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.

6. Chapter 6: Supernatural Showdown

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Disclaimer

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

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Author's Note

I'm so proud of myself; this is the first time I've gotten a new chapter done within a month of posting the last one. And at last, I've been able to post a Halloween-themed chapter on Halloween! That's one thing I can strike off my bucket list! And that's all I'll say. You guys just wanna get to the fic, and I agree!

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Review Response

Dude: Glad someone noticed the Psych reference. I love that show. I enjoy peppering references in my fic. I have several peppered in this chapter. Can you identify them?

HarunoWolf17: Long review. Those are always enjoyable. I am glade you noticed all the MHA references. You could say Ochako was a MHA reference, though her name turned out to be a happy coincidence; she was named such because Ochako means 'tea child', and I thought it fit. Chikorita have pleasant smells, and the smell of tea seemed to fit the personality I planned for her. Later, when I got into MHA, I realized the connection, and decided to go with that for Sakura's theme- notice that her Beldum is named Tetsu, after Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. Ironically, I did not plan on Hinata's team having any references to My Hero Academia. However, after realizing that her Quilava's personality fit Katsuki, I decided to go with it. Naturally, this also meant that her Chespin was named after Midoriya. As for Sakura and Todoroki, well I have plans for her team. Interestingly, you and a lot of other people asked about Todoroki. Seems like a popular idea. And no, Sasuke's Dewott will not be a Todoroki reference; for starters, I still plan on Dewott being female. I plan on the heroes catching their teams faster this time around…my last fic took things much too slow, which bogged everything else down. As for Athena and Hermes…I loved them, but I am not sure they'll fit with Sakura's new team dynamic. Note that I do plan on Sakura having a maternal Pokémon, along with a baby one, so you could say that Athena and Hermes are going to be joined with new team members. And that's all I'll tell about Sakura's team. Don't want to give too many spoilers yet. Thank you for your loyalty as a reader.

mwto: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much. Ironically, Quilava was not supposed to go to Hinata. My original plan was for Naruto to catch him, with Hinata getting Chespin. Then I considered having them catch the other one, and eventually trade. But then I realized that Katsuki's abrasive personality was more interesting with Hinata, rather than Naruto. That's why last chapter took so long to post- I rewrote the whole thing twice before I liked the storyline. As for Murkrow, I'll be honest- I don't foresee anyone catching one of them. I've got their teams mostly planned, and no one has roome for Murkrow. Itachi does technically run his teahouse still, though he likely doesn't actually manage it directly with his current schedule. I actually plan on him playing a major role in the upcoming Teakgrove Gym story. And that's all I'll say for now.

WhiskeyPeak: I do not plan on Naruto getting a Poison-type, though it is a possibility. I plan on the Toxicity appearing, though.

Dreaming of the Phoenix: Yes, as a rule of thumb, when one person expresses desire for a Pokemon, odds are, someone else is going to catch it. That's something that's happened several times in my writing (which means it might be getting old; I'll have to keep that in mind). Sasuke and Dewott will be much more important in upcoming chapters (you see a bit of their dynamics here, but not much). Sasuke's actions WILL have consequences (stealing a Pokemon, even from a villainous team, is still stealing).

Guests: Yes, Kakashi will appear. He's the current leader of the Elite Four; an Electric specialist. Everyone loves the MHA references, so I suppose I'll have to add a few more- mostly, I plan on Sakura's team having a MHA theme, though it is not exclusive to her. Galarian Darmanitan seems like an obvious choice for a Todoroki reference, though I might add my own twist to that. Hehe. That's the only hint I'll give on it. PS: the Wood Hammer idea was so good I included it in this chapter. Thanks!

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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), Midoriya (Chespin, male), Katsuki (Quilava, male, genetically altered)

Badges & Awards: None

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Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 6

Supernatural Showdown

Though it was near midday, a heavy fog hung in the air, obscuring the woods.

After yesterday's escapade, Naruto and the others had woken up early and headed for the Palewood Estate, at Sasuke's insistence. Currently, they had stopped to take a break and have lunch. Which was lucky, since Sakura also received a call from Tsunade…but not too lucky, considering they had been expecting it.

Hinata had voiced concern about the newest member of her team. Katsuki had been subjected to experiments. Experiments which had apparently changed his physiology enough to make his fur black and his fire extra hot. As such, Hinata had been worried that his altered physiology might have dangerous side effects on his health. When she told the others about it, Sakura offered a simple solution: have the Pokécenter do a complete medical scan on Katsuki, and then send the results to Prof. Tsunade. With both that and the data Sakura had retrieved from the smuggler's tablet, surely a doctor as brilliant as Tsunade would be able to find out if there was anything wrong with Katsuki. The Quilava was given a full check-up by the center, which was then sent to Tsunade, who promised to have an answer for them by noon.

"I completed a full analysis of the scans you sent me, and I thought you'd like the results," Tsunade said over the vid-call.

Hinata nodded, too nervous to trust her voice, to which Tsunade laughed. "No need to look so grim. Your Quilava is in wonderful health" Prof. Tsunade explained.

"See, I told you he was perfectly normal," Sakura said, patting Hinata on the back.

"I didn't say that; I said he was in wonderful health," Tsunade pointed out quickly. "However, there are a few things I'd like to talk to you about: one being his aggression. After comparing Katsuki's biology to that of a standard Quilava, I think I found the reason why your little hellion is always so angry. His Fire-pouch produces a nitroglycerin-based fuel. This makes his Fire-type attacks much stronger than those of a standard Quilava. However, aside from being a powerful explosive, nitroglycerin is also used as a medicine to lower blood pressure and heartrate, and it can lower both to dangerous level in high doses. So, to counteract this, it looks like Katsuki's body naturally releases large amounts of adrenaline, which can boost heartrate, but also increase aggression levels. And I mean, his body produces really large amounts of it. In other words, he's in a state of constant stress and irritation."

"Wait, so you're saying he's angry because he's got no choice?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "Biology is only part of the equation. Which brings me to my second point: Katsuki is only in an adolescent, but I noticed he's had more injuries than many veteran battlers. Many of the injures were quite serious."

Hinata's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"From his x-rays, I can tell that he's had several broken bones, a number of bad lacerations, and what looks to be battlefield surgery after something punctured his torso," Tsunade explained. "Injuries of that severity are not caused by normal Pokémon battles. League standards are designed to prevent such things, outside of freak accidents. For such a young Pokémon to have experienced so many serious injuries…well, in my experience, I've seen cases like this before, with Pokémon rescued from underground fight clubs."

"Fight clubs? You mean the kind where Pokémon are forced to fight within an inch of death?" Hinata asked, gasping.

"Often times, it's until one of them are dead," Sasuke said. "My dad said League investigators were closing in on a fight club run by Team Snake in Oakcrown city about a week before we left. Maybe the smuggled Pokémon we found were part of it, being shipped to a new location?"

"Possibly," Tsunade admitted. She turned to Hinata. "But that's beside the point. Considering that Katsuki likely came from that kind of environment, I'd say his aggressive nature is how he survived. The question is: do you think you'll be able to handle him, and all the baggage he comes with?"

"Uh…" Hinata took a moment to think about what Tsunade was suggesting. "Well, I'm his trainer now, so should I even be asking those sorts of questions? He's my responsibility."

"Sometimes, a trainer has to be responsible enough to understand that they can't handle a Pokémon's needs," Tsunade pointed out. "If you don't think you can handle him, there would be no shame in saying so; I can easily arrange for Katsuki to be sent to someone who's been trained to deal with special cases like him."

"What makes you think she can't handle him?" Naruto said, interjecting. "Have a little faith, Granny!"

"Don't call Prof. Tsunade that. And more importantly, keep a realistic mindset," Sakura said, pushing Naruto to the side. "She's bringing up a good point: Hinata is a beginning trainer. She might not feel ready for a responsibility as big as caring for a violent, aggressive Pokémon!"

"You were so supportive of her yesterday, traitor!" Naruto retorted.

"That was before finding out the little hellion is both biologically predisposed to violence and has a history in blood-sports," Sakura said. "That makes raising him a whole different challenge!"

"Perhaps that's what she needs?" Sasuke said, suddenly stepping in. "A journey is all about finding and overcoming challenges as a trainer. Walking away from a challenge because it was unexpected defeats the purpose of it."

Soon, everyone else was arguing over the point.

Hinata was torn between being amused by what had developed, and annoyed that they had left her out of the conversation…even though everyone was talking about her!

She cleared her throat loudly. When that didn't work, she pushed her way through the others and rapped her knuckles on the table next to Sakura's Pokénav (which was displaying Tsunade's image for the call).

"Excuse me," Hinata said, finally grabbing their attention, "But I have something to say about this." Once everyone quieted down, she continued. "I…I admit, I am afraid of not being able to handle Katsuki. He's not the sort of Pokémon I planned on catching. And I don't have much experience as a trainer…he probably would be better off with someone who's worked with difficult Pokémon before. However," she added as Naruto tried to speak up in protest, "the fact is, I didn't choose Katsuki…Katsuki chose me. Even after suffering abuse at the hands of humans, he wanted to be my Pokémon. He wanted to be my Pokémon so strongly that he didn't ask me; he caught himself! Considering what we know about him, that took a huge amount of respect and trust. If I send him away now, I'd be betraying that trust." Hinata paused, taking in a deep breath. "So, Prof. Tsunade, I must respectfully decline your offer. I think the best place for Katsuki is here, with me. Thank you." She bowed her head respectfully, face blushing a little.

Tsunade smiled and responded in kind.

From the sidelines, Sasuke leaned over to Naruto. "Sheesh, I thought all we wanted was a quick check-up? Not all this drama."

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After Tsunade's call, the group enjoyed a peaceful lunch. Naruto had come across several berry trees during their hike, so their teams got an extra special lunch of freshly picked berries. For the most part, everyone's teams sat together, eating and chatting…except for Katsuki. He sat away from the group, back turned to them, brooding.

"Hey Sasuke, looks like we found your Pokémon counterpart," Naruto said teasingly. "He's dark, brooding, and tries too hard to be edgy."

Katsuki overhead Naruto and turned to look over his shoulder at the boy, shouting threateningly and blowing smoke at him.

Naruto laughed. "And he has no sense of humor! It's like you two were separated from birth!"

"Bite me," Sasuke grunted.

"Please don't make fun of Katsuki," Hinata asked, sighing.

"Ah, come on, he's got to learn to lighten up and have some fun," Naruto whined.

"Perhaps, but that takes time. For now, I'd appreciate it if you didn't provoke him," Hinata said.

Sakura noticed Sasuke was looking thoughtfully at their Pokémon eating together. "Is something wrong?"

Sasuke grunted. "No…I'm just curious: how long to do you think a Pokémon can stay in a Pokéball without being let out?"

Sakura blinked. "That's a little…off-topic. Uh, why do you ask?"

"I said I was curious," Sasuke said in an annoyed tone.

"No need to be upset! I'm just a bit surprised. Umm, hmm, I think the trainer guidelines say that a Pokémon can remain digitalized inside their Pokéball for up to a month in the most serious cases, but it's strongly recommended that trainers never leave them in their balls for longer than a week. In fact, trainers should let them out every day." She paused, and added, "It was actually a quiz question on one of our tests. I'm surprised you don't remember."

"I do! I just wanted to be sure," Sasuke snapped.

"Why would anyone even keep their Pokémon confined for so long?" Naruto asked, suddenly joining in. "My parents let their Pokémon roam around the house and yard and don't even bother recalling them to their balls unless they have to."

"Sometimes trainers have to keep a Pokémon confined for one reason or another, such as injury or the Pokémon being too dangerous to be allowed out," Sakura pointed out. "Inside the Pokéball, a Pokémon's physiology is slowed down and monitored, so they don't need to be fed and any poisons or diseases in their systems are reduced to a crawl. It's sometimes for the best. Though, prolonged periods in balls can be disorienting and depressing for Pokémon, especially if they are not used to it."

"Okay. But none of us have anything like that to worry about," Naruto said, shrugging. "My father taught me that I should have my team out as much as possible, so we have lots of chances to bond together. How else can you build trust?"

Subtly, Sasuke reached into his jacket pocket and touched the Pokéball he had stolen yesterday. A twang of guilt rang though him, but he pushed it aside.

Meanwhile, the Pokémon were having a conversation of their own.

"[So, are you enjoying being a trainer's Pokémon so far?]" Ochako asked, directing the question toward Midoriya.

"[It's really nice!]" the Chespin said, smiling broadly. "[I'm really looking forward to learning about battling and gyms and-]"

Katsuki scoffed loudly without turning around.

"[…well, at least we have one new teammate who's worthwhile,]" Bayushi said, glaring at the Quilava's back.

"[You shouldn't say that,]" Midoriya sighed, glancing over at Katsuki.

"[And he shouldn't be sitting away from the rest of us, sulking like a villain,]" Akodo said. "[Why on earth would he catch himself if he had no intention of being part of Lady Hinata's team?]"

"[I don't have to explain myself to you, you Lancelot-wannabe,]" Katsuki snapped, turning around partly. "[And kill the accent; everyone can tell it's totally fake!]"

"[How dare you, you baseless villain!?]" Akodo hissed, jumping to feet and sparking with electricity.

Katsuki smirked, lighting his flame vents. However, Togashi stepped between then, facing Akodo. "[Stop that,]" he ordered in his surprisingly deep and firm voice.

"[Yeah, stop being mean!]" Sora shouted at Katsuki in agreement, his voice young and childish; he started to step in, but Togashi help up a hand for him to stop.

Akodo growled while Katsuki shouted a stream of obscenities, but the Charmander remained calmly in place.

Their trainers had taken notice of what was happening and started giving them orders to knock it off, along with other things. Rather than paying them any mind, Katsuki just grunted and turned away from the group, sitting back down to his meal.

Midoriya looked sadly at his new friends and teammates. Akodo had skulked off to his master's side, while Sora was glaring angrily at Katsuki's back. Togashi had sat down next to him and was attempting to change the subject, with Ochako helping out while Tetsu just floated nearby, observing. Bayushi had purposefully ignored the whole affair and ran over to the human's table, hopping into Sasuke's lap as Akodo sat at his side. Midoriya's teammate Kikyo had her head downcast with a defeated look on her face, and only Kubo seemed to want to be friendly. The bubble frog talked gently to the Ralts and Chespin as if nothing had happened, talking mostly about their upcoming adventure at the Palewood Estate.

"[It will be our first official adventure with our trainers!]" Kubo pointed out excitedly. "[It will be a great new experience!]"

Midoriya nodded thoughtfully. He looked over at Hinata, and then at Katsuki. Sighing, he excused himself, got up, picked up a Pecha berry from the pile between them, and walked over to the Quilava.

"[Katsuki, h-hi there,]" he started nervously. The Quilava looked over his shoulder and gave Midoriya a chilling death glare, but the Chespin did his best to ignore it. "[Listen, I w-want you to know that even though we didn't meet under normal circumstances, we can still be friends! We both respect our trainer, and if we're going to be a team, we have to learn to work together for her sake, right? Let's try and be friends, okay?]" He held out the berry as a peace offering.

Katsuki growled and slapped the berry away. "[Listen to me carefully, you little punk! The only reason I'm here is because I felt sorry for your trainer! It's pathetic that she has to have a weak crybaby like you for a teammate! If I weren't around, the Ralts would be the only one able to do anything to protect her! I felt sorry that a weakling like you was dragging them down! That's why I'm here! I'm not here to be friends, especially with a loser like you!]"

Midoriya staggered back as if he had been physically struck. Kubo and Kikyo, who had been watching the exchange, stepped in.

"[That is enough!]" Kikyo shouted, rushing to Midorya's side. "[That was cruel and uncalled for, Katsuki!]"

Kubo hopped between them, sizing the Quilava up. "[If Midorya's a weakling, what does that make you? Because as I remember it, Midoriya saved your life, you ungrateful bastard!]"

Katsuki roared, flame vents blazing, and attempted to lunge at the Froakie, but a wall of Psychic energy pushed him backward and then to the floor. Before he could do anything, Kikyo had pinned him to the ground with Confusion. "[I said that was enough!]" Kikyo demanded, her voice surprisingly firm.

The Quilava screamed hatefully, but by now the humans had gotten up and ran over to break things up.

"Do you have to be such a drama queen?" Naruto sighed, having watched the fight unfold. He might not have been able to understand what they were saying, but he could tell who had done what. "All anyone was trying to do was make friends, you little psycho!"

"Katsuki, the doctor said no strenuous activity for at least two days," Hinata chided, kneeling beside him. "If you keep this up, we'll have to return you to your ball, and I don't want to do that. Please, calm down."

He continued to struggle.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Ochako, use Aromatherapy to make him settle down-"

"That won't be necessary," Hinata interrupted. "Let me handle him."

Her hand strayed next to Katsuki's face, and before he could help it, the Quilava lashed out and bit her.

"Ouch!"

Just as quickly as he had bit her, Katsuki let go and pulled back, shocked at what he had done.

Naruto cried out in anger, but Hinata pushed him back. "It was just an accident! Look!"

She pointed at Katsuki, who had frozen in place, his face painted with shame. Unable to maintain eye contact, the Quilava quickly turned away.

Hinata looked at her hand; the bite had drawn blood, but she wasn't bleeding badly. "…well, at least everyone's settled down now." She looked at Katsuki, who continued to not make eye contact. "Please, don't fight with the others." She turned to Midoriya, and gently patted him on the head.

While Hinata was content to leave things at that, Naruto took a second to glower at the Quilava. It was clear that Katsuki regretted what he did, but Naruto noticed, to his irritation, that the Quilava did nothing to apologize.

-0o0o0-

…Elsewhere…

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"Talk about coincidence. We're after those same twerps we tried to rob just a few days ago," Zaku said.

The Sound Trio and Mizuki had set up a basecamp just outside the Palewood Estate. After Zaku had returned and reported what he found, it was easy to figure out who the kids were and where they were headed; the abandoned mansion was the only point of interest in the whole forest. They traveled through the night so they could arrive first and set up an ambush. An easy straightforward plan.

"It's also very lucky for you, Mizuki," Dosu pointed out. "After losing all those experimental pit fighters, retrieving two of them, even if they were the strongest of the bunch, wouldn't save your hide. And there was no way we could've stolen them back from the police; Konoha League authorities had already transported the ones they found to their headquarters once Zaku got back to us. However, it just so happens those twerps have two Shinys- including a white Eevee. And considering how much the Boss loves white Pokémon, he just might forgive you if we successfully steal them."

From his shoulder, Echoes squawked and broke out into song. "Here's a little lesson in trickery/This is going down in history!"

Dosu smiled and gave the bird an affectionate scratch, apparently enjoying the commentary.

Mizuki grit his teeth. Ever since the crash yesterday, Dosu had gone from being respectful of Mizuki's status as a senior member of Team Snake to being very smug and condescending. The trio might have been helping him, but he'd give anything to put them back in their place.

"So, all we have to do is wait for the brats to show up and then take them out?" Mizuki asked, cutting through Echoes's idiotic song. "Doesn't sound too difficult."

Zaku nodded. "Yeah, and best of all, we can tell exactly where the twerps are, since they still have one of the original balls that were being used to transport them!" Every single Pokéball used by Team Snake was designed with a built-in tracker, just in-case. Zaku pulled up a map on his laptop, with a red dot showing that the twerps were only a few miles off. "We're really lucky they didn't get rid of the ball and replace it with one of their own."

"Yes, but even if this job seems easy, we shouldn't be compliant," Dosu pointed out. "Last time we fought with them, we underestimated them and ended up mauled by dogs!"

All three members of the trio winced at the painful memory in unison. Dosu went on.

"Now, first off, let's make sure the Quiet Twerp's Ralts can't detect our ambush-"

An eerie wind drowned out Dosu's voice. The wind swirled around them, but instead of dissipating the fog, it rapidly became thicker and thicker. Above them, the sky darked, and a peal of thunder echoed.

"Shit, a storm? The weather report said it was only going to be foggy!" Kin whined.

"No, this is good! It will give us more cover," Dosu pointed out.

"You sure?" Zaku asked, looking frightened by the sudden weather change. "Freaky weather is always a sign that bad things are going to happen!"

At this, Echoes decided to provide his own helpful input.

"Hope you got your things together

Hope you are quite prepared to die

Looks like we're in for nasty weather

One eye is taken for an eye-"

"Oh shut up!" Mizuki snapped angrily, taking a swipe at the Chatot. "You idiots have been watching too many horror films! Now help get our stuff out of the weather before it starts to rain-"

"[BE STILL!]"

The voice, a queenly contralto, felt like it had come from within them, booming and echoing in their heads like thunder. Zaku fell backwards, squealing.

"What the Houndoom was that?!" Dosu gasped, looking around.

The fog was so thick now that they couldn't see more than five feet away. And air had suddenly gone still and silent. The silence was broken by a footstep, followed by a second one. Something was walking towards them in a steady, purposefully manner.

The sound was closest to Kin, who quickly scrambled away, behind Dosu. The masked boy reached for a Pokéball at his belt. When he held it up, he noticed his hand was trembling. "D-Don't worry, it must be a Ghost Pokémon pulling a prank," Dosu stammered, trying to reassure himself. "It's just an illusion-"

"[YOU CALL THIS AN ILLUSION?!]"

A crescent-shaped blade of energy cut through the fog, cleaving the table they had been sitting at. Though made of stone, it was split in twain.

Kin let out a high scream, diving to the ground. Dosu threw his Pokéball. It opened and his 'mon began to materialize. Before it could finish, however, the voice let out a deafening roar, like a cross between a Luxray and a jet engine. It was so loud Dosu swore his ears began to bleed, and then his Pokémon, barely materialized, suddenly turned tail back into its Pokéball. From his shoulder, Echoes followed suit, vanishing into his ball at Dosu's belt.

The fog swirled, and now they could see a mighty quadrupedal creature's silhouette through the fog, horned and terrible. All they could really make out, however, where her horrible red eyes, burning through the fog right into their souls.

"[YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE, LITTLE CREATURES,]" the beast declared, her voice like a slamming coffin.

"W-What do you want?!" Dosu stammered.

"[I WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!]" the voice shouted. The ground beneath Dosu rumbled and shook. He fell off his feet, and from what he heard behind him, Kin had done the same. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Mizuki was already scrambling to crawl away. "[DISGUSTING LITTLE CREATURES, WALTZING AROUND, DESECRATING ALL YOU TOUCH!]"

"We meant no disrespect, whatever you are!" Dosu pleaded, pulling himself to his knees. "We just-!"

"[WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS MAKING LITTLE, PLEADING NOISES,]" the creature said. "[YOUR MEWLING MEANS NOTHING TO ME! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I SLIT YOU UP THE MIDDLE AND BITE. OUT. YOUR. HEARTS!"

Her command was punctuated by a clap of thunder, and a bolt of lighting splitting the earth before her.

The trio screamed in abject terror and scrambled away, leaving their equipment behind. Mizuki was already in the in the car they had hotwired, pulling away.

"WAIT FOR US!" Dosu pleaded.

A second thunderbolt crashed in front of the car, forcing Mizuki to slam on the breaks. The trio wasted no time in jumping in.

"GOGOGO!" Dosu screamed, looking back at the creature.

A horrible scream filled the air, and the wind suddenly tore at them, so sharp it shattered the car's back window. Mizuki slammed on the gas, and they peeled off, not even noticing that fog lifted enough to let them leave.

From Dosu's belt, there was a flash of light. Echoes rematerialized, seemingly oblivious to the panic around him. "I'm gonna sing the doom song now!" the Chatot announced, mimicking a robotic voice. "Doom, doom, doom, doo doom, doom-"

Dosu grabbed the bird by the beak, neither telling him to shut it nor letting him go. He was not in a humorous mood.

Back at the entrance to the Palewood Estate, the 'monster' watched the human thugs drive off, a smirk on her face.

"['Slit you up the middle and bite out your hearts?' I think you missed your calling as an actress,]" a Riolu asked playfully, walking out of the main house.

"[I was scaring them off. I was trying to be dramatic,]" she responded curtly.

The fog had lifted around them, though it still hung heavily around the estate. The monster came into view- an Absol, one that looked powerful and ancient.

"[Speaking of drama, how did you pull of that storm trick?]" her Riolu friend asked. "[I didn't know you could call down lightning.]"

"[Both Rain Dance and Thunder are moves my line can learn,]" the Absol pointed out. "[And that trick wasn't even all that impressive; at the height of my strength, I could split the earth and create magma geysers…but that was a long time ago. I've gotten old and soft. Just calling down lightning is tiring now.]" She yawned and did a catlike stretch.

"[Oh, are you saying I should be looking for a new sensei?]" Riolu said teasingly.

"[I am more than capable of teaching a pup like you a thing or two,]" Absol responded in a deadpan tone. She looked off into the distance beyond the gate. For a moment, her eyes glowed. "[It looks like my little display woke up our neighbors.]"

"[Why'd you do that anyway?]" Riolu asked. "[I thought you said you wanted people to start visiting this place again?]"

His sensei scoffed. "[Trainers are welcome here…but those four were thieves and troublemakers. Cowardly thugs. I didn't need to see into the future to know they were up to no good.]"

"[Heh, maybe you shouldn't have driven them off- I'd have loved the chance to teach 'em what a life of crime leads to!]" Riolu launched into a series of kata, punctuating each dramatic kick or punch with a kiai shout.

After letting him make a fool of himself for a few seconds, Absol just rolled her eyes and gave him a quick tap on the forehead, her talon glowing with Aura power. In an instant, he was frozen.

"[You still have much to learn still, Little Grasshopper,]" she sighed.

The Riolu struggled, falling to the floor as he attempted to regain his mobility. The Absol allowed herself a small smile. But then she gasped softly, looking up towards the forest.

"[Yeah, well, you know, considering you just said our neighbors are getting restless, I suppose tonight's going to be great night for some really intense training,]" Riolu said, finally freeing himself. He jumped up onto his feet and did a dramatic high kick. "[Come on, Ghost-types! Come and test my awesome Aura arts, which I learned at the claws of the mighty sensei– Uh, Sensei, you okay?]"

Instead of paying attention to his killer moves, his sensei was looking off in the distance. Coming around to look her in the face, Riolu asked for her attention again, only this time, he noticed her eyes were glowing. "[Uh-oh. That can't be good,]" he said rather plainly.

Finally, Absol turned to him, eyes back to normal. "[No, it isn't. It's not good at all.]"

"[Did you see a tragic disaster about to happen?]" Riolu asked. "[Is there going to be a terrible fire that consumes the whole forest, or an earthquake that splits a city in two, or is a mighty storm coming in that will-?]"

"[Hush, boy,]" his sensei ordered. She sighed. "[What's wrong is that I cannot see the future.]"

"[Eh?]"

"[Just now, I felt a ripple in the future,]" Absol explained. At the Riolu's confused look, she explained. "[Whenever someone attempts to look into the future, it produces a disturbance. Imagine the future as if it were a pond. When you touch it, you create ripples and kick up the water; it's no longer clear, for yourself or anyone else trying to look into it. The more someone looks into the future, the more unclear it gets.]"

"[So you mean someone else stealing your trademark?]" the Riolu asked. "[That's so uncool!]"

"[I wouldn't use that turn of phrase, but I suppose you're right,]" his sensei said. "[Ripples in the future are easiest to sense if whoever caused it is close by, or if someone is looking into a future that involves you. Considering how easily I just sensed that ripple, it means that there's a seer nearby who's looking into your or my future. The question is, why?]"

"[I'm no expert in this sort of thing, but maybe you should just ask him?]" Riolu suggested playfully, elbowing her.

"[…strangely, that's exactly what I was planning on doing,]" Absol said, walking towards the gate. "[Stay here and try not to burn the place down, please.]"

"[Wait, I was just joking!]" Riolu protested, nearly falling over in shock.

"[I'm not; this is obviously something I need to investigate,]" she responded simply. "[You can handle being left unsupervised for one night, right?]"

"[Yeah, I'm not a child you know!]" Riolu said, his voice cracking childishly. A thought occurred to him. "[Hey, wait! What about all the Ghost Pokémon that just you woke up!?]"

Standing before the gate, his sensei turned and looked over her shoulder at him. "[I thought you said that- what was it again? That you wanted to 'test your awesome Aura arts'? Consider tonight an extended training session.]"

She smiled and jumped over the gate with an elegant leap, and disappeared into the forest and fog with a second one.

-0o0o0-

Following the confrontation earlier, lunch had proceeded very awkwardly. There hadn't been any further incidents, but there was still a tension in the air. Katsuki had sat down with the others, pointedly looking away and not talking to the others Pokémon, which didn't help the mood. Still, after what had happened, Hinata thought it was a good gesture on the Quilava's part.

The trainers cleaned up and got ready to continue; as with yesterday, they decided on letting their Pokémon travel outside their balls alongside them.

"From the looks of things, we'll arrive at the Palewood Estate before 1:00," Sakura noted as they walked along, checking the map on her 'nav. "It almost seems a waste to arrive so early, if the whole point of this is to spend the night there."

"Arriving earlier means we can have more time to explore the place before it gets dark," Sasuke pointed out. "It'll be safer to have a look around and see what sort of state the place is in before losing daylight."

"Scared of the something happening, Sasuke?" Naruto asked playfully.

"A man can step away from folly without backing into cowardice," Sasuke said automatically.

"Stop quoting things your dad says to try and sound smart," Naruto said, scowling.

"I'm with Sasuke," Sakura piped in. "If we get there earlier, maybe we'll find some unusual Pokémon before night falls. Some might only be active in the day, before the Ghost-types wake up."

"You think there are Pokémon here afraid of the Ghosts? Like some rare Psychic-types?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke scoffed. "Nah, that's just stupid."

Kikyo, who was walking alongside Hinata (rather than riding on her backpack as usual) suddenly stopped and gasp. She grabbed her trainer's jacket with one hand. …Someone is hiding nearby!... Kikyo said, pointing towards the woods.

Hinata quickly echoed her Pokémon's warning.

"An ambush?!" Sasuke growled. "It must be those Team Snake thugs! Strike before they do!"

"Sasuke, Kikyo just senses someone! It could be a wild Pokémon!" Hinata said quickly.

Sasuke and the others, who had been moving to attack, froze, considering their options. Katsuki, however, didn't. The violent Quilava rushed towards the possible danger, using blasts of fire from his paws to rocket himself into the air and rush to battle screaming. Hinata shouted for him to come back, but by then, the Quilava had already spotted something, diving into the underbrush while blasting a Flamethrower.

"Katsuki, don't!" Hinata pleaded.

Flames and strange lights flashed from the bushes, and before anyone could react, the underbrush exploded- not in a fireball, but a wave of silver energy.

Katsuki was sent hurtling backwards by the blast. Kikyo tried to telekinetically catch him, but she couldn't do much more than cushion the impact as he hit a tree. Hinata ran to her Pokémon's side. He seemed stunned but otherwise unharmed.

"Serves him right for not listening to his trainer," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "But what was- Naruto! Don't get closer to the unknown danger, you idiot!"

But closer Naruto had gotten. "Look, he's hurt!"

Sasuke got up and looked at what Naruto was talking about, in spite of Sakura's warnings; so, the girl just sighed and followed suit.

There was a small, grey, kitten-like Pokémon with folded ears, knocked out on the ground. Several of their Pokémon had started crowding around the unconscious Pokémon. Kubo had even reached over to check its pulse.

"Kubo, it's not dead. You can see its breathing," Sakura pointed out.

"What even is it?" Naruto asked, poking it.

To Sasuke shrugged and pulled out his Pokédex. Hinata meanwhile, having made sure Katsuki was unhurt, decided to get up and see what everyone was talking about, just in time to see Naruto fiddling with one of the unconscious Pokémon's folded ears.

"DON'T DO THAT!" she screamed.

Naruto pulled his hand back quickly and fell back onto his butt. "What did I do?!"

"You don't ever touch an Espurr's ears!" Hinata said. Next to her, Kikyo put her hands to her mouth.

Sasuke's Pokédex pinged to life, giving more information.

"Espurr, the Restraint Pokémon. Espurr have incredible psychic power, but very little control over it. The organ used to emit this power is sheltered by their ears, which remain folded over to keep any power from leaking out. When fully unleashed, the average Espurr can release enough telekinetic force to blast down everything in a 300-foot-radius of itself. Its trademark blank stare, which many trainers find unnerving, actually hides an intense struggle to contain its devastating destructive power."

"…okay, I'm sorry for touching the ears," Naruto said, getting up carefully. "I guess we're lucky you know so much- hey, why do you know so much about this little guy?" A mischievous grin spread across Naruto's face. "Are you a fan of 'em? Do you think they're cute or something?"

"You know, it really is cute, once you get past the eerie eyes." Sakura pointed out, comparing the picture in the Pokédex with the unconscious Espurr's peaceful face.

Hinata gave a light laugh. "No. I've just studied a little bit about Psychic-types…mostly because my starter is a Psychic-type." Next to her, Kikyo waved happily. "The Espurr line is used as an example of how dangerous Psychic-types can be if not properly trained."

"Froakie!" Kubo croaked, pointing toward the Espurr, which was starting to stir.

The group backed away to give it room, and Kikyo stepped to the front of the group. Groaning, the Espurr sat upright, rubbing his ears.

"Espurr, Espurr," he moaned, opening his eyes and looking around. "…PURR?!"

The Espurr unleashed a wave of Psychic energy. Naruto and the others felt their bodies tingle for a second before they where suddenly lifted into the air, dangling.

"Hey, put us down!" Sakura shouted, grabbing hold of her skirt and she turned helplessly in the air. "-and don't you dare try to sneak a peek!" she added angrily towards Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke scoffed and tried to grab a nearby branch, but it was too far to reach.

Naruto noticed Kubo preparing a Water Pulse attack, and motioned for him to stop. The Espurr's face wasn't angry or aggressive- it was in a state of shock.

Kikyo noticed this too. She reached out to the Espurr telepathically and explained the situation, her eyes aglow with lavender light and his silver.

After a few moments, the Espurr gasped and released them, letting them drop to the floor.

"Omph!" Naruto grunted, landing on his feet. "Hey, thanks for putting us down, Psychic-Kitty, but you're lucky no one attacked you!"

"Prr?" the Espurr said, titling his head.

Sasuke let out a painful groan. Somehow, Togashi, Bayushi, and Akodo all managed to land on top of Sasuke when they were released. Shaking the three off impatiently, Sasuke shot a glare at the Espurr, muttering murderously under his breath.

The Espurr, however, wasn't paying attention. He was running over to each of their Pokémon, helping them up as he spoke with animated excitement. He didn't pause give anyone else a chance to speak as he moved from 'mon to 'mon; the Espurr even telekinetically lifted Sakura onto her feet and floated right up to her face, speaking with incredible vigor before moving right along to Ochako. The girl looked at the other humans and shrugged, having understood nothing of what was going on.

Now the Espurr was floating in the middle of the group, his speech or whatever now addressing everyone. He motioned and spoke passionately, but Naruto noticed that none of their Pokémon seemed to share his enthusiasm. Most of them were eyeing the Espurr with wary expressions, and Kubo outright looked at Naruto, stuck out his tongue, crossed his eyes, and tilted his head to the side, as if to say 'he's nuts!', once the Espurr's back was to him. Kikyo had a pained look on her face and her hands over her mouth to hide how she was biting her lower lip in worry. Only Midoriya seemed to be on the same page as the Espurr, nodding vigorously and looking very interested in what he had to say.

Finally, the Espurr finished speaking and motioned at the humans…before sighing and looking over at Kikyo. "Espurr?"

…uh, well, he'd like me to translate… Kikyo explained. …You see, he says he's from the future…

Naruto nearly fell over, and Sasuke let out a surprised choke. "He's what?" Naruto asked.

…He says he's from the future…a bad future… she repeated, confusion clear in her voice (or, her telepathic tone, since she was not actually speaking).

The Espurr nodded vigorously. Nearby, Katsuki scoffed and grunted something Naruto guessed was insulting. Kikyo gave him a glare before continuing.

…Espurr says he's been sent to the past to stop a great evil from being unleashed, so that his future never happens… she concluded. …So he says he might need our help for him to prevent this great disaster, since he's not sure when or how it will happen…

The Espurr nodded vigorously, seemly oblivious to the looks everyone was giving him.

There was a very, very odd silence.

"Oh course we'll help you!" Naruto suddenly said. "We'll do anything to save our world!"

Both Espurr and Midoriya cheered. Kikyo did a double facepalm.

Sasuke let out a cough that sounded a lot like 'crazy!'

The Espurr shot a very dark look at Sasuke, eyes glowing dangerously.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking at his friend. "Shouldn't we want to save the future? It's kind of important!"

He felt a gentle tugging on his arm. It was Hinata. "Uh, Naruto, can I speak to you privately?"

Very quickly, she led him away from the others.

"What is it?" Naruto asked innocently.

Hinata sighed, not sure how to explain this. "Naruto…that Espurr isn't from the future. He's just insane."

"Eh? What? Oh, you don't believe in time travel?" Naruto said, slapping his forehead. "Come on, haven't you ever heard of Celebi? If they can travel through time, why can't other Pokémon learn how to do it? The Pokédex said that Espurr have incredible potential!"

"Naruto, it's not a question of if I think it's possible," Hinata said, carefully skirting around pointing out that Celebi were legendary Pokémon whose very existence was not confirmed. "Let me explain. I told you I studied Psychic-types, because I've had one since I was six. One of the very first things I learned was that if they are not properly trained, their mental powers can make them go crazy!"

"I thought Psychics were known for their intelligence."

"Intelligence does not equate to sanity," Hinata said. "Look at all the things Psychics can do: read minds, see the future, bend space- think of how stressful those powers can be on the mind. It is not uncommon for young Psychic-types to develop delusions because their minds are simply not ready for their incredible powers. There was a Musharna who had trouble understanding the difference between dreams and reality, and started thinking dreams were just as real as being awake."

Naruto thought for a second, piecing together what Hinata had said. "Or, like how maybe a Pokémon that can see the future might actually believe it's from the future?" he suggested.

Hinata nodded. "I think that's the case here," she said. "Untrained Psychic Pokémon can easily be overwhelmed by what they see when they look into the future. It's one of the most dangerous psychic powers."

"Drat, I was really looking forward to saving the future," Naruto sighed. "Still, a Pokémon that can see the future is really cool itself!" he added excitedly

Hinata did not look as excited about that. "Hmm, for now, we should just do our best not to upset him or feed his delusions. It might be that he's just a very strong telepath that read someone's dream and thought he saw the future. I'll have Kikyo find out more."

They started heading back to the group. "You know, I just realized something: we've got a serious problem on our hands," Naruto pointed out.

"Oh?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, his tone dead serious. "…which of us is going to catch him?!" He looked at Hinata. "I let you catch Midoriya and Katsuki, so don't think you'll get a free pass just because you know Psychic-types!"

Hinata could not help but let out an unladylike snort before bursting into a fit of laughter so hard she fell to her knees.

-0o0o0-

The next few minutes of travel became…odd, to say the least.

As per Hinata's suggestion, the group allowed the strange Espurr to travel with them. The Espurr floated alongside Hinata, levitating with its telekinetic power, talking with Kikyo (who was trying to figure out just how sane the fellow Psychic-type was). Meanwhile, Naruto had the others walk twenty feet ahead of them, so he could discretely repeat what Hinata had told him.

"So, Hinata thinks he's just delusional, but I really hope he's from the future!" Naruto said excitedly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're such a kid, Naruto."

"That's such an annoying catchphrase," Naruto countered.

"She's right, though. That Espurr is totally crazy," Sasuke said.

"This coming from someone who thinks Nurse Joys are Ditto spies trained by some illuminati organization," Naruto pointed out, earning a slug on the shoulder from Sasuke. "Ouch!"

The fog had suddenly gotten thicker, so much so that no one could see more than ten feet in front of them. Naruto pointed out that it would only be safe to stay close together, otherwise someone might get separated from the rest of the group.

"Sheesh, thick fog, walking through a haunted wood, spending the night in an abandoned house- we're checking off all the clichés of a bad horror flick," Sakura groaned.

Naruto let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, we even have a homicidal maniac on the loose," he said, pointing at Katsuki.

The Quilava glared at him and created a threatening burst of flame in his hand before Hinata reminded him that if he didn't behave, she'd have to recall him (then she elbowed Naruto and told him to stop teasing Katsuki).

"Naruto, you sound nervous. Getting spooked?" Sasuke asked, smiling meanly.

"Of course not!" Naruto said, answering far too quickly.

Sasuke's cruel smile widened. "You sure? After all, isn't thick, unnatural fog the sign of ghosts nearby?"

"I-I ain't afraid of ghosts!" Naruto insisted.

"There's no such thing as ghosts!" Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

All the same, Naruto felt himself getting chilled. The woods were much thicker with trees now, and the path was overgrown, winding, and barely visible in the fog. The ambient noise around them had dropped to near silence. Naruto shuttered, doing his best to not let the others see.

He noticed Midoriya was holding himself tight, walking with his shoulders slumped and looking around nervously. Well, at least he wasn't the only one who was scared. Naruto moved near the Chespin and gave him a reassuring pat on the head.

Suddenly, Hinata gasped and whipped around. "Who's there!?"

Naruto nearly stumbled over in shock, while Katsuki jumped in front of his trainer, flame vents blazing. However, there was nothing but fog.

"…ha-ha, very funny, Hinata," Sasuke said flatly, not looking amused.

"I'm not making it up! There's something out there! I can feel it!" Hinata said, trying to look through the fog.

"You mean, like with your Aura powers or something?" Naruto asked.

Hinata shook her head. "No, but I keep having this feeling that there's something following us!" she insisted. She turned to Kikyo. "Scan around us with your telepathy!"

The Ralts, who was just as jumpy and edgy as her trainer, nodded and closed her eyes, expanding her psionic awareness. After a minute however, she opened them, looking confused and somewhat frightened. There was nothing nearby, as far as she could tell.

"You must have just gotten spooked," Sakura said in an understanding tone. "But if a Psychic-type can't sense anything-"

"ESPURR!" The Espurr suddenly floated up right between the two girls, waving his hands franticly.

"Oh, I forgot you were here," Sakura admitted, a bit wide-eyed. "Between Hinata not letting us catch you, the freaky fog, and Naruto being a scaredy-cat, I lost track of you."

If the Espurr had noticed anything Sakura had said, he chose to ignore it, instead talking over her. "Espurr-purr-es!" he said, as if they could understand. He motioned at Hinata, and then wove his hands elaborately, trying to pantomime something. "Es-PURR!"

"…"

After a few seconds of silence, the Espurr sighed and told Kikyo to translate.

…Uh, he's saying Princess Hinata (he called her that, not me) must be experiencing what he calls 'future displacement memories' (I am sure he's making that term up). According to him, when someone is transported from the future to the past, the ripple in time can cause people near the landing zone to experience distorting feelings as they gain brief memories from the immediate future. So in other words, Hinata's feeling of someone or something following us is really because she's got a memory of the future of us about to be ambushed… Kikyo paused, looking at the Espurr to make sure she got that right. He nodded, and motioned for her to go on. …So he says we should be on extra guard, since we're going to be attacked for sure…

The Espurr nodded proudly.

"Cool!" Naruto said, looking impressed. Next to him, Midoriya nodded, apparently believing the crazy theory.

The others, however, were less enthusiastic.

"Are you really buying that?" Sasuke asked Naruto flatly, looking stunned. "I've heard more believable stories from your uncle Yahiko, and I know he makes everything up!"

"You take that back!" Naruto snarled, rounding over to face the other boy.

Before the two could start fighting, however, the Espurr growled angrily, his eyes glowing silver. "Espurr…PURR!

…If you don't believe me, I'll go and prove it!... Kikyo translated. The Espurr started to float off into the mist.

"Wait, he's leaving?!" Sakura asked, suddenly surprised.

"It sounds like it," Sasuke said, and then added, under his breath, "Good riddance."

"Wait, I was planning on catching you!" Naruto shouted. "Get back here!" He started fumbling with his backpack.

"So was I," Sakura said. And unlike Naruto, she had already pulled out a Great Ball. "Sorry, Naruto, but all's fair in love and Pokémon!" She tossed the ball.

Naruto had managed to pull the Quick Ball from his backpack, which he prepared to throw. "You dirty-!"

Sakura's Great Ball froze in midair, caught in a silver psychic grip. The Espurr turned around, glaring with glowing silver eyes.

"…Uh-oh," was all Sakura could think to say.

Growling, Espurr clenched his fist; as he did so, Sakura's Great Ball was telekinetically crushed flat. Yowling in anger, he lifted his ears slightly, creating a flash of light and force that knocked everyone back. And then he was gone, leaving swirling mists behind.

"Urgh, I think you made him mad," Naruto groaned, pulling himself to his feet before helping Hinata up. Thoughtfully, he tucked his Quick Ball away. "At least no one's hurt."

Sakura was on her knees, holding up the crushed remains of her ball. "…my Great Ball!"

"Hey, it's not like you paid for it," Naruto pointed out. "So you could say you lost nothing."

Sakura just groaned.

-0o0o0-

At last, they had reached the Palewood Estate. True to its name, estate was a collection of white wooden buildings, all in the classical style with curved eaves and white tiled roofs. In its heyday, it must have been splendid. Now, however, years of neglect and abandonment had left the estate dilapidated and decaying. One of the storage buildings was complete collapsed, parts of the main house's roof had fallen in, and the windows had all been boarded up. The walls and gate surrounding the place were in the best shape, being made mostly of stone rather than wood, but even they were showing signs of age. A sign across the front gate warned visitors that the building was old and broken down, and to enter at their own risk; Teakgrove Town would not be held responsible for any injuries a visitor might sustain while exploring the estate. Even in daylight, the place would look sad. In the fog, saying it looked haunted was an understatement.

"Whoa, what neat old place," Sakura said as they walked through the gate. She looked up at the crest on the archway. "Huh, that looks kind of familiar."

"Hmm?" Sasuke asked, looking up as well. "I think I've seen that before…not sure where."

As the two of them continued talking, Naruto did his best to be brave. All in all, he wasn't feeling nearly as frightened as earlier. He had gotten used to the fog, and so far, nothing had happened. He looked around at the estate, trying to occupy his mind. "This place is huge. I wonder who used to live here?" He turned over to Hinata.

The girl was very pale, and she was taking in shallow, quiet breaths. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her, and Naruto could tell she was doing her best to shrink down and avoid being noticed. Next to her, Kikyo was holding tight to her trainer with a similar expression on her face, while Midoriya stood nearby, distressed and unsure how to help.

"Hinata, what's wrong?"

She turned to Naruto, hesitating. "Uh, n-nothing! I'm just cold- th-the fog's bothering me.

Naruto frowned. "No, it's not that." He took a step forward, thinking. "Hey, is it because of happened earlier? If you still think something's following us, you can tell us. We're friends…we'll believe you!"

Sasuke and Sakura noticed what was going on and came over.

"…it's not that," Hinata sighed.

"Well, what is it? You can tell us," Naruto insisted.

Hinata hesitated, glancing around. Her eyes fell on the crest on the archway.

"…you see, this place used to belong to my family…a long, long time ago."

Sasuke slapped his forehead. "That's where I've seen it. It's a Hyuga family crest!"

"How could you not remember that?" Naruto asked indignantly. "I thought all you bluebloods had to learn stuff like that?"

"Why would I bother memorizing another family's heraldry?" Sasuke countered.

"It's a branch family symbol, from a dead line," Hinata explained. "Over 200 years ago, our family history says that an Absol saved the life of an Aura Guardian named Hoshi Hyuga."

"An Absol?" Naruto asked, pulling out his Pokédex.

The 'dex pinged to life, showing the picture of a dangerous-looking feline Pokémon. "Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. This strange and fierce Pokémon prefers to live in solitude, favoring mountains and other naturally isolated places. Because it only appears before humans just before disaster strikes, people have long since suspected that Absol are the cause of the disasters, and even today the superstitious believe the appearance of one is a bad omen. Recent research, however, has produced the theory that Absol do not cause disasters, but instead predict them, and their appearances are attempts to warn humans. This theory was first proposed by the Aura Guardians of Konoha, who consider the Absol line to be reliable partners."

Hinata nodded. "Hoshi Hyuga was one of the first humans in Konoha to befriend an Absol. Thanks to their connection through the Aura arts, Hoshi realized that his Absol partner was an altruistic soul, and he helped other Aura Guardians realize it, too. He actually was the first and only member of the Hyuga family to successfully become the Konoha Champion. He had this estate built to commemorate his first meeting with his Aura partner."

"That's actually pretty neat," Naruto said. He frowned, adding, "But what does that have to do with how jumpy you've been?"

"…because Hoshi Hyuga was murdered here, in his sleep, along with every member of his family, all in one night," Hinata said, looking grim. "That same night, his Absol disappeared, and has never been seen since." She looked down, sighing. "While it is known that a jealous rival of Hoshi was the one who did the deed, there was also a story passed down that the main Hyuga house had resented a member of a branch family gaining such glory, and they allowed him to be murdered. Which is why Hoshi's Absol abandoned the Hyuga after his death. She was outraged at their dishonorable conduct."

"Oh…and you're a member of the main family," Naruto said. "I guess you're afraid the Absol's vengeful ghost might be lurking nearby?"

Hinata looked away. "She could still be alive, you know."

"How? You said that legend was from over 200 years ago," Sakura pointed out.

"Absol have been known to live over 100 years," Hinata said. "There's never been a recorded example of one dying of old age in captivity. Most Aura Guardians claim that they can live forever, if they don't die from violence or sickness." She sighed.

Sasuke nodded. "It's true; my mother has one. Some people think they might not be affected by age at all; if they don't die from violence, they can practically live forever." He frowned. "Hey, I know about them because two of my family members are Dark-type specialists. But how come you know so much about Absols?"

Hinata gulped nervously. "I've seen one…twice. Both times, it involved…bad experiences." She sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm being foolish. There's nothing to worry about!"

At her feet, Kikyo sighed, knowing her trainer was not telling the truth. She considered doing it for Hinata, but as her Pokémon, her first duty was to be faithful to her trainer.

A wind picked up, dispersing the fog enough for the group to have a clear visual of the estate.

"Hey, that looks like a dojo over there," Naruto said, pointing towards a building behind the main house that could barely be seen. He was clearly attempting to change the unpleasant subject, but everyone went along with it, walking in for a closer look. Once they had gotten closer, however, the sounds of a scuffle could be heard. "What the Houndoom?" Naruto said as a high-pitched kiai shout sounded out. He broke out into a run, with the others following him. Rounding the corner to the back of the house, they found the source of the noise.

A Riolu was locked in combat with a strange, one-eyed, mummy-like Pokémon Sakura recognized as a Dusclops. The Ghost-type floated high into the air and fired a Shadow Ball at the Riolu, who flipped over the attack and landed in a handstand, letting out a confident laugh.

Naruto squealed with delight. "I can't believe it, a Riolu!" He pulled out his Quick Ball, but Hinata held him back.

"Don't do that now! He's under attack!"

"Exactly, that makes it the perfect time," Sasuke pointed out. Even so, Naruto lowered the ball.

The Riolu had dodged another Shadow Ball. Laughing, he threw his hands out and taunted his opponent, as if he were asking it if that was the best it could do.

"Dus…c…LOPS!" Shaking with anger, the Dusclops suddenly fell to the floor, slamming its fist into the ground. Its whole hand and arm sank into his shadow, and half a second later, erupted from the Riolu's shadow, nailing him with an impressive uppercut.

"That was Shadow Punch," Sasuke pointed out as the Riolu rolled backwards.

The Riolu recovered, only to be attacked again from behind by another Shadow Punch, and then another. The Riolu tried to keep moving, but between that and literally running from his own shadow, it was clear he'd not be able to keep up. Looking up, the Riolu finally noticed had an audience for the first time; he froze, mouth hanging open. And for that, he was immediately punished with a Shadow Punch to the face that left him sprawled on the ground. The Dusclops let out a wicked, billowing laugh that was so hard it had to hold its belly.

"Shoot, I gotta do something!" Naruto said. He turned to Kubo. "Use Lick and-"

"RIOLU!" Shouting in anger, the Riolu suddenly got up onto his knees. Eyes glowing blue, he slammed his fist into the ground. It sank into his shadow, erupting right underneath the Dusclops and nailing it right in the stomach. The Dusclops staggered back, not sure what happened, and the Riolu delivered a second Shadow Punch, nailing it in the eye.

"What was that?!" Sakura gasped, barely audible over the Dusclops' scream of pain.

"He used Copycat," Naruto explained excitedly. "And that's not all! Look!"

Still clutching its eye, the Dusclops floated upward, out of Shadow Punch's reach. Far from being deterred, the Riolu leapt into the air after it, letting out a mighty kiai shout as his foot was cloaked in an aura of flame. The Riolu was propelled into his foe as he unleashed a burning hurricane kick with such force that the blinded Dusclops fell to the floor.

"And that was Blaze Kick!" Naruto explained.

The Riolu landed, dragging his foot through the sand to put out the flame. He looked down at his fallen foe, smirking and crossing his arms. "Ri-Riolu?"

…Is that all you got?... Kikyo translated helpfully.

The Dusclops whimpered, pulling itself away. The Riolu slammed an Aura-charged foot on it, pinning it. "Lu, Ri-rio?" he taunted, asking it where it thought it was going.

Naruto chuckled. "Man, this little guy is so cool!" He shook his head. "Okay, battle's over! I'm gonna catch him now-! Wait, what?!" He had turned to look over at Hinata for her approval, but what he saw was Sasuke getting ready to throw a Pokéball! "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Catching a Riolu," Sasuke said bluntly.

"He's mine!" Naruto screamed, jumping on Sasuke and grabbing hold of his throwing arm.

"Only if you catch him! Now get off!" The two boys were now wrestling on the ground. During their struggle, both boys dropped their balls and Naruto's hat got knocked off.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura snapped, automatically taking Sasuke's side. "If you keep this up, the Riolu will get away and no one will catch him!" She sighed, and suddenly got a crafty look on her face. "You know, if nether of you are going to catch it…" She reached for a ball from her belt.

Hinata grabbed her by the wrist. "Don't you dare," she chided.

Sakura sighed, dropping her hand.

Naruto now had Sasuke pinned. He grabbed his Quick Ball and looked up, getting ready to throw-

-and was face to face with the Riolu, who was standing right next to them, twirling Naruto's hat on his finger.

"Riolu!" he said, winking.

"Ghaa!" Naruto gasped, leaping backwards (and off Sasuke).

"What the Houndoom?" Sakura said, glancing over at the fallen Dusclops, which was a good 30 feet away. "How'd you get over here? We only looked away from you for three seconds!"

"[Four, actually, which was two seconds more than I needed,]" the Riolu said casually, twilling Naruto's hat from one hand to the other.

Sakura froze in place, mouth open and eyes bugging.

"[What? You don't believe me?]" The Riolu said indignantly. "[Watch this!]"

He tossed Naruto's hat across the dojo's field. Using Quick Attack, the Riolu raced after it; he reached the other side of the field just as the hat did, caught it, and slid to a stop with a cry of victory. "[SEE!?]" he shouted, rushing back over to them.

"Whoa! You're fast!" Naruto said, not the least bit surprised that the Riolu could talk.

"[Fast? Fast is for other Pokémon,]" the Riolu bragged, leaning against a wall and acting overly casually. "[I run around at the speed of sound, buddy. Fast wishes it could keep up with me!]"

"HOLY MILTANK, A TALKING POKÉMON!" Sakura suddenly screamed, pointing at the Riolu.

"[That's what you're impressed with?]", the Riolu asked, looking dejected. "[Not how awesome I am?]"

"He's talking!" Sakura said, turning to the others. "He can talk!"

"[Pretty sure we've established that,]" the Riolu sighed, facepalming.

"Of course he can talk, he's a Riolu! They're natural aura users," Naruto explained. "My dad's Lucario can do the same thing!"

"Huh, I thought they had to be trained to do that," Sasuke said, getting to his feet. He was impressed at the Riolu's ability to speak, though because of his experiences with Mr. Uzumaki's Lucario, Sasuke wasn't as surprised at it as Sakura.

"They do need to be trained. It's not something that comes naturally to wild Pokémon," Hinata said, eyeing the Riolu carefully. "Uh, do you have a trainer?"

The Riolu scoffed, twirling Naruto's hat some more. "[No, but I have a sensei; she taught me everything I- hey, where do you think you're going?]"

The Dusclops he had been fighting had managed to recover and drag itself towards a storm drain. The Riolu rushed after him, moving like a blue blur, but the Dusclops had already pulled itself through the storm drain, its body sinking through the grate like liquid. The Riolu dove down and tried reaching down the drain after it, but got up a second later, stomping his foot. "[It got away!]"

"Uh, sorry about that," Naruto said awkwardly. He glanced down, noticing the Pokéball Sasuke had dropped, and subtly kicked it away.

The Riolu still noticed it. "[You're still planning on catching me, aren't you?]"

"Hell yeah, I am!" Naruto shouted, throwing his Quick Ball without warning.

The Riolu dashed forward, still holding Naruto's hat. Just before the Quick Ball hit, he spun around, using the hat to scoop it up. Having caught it, the Riolu came to a skidding halt, reached into the hat, and pulled out his prize. "[Oooh, this looks fancy!]"

"No fair! That's my hat!" Naruto shouted.

"[It was, until you dropped it,]" the Riolu countered. "[Now it's mine, along with this ball!]"

"Give it back!" Naruto said, lunging.

The Riolu easily evading him, moving only a few feet out of his reach before turning around and spanking his rump. "[Come on! You want to catch me, you gotta go fast!]"

Naruto screamed like a wildcat and jumped at the Riolu again, only for him to easily dodge that attack too.

"[You're too slow!]" the Riolu taunted, dancing backwards on one foot as he twirled Naruto's hat just out of his reach.

"Kubo, Sora, help me out!" Naruto begged, turning towards his Pokémon.

Kubo sprang into the air and shot his tongue out after the Riolu. He dodged, but then got hit in the gut with a Headbutt from Sora. The Riolu rolled with the attack, springing to his feet just in time to evade another Lick attack from Kubo. "[Hey! Two vs against just isn't fair!]"

"And so is stealing my hat!" Naruto said angrily. "Sora, use Dragon Rage!"

The Riolu yelped as he dove out of the way of the energy ball, which continued on until it hit the wall of the main house and exploded. The whole wall shook and groaned dangerously, causing everyone to freeze and hold their breaths. When the smoke settled, however, the only damage the attack had done was leave a hole in the wall.

"[…not the most dignified exit, but I'll take it!]" the Riolu said, jumping to his feet and running through it.

"No you don't!" Naruto shouted, trying to run after the Riolu; the hole, however, was too small for him to fit. "Sora, make the hole bigger with Dragon Rage!"

"No, you idiot! Are you trying to bring the whole place down?!" Sakura said, slapping him on the back of the head. "Blasting one hole in the wall nearly brought it down!"

Naruto winced, realizing she was right. "Sorry…but he's still getting away."

"Froakie," Kubo croaked, motioning at a backdoor.

"…I can't believe I didn't notice that," Naruto said.

"A Tauros that sees red sees nothing else," Sakura quoting, trying to sound smart, though she had failed to notice the door as well.

Growling, Naruto ran to the door, shouting for the others to follow.

The inside of the main house showed the same signs of age and neglect as the outside. The group couldn't really examine it, however, as a loud commotion from the upper floor alerted them to what direction the Riolu had run off too. This was followed by a crashing noise, as if someone was throwing furniture across the room.

"What the Houndoom is going on up there?" Sasuke said.

"We can find out ourselves," Naruto said, pointing at a stairway that led up.

While the others ran towards the commotion, Hinata paused, taking in quick, shallow breaths. She leaned against a wall to steady herself.

She did not want to be here! She did not want to come back here! It was bad enough remembering that awful night, without having to relive it!

"Chespi?" Midoriya patted his trainer comfortingly, asking her what was wrong. Nearby, Katsuki scoffed, but eyed Hinata carefully, clearly concerned.

"It's nothing!" Hinata said quickly, looking away. "It's nothing! Come on, we have to keep up with the others!" She ran up the stairs, wanting to change the subject.

Midoriya sighed and Katsuki growled in frustration, but Kikyo stepped between them. …I will explain later, I promise…

Midoriya and Katsuki nodded and started up the stairs, though both stopped when they realized Kikyo was having trouble climbing them. She was a short Pokémon with relatively small legs; while Midoriya could easily hop up them and Katsuki was big enough to use them like a person, Kikyo was forced to climb up each individual step.

Sighing, Katsuki rushed down, picked up her and put her over his shoulder before running after their trainer, grabbing Midoriya and dragging him along when he passed the Chespin.

…Uh, thank you?... Kikyo squeaked.

Katsuki just grunted that she should learn how to float around, like that crazy Espurr.

-0o0o0-

When Naruto entered the upper floor, he had to duck to avoid a flying chair. His eyes widened when he saw the source of the trouble. "Uh-oh."

It was the Espurr, floating in the middle of the room and surrounded by levitating furniture, and it was attacking the Riolu.

"[Sheesh, why are you attacking me?!]" the Riolu screamed, rolling behind a support beam. "[I don't even know you!]"

"Espurr-purr!" the Espurr screamed, chasing after him.

The Riolu yelped, flipping backwards to avoid a chair flung at him.

"[Stop saying 'It's no use!' Do you have any idea how annoying that is?!]" the Riolu responded. "[Just tell me what your problem is, and we can talk this over like civilized 'mons!]"

Sakura and Sasuke, who had caught up with Naruto, were just as bewildered as he was.

"What the Houndoom is going on here?" Sasuke asked as the Espurr tried chucking a table at his foe.

"I think the Espurr is somehow convinced that the Riolu's a danger to the future," Sakura suggested.

The table had missed the Riolu and instead hit the support beam, with shuttered and groaned threateningly.

"Whatever the reason, if we don't stop him, that psycho will bring down the whole house!" Sasuke said. "Everyone, break the fight up!"

Togashi moved in, loosing a Flamethrower at the Espurr. Caught by surprise, the Espurr's concentration broke and he dropped the furniture, rapidly flying backwards and covering his face. Meanwhile, Ochako's Vine Whip grabbed the Riolu from behind, reeling him in. "Chika!" she explained, saying that they were saving him.

"[Uh, thanks?]" the Riolu said awkwardly as Naruto snatched his hat and Quick Ball.

"What's going on?" the boy asked as he put his hat back on.

"[I was hoping you'd tell me,]" the Riolu said. "[Psycho-kitty there just burst in, said that he'd found me, and that my actions would condemn us all, then he started attacking!]"

"Ah great, he is crazy!" Naruto grunted.

A wave of psychic energy issued forth from the Espurr, blasting through Togashi's steam of flame and slamming the Charmander into the wall.

"ESPURR!?" the Psychic-type demanded, wanting to know why the group was attacking him. He had thought they were friends!

"You can't go around attacking people without warning, just because you say you're from the future!" Naruto said.

"[He's from the future? That's so cool!]" the Riolu said.

Naruto ignored him. "You've at least need to explain yourself!"

The Espurr's face darkened. "Espurr-purr!" he grunted, straining with psychic effort. A silver bubble of psychic energy surrounded him, and then the furniture started flying across the room in a whirlwind of destruction.

"CHAR!" Togashi shouted, blasting another Flamethrower at the Espurr. However, he was unable to penetrate the Psychic-type's Light Screen barrier before a flying chair knocked him over. The chair flew onwards, scrapping the Charmander across the ground.

"Chika!" Ochako cried, grabbing Togashi with Vine Whip and pulling him out of the way.

"You idiot, we're not your enemies!" Naruto shouted, taking a step forward. "Stop attacking and use your head- Whao!" A desk was flying right at Naruto.

Suddenly, Midoriya jumped in, his small fist surrounded by a green aura. Giving a mighty cry, he slammed the Wood Hammer attack into the desk, which then exploded into a spray of splinters.

"Shoot, thanks!" Naruto gasped, noticing Hinata had joined the group.

Midoriya smiled and tried giving the boy a thumbs up, but his hand was red and swollen. Wood Hammer might have been a powerful attack, but it had a terrible recoil.

Katsuki blasted a flying chair with his fire, reducing it to cinders and ash. Unfortunately, those same cindered continued flying around the room, threatening to start a fire. Luckily, Kubo realized this, and jumped up to the ceiling before dousing the embers with a well-aimed Water Pulse.

"Yeah, teamwork!" Naruto cheered. He turned to Hinata. "Can Kikyo do anything about the flying furniture?"

The group was at a serious disadvantage; not only did they have to protect themselves from the storm of flying object, but they also had to protect the support beam from the Espurr's assault. Either he didn't realize he was damaging it…or he was too crazy to care. As such, almost all of their efforts were defensive, with Ochako doing her best to Vine Whip things out of the way, while Sora and Tetsu shielded the humans (using their thick skull or hard body, respectively). Meanwhile, Togashi, Katsuki, and Kubo worked together to try and incinerate the furniture without setting everything else on fire. Akodo was doing his best to protect Sasuke by slamming into anything that flew at his trainer, while Bayushi shot it out of the way with Hidden Power. Meanwhile, the Espurr was floating out of reach for Physical moves, while his Light Screen protected him from Special ones.

Hinata thought carefully. "I don't think Kikyo has the raw telekinetic strength to match the Espurr; she's still developing her powers, and his seem to be unusually strong!"

"Then what do you suggest?" Naruto said, pulling Hinata down to avoid a flying object.

The Riolu tapped Naruto on the arm. "[Hey, I got an idea!]" He pointed at Kikyo. "[You can use Confusion, right? I'll use Copycat so we'll have your strength and mine! Together, we can make the objects stop moving, so everyone else can go after the kittycat!]"

Kikyo blinked. …actually, I think there's a simpler solution…

From up high, the Espurr was nearly bursting with anger. Why where the humans from earlier helping that villainous Riolu!? He thought they were friends! Surely, they could understand that this had to be done! Espurr was from the future! Couldn't they understand that?! He had even used Future Sight to make sure this villainous Riolu was the enemy he was looking for…however, now the Espurr was starting to get doubtful. His vision wasn't exactly clear, now that he thought about it…in fact, everything seemed confusing. Ever since he had come from the future, his mind was muddled and confused…wait, he was from the future, right? The Espurr winced, trying to push it all away.

The air above him suddenly distorted as Kikyo Teleported, holding the Riolu and Midoriya. Giving a mighty kiai scream, the Riolu attacked with a downward Blaze Kick while Midoriya slammed the Espurr down with Wood Hammer. Both attacks when right through his Light Screen barrier and pounded the Espurr into the ground. And with his concentration shattered, the levitating objects dropped to the floor. Before the Espurr could struggled to get up, Midoriya and the Riolu landed atop him and pinned him down. Kikyo fell next, and Kata was sure to catch her bridal style.

"[Heh, not bad, Princess,]" he joked, setting her down.

The Ralts blushed, but any further reaction was cut off by the Espurr's desperate struggling.

"Don't let him lift his ears!" Hinata warned.

Midoriya and the Riolu clamped their hands over his ears, while Kikyo used Confusion to help keep them in place.

"Okay, you time-traveling psycho-cat, let's try this again." Naruto said. "I don't care if you are from the future. You can't go around attacking people at random, and you especially can't attack people for trying to stop you from attacking people!"

"Froakie!" Kubo added, hopping down from the ceiling next to his trainer and crossing his arms.

"Espurr! Puuuuur!" the Espurr pleaded desperately. He struggled under the two Pokémon pinning him, but couldn't do anything.

The Riolu looked taken back by what he said. "[I'm the 'what' trigger?]" he asked. "[You think I'm going to do what?]"

The Espurr repeated what he said.

"[Kitty, you're nuts!]" the Riolu said, rolling his eyes. "[I'm an Aura Hero (in-training)! I'm here to save people and be awesome, not unleash evils on the world. Might I suggest checking yourself into a nice asylum?]"

The Espurr glowered angrily, but then his expression shifted to one of fear as his body took on a sudden glow, crackling with energy. "Espurr?"

"Don't-!" Naruto began.

-POP!-

Suddenly, the Espurr vanished in a flash of light; one that looked markedly different from how Kikiyo Teleported.

Midoriya and the Riolu started, shocked that their prisoner had literally vanished from under their noses.

"What the Houndoom? Where did he go?" Naruto gasped.

Hinata told Kikyo to see if she could sense him nearby with her Telepathy, but after checking, the Psychic-type shook her head.

"He must have Teleported" Sakura suggested.

"I don't think Espurr can learn that move!" Hinata said, looking very confused. "Besides, that didn't look like Teleport to me!"

"Heh, maybe he went back to his own time," Naruto joked.

There was a very odd moment in which everyone seriously considered it.

"…and just like that, he's out of our lives," Sasuke snarked. "And I, for one, hope never to see that little nutcase again." He leaned down next to Akodo.

"Oh, I don't know about that, Sasuke!" Sakura said. "Did you see how powerful he was? Weren't you at least the least bit tempted to catch him?"

Sasuke, who was pulling shards of wood out of Akodo's fur, gave the girl a slight glare. "No," he said flatly. His Shinx happily agreed.

"We probably should have caught him," Hinata suggested, looking out the window. "He's clearly unstable and dangerous."

"Yeah, and he'd be an interesting Pokémon to have on a team, even if he is insane," Naruto admitted. "I'd love having a Psychic with that sort of power. Besides, it's not like he's the only nutcase we have around." He smiled at Katsuki. "And with two, we'd have a pair!"

The Quilava grunted and crossed his arms, turning away. He was too irritated to argue. That wimp Midoriya had been much more useful than he'd been just now…and Katsuki didn't want him taking his place as their trainer's strongest Pokémon. Katsuki would have to prove he was the stronger one, and soon!

"[Well, I got to admit, this has been a blast!]" the Riolu said, walking between the four trainers. "[But we've got some unfinished business: you were trying to catch me!]" He pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. "[So, how we going to do this? Are you just going to gracefully accept that I'm too awesome to catch or are we going to duke it out again-?]"

Naruto quickly hit the Riolu with his Quick Ball, which absorbed him and started wiggling.

"When did you-?" Sakura began, but Naruto shushed her. After a few seconds, the ball pinged shut.

"Got ya!" Naruto laughed. He picked it up and let the Riolu out.

"[You bastard!]" he roared, stomping his foot. "[That was sneaky, underhanded, and downright distasteful!]"

"I loved it," Sasuke said with a smile.

"[So did I, but I'm still pissed,]" the Riolu admitted.

"Hey, it's a Quick Ball! You're supposed to throw it first, ask questions later!" Naruto said, shrugging. "Besides, you already knew I was going to catch you…not to mention you stole my hat! The kid gloves went off after that!"

Kubo and Sora chimed in, jumping on either side of their trainer. Kubo glared at the Riolu, who met it with his own.

"[Rrr, fine,]" the Riolu said unexpectedly. He turned and shrugged. "[Sensei told me a Pokémon can only unlock their true potential with help from a trainer.]"

"Wait, really?" Naruto said. "I thought I was going to have to fight to earn your respect!"

"[Oh, you will,]" the Riolu said, looking over his shoulder. "[But I want to be the best Aura Hero ever! And if that means working with you, so be it! I mean, the same thing happened to my big brother a few years ago. That's when Sensei explained why we Pokémon work with you humans.]" He turned around and held out his paw. "[I'm Kata. Remember it!]"

Naruto laughed shook the offered paw. "[I'm Naruto Uzumaki!]"

Kubo and Sora both introduced themselves, followed by everyone else.

Once introductions were over, Hinata spoke up. "Uh, Kata, who is your sensei? How did you learn to use Aura speech? As I said, it's not something that comes naturally."

"[Sensei's an old and powerful Aura Master,]" Kata explained. "[She's also kind of a hermit, though. I'll have to talk to her before I introduce you…and I'll need her permission to start training with you. You don't mind, right?]"

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, it's okay! I think it's kind of cool, actually!"

Kata smiled. "[Good.]" He suddenly got a mischievous look on his face. "[Oh, also, there's just one last thing…]" He walked over to his new trainer.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

Kata slammed an Aura-charged fist into Naruto's groin, flooring the boy.

"[HA! Payback for sneak-attack catching me-! GWA!]"

Kubo vengefully sprang upon the Riolu and dragged him to the floor, with Sora joining in. Pretty soon, an all-out brawl had broken out, while Naruto mewled on the floor and held his crotch.

All in all, Kata seemed to be fitting along just fine, Hinata mused.

-0o0o0-

…A little while later…

-0o0o0-

Even after all the excitement, the day was far from over, with the sun still high in the sky, burning through the fog and cloud cover. As such, Sakura pointed out that they still had plenty of time to look around.

Naruto scoffed at the idea. "I've had more than enough excitement for one day- I wouldn't mind just leaving this place! No point in staying the night, now."

"That's because you're scared," Sasuke teased. He turned to Sakura. "Let's see if we can find that Dusclops from earlier, or some other Ghost-types."

Kata watched the two humans and their Pokémon walk away. Once they were gone, he turned to the others. "[I could have offered to show them around…but I didn't feel like it.]"

…Why do you live here?... Kikyo asked. …This doesn't seem like the sort of place a Riolu would call home…

"[It's not. Sensei brought me and my brother here when we were babies.]" Kata explained. "[She found us after our parents died. She said this place was a good place to learn the Aura arts. And it was special to her.]"

Hinata looked interested in what the Riolu was saying. "You had mentioned your brother was captured? When was that?"

"[Uh, two years ago, I think.]" Kata scratched the back of his head. "[It's not exactly easy keeping track of time when you're a Pokémon. A man and his son came here; apparently, they wanted to pay their respects or something. Sensei said that the man was an Aura Guardian, so my brother decided to go with his son, since the kid was around the age to start his journey.]"

Naruto noticed that Hinata was very interested in his Riolu's story, and while he knew he was missing some pieces, even he was starting to put the puzzle together.

Suddenly, Katsuki stepped forward, pointing at Kikyo and demanding something angrily. While the Ralts spoke telekinetically with her trainer, Kata turned to Naruto and translated.

"[Angry McRageface says that Hinata's been hiding something, and he's demanding that Princess-]" he motioned at Kikyo and winked "[-tell him what it is.]"

Katsuki yelled threateningly at Kata.

"[Oh? You don't like being called that?]" Kata asked. "[How about something else? Hmm, I think 'Girlfriend's' kind of fitting!]"

Katsuki screamed and threw a Fire Punch at Kata, who nimble dodged and tripped the Quilava. "[You like that, you little flirt?]" Kata taunted, eyes glowing with Aura power.

…Stop!... Kikyo demanded, using Confusion to briefly hold the two.

"Katsuki, that's enough," Hinata said firmly. "Another outburst, and you'll have to go back in your ball."

Naruto nodded, looking at Kata. "And you don't need to provoke him. You're new here, so I'm giving you some slack. But Katsuki, uh, has issues. You don't need to rile him up."

Kata scoffed. "[It's all about control with Edgy Boy there. He thinks he can scream and threaten me into submission; if I let him, he'll keep doing it! I'm just showing him that it won't work!]"

From behind, Kubo's tongue suddenly looped around Kata's neck- not tightly, but enough to grab his attention. The Froakie pulled him close, growling in his ear that even if that was true, a Pokémon listens to their trainer. It might have been grabbled (due to Kubo's tongue being wrapped around Kata's throat), but he still got the message across. Kubo released the Riolu, but gave him a serious look that made it clear the Riolu was to cause no more trouble. Kata scoffed, but didn't argue.

"Hinata, you know, I've noticed that you've been on edge ever since we got here," Naruto said, looking at the girl. "And I know you said it was because of this place's history, but something tells me Katsuki's right. There's something more you're not telling us. Something personal about this place that's haunting you."

Hinata hesitated a little before sighing. "Y-yes, you're right. There is something I've been keeping secret."

Midoriya patted his trainer understandingly, telling her she didn't have to tell them if it made her uncomfortable (Kata translated), but Katsuki grabbed him and told the Chespin to shove it. He wanted to know!

Hinata tapped Katsuki, telling him to let Midoriya go, and then started explaining herself.

-0o0o0-

…Meanwhile…

-0o0o0-

"Oh, this is cute!" Sakura explained.

She and Sasuke had come across an ancient teahouse, the kind meant for traditional ceremonies. The building was old and fading, but in overall better shape than the rest of the house. Sakura walked ahead of Sasuke and slid the shoji screen open. "Ooh, look at this!" she called, motioning for Sasuke to come and see.

The boy rolled his eyes; he could not imagine anything of great interest in an abandoned teahouse. Sighing, he walked in, followed by their teams.

Akodo, however, paused; some movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. One of the steppingstones along the path leading up to the teahouse had wiggled, only to stop as soon as Akodo noticed it. The Shinx walked over, eyes glowing as he carefully inspected the stone. There was nothing unusual about the stone, though the dirt around it did look like it had been wiggled about. Akodo leaned closing, sniffing around to see if he could find anything of note-

-SLAP!-

Something cold and wet smacked Akodo on the rump, causing him leap into the air and let out a high-pitched screech. Whipping around, the Shinx sparked threateningly, but no one was there. Hissing angrily, Akodo searched left and right, determined to find out what was going on. A blast of purple water squirted out of the ground right into Akodo's face, causing the Shinx to stumble backwards in surprise. He righted himself and lunged at the spot, but nothing was there. Growling, Akodo started digging. A chain of distorted, high-pitched laughter caused the Shinx to stop and look up. The source of the laughter was peaking out from beneath a steppingstone. The creature was made of liquid-ooze, purple in color, which looked and smelled like it was made from a strange combination of ectoplasm and bad tea. The creature stretched upward, laughing even harder once Akodo noticed it.

"Shinx!" he growled, generating sparks all over his body.

The ghostly ooze blew a raspberry at the Shinx, who yowled angrily and charged it

-0o0o0-

Back in the tea house, Sakura had discovered an alcove full of old tea sets; some of them were cracked or broken, but others were in incredibly good condition, considering how old they were.

"Look at this one!" Sakura said cheerfully, carefully lifting up a white porcelain teapot. She used a rag to wipe off the dust, revealing an exquisite cherry blossom design.

"Considering this place was abandoned 200 years ago, that pot would have to be at least that old, if not older," Sasuke said, eyeing the piece. It looked like it belonged in a museum.

"Why would anyone leave it behind?" Sakura asked. "Even if the estate was abandoned, wouldn't the owners want to take everything with them when they left?"

"Every member of the family that lived here was killed in one night, according to Hinata; after a horrible event like that, would you care about anything other than getting out of the place?" Sasuke pointed out.

Sakura winced. "Well, we're lucky no one else took it." She looked back at the alcove, and gasped. "And look! Matching teacups and saucers! A complete set!" She giddily started gathering ever piece of the tea set she could find.

Sasuke frowned. "Wait…you're not telling me you plan on taking that with you, are you?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke. "It'd be a waste to leave it here, unused and forgotten! Besides, as you pointed out, it's been abandoned for over 200 years; no one really owns it anymore, so it's not like I'm stealing!"

Ochako, who had been helping her trainer gather the set, nodded in agreement.

"Except from the dead," Sasuke said, looking around. "I'm almost certain there's a taboo against taking stuff from a grave."

From his shoulder, Bayushi nodded solemnly.

"This isn't a grave, it's a teahouse," Sakura responded. "And it's not like I'm taking family heirlooms or offerings."

"A family was murdered here; that makes this whole estate a grave," Sasuke argued.

"If this whole estate's a grave, that means we've been stepping all over it," Sakura said. "Isn't there a taboo about stepping on a grave? Isn't that supposed to be bad karma?"

Sasuke sighed, facepalming. "…this is so sacrilegious."

The yowl of a Shinx from outside cut off the argument.

"What on earth is going on?!" Sasuke said, opening the door to check; he was greeted by flashes of light and bolts of lightning as Akodo tore up the stairs and into the teahouse, screaming furiously. The Shinx's flight was so attention-grabbing that no one noticed a ooze creature dart into the teahouse from between Sasuke's legs, or that it dove into the beautiful teapot Sakura had been admiring.

"Akodo, what're you doing?!" Sasuke shouted as the Shinx tried to push past him. He got tangled in the boy's legs, and after a confused second, Sasuke tripped over, slamming his head against an old teapot Sakura had moved to the side, smashing it.

"…oh no, you killed him!" Sakura gasped, running to Sasuke's side. Luckily, the girl was wrong; Sasuke was breathing, having only been stunned.

Even so, that didn't stop Akodo from fainting in horror.

From its hiding spot in the teapot, the ghost-creature laughed wickedly. Oh, it could tell that there was all sorts of mischief to be made.

-0o0o0-

…Back in the Main House…

-0o0o0-

"I told you that my father and uncle were both Aura Guardians. During their careers, they made a number of enemies," Hinata said, beginning her explanation. "When I was three, one of my father's enemies kidnapped me. They brought me to this place while setting up the ransom."

Naruto winced. "Oh. That explains why you've been out of sorts since coming here."

Hinata shook her head. "That's only the beginning…you see, my uncle realized where I was, and he tried to rescue me." Hinata looked down, trying to steel herself. "He…he managed to save me, but h-he was mortally wounded." A whimper escaped her. "He died right in front of me."

She finally broke down in uncontrollable sobs.

Naruto hesitated, then put an arm around the girl. "I…I'm sorry. We shouldn't have come here."

Still looking at the floor, Hinata shook her head. "It's not your fault…it's not your fault."

Naruto kept his arm around her, rocking back and forth gently. He wasn't sure what to say or do.

Round the two, their Pokémon were in an equally uncomfortable situation. Midoriya, Kubo, and Sora joined in the hug, while Kata looked on, feeling like an outsider intruding on something private. He looked over at Kikyo. The empathetic Pokémon felt her trainer's grief, and was gently crying to herself. After a moment, however, she moved next to her trainer and put a hand on her…possibly trying to telepathically sooth her, Kata realized.

Meanwhile, Katsuki felt deeply uncomfortable. He was not an empathetic creature. Emotional breakdowns like this were things he had never experienced. It frightened him…but he also felt bad. He understood that this girl- no, that his trainer was in pain. He wanted to scream, to make the crying stop…but he also wanted to give her comfort.

Finally, the Quilava hesitantly reached out and put a paw on Hinata, carefully patting her, as if to say 'There, there'. Privately, Katsuki hoped no one noticed it.

Slowly, Hinata calmed down and composed herself. Drying her eyes, she acknowledged and thanked each of them. She even turned to Katsuki and gave him an understanding nod, making it clear she did notice (and appreciate) his paw pat. Finally, Hinata gently took Naruto's arm off from around her and patted his hand. "Th-thank you…everyone." She blushed a little. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have broken down like that."

"No, it's okay," Naruto said. He paused, and added, "Hey, if you want, we can leave. Sasuke and Sakura wouldn't mind. No one would blame you for not wanting to stay here…" He trailed off,

Hinata shook her head. "No…it's okay…it's just a house."

Naruto paused. "I'm sorry. I pressured you into coming here."

"No, you didn't. You were excited about coming here, and I didn't want to spoil it for you with my own problems. So I stayed silent. I…I should have been honest with you from the start," Hinata said carefully. She pulled Kikyo in for a hug, and then continued. "And…we should stay here for the night."

"Are you sure about that?" Naruto asked.

Hinata nodded. "This place is just a house. And you're here. All of you." She looked around at the room gratefully. "I have nothing to fear."

A sense of warmth filled the room.

"I'll tell Sasuke and Sakura this when they come back," Hinata added, remembering that they weren't there.

Naruto chuckled. "Good idea…where'd they go, anyway? They've been gone for a while."

As the rest of the group chatted together, Kata looked out the window thoughtfully. There was something about the girl's story he wanted to talk to Sensei about…and if possible, include Naruto in on the conversation.

-0o0o0-

…Midnight…

-0o0o0-

Sasuke and Sakura had returned with Sasuke being supported by Sakura. She explained that Sasuke had gotten knocked over and hit his head, though he insisted that he was fine. Then Ochako and Togashi came in, carrying a box containing an antique tea set between them. When Hinata asked where they had gotten it from, Sakura bashfully explained their find in the teahouse…and then begged Hinata to let her keep it (Sakura reasoned that it used to be Hyuga property, so Hinata had the right to give it away). Flustered, Hinata said Sakura could keep it; if it was important to anyone, they wouldn't have left it behind.

Grateful, Sakura asked what part of the house Naruto and Hinata explored, all the while cleaning the tea set off so they could use it. Looking at Naruto, Hinata gently explained what had happened to them, and her past with the Palewood Estate.

When Hinata was finished, Sakura hugged the girl tightly, apologizing for making her come here, while even Sasuke said they could leave if she wanted. Hinata said the same thing to them as she did Naruto.

They had tea together, and the rest of the afternoon was blissfully uneventful, save that Sakura's egg wiggled once or twice, signaling that it was getting ready to hatch.

Finally, night fell, and the group went to bed early. At Naruto's suggestion, they all set up their sleeping bags in the main house's common room, with their Pokémon all out of with them. Everyone agreed with him.

All was quiet now. A few members of the group had gone to sleep faster than the others, while others, like Sasuke and Naruto, persistently tried to stay awake- apparently, they were waiting (or possibly hoping) to see a ghost. In the end, however, their eyelids got heavy and they nodded off.

From his resting place, Kata cracked open an eye, looking around. It seemed that everyone was asleep. To be safe, however, he extended his Aura sense, checking their emotional states.

Quiet. Restful. Peaceful. No feelings of excitement or caution. The only one out of place was Katsuki, who was filled with aggression and fear…but Kata could tell he was just having a bad dream dream. Kata looked over at the Quilava; he was tossing, turning, and even muttering in his sleep. One moment, he'd start twitching violently, only to suddenly go still. The Riolu rolled his eyes. "[You're a drama queen even when you sleep,]" Kata sighed quietly.

Moving with the utmost care, Kata got to his feet and started weaving his way around the sleeping forms that were scattered across the room. He got to a sliding door that lead to a side garden, and very gently, opened it, slipping out into the chilling night. It was dark; the fog had thickened, and the overcast sky hid the moon. The Riolu could only see about five feet away from himself. Sighing, Kata closed his eyes and brought his hands together, trying to extend his senses.

"[There's no need for that]" his Absol sensei said as she stepped out from the shadows right next to him.

Kata nearly stumbled over in shock. "[How'd you do that?!]"

"[Centuries of practice,]" Sensei said casually. Her eyes glowed, and the fog cleared slightly. "[So, you've been caught.]"

Kata nodded. "[Yeah, I was looking for you to tell you…you're not disappointed, are you?]"

"[No. What's the point of teaching you the Aura arts if you never partner with a human?]" She paused, before adding, "[What do you think of your trainer?]"

Kata smiled. "[He seems like a good guy; overconfident, reckless, and way too eager for his own good, but with a heart of gold he wears on his sleeve.]"

"[So much like yourself,]" Sensei quipped.

The two of them shared a gentle laugh.

"[I noticed that we didn't have to deal with any Ghosts; just that one Dusclops I fought before the humans showed up,]" Kata pointed out

Sensei chuckled lightly. "[Ah, so you noticed. With all the excitement you and your friends already had, I figured you deserved a break. Chasing off a bunch of hooligan Ghosts was easy.]"

"[I could have taken' 'em!]" Kata said, scowling.

In response to this, Sensei tapped him lightly on a shoulder, drawing a cry if pain. "[OUCH! That's sore, you know!]"

"[My point exactly,]" Sensei said. She looked back at the door, and smiled lightly. "[…we have a guest.]"

Kata turned and saw what she meant: Naruto was sculking behind the doorway, a look of utter bewilderment on his face as his mouth hung open.

"[Uh-oh,]" Kata said as his trainer started to take in a deep breath.

"[Do not shout, please,]" Kata's sensei said, utterly calm. Her eyes glowed lightly, and Kata could tell she was subtly pulling at the boy's emotions, helping him calm down.

The trick seemed to be working. Naruto paused, thought about it, and then closed his mouth. Clumsily, the boy stumbled outside towards them. Kata couldn't tell if it was because Naruto was too awestruck to look where he was going, or because he could barely see in the darkness.

"You….you're…." Naruto stammered, motioning excitedly at the Absol sensei. His confused, tired mind had a lot to say…but he had no idea where to start. Finally, he just clenched his fists and said, "You're way bigger than I thought you'd be!"

Sensei's face twisted into something Kata had never seen before: utter bewilderment. The magnificent creature took a step back and actually looked down at herself, and then at the boy. He was right; she did tower over him. And other Absol, for that matter. Most of her species were only a little bit taller than a Ponyta, but she was as big as a Mudsdale.

The Absol let out an awkward chuckle. "[Yes…I suppose I am. I guess it must come with old age.]"

"So you ARE the Absol from the Hyuga legend! I knew it!" Naruto said, fist pumping.

"[I was Hoshi Hyuga's partner, if that is what you mean,]" she replied evenly. "[However, I am curious: what do you mean you 'knew it'? I've been watching you from afar most of the day, and Kata never told you about me…or at least, explicitly mentioned that I was an Absol.]"

Naruto smiled. "It wasn't hard to figure out. Kata said his sensei told him this place was important to her. So, his sensei had to be a Pokémon that knew Aura arts and had a connection to the Palewood Estate!"

"[Actually, it was called 'Gathering Clouds Manor' when the family still lived here; I never understood why humans have the habit of renaming places because tragedy strikes,]" the Absol said. "[But all in all, impressive deduction boy. You're smarter than you look.]" She looked Naruto over, impressed.

"Thanks. Dad always said it's better to be smarter than people give you credit for," Naruto said, smiling. "But there's something else I want to ask you-"

"[I imagine you have far more questions than just one,]" Kata's sensei said.

Naruto nodded, smiling bashfully.

"[You get two,]" she said flatly. Naruto opened his mouth to protest. "-and if you ask why, that'll count as one.]"

Naruto closed his mouth, scowling. He looked over at Kata. "Is she always like this?" And then added, very quickly, "That doesn't count! It was directed at him, not you!"

The Absol sighed. "[Just ask your questions, boy. It's getting late.]"

Naruto sighed, thinking carefully. Finally, he asked, "Hinata said she saw an Absol twice in her life. That was you, wasn't it? I'm going to guess the first time was when her uncle died."

The Absol's eyes widened in surprise. "[You are far smarter than you look boy. How did you figure that out?]"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, Hinata said she saw an Absol twice in her life, and both times were not happy memories. Considering you live here, and that her uncle died here, and it was a very traumatic experience, I just put two and two together."

Kata looked up at his sensei. "[He's right, you know. I was thinking the same thing.]"

The Absol sighed, turning away from the two. She was quiet for a time.

"[…I tried to help them. When I realized that little girl was in danger, I attempted to step in. But years of isolation and compliance took their toll; I barely managed to phase her abductor before he caused me such injury I had to retreat. I barely escaped with my life.]" She motioned with her paw to an old scar on her chest. Naruto was amazed that she had managed to survive such an injury. "[After that, the only think I could do was seek out her closest relative of and lead him to her. And in the end, all I ended up doing was leading him to his death.]" She hung her head in guilt.

"That's not true! Hinata was still saved," Naruto insisted. "What happened wasn't your fault! You did the best you could.]"

"[…the best I could?]" The Absol sighed, lifting her head and looking at him. "[Tell that to the boy who lost his father, or the man who lost his brother, or the girl who was traumatized.]"

"[Sensei, you've told me many times that an Aura Guardian must accept that they cannot save everyone,]" Kata pointed out, gently stroking one of her legs.

She was silent for a while before speaking again. "[After that, I decided that the best way to atone for my failure was to watch over the girl who I couldn't save, and the son of the man whose death I didn't prevent. Ove the years, I've watched them from afar. They've never been in any danger, so I've never really had to interfere.]"

"…but sometimes, Hinata felt like she was being watched. That was you," Naruto said. He was very careful to make was he was saying in the tone of a statement, not a question. "And the reason Kikyo couldn't sense you is because you're a Dark-type."

The Absol nodded. "[For the third time this night, I applaud your powers of observation and deduction, boy.]" She chuckled. "[And for your second question?]"

Naruto considered what he had learned. "…if you care so much about Hinata, why don't you just come out and tell her? Maybe let her catch you, or at least her father? That way, you could always protect her!"

Kata scoffed. "[If Sensei has to let someone catch her, they are unworthy of her loyalty!]"

The Absol, however, gently tapped the Riolu, and then gave Naruto a sad smile. "[There are two reasons I choose to be distant. The first is simple: I am still loyal to my first master, Hoshi Hyuga.]"

"But that was 200 years ago; can't you move on?" Naruto suggested.

"[237 years, actually,]" Sensei pointed out. "[You would not understand. You are human…you are mortal. You'll grow and experience life, make bonds, and forget sorrows. But me? I am nearly 300 years old, and I remember every day I've lived. When you do not grow old, memories are not the same…they don't fade with the passage of time. I remember the arrow that pierced my side, shot from a hunter who thought I was a demon. I remember the boy who found me. And instead of fearing me like every other human I'd ever met, I remember how he looked at me with those innocent, kind eyes, bandaged my wounds, and nursed me back to health. He didn't even try to catch me. I had to follow Hoshi and offer to be his partner.]" She blinked away a tear. "No, young man…I can never forget…I can never move on…and I do not want to. I know it is foolish, but let an old woman have her eccentricities.]"

"[You're not old, you're immortal,]" Kata pointed out. "[You can't really become a cantankerous old woman if you never do the 'growing old' part!]"

"[Hush, Grasshopper,]" his sensei sighed, smothering him with her paw. She looked at Naruto and went on. "[As for my second reason: I appeared before that girl, trying to save her, and instead my actions took her uncle from her and left her traumatized.]" She paused. "[You said your friend saw an Absol twice in her life…the second time was me, as well. Having lived so long, unlike the rest of my kind, I can see more than just future disasters. I've learned how to foresee tragedies of all sorts. When your friend was seven, I foresaw that her mother would die of illness within a year. I attempted to warn the family by appearing before them…but instead of averting her death, the poor woman died within a month.]"

Naruto winced. "Oh. Poor Hinata."

The Absol nodded solemnly. "[Now do you understand, boy? All I am to that girl is the embodiment of her worst memories. No, she does not need me in her life…I am content protecting her and her brother from afar.]"

Naruto looked at the ancient creature with a mixture of respect and pity. "If you've looked after Hinata since she was three, you should know what sort of person she is. I've only been her friend a short time, but even I can tell she's one of the most forgiving, kind people I've ever met." He mustered his courage. "I think that's why you can't bare to meet her, face-to-face."

The Absol took a step back, confused. "[What?]"

"You said your master had eyes full of innocence and kindness," Naruto pointed out. "Those are the qualities I see when I look at Hinata. I think you know that…I think you're afraid that if you look at her, you'll see your master looking back at you."

The Absol said nothing, but her expression spoke for her.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Naruto asked.

Between the two, Kata looked excitedly at one and then the other.

For a moment, the Absol looked too shocked to respond. Then she let out a small chuckled, approaching the boy. "[…and that, young man, is one question too many.]"

Naruto backed away, but the Absol was much quicker. She tapped his forehead with her talon, which was glowing with Aura. "[Sleep,]" she commanded. In an instant, Naruto lost consciousness, slumping forward and hitting the ground with a painful thud. He didn't stir.

"[…you were supposed to catch him,]" the Absol said, looking at Kata.

"[Me? How was I supposed to know that? You gave me no warning, and besides, you're right next to him!]" Kata protested.

"[True, but I'm the sensei, and you're the little grasshopper, so I get to blame you,]" his sensei said. She stroked Naruto's unconscious form with an odd sort of affection. "[…be sure to keep him safe. He really is a lovely young man.]"

"[I will, and I'll protect the others too," Kata promised. "[Especially Hinata.]"

His sensei looked at him. "[You cannot live your own life if you are trying to bare my burdens, Little Grasshopper. Let me deal with my own failings. Your duty is now to your own master. Not me.]"

Kata nodded, before quietly saying, "[…Sensei?]"

"[Yes?]"

"[Will we see each other again?]"

The Absol smiled warmly at him. "[You asked me that when your brother left with his trainer. I promise you, we will, my student. I do not need to see the future to know that.]" Her eyes glowed. "[But if I look into the future, I can see our next meeting…and yours, with your elder brother…and both will come sooner than you're hoping.]"

Kata did his best to hold back his tears. "[Th-thank you, Sensei!" He gave her a hug. "[…Sensei?]"

"[Yes?]"

"[…I love you.]"

The Absol smiled, and put a paw around the Riolu.

"[I love you too, Little Grasshopper."]