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Disclaimer

Let me just start out with the standard Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Pokémon, or any of the associated or mentioned franchises/companies, and I am not making a profit on this.

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Author's Note

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Review Response

zalexd3600: Thank you for your comments and assistance.

Shadowwolf1997: I am glad you like my Pokémon choice for Sakura thus far, and hope I continue to please you as the fic goes on.

Gincuba: You flatter me, and I would like to read it. However, your link provided did not work. Perhaps you should PM me your fic's name and maybe your username of wattpad?

Navyson2001: Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy my work.

mwto: Thank you. Perhaps you can mention what gags you liked best, so I might try to incorporate them into this fic as well?

AvatarRoku: I try to go for thematic over competitiveness, though I'm also trying to make their team feel a little 'viable', at least by anime standards. What is fitting for the heroes is more important than what is powerful (though power has its own appeal, I must admit).

HarunoWolf17: …okay, for starters, I am male, so refrain from referring to me as 'gurl' or any variant thereof in the future, please. Secondly, glad you're excited about this fic, but there's no need to have a conniption over it! Calm down, love; take in deep breaths. Okay. Now, as for Sakura's Fighting-type, I was a fan of Bewear from my old fic; strong, tough, loving, and needs lots of training, but means well. I will consider what you've suggested, though Gallade is unlikely; aside from Sakura already having a Psychic, Gallade is going to be another trainer's signature 'mon.

Guest #1: Sakura is more than a medic in the Naruto universe; she is also the physically strongest of Team 7 and eventually becomes possibly the strongest kunoichi in Cannon. Metagross reflects not only physical strength, but also strength of mind (their four brains are supposed calculate things quicker than a supercomputer). As such, I felt it fit her nicely.

Other Guests: Thank you everyone for your advice and support, everyone. Sorry this took so long

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The Hero's Pokémon & Accomplishments:

Naruto Uzumaki:

Team Members: Kubo (Froakie, male, Starter)

Badges & Awards: None

Sasuke Uchiha:

Team Members: Bayushi (Eevee, male, Shiny), Togashi (Charmander, male, Starter)

Badges & Awards: None

Sakura Haruno:

Team Members: Ochako (Chikorita, female, Starter), Tetsu (Beldum, male*)

Badges & Awards: None

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Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 3

Shocking Rescues and Soaking Situations!

Sakura stood frozen unable to think as the three Luxray stared her down. The lead one crouched, baring its teeth as it started getting ready to strike. Sakura tensed, gasping.

Sasuke, who was still holding Sakura's hand from earlier, felt her tense. "Don't make any sudden moves," he said quietly, gripping down on her hand to emphasize his point. "Do that and they'll attack!"

"They're getting ready to anyway!" Sakura whispered back.

"No, look," Sasuke said, trying to stay calm.

The lead Luxray let out a growl that grew in volume, becoming a snarl as it rose up from its crouch, taking a step back before standing up tall, flashing its teeth. The other two mimicked the leader, growling and snarling, but not attacking. Sakura flinched, but didn't move.

Sasuke went on. "Earlier, they were only chasing me, but now you're here. I think they're not sure what to think of you. Right now, they're trying to see if you'll run like prey. If you do, they'll attack. So stay put!"

Slowly, Sakura nodded. At her feet, Ochako hid behind her, scared. "Yeah, but how long are they going to wait? They're not going to just growl at us for long."

Sasuke paused, thinking carefully. "…the cabin's right behind us. If we just have a small head-start, we can make a run for it. Maybe if Bayushi and your Chikorita can distract them with something like Sand Attack or something-"

"That's the best plan you've got!?" Sakura hissed a bit too loudly. One of the Luxray growled, and Sakura almost bolted. Luckily, she didn't.

"Do you have a better one?" Sasuke said dryly. He hadn't moved a muscle since he told Sakura to stay still to begin with.

Privately, Sakura admired his nerves. Not everyone could to remain so calm under pressure- wait! That was it! "I've got an idea," Sakura whispered, and turned subtly to her Chikorita. "Ochako, use Aromatherapy." Sasuke started to protest, but Sakura subtly gestured for him to wait.

Slowly, Ochako stepped out in front of her trainer, gently waving her leaf back and forth. The Luxray moved to attack, and Sakura was about to move to pick up Ochako and just run, but the three Pokémon stopped as quickly as they started, sniffing the air. Ochako continued to wave her leaf and release perfumed clouds, and one of the Luxrays sat down, enjoying the scent. Their eyes relaxed, looking almost dreamy.

"It worked!" Sakura breathed. She held back a laugh and looked over at Sasuke, who was still holding her hand. She blushed, smiling.

If Sasuke noticed, he didn't show it. "Come on, before they realize what's happening." He started moving towards the cabin, still keeping his eyes on the Luxray. To his surprise, however, he felt Sakura pull away from him; he turned, and saw her moving over to her bike. "What are you doing?!"

"I have to get my egg!" Sakura said in a harsh whisper. In all the excitement, she had almost forgotten that it was still strapped onto her bike, which was leaning on its kickstand in the middle of the road, about five feet away.

Sasuke said something, but it was too quiet for Sakura to understand. The girl moved to the bike as inconspicuously as she could, and looked back at the Luxray. One of them was looking lazily in her direction, but its eyes were unfocused, and another had rolled onto its back. Deciding that there was no danger, Sakura let out the breath she was holding and started undoing with the strap holding the egg case in place. Unfortunately, it released with a very loud click.

Sakura gasped, looking over at the Luxray. The one that had been looking lazily in her direction was now meeting her gaze. Its eyes lit up, flashing red with anger. Letting out a savage roar, the Luxray slapped its companions out off their dazes and arched its back, lightning crackling around its body. It released the electricity in a bursting Discharge attack, knocking Sakura and her bike to the ground.

Sakura screamed, scrambling to grab the egg case and get up as the Luxrays prepared to attack. A Razor Leaf attack hit the Luxray closest to her in the face. It dug its claws into the ground and came to a sudden stop, its companions crashing into it from behind. The lead Luxray turned to face the attack's point of origin, and Ochako loosed another Razor Leaf, letting out as mighty a battle cry as she could. This time, the Luxray just swatted the leaf aside, and started charging up electricity-

-only for lightning to explode out from underneath the center Luxray! It was blown off its feet while its companions were thrown to the side.

Before Sakura could understand what happened, she found herself being pulled to her feet by her free hand while she clutched her egg case in the other one.

"RUN!" Sasuke shouted, dragging her by the hand.

Dazed as she was, Sakura had enough sense to obey, running as quickly as possible. She heard cries of pain and the conflict of battle behind her, but she didn't look. She just kept her mind focused on the cabin, which was almost in reach.

Sasuke slammed into door, nearly ripping it off the hinges as he swung it open. As he pushed Sakura in first, she turned around. Ochako and Bayushi where running after them, the confused and very angry Luxray nipping at their heels.

Thinking quickly, Sakura pulled Ochako's Heal Ball from her belt. "Ochako, return!" she shouted, recalling her Pokémon.

Much to Sakura's shock, Sasuke didn't do the same, but instead shouted, "Bayushi, Quick Attack!"

The Eevee's little legs did double time, putting a few precious feet of distance between him and the Luxray. It was all he needed; with one final burst, the Eevee leap inside the cabin, and Sasuke slammed the door shut, bracing himself against it. Half a second later, the door shuttered as one of the Luxray slammed against it, nearly forcing it open! Bayushi jumped against the door and helped Sasuke shove it shut as the Luxray desperately tried to open it. "BOLT IT!" Sasuke managed to grunt.

Gasping in surprise, Sakura put her own weight to the door, and once it was in place, quickly bolted the lock. Even so, all three of them continued to press against the door as the Luxray shoved against it. Finally, after few seconds, it grew quiet.

Sakura looked at Sasuke and smiled, relaxing. "That was close-"

A cacophony of angry cries and yowls cut her off, followed by flashes of electricity from outside.

Sakura screamed and latched onto Sasuke, squeezing him tight. He cried out and nearly stumbled in shock. "What's happening!?" she shouted.

The clamor outside continued, and Sasuke finally just pulled away from Sakura and looked outside one of the slotted windows. He winced at what he saw. "Ugh, I hope you didn't like that bike."

Sakura dared to peer out the window next to him. The three Luxray were taking their anger out on Sakura's bike, blasting it with electricity or pulling it apart and throwing it around. "Darn it!" Sakura cried, wincing as she watched her bike get destroyed. "Well, it was getting kind of old," she sighed, trying to look on the bright side. "The important thing is that we're all safe, and I've got all my stuff-" She paused, noticing one Luxray was trying to rip open a traveling bag…the extra one Sakura had strapped to her bike. She groaned, wishing she had remembered to grab it earlier.

"Is that important?" Sasuke asked.

"Not really," Sakura admitted, "I'm wearing my backpack, and that has all my supplies and stuff. That one just has non-essential stuff, like emergency rations and some extra-"

The Luxray succeeded in ripping the bag open, resulting in an explosion of clothing as its contents spilled out.

"-clothes," Sakura sighed, feeling her face turn red. A pair of pink panties had fallen across on top of the face of one of the Luxrays, who sat down on his haunches and comically stood still, not sure what to do. Sakura winced.

Sasuke had the good sense to look away without saying a word. He switched on the cabin's lights, and sat down at a table. "I guess we're stuck here until they leave. How long do you think that'll be?"

"…long," Sakura said. The Luxray seemed to be having a good time now. The one with the panties on its head was tearing open a bag of food, while the other two were playing tug-o-war with a dress Sakura had saved her allowance for three weeks to buy and hadn't even worn yet. She watched them destroy her stuff for a few more seconds before a noise from behind caught her attention.

Sasuke had called out a small, lion cub-like Pokémon onto the table and was looking at a nasty cut over its left eye that was still fresh. "Hold still," Sasuke ordered as he tried applying antibiotic ointment to the wound, only for his Pokémon to growl and pull away. Sasuke applied the ointment a bit too forcefully, and the lion cub hissed and threatened to bite. Bayushi, who was sitting on the table nearby, became agitated and started to hiss back.

"Here, let me help," Sakura said. Reluctantly, Sasuke allowed Sakura to move in next to him and push his hands aside. Carefully, Sakura approached Sasuke's Pokémon, moving smoothing and slowly, just like Tsunade taught her. She stroked the lion cub gently, whispering soothing words before even reaching for the ointment. "That's right, you're a brave Pokémon, aren't you? I know your eye hurts; we're going to make it better, okay? That's a good boy."

Sakura continued until the Pokémon was calm enough for her to have a good look at him. She breathed a sigh of relief; the cut to his eye, while deep, did not appear to have damaged the eye itself. There were also several other small cuts all over the lion cub's body, along with several old scars. Sakura winced, realizing she had gotten blood all over her hands from petting the Pokémon. "What happened to you, little guy?"

Sasuke's Pokémon growled at being called 'little', and Sakura suddenly noticed it looked like a miniature version of the Luxray outside. A thought occurred to her. "Uh, Sasuke, what sort of Pokémon is this?"

"…he's a Shinx, and before you ask, no, those Luxray outside are not his parents," Sasuke said firmly. His Shinx growled at the mention of the Luxray.

Sakura pulled out her Pokédex and flipped it open.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. Shinx's muscles generate electricity as they extend and contract, and it can channel this electricity into its teeth, claws, or tails to attack. When threatened, a Shinx can channel electricity through its fur and create a dazzling flash, allowing it to flee while is attacker is blinded. Shinx evolves into Luxio, and then into Luxray."

"I came across Akodo as he was being attacked by a group of Shinx that were led by a Luxio," Sasuke explained, and after a moment of confusion, she realized that 'Akodo' must have been the name Sasuke gave his Shinx. "They must have been from a rival tribe and ganged up on him. I jumped in and helped drive them off, but not before the Luxio got Akodo on the eye. I caught him, and was going to find Naruto and see if he knew anything about first aid, but then the Luxio came back…with three Luxray. The three chased me down until I ran into you. You know the rest."

Sakura had been applying the ointment to Akodo's cut while Sasuke spoke, and took the time to clean up his other injuries, too. "Hmm, by the look of all these old scars, I guess this guy's gotten into a lot of fights."

"Shinx!" Akodo growled proudly, holding his head high. Sasuke looked rather pleased with his Pokémon, allowing himself a small smile.

Sakura pulled out Ochako's Heal Ball and called the Chikorita out. "We're going to need some healing, Ochako."

"Chi-ka!" Ochako cheered, administering a Heal Pulse to Akodo. Many of his injuries faded, and a few disappeared completely; unfortunately, the cut over his eye mostly remained. Sakura sighed. Ochako might have natural talent as a healer, but she was still inexperienced. With proper training, she'd be able to heal wounds so that not even a scar remained, but for now, this would have to do.

"Impressive," Sasuke commented as his Shinx looked over his body, no longer wincing in pain with each movement.

Ochako finished with Akodo, and then happily turned to Bayushi, offering to remove his scruffs and injuries.

"That's very thoughtful," Sakura said as Ochako proudly got to work. She turned to Sasuke. "Do you have any other injured Pokémon?"

"Oh, right," Sasuke said oddly, pulling out a Pokéball. "Uh, Togashi, come on out."

Togashi, Sasuke's Charmander, was in worse shape than Bayushi, but seemed determined not to show it. Even so, Togashi politely allowed Ochako to heal him, and thanked her for her efforts.

After all that, Ochako wobbled as she stood, and Sakura set out a blanket for her to rest on. "Healing takes a lot of energy for even an experienced Pokémon, Ochako. You need to lay down."

"It's rather impressive for a Starter Pokémon to even know Heal Pulse," Sasuke pointed out. "How does she know it?"

"I'm Prof. Tsunade's student," Sakura said proudly. "She noticed Ochako had a natural knack for healing, and gave her some special training before we started our journey. But I could ask you the same thing about your Eevee. He used a Discharge attack earlier!"

"That was Mimic," Sasuke explained. "My uncle taught it to Bayushi before I started my journey."

"What a coincidence." Sakura giggled, though Sasuke didn't understand why.

She looked at each of Sasuke's Pokémon. Bayushi was now sitting in Sasuke's lap, with Akodo napping on the table next to him while Sasuke absentmindedly stroked his back. Togashi alternated between looking out the window at the Luxray and walking around the room, as if on guard. Sometimes, he'd walk over to check on Akodo or Ochako; it was kind of cute, all things considered.

An odd silence filled the air. Sakura decided to break it. "You know, I know you owned your Eevee before becoming a trainer- I remember seeing you walking him at the park. And Togashi's your Starter, right? But I vaguely remember you had another Pokémon…"

Sasuke tensed slightly, but Sakura didn't notice.

She went on. "Didn't you have a cute Houndour puppy that used to follow you everywhere? Yeah, now I remember you showing him off for show-and-tell a few years ago. Where is he? Or…was he your father's pet? Wait, I remember seeing him walking a Houndoom, so I guess-"

"That would be Genji, my father's Houndoom's; I had a Houndour named Shiba," Sasuke said curtly, and then added, "He's gone. He was stolen when I was 10."

That killed the conversation. Sakura clumsily apologized, but Sasuke didn't seem to notice. He pulled out his Pokénav, and was about to call someone.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto needs to be warned about the Luxray," Sasuke said simply.

"You didn't see the warning sign near the entrance of River Scar Valley?" Sakura asked. She wasn't very surprised that Naruto and Sasuke were traveling together; they did seem to be each other's only close friend, after all.

"We did, but we didn't think it was serious," Sasuke grunted. He noticed Sakura giving him a look and got defensive. "My father mentioned that there had been no Luxray attacks on people yet, and he thought the signs were unnecessary- he works for the Pokémon League," Sasuke added, hoping to clarify. Sakura decided not point-out the irony of Sasuke getting attacked by a pack of Luxray. "Anyway, for all we know, a Luxray could be stalking him right now!"

-0o0o0-

Naruto yawned, stretching his arms out wide. He was bored!

Naruto had challenged Sasuke to see who could catch the coolest Pokémon first, but so far, all he had found was a Rattata, a few Pidgey, a Spearow, and an Oddish- none of which struck him as a cool Pokémon. Sighing, Naruto looked down at Kubo; he had let the Bubble Frog Pokémon stay out of his Pokéball after fighting off the first wild Pokémon they encountered. "Don't worry, buddy, we'll find a perfect first Pokémon for our crew. We just gotta be patient."

"Kie," Kubo said with a nod.

They walked along a bit further before reaching a wide river, its waters roaring.

"Want to try our luck fishing?" Naruto said, scanning the waters. They were foamy white and rapid. "Uh, on second thought, that's probably not a good idea. The current looks dangerous. Besides, I guess we shouldn't catch a second Water-type, right?"

Kubo gave an agreeing croak.

Naruto stepped under the shade of a large maple tree near the river's edge and pulled out his Pokénav, looking up a map of the valley. He had Kubo jump up onto his shoulder and the two started searching to see if they could find someplace nearby that looked interesting.

"…I don't know, Kubo. Maybe we're aiming too high. My mom's first catch was a Caterpie, and she treasured it," Naruto said, looking thoughtful.

"Froakie," Kubo growled, sighing a little. He had been wanting to outdo Sasuke in Naruto's little contest. A strong Pokémon never turned down a challenge…and yet, a good Pokémon listened to their trainer. Naruto might be right. It was more important to have a true companion on the team rather than a fancy one.

Naruto's Pokénav rang, the screen indicating that Sasuke was calling him. But before Naruto could answer it, a shadow from above blotted out his light for half a second, catching Naruto's attention. Something was falling from the sky…and it looked like it was heading right at him!

Wasting no time, Naruto dove down and rolled to the side. However, his needlessly complex dodge was unnecessary- the thing crashed high in the maple tree with a loud crack, half-breaking a large branch, before falling into the rapids. It was a reptilian Pokémon of some sort, though Naruto hadn't gotten a good look at it, and it had been knocked unconscious.

"Oh shoot!" Naruto gasped, running to the edge of the river and trying to grab the unconscious Pokémon before the river carried it off, but it floated just out of reach. "Kubo, we gotta do something!"

"Froakie!" Kubo cried, diving into the rapids after the other Pokémon without hesitation. Naruto gasped in horror, but a second later, Kubo popped back to the surface, holding the other Pokémon tightly. The Froakie spat his long tongue out at Naruto, who caught it.

"Smart boy!" Naruto cheered, trying his best to keep hold of the slippery appendage. The force of the rapids was so strong it nearly pulled Naruto in with them. Bracing himself, Naruto tried leading Kubo over to the shoreline- it seemed a safer idea than pulling Kubo in against the currents by his tongue. He also finally got a good look at the other Pokémon. "Hey, that's a Bagon!" he gasped excitedly.

There was a horrible crashing sound from behind- the branch the Bagon had crashed into broke completely, falling towards Naruto- on reflex, Naruto jumped out of the way and landed in the river.

-0o0o0-

"He's not answering," Sasuke said, an edge of worry in his voice.

Sakura looked out the window. "We can check on him as soon as the Luxray trio runs off. It looks like they're getting bored, so maybe they'll leave soon."

"If they don't decide to take a nap," Sasuke said grimly. He sighed, and tried calling Naruto's Pokénav again.

-0o0o0-

"Help- GRP!" Naruto struggled to fight the current, only for it to pull him under again. Something grabbed him and pulled him back to the surface. It was Kubo, one arm wrapped about the unconscious Bagon and the other one holding onto Naruto as he kicked his little feet as hard as he could. No longer panicking, Naruto realized they couldn't hope to fight the current. Looking for something to grab hold of, Naruto saw a low hanging branch that just might be within reach-

The river suddenly surged, and Naruto was pulled away before he could grab the branch. Naruto reached for it desperately, not looking where the current was carrying him, until the back of his head was slammed into something hard. Everything went black.

-0o0o0-

When the Luxray lost interest and left, Sakura insisted they wait a few minutes, just in case they decided to come back. Finally, she decided it was safe for them to leave.

Luckily, Sasuke's and Naruto's Pokénavs were equipped so that one could locate the other. It took about half an hour find him- or more accurately, his 'nav.

Sasuke and Sakura followed the signal, and ended up next to a river. A huge branch from a tree had fallen, halfway in the river but still anchored to the shoreline. Underneath it, Bayushi found Naruto's orange Pokénav, handing it to Sasuke.

"Wh-Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked nervously. "You don't think…maybe a Luxray-?"

"No," Sasuke said firmly, cutting her off. "There's no sign of a struggle or anything." He looked the scene over for a moment. "Maybe the branch started collapsing while Naruto was under it, and he dove into the river in a panic, and dropped his 'nav while he was at it."

Sakura gasped.

Sasuke ignored her. "Come on, let's follow the river. It's our best chance of finding him."

Sakura nodded, and then said, "I'm sure he's fine. For all we know, he didn't fall in the river at all! He could have just dodged the tree and didn't realize he dropped his Pokénav."

Sasuke looked at her cynically, but privately appreciated her attempt at cheering him up.

-0o0o0-

Naruto was bought back to consciousness by what felt like him coughing up his lungs. In truth, it was all the water in his lungs he coughed up. He was confused and disoriented- what was going on?

A strange sensation, neither painful nor pleasant, stitched its way through his back, and Naruto vaguely noticed what felt like two small hands rubbing him. The strange feeling spread, and before Naruto could stop himself, he coughed up another mouthful of water. The sensation stopped, and Naruto found it much easier to breathe.

Still, he was chilled to the bone, with blossoming pains all over. He tried to get up, but the small hands gently pushed him down.

"D-Don't move," a soft, feminine voice said. "You're safe. Don't worry. You're safe."

Groaning, Naruto turned to see the speaker. It was a girl, about his age, with dark blue hair, and strange eyes. Lavender, without pupils. "Who…who are you?" Naruto managed to gargle, suddenly feeling very tired. "Where's my Pokémon?" He wanted to get up and look for Kubo. And the Bagon, too…poor guy hit his head and fell in the water. But, Naruto also just wanted to lay down and sleep; he was cold, and he was tired.

"They're safe," the girl assured him, pointing. Kubo and the Bagon were laid out on a blanket next to Naruto. A small, white, human-like Pokémon with blue hair was tending to the two. In the very back of his mind, Naruto thought it looked like a Ralts, but that couldn't be right. Ralts had green hair, after all.

"Oh, there they are," Naruto said, suddenly feeling relieved. He reached over to pet Kubo; the motion felt sluggish, like his arm was wet cement. Groaning, he let his arm fall to his side and allowed the girl to help him down. He must have been dreaming already, because he thought he saw the girl's hands glowing as she did so. Strange, because he also felt a lot warmer where her hands moved…it was a nice feeling. It caused the pain in his body to fade, and made him feel like sleeping.

"Rest now," the girl ordered. "Everything will be fine, Naruto."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Naruto said, yawning. He cracked open his eyes, looking at the girl. "Hey…how'd…you know my name?" And with that, he fell asleep.

Hinata Hyuga sat up, looking down at the boy for a moment before sighing and turning to her Ralts. "Well, Kikyo, what should we do now?"

"Ral-Ralts?" Kikyo suggested, sending her trainer a telepathic suggestion.

"Uh, check his Pokénav? You mean to see if there's someone we should call?" Hinata said. She blushed lightly. "Um, don't you think that's a little invasive? I wouldn't want someone looking at my phone without permission, unless it was an emergency."

"Ralts," Kikyo replied, blushing like her trainer. Deeply empathetic Pokémon, Ralts could feel the emotions of their trainers, and often reflected them. Or even exaggerate them, in some cases. "Ral," she added, pointing out that this was an emergency.

"I'm not sure it is," Hinata countered. "Aside from being tired and cold, I don't think Naruto or his Pokémon are seriously hurt. We could probably leave them and they'd be fine- not that I'm suggesting that!" she added quickly. "And besides, I'm not sure he has a Pokénav with him. I didn't notice one in his jacket." Hinata pointed over to said jacket, which she had laid out to dry nearby.

"Ralts-Ralts!?" Kikyo said, hands on her hips. …Why didn't you say that first!?...

Hinata apologized, and the two mused about the situation. In the end, they decided to just wait until Naruto woke up.

Before long, however, Kikyo gasped, eyes glowing behind her blue hair.

"What is it?" Hinata asked.

Kikyo pointed off into the distance. A second later, a shout from someone unseen broke the silence.

"Naruto! Naruto, where are you!?"

"He's here!" Hinata called automatically, rising to her feet. She paused and turned to Kikyo. "That is a friend of his, right?"

Kikyo nodded, giggling a little.

A moment later, a pink-haired girl found them. She was red-faced and sweaty, with a Chikorita running beside her. "Naruto!" she gasped, moving over to Naruto's side. "Sasuke, over here!" she shouted back the way she came. Sakura took in a few breaths to steady herself, looking up at Hinata. "You…you found him?" she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

Hinata nodded, looking a bit red. "Yes. Y-you're a friend of his?"

Finally, with one last shutting breath, Sakura steadied herself. "No. Not really. I only know him casually. We're both from Oakcrown City." Sakura paused, looking Naruto over. "I suppose you could say I'm a friend of a friend of his. Hey, his clothes are wet. You pulled him out of the river?"

"Y-Yes," Hinata stammered, and then added, "I mean, my Ralts did!"

"You saved his life," Sakura said, checking Naruto's pulse. "Hmm, his breathing is normal. Did you have to give him CPR?" While she was asking the other girl questions, Sakura instructed Ochako to look after the Froakie and Bagon that were laying down nearby.

"Um, no…yes…not really?" Hinata said, blushing horribly. "I got the water out of his lungs…if that's what you mean."

Sakura continued asking questions, not sure what Hinata meant, while Hinata felt more and more embarrassed, her face now red as a tomato. Next to her, Kikyo felt her trainer's embarrassment. It was flowing out of her like a flood. She just wanted to disappear…

"By the way," Sakura said, looking back over her shoulder for the dark-haired girl, "I'm Sakura Haruno. What was your name again-?"

Aside from the unconscious Naruto and his Pokémon, Sakura was completely alone.

"-where'd you go?" She looked around, and then turned to Ochako. "She was right there, right?"

"Chika!" Ochako said, nodding vigorously.

"Where did she go?"

The Chikorita shrugged.

There was a crashing sound through the bushes, and Sakura expected it to be the dark-haired girl. Instead, it turned out to be Bayushi, with Sasuke following close behind.

"Sakura! Naruto!" he gasped. "What happened?"

"…honestly, I'm not sure," Sakura admitted.

-0o0o0-

…Elsewhere in the forest…

0o0o0

Hinata and Kikyo appeared with a flash of shimmering light, far away from Naruto, his Pokémon, or the pink-haired girl. The shift was so disorientating that Hinata fell backwards onto her butt. She stammered a bit of confused gibberish before recovering. "Where-? What-? Kikyo! You Teleported us!"

"Ralts!" Kikyo cried apologetically. She sent Hinata a flood of telepathic emotions and thoughts. She didn't mean to! She was just so embarrassed, and feeling Hinata's shyness, and everything else was so overwhelming! It was an accident, honest! Kikyo covered her face in shame, sobbing.

"D-don't cry! It was just an accident!" Hinata said understandingly, giving her Pokémon a hug. "Please don't cry."

Sniffling, Kikyo telepathically suggested that she could Teleport the two of the back.

"No!" Hinata gasped, then caught herself. "I-I mean…after disappearing, and having to explain what happened…it might be less embarrassing to just leave things as is."

"…Ralts" Kikyo said slowly, noticing her trainer's emotions drift back to the boy, and to memories from many years ago. There were lots of reasons Hinata wouldn't want to be embarrassed around him. The Ralts obeyed her trainer, but privately, she hoped they'd cross paths again soon.

-0o0o0-

…A little while later…

0o0o0

"Do you remember anything that happened?" Sakura asked.

She, Sasuke and Naruto where sitting back in the cabin along the trail. Naruto was stripped down to his boxers and sitting next to the heater so he could dry off.

Sighing, Naruto shook his head. "Not really. It's all sort of a blur. I fell in, and the next thing I remember, you two are helping me get to my feet. I sort of remember glowing hands making me feel warm."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sakura said, sighing. "Maybe you'll remember more later. You've got a nasty bump on your head. It's probably why you can't remember what happened clearly"

"Or maybe…she was a ghost," Sasuke said ominously. He knew Naruto had a fear of ghosts, and loved teasing him for it.

"There's no such thing as real ghosts," Sakura said flatly.

Grunting, Naruto ignored the two and looked around at the cabin. Sakura's Chikorita was curled up in a bed, sleeping. She had overexerted herself trying to heal Naruto and his Pokémon, Sakura explained, and needed rest. Nearby, Sasuke's Pokémon, including his newly caught Shinx, rested as well.

Sasuke had told him about his own little mishap, and Sakura's timely assistance.

Chuckling, Naruto looked at his own Pokémon, Kubo, who was sitting down to a big bowl of Pokéfeed, with the Bagon they had rescued sitting across from him and eating as well.

"You are planning on catching him, right?" Sasuke asked, noticing Naruto's gaze. "Because, if you're not…" He trailed off, reaching for a Pokéball.

"Don't even think about it," Naruto growled. He turned his attention back to the Bagon. "I'm just not sure what to do with him. I mean, I never really fought him. He just kinda fell…from the sky."

Sakura wasn't sure what Naruto was talking about, having never seen a Bagon before, which was kind of embarrassing for her, as Tsunade was a Dragon-type specialist. "What even is that?" she finally asked, taking out her Pokédex.

"Bagon, the Rock Head Pokémon," it chimed. "Bagon dream of one day souring across the sky, and in doomed attempts to fly, they hurl themselves off cliffs and other great heights. Generations of crashes has resulted in the Bagon species possessing skulls as tough and durable as tempered steel."

"I wonder how it's affected their brain development," Sakura mused, looking at the little dragon as he ate his dinner, staring absentmindedly at the wall."

"I think he hit his head too hard when he fell," Naruto explained. "My mom has a Salamence, this little guy's final form, and she's bred the big girl, so I've been around Bagon before. They're a lot more energetic than this."

"Well, if you want, I can have a look," Sakura offered.

She got up and tried to examine the Bagon's head, only for him to squirm away from her. Naruto got up and held him, explaining that they were only trying to help. Kubo followed his trainer's example, translating the situation. Stubbornly, the Bagon held still, looking rather angry and defiant, though Sasuke noticed he was oddly submissive to Naruto's touch.

After a moment, Sakura found what she was looking for. "Yep, you were right Naruto. There's a hairline crack on the top of his head's bone-ridges. Its so small, I didn't notice it earlier." She pointed it out to Naruto, then took out her Pokénav, activating its medical scanner. "Hmm, we're in luck. The crack doesn't go all the way through. Still, that's some serious damage for something that's supposed to be as hard as tempered steel. How far did he fall, again?"

Naruto shook his head as he let the Bagon go. "That's the weird part. From what I remember, he fell from the sky!" Sakura and Sasuke looked at him skeptically, and Naruto elaborated. "He fell from somewhere up in the sky way above the trees! I even noticed his shadow blocking out the sun for second, but there wasn't anything that high up for him to jump from!"

Sasuke nodded thoughtfully. "When we found Naruto's Pokénav under that branch, I noticed it had fallen from the tallest tree in the area. If this Bagon crashed into it, that means he must have fallen from somewhere higher."

The three looked at each other, not sure what to make of it. Naruto spoke up. "Some of my mom's Bagons could use Dragon Rush to jet up like 10 feet into the sky before falling back down. Maybe this little guy climbed up the highest tree and-"

"HOLY MILTANK!" Sakura screamed.

The Bagon, having been left to his own devices, quickly scrambled up onto the table and jumped off it. Naruto's hand shot out and caught him just as his feet left the table, pushing him back on the table, and Sakura couldn't help but notice the boy had done so reflexively.

"Easy, little buddy! Your head has got a booboo on it! We can't let you crash around until its fixed, okay?" Naruto said gently, scratching the Bagon on the back. It was a spot where their mother would lick to calm them down, and the Bagon was suddenly releasing a sound that blended purring and growling. Naruto just laughed and turned to the others. "When you grow up around all your mom's baby Pokémon, you learn how to handle 'em quickly."

"How can a boy who struggled in school know so much about Pokémon?" Sakura muttered before she could help it.

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing," Sakura lied, and quickly added, "I was just wondering about where this guy even comes from."

Naruto blinked. "Now that you mention it, that is strange…Bagon are native to mountain regions, but the closest one's like 100 miles away!"

"The closest one is Mount Mourning, and it's about 40 miles away," Sasuke said, correcting him.

"Yeah, what Sasuke said," Naruto shrugged, continuing to scratch the Bagon's back. "So how did this little guy get all the way over here and fall out of the sky?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Sakura suggested rhetorically, only for Naruto to get bright-eyed and tell her that was genius.

"Hey, little buddy," Naruto said gently, looking at the Bagon. "Can you tell us how you got here?"

"Brr?" he grunted, a bit confused.

"How did you get here?" Naruto asked slowly, picking him up and walking over to a window. "You-" he pointed at the Bagon "-fell out off the sky-" Naruto pointed to the sky "-and hit a tree." He pointed at a tree. "Can you tell us how that happened?"

Sakura quietly leaned over to Sasuke, whispering. "Don't tell me he can actually understand Pokémon?"

Sasuke just shushed her, watching.

The Bagon had been looking up at the sky and reaching for it, grunting and wiggling in Naruto's grip. However, as Naruto continued to ask his him questions and point at things, the Bagon suddenly stopped. His eyes widened, first in confusion, and then fear. Letting out a pitiful squeak, the Bagon tried wiggling free from Naruto's grip. The boy set him down gently, only for the Bagon to let out a horrible shriek, holding his head and rocking back and forth.

"Easy, little buddy! Don't be scared," Naruto said, speaking over the noise. Kubo hopped over to his trainer's side, trying to comfort and calm the crying Pokémon.

The rest of the cabin was in a similar panic. The sleeping Pokémon had been woken by the shrill cry, and were either under the impression something was attacking, or else someone had been hurt. "No, settle down!" Sasuke ordered, grabbing Akodo by the collar as he puffed out his fur and started hissing at Bayushi, who had crashed into him. The Shinx gave him a small shock, only to recoil upon realizing he had zapped his trainer.

Luckily, Naruto had managed to get the Bagon under control before things got worse. Now, he held the crying Pokémon in a tight hug, rocking him back and forth. "Easy, boy," he said soothingly. "Don't be afraid…don't be afraid."

After a few minutes, the Bagon calmed down, half asleep.

"What was that?" Sasuke demanded, his hair still standing on end.

"I think he can't remember what happened," Naruto said slowly. "You know how I can't remember the girl who pulled me out of the river because of that bump on my head? My guess is this poor guy's got it worse. He hit his head pretty hard. He probably can't remember a thing…his family, his home. No wonder he was in a daze all this time. It suddenly just hit him, and he couldn't help but cry."

Slowly, the Bagon opened his eyes and looked up at Naruto, nodding.

"Have you considered a job in a Pokémon daycare? You'd be a natural," Sakura suggested.

"I'm talented and I'm empathetic. I can't help it," Naruto said proudly.

He paused, and pulled a Pokéball from his belt. "Hey, little buddy," Naruto said, addressing the Bagon, "I know you're scared and confused. But maybe if you go with us, we can help you remember things. We can help you find out what happened."

Next to him, Kubo crossed his arms and nodded. "Froakie!"

"Baaag?" The Bagon looked up at Naruto thoughtfully, and smiled. "Bagon!"

With that, he bumped the ball with his nose and was absorbed by it, letting it catch him with a single ping.

Giggling inanely, Naruto fist-pumped. "Alright! Our first catch!" he shouted, giving Kubo a fist-bump.

"Froakie!"

Naruto called out his Bagon, giving him fist-bump as well.

"What should we call you?" Naruto said thoughtfully. He looked out the window towards the sky. "Hmm…how does Sora sound?"

His Bagon clapped his hands. Sora he would be!

"Oh, isn't this sickeningly cute," Sasuke grunted.

Next to him, Akodo nodded and mimicked his trainer's eyeroll.

"Hey Sakura, do you think your little medic can treat Sora's head-wound?" Naruto asked, pointing first at Ochako and then at the hairline crack Sakura had found.

"We're nowhere near the level for healing broken bones yet," Sakura admitted. "Even if we were, Ochako's too tired to heal so much as a bruise!" True enough, her poor Chikorita was already drifting off as where she stood. Sakura caught her and put her back to bed. "I'll put a patch on it so he can't make it worse by accident, but we should really take him to a Pokémon center and let the professionals handle it."

Naruto let Sakura do her work, and asked her how her journey had gone. "We told you about how we got here, but what about you? Have you caught any Pokémon yet?"

Sakura's eyes widened, and she let out a laugh. With all the excitement that had happened, she indeed had forgotten about everything else. Calling Tetsu out, she explained out she had managed to catch the Beldum after he got stuck in a rock, and then how she pulled the rusty nail stuck in his claw and earned his loyalty.

When she was finished, Naruto smiled. "Well, what do you know? All three of us caught our first Pokémon by saving them. You helped out Tetsu, Sasuke saved Akodo from that gang of bullies, and Kubo and I pulled Sora from the river. That has to be destiny or something, right?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing as destiny."

Shrugging, Naruto looked over at Sakura. "So, what are you planning on doing now?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Were you planning on going to Teakgrove Town? We're going there, too! Why not join us?" Naruto suggested. "I bet you'll be a big help!"

"Having a medic around would be helpful," Sasuke pointed out bluntly.

"Besides, you owe her," Naruto added quickly.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at him questioningly.

"Think about it," Naruto pointed out. "She saved your life. So, you own her a life debt. Until you save her life, you're indebted to her, on your family's honor!"

"…I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way," Sasuke pointed out. "Besides, she only saved my life after running me over."

Sakura winced.

"You tarnish your family's honor by arguing semantics!" Naruto said dramatically. "What would your poor father say?"

"…that you're a nut who's making this up?"

Naruto huffed. "Besides, you owe her a bike! She had to sacrifice it (and all her other stuff) in your escape!"

Sakura gasped. "Hey, that's right!" She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. "You do owe me!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Not a chance."

"We'll see about that," Sakura said with a challenging tone, but Sasuke just shrugged it off. Sakura just laughed, deciding he was playing hard to get. Of course she'd be delighted to travel to with Sasuke…and even Naruto, she had to admit. The boy was proving amazingly resourceful and knowledgeable about Pokémon care. Naruto might even be able to give her some pointers about handling the egg Tsunade gave her, if what he said about growing up around baby Pokémon was true. She smiled at Naruto, and then at Sasuke. "Yeah, I'd be delighted to travel with you."

"Just you wait! This is going to be the start of a legend!" Naruto said, holding his hand out. "Come on team, bring it together!

Sakura laughed, reaching over to grab Naruto's wrist. The two turned to Sasuke, who rolled his eyes again, but reluctantly reached his arm out, grabbing Sakura's wrist and letting Naruto grab his, forming a triangle between the three.