, A's reign lasted only a single year as Minato returned to win the Pokemon League tournament, defeat the Elite Four. A and Minato fought in a climactic battle which ended with Minato's Pikachu defeating A's Jolteon. Thus, Minato took A's place as the Pokemon Champion and A was left without title nor purpose. However, Minato saw A's ability would be wasted if he was just left to wander around, so with Danzo's death at the hands of Minato having become public, A was given the title of gym leader of Viridian City and became one of the first gym leaders to not have a team or gym that was focused on a specific type of Pokemon.

Naruto's Team:

Typhlosion(Male)

Pidgeot(Male)

Heracross(Male)

Quagsire(Female)

Ampharos(Female)

Dragonite(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)

Wigglytuff(Male)

Ninetails(Female)

Raichu/Pika(Male)

Akatsuchi's Team:

Golem(Male)

Steelix(Male)

Sudowoodo(Male)

Crobat(Female)