Pokémon: Konoha Region

by Sand Fox

A remake of my original fanfic, Pokémon Konoha. Follow the journey of Pokemon trainers Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuga as they start their adventures and travel through the Konoha Region, aiming to become Pokémon Masters! This story is set in the Pokémon world, using characters from the Naruto Manga.

5. Chapter 5: Fire and Grass

-0-

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.

-0-0-0-0-

Author's Note

I am very sorry this took forever to upload. Both complications with life and the story itself slowed down the writing.

In life, I experience my first major automobile accident. I hit a chunk of asphalt that had gotten ripped up and left in the middle of the road; it completely ripped out my entire oil pan. And with several other problems, it quickly became clear that repairing it would have cost more than the car was worth. As such, I spent nearly two months car shopping and putting in extra hours at work to buy a replacement vehicle. Luckily, God saw fit to bless me with good fortune, and I ended up finding a lovely, used hybrid car that was in excellent condition and only cost me about half of my savings.

The major problem I had to deal with however was the chapter itself. After writing it up, my editor and I agreed it wasn't very good and scrapped it. This chapter went through about six rewrites before I was finally happy with it. In fact, the changes have had some major influences on the whole plot. For example, I had a completely different idea for the heroes' teams before this chapter. You can take a guess as to what exactly I mean, but to avoid spoilers, I won't give any more details on it until next chapter.

Ironically, while I was in the middle of writing and editing this chapter, I got a good deal done on the next one; I really want to publish it within a month. My current goal is to make a chapter at least every 2 months, and hopefully monthly, if I can manage it…I know I keep making that statement. Hopefully, I can fulfill it!

-0-0-0-0-

Review Response

WhiskeyPeak: Yes, Pokémon from Sword & Shield will appear in my fic, as was seen with Dosu's Thwackey last chapter

Shadowwolf1997: Kiba was an extremely fun character to write; he's very comical, boisterous, and bounces off Naruto and Hinata's characters rather well, while still being a strong trainer. I admit, I am going to miss Rhapsody; he was a very unique 'mon for Hinata that really took on a life of his own, though he was clearly inspired by Ash's Totodile. However, he doesn't fit in well with the new team dynamics I've got planned, so he'll not be reappearing. However, as you'll see in this chapter, Hinata will have teammates that subvert the expectations that she'll be all about grace and finesse; at least one member of her team is going to…appreciate the art of brutality.

mwto: Ironically, my editor wanted me to drop the Ditto theory entirely, saying it wasn't necessary and didn't fit Sasuke at all. I thought it'd be nice for Sasuke to have a comical moment, and the best way to do that is for him to be overly serious. I'm glad you liked Dosu's Chatot; I plan on having him speak in song whenever he makes an appearance, as running gag (it's actually one of the reasons I don't mention him in this chapter, as I couldn't find an easy way for him to sing in any of the scenes where he could possibly appear; just assume he's injured and is still resting). As for Absol…well, if I told you, would there be a point in making it so terribly mysterious? It might have a connection to Neji…after all, he did have one in the last story…though why is it following Hinata? Hmm, questions, questions. Lastly, yes, characters from the games will appear, and they can be related to characters from the anime. In fact, it will be a plot point in the Teakgrove chapters! That's all the spoilers you'll be getting on that!

Dreaming of the Phoenix: Oh, it is definitely going to be a running gag that Kiba keeps getting left behind. I adore Kiba, and he's one of my favorite characters, which is why I love giving him such bad luck. If I don't like characters, I leave them dull and flat; I give fun dynamics to characters I like.

HarunoWolf17: Hello, and thanks for your enthusiasm. It might be a bit overwhelming, but it is appreciated. For Sakura's Fighting-type, my editor is insisting on Momo (her Bewear) returning. I must admit, I was very fond of her, and I've got some plans for her personality. Someone in my fic will get a Gallade…but it will NOT be any of the main characters. Since it isn't much of a spoiler, I'll give you a hint: he had a Ralts in my old fic, though it only appeared once, towards the end (second hint: he's an albino).

Tops: Thank you for your loyalty, and yes, the pandemic has flipped life upside-down. There will be similarities to my old fic, but this is a remake, so I am trying to make changes, both in team line-up and in story. I am glad you are enjoying it thus far.

Guest Questions: On the question of TMs, I am going to keep them like they were in my old fic, in which they are a medical injection which causes a Pokémon's body to adapt so it can use the new Technique. Disk/data TMs are great for the games, but would make it too easy for a Pokemon to have a huge move pool with minimal effort, especially since Pokémon in my fic use way more than 4 moves. However, I think I'll have it so that every Gym Leader gives out a data-code to trainers that they can renew at a Pokécenter for a free TM injection, possibly with multiple uses.
On the subject of the trainers capturing too many 'mons at once, I am torn. One of the problems in my last fic is that in 20 chapters, no one had a full team; yeah, everyone got a lot of time to shine, but often, the story felt very empty, like filler. It was too aimless. I plan on making the teams come together much quicker now, while also letting everyone have time to shine. The story will be much more focused.

Sora may or may NOT know Dragon Rush…Naruto assumes he does, since that would explain how he was able to get up high and fall from the sky…but at the same time, that's a pretty weak theory, and Naruto even admits it. Plus, they were not in Sora's natural habitat. Clearly, things are not all they seem with Naruto's little Dragon-type…I wonder if that will be a plot point?

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, and now I'll stop torturing you with this long introduction and let you just enjoy the fic itself!

-0o0o0-

The Hero's Pokémon & Accomplishments:

Naruto Uzumaki:

Team Members: Kubo (Froakie, male, Starter), Sora (Bagon, male)

Badges & Awards: None

Sasuke Uchiha:

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

Badges & Awards: None

Sakura Haruno:

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

Badges & Awards: None

Hinata Hyuga:

Team Members: Kikyo (Ralts, female, Starter, Shiny)

Badges & Awards: None

-0o0o0-

Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 5

Fire and Grass

"Here you go, Kikyo," Hinata said gently, handing her Ralts half her sandwich.

She had been traveling with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke for a day now, and was still getting used to the group. Right now, they were having a lunch outside a rest stop just at the edge of Teakgrove Lake. Across the water lay Teakgrove Town itself, where they all hoped to earn their first gym badge.

As she silently chewed her half of the sandwich, Hinata mused about the upcoming gym challenge. Naruto had been happily talking about it- Teakgrove's Gym Leader, Iruka, was a favorite teacher of Naruto's who had moved away a year ago. Naruto was eager to see him again…and to earn his first badge. Hinata had to admire his boisterous confidence; she wasn't even sure she should be on a journey, let alone ready for her first gym challenge.

"Hinata, are you sure you should be feeding your Pokémon like that?" Sakura asked, indicating to how Hinata had fed Kikyo her own food.

Shaken from her thoughts, Hinata noticed what Sakura meant: everyone else's Pokémon were eating Poké-food. "Oh," Hinata said slowly, not sure how to respond.

"I mean, there's nothing wrong with feeding your team human food, but it might get expensive after a while," Sakura said. "I only do it on special occasions."

"If you do it every day, they might develop a taste for human food. They could get even picky if you're not careful," Sasuke pointed out, setting his sandwich down on the table. As if on cue, Bayushi suddenly reached over and shamelessly pulled out a slice of meat from it. Next to him, Akodo hissed angrily, telling the thief to put it back.

Hinata nodded. "I understand. It's just…I'm not sure Kikyo has had normal Pokémon food before," she admitted bashfully.

"Eh?" Naruto asked.

Now Bayushi and Akodo were hissing and swiping at one another; Sasuke, who had picked up his sandwich to take a bite out of it, put it down angrily. "What are you two fighting about now?!" However, everyone else ignored them.

"Kikyo's been a treasured member of my family's household," Hinata explained. "She's the only child of my mother's- I mean, of my father's Gardevoir and Mienshao."

Naruto noticed how Hinata had tripped up upon mentioning her mother; he had a pretty good idea why, but said nothing.

Hinata went on. "For Aura Guardians, the bond between trainer and their Pokémon partner is especially close. My father and his Mienshao share their all their meals." She thought about it. "I suppose it was just normal for the same to happen with me and Kikyo. It must seem impractical to you."

"No, we understand!" Sakura said quickly.

"Yeah, can't Pokémon trained with Aura talk with telepathy or something?" Naruto pointed out. "I can't imagine telling someone who can talk to me like a person that they have to eat Pokémon feed while I get human food."

"Froakie?" Kubo croaked, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at Naruto.

"Hey, don't pretend you don't like it," Naruto said. "People food is for people and Poké-food is for Pokémon."

Kubo looked unimpressed with his reasoning.

Sighing, Naruto grabbed a pellet of Poké-food from pellet from Kubo's bowl, and to both Sakura and Hinata's surprise, popped it into his mouth and ate it. "See, it's delicious," Naruto said. "But, if you really don't want it…" The boy started reaching for a second pellet.

"Froak-kie!" Kubo shouted, kicking Naruto's hand away, to which the boy laughed.

While all this was happening, Kikyo listened to the humans talk, a thoughtful look appearing on her face. After seeing Naruto happily eat some of Kubo's Pokémon food, she made up her mind.

The Ralts set the sandwich half Hinata had given her down on her plate, pushing it to the girl. "Ralts," she said gently. …Yours…

"Kikyo, you don't have to do that," Hinata said, trying to hand the food back to her Pokémon.

Kikyo, however, pushed the plate back, gesturing to the other Pokémon, none of which were eating human food like her. …Not fair to them… the Ralts insisted telepathically.

"Do you want to try some Poké-food?" Sakura asked sweetly, pouring out a bowl of her homemade variety. She didn't have enough to feed everyone's team, but she could spare some just this once.

"You don't have to do that," Hinata said gently.

"It's no trouble," Sakura replied. "In fact, it's very empathetic of Kikyo to want to be treated like everyone else." She offered the bowl to the Ralts.

To Sakura's surprise, not only did it float out of her hand over to Kikyo, but the Pokémon responded to her. …Thank you…

"Did she just talk?!" Sakura gasped.

"She's a Psychic-type and her trainer is an Aura Guardian (in-training), what'd you expect?" Naruto pointed out. "The Ralts line is known to be especially empathic and have an affinity for telepathy. Aren't you studying to be a Pokémon doctor?"

"Well, Psychics weren't a major focus of my studies," Sakura defensively pointed out. "Tsunade specialized in Dragons, after all, and we barely got any Psychic-types brought into the clinic, anyway."

While the humans talked back and forth, Kikyo peacefully ate her bowl of food. It wasn't the first time she had eaten Poké-food, actually; it was just that most of the time, she ate with Hinata. Kikyo had to admit…it wasn't as good as human food…but it wasn't bad. In fact, she could get used to it. Smiling, she looked over at the other Pokémon eating. Kubo shoved his bowl over and sat down, saying hello, and Ochako followed suit. Sora hadn't even looked up since Naruto had set down his extra-large bowl, steadily eating and lifting his head only enough to take in a breath of air before going back in for another bite. Sasuke had separated Akodo and Bayushi, putting each on separate sides of himself, and finally got to start on his sandwich. After a bite, he complained about it having no meat on it. Bayushi giggled, and without even looking up, Togashi's tail darted out, whacking the Eevee on the back of the head so fast he didn't even know what happened.

Smiling, Kikyo mused that she could get used to this.

"Hey Hinata, now that I think about it, I haven't seen you use any Pokémon other than your Ralts," Naruto pointed out. "Is she your only team member?"

Hinata nodded. "Yeah. I suppose I haven't come across a Pokémon I am interested in yet," she admitted slowly.

"You'd better catch one pretty soon; we're almost at Teakgrove Town," Naruto said. "You'll want to have time to train them before battling for your first badge, after all!"

Sakura angrily shushed Naruto, but Hinata spoke up. "No, you're right. All of you have already caught at least one Pokémon. I really need to pick up the pace too!"

-0o0o0-

After lunch, the group had a look around at the rest stop's Pokémart. They weren't in desperate need of supplies, and Teakgrove was only a boat ride, but Sakura pointed out that it was always good to be prepared.

"Besides, we're going to be roughing it out tonight," Naruto added.

"Wait, what? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, looking over at Naruto. "If we take the ferry across the lake, we'll be in Teakgrove by sunset; more than enough time to get a room at the Pokécenter."

"But we're not taking the ferry; we're going around the lake," Naruto said, as if it were obvious.

"Why on earth would we do that?" Sakura asked.

Naruto gave her a look. "Oh, I guess you don't know about the ol' Palewood Estate." Sakura shook her head, so Naruto went on. "In the woods by the lake, between Teakgrove and Oakcrown city, there's an old abandoned mansion called the Palewood Estate. People say it's haunted!"

Unnoticed by the others, Hinata suddenly tensed up.

Next to him, Sasuke nodded in agreement. "The place used to be a training dojo as well as an estate, but it was abandoned a long time ago…before my great-grandfather's time, I think. For a lot of old families, it's a tradition for boys just starting out their journey to spend the night in the estate as a test of courage." He then added, with some satisfaction, "My father spent the night in the old master bedroom when he started out his journey."

"I've never heard of it," Sakura admitted.

"Really?" Naruto asked, looking surprised.

"It makes sense; the place was closed down about nine years ago," Sasuke said. "There was some sort of incident. I think someone got hurt or something."

Hinata shifted uncomfortably, trying her best not to be noticed.

"The only reason you and I know about it is because our families have stories about it," Sasuke pointed out to Naruto.

"Yeah, but it's been opened back up recently, so I've been planning on going there since before we started traveling!" Naruto said eagerly. "It's going to be so scary; a perfect way to prove my courage!"

"What's so scary about spending the night in an old abandoned house?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"It isn't just an old house!" Naruto said defensively, "It's haunted! The last family that lived there all died mysterious and tragic deaths, one right after the other!"

"If it was dangerous, they wouldn't have reopened the place," Sakura pointed out. "It's just a tourist trap."

"Even if it is, it's still a natural haunt for Ghost-types and other rare Pokémon," Sasuke pointed out. "I'm not going to pass up this chance to catch such a rare type early in my Pokémon Journey…besides, my father told me he saw a real ghost of the man who used to own the place! It really is haunted."

"Sasuke, don't tell me you believe in all that!" Sakura whined. "Ghost's aren't real- GHOST-TYPES DON'T COUNT!" she added angrily as Naruto opened his mouth. "Ghost Pokémon are just living creatures that don't follow the traditional physics and dimensions of our world- they're born and can get sick and die just like any other Pokémon! We just call them ghosts because they behave like mythical ghosts. In fact, most scientists think that legends of ghosts and spirits originate from people mistaking Ghost-Pokémon for human ghosts."

Naruto scoffed. "Yamask are spirits of people from old tombs, and Phantumps are the ghosts of children who die in the woods!"

"Those are just old legends," Sakura said. She had heard about Yamask before (its line was a staple for old horror movies), but she had no idea what a Phantump was- she had had enough legends of people dying and becoming Ghost-types to know what Naruto was talking about. "Think about it: Yamask can be bred like any other Pokémon. If it was a ghost of a person, how would that be possible?"

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke said, cutting off Naruto before he could give a retort. "We're going to the Palewood Estate; if we find a ghost, we find a ghost. If not, at least we can try catching some rare Pokémon."

As the three continued to talk excitedly about the Palewood Estate, Hinata looked away solemnly. She had never wanted to return to that place…not after what happened.

"Hey, Hianta, what do you think?" Naruto asked; Hinata had been so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed he had walked right in front of her and was only a few inches away. "Are you excited about staying the night in a haunted house?"

The girl gasped and jumped back. "No!" she let out without meaning to.

"Oh shoot! Sorry!" Naruto said quickly. "I guess we should have asked you if you're scared of ghosts-"

"It's not that!" Hinata said quickly. She paused, clearing her throat. "Y-You surprised me, that's all. I…I was just thinking about something…from a long time ago…" She trailed off.

"Ah, sorry," Naruto said bashfully. "Well, what do you think about going to the Palewood Estate, anyway? I mean, if you don' want to-"

"It will be fine," Hinata lied smoothly.

Next to her, Kikyo gave her a sad look, sensing how Hinata was really feeling.

"…perfectly fine," Hinata said firmly.

A little while later, something caught Naruto's eye. "Hey, look at this," he said, calling to the others.

The store was offering a special service: trainers could trade out one of their team member's old Pokéballs for a new one, for a small fee (and the cost of the ball, of course). However, currently, the store was offering to let trainers pay for only the cost of the service to trade out an old Pokéball for a Premier Ball.

Sasuke read the advertisement and looked at Naruto. "What's so great about that?"

"It's great 'cause you get to have a stylish Premier Ball for your team!" Naruto said as if it was obvious. "Why have all your Pokémon in the same basic, boring balls when you can mix things up and have them all in different Pokéballs?"

Sasuke scoffed. "That's so shallow. Since when has aesthetics had anything to do with being a good trainer?"

"I don't know, Sasuke, I think there's nothing wrong with wanting to be cute and stylish," Sakura suggested playfully.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but remained silent. As Naruto handed Sora's Pokéball over to the clerk behind the counter to get it exchanged for a Premier Ball, the clerk decided to speak up. "I overheard you talking about wanting to collect a variety of Pokéballs," he said with a crafty look as he handed Sora's ball over to his assistant to make the actual switch. "You know, we're having a special offer on Pokéballs."

"Eh?" Naruto asked, looking intrigued. Nearby, Sakura and Hinata both turned their attention to him, and even Sasuke looked up.

The clerk motioned to a nearby device- a ball dispenser of some sort. "Why not try out the Pokéball Lottery? Pay a fee, pull the crank, and out comes a brand new Pokéball; there's a chance for all sorts of balls, from Great to Quick, and even Ultra Balls. Check the disclaimer for details on what is available and the price."

"Cool," Naruto said, looking at the sign, "the least valuable ball you could win is still a Great Ball!"

"And it costs a little more than a Great Ball," Sasuke said, pointing at the charge. "It's a rip-off."

"But there are all sorts of other balls you could win, and there's an equal chance at any of them," Sakura said. "There are Heal and Luxury Balls, and those are normally so expensive."

"Humph," Sasuke said, but privately, he was somewhat interested in the offer. An Ultra Ball could be so useful.

"So, shall I add one or two cranks of the ball lotto to your bill?" the clerk asked. "You can pay for it and check out all at once." He motioned the basket of supplies Sakura had set on the counter, which included food, some Potions, and Poison Heals.

Naruto groaned. The three of them had pooled their resources together since they started traveling together. Even so, they'd have to be careful with their finances- their parents had put them all on monthly allowances that were deemed appropriate for trainers their age. There would be nothing more humiliating than calling up home to explain that they had used it all on frivolous things.

"We'll take four tries at the Pokéball Lotto, please," Hinata quickly said, stepping forward. Avoiding looking at the others, she reached into her bag and pulled out a shiny credit card and handed it to the clerk. "P-Please charge it to that card, along with our groceries- a-and his Premier Ball change," she added, pointing at the clerk's assistant, who was holding out Sora's new white Premier Ball.

"Here's a costumer I like," the clerk said, swiftly charging everything on Hinata's card. "Okay, that takes care of everything. As for the lotto, just pull the crank four times and get four new balls." He went off to tend to other things in the store.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all looked at Hinata, who was blushing terribly.

Naruto spoke up first. "You didn't have to do that! I mean, it was really nice, but that was really expensive, and you shouldn't spend all your money on us just like that!"

Hinata shook her head. "N-No, it really wasn't a big deal. I mean, you guys saved me, so I just wanted to find a way to say thank you…"

"You already have- and you saved my life, too!" Naruto pointed out. "We're a team- all these supplies are for all of us; you shouldn't have to pay for everything. That must have cost you your whole monthly stipend." Next to him, Sasuke and Sakura nodded.

At this, Hinata turned away with an odd look on her face, blushing. "...it didn't."

"Pardon?" Naruto asked, not sure what she meant.

"It didn't cost me all of my monthly stipend," Hinata hiccupped, giving a nervous chuckle. "Not even a quarter of it."

Eyes widening, Naruto took a look at the receipt; the total was more than his allowance for the month. He looked back up at Hinata.

"I guess you could say my father is very generous," Hinata said nervously. "He told me he never wanted me to be without any supplies or a means of paying for safe travel…as long as I don't spend it on anything foolish." She looked down, twiddling her fingers.

"Uh…" Naruto was not sure how to respond to that.

"So, who's going to be the first one to try their luck with this thing?" Sasuke said, changing the subject back to the Pokéball Lotto.

"Well, Hinata paid for it, so I think she should go first," Sakura suggested.

Naruto agreed, gently pushing Hinata forward. "Good luck!"

Smiling nervously, Hinata gently gripped the crank and gave it a pull. The machine lit up, and out rolled a black Pokéball with yellow 'U' across the top.

"Ooh an Ultra Ball! Talk about lucky," Naruto said, playfully elbowing Hinata in the ribs.

Hinata smiled and took the ball, and then Sakura gave the crank a tug. Once again, the machine lit up and out rolled a ball. Sakura cringed slightly upon recognizing it. "A Great Ball...that's not too bad." Sakura was disappointed, but she did her best not to show it- being a lotto, it was a role of the dice, after all. Still, compared to Hinata's Ultra Ball, Sakura did seem a bit unlucky.

"I'll go next," Naruto said happily. He cranked the machine, which dispensed a blue Pokéball that had yellow lightning-like lines across it. "Ha, a Quick Ball!" Naruto cheered, scooping his prize up. He turned to Sasuke. "Your turn."

"I know that," Sasuke said dryly as he pulled the crank. Sasuke's ball was teal blue with crisscrossing bands across its top; he picked it up and looked at it curiously.

"That's a Net Ball. It's designed with a special capture net that's extra effective against Water and Bug-types," Sakura explained.

"…it will be useful," Sasuke said simply, putting it in his backpack.

"Thanks, Hinata!" Naruto cheered, wrapping an arm on her should and fist-pumping with his other arm. "You're way too nice, you know that?"

While Sasuke and Sakura gave their own thanks, Hinata just turned red and smiled, twiddling her fingers.

-0o0o0-

"If we travel along this path, it'll be dark right as we get to the Palewood Estate," Sasuke said, checking his Pokénav.

They were traveling along a dirt road in the woods that lined the side of Teakgrove Lake. The trees were not growing thickly, and the trail was close enough that they could see still see the lake from where they were walking, through it was far off.

"It might take longer than that. It doesn't look like this road's been well-maintained," Sakura pointed out. The ground was uneven in places, and shrubs and weeds had started to grow in some areas.

"It wouldn't be," Sasuke said. "The highway passes the lake on the other side, where the forest's been cleared, and the ferry can take people across the lake much faster than walking around it, so there's no reason for Teakgrove Town to play to upkeep the road."

"There's the haunted house, and trainers might want to try their luck catching Pokémon here," Naruto pointed out.

Sasuke scoffed. "The Palewood Estate were closed until a few months ago, and if trainers are going to look for Pokémon, they shouldn't be traveling along the path anyway."

"Heh, I wonder what sort of Pokémon we can find here anyway?" Naruto asked, smiling big.

"Maybe we'll run into some scary Ghost-types," Sasuke said, giving Naruto a nasty smile.

"So? I ain't scared of no ghost!" Naruto responded defensively.

"Hmm," Sakura said thoughtfully, pulling out her own 'nav. "According to the map, you can find Ghost-types here, but they're rare and nest around the Palewood Estate. Mostly, this area's known to be home to lots of common Grass, Bug, and Normal-types-"

A loud cawing cut Sakura off as a Murkrow flew past them from above.

"-along with a large number of Murkrow," she concluded as the Darkness Pokémon flew out of sight.

"Tch, I hate Murkrow," Sasuke growled. "They're Rattata with wings. Filthy, foul, feathered fiends."

"Vee," Bayushi agreed, glaring at where the Murkrow had been.

"You forgot to mention 'frightful', 'faithless', and 'fainthearted'," Naruto said teasingly.

Sasuke leveled a glare at him.

"I thought your family raised Dark-types?" Sakura asked Sasuke. "Wouldn't it be normal for you to like them?"

The dark-haired boy scoffed. "My mother and brother are Dark-type specialists, but most of the family favors Fire-types. But that's why I hate Murkrow; my brother trained a bunch of them, and I found out what filthy little buzzards they were firsthand."

Sakura giggled flirtatiously. "You don't talk about your family much- tell me more." She winked and grabbed hold of his arm. Sasuke just sighed, rolling his eyes.

Sakura's words got Naruto thinking. "Hinata, what about your family?" he asked suddenly.

Only, the girl in question was hardly paying attention; instead, she was looking off in the distance quietly. In fact, she hadn't even reacted to the Murkrow loudly cawing overhead.

Naruto called to her again, causing the girl to yelp and turn quickly, almost knocking over her Ralts, who was riding along on her backpack.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Naruto said.

"I-It's okay…I was just…daydreaming," she said, trailing off. She cleared her throat and said, "What is it you asked?"

"I was just curious about your family," Naruto asked bashfully. "You haven't spoken about them much."

"The same could be said for you, Naruto," Sakura pointed out, but Naruto ignored her.

"It's okay," Hinata reassured them. "Well…there's my father, who's the Head of the Hyuga clan, and my younger sister, Hanabi. She and I were very close…she got a bit teary when I left." Hinata paused, smiling.

"Don't you have a big brother?" Sakura asked. "I sort of remember him, but he got to skip out classes because of his Aura Guardian training. But he also graduated top of his class, right?"

"Ah, you mean Neji," Hinata said softly. "Yes, he's my brother, sort of…you see, his father was my father's identical twin and, well…" She paused, looking down. "Well, when Neji was four, his father…passed on. After that, my father took Neji in and adopted him. So, Neji's my cousin and my elder brother."

"And your half sibling, genetically speaking, since your biological fathers are twins," Sakura pointed out.

Everyone stared at her.

"…what? It's true," Sakura said. "It's kind of neat, if you think about it."

Hinata smiled. "Yes. And Neji was the top of his class. He's actually a prodigy at both Pokémon training and Aura arts. That pleased Father to no end."

"Bet that puts pressure on you, right?" Naruto asked before he could help it.

"N-No, actually," Hinata said gently. "That's one of the reasons Father is very pleased." The others looked at her confused, and she explained. "Well, I don't have a lot of talent with Aura, so my father used to be under a lot of pressure from our clan elders to make sure I can meet their expectations. Only, father didn't want that. You see, after mother-" Hinata paused again, uncomfortably clearing her throat. "-after mother died, my father grew very protective, especially because of what happened to- I mean, especially after losing Uncle, too." She signed, adding, "He didn't even want me to go on a Pokémon Journey."

"What?" Naruto asked, looking shocked.

However, it was Sasuke who was the most confused. "Aren't you the clan heiress? You need to go on a journey and get strong."

Hinata looked away, twiddling her fingers. "I…I am, but father said that it was more important for me to grow up as an Aura Guardian and a proper lady. 'Why should I be put in harm's way, when I could stay where it's safe and learn everything I needed at home?' he would say. He…he didn't want risk to lose any more family members…and he said that Hanabi and I were all he had left of mother. Luckily, he changed his mind…" Though she looked like she had more to say, Hinata didn't elaborate on what caused her father's change of heart.

There was an awkward silence, which Naruto broke by abruptly saying, "Whoa, that's a lot of drama."

"Shut up, idiot!" Sakura hissed, slapping the back of his head.

"Hey, what was that for?" Naruto hissed back. He turned to Hinata. "Okay, but what's your cousin- uh, I mean, what's your brother got to do with that?"

Hinata smiled weakly. "Well, Father says that Neji so talented he can bear some of my burden as heiress. He can be strong, so it doesn't matter that I'm…frail."

"Your father says you're frail?" Naruto asked, being sure to move just out of Sakura's reach.

"No!" Hinata said quickly. "No, he never said anything like that. Not really. He's always just said that he has to keep me and Hanabi safe. Especially me." She remembered something her father had told the clan elders. "A wind that might not bother a tree can knock over a flower, but the flower isn't weak. It's just its nature. My father…just wants to protect me…like he promised mother."

"I'm…sure he means well," Sakura said awkwardly, patting Hinata on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but still, think how great it's going to be when you show him how strong you've gotten!" Naruto suddenly said, waving his hands out. "You'll be on TV during the Konoha League Championship, shouting, 'STILL THINK I'M A FRAIL FLOWER?!'"

Hinata laughed so hard she snorted a little.

-0o0o0-

"You're lucky I was assigned this job. Normally, I just stay in Teakgrove Town," Mizuki said to his passengers. The whitehaired man was driving a nondescript black van; in the hub next to him was Dosu of the Sound Trio. The Trio's other members, Kin and Zaku road in the back, along with Mizuki's valuable cargo: over a dozen Pokéballs, most containing Pokémon that had been subjected to genetic experiments.

"Thanks again for the ride," Dosu said. "After our last…encounter, we weren't exactly looking forward to traveling anywhere by foot." He winced, thinking back to how that dog boy had allowed his team to brutalize the three of them.

"Sure, but remember, you owe me a favor now," Mizuki said, flashing a nasty smile. "Nothing in this world is free, after all."

"Yeah, yeah," Zaku sighed from the back of the van. He glanced around, spotting the van's digital manifest, and picked it up. "Why do you even have to smuggle Pokémon like this anyway? Can't they just be shipped digitally, like how they do it in Pokémon Centers?" The manifest listed each Pokémon's species, ball number, and the sort of experiments Team Snake had done to them.

"All digitalized transportation is carefully monitored by Konoha Law Enforcement; any attempt to send an illegally owned Pokémon through the public digital system will tip off the cops," Mizuki explained. "Team Snake is working on its own transport system, but it's smaller and limited- and it can still be detected by cops if used excessively. Nope, for now, old-fashioned smuggling is the only way you can transport illegal Pokémon across the country. Which is pretty good for us, since that's Team Snake's major source of income."

As Mizuki came to Teakgrove Lake, he turned off the main road and into a dirt one that lead into the woods.

"Why are we turning here?" Dosu asked. "Shouldn't we stay on the main road?"

"Relax, it's just a safety measure," Mizuki explained. "This road used to lead to an old attraction for new trainers, but it got shut down a few years back; now it's a perfect route if you want to avoid cops or suspicious eyes."

"Yeah, if you don't crash first," Dosu said as they hit a bump in the road.

As Mizuki reminded Dosu he was free to get out and walk if he wanted, Kin and Zaku amused themselves in the back.

"Whoa, some of this stuff sounds really cool," Zaku said, reading through the manifest. "Creepy to think that these are Pokémon that have suffered inhuman experiments, but still cool."

"From risk comes progress. That's the way of science," Kin said, shrugging. She looked over at the cargo box of Pokéballs. To her shock, there was the sound of something moving inside it. She took a closer look, and sure enough, she could see something moving from in-between the cracks on the box's side. "Something's loose back here!" she gasped, ripping open the box without thinking.

"Put the lid back on! A lot of those 'mons are supposed to be dangerous!" Zaku cried.

Instead, Kin let out a laugh and reached inside, pulling out a pure black Pokéball. The ball wiggled and its center lit up as its occupant attempted to force its way out, something that would be impossible with the safety lock engaged. "Looks like someone's not happy," Kin joked, turning the ball in her hand. Stamped on the front of it where the numbers '626'.

"Wait, I think I just read about that one," Zaku said, looking through the manifest. "Yeah, right here: 'Subject 626: overwhelming success. Subject's body has been enhanced to produce nitroglycerin-based fuel, and its physiology has been altered to handle it; Fire-based attacks show a markedly greater heat and concussive force. Side effects include a permanent discoloration of fur and overactive adrenaline centers. Warning: subject is extremely aggressive and given to violent outbursts. Keep subject in containment ball with safety lock engaged at all times.'" He looked up at Kin. "Cool!"

"Hey, what's with all the commotion back there?!" Mizuki demanded, looking over his shoulder at them and realizing Kin was holding one of the balls. "PUT THAT DOWN, YOU IDIOT! Those are dangerous experiments, not toys!"

"TREE!" Dosu screamed, grabbing the wheel and jerking it hard just in time to keep the van from crashing. "KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD, YOU LUNATIC!"

Mizuki gasped and whipped back to the front, veering the van to regain control. From the back, there was a crashing sound followed by a pair of painful cries. "Ha! Serves you right!" Mizuki snorted, not bothering to look back. "Now put those things away and don't touch anything else!"

In the back of the van, however, Kin and Zaku were hardly paying attention. The sudden movement of the van had sent both them and the box sprawling across the floor, spilling the box's contents. Luckily, it seemed that every ball had its safety lock on, keeping any of them from accidently opening…

…all except for Subject 626's ball, which had been dropped from Kin's hand, only for the heavy cargo box to fall on top of it during the near crash.

Gingerly, the two lifted the box, praying the ball hadn't been crushed.

The ball rolled and wiggled, it's occupant still desperate to get out.

"Oh, thank sweet Arceus, it's not broken," Kin sighed.

Then the ball rolled over, revealing a big crack along the ball's center button.

"Oh f# k!" Zaku said.

The ball exploded open in a flash of light, followed by wave of fire.

-0o0o0-

"You didn't go through Riverscar Valley?" Naruto asked.

Hinata shook her head. "My father refused to allow it, because there were reports of Luxay packs in the area. He said it would be irresponsible to let me go through such a dangerous area."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all glanced at one another in awkward silence.

"Well, hard to argue there," Sakura admitted, looking over at Sasuke's Shinx.

The four had decided to let their Pokémon out, seeing that they were away from the town and it couldn't cause any trouble. Some of their teammates hanged close to their respective trainers; Akodo shadowed Sasuke on his right side, casting jealous glances at Bayushi, who was following Sasuke at his left. Others decided to mingle with members of other teams; Sakura was pleasantly surprised when Togashi walked over Ochako and started happily chatting with her as the two walked together. Sora was riding along atop Tetsu, having the Beldum float ten feet above the ground before jumping off in desperate attempts to fly. Even Kubo had decided to hop along next to Kikyo and keep her company, having noticed the shy Ralts stay by her trainer's side as the other Pokémon socialized.

Naruto looked at their assembly of Pokémon, and something occurred to him. "Hinata, I didn't think about it before, but Kikyo's your only Pokémon, right?"

"Uh, yes, she is," Hinata admitted. "Since I took the bus past Riverscar Valley, I didn't have many opportunities to catch another Pokémon." She twiddled her fingers, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Well in that case, the next Pokémon we find's gonna be yours!" Naruto proclaimed, smiling widely and winking at her.

"What?" Hinata said, blushing.

Sasuke and Sakura both had looks of surprise their faces as well.

"Who says I agree to that?" Sasuke asked bluntly, glaring.

"Quiet. You already have three teammates," Naruto said. "And Sakura and I have two (not to mention her egg). It's only fair to let Hinata have first pick next. We're a team, after all!"

"It sounds like you're giving her a pity-catch," Sakura said sternly. "Trainers don't need someone else to let them catch a Pokémon."

"No, he's not being condescending," Hinata said, a bit red on the cheeks. "Don't read an intention into an action that isn't there. If anything, it is…very thoughtful and generous of you, Naruto." She looked over at Sakura and Sasuke. "Naruto is saying we should help one another. That we should take care of one another."

Naruto nodded. "Exactly! There's nothing wrong with having someone else watch your back!"

"Hmph," Sasuke snorted. "Besides, what if the next Pokémon we find isn't one Hinata likes?"

A cacophony of caws- up ahead, it looked like a murder of Murkrow were mobbing another Pokémon that had curled up helplessly on the ground.

"Speak of the Devil, look, Pokémon for Hinata to catch," Sasuke said sarcastically.

"Ah shut up!" Naruto snapped. He ran over to the mob, shouting and waving his arms.

"Naruto, wait, we don't know what's going on! For all we know, they could be driving off an egg thief" Sakura pointed out.

"It doesn't matter! It's no fair for all of them to be ganging up on a single Pokémon!" Naruto shouted; he turned to the flock, shoving into and trying to break up the mob. "Hey, you taught him a lesson, now leave him alone!"

Several Murkrow broke off their assault on the prone Pokémon only to turn around and start mobbing Naruto, while Sora and Kubo started trying to fight back.

"That went as well as expected," Sasuke said. "Bayushi, Akodo, Togashi, go and help-"

Sasuke was cut off as several Murkrow started divebombing him, and then doing the same to Sakura and Hinata! Their Pokémon fought back, but the mob of birds attacked them at all angles, leaving them disoriented and confused.

Just as a Murkrow was about to attack Hinata, Kikyo grasped her trainer and Teleported; the two vanished and reappeared in a swirl of sparkling light, now on the other side of the Murkrow mob.

"Oh, good thinking!" Hinata gasped, realizing that the Murkrow hadn't noticed their new position yet. She thought for a moment, considering her option. "Okay Kikyo, use Dazzling Gleam, and try to aim high." She turned back to the commotion and shouted, as loudly as possible, "Everyone, drop to the floor!"

"Ralts!" Kikyo punctuated Hinata's order with a brilliant flash of lavender light. Shining with the sun's brilliance, the Ralts loosed a salvo of light rays into the Murkrow murder, aiming high as her trainer ordered. The attack had the intended effect- wherever a ray landed, Murkrow scattered wildly, screeching in pain and fear as they attempted to evade the supper effective attack. Soon, the murder scrambled off, no longer enjoying things now that it was clear that their victims could fight back.

"Char!" Togashi shouted, hitting one Murkrow that was straggling with a Flamethrower. Scoffing, Togashi turned and helped up Ochako, whom the sadistic Flying-types had attempted to mob especially hard (and would have succeeded had Togashi not been protecting her). Indeed, Togashi himself was bruised and battered hard, though the Charmander forced himself to stoically ignore the flurry of pains echoing across his body.

"What a bunch of horrible monsters!" Sakura said, kneeling to check up on her crew. Tetsu had also been hit badly, as his Psychic-typing made him vulnerable to the Murkrow-line's Dark moves. Sakura herself was not in good shape, having gotten scratched and pecked all over by the aggressive birds. "Ouch, darn it, we might have to head back to the Pokécenter!"

Sasuke grunted, but realized she was right; aside from Hinata, all of them had been hit hard by the mob, Pokémon and trainer alike. He glanced at Akodo, who had somehow managed to grab a Murkrow by the throat and pin it down, eyes glowing threateningly each time the bird struggled. "Akodo, spit that out- you have no idea where that filthy thing's been," Sasuke ordered, all the while giving his Pokémon an approving smile.

Akodo got off the Murkrow, which started to hiss aggressively at Sasuke. The Shinx responded by slamming into it with a Spark. Following that, the bird had the good sense to scramble off and fly away.

"Hey guys, you okay?" Naruto asked, looking from Kubo to Sora. Both of them seemed to have gotten out of that scrap in relatively good shape. Kubo had the sense to jump onto a branch away from the main fighting and start throwing Water Pulses at the enemy instead of staying in the thick of things, while it looked like the Murkrow had mostly attacked Sora by diving bombing his thick forehead- which would be like trying to chop down a tree with a feather. In fact, it was Naruto who was in the worst shape out of all of them, with deep cuts and scratches all over, though he was barely paying any attention to that.

He turned to Hinata, who had walked over to the curled-up Pokémon that the murder of Murkrow had been mobbing. Gently, she turned the unconscious Pokémon onto its back, examining it. "He's breathing," Hinata said, sighing in relief.

Naruto took a step closer. The unconscious Pokémon looked like a brown, bipedal hedgehog with a green spiky shell on its back and head. "Hey, that's a Chespin!" Naruto said, recognizing it.

"Uh, what should we do?" Hinata asked. "He's been hurt, and I'm not sure how badly."

"Come on, let's get off the road and we can patch everyone up," Sakura suggested.

Hinata was about to carry the Chespin over to the rest of the group, but the unconscious Pokémon floated upwards, curtesy of Kikyo's telekinetic aid.

Sakura and Sasuke spread out a blanket and set up the medical kit with help from their Pokémon.

"We're very lucky Togashi protected Ochako from the Murkrow," Sakura said, and then added, "And don't think I didn't notice you shielding her, Togashi. That was brave and smart of you. She's the team medic; if she goes down, we're all in trouble."

"Charmander," Togashi said simply, looking away and blushing slightly.

Ochako smiled, gently rubbing a vine across the many injuries he had sustained shielding her. "Chi-Chika" she sang, using Heal Pulse to patch up the worst of it.

"Don't overdo it," Sakura warned. "We'll have to spread the healing out among everyone. Focus on closing the deepest cuts to avoid infections, and we'll just use bandages and ointments for everything else. And speaking of cuts," she added, pointing at Naruto, "you're up next."

"What? Why?" Naruto asked. He pointed at the Chespin. "Take care of him first!"

"Because you're covered in cuts!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing wildly at several points all over his body. "Seriously, you might bleed out if we don't deal with those now!'

Blinking, Naruto looked himself over, and realized he was in incredible pain. There were burning aches everywhere. Not to mention a lot of blood- lots of blood. There were cuts on his arms and hands, on his face, his back…

"Ah no!" Naruto gasped, looking at his chest, which had been cut up deeply at several points, causing blood to drip all down his front. "This was my favorite shirt! Now it's ruined!"

"You'd better be joking," Sakura growled, forcing him to sit and take his shirt off so Ochako could get to work.

"Wait! What about-?" Naruto gasped, reaching atop his head. "Where's my hat? Those buzzards better not have stolen it!"

Next to him, Kubo tugged gently on his trainer's jacket, holding Naruto's hat up. It had been knocked off and ignored during the fight.

"Oh, thank you!" Naruto gasped, reaching for it.

Sakura stopped him, pointing out he might want to wash his hands first…unless he wanted to get blood all over it. "Ugh, I don't know if Ochako's up to all this," Sakura said, looking over at everyone that needed treatment. "Even if we ration Heal Pulse to treat only the major wounds, that's still a lot of work for a single Pokémon."

"Kikyo can help…maybe," Hinata said softly. "She knows the healing move Life Dew…though we've never really used it to treat serious injuries."

"I've never heard of that move," Sakura said, her interest piqued. "How does it work?"

"The user creates a bubble of soothing water and spreads it across injures," Hinata explained. "It seems to work best on bruises and shallow cuts, rather than serious wounds."

"Hinata, you do realize that we're mostly covered in bruises and shallow cuts, right? That move's perfect for right now!" Sakura pointed out. "Kikyo can help deal with the minor injuries while Ochako heals the deeper ones."

Hinata nodded, and they got to work. Concentrating, Kikyo conjured a ball of glowing water; the bubble of water floated in midair before breaking up into several smaller bubbles, which then floated over to each of Kikyo's patients. The bubbles splashed against each Pokémon and human, and the healing water spread across them, causing their wounds to fade slightly as a soothing sensation knit through them.

"Hmm, it can heal multiple targets. That's useful," Sasuke noted, watching as the Ralts conjured a second ball of Life Dew and administered it. He looked down at where a Murkrow had left a nasty scratch; now the injury had healed up as if it were a day old. "But's not nearly as strong as Ochako's Heal Pulse." The Chikorita would have been able to heal the injury completely.

"Hey, are you going to complain about easy healing?" Sakura asked playfully; she had been instructing Ochako on what which of Naruto's injuries she should focus on treating while Sakura herself started bandaging the more minor cuts and scratches.

After a third use of Life Dew, Kikyo staggered backwards, sweating from effort. Healing techniques where among the most taxing for a Pokémon to use, and Kikyo had very little experience using Life Dew to do more than heal a small cut.

"It's okay, Kikyo, you can take a rest," Hinata said encouragingly.

"Yeah, no one's bleeding anymore, and Ochako's treated all the serious cuts and bruises," Sakura pointed out. Behind her, Naruto looked sadly at his bloody shirt, seemingly unconcerned with his chest now a patchwork of healed-up scratches and bruises.

While all this was happening, Hinata herself had been busy looking over the little Pokémon they had rescued. She had never seen its species before, though Naruto had referred to it as a 'Chespin'. Luckily, it seemed the Chespin's injuries were shallow, concentrated on its tough back, which was covered in a green armor. Likely, the Pokémon had curled up and protected its more vulnerable parts when the Murkrow murder mobbed him. Kikyo's Lew Dew healing had lightened most of the bruises and cuts significantly, so it looked like he was going to be okay.

"What sort of Pokémon is that anyway?" Sakura asked, pulling out her Pokédex.

"Chespin, the Spiny Nut Pokémon," it chimed in a feminine voice. "Chespin possess a thick yet flexible and relatively light armor that has incredible durability and impact absorption. They have been known to survive direct hits from cars with minimum injury. A Chespin's armor and quills are normally soft, however, only hardening when it flexes them."

"Heh, he really is a tough little nut," Hinata said, tracing her hands carefully across the unconscious Pokemon's body in a slow, deliberate way. Her hands were aglow with Aura, as were the girl's eyes.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked. "Healing him?"

"A professional Aura Guardian could, but I'm not nearly at that level yet," Hinata admitted, careful not to break her concentration. "But I know how to help encourage the flow of aura through the body to promote natural healing and sooth pain."

A memory in Naruto's head clicked in place. "Hey, you were doing that when you pulled me out of the river!"

"When Kikyo pulled you out," Hinata corrected. "And y-yes. I used Aura to help push the water out of your lungs and bring you back to consciousness."

As if on cue, the little Chespin coughed, his eyes fluttering open. Hinata carefully set him down and backed away, giving him room. "H-Hello," Hinata said softly, waving a hand.

"Chespin?" the Pokémon said, looking around confused.

"Hey, we saved you from those Murkrow," Naruto said, smiling. "Well, Hinata did most of the work, actually."

"That's not true," Hinata said quickly. "You got hurt the most, after all."

"Yeah, but you and Kikyo drove them off; I just ran in and got everyone attacked," Naruto pointed out.

"Chespin-chesp," the Chespin said, blushing and he looked at them with big eyes. It all seemed a bit overwhelming. He wasn't sure what to think, in fact, other than he had to be grateful to these strangers. "Chespi-cheschesches -Chespin…." he whispered, muttering to himself as he tried to make sense of everything.

Kikyo sensed the Chespin's distress, and decided to take action, walking over to him and gently holding out her hand. "Ralts," she said, offering to help.

After receiving the Chespin's permission, Kikyo gently touched him on the forehead, psychically connecting them. Confused thoughts slowed down, images and memories were traded, and a moment later, Kikyo backed away and smiled.

"Chespin!" the Spiny Nut Pokémon cheered, turning to the humans and bowing in gratitude.

"Heh, having a Psychic-type must really help with communication," Sakura said.

Something gently bumped her in the back of the head, and Sakura turned around to see Tetsu giving her as jealous a look as a ball-and-socket with an eye could give. It was actually pretty cute.

"Brrrrl?" Tetsu whined gently.

"I'm sure your Psychic powers are going to be amazing when they develop," Sakura said, patting him on the head.

"Brr!" he cheered, looking as happy as ball-and-socket with an eye could.

Kikyo gently took Hinata's hand and pointed over at the Chespin, as if explaining something.

Nodding, Hinata turned to the others. "Apparently, the Chespin was napping up in a tree

when he accidently fell off his branch and into a Murkrow's nest. Then the momma bird got mad, drove him out, and then called up the whole flock to chase him down."

"Chespin!" the Chespin confirmed, nodding with wide eyes.

"Man, now I want a Psychic-type. It'd be great to have a Pokémon that can tell you what your team is trying to say," Naruto said.

While Sakura and Naruto continued to be in awe at the potential of Psychic communication, Sasuke had other concerns. "That's nice. Now let's move on to important stuff," he said bluntly. "One, as much as I hate to say it, we should probably head back to the Pokécenter and rest there for the day. Even if our injuries are mostly healed, our teams are tired from that little encounter, and our happy little healer could use a rest." He motioned at Ochako, half-asleep and nodding off as Togashi tried to help her sit-up straight. "And two, what are we going to do about the Chespin? Because if Hinata isn't going to catch him…" Sasuke trailed off, pulling a Pokéball from his belt and holding it out towards the Chespin meaningfully.

"Chespin!" the Pokémon cried, diving behind Hinata.

"Don't you dare!" Hinata said sternly, glaring daggers at Sasuke as she held the Chespin protectively.

"Then catch him and be done with it!" Sasuke said, rolling his eyes as he put the ball away. "It's obvious you're going to, so let's stop wasting time with the drama and just get moving!"

"Way to ruin a moment," Naruto said, looking derisively at Sasuke.

Sighing, Hinata released the Chespin and looked him in the eyes. "D-Do you want to be the first Pokémon I catch?" she asked, smiling nervously.

For a moment, it looked like the little Chespin would burst with joy as he staggered back and gasped…and then that's exactly what he did, bawling like a baby as he nodded vigorously.

"ChespiChespinChesChespin!" he cried quickly, bowing repeatedly.

"Easy! Easy!" Hinata said, holding up her hands. "I'm just as happy as you are!"

"Yeah, settle down, little dude! Breath!" Naruto added, playfully patting Hinata's newest Pokémon on the back.

Once the Chespin had calmed down, Hinata pulled out a Pokéball and let him tap it, capturing him without any trouble. She let out a warm, sunny smile. "M-My first capture, a-and it was a very special one, too!" She happily called out her new Pokémon.

"Hey, you're right," Naruto said, looking at each of his friends. "We all saved our first Pokémon, rather than capture them in the traditional way. You saved your Chespin from those Murkrow. Kubo and I saved Sora from the river (and you saved us all from it). Sakura helped Tetsu with a nail, and Sasuke rescued Akodo from the gang of Shinx bullying him. That's pretty cool, when you think about it!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You pointed that out before, you know."

"Yeah, but that was before Hinata caught her first Pokémon. It's just neat that we all followed the pattern!" Naruto said.

"AHHHHH!"

-CRASH!-

-HONK!-

"…that's not a good sound," Naruto said

The cacophony of crashing, honking, and screaming quickly became louder.

"Definitely not a good sound," he repeated, stepping off the road…and then pulling the others back with him when they failed to follow.

A black van tore into view, veering as it hurtled towards them. It rocked wildly to one side, threatening to tip over as a jet of fire tore open a hole through the roof. Sasuke looked at the hub, and realized the driver was in a panic, with his seat set aflame. And then, light flashed from inside the vehicle, and the driver and his passenger disappeared.

"Move!" Sasuke shouted.

Everyone scattered out of the way. Sasuke grabbed Sakura by the arm and nearly pulled her off her feet because the girl had stopped to scoop up her egg, with Togashi lifting Ochako over his head in an adrenaline rush and following close behind them. Thinking quickly, Naruto motioned for the group to get behind the tree-line, listing off as everyone passed him.

"SasukeSakuraEggTogashiOchakoTetsuBayushiAkodoSoraKuboHinataKikyo- shoot, where's Chespin!?"

Back at the side of the road, Hinata's Chespin was staring at the oncoming van in a state of shock, having never seen anything like it before.

"Get out of the way!" Naruto shouted. He tried to jump after the Chespin, but Hinata grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't!" she shouted, emphasizing her order by using Aura to strengthen her grip as she pulled him back.

"But-!"

Before Naruto could say anymore, Kikyo suddenly Teleported next to the Chespin, grabbed ahold of him, and Teleported again, next to the others now.

"…clever girl," Naruto admitted.

-CRASH!-

The flaming van slammed into a tree, shaking it so bad Naruto feared it would topple over for a second before the vehicle came to a thunderous stop.

"Shoot, we have to put out the fire!" Naruto said, order Kubo to use Water Pulse and for Sora to try and smother the flames with dirt. "Sakura, check on the driver!"

"Don't bother," Sasuke said, moving to help Naruto. "Just before the crash, I saw them Teleport out of there."

There was a crashing sound from inside the back of the van.

"Well, it sounds like someone's still inside," Naruto said, running over to the back and trying to pull it open. "Darn it, it's stuck!"

"Here, let me help," Hinata said, grabbing hold and pulling with him.

Sakura noticed Sasuke looking the van over, a frown on his face. "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"…why would anyone drive on an abandoned, dirt road in the middle of a forest, when there's a highway that leads to the same destination on the other side of the lake?" he said, talking to himself. He knelt in front of the van, and pressed a switch just above the license plate, which then fell off. "Quick release switch on the plates…criminals use them to change license plates when the cops are looking for them."

"…what are you suggesting?" Sakura asked cautiously.

At the back of the van, the stubborn door wouldn't budge.

"Man, I wish I had a strong Fighting-type right about now!" Naruto grunted, looking over his shoulder. "We'll have to bash this door open!"

Unfortunately, neither Naruto or Hinata noticed that the banging inside the van had stopped…or that the door was started to glow with heat.

Hinata's Chespin, however, did notice. "Chespin!" he screamed, grabbing both trainers with Vine Whip and pulling them away from the door just as a stream of fire melted through it.

An explosion of flames and smoke flung open the doors, followed by a Pokémon jumping out as black Pokéballs scattered everywhere. The renegade Pokémon landed on Hinata's Chespin, pinning him down without even trying. The Chespin gasped, looking up at the other Pokémon, frightened and confused.

"Hey, get off of him!" Naruto shouted. The smoke cleared, and he got a better look at the Pokémon. "What the- a Quilava!?" He started to pull out his Quick Ball.

The Quilava scoffed disdainfully and jumped off Hinata's Chespin. Naruto thought it was going to attack him and staggered back, dropping his ball, but instead the Fire-type landed next to an open, black Pokéball and smashed it. Satisfied, the Quilava leapt away, using a downward-aimed Flamethrower to propel himself past the tree-line.

"...what the Houndoom was that?" Naruto said, bewildered as he retrieved his Quick Ball.

Nearby, Chespin stared at the forest where the Quilava had run off to, a shocked expression on his face. He jumped up to his feet, turning to Kikyo. "Ches-Chespin," he said urgently, explaining something.

Kikyo listened, and then nodded, looking over at Hinata, her eyes a glow. Her trainer gasped, getting the telepathic message, and Kikyo turned back to the Chespin, grabbing hold of his hand. With a nod from her trainer, the two Teleported.

-0o0o0-

The air above Teakgrove Lake rippled with a flash, and Mizuki and the Sound Trio materialized, crashing into the water. Kin's Bronzor, Bijou, also Teleported with them, though she remained floating.

"We're alive!" Zaku cheered, looking around wildly. "I thought for sure we were going to die in a burning car crash! What the hell was wrong with that fire breathing demon, anyway?!"

"It was a genetic experiment fighting for its freedom. What do you expect? It to be nice?" Dosu grunted sardonically. He looked around. "Where's Mizuki?"

The white-haired man broke the surface, gasping for breath. "Help! I can't swim!"

Swearing, Dosu helped Mizuki stay above water as the swam to shore.

Once they were on land, Mizuki turned to Kin angrily. "Why'd you go and Teleport us into the lake!? We'll have to walk all the way back to the crash site! You should have just dropped us off behind the van!"

"Oh yeah, that's a brilliant idea; Teleporting in the middle of the woods where there are all sorts of things you can run into while moving at 50-miles-per-hour! Picture it: bumpity, bumpity, bumpity, bumpity, SPLAT!" Kin said, slamming her hands together for emphasis. "You maintain velocity while Teleporting, moron! Even hitting water at that speed should have killed us; the only reason we're alive it because Bijou was smart enough to Teleport us high enough in the air so she'd have time to slow us down telekinetically before we hit the lake!"

"…whoa, that's actually pretty smart, Kin," Zaku gasped. "We're so luckily you trained Bijou to think of those things, or we'd be dead!"

"Okay…okay, fair enough," Mizuki admitted. "So, can she just Teleport us back to the crash site?"

Kin scoffed. "Not likely. One, we have no way of knowing where we crashed, and two, more importantly, Teleporting four people without preparation and then keeping them from going splat immediately afterwards was hard enough for her." She pointed to Bijou, who had fallen face-down on the ground and was already napping.

"Fine, we'll just walk and…follow the road…until we…find the crash site?" Mizuki trailed off, looking straight ahead. In front of them, about a quarter of a mile away, was the highway…the one on the other side of the lake. "Houndoom it all…she Teleported us to the wrong side of the lake!" Mizuki shouted, letting out a series of explosive swears. "We're over ten miles away from where we were!"

"Huh, no wonder Bijou's exhausted," Kin mused, completely nonplussed.

"Don't you realize what this means?" Mizuki shouted. "Its going to take us hours to find that van! What if someone else finds it first and takes the cargo?"

"Relax, you said yourself, that road's been abandoned," Zaku pointed out.

"Not any more," Dosu said suddenly.

The others turned to him.

"Just before we crashed, I noticed there were a bunch of trainers on the side of the road. By now, they must have found the cargo of Pokéballs. Even if they don't realize they're being smuggled, chances are they've already called the police. By the time we get there, we'll be too late."

A gagging sound escaped Mizuki's throat. "No…nonononononono! NO! This can't be happening! I was responsible for that shipment! It's my hide on the line! If the boss finds out I lost that shipment…if the boss finds out-!" He turned to Dosu, grabbing him by the front of the shirt. "You have to help me fix it! You three are the reason I crashed in the first place! You owe me!"

"We don't owe you anything," Dosu said firmly, pushing the man away. "As far as the rest of Team Snake is concerned, you were driving alone and crashed your car. We weren't on a mission with you, so it'll be your word against ours. I doubt the boss will care much for your excuses."

"You miserable little-!" For a second, a look of murderous rage flashed across Mizuki's face. But just as quickly, it crumbled against Dosu's unflinching gaze. The boy would not be threatened into helping him…so Mizuki decided to beg. "Please…please…please help me! If I lose this shipment, it'll be my head!"

"Hmm," Dosu looked over at Zaku, and then at Kin. "When this started, we agreed to owe you a favor if you drove us to Teakgrove City. What was that phrase you used to describe the situation?"

"'Nothing in this world is free,'" Zaku quoted.

"Right, 'nothing in this world is free'," Dosu said, turning back to Mizuki. "Well, that philosophy applies here. We help save your hide now…you owe us. You owe us bigtime. Deal?" Dosu held out a hand.

"Deal!" Mizuki agreed, grasping the offered hand and shaking it.

"So, what's the plan?" Kin asked. "Are we going to try and steal the balls back from the police?"

"That's way too risky," Dosu said, dismissing the idea. "And we have no idea what's happening to the van or the cargo right now. No, we'll have to send a scout to find where the van crashed and report back what's going on. Then we can plan what to do next." He looked over at Zaku. "Call out Nightwish and have him Fly you over to the other side of the lake. Find the van, and find out what's happening. Are the cops there yet, or did the punks who were near the crash decide to steal the Pokémon for themselves? Once you've found out what's happening, Fly back here and we'll decide what to do next."

Zaku did an exaggerated salute and called out his Golbat.

-0o0o0-

Having successfully put out the fire, Naruto and the others stood together and discussed what to do next.

"What's with all the Pokéballs?" Sakura asked, picking up one and looking it over. "Are they being transported?"

"Why would anyone drive 'em around when you can just digitalize them and send them through the PC system?" Naruto pointed out.

"Because they're being smuggled," Sasuke said. The others looked at him questioningly, so Sasuke explained, pointing at each fact he listed. "Black Pokéballs being transported in a black, unmarked van, easy-to-change license plate, and driving along an abandoned dirt road when there's a freeway nearby that's faster and easier. That all points to Pokémon smuggling."

"…you just put that all together right now?" Sakura asked, looking at Sasuke admiringly.

"My dad wants me to get into law enforcement- it's a family tradition. He makes me study all his case files and drills me on legal proceedings. I guess it paid off," Sasuke said, shrugging. He scoffed, and then added, "He nearly flipped when Itachi dropped out of the police academy and opened up a tea shop. After that, Dad started pushing really hard for me to make detective, like he did."

"Right…so, Sasuke's freaky family life aside, I guess we need to call the cops?" Naruto pointed out. "We should gather up the balls, too."

"There's something else," Hinata said. She pointed at the melted doors to the van. "What about that Quilava?"

"I'm going to guess that it got loose and attacked the driver, hence the crash," Sasuke said simply. He noticed the look on Hinata's face. "What, do you want to catch him or something? It's rare, but after everything that happened, I figured we'd have other things to worry about."

"That's not what I mean," Hinata said firmly. "That Quilava was badly hurt! We need to help him."

"What do you mean? How could you tell?" Sakura asked. "Naruto was the only one who got a good look at him, and the smoke hadn't fully cleared."

"Well, there was something odd about him, but I can't put my finger on it," Naruto said. "I was too panicked with him charging at me, but I know there was something strange about him!"

Hinata shook her head. "Naruto isn't the only one who saw him. It was my Chespin who was closest to him, and he noticed that his chest was badly bruised, like he had been slammed into something during the crash."

"How do you-? Wait, let me guess: your Psychic-type told you," Sasuke grunted.

"Yes," Hinata said, nodding. "Then Kikyo and Chespin decided to Teleport after the Quilava."

"Why would they want to help him? He pinned Chespin, lunged at Naruto, and set fire to the forest before running off. Not exactly the best first impression," Sakura pointed out.

"Because he's hurt and lost; that's reason enough," Hinata said. "If he is a smuggled Pokémon, then he could have been stolen from his trainer, or maybe he's been abused or experimented on. It's not right to just abandon him."

"He's also clearly dangerous," Sakura pointed out, holding up the broken remains of the Pokéball he had smashed before fleeing. "From the looks of it, this was his; he obviously does not want to be captured again. Even if we offered him help, I doubt he'll accept it."

Naruto stepped up. "Hinata's right- it's a trainer's responsibility to help any Pokémon in distress, even if they don't want your help." He looked at Hinata. "Come on, let's go Quilava hunting!"

"What about the smuggled Pokéballs, the police," Sakura said angrily. "We can't just drop everything!"

"Then don't; you and Sasuke deal with this, and we'll save that Quilava," Naruto said, clapping Hinata on the shoulder and flashing a mischievous grin.

"I know what you're scheming! You just want that Quilava for yourself!" Sasuke said accusingly.

"Duh. I was planning on chasing after him before Hinata pointed out he was hurt! When else am I going to find such a rare and awesome Pokémon?" Naruto said shamelessly. "The fact that we're helping him makes it all serenade-ious!"

"You mean serendipitous," Sakura pointed out flatly.

"I've heard it both ways." Naruto turned to Hinata. "You don't mind me catching him, do you?"

"…well, we're going to have to catch him anyway to take him to the Pokémon center, so I guess it's okay," Hinata said.

Sasuke growled and rolled his eyes. "Fine, do what you want." He walked away started picking up the scattered Pokéballs, before looking over at Sakura and grunting, "Call the cops already."

"Come on," Naruto said to Hinata, leaving as Sakura pulled out her Pokénav to make the call. Kubo and Sora followed close behind them.

Sakura finished her call and told Sasuke the police told her it would take about an hour for them to arrive (they had been able to determine her location with her 'nav), to which Sasuke just grunted. Sighing, Sakura decided to just help Sasuke gather up the balls. "How many do you think there are?" she asked, trying to keep some sort of conversation going.

"How would I know?" Sasuke said simply.

Wincing, Sakura looked back at the van. "Let me see if there's a list or something." She stepped inside the back of it, looking around.

Sasuke looked up and rolled his eyes disdainfully. "What sort of idiotic criminal would keep something as incriminating as a list of smuggled Pokémon-?"

"I found something!" Sakura said suddenly, jumping out of the van with a tablet. It was blackened from the fire and had a cracked screen, but it was still working. Sakura fiddled with it. "Yeah, it has a list of each Pokémon- uck! According to this, they were all experimented on! Some of these were really horrible!"

That bit of information caused Sasuke to pause. "…well, it's a good thing we're here to rescue them, right?"

"Oh, these poor things," Sakura sigh, sitting on the back of the van as she read through the list. "There's one Pokémon subject that needs assistance breathing…and another one has uncontrollable mood swings! Who could knowingly do this to Pokémon?"

Ochako hopped up next to her and tried to snuggle reassuring against her trainer.

"It's a cruel world," Sasuke offered blandly. Oddly, Sasuke found himself wishing he could offer something more. He looked around, not sure what to do as Sakura continued to read through the list. After a while, an idea came to him. "Hey, send that to your teacher."

"What? You mean Prof. Tsunade?" Sakura asked, looking up.

"Yes. She's an incredible medical doctor. She'll be able to do a lot more with that list than you," Sasuke explained.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Sakura said, looking much more hopeful than she was a moment ago. "I'll have to call her first and explain. Then I'll email it her! Thank you Sasuke!"

Sasuke allowed a small smile to play across his face. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Bayushi smirking at him, and Sasuke forced his face back into a frown. "Ah, shut up."

Bayushi just smiled evilly.

Ignoring the Eevee, Sasuke glanced back at Sakura and the tablet. "…if that thing has that detailed list of experiments on it, I wonder if it has even more information about Team Snake's operations?" he mused to himself. Technically, Sasuke had no reason not think Team Snake was involved in this, but he automatically assumed most crimes of Pokémon experimentation and smuggling involved the team. "If it does…man, Dad's going to be so proud of me-" he paused, correcting himself "-proud of us for finding it!"

A hundred feet away, up in a tree, Zaku lowered his binoculars and looked over at his Golbat. "Houndoom it, they found the manifest! We can't let them keep it, or we're dead!"

-0o0o0-

"Hey Hinata, I just realized something," Naruto said as they cut their way through the woods. They had managed to catch up with Hinata's Pokémon, and were now following the Quilava's trail of charred wood and ash. Occasionally, there was the sound of a fiery explosion from up ahead; encouragingly, they were sounding closer and closer.

"What is it?" Hinata asked as Naruto climbed over fallen tree.

"It's just that you haven't named your Chespin yet," Naruto pointed out as he held her over the tree.

The revelation was so shocking Hinata nearly fell over. "O-Oh! I didn't mean to forget," she stammered, looking over at her Chespin apologetically.

"Chespin-Chespin!" her Pokémon gasped, holding up his hands as if to say 'That's alright!'. Next to him, Kikyo nodded in agreement.

"It's not a bad thing. I mean, as soon as you caught him, we were almost hit by a truck!" Naruto pointed out. "And it's not like you can think of his name right now!"

"Chespin!" Hinata's Chespin said, agreeing with Naruto.

A series of explosions sounded off, this time very, very close. They were also punctuated by a chorus of pained cries…ones that undoubtedly came from Murkrow.

"That's just up ahead!" Naruto said, leading the group forward.

They came across a clearing. One that was now a fiery battlefield.

A murder of Murkrow, likely the same one from earlier, was attempting to mob the Quilava. Attempting being the operative word, as the Quilava had other ideas. Screaming like a demon, the Fire-type fought the murder with fang, claw, and fire. He grabbed one Murkrow as it attempted to divebomb him and used it as a shield against another, burning three more with a single Flamethrower; the blast was much more explosive and forceful than could be considered normal, Naruto noticed. More Murkrow attempted to gang up upon the Quilava from behind, driving him to the ground, only to be blasted off by the Quilava releasing fire from his flame-vents. He jumped to his feet, releasing a challenging roar for the rest of them to try and take him.

Now Naruto realized what was different about this Quilava. Instead of having dark blue-green fur on his face and back, the creature before them had a black coat, with prominent red markings around his flame-vents. He was an intimidating sight, and even injured, the Murkrow who could still fight were hesitating to continue. Irritated, the Quilava roared at them again, punctuating his challenge by releasing an explosion of scarlet flames that lit up everything around him. With that, the Murkrow apparently decided they'd taken enough of a beating and flew off. Smirking, the Quilava fired a steam of flames after them.

"Black and red, the universally established warpaint of He Who Is Not To Be Messed With," Naruto joked aloud without thinking about it.

"Look, he's hurt," Hinata said urgently.

The Quilava turned to face Naruto and Hinata, noticing them for the first time. Automatically, he bared his teeth and lit his flame-vents, ready for a fight. Even so, Naruto could tell Hinata was right. The Quilava's chest was badly bruised, and each breath he drew was labored and difficult, though Naruto couldn't tell if it was because of the injury or because he was exhausted from fighting off the Murkrow murder. A dozen cuts, scrapes, and other injuries covered his body- he might have been able to drive his attackers away, but the Quilava was in no shape to be celebrating. Even so, the Quilava refused to show weakness, growling hatefully and tensing for another fight.

"Whoa, there, buddy!" Naruto said, holding up both hands. "We're not here to hurt you- we just want to help- AHH!"

Without warning, the Quilava blasted a Flamethrower at Naruto. Luckily, Kubo reacted like lightning, throwing a Water Pulse into the flames- the fire was doused, but the steam and concussive force was enough to make Naruto to jump backwards.

"What the Houndoom was that for?!" Naruto demanded. "We're trying to help you!" Kubo jumped before his trainer and readied another Water Pulse, with Sora running up next to him, preparing to charge forward.

"QUIIIIIIIL!" the Quilava growled hatefully, making it clear he didn't want their help. He drew in another deep breath, likely for a Flamethrower, but stopped, coughing and falling to his knees, his flame-vents sputtering for a second before going out.

"Stop that!" Hinata said, stepping forward. "You're going to kill yourself if you keep that up!"

"Chespin ches," her Chespin said, walking over and offering an understanding hand towards the injured Pokémon.

Far from moved by the gesture, the Quilava scoffed and lit his flame-vents. The vents blazed for about half a second before choking out, and Quilava to fell to the floor. He struggled to his knees, glaring hatefully at the Chespin.

"Ch-Chespin!" Hinata's Chespin insisted, telling the Quilava that he needed help.

The Quilava continued trying to light his flame-vents, struggling so hard he fell to the floor.

Kikyo peaked out from behind Hinata's legs; she had jumped behind her trainer as soon as the Quilava first lashed out. The Fire-type was sending waves of anger and hate that the Ralts could feel even without trying. Yet she sensed something else. Pushing her fear aside, Kikyo opened herself to the Quilava's emotions, letting them wash over her. At first, it was a just a flood of red-hot anger, but just as Kikyo expected, she felt something else within him. Something she had not expected. Gasping, Kikyo grasped Hinata's hand to speak to her telepathically. …Anger, trying to hide it all, but I see wounded pride underneath that…and fear, beneath it all, hidden from even himself…

Hinata thought about what Kikyo had told her for a moment, and about what Sasuke had mentioned. If this Quilava was being smuggled, that was a sure sign his owner wasn't a very good person. It was also safe to assume that the Quilava hadn't been treated kindly, to say the least. Of course he'd be angry and scared- he probably was thinking that Naruto and Hinata were going to hurt him, just as every other human he knew had. The soft and quiet approach would only make him suspicious. So, Hinata decided to try a different method.

"Enough, you're not going to prove anything to anyone by doing that," she said in a firm, even voice. Strong enough to assert authority, but not condescending or pitying. It was easy to tell that the Quilava would react poorly to pity. "We're just going to treat your injures. Nothing more. Kikyo, use Life Dew on him, please."

"Quil!" the Quilava insisted, snapping at Hinata.

"He's not going to cooperate," Naruto said, putting a hand on Hinata' shoulder. "Maybe we should just knock 'em out first?" Behind him, Kubo raised a Water Pulse orb threateningly.

Kikyo and Chespin gasped at the suggestion.

"No," Hinata said evenly, motioning for her two Pokémon to remain calm. "Just…hold him down, please."

"Chespin," her Chespin nodded, restraining the Quilava with Vine Whip.

The Quilava fought desperately to get freed, and even managed to bite down on a vine before Kubo and Sora moved in and grabbed a hold of him. Even Naruto started to help out. "Do you want to die, you psycho?" the blond grunted, trying to ignore how his hands were already slick with blood as he and the others held down the screaming Fire-type.

While the group started to administer medical treatment to their unwilling patient, they didn't notice a pair of Murkrow land on a nearby branch. Behind them, their murder's Honchkrow alpha landed on another branch, giving the whole situation a judging eye.

"Krowkrow!" the first Murkow tattled, saying that the Quilava was the 'mon that had bullied them. The second one joined in, accusingly pointing at Hinata and Naruto and explaining that they were the humans that had saved the egg thief they'd been chasing.

The Big Boss Pokémon scoffed disdainfully. Was that so?

Hinata was walking around the group to inspect the Quilava's injuries from the other side when she saw a blast of billowing darkness rushing towards the helpless Quilava.

"LOOKOUT!" she screamed, jumping between the Quilava and the Dark Pulse attack. She drew all the Aura she had into a flicking shield. The shield took the initial hit, but even then, the Dark Pulse had enough force to knock her ten feet backwards.

And then all hell broke loose.

-0o0o0-

"There, Tsunade just received all the information on the experiments," Sakura explained happily. She was still sitting at the back of the van, holding her Pokénav with the tablet nearby.

"Good," Sasuke said simply, gathering up the few remaining black Pokéballs he could find. The ones they found were back in the crate, which seemed the best place to keep them until the police arrived. "Say, how many balls are there supposed to be?" Sasuke asked as he deposited what he had gathered into the crate.

Sakura turned the tablet back on and counted. "…fifteen, unless not all of them were listed."

"We've got thirteen here, plus the Quilava Hinata and Naruto went after, leaving only one missing," Sasuke pointed out, looking around. "Do you see the last one anywhere?"

Sakura shook her head, and Sasuke ordered his team to spread out and see if they could find it.

"Maybe it fell out of the van before it crashed?" Sakura suggested. "Don't worry about it too much; I'm sure the police can handle it."

"We're the ones who found this; we should get credit for finding them," Sasuke said quietly to himself. He looked up and saw Sakura skimming through the tablet again. "Hey, maybe you shouldn't be messing with that anymore."

"Why?"

"Because it's broken and its evidence," Sasuke pointed out. "If you somehow cause it to crash or die and the lose all its data, think of what that would mean."

"But we sent the medical info to Tsunade, so that's safe" Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah, but there could be other stuff on that thing; information regarding who was doing the smuggling, where they got the shipment from, where it was going- that sort of thing," Sasuke explained.

Sakura sighed, put the tablet down next to her, and went back to her Pokénav. "Fine; I had to send the medical data to my email so I could send it to Tsunade, so I read through that."

"Or you could help me look for the last ball," Sasuke pointed out in a deadpan voice.

"But Sasuke, this is really interesting…even if it is horrible that someone would do this to Pokémon," Sakura said with a playful whine. "Like this one: Subject 625! This one has a unique immunity to pheromonal and mental attacks that protects it from being affected by moves like Taunt or Attract. Apparently, it sounds like they gave the Oblivious ability to a Pokémon!"

"Hmm, fascinating," Sasuke said, looking under a bush. He spotted something dark and round. "Ah, found it." He reached out and grabbed the object. Sure enough, it was the familiar smooth, cool touch of a Pokéball.

"Yeah, well, I think the idea of being able to give a Dewott such an ability is just amazing!" Sakura said insistently.

"-did you just say 'Dewott'?" Sasuke asked, turning the ball over in his hand to see the number '625' branded on the front.

"Yes…why?" Sakura asked, peering over at Sasuke, who had his back to her. "Did you find it?" she asked excitedly.

"…no. No, it was just a rock." The lie escaped Sasuke's mouth before he could help it. Gulping, he quickly picked up a rock with his right hand and showed it to Sakura, while still holding the black Pokéball out of her view.

"Shinx?" At Sasuke's left, Akodo looked at his trainer questioningly, having seen the whole affair. Sasuke gulped slowly, trying to tell his Pokémon not to say anything without tipping Sakura off.

The sound of rapid wingbeats suddenly filled the air. Everyone turned to find out what was happening, only for a horrible, piercing screech to fill in their ears.

The wave of sound hit Akodo directly, causing the Shinx to hiss and swipe at unseen foes madly. Sasuke realized it was a Supersonic attack.

"Ambush!" Sasuke shouted, though it was obvious at this point.

Their assailant was a Golbat, who was attempting to hit their teams with another Supersonic, only for Togashi to drive him back with Flamethrower. As the giant bat and Togashi circled one another, Akodo continued to attack in Confusion, nearly hitting Sasuke with Spark. "Akodo, get ahold of yourself!" Sasuke ordered, jumping backwards.

Bayushi ran between them, ready to fight, but Sakura intervened. "Ochako, Aromatherapy!"

The Chikorita's perfumed mist did the trick, causing the Shinx to regain control of his senses. However, Sasuke was more concerned with the Golbat, which was now throwing Air Cutters wildly. One landed on the van right next to Sakura, causing the girl to scream and dive to the ground.

"Akodo, put a stop to that thing!" Sasuke ordered.

Growling at the chance to prove his mettle, the Shinx leaped into action, quickly climbing up a tree and launching himself at the Golbat, who was too busy dodging Togashi's Flamethrowers to notice him until the Shinx had rammed into the Golbat with a Spark attack.

"BAAAAAA!" the bat screeched, staggering back and then flying away in a panic.

Akodo made a perfect four-point landing and grinned, looking rather pleased with himself. He turned back to his trainer, who was helping Sakura to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked.

"I think so," Sakura said slowly. She looked off in the direction the Golbat had fled. "What was that about?"

"The Zubat line is notorious for attacking people without provocation; you need repel just to get through a cave without them swarming you," Sasuke said. He looked around, trying to see if anything was amiss…and then glowered, kneeling down.

"Ah no!" Sakura gasped, noticing what Sasuke had found; the smuggler's tablet had been hit by one of the stray Air Cutters, breaking it in two. "Sasuke, I'm sorry! It's my fault- I should have put it away like you said-"

"No…don't worry about it," Sasuke said, his voice a carefully neutral. "It was…just a freak accident," he added slowly. However, privately, he was wondering just how luckily the smuggler was that the main piece of evidence was now destroyed.

"Well, at least we still have the medical info," Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke nodded, then turned back to their Pokémon. "Good job everyone. Especially you, Akodo," he added, giving a meaningful look to his Shinx. "I can always depend on you to have our backs."

"Shi-shinx," Akodo said, looking hesitant for a moment before bowing respectfully to his trainer.

While Sakura was somewhat puzzled by the exchange, Sasuke just smiled and reached into his jacket to feel the ball containing the Dewott, which he had been able to hide away during the confusion of the Golbat attack.

-0o0o0-

Before Naruto could start to run to Hinata's prone form, a flurry of black feathers shoved its way past him. It was a Honchkrow, which swooped down, seized the Quilava by the throat, and then flew up into the air. While the Honchkrow attacked the Quilava, Naruto found himself being assaulted from behind by one of the Big Boss Pokémon's Murkrow minions. "Getoffame!" Naruto shouted, slamming his back into a tree.

"BAAAAAG!" Sora roared, rushing to aid his trainer. Something long and wet quickly wrapped around his middle and pulled him backwards, just in time to evade a divebomb attack from the second Murkrow. Kubo landed in front of the Bagon, pulling his tongue back in before quickly motioning for Sora to back him up.

As the chaos around him erupted, Chespin backed away, scared and unsure what to do. Everyone was under attack, except for his trainer, who was laying on the ground unconscious- at least Chespin hoped she was just unconscious. Kikyo was by her side, trying to administer Life Dew and wake her up, but the Ralts had already spent a lot of her energy healing everyone else. Everything was going wrong!

Chespin looked back at the situation. Kubo had lassoed the one Murkrow with his tongue and brought it down to the ground, so that Sora could attack it in melee.

Meanwhile, Naruto had forced the Murkrow attacking him off his back, and was now warding it off by swinging his backpack at it.

Even up in the sky, as the Honchkrow gleefully throttled the Quilava, the weakened Fire-type was still clawing and biting at his captor's talons. Chespin couldn't be the only one doing nothing!

Chespin's was acting before he realized it, pulling himself into the air with Vine Whip. Something about his trainer's rescue of him flashed into his mind. Didn't she say 'aim high'? Chespin thought as he swung himself up close to Honchkrow.

"Krow?" the Big Boss squawked in confusion as the airborne Chespin twisted himself so that his spines were pointing towards its face.

"Ches-PIN!" The Grass-type launched a Pin Missile assault, blasting the Honchkrow in the face at point-blank range.

The Honchkrow screamed in agony, dropping Quilava as it fell backwards, trying to shield its damaged face. Before the Fire-type could hit the ground, Chespin grabbed him by the hand, he himself hanging from the branches by Vine Whip. "Chespin, Chesche?" Hinata's Pokémon asked, checking to see if the Quilava was okay as he lowered him down.

Quilava responded by angrily shouting that he didn't need his pity. He dropped to the ground, doing his best to keep his knees from wobbling.

"HONCHKROW!" The Dark-type had recovered and returned to the air, screaming for vengeance. Blood was streaming from its left eye, which was tightly shut. For a brief second, Chespin felt guilty over the injury, but then the Honchkrow screamed at him again, promising to punish him horribly for this. Then the Big Boss Pokémon turned towards Kikyo and the unconscious Hinata, and then back at Chespin, smiling horribly. It drew in its power, loosing a Dark Pulse at the helpless trainer.

It was a split-second decision; Chespin threw himself in the way of the blast. He was knocked down, falling to the ground and skidding several feet. He winced, trying to force himself up. In the distance somewhere, he could hear Naruto screaming at the monstrous Honchkrow, and more blasts and fighting, but his senses were disorientated, with everything spinning.

Then a new sound pieced through the haze. A war cry of unrelenting rage and hate. A burning light flashed on, blinding Chespin for a moment. Then he realized it wasn't a light. It was fire.

Focusing, Chespin was able to look up just in time to see the Quilava unleashing the biggest inferno of flame he had ever seen. It wasn't just hitting the Honchkrow. It was consuming it so much that the enemy Pokémon couldn't even be seen amid the flames. The Quilava's flame-vents were not just lit- they were blasting out flames twice as big as before. Chespin wasn't sure how the Quilava was doing it. A moment ago, he was too injured and tired to even let out a spark. Now, it was like he was going to consume the whole forest in flames. And all all the while, he was screaming from high heaven to low hell.

Finally, the flood of flames ebbed. The Quilava collapsed, grasping and hacking up smoke. As Hinata's Chespin ran to him, Naruto noticed the Honchkrow's burnt form land some distance away, still smoking. The bird's minions noticed too, as they both had already flown the coop. Scoffing, Naruto swung his backpack back on and ran to Hinata's side.

"How is she?" Naruto asked Kikyo.

"Ralts," she responded, sending waves of reassurance and calm to Naruto. …She is just stunned…her Aura shield blocked most of the attack…

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you!" he said, reaching over and giving the Ralts an affectionate pat on the head. He noticed that the small Pokémon was exhausted and sweaty, barely able to stand. She must have used all her energy to make sure her trainer was alright. "Man, you all pulled double-time today; you're getting the best meal there is when we get back to the Pokécenter!" he promised, turning to look at his own crew as well. As he did so, Naruto came across Hinata's Chespin and the Quilava.

"Chesi Chesche," Chespin said, stroking the other Pokémon on the back, as if trying to tell him to take it easy.

"Quilava," the other Pokémon said in a dark, threatening tone. Naruto couldn't speak Pokémon, but he was pretty sure it translated to something like 'I hate you'.

"Yeah, we love you too, you punk," Naruto grunted. "But seriously, you've got to lay down- what are you doing?!"

The Quilava had forced himself to his feet. Hinata's Chespin had tried helping him, but he was shoved away. Then the Quilava took one step forward, and then another. Slowly, purposefully, the Fire-type forced himself to walk over to Hinata and Naruto.

Naruto tensed, and Sora and Kubo both moved to block the Quilava, but Kikyo called out to them, asking them to move aside. Confused, they obliged.

Ignoring everything else, the Quilava kept his purposeful walk forward, until at last he was next to Hinata. The Fire-type hesitated, then looked at the unconscious girl and steeled himself, ripping the Ultra Ball from her belt.

"Wait, are you-?" Naruto began.

With a look on his face that suggested he already regretted what he was about to do, the Quilava caught himself.

-0o0o0-

…Several Hours Later…

-0o0o0-

Once the police arrived, things seemed to blur together for the next few hours. Hinata had been allowed to rest at the Pokécenter with their teams, but Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had to give statements about what had happened. The officers questioning them were somewhat skeptical of their story, especially Naruto's part, but luckily, one of them was a member of the Uchiha family. So after giving their statements, the heroes were free to go.

"It must be nice having a family that's so connected in law enforcement," Sakura said as they made their way to the Pokécenter.

"Hmph, half the time, the low-ranking family members are resentful when they meet me; we're just lucky this guy didn't decide to try and get me in trouble out of spite," Sasuke pointed out.

"Hey, thanks for going along with my story, guys," Naruto said.

Before the police arrived, Naruto had convinced the others to not mention that the Quilava was one of the 'mons being smuggled. Instead, they told the story as if he was one of Hinata's Pokémon. Sakura was hesitant to lie to the police, but Sasuke had instantly agreed, so she caved in as well. The fact that Sasuke was so eager to lie to the police was shocking to Sakura; in fact, she thought that Sasuke had gotten nervous when questioned about how many Pokemon they had managed to find, and if any were missing. But that was silly, Sakura realized. Sasuke had nothing to be nervous about!

They found Hinata and their teams in the Pokécenter's recreational area. To Naruto's relief, it looked like Hinata was perfectly fine. "Hey Hinata, feeling okay?"

"I'm just fine," Hinata said, smiling gently. "I'm sorry for making you all worry."

"Is every day with you going to involve reckless danger?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto angrily elbowed him, then changed the subject. "The cops congratulated us for being good citizens and let us go. They said they'd call our parents, though, to let them know we'd helped save smuggled Pokémon."

Hinata blushed at the thought. "We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time." She turned to look off in the corner. "W-What about him?"

She was talking about the Quilava- no, her Quilava, who was sulking silently in the corner. The center had been able to heal up his injuries, though Hinata was warned that he should avoid strenuous activity for at least a few days, if not longer.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well…we might have told the police that he was your Pokémon, rather than one of the experiments being smuggled. Considering Screamy the Quilava caught himself, I guessed it would be important to you to keep him."

Hinata nodded. "Y-Yes, it is…I'm sorry you had to lie for me."

"Think nothing of it. It's what friends are for," Naruto said happily. "But seriously, I'm not even sure why he even did that, after all the hell he raised trying to refuse our help!"

"I suppose you know?" Sakura asked playfully, looking over at Kikyo.

The Ralts blushed and nodded.

"Y-Yes, I was able to get him to explain himself," Hinata said. "Well…he wasn't willing to say anything about his past, but…he said that he never saw a human care about a Pokémon. He didn't think that a human would ever protect a Pokémon. So, he was shocked that I stepped in to protect him, even though I had no reason to. So, I guess you could say he feels that he owes me, for protecting him…and he had never seen Aura powers before, and wants to see more." She smiled softly, and added, "And even though he won't admit it, I think he was impressed with how my Chespin moved to save him and me both."

"Ches!" her Chespin cheered, looking very proud of himself.

From his corner, the Quilava growled angrily, insisting that was a lie!

"Well, lucky you!" Naruto said happily. "You started the day with no captures, and ended it with not one, but two Pokémon. Both of them are brave and loyal, and both of them starters, too! So…what are you going to name them?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject.

Hinata laughed gently. "Actually, I did decide on a name for both of them." She turned to her Chespin first. "After some talking, we decided on Midoriya; it means 'green valley'."

Midoriya smiled proudly, puffing out his chest.

Naruto nodded, and pointed over at Quilava. "And what about pouty in the back there?"

"Well, he didn't seem to care about his name, so the rest of us-" Hinata motioned to Midoriya and Kikyo "-decided on Katsuki."

"Katsuki? Doesn't that mean victory?" Sakura pointed out.

Hinata nodded. "Exactly! That's why I thought it suited him."

From his corner, Katsuki allowed himself a very small smile.