A/N: Sorry it's been a while since the last update, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I only own my OC, not Pokémon or Naruto.
Chapter 6
"Did that just happen?" Ayumi asked Naruto.
"It did. Those Squirtle stole our lunch." Naruto replied.
"My food…" Rhapsody mourned.
The three could only stare at the empty spot that was where their food that they were about to eat was. The two trainers were only a couple miles to Vermillion City and had decided to take a lunch break before continuing, but as they getting out the food and bowls, a group of Squirtle in sunglasses sprayed the three with Water Gun before swiping the food and leaving.
The Meloetta looked like she was in between crying for her lost lunch and rage. "Those Squirtle won't get away with this!" She roared as she prepared to fly towards the thieving Pokemon before her father figure stopped her.
"Rhapsody, it's fine. We still have plenty of food, see?" The blond comforted as he showed another bag of homemade Pokemon Food to the Melody Pokemon. "We can always make more too, if necessary."
Rhapsody pouted, "But Daddy… Fine. Only because I can still have my Poffins and Poke-blocks too."
The whiskered trainer sweat dropped as he poured the food into the bowl, "Well, only a few anyway, that aside, let's just go back to having lunch before anything happens again."
The silverette agreed as she took out another of her own specially made food and poured them into the bowls before releasing her Pokemon that eagerly devoured their meal with Naruto's doing the same. Ayumi just sat down next to her Nidoking as she pulled out an Oran berry for herself, "I do wonder why a bunch of Squirtle would be here?"
Naruto sat down as well, taking a bite out of a sandwich that didn't get doused with Rhapsody eating on his lap, "You do have a point, wild starter Pokemon are really rare. Do you any ideas why, Rhapsody?"
The Meloetta looked up briefly before focusing on her food, "I think they were abandoned. I don't like the Squirtle with the pointy glasses, but he thinks that every human is bad. Maybe he's the leader; I'm not sure."
"Well that makes sense. Abandoned Pokemon react differently after all, they must've just wanted some way to eat." The albino commented.
The Unova native agreed; those Squirtle must've banded together because they were all handed the same fate by their trainers, possibly for identical reasons. "I hope they enjoy the food then, I do wonder what they'll think of our food though. Mine was just a blend of minced Poke-blocks with berries and the necessary nutrients."
Ayumi looked between the blond and his Pokemon before thumping her fist on her palm, "So that's how your Pokemon's coats are shiny and healthy." She said in awe.
The cerulean eyed trainer chuckled, "Well I learned how to make it from my mom and dad, it took a lot of practice, but it was fun, like when my dad accidently blended the berries with the lid off. It splattered everywhere; oh he really wasn't a good cooker." Both trainers laughed at the analogy. "What about yours, Ayumi? Do you put something in it to make your Pokemon larger than average?"
"Not much different than yours, but I use bits of Rare Candy instead of Poke-blocks. And I can assure you it took a lot of tries before getting it down right." Nidoking nodded and shivered to this as he remembered the bad batches he had to eat as a Nidoran.
Naruto didn't miss the Drill Pokemon shiver and laughed, "Just what you'd expect from a breeder."
Ayumi laughed as well, "Your recipe is expected for a Coordinator too. By the way, can you tell me about being a Coordinator? I don't know much about that, since I mostly focused on learning about Breeders."
Naruto's eyes widened at the idea of someone not knowing about Pokemon contests, especially if they were from Hoenn and Sinnoh, and although his hometown was Unova, he'd grown up watching his mother's performances as well as his father's battles. "Haven't you seen a Pokemon contest before?" He asked in horror.
The Sinnoh native shrugged, "I know some of the rules, but I was never interested. The only reason I actually heard of your mom was because she's an amazing water and fire type trainer."
The blond held a blank face, "You have a one track mind, you know that?"
"I've been told."
"Anyway, Pokemon contests are where both the contestant and the Pokemon have to be in sync in their timing for the first round, the performance round. There, you can have one or two Pokemon in this round depending on the contest, this is where you can show off your Pokemon and make them shine in their own unique way with combination moves. The Coordinators usually dress up as well as using Capsule Balls and have their Pokemon wear accessories; only eight are able pass before continuing to the battle round." Naruto explained.
The silverette tilted her head, "Battle round? You mean like normal battles?"
"In a way, but in these battles, your Pokemon's moves have to outshine the others as well as counter it; when you do, your opponent loses points while there's a five minute time limit. For example; if it were Rhapsody against a Pokemon that used Swift, I'd have her use Psychic and redirect it, or block it with Ice Punch or Shadow Claw. Doing that would make my opponent's points decrease, and the one that has the most points wins and the round continues until the finals. The last Coordinator wins a contest ribbon; which you need five to be able to enter the Grand Festival."
Ayumi took everything in and looked in awe, "Wow, it must take a lot of talent and practice. You're incredible for aiming to be both a Top Coordinator and a Champion."
The blond just sheepishly grinned as he scratched the back of his head, "It does, there's a lot of competition, but both of them are fun and definitely worth it. My Pokemon choose whether they want to participate in battles, contests, or both, and I'll be fine with their choices."
"That makes sense." The Sinnoh native agreed as she saw the logic to it.
"That's right! Falco, Taiyou, and Umi are sticking to battles; Mao, Hoshi, and Gloom want contests, and me, Aki, Haru, Teru, and Aoi will do both! I don't know about Horsea yet, but I'm sure she'll have fun too! Oh, and the eggs too, I can't wait to see what they'll pick!" Rhapsody cheered as she happily thought of being able to participate like how she'd seen Kushina's Ninetales had.
Naruto patted his first Pokemon on the head, "We have to wait until contest season though, which will be after the Pokemon League. I'll be sure to get a Contest Pass then."
Ayumi grinned as she gave him a thumbs up, "You know I'll be cheering you on."
"Right, I'll appreciate it. Well everyone's eaten, so we should really get going. The sooner we get to Vermillion City the better." The blond stood with Rhapsody quickly floating to her perch on his shoulder as he recalled his Pokemon.
The silverette did the same as she asked, "So, who will you use for your gym battle? You know I'm sticking with Nidoking."
The blue-eyed blond thought for a moment and came to a final decision, "I'll go with Aki; I don't have any ground or rock types, but I'm sure Aki's Dig with a few combinations will really pull through a win."
"Sounds goo-ow!" Ayumi said before the two knocked into something and fell to the ground with Rhapsody levitating damage free.
"What did we run into?" Naruto wondered as he rubbed his head and the two trainers turned to see the group of Squirtle with sunglasses that had fallen on their back and one that looked like it had been deep fried.
Rhapsody, still holding a grudge from earlier, flew in front of the Squirtle when they got on their feet and held her arms above her head as she formed an oversized and very intimidating looking Energy Ball as she laughed menacingly.
Needless to say the Squirtle dashed off, leaving a dust cloud, "Rhapsody doesn't like her food getting stolen, does she?" Ayumi asked with a sweat drop on the side of her head.
Naruto also had a sweat drop as he responded, "I guess she doesn't. Huh?" He paused when he heard coughing from the fading dust cloud.
What was revealed were two Squirtle; one was the fried looking one, and the other probably the one that was helping the former until the collision and fright of Rhapsody. They must've been left behind by the other Squirtle in their dash. When the glasses wearing Squirtle realized it was only with its fallen companion against two trainers; it didn't know whether to run or to fight.
Rhapsody looked about ready to attack the Turtle Pokemon before her trainer called her off, "That's enough, Rhapsody. I think they learned their lessons, but that Squirtle needs help. Ayumi?"
"On it." The silverette said as stepped forward to aid the downed water type, only to be sprayed with Water Gun and loud yells of Squirtle. Wiping her face to get rid of the water, she asked the Meloetta, "What did it say?"
"He said, "I'm not letting a girl come near my friend! Girls can't be trusted; you're just like all the other girls, twisting and manipulative! You probably want something from us, don't you?!" How insulting to the good girls!" Rhapsody translated and huffed at the comment.
Ayumi frowned, she only wanted to help the injured Squirtle, but the one that had doused her probably had a female trainer that abandoned him along with, what it seems, cause traumatic memories. "Look, both my friend and I just want to help your injured buddy. We don't want anything in exchange."
" 'Then let the guy help. I won't let you go anywhere near them, got that? I have my eyes on the three of you. And you better not try anything, Blondie; guy or not, I don't trust trainers.' " The Melody Pokemon deciphered as the Squirtle thought for a moment before replying.
Naruto nodded to the blue water type and gave a kind smile, "Don't worry, your friend will be as good as new in no time." The Squirtle stared at the blonde's face with an expression that couldn't be seen through his glasses and nodded before glaring at the albino breeder again.
"Great, a Squirtle that hates me. I only wanted to help." Ayumi muttered under her breath with the whiskered blond patting her on the back.
"It'll be fine, just try to make friends and make sure that Rhapsody and that Squirtle doesn't do something when my back's turned." The Unova native comforted as he carried the injured Squirtle and guided everyone to a safer area to begin giving his aid.
The blond ignored a growl behind him as he focused on the Squirtle he was helping and went through his bag of supplies. He'd really have to thank everyone back home later; some of the things in his bags were really expensive, especially some of the medical supplies and items like evolutionary stones and objects, but that'd be for another time. Naruto took out a revival herb along with a Cheri berry that were cut into pieces and began grinding them together; he'd learned from his mom that it was a good way to heal a Pokemon if it were injured by an electric attack, as the Cheri berry serves as a good measure to heal any sort of paralysis along with the juices making it easier to drink while the Revival Herb would do the rest. It would take a little amount of time to be grounded up though.
While the blond was intensely focused, the two females were staring at the Squirtle that frowned after his stomach growled. Rhapsody had offered a Pecha berry from Ayumi's bag, but he refused vehemently, saying it wouldn't take anything from a girl; as far as he was concerned, all women would pretend to be nice, but as soon as they got what they wanted or when they were bored of something, they'd throw it away like trash. That was how his trainer was after all. She had seemed so kind and caring at first; always carrying him in her arms and praising him after he'd won a battle, groomed him whenever she had the chance, and laughed together at all the fun moments, but it was all short lived. He didn't and still doesn't know why, but his trainer suddenly had a change of heart, she had said words that always stung even at this moment as she wore a disgusted scowl on her face, "You know Squirtle, I thought being nice to you would make me like water type Pokemon, but I guess I was wrong. You and all the other water types are just as annoying as I thought, I knew I should've gotten that Bulbasaur or asked for a different Pokemon instead of you. It doesn't matter though, now that I have another Pokemon other than you, I can finally get rid of you."
To the Squirtle, his world shattered when his trainer abandoned him, for the first couple days he'd tried to convince himself that it was a joke, that she'd come back for him with a happy smile and open arms, but as more days went by, he doubted his own words and began to wonder if he'd perhaps done something wrong to earn his trainer's scorn, the only thing he could think of, was maybe that he was too weak. Back then, he admitted that he wasn't that strong, but he always did his best. The water type eventually realized that his trainer would never come back for him and travelled to find a place he could belong, but he would never allow being with a female, not after what his trainer had done. At some point he'd met with the Squirtle Squad, just like him, they were abandoned by their trainers as well, everyone knew each other's pains and came together. They agreed to get payback on the humans that betrayed and abandoned them.
Squirtle was brought out of his reminiscing when he felt Rhapsody pat his head to get his attention. Slapping her hand away, he snarled at the Meloetta and breeder, "Squirt?"
"Rhapsody and I know you probably won't accept it but here." Ayumi said as she held out a Liechi berry, "You may hate me, but you don't have to like me to accept food. Think of it as stealing right out of my hands."
The Tiny Turtle Pokemon was cautious, but took the berry and inspected it as if there were possibly something wrong with it before taking a bite. He had never tasted something so spicy and sweet before and knew that he'd never eaten a fruit like this, maybe the silver haired girl had gotten it somewhere far away? As soon as he finished, he held his hand out for more with a serious face as Ayumi gave him another one.
"Hey guys, Squirtle's all better now! It's even awake." Naruto called out as he got everyone's attention and making the other Squirtle dash forward and push the blond out of the way to check on his companion.
Rhapsody didn't like that action and was about to charge at the Squirtle, but her father-figure caught her in mid-air before she could get closer, "Squirtle is probably worried about his friend; I'm not surprised that he did that."
The albino breeder nodded, "Yeah, anybody would charge to their friend's side to make sure they were alright."
The three watched the two Squirtle talk to each other with only the Melody Pokemon able to understand what they were saying, but not translating to the two humans for her own reasons. Eventually, the travelling group decided it time to leave and continue on their way to Vermillion City as the two trainers both left a bag of Pokemon food for the Squirtle and told them they could have and share it with the other Squirtle.
"What were those Squirtle talking about Rhapsody?" Naruto asked his normal-psychic type as the group walked past the trees so they could get onto the right route.
Rhapsody just smiled as she shook her head, "Not saying. It's a secret!" She chimed mischievously.
Ayumi frowned slightly, "Well that's not fair, those two were pointing and glancing at us whenever they talked."
The blond shrugged, "Well, maybe it's best not to know." His nose twitched as he smelled something odd, "Do you two smell smoke?"
Everyone turned around to see the trees were alit with flames and spread to the trees in front of them, effectively blocking their way out. The two trainers looked at each other in worry before the three calmed down and the whiskered trainer spoke as he held out his Gyarados's Poke-ball, "We'll be fine as long as we put the fire out with our water Pokemon. We'll have my Gyarados and your Nidoking and Empoleon use their water type attacks. I hope Umi will be able to handle the heat, but while they do, we'll have Rhapsody and Kadabra use Psychic to keep the flames from spreading."
The red-eyed breeder brought out her Kadabra and Empoleon's Poke-balls, and let them out, "Nidoking might end up causing a flood with his Surf, but let's do it."
"Right. Help us out, Umi!" Naruto called out as the red Gyarados gave a roar and looked down to her trainer for her orders. The blond pointed at the flaming trees, "Use your Aqua Tail and help us put out the fire, Umi!"
"Empoleon, you too! Use Brine to douse the flames!" Ayumi told her Emperor Pokemon. Both nodded to their trainers commanded and immediately used their moves to put out as many flames as they could.
The two trainers nodded to each other before yelling at the same time, "Rhapsody/Kadabra! Keep the fire from going anywhere with Psychic!"
Both psychic types' eyes glowed blue as the flames seemingly froze, making it easier for the two water types.
The trainers sighed in relief as the silverette commented, "We really need to teach our Pokemon Rain Dance if this ever happens again."
"Agreed, but this fire just won't let up." The blond frowned until he noticed a section of the fire managed to escape their Pokemon's attack and was climbing down one of the trees that were closer to the trainers as he pulled his travelling companion away to avoid the flame as they saw two jets of water that weren't from their Pokemon putting out that fire.
It was the two Squirtle. The very same ones that they'd left earlier. They looked over that the two trainers as one gave Naruto a thumbs-up; it was probably the one that Naruto helped, before helping his Gyarados, and the other gave Ayumi a loud call of its name before aiding her Empoleon.
The two trainers were shocked at the sight; they never expected the Squirtle to help them. "Hey Naruto."
"Yeah, Ayumi?"
"Do you think this is why Rhapsody didn't tell us what those Squirtle were saying before?" The silverette asked as both of them watched the amount of flaming trees diminish.
The orange wearing blond thought for a moment before smiling, "Maybe she wanted us to show those Squirtle that we aren't like those other trainers. I'm glad we earned their trust though. Although, I get a feeling that those two will make things interesting. My mom is definitely going to be happy for another water type too."
Ayumi nodded, "Squirtle may have an attitude, but he'll fit right in. The little guy you helped too, I'm sure it'll get along with that family of yours."
After the fire was extinguished, Naruto and Ayumi returned their Pokemon and squatted down to the Squirtle. Naruto wondered as he watched them take off their round sunglasses, "We really appreciated the help, but what are doing here with us? Don't you want to be with the other Squirtle?" He could tell this one was the one he healed from a closer look along with his Meloetta grinning widely.
Ayumi also asked the Squirtle she could tell was the one she gave berries to with his glare that seemed to have softened from before, "I thought you hated girls like me?" She got a smack on the shin from Squirtle as a response before pointing at the Poke-balls he'd seen were in her bag.
"Squirt Squirtle Squirtle Squirt. Squirtle Squirtle Squirt Squirt."
"He said, "I'll let you prove that you're different from other trainers by going with you. You better make it worth joining your team." The Meloetta helpfully translated. She knew where this was going for both the silverette and her father figure.
Ayumi's visible eye widened at what was spoken; she'd expect Naruto to befriend the Squirtle he'd treated and judging from how the water type seemed pretty happy with the Unova native's presence, he succeeded. But for the feisty Squirtle to consider coming along with her was surprising to the least. "Sure." She uttered in shock before grinning and patted the water type on the head, "I'm honored to have a strong guy like you in the family."
Naruto congratulated his travelling companion as he heard the other Squirtle say something as well as pointing at the blond and his Poke-balls. "Rhapsody? Can you tell me what Squirtle said just now?" He asked the Melody Pokemon.
"He says he's coming with you since you helped it and sees you as a good guy, Daddy! Yay! Another new friend!" Rhapsody cheered as she clapped and twirled in mid-air.
His blue eyes widened as he turned to the Turtle Pokemon, "Really Squirtle? You want to come along with me?"
Squirtle didn't hesitate for a moment when he nodded with a grin, "Squirtle!" He knew that the blond was a good person especially with the fact that he treated the water type without caring for something in exchange. After all, his old trainer was one that wouldn't heal or give him treatment as he was only focused in trying to make him evolve as soon as possible by battling trainers that there wasn't a chance to win against. He was more than happy to be abandoned by his arrogant former trainer after losing so many battles, and had hoped to find someone like the person that was in front of him one day, and now he'd gotten his wish. The blond looked like he wouldn't make rash decisions without thinking.
Naruto just smiled, "I'll be counting on you, buddy."
A few days went by after the two Squirtle joined the travelling duo and now they'd successfully reached Vermilion City along with Naruto luckily catching a Magnemite, a female Combee, and a Psyduck; making note to train them and Squirtle after the gym battle, while Ayumi was trying to come up for a strategy for the gym battle with her Nidoking and somewhat spacing out.
When they reached the Pokemon Center to heal their Pokemon quickly before their matches, the blond and silverette discussed on who should battle first against Lt. Surge. "The battle is going to be one-on-one with an electric type and us using Aki and Nidoking; if the first wins the other will be battling a different Pokemon while the first would be sent to the Pokemon Center." Naruto informed seriously to the albino breeder.
"More than likely, he'll use his strongest Pokemon first and try to stick it." Ayumi thought aloud as she looked around to see fellow trainers waiting outside for their recovering Pokemon. "And judging from everyone out here, he's going to stick with that plan, and we'll have to be on guard."
The blond nodded, "Aki has done well in practicing to dodge electric type attacks from Teru, as well as our practice battles, so I know he'll do his best." He knew his Leafeon had been more than eager to improve since his twin had evolved and the eeveelution duo never disappointed in their double battles against Ayumi and other trainers.
"You know me and Nidoking are ready, so which of us should go first?" The dark cladded girl asked.
"I want Aki to experience his first gym battle, so I'll take the first go. After that, it'll be you and your Nidoking."
Ayumi nodded in affirmative, as they both stood to retrieve their Poke-balls before heading to the gym.
Naruto was in front with Ayumi behind as they opened the door of the gym to see it was pitch black, "Hello? We're here to challenge the gym leader, Lt. Surge." The blond called out, with lights immediately turning on and momentarily blinding the duo.
"So which of you is the one that's here to challenge me?" A tall muscled man with blond spiky hair and sunglasses asked with a Raichu by his side as well as a group of people that could be mistaken for thugs standing in the back.
Surge stared at the two with stern eyes and passes over the blonde's shoulder and spotted Ayumi, "Well are you challenging me today, little lady? As cute as you are, I'm not going to go easy you." He asked with a non-intimidating grin; the electric type specialist always had a soft spot for girls that came to his gym, but that didn't mean he'd lose and offer his badge without a fight.
Ayumi blinked in confusion, "I'm challenging, but Naruto's going to battle you first. My name is Ayumi, by the way."
"That's right, I'm Naruto, and I'll be the first of the two of us to be challenging you, Lt. Surge." Naruto said seriously and not intimidated by the size of the adult after getting used to being around larger Pokemon.
The gym leader stared at the younger blond and smirked, "You think you have a chance at beating me and my Raichu, fox kit? Fat chance." His comment had the people in the background snickering and laughing.
"Fox kit?" Naruto repeated in a low voice as his shoulders shook in anger. While there wasn't much that the blond would get angry over if it didn't relate to Pokemon, he couldn't stand being called short or small in any reference. While he would admit that he probably wasn't the tallest for his height, he was still taller than Ash by a good few inches at the very least, and obviously Misty and Ayumi as well, but most girls were naturally a couple inches shorter.
Said girl was sweat dropping; she didn't know that her usually calm and level-headed travelling companion was sensitive about his height, but at this moment she learned to never bring it up.
The younger blond growled as he held Aki's poke-ball in his hand, "I'll show you I'm not a fox kit after I win!"
"We'll see brat." Surge said as he and his Raichu crossed their arms.
"This is a one-on-one battle between the Vermilion City gym leader, Lt. Surge and Naruto from Undella Town! The match will end once one side is unable to continue!" The referee announce as he stood at the side along with Surge's group while the silverette stood in the back at the whiskered blonde's side.
"Show him you got, Naruto!" Ayumi cheered.
"Thanks, Ayumi." Naruto smiled over his shoulder before facing forward and took a deep breath after staring at his opponent and his Raichu. The Unova-native could see it was pretty strong after seeing Kakashi's Raichu many times as kid, but he could see the vast differences between the two; this one lacked speed from training as a Pikachu. "Let's do our best, Aki!"
"Lea!" The Verdant Pokemon roared as he shook his head and stood in battle position.
The older blond had no idea what the Pokemon he was facing was, but there was no way his Raichu would lose, "So fox kit sends out a grassy fox looking Pokemon, not surprising but doesn't stand a chance against my Raichu."
The orange clad trainer frowned slightly, but concentrated on the battle, "Start things off with Magical Leaf!"
As the leaves flew forward, the gym leader was quick to order, "Fry them with Thunderbolt!" Raichu did as told as it shocked the leaves and hit Aki by the tail as he used Dig to make an escape.
"Now, slam it with double Leaf Blade, Aki!" Naruto called out as both the electric specialist and Mouse Pokemon were trying to locate the grass type.
The Leafeon came up from under Raichu and slightly knocked it off balance with the leaf on his head standing as he swung his glowing green tail to deal more damage.
"Don't give up, Raichu! Get it back with Mega Kick and send it flying!" Raichu instantly retaliated as it followed its command and sent Aki flying as he cried in pain.
"Aki, hang in there! Summersault with a leafy Energy Ball!" Naruto ordered as his Leafeon did as he told as he began spinning while he used Magical Leaf from using the rotation and formed an Energy Ball and launching both attacks at the unsuspecting Raichu in the form of a green orb surrounded by leaves.
The combination attack exploded on contact as Lt. Surge called out to his Pokemon, "Raichu!"
When Aki landed on the ground, he stood ready to continue fighting, even though that last move wore him out slightly, no matter how much practice he'd had, but he wouldn't disappoint his father figure in his first gym battle.
Raichu was unconscious with swirling eyes as it lied on the floor, surprising everyone on the gym leader's side. The Mouse Pokemon had never been defeated by such a move before, not to mention how the younger blond and his Pokemon seemed so in sync with the other. "Raichu is unable to continue! The victor is Naruto from Undella Town! Will Ayumi from Jubilife City step forward."
The Leafeon ran back to the younger blond who praised and petted him while giving him a Sitrus berry to recover. The silverette walked up with a grin, "Awesome battle, Naruto. Way to put your contest ideas to work."
"Thanks, Ayumi. I'm sure you won't disappoint in your battle." Naruto replied as he stood with a grin on his face.
The two trainers high-fived the other as they passed, "You know I won't."
The older blond kept a strong face as he returned his Raichu to its Poke-ball and gave it to one of his friends to send to the Pokemon Center, "You're a tough kid, Naruto. I'll give you that. I wonder if you can make it two-in-a-row, little lady?" He said as he let out his Electrode.
The albino smirked, "I'll do my best then. Time to battle, Nidoking!" She called out as she released her first Pokemon.
"No way! First an unknown Pokemon, and now a giant Nidoking?! What do these kids do with their Pokemon?!" A person from Surge's side yelled in shock.
Surge whistled, "Didn't expect a cute little girl to have such a big guy on her team."
"Thanks for the compliment; Nidoking hasn't ever been one to let me down. Now, start things off with Ice Beam!"
"Avoid it, Electrode and strike it with Sonic Boom!" The electric type countered as it sent the blades of white at the Drill Pokemon.
"You can take it Nidoking." Ayumi said as the poison-ground type didn't budge from the attack. "Now Earthquake!"
Everyone had difficulty balancing at the rumbling ground as the field cracked at Nidoking's powerful stomp and caved in Electrode's area. The Ball Pokemon banged into the floor when it fell and instinctively used its well-known move, causing an explosion as it used Self-Destruct.
The hole Electrode was in was considerably widened as smoke came from the electric type after using all its strength from that move with the Sinnoh native's Pokemon at a safe distance.
The referee took a quick second to get his balance back as the earth tremors quelled before announcing, "Electrode is unable to continue! The winner is Ayumi from Jubilife City!"
"Good job, Ayumi! That was a great battle!" Naruto congratulated as the silverette patted her large Nidoking on the stomach.
Ayumi grinned, "Thanks, Naruto. You were as amazing as always, Nidoking!" Nidoking gave a fanged grin in reply to his trainer's words.
"You two really aren't ones you can tell from appearances." Surge said as he stepped forward with his group behind him. "For a few kids, you can definitely do well with how you're raising your Pokemon."
"Thanks Lt. Surge. By the way, did you evolve your Raichu right away when it was still a Pikachu?" Naruto asked.
The gym leader raised his eyebrow, "Yeah I did. How'd you know?"
"A family friend of mine has a Raichu that he raised for a long time; he said you should focus of having them be strong and fast as a Pikachu before evolving them too soon." The whiskered blond explained.
"You sure got a good eye for detail, kid. What's your full name?"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."
Surge's eyes widened before laughing, "No wonder, that explains a lot."
"What do you mean?" The Unova native asked with his silver haired companion tilting her head.
"I knew your mom, Kushina, when we were kids. She was a real live wire. If she didn't prefer those contests, she could've easily been a great trainer. You sure don't act like her though; you got that from your old man?"
"I think, mom always says that I'm a miniature version of dad, I look a lot like him too." The younger blond mentioned; glad that Rhapsody was currently in her Poke-ball for this for safety measures. The Meloetta would've definitely brought up moments where he did share the same traits as his mom.
"So you're doing battles instead of contests, just like your dad then?" The older blond asked, he knew some things about Minato, thanks to meeting the Johto native once with Kushina. He wasn't surprised when the two got married and had a kid.
"I'm doing both so I can surpass both of them. I just have to wait until contest season though."
"Good luck with that then. Your parents must've really gone overboard before you left, huh?"
"You have no idea…" Naruto replied blankly with a sweat drop, making Surge laugh.
"Not surprised by that! She's passionate with just about anything; she punched me when I made fun of her plan with contests and using only water and fire types." He winced inwardly from that childhood memory. The redhead sure could land a punch.
Surge then turned to the silverette that was quietly watching the whole time, "So what about you? Any plans?"
"I'm a breeder, so I'm raising my Pokémon to their best potential! I'll help Naruto out, and keep company. Travelling alone on a journey isn't really fun after all." Ayumi smiled, purposely leaving out her status.
"You two get along well if you're travelling together; how'd you meet?"
Naruto answered, "She was outside the Pewter City gym after my match with a wild Pichu, both tagged along since. There wasn't much harm, what with us not being from here."
"We also discuss some battle strategies and help each other with attacks along with practice battles and our Pokemon's diet." The albino breeder added.
Surge chuckled at the two young trainers, before holding out two of his gym badges, "Whatever you two did with your Pokemon, I say keep it up! Here's the proof in beating me unlike most of the other babies, the Thunder Badge."
The travelling duo accepted the badges with beaming grins. "Thanks Lt. Surge, it was a great match." The two said at the same time with neither really noticing.
"Don't mention it."
Taking a break back in the Pokemon Center, Naruto and Ayumi finished talking to their parents; Naruto's happily reminiscing their good times and congratulating their son for his third badge, and that they'd be rooting for him, and Ayumi's doing the same and telling her how she'd love the Houndour her father chose and to call for anything.
"So, which gym is next?" The silverette asked.
"The Celadon City gym focuses on grass types, and it might help Taiyou evolve again. I also have a pretty good type advantage, and Rhapsody would be able to battle too." The blond replied, "Your opinion?"
"I was actually thinking Saffron City that specializes in psychic types, but sure, Celadon is closer, after all."
"Right. We can always go afterwards before heading off to… Lavender Town for ghost types." Naruto gulped in the end.
Ayumi cheered, "Alright! Ghost Pokemon!"
"Naruto and Ayumi, you're Pokemon are ready for you to pick up." Nurse Joy said with a smile as she called the two up.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy." The duo replied before showing confused faces as the pink haired nurse held two slips of paper to them.
"Lt. Surge said to hand these out to any lucky trainers to defeat him. These are tickets for an all-expense paid cruise on the S.S Anne." She gave to two the tickets before returning to work.
Naruto frowned slightly as they walked out after retrieving and having switched out their Pokemon, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Ayumi nodded, "Me too, but I still think we should go."
Rhapsody chose that moment to let herself out of her poke-ball with a stretch, "Go where? Are we going somewhere?"
"We got these tickets for a cruise after winning against Surge, but I just have a sinking feeling in my gut." The blond explained to his Meloetta.
"But won't we be okay as long as we get prepared for anything? Like water and flying types just in case, and my Psychic is pretty strong along with all our friends to help!"
"Rhapsody does have a point. We already have enough stuff on us to be able to survive just about anything." The silverette added.
Naruto raised his eyebrow to his travelling companion, "You really want to go on this cruise, don't you?"
"No way, I hate being surrounded by large masses of water, but this could be fun." She replied with a blank face.
The Unova native knew that he wouldn't win this with it being two against one, but the two girls might be right. "Well, if we get to battle some trainers that are on board, I don't see why not." Naruto finally sighed in defeat and adding before his two friends could cheer, "But we make sure we're ready for anything."
Rhapsody and Ayumi quickly nodded with grins at the Meloetta twirled, "Yay! We get our first vacation in Kanto!"
"Just be sure to stay invisible and near us, Rhapsody. We don't want anything to happen to you." Naruto said before thinking in his head, "I'm starting to sound like Iruka-nii…" with a sweat drop.
Back in Undella Town
"Achoo!" Said person sneezed as he was brushing his Linoone's fur and accidentally stroke upwards and hit its head from the jerk of his hand. "Sorry about that." Iruka apologized sheepishly to the normal type before resuming brushing his Pokemon before going to groom the others left in his care.
A/N: And that's chapter 6! Naruto has a new Squirtle, Magnemite, Combee, and Psyduck, with Ayumi getting a Squirtle and Houndour. Hope you guys liked the match with Lt. Surge, and if you noticed, I had the pre-battle similar to the canon with how he met Ash and the group.
Now onto Naruto and Ayumi's Pokémon:
Naruto:
Meloetta;female (Rhapsody)
Fearow;male (Falco)
Leafeon;male (Aki)
Umbreon;male (Haru)
Charmeleon;male (Taiyou)-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Gyarados[Shiny];female (Umi)
Pichu;male (Teru)-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Nidorina;female (Aoi)-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Igglybuff;female (Mao)-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Cleffa;female (Hoshi)-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Horsea;female-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Gloom;male-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Squirtle;male
Magnemite;genderless-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Combee;female-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Psyduck;female-currently at Uzu-Nami Ranch
Ayumi:
Nidoking;male
Empoleon;male
Gloom;female-currently at Devon Family Ranch
Mothim;male-currently at Devon Family Ranch
Kadabra;male
Machoke;male-currently at Devon Family Ranch
Clefairy;male-currently at Devon Family Ranch
Horsea;male-currently at Devon Family Ranch
Sneasel;male
Skarmory;female
Squirtle;male
Houndour;male-currently at Devon Family Ranch
You all know what's up next in the S.S. Anne, but I'll be sure not to disappoint!
Please review and follow!
P.S. To the guest reviewer that enjoys cursing me out, get a life and leave my story alone.