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.

9. Chapter 9: The Antidote Badge!

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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 am ashamed this chapter took so long; it really burnt it out of me. Note that part of the problem that I lost my job (which was a temp. post anyway), which left me a bit depressed, because I loved it. Luckily, I found a new one; right now, I'm Instatcarting, and while I enjoy it, I think I'll need some steadier employment in the near future. This chapter ended up being over 100 pages long (double-spaced), and was very busy. A lot of that came from all the battles- having multiple Pokémon fighting at once draws things out. I'll try and avoid that in the future. I've already written out the framework for the next few chapters, so let's hope I can get those up in the coming months.

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Review Response

Thank you everyone for your reviews. I'll only be responding to a few this time. Sorry, but I'm burnt out and you all just want to get to the story anyway!

Dylan Millwood: Yes, Venom was partly a Batman reference, thought it was also a reference to 'R' from Detective Pikachu. Katsuki and Kata's relationship has been lots of fun to write; they have such dynamic characters that clash so wonderfully. And yes, the heroes are all ending up with rare Pokémon that put them in Team Snake's sights.

Dreaming of the Phoenix: Ochako's ability prevented Attract from affecting her teammate, Togashi, because the Attract was aimed at him (though it's easy to get targets mixed up in double battles). I had Togashi and Kubo evolve both to prevent the story from being bogged down by having chapters only focus on one Pokémon at a time, and to highlight their status as Naruto and Sasuke's best Pokémon. Midoriya gets to shine in this chapter, not through abilities so much as the strength of his personality; in future chapters, he'll get to shine more directly.

CRUDEN: Yes, I think I plan on the heroes earning all or most of their badges unconventionally. Straight victories are boring, often. Though now that I think about it, it might be wise to get them straight victories as well, otherwise the unconventional ones become boring…life's complex.

NaruCrazy: Pokémon are given individual names to emphasize their individuality. I suppose it can be confusing, but it also helps me give them personality and not just treat them as tools, narrative-wise.

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The Hero's Pokémon & Accomplishments:

Naruto Uzumaki:

Team Members: Kubo (Frogadier, male, Starter), Sora (Bagon, male), Kata (Riolu, male, Aura-trained)

Badges & Awards: None

Sasuke Uchiha:

Team Members: Bayushi (Eevee, male, Shiny), Togashi (Charmeleon, male, Starter), Akodo (Shinx, male), Hitomi (Dewott, female, genetically altered)

Badges & Awards: None

Sakura Haruno:

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

**Sakura also has a Polteageist in her possession, but she does not consider it a member of her team.

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 9

The Antidote Badge

After losing their first gym battle, the group took their teams to the Pokécenter to be treated, had dinner, and went to bed early. It had been a taxing day, and no one was really in the mood to be sociable. Luckily, Itachi and Karen already had dinner plans (for two), so after a short talk over the phone, Sasuke bid them goodnight and turned in. All-in-all, it was a peaceful night.

During breakfast the next morning, however, things became rather awkward, rather fast.

Right after their loss, the group had managed to cheer each other up. After a night's rest, the effect was starting to wear off. Feelings of doubt and guilt were now starting to needle at their minds. Hinata, for one, couldn't help but keep thinking that she was to blame for their loss, while Sasuke kept remembering how he had lost his first official gym battle right in front of his idolized elder brother.

Though none of them expressed their nagging doubts, a sense of melancholy hung all around them and kept conversation to a minimum.

Meanwhile, the group's Pokémon were having a different problem among their number. Namely, Katsuki and Kata were being shunned by everyone else. Clearly, the others were not happy at losing the gym challenge, and decided the blame lay squarely on their shoulders…which, to be fair, was not a stretch from the truth. Even Sora, Hitomi, and Akodo, who had not been part of the challenge, were giving the pair the cold shoulder. Instead, everyone else sat together, eating and talking amongst themselves. Only Mina, who was too young and sweet to really understand what was going on, wasn't actively shunning them; however, Hitomi and Ochako had quickly moved the baby Pokémon away from Kata and Katsuki, and were distracting her from the tension in the air.

Kata attempted to treat the whole affair like a joke, first laughing it off and then trying to win the other 'mons over with some charm and playful behavior. He tried buddying up to Sora, pulling his arm around the Bagon's shoulder, only to get pushed away and told to buzz off.

Katsuki, meanwhile, just angrily stomped away and curled up in a corner, brooding with his back turned to the group. Midoriya looked at him sadly, but Kikyo told him to just ignore the Quilava; if he wasn't ready to apologize, he didn't deserve their company.

Hinata watched the whole exchange, sighing.

"Maybe we should step in?" she suggested, turning to her friends. "Tell them they need to talk this out and not just let things fester like this."

Sasuke snorted. "Why? Katsuki and Kata messed up; they need to own up to that. It's not like our Pokémon can't handle this themselves. They're all just as smart and mature as us-" he paused, looking at Mina. "-well, most of them are. The point is, we should trust our Pokémon to handle this themselves. They feel betrayed, and they need to handle it in their own way."

"I don't know," Sakura said, stepping in. "I've never been a big fan of 'hands-off' Pokémon training. It just seems lazy and irresponsible."

"Pokémon are intelligent, sapient beings with strong social instincts. They should be given room to form their own social hierarchy and standards," Sasuke countered. "My father says you need to let them decide who's the alpha and what's acceptable for themselves, otherwise they feel like you don't trust them."

Behind Sasuke, Sakura noticed Bayushi and Akodo shoving up against one another as they fought over who'd get the last piece of bacon.

"But isn't it more important for a team to learn to cooperate and behave to their trainer's standards?" Sakura said. "A trainer should instill values and help their team learn to appreciate one another!"

Naruto spoke up. "You're both right. A team should be allowed to handle arguments amongst themselves without their trainer always stepping in, and trainers should teach their Pokémon to behave without being control freaks. You need a healthy balance!" He pointed to Bayushi and Akodo.

Togashi had picked up both of them by their scruff and bonked them together; then he picked up the bacon hand handed it to Mina, who giggled and ate it happily.

Sasuke smirked. "See? Togashi knows I don't want any fighting, so he stepped up to handle the situation-"

His smirk suddenly vanished as Bayushi and Akodo both vengefully lunged at Togashi.

Sakura smiled smugly. "See? You can't just tell Pokémon what to do and expect them to just obey all the time!"

Sighing, Sasuke got to his feet and started trying to break up the fight. Hitomi had joined in on Togashi's side, and if something wasn't done soon, it would break into an all-out brawl.

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…Elsewhere…

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Mizuki sat in his apartment's living room, with the Sound Trio on his couch.

"Why'd you need to see us so early?" Dosu asked, looking around the apartment. It wasn't a pigsty, but it wasn't sparkling clean, either. Dosu wasn't sure what it said about its owner.

"I've got some big news; last night, I met Karen Blackworth at my job!" Mizuki explained, looking rather pleased with himself. "She was accompanying four brats on their first gym challenge! And that's not all: Itachi Uchiha is with her, too!"

Dosu scoffed. "That's it? We already knew about that."

"Yeah, those brats she was with are a bunch of twirps we've been having trouble with," Zaku said.

Mizuki frowned. "How could you possibly know that?

Zaku was about to mention the bug they planted on Sakura, but decided against it. "We have our ways."

"Well, now the situation's become a lot more dangerous, hasn't it? It's one thing trying to kidnap Karen, but it's another trying it right under the nose of a member of the Elite Four!" Mizuki said.

Dosu nodded. "…yeah, this does make things more complicated."

"Ohohoho, good thing I'm here," Mizuki said, looking rather smug. "I just happen to have a plan!"

"Yeah? Well, don't keep us waiting," Kin said, rolling her eyes.

Mizuki paused for a second, enjoying the feeling of being in charge again. "Well, luckily, after those four twirps failed their gym battle, Karen Blackworth came up to me and asked to rent the city's contest hall today. You see, the hall was originally built by the last Teakgrove Gym Leader; even though it's on the other side of town, it's still considered part of the gym. Which is lucky for us, since that means I was able to set up the appointment for her. Apparently, she's planning on doing some special training sessions with the brats. So, I happily arranged it. In fact, I offered to make sure there'd be no staff on site so they could have some privacy, since one of those snot-nosed brats is Itachi's little brother, and she wanted to spend some quality time with him!"

Zaku's eyes widened. "That means we can set up an ambush and nab her!"

"Yeah, if you think we can take her, the twirps, and Itachi, who, need I remind you, is a member of the Elite Four!" Kin pointed out angrily. "I don't care what sort of plan we have! I am not going to try something like that! I am not suicidal!"

Dosu nodded, shooting Zaku a look. Besides, kidnapping Karen wasn't even their real mission. They needed to focus on their own job-!

Mizuki cleared his throat. "You know, I've already thought of that. I told Karen that she should come a bit early, so we could go over some acoustics problems the stage was having, and that it'd be better for there not to be a crowd. After all, acoustics get tricky if there are lots of people around."

Dosu allowed his eye to widen a bit. "And she believed that?

Mizuki shrugged. "Why should she suspect anything? After all, as far as she knows, I'm a law-abiding citizen."

"Okay, I'll admit, this is starting to look better," Dosu said. "Lure Karen to the contest hall, take her out, flee to a safehouse, and you wait for orders from HQ." Mentally, he added, 'While we sneak off and accomplish our real mission, and let you distract the police!'

Absentmindedly, Dosu looked over at Zaku, then at Kin. From what they heard listening in on the twirp's conversation with Itachi, the newest member of the Elite Four was here to pick up the Pokémon rescued from Team Snake. And that meant trouble for the Sound Trio, considering Kabuto had tasked them with stealing those Pokémon back! Karen's entire kidnapping was just an elaborate distraction for the local police. But with Itachi here to retrieve the stolen 'mons already…that meant the trio had to act before he did.

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…Back at the Pokécenter…

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Once breakfast was over and the near brawl resolved, Sasuke had some additional news for everyone.

"Itachi called me last night, just before bed. He and Karen arranged for us to have a rematch with Iruka in a few days," Sasuke explained.

"So soon?" Hinata gasped. "But, why would he do that? We haven't even started trying to work through Katsuki's problems!"

From where he was sulking, the Quilava winced slightly, noticing she hadn't said anything about Kata- that stupid, self-righteous talking freak!

"Yeah, but we'll be able to train together until our rematch, so everything'll be fine," Sasuke said. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Itachi feels really bad about not seeing me off at my journey's start, so he wants to make it up by seeing me win my first gym badge. He'll have to be heading back to Oakcrown in a few days because of his job, so I agreed we'd try again for our Antidote badges before he leaves."

"That's fair," Naruto said with a nod. He smiled, adding, "Let me guess: he's also going to help train us every day before our rematch, right?"

Sasuke smiled. "He mentioned something about giving us some pointers."

"Ooh, we'll be training with a member of the Elite Four!" Sakura said excitedly.

"And Karen said she wanted to teach us about coordination today," Sasuke added, which caused Sakura to squeal in delight.

"Stop being loud!" Sasuke snapped, glowering at the girl.

Sakura blushed and smiled bashfully, but her giddy expression did not falter.

"…anyway, that wasn't the only thing Itachi said," Sasuke explained. "There was…one last thing he said he wanted to check and get back to me on this morning." He allowed himself a small smile. "…Itachi checked the Pokémon we rescued from Team Snake, looking for Hitomi's little brother."

From her spot with the others, Hitomi froze, looking up expectantly. So did everyone else, for that matter.

"…well, did he find him?!" Naruto demanded, unable to hold it in.

Sasuke smiled, nodding. "Itachi texted me first thing this morning; he found him, and he'll bring him to us as soon as he's done filling out some paperwork."

"DEWOTT!" Hitomi suddenly rocketed into Sasuke's arms with Aqua Jet, not caring that she splashed water all over the room as she hugged her trainer tightly and kissed him on the cheek.

"Stop it, stop it! Enough of that!" Sasuke protested, pushing her away.

His Dewott beamed at Sasuke, looking absolutely giddy. "Dewott-wott-wott!"

…She is saying thank you… Kikyo translated. …Along with how she can never repay you, that you're a hero, and many things along those lines…

"You're welcome, and I'm not a hero," Sasuke said firmly.

"But you did find her brother, just like you promised!" Sakura pointed out, playfully putting her arms around him from behind. "And so soon after promising it! That's heroic!"

"Don't be stupid; I didn't do anything," Sasuke said, getting annoyed. "He was being smuggled at the same time Hitomi was. Hell, checking the rescued Pokémon was your idea, so you deserve credit for that, and Itachi is the one who arranged for Hitomi's brother to be given to me without having to fill out a bunch of paperwork. I haven't really done anything."

Even so, Hitomi was beside herself with joy, and the rest of the group soon shared in her enthusiasm.

They left their room at the Pokécenter and waited in the lounge, idly watching the center's television as they waited for Itachi and Karen. The channel was set to a documentary talking about the most mysterious places in the Konoha Region. Naruto found it boring, but Sakura was very much enjoying it.

"When it comes to Dragon-types, you typically think of tall, imposing mountains and unforgiving landscapes. However, Dragon-types can be found in a variety of strange environments throughout the Konoha Region. And none of them stranger than the Dragon's Teeth Mesa, a great formation of stone surrounded by marshland and cloaked in perpetual fog. Located at the heart of Dragonfire Marsh, the Dragon's Teeth Mesa has long baffled scientists; the mesa remains largely unexplored and uncharted, due to a combination of natural phenomena and inhospitable weather. And yet, it is teeming with life, with some of the most incredible biodiversity in all of Konoha."

The narration went on, showing pictures of plant and Pokémon life, along with examples of the mesa's natural dangers. Apparently, explorers attempting to map the area always ended up lost in the fog that surrounded Dragon's Teeth Mesa, sometimes finding themselves miles off course. There were dozens of theories to explain this, but the documentary gave no definite answers. Instead, it started talking about the Dragon-types in the area. The mesa possessed a surprisingly large variety of Dragon-type Pokémon, though most were only rarely seen by people. The documentary cut to interviews with the people who inhabited the marshland around the mesa, who recounted various sightings of Dragon-types, many of which normally lived in radically different environments. The narration explained that most scientists suspected that the mesa was a migration hotspot for Dragon-types, which explained the rare yet unusual sightings.

"Ugh, this is so boring," Naruto sighed, stirring in his chair to avoid falling asleep. "They barely even talked about any Pokémon; just all the stupid theories about the place!"

"Hush. I'm trying to listen," Sakura said sharply.

"What's so fascinating?" Naruto asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Some of us actually like learning and exercising our brains. Besides, Prof. Tsunade was a Dragon-type specialist and ex-member of the Elite Four! She mentioned Dragon's Teeth Mesa to me once."

Naruto was about to ask why Sakura needed to learn more if Granny Tsunade had already taught her about it when an exclamation of excitement cut him off.

"Bagon! Bagon!" It was Sora, who was jumping up and down and screaming at the screen. "Bagonbagonbagonbagonbagonbagon!"

"What's gotten into you?" Naruto asked, moving close and scratching Sora on a spot on his back that was supposed to calm him. He looked at what the Bagon was pointing at: a waterfall at the Dragon's Teeth Mesa.

"Bagon!" Sora said, calmer now but still excited.

"[Hey, I can help!]" Kata said, suddenly at Naruto's side. The Riolu gave a big, friendly smile at his trainer. Clearly, he was hoping his services as a translator would help get him back in everyone's good graces.

Naruto nodded, and Kata translated.

"[Hardhead is saying that he remembers that waterfall! He remembers being carried through it by his mama.]"

Naruto did a doubletake. He had nearly forgotten that Sora wasn't sure how he ended up where he did when he met Naruto and company! And Naruto hadn't even thought about asking Kata to see if he could get some clues from Sora and translating for them. The boy felt guilty for a moment, but pushed it away, instead focusing on what they had just learned.

"You're saying you come from the Dragon's Teeth Mesa?" Sakura asked, looking bewildered. "But that's over a month's travel away by foot! How'd you end up here?"

"It's a month away by foot, maybe, but not by air," Naruto pointed out. "It's only a few hours by flight…especially for a Salamence. They're among the fastest fliers of all Dragon-types."

Sora gasped, wondering what his trainer was getting at.

"What're you suggesting?" Sakura asked; she had some of idea of what Naruto meant, but not the whole picture.

Naruto picked up Sora and put the Dragon on his lap. "Hey, try thinking back to when you fell out of the sky and nearly hit me. Do you remember anything that happened?"

The Bagon screwed up his face as he did his best to concentrate, pressing his paws against his skullcap. With the memory of the waterfall now unlocked, things were starting to flow through his mind. After a while, he said something, which Kata translated.

"[He thinks he remembers that he was up high, happy. He was pretending he was flying, but he thinks he was being carried. And then he remembers flashes and fire, and suddenly, everything was scary…and there was a monster.]" Kata spoke to Sora, but he shook his head at the Bagon's response. "[He says he can't remember what it looked like…he just remembers it was like a storm cloud, all black and blue and evil."

Naruto nodded grimly. "…I think I'm starting to see what happened." He turned to everyone. "Salamence mothers have been know to take their Bagon children on play flights, carrying them as they fly through the skies."

"Are you suggesting that Sora was being carried by his mother and he accidently fell?" Sakura asked.

"Considering what Sora remembers, it sounds like she was attacked," Hinata said softly.

Sora let out a whimper and clung to Naruto, burring his face in his trainer's chest.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah…that's what it sounds like…but what would attack a Salamence in flight? What even could?! They don't have any natural predators, and there's only a handful of Pokémon that could keep up with one in in the air!"

"A Hydreigon could," Sasuke said. He had been listening to the others carefully while stroking his chin, slightly pushing his lips in and out as he pulled pieces of the puzzle together. "Sora said his mother was attacked by a black and blue monster that flew, looked like an evil storm cloud, and shot fire and lighting; that sounds like a Hydregion. Hydregion are known to be ultra-aggressive and territorial. They'll attack anything that moves if they're hungry or angry, and they'll chase it down until its dead. And Hydregion are always hungry or angry." He looked up at the others. "Uh, Itachi has one; he raised it from an egg and it's still hard for him to control sometimes. There's a reason they're known as the Brutal Pokémon."

Sakura nodded. "I remember studying them under Tsunade. They're natural enemies of all other Dragon-types, and will attack them on sight."

Sora shivered in in Naruto's arms, fighting back tears as he struggled to try and remember anything more.

Naruto continued to soothe him as best he could. "We won't know for sure unless we go to Dragon's Teeth Mesa and find the truth for ourselves…maybe we'll find Sora's mother."

His Bagon look up with hopeful eyes, to which Naruto just smiled at him.

"I promised I'd help you remember. And I never go back on my word; that's my trainer's way!"

The others looked at one another, considering Naruto's declaration. They all nodded in agreement.

"Lilybog Town is in Dragonfire Marsh, and it has a gym, so we'd have to go there anyway," Sakura pointed out. "Not to mention, Steel Blossom City is on the way, and it has a gym, too."

Sasuke nodded. "We can start traveling for the marsh as soon as we're done here."

Hinata just smiled and gave Sora a reassuring pat on the head.

The Bagon cheered and licked Naruto on the face with glee, causing the boy to giggle.

After a bit more cheering from Sora, the group settled down and continued waiting for Itachi. After about twenty minutes, he finally showed up, once again dressed in sunglasses and a hat with his hair down.

"Sasuke-!" he began, but was instantly cut off by Hitomi's squeal of joy. Before he could realize what was happening, the Dewott had rocketed behind him with Aqua Jet and started pushing him in towards the group. "Hey, easy there!"

"Hitomi, stop that," Sasuke ordered. He could understand her being excited, but he despised such emotional displays.

"Hey, if you were about to be reunited with your long-lost family, you'd be excited too," Naruto countered.

"She can be excited without being obnoxious," Sasuke said firmly.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

Sakura noticed something. "Hey, where's Karen? I thought she'd be here with you."

Itachi shook his head. "She wanted to check out the contest hall before you started training. She also mentioned that she was told some sound technicians needed to get some work at the hall, so Karen decided to check up and see how they're doing."

"Dewott-wott-WOTT!" Hitomi suddenly snarled, grabbing Itachi's sleeve and pulling at it impatiently.

Akodo growled at her to behave, but Itachi just chuckled.

"Okay, fine," he said, pulling a black Pokéball out and handing it over to Sasuke; the number '627' was printed across it. "You've been waiting long enough for this."

Sasuke took the ball and opened it. "Welcome to the family."

As the little Pokémon materialized, Naruto gasped in surprise. Hitomi's little brother was a Vulpix! And not just any Vulpix, but one with a white, fluffy coat of fur!

"An Arctic Vulpix!" Naruto said breathlessly.

The white Vulpix looked around in confusion, first at Sasuke, and then whipping around at Naruto's exclamation. His right eye was the ice blue of his subspecies, but his left one was red, like a normal Vulpix.

"Cool!" Naruto said before he could help it, smiling big.

"DEWOTT!" Hitomi cried, dashing in and throwing her arms around her beloved baby brother. She proceeded to smother the Vulpix in a flood of hugs and kisses, babbling nonstop the whole time.

"Pix! Pix!" her brother protested, struggling to escape the onslaught, but to no avail.

"He's a Shiny?" Hinata asked softly, looking at the white Vulpix with a slightly bewitched expression.

Naruto laughed. "Nah, Shiny Vulpix are gold. This little guy's a regional variant; an Arctic Vulpix!" He pulled out his Pokédex to explain.

"Vulpix, the Fox Pokémon; Arctic subspecies," the 'dex pinged. "This regional variation of the mainstream Vulpix-line was born from several generations living in snowy areas, such as high mountains or tundra plains. This line's fur naturally generates cold, so much so that ice particles are constantly forming on its coat. Before it was discovered to be a variant of Vulpix, this Pokémon was referred to as 'Keokeo' by the natives of its homeland."

"He's pretty as an ice sculpture," Sakura remarked.

By now, Hitomi had calmed down enough to release her brother and let him breath, but she was still babbling on about how much she missed him and feared never seeing him again, barely holding back a flood of tears.

Her brother, meanwhile, kept his own reaction fairly muted. He looked happy, but in a reserved, controlled way. Instead, he focused his energy on observing his surroundings, looking around and taking measure of everyone.

"Shouldn't you let us introduce ourselves, Hitomi?" Sasuke finally asked, tired of waiting.

His Dewott blushed, looking up at the various humans and Pokémon that surrounded her. Gulping, she nodded, looking over at Kata. "Dewott-wott, Dewott."

"[She says her brother's name is Shoto,]" Kata explained.

Shoto's mismatched eyes widened slightly as he realized that the Riolu was talking to the humans, but Hitomi quickly explained the situation to him.

"Shoto, I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I'm your sister's trainer, and now I'm yours as well," Sasuke said, confident and without hesitation. "Welcome. These are your other teammates: Bayushi, Togashi, and Akodo. Oh, and that man over there is Itachi, my elder brother. He's the one that found you."

"Hi," Itachi said simply, smiling and waving.

"Vul…pix," Shoto said slowly as each of his new teammates nodded towards him. Similar to when his sister first met everyone, Shoto seemed to take his measure of everyone while remaining calm and observant.

Bayushi sniffed the Vulpix curiously, while Akodo pushed himself forward and proudly said hello, with Togashi respectfully giving Shoto space and acknowledging him with a nod.

Following that, everyone else introduced themselves in turn.

Hinata and her team respectfully greeted Shoto, but were conscientious enough to give Shoto space and not overwhelm him (save for Katsuki, who just hung around in the background and ignored everything, save for a grunt when Hinata introduced him).

Sakura's team, meanwhile, was much more animated. Tetsu flew in close, hovering an inch away from Shoto's face, not making a sound, just staring him in the eye. Shoto just met his gaze dispassionately, without any outward expression, until at last Tetsu seemed to shiver and float away, while Shoto gave no response whatsoever. Ochako, meanwhile, just happily offered a vine to for Shoto to shake. The Vulpix looked at it for a moment, as if not sure what to do, until Hitomi whispered to him and Shoto nodded, shaking the vine. Ochako force a smile; aside from the awkwardness of the situation, Shoto's touch was also ice cold. Lastly, Mina slurped out of Sakura's hands and crawled right up to Shoto before her trainer could help it. The baby giggled at the Vulpix and gave him a sloppy kiss, cooing in delight upon finding out that he felt like frost on a window. The Goomy started licking Shoto's fur, too innocent to notice Shoto's stoic grimace.

"Mina, stop that!" Sakura said, moving to pull her baby away.

Privately, Sasuke was impressed that his Vulpix was so controlled; Sasuke wouldn't have stayed quiet if Mina was slobbering over him.

Sora had now run over and attempted to join in the licking, innocently mimicking his fellow Dragon-type. Hitomi moved between them, giving the Bagon a sharp strike on the head.

"Hey, come on, you're making him uncomfortable," Naruto reprimanded, pulling Sora back by the scruff of his neck. He looked at Shoto, whose face was fixed with an expression of muted annoyance. Naruto chuckled. "Sorry, little buddy. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. This Dragon's Sora. There's Kubo, and you've met Kata."

Kubo put his hands together and bowed respectfully, while Kata waved and winked.

Shoto tilted his head slightly, as if unsure what was expected of him. Eventually, he settled on dipping his head forward about an inch; to Shoto, it was an expressive and friendly nod.

Naruto and his team just smiled and accepted it.

Hitomi had retrieved a brush from Sasuke's pack (without asking her trainer) and had started combing her brother's now matted fur.

"Someone's an attentive big sister," Naruto said, smiling.

"Dewott," Hitomi nodded proudly.

"Tch…how adorable," Sasuke said flatly. Privately, he noticed that Shoto looked less than thrilled at his sister's doting behavior, though maybe it was just that he was still in shock over his newfound liberation. Still, the Vulpix was possibly the most unexpressive Pokémon Sasuke had ever seen. He wondered if Shoto's experiences under Team Snake had stunted his emotions.

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts by Itachi's voice.

"As cute as this reunion is, I'm going to have to leave soon," Itachi announced.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"I got a call from the Konoha League this morning," Itachi explained. "Apparently, sources in the Konoha Police believe that Team Snake might attempt to steal those Pokémon you rescued. Though it can't be confirmed, it was decided it's better to be safe than sorry; instead of leaving in three days, I'm to grab them and leave ASAP."

"I see," Sasuke said, showing only a slight amount of outward surprise.

"Oh…so that means you won't get to watch Sasuke win his first badge…or hang out with Karen," Sakura said slowly.

"That's not fair!" Naruto protested, but Sasuke held up a hand to silence him.

"It's perfectly fair and understandable," the dark boy said in a firm, neutral voice. "Itachi's priority is the safety of those Pokémon. Being part of the Elite Four means he has responsibilities. Don't be childish."

"Ah, you don't have to act so grown up and mature," Itachi sighed affectionately. "You're allowed to be disappointed."

Sasuke just frowned and gave his brother a sideways glare.

Itachi smiled and went on. "Besides, who says I have to miss anything?"

"Eh?" Sasuke asked.

"I can Fly back to Oakcrown with my Honchkrow, drop off the Pokémon, and Fly back here by dinner time," Itachi pointed out.

"Don't you have responsibilities?" Sasuke asked. "You were sent here only to retrieve those Pokémon."

"Yeah, but my schedule was set up so that I'd be here for a few more days, so I don't have any official business planned until then," Itachi explained. "As long as no one gives me anything else to do, I'll just Fly back here as soon as I'm done dropping the Pokémon off. If anyone asks any questions, I'll just explain that I left my Houndoom here and I need to retrieve her." He smiled mischievously.

Sasuke frowned. "…you are so going to catch hell from your superiors."

Itachi shrugged. "What are they going to do, fire me?" he said rhetorically, rolling his eyes melodramatically. He let out a laugh. "I'd love to see them try! Kakashi and I are the only active members of the Konoha Elite Four. Siba stepped down to renew his training after Might Guy gave him such a sound defeat last spring, and Grandmother Kikuko's announced her retirement; she's got a successor chosen, but he hasn't been sworn in yet. Until every post on the team is filled, I've got the ultimate job security!"

Everyone, even Sasuke, shared a laugh at Itachi's audacity.

"Well, I guess I should add Shoto to my team and make it official. Might as well get that out of the way right now, before you leave," Sasuke said, holding up the black Pokéball that had imprisoned the Vulpix. He was about to open it and press the release button (located on the inside of the ball, so it couldn't accidently pressed) when Hitomi suddenly jumped up and struck with a Razor Shell attack, hewing the Pokéball in half even as Sasuke held it.

Everyone reacted at once: Sakura screamed, Naruto nearly stumbled back, Hinata gasped, Itachi jumped forward to check on his brother, and Sasuke let out a particularly loud and choice selection of profanity.

"WHAT THE F*$&, HITOMI!?" Sasuke exclaimed, instinctively pulling his hand back and dropping the ball's remains. Luckily, he hadn't been cut.

"Dewott!" Hitomi said, landing in a pose and smiling as the two halves of Shoto's ball fell on either side of her. She turned and looked at her brother proudly.

"VEE!"

"SHINX!"

Both Bayushi and Akodo had rushed at her, growling angrily at her. She scoffed unapologetically.

"You could have hit Sasuke!" Itachi said angrily, grabbing Sasuke's hand and checking to make sure he was alright.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said quickly, pulling away. "And let me handle this!" He turned to Hitomi, resolving to be firm and controlled. "I don't care how happy you are to see your brother; you still need to control yourself and remember who's your trainer. Don't do stupid, dangerous things just because you're excited."

Hitomi looked up at her trainer guiltily, but hesitantly said something in protest. Kata translated.

"[She says it's no big deal. You weren't even hurt.]"

Sasuke frowned. "That doesn't matter; refusing to admit fault is the mark of a coward and a fool." Once again, Sasuke found himself quoting one of his father's proverbs. "Apologize, and we can drop this."

At this, Hitomi winced in shame.

Next to her, Shoto looked at her imploringly; it was the most emotional expression he had displayed since being let out of his ball.

Sighing, the Dewott hung her head in shame and apologized, admitting that her trainer was right.

"Good. We can move on," Sasuke announced, not giving anyone else time to react. He pulled out an empty Pokéball. "Now, to catch Shoto-"

"Before you do, put that away," Itachi said, putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I got you this, to commemorate the moment." He held out a Luxury Ball to Sasuke.

"Ah, how thoughtful," Sakura cooed.

Hitomi nodded eagerly, putting an arm around her brother's neck and saying he deserved the best (Kata had translated).

For his part, Shoto gave no outward reaction to the idea of being caught in the Luxury Ball, but then again, no reaction seemed to be his choice reaction to everything.

"I can handle catching my own team," Sasuke protested weakly towards Itachi. Still, he took the Luxury Ball from Itachi without further protest. There was no point in it. After all, the ball was bought and paid for. Sasuke turned to Shoto and tossed the ball at him, repeating his first words to the Vulpix. "Welcome to the family."

-0o0o0-

…Meanwhile, at the Teakgrove Contest Hall…

-0o0o0-

"You've got to be kidding me," Dosu said breathlessly, staring at the speaker.

He and the rest of the Sound Trio had been listening in on the twirps' conversation with Itachi, hoping to find the best time to make their move and steal back the experimental Pokémon. Instead, they found out they were already too late!

"What the Houndoom do we do now?" Kin asked rhetorically.

"I don't know. Let me think!" Dosu snapped, rubbing his temples in frustration.

What the Houndoom where they going to do?! Kabuto had given them special orders to steal those stupid Pokémon back, after basically telling them that he was throwing Mizuki under the bus just to make sure they succeeded! If they failed their first official mission from HQ and ended up empty handed-!

"Hey, why aren't you brats ready yet?" Mizuki yelled from the entrance of the contest hall, carrying a large box of sound equipment. "I'm doing all the work!

In truth, they were just slinging a bunch of wires and equipment about randomly; they only needed to make it look like they were working on the acoustics, after all. But now, there really wasn't much reason for them to even help Mizuki in his doomed mission, Dosu mused angrily to himself. Wait, that was it!

"I've got it!" Dosu cried, snapping his fingers.

"No, I've got it, along with everything else!" Mizuki said, heaving the box up and tossing it onto the stage. "Now move your butts and help me before Karen arrives!"

"Yeah, just give us a second," Dosu said, pulling his teammates in for a quick huddle.

Mizuki swore angrily and stomped away.

"What's the plan?" Zaku asked.

Dosu smiled and quickly explained himself.

After that, the Sound Trio went to work setting up, with much more diligence than before. Finally, a ping from the security camera set up at the front door told them that someone had arrived. A quick check confirmed it was Karen Blackthorn. However, she wasn't alone.

"What the-? What's Iruka doing here?!" Mizuki gasped.

"Who?" Kin asked.

"Iruka, my boss!" Mizuki growled. "Why is he here?!"

"Maybe he's curious why the contest hall's acoustics need work?" Zaku suggested jokingly.

"I have to get rid of him. We can't have any witnesses to this kidnapping," Mizuki said.

"Why not just capture him too?" Kin suggested.

"If we do that, everything is sure to be traced back to me," Mizuki pointed out. "And what would we do with him, anyway?"

"The same thing we'd do with Karen," Dosu said. "Look, see if you can get rid of him, but if he won't leave, we'll take him out too; sorry if you lose your job or have to change your name, but we've got a mission!"

Growling, Mizuki nodded and ran for the door, not wanting to keep them waiting.

Forcing a smile on his face, he opened the door." Ah, Oboro Iga!" Mizuki called, using her fake identity, "You've arrived right on time. The technicians have almost finished all their work and will be cleaning up soon. Oh, Iruka, what are you doing here?" He did his best to act surprised yet pleasant.

"Uh, well, I overheard you mentioning the hall's acoustics needing work, so I wanted to see what was going on," Iruka admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"…are you flipping serious?" Mizuki said flatly, dropping all courtesy after hearing Iruka's idiotic statement.

"Ah, he's just making that up," Karen said with a smile. "In truth, he's feeling bad about disqualifying Naruto and the others yesterday, and so he asked me if he could help them train up today."

"It is my job to teach trainers," Iruka pointed out, blushing slightly.

"Ahhh…I see," Mizuki said, groaning inwardly. That meant there'd be no way to convince Iruka to leave. So they had no choice but to take him out, too. That was a pity…Mizuki really liked this job. He could slouch most of his duties without Iruka noticing, and the pay was good. But he liked both his legs, too, and if he didn't complete this mission, Kabuto was sure to send someone to break them…and that was in the best-case scenario.

"Well, um, come on in. We're almost ready," Mizuki said, motioning for the two to follow him.

"I hope so," Karen said, looking around as Mizuki lead her into the main auditorium; there were wires and equipment everywhere.

She couldn't help but gasp when they came to the stage, though. There was a group of youths fiddling with some equipment; Karen assumed they must have been apprentices to the actual sound technician, since they looked to be only in their mid-teens. What surprised her, however, were the Pokémon roaming around the auditorium.

First was a particularly stalky Exploud, which was being ordered about by the teen with an eyepatch and a Chatot on his shoulder. Aside from looking somewhat aggressive, Karen had no reason to be impressed by the Exploud, though; it was not a rare Pokémon by any means. However, the other boy, who had short black hair, was on the other side of the stage, directing a pair of purple, bipedal, lizard-like Pokémon. Vaguely, Karen recalled that the species was named Toxtricity, and were Electric/Poison-types. She had never actually seen one in real life, however; strangely, one of them had a yellow belly and a matching mohawk-like frill, while the other was blue-bellied with a horn and two blue mohawks. Karen wasn't sure if that meant that they were alternative forms, or if one was a branch-evolution of their basic form.

"Punk, Glam, get into position," Zaku ordered (Punk being the yellow one, and Glam being the blue one). He turned, and noticed Karen staring. "Neat, aren't they?"

"Uh, sorry!" Karen said bashfully. "I'm just surprised to see such rare Pokémon! Those aren't from Konoha. I'd expect only a dedicated collector would have a pair like that."

Zaku smiled. "Yeah, they were such a pain to find, but they were worth it!" He smiled affectionately at his Toxtricity pair. "The two are such a big help with our music- ouch!"

Kin smacked Zaku on the back of the head. "Don't waste the client's time talking about your personal life!"

"They're part Poison, right?" Iruka asked, leaning in closer for a better look.

Zaku nodded. "Yeah! How'd you know that?"

"I'm a Poison-type gym leader," Iruka pointed out. "Hehe, I've been considering adding one to my team, but I can't afford the cost it would take to get an egg."

Zaku smiled and started prattling about his rare Pokémon, only for Kin to jab him in the ribs and tell him to stop wasting time.

"Yeah, speaking of which, how much longer are you going to be?" Karen asked politely. Unlike Iruka, who was interested in the Toxtricity, Karen had quickly gotten over her initial shock and wanted to get things moving.

"We're just about done, actually," Dosu said. "We just need your help checking to make sure all the acoustics are working."

"Oh? How so?" Karen said, tilting her head slightly.

"Can you both just get up on the stage and stand over there?" Dosu explained, helping Karen climb up and move to the center of the stage. Iruka soon followed. "We just need to see if your voice carries across the room when speaking."

"Oh, okay," Karen said, a bit confused. "Uh, but why do you need my help? Couldn't you do this yourselves?"

"And why do you need both of us up here?" Iruka added.

"Audience participation," Zaku shrugged, as if that explained anything. "And besides, we didn't want to leave you out."

Iruka and Karen looked at one another, still confused. In their confusion, they both failed to notice trio's Pokémon were now surrounding them from both sides and behind. Or that the trio themselves had carefully moved off the stage.

The loud click of switch being toggled grabbed their attention. They both turned to see Mizuki flipping on a generator-like device. Half a second later, Karen recognized it as a Pokéball suppression field.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Karen shouted as she desperately yanked two Pokéballs from her belt, hoping to release them before the suppression field went up. Next to her, Iruka followed suit, though he had no idea what was wrong.

A deafening cacophony of screams exploded from all around them. From all sides, blasts of sound hit Karen and Iruka with the force of a sonic boom, rattling their minds and bones alike.

Screaming, Karen tossed her Pokéballs down and slapped her hands over her ears, trying to keep them from bleeding. She looked up to see what the Houndoom was happening.

It was Punk, Glam, and the Exploud, assaulting them with sonic attacks.

Next to her, Iruka desperately tried running off the stage. However, the sonic attack messed with his inner ear as much as the rest of his body, and after two steps, Iruka hit the floor, unable to maintain his balance.

Next to him, Karen's pair of Pokéballs wiggled and lit up as the occupants tried to escape them. It was too late, however. The suppression field was up.

Desperately, Karen pulled out her phone and tried pressing the speed diel. No matter who she called, it would mean someone would be altered to what was going on. But the sound seemed inescapable, and it was getting louder and more painful. Without realizing it, Karen dropped to her knees, her phone falling out of her hand. Things were already starting to go black…

"That's enough!" Dosu shouted, though there was no way the Sound Trio's Pokémon could hear him over the din of noise. He punctuated his command by smacking his Exploud on the shoulder. That got him to stop, with Punk and Glam following suit. Dosu looked down on their unconscious targets. "Hehe, good work, Bohemian," he said, referring to his Exploud.

Karen Blackworth, candidate for the Elite Four, famed coordinator and trainer…captured by three lowly Team Snake grunts. They were going to be famous for this!

"WE DID IT! WE ACTUALLY DID IT!" Mizuki shouted, laughing like a madman.

"Quit screaming!" Dosu ordered. "There's been enough shouting already!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Mizuki asked, cupping a hand over his ear and leaning close to Dosu.

"…did you forget to put your earplugs in?" Dosu snapped, slapping his forehead. "WE WARNED YOU BEFOREHAND!"

"WHO CARES ABOUT POWER PLUGS? WE CAUGHT KAREN BLACKWORTH!" Mizuki shouted.

"Idiot," Kin sighed, pulling the plugs out of her own ears. They had all put them in just before Karen and Iruka entered the room. "Come on. Let's tie 'em up before they wake up."

The Sound Trio got to work while Mizuki hung in the background, not sure what to do aside from wait for his hearing to return to normal. Not that they needed his help; in a few minutes, Karen and Iruka were handcuffed, tied up, and gagged. Zaku retrieved their Pokéballs and activated their safety locks.

Just like that, two of the strongest trainers in the area were now helpless!

"Their teams are secure; you can turn off the suppression field!" Zaku shouted over to Mizuki.

"No need to shout, I'm not deaf!" Mizuki snapped back, stomping over to the device.

"Why not just keep it on?" Kin asked. "Since Zaku adjusted the settings so that our Pokéballs still work, is there any reason to keep it off?"

"It's got a limited battery, and leaving it on even for a few minutes will drain it," Dosu explained. "So, we should only use it if necessary. Now pat her down and make sure she doesn't have a lockpick or anything on her. I'll check the guy."

Kin laughed. "What's the matter? Afraid to touch a girl?"

"Please, I'm a criminal; that doesn't mean I don't have standards," Dosu responded as he searched Iruka, while Kin did the same to Karen.

"Check her hair for hairpins or something," Zaku added.

"Hair pins? Those only work in movies," Kin said, scoffing. Still, she quickly checked their prisoner's hair. "Nope. Nothing. Just some standard stuff in her purse: keys, cash, cards, mace…kind of disappointing, actually."

"Don't be stupid; be grateful this job was so easy!" Mizuki snapped. He pointed out a few hidden pockets on Iruka's vest. "Check for stuff there and there. Remember, his gym's got a ninja theme. He has to have some lockpicks on him!"

Sure enough, Dosu fished out a very nice set of lockpicks, hidden on the inside of Iruka's vest. "Ooh, I'm keeping these," he said, stowing them in a pocket. He kept searching, finding a penknife, a second set of lockpicks, a small canaster of mace, some smoke bombs, and finally a folding multitool. "Man, this guy takes the whole 'ninja theme' seriously."

"Yeah, sure," Mizuki said impatiently. "Look, we don't know if anyone was expecting Iruka back at the gym. I need to head back to my apparent and start packing my things! I'll have to skip town after this! Team Snake better compensate me! Now, I'll go get my car and-"

"No," Dosu said.

"What?" Mizuki turned over to the teen. "What did you say?"

"We're not going anywhere," Dosu said, crossing his arms and planting his feet firmly down. "The job's not done."

"…are you crazy!?" Mizuki demanded. "We just kidnapped one of the most famous trainers in Konoha, along with the city's gym leader! We've got a few hours at most until someone notices they're missing! Not to mention, kidnapping Karen was the whole point of this mission!"

"No, it was just a distraction for the real mission," Dosu responded evenly.

Mizuki did a doubletake. He looked at Dosu, as if waiting for him to explain.

"Kabuto doesn't care about Karen at all," Zaku explained. "What he really wanted was for us to steal back his experimental Pokémon from the police. You were supposed to keep the cops busy for us."

Mizuki mulled over what the teens had told him for a few seconds, putting the pieces together.

"…so while the cops were out combing the city looking for me, you three were going to sneak into police headquarters and steal those Pokémon back…wait, that means I was just the bait!"

Kin nodded, smiling viciously. "Kabuto actually told us to call the cops and give them an anonymous tip to your location if they didn't take the bait."

"You- You set me up!" Mizuki roared, whipping a Pokéball from his belt. "You rotten little brats!"

He tossed the ball down, calling out his Muk.

The amorphous Pokémon started to lunge forward, only to be shoved back by Dosu's Exploud. The larger Pokémon stepped between them, growling aggressively.

"Technically, Kabuto set you up. We just went along with it," Zaku pointed out.

Mizuki's expression turned murderous. He grabbed two more balls from his belt, only for the Sound Trio to do the same.

A series of flashes, and Mizuki's Muk was flanked by his Beedrill and Seviper, while the Sound Trio had called out their Golbat, Steenee, and Thwackey. With Bohemian, Punk and Glam already out and ready to fight, things looked squarely in the trio's favor.

Echoes, who had flown off Dosu's shoulder and was now circling overhead, started singing some stereotypical stand-off music.

"Let's not lose our heads," Dosu said diplomatically. "You ticked off the Boss, and attacking us won't fix that."

"…no," Mizuki conceded. "But it will make me feel better."

"Yeah, right up until we reduce you to a greasy smear on the wall," Zaku growled. He wasn't sure why they didn't just take him and finish the plan themselves!

"Zaku's point aside, you still need us, and we could use you," Dosu said.

"Eh?" Mizuki said, raising an eyebrow.

"The only way for you to get back into the boss's good graces is to do something spectacular," Dosu pointed out. "We were supposed to steal those experimental Pokémon back, but we just found out that Itachi Uchiha flew off with them thirty minutes ago."

Mizuki face broke out into a mean smile. "You mean you failed your mission!"

Dosu narrowed his one eye. "Yeah. So, the best we can hope for is to make it up to Kabuto someway. As it so happens, we actually did succeed in kidnapping Karen Blackworth. While it might not have been Kabuto's original goal, I think he'll be pleased with it all the same."

"Especially if we hand over Karen's team of highly trained Pokémon! Hers and Iruka's!" Kin added.

Mizuki nodded. "Okay…so why don't we just get out of here while we still can?"

Dosu shook his head. "Not yet…there's still something we need to do…involving those twirps."

"What are you talking about?!" Mizuki demanded.

Dosu sighed. "Listen, fool. Those twirps that Karen was hanging out with have three of the experimental Pokémon on their teams."

"Three of the most successful ones, too," Zaku pointed out.

"Not to mention two Shinys and a talking Riolu!" Kin added.

"If we secure those, Kabuto is sure to be pleased," Dosu concluded.

"It's too risky; we should just take the captives we have and get out of town as fast as possible!" Mizuki insisted.

"You'll do as your told," Dosu said firmly. "Don't forget that Kabuto never planned on you successfully kidnapping Karen. He might not even be pleased with us handing over her Pokémon; after all, they're probably super loyal to her. Team Snake might not be able to break them. If that's the case, what will you have to show for your mission, eh?"

Mizuki winced.

"But, if we can deliver not only Karen, the Gym Leader, and their Pokémon, but also all the special Pokémon the twerps have, it'll prove to Kabuto that we did our very best, all things considered. He might even be more pleased than if we succeeded in our original mission," Dosu concluded.

Mizuki scoffed and crossed his arms. "And how exactly do you plan on stealing those brats' teams, eh? Hunt them down and mug 'em?"

Dosu rolled his eyes. "You really are thick, aren't you?" He leaned down and picked up Karen's phone, thumbing through the contacts. "Let's see…ah, there's Sasuke Uchiha's number." Humming, he started typing a text message. "It's always better to bring your prey to you, rather than hunting it down."

"…I knew that," Mizuki said weakly.

-0o0o0-

…Back at the Teakgrove Pokécenter…

-0o0o0-

"See? There we go. Nice, smooth strokes," Naruto said happily, brushing one of Shoto's tails as Sasuke and Hitomi sat nearby, watching intently. "Use your wrist to move the brush, not your arm. If you come across a snag, don't pull on it. Work through it gently."

Earlier, Naruto had noticed Hitomi brushing Shoto's fur…or more accurately, he had noticed she was brushing his fur incorrectly. Having grown up caring for normal and arctic Ninetales under the instruction of his coordinator mother, Naruto had to speak up.

At first, Hitomi was clearly insulted at the idea that Naruto somehow could do a better job brushing her own brother than she could, but Sasuke ordered her to see what Naruto had to say.

It only took a few seconds of Naruto's skillful brushing for Shoto to calmly cross his front paws and relax, letting out a peaceful sigh. Seeing her brother in such a blissful state left Hitomi stuttering an apology to Naruto, asking him to show her more.

"Here, your turn, Sasuke," Naruto said, handing the brush over.

Hitomi motioned for Naruto to give it to her, but he shook his head.

"Sasuke has to learn to do this; Vulpix have very fine fur that needs to be brushed every day. It's a trainer's job to see to all of their Pokémon's needs," Naruto said, winking at Sasuke.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and started brushing Shoto's second tail. "How hard can it be?"

On cue, he accidently yanked on a knot, making Shoto flinch in surprise.

"Dewott!" Hitomi rebuked, telling him to be careful.

"The fur on the tail is especially fine, Sasuke; be gentle!" Naruto said. "And don't forget: curling motions!"

Sighing, Sasuke repeated his attempts, doing his best to follow Naruto's instructions. Slowly, he brushed through Shoto's second tail, though Sasuke noticed that his Vulpix wasn't nearly as relaxed as when Naruto had been brushing.

"You have a talent for this," Sasuke admitted, letting Hitomi work on the next tail.

"I was taught what to do by my mother," Naruto pointed out.

"It's still amazing that someone who did so badly in school can know so much," Sakura muttered.

She and Hinata had both been watching Naruto's little lesson on proper Vulpix-brushing techniques.

"What was that?" Naruto asked, shooting a look at Sakura.

"I was just wondering what makes Shoto special," Sakura said quickly. She winced, realizing that was the wrong thing to say. "Er, I mean, I was wondering what sort of experiments Team Snake performed on him." She pulled out her Pokénav and started looking through the files they had stolen from Team Snake.

Sasuke looked up, very interested in what Sakura had to say. Next to him, Hitomi rolled her eyes and started speaking, but since Kata was not nearby to translate, no one really noticed.

"I get what you mean," Naruto said, chuckling a little. "Katsuki's black and red and full of rage, while Hitomi's got the Oblivious ability. So, what's Shoto got? Aside from having two-colored eyes?"

"You mean heterochromia," Sakura said, looking up from her 'nav.

"Sakura, you shouldn't make up words just to sound smart," Naruto responded teasingly.

Sakura scoffed. "Idiot." She finally came to the section she was looking for. "Ah, it says here-"

"Oh, let me guess!" Naruto said quickly. "Shoto can use Ice and Fire-type moves!"

Sakura stumbled back in her seat. "That's what it says! How could you possibly know that?!"

Naruto smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of his head. "Eh, well, when I was brushing his fur, I noticed it was very silky."

"…and that is important why?" Sasuke asked, leaning in to look at Sakura's 'nav.

"Well, normal, Fire-type Vulpix have fur that is smooth and silky. But the Arctic subtype has fur that is fluffy and full. Shoto, meanwhile, has fur that's sort of in-between; it's smoother than an Arctic, but fuller than the normal breed. That, along with his two-colored eyes-"

"Heterochronic!" Sakura insisted.

"-uh, with his blue and red eyes," Naruto said, stumbling a little, "made me guess that he's got a little of both in him!"

"Dewott!" Hitomi said, giving a thumbs-up sign to say Naruto was right.

"Well, you're half-right," Sakura said, looking through Shoto's file sadly. "According to this, Shoto was experimented on while still an egg. They were able to give him Fire-type powers, but his body only partly changed. He's still an Ice-type…and that makes things dangerous."

Sasuke, who had skimmed a bit of the document, nodded. "Yeah, the heat from his own fire harms his body."

"That's terrible!" Hinata gasped.

"Poor guy," Naruto said, looking over and patting Shoto.

The Vulpix looked up at him questioningly, but gave no other reaction.

"Hmph, guess I won't have a powerful Fire/Ice Pokémon on my team after all," Sasuke said, shrugging. "Pity, that'd be a really strong type combination."

"Well, it says here it's possible that extensive training can help Shoto overcome this weakness," Sakura pointed out. "Maybe with some hard work and battles-"

"Dewott!" Hitomi suddenly shouted, motioning angrily at Sakura before clutching her brother tightly. "Dewott-wott-WOTT!"

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

He looked around for Kata to translate, but the Riolu was outside, trying to get Sora and Kubo to play with him. Luckily, Kikyo had been sitting near her trainer, and spoke up.

…Hitomi says that Shoto is far to young and delicate to be forced to do something as painful as train in battle to use his fire… the Ralts explained.

Hitomi nodded firmly, hugging her brother tightly. Naruto couldn't be sure, but he swore that the Vulpix had an expression of annoyance on his face.

Sasuke sighed. "Hitomi, Shoto is part of our team now. He's going to pull his weight fighting alongside us, just like the rest of your teammates."

His Dewott glowered at him, still protectively holding her brother.

"Hitomi," Sasuke said slowly, getting irritated. Throughout the day, he had been giving her slack on her behavior because he knew Hitomi was overjoyed at being reunited with her brother, but now his patience was starting to wear thin.

Bayushi jumped in front of Sasuke and growled in agreement, while Akodo puffed up and told Hitomi off for dishonoring their trainer with her attitude. Togashi hung back, not sure how to de-escalate the situation.

A ping from Sasuke's pocket broke the tension. It was his Pokénav with a text message.

As Sasuke checked it, Naruto smirked.

"Heh, saved by the-"

"If you finish that cliché, I'll hurt you," Sasuke growled. He put the 'nav away. "That was Karen; she's ready for us." Sasuke rose to his feet, motioning to the others to follow. He looked at Hitomi, as if he wanted to tell her something, but decided it was not worth the trouble.

"That was quicker than expected," Sakura said, picking up Mina and following after him. "I thought I'd have time to go to the trading center and see if I could get rid of that Polteageist."

"You'll have plenty of time later," Sasuke reassured her as they stepped out the door.

The group left the center without recalling their teammates, allowing their Pokémon to roam nearby. While this was somewhat unusual for trainers, none of their Pokémon were especially large, so one stopped them. However, in more populated cities, there was technically a limit as to how many Pokémon a trainer could have roaming out in public, due to safety concerns.

As Naruto counted off everyone, making sure they stayed together in a group, a man in a purple ninja jumpsuit waved him down and ran over. Naruto recognized him as the announcer from Iruka's gym.

"Hey! Wait up!" the announcer shouted, nearly doubling over as he huffed and puffed, his face red. Taking in several deep breaths, he was able to continue, though he was so out of breath he had to pause between words several times. "…Sorry…I had to run…all the way…from the gym!" He took in another deep breath. "I was afraid I'd miss you!"

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked.

"It…it might be nothing…" Finally, the announcer cleared his throat and steadied himself. "Uh, I mean, it might be nothing, but I wanted to make sure. Gym Leader Iruka left about an hour ago, but then Mizuki called and said he was sick and couldn't come in, so I was left in charge! Only, I've never been in charge before! I wasn't told how to run the place! I was just supposed to keep things working until Mizuki came in!" The announcer shook his fists in frustration before continuing. "We had some trouble at the gym that I can't handle, but every time I try calling Iruka or Mizuki, it goes straight to voicemail!"

"Do you know where he went?" Naruto asked, looking concerned.

"That's what I was going to ask you. The only thing Iruka mentioned was that he was going to meet with you and your friends," the announcer explained.

"Really? He didn't tell us," Naruto said, looking perplexed.

"Maybe he wanted to surprise you?" Sakura suggested. "Perhaps he felt bad about yesterday and wanted to make it up to us?"

Naruto smiled a bit. "Yeah, that does sound like Iruka,"

"Too bad we already have plans for the day," Sasuke said flatly.

"Uh, okay. Well, if you see Iruka, please tell him to call the gym!" the announcer said, looking desperate. "We have a pair of challengers who want to try earning their badges, and I'm not qualified to battle them over it. Well, I have to get back to the gym; without me, there's no one in charge!"

He politely bowed before running off.

"Poor guy," Sakura said, watching him disappear. She considered something for a moment. "You know, it's not like Iruka to leave his post and not even answer his phone."

"Do you think something happened?" Naruto asked quickly, looking worried.

Sakura thought it for a minute. "Nah, I guess not. That'd be silly."

"Still, if we see him, we'll have to scold him for making his employees worry so much!" Naruto said, chuckling.

-0o0o0-

Half an hour later, and the group neared their destination.

"Huh, you'd think the contest hall would be in a nicer part of town," Naruto said, looking around. They were surrounded mostly by abandoned warehouses or unfinished buildings. Occasionally, they'd pass by construction supplies and equipment, or even the sight of men working on a building. Mostly, however, the area was deserted.

"According to my Pokénav, this area was a huge construction project some twenty years ago, but almost all of it came to sudden stop when Teakgrove suffered an economic depression," Sakura said, reading from her device. "Construction was picked up last year, starting with the completion of the newly named Teakgrove Contest Hall."

"Heh, it's almost like Iruka's arrival here breathed new life into the town," Naruto pointed out, smiling. He noticed something up ahead. "There's the contest hall!"

The Teakgrove Contest Hall was much like its gym: a graceful, wooden building with a purple tiled roof and curved eaves. This section of the neighborhood was markedly free of construction equipment; it appeared that all the buildings around the gym had been fully renovated, though they were just as sparsely occupied as the rest of the district.

"Hey, isn't that Iruka's car?" Sakura said, pointing at a vehicle parked out front.

"You recognize it?" Sasuke asked, looking surprised.

Meanwhile, Naruto let out a yelp of delight. "Ha! I guess he was going to surprise us with Karen!"

He started running towards the contest hall.

Suddenly, Kata gasped, his eyes lighting up with Aura. The Riolu dashed in front of Naruto and shoved him backwards, knocking the boy onto his rump.

"What the heck, Kata?!" Naruto shouted.

"[Look out, it's-!]"

The Riolu was cut off as both he and Naruto were grasped by silvery energy. Panicking, the two started to struggle as they were lifted off their feet…only to suddenly be put upright and released.

"…okay, that was anticlimactic," Naruto said hesitantly, looking around.

"Espurr-purr?" a voice asked.

An Espurr floated into view. The Espurr from the Palewood Estate.

"Espurr!" he said, smiling and waving.

"[That's what I sensed, Boss!]" Kata shouted, jumping in front of his trainer and taking an aggressive stance. To his right and left, Sora and Kubo jumped in, ready to defend their trainer.

Everyone else's Pokémon likewise got in a defensive formation, save for Mina and Shoto. Hitomi, who had also sensed something amiss before the Espurr showed himself, had subtly stepped in front of her brother and placed a paw on her scalchop, but otherwise remained cool and collected.

"What the Houndoom are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded. "Get lost, you little psycho!"

The Espurr growled, eyes glowing silver.

"Wait!" Naruto said. From the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Midoriya pulling Katsuki back to prevent him from just jumping in and attacking.

Sighing, Naruto turned to Kikyo and Kata.

"Maybe one of you could translate what he has to say? After all, he appeared to us without attacking, so maybe he wants to talk," Naruto pointed out. He faced the Espurr. "But you better not try and attack us while our guard's down!"

The Espurr frowned and floated down to the ground, talking vigorously. Very quickly, looks ranging from disbelief to exasperation spread across their Pokémon's faces as they listened to the strange Espurr. Helpfully, Togashi took the time to explain their first meeting with the Psychic-type to Hitomi and Shoto.

Slowly, Kikyo turned to her trainer, grimacing.

…The Espurr says he attacked us in the last timeline, not this one, so that doesn't really count… she explained, looking humiliated just saying it. …So he says you shouldn't be angry about that anymore…

"[TO HELL WITH THAT!]" Kata screamed, gesturing violently at the Espurr. "[You almost squished me with a desk!]"

"Purr Espurr!" the Espurr protested, once again repeating that all that happened last timeline (whatever that meant).

"What is it you want?" Naruto demanded, cutting in. He was getting more that a little ticked; he hated it when people used excuses to not take responsibility for their actions.

The Espurr frowned but kept on speaking, pointing over at the contest hall.

…Uh, he says that we're heading into some kind of trap… Kikyo translated, looking a bit shocked. She turned back towards the Espurr. …Are you sure about that?...

He nodded and talked some more.

…The Espurr says that there's four bad people waiting for us in that building, and that our friends are all in danger…

"[Sure, we believe you, Psycho-of-Future-Yet-to-Come,]" Kata said derisively. "[Now why don't you do us all a favor and buzz off? Maybe find a nice nuthouse to check into?]"

The Espurr glowered, eyes flashing dangerously. Kata just scoffed and channeled Aura into his fists.

"Wait," Hinata said, stepping in. She motioned for Kata to stand down. "There's no need for that. We can just check to see if he's telling the truth."

Though she didn't admit it, Hinata almost believed the Espurr; Kikyo could feel his emotions, which she in turn transferred to her trainer. It was clear that the Espurr at least believed what he was saying was true. This wasn't a malicious trick.

Behind her, the Espurr angrily protested; of course he was telling the truth!

"What, go check out the contest hall?" Naruto asked.

"Well, in a way. But maybe it'd be better to check things out discreetly, just in case there is danger ahead," Hinata explained. She motioned towards Kikyo. "I can just have Kikyo check things with her telepathy."

Sakura let out a chuckle. "Hey, that's right! I didn't even think about that."

"[Hey, I can help too!]" Kata protested, puffing out his chest. "[I'm fast, quiet, and I have Aura powers!]"

"I'll send in Kubo to help," Naruto said, turning to his Frogadier. "Frogadier are natural ninjas, after all!"

"Frog," Kubo croaked smugly, putting his hand together to form a 'ninja' seal. The color and texture of his skin shifted, starting with his feet and creeping up to the top of his head. In a few seconds, Kubo looked like he made of concrete and plaster, just like his surroundings.

"Hey, that's Camouflage! I didn't know you knew that move!" Naruto said excitedly.

"[Hey, you know what else is awesome? How I can do that too!]" Kata said jealously, using Copycat to mimic the move. "[Not to mention, I can sense people's Auras, and talk to you humans, so I can tell you what I see!]"

"You know what you can't do, though? Follow orders," Naruto said pointedly, tapping Kata on the forehead.

"[AH, COME ON! I mess up once and suddenly I'm labeled for life!]" Kata shouted childishly.

"You messed up yesterday, and you haven't apologized or done anything to fix the problem," Sakura pointed out darkly.

Naruto cleared his throat, getting Kata's attention. "Stop making a big deal about this; we're only checking something out. You don't have to be the center of attention all the time, you know."

"Besides," Sasuke added, "You shouldn't send more than two people to scout something out; the more bodies involved, the more likely someone might get caught.

Kata deflated, hanging his head. "[…fine.]"

With that settled, Kubo picked up Kikyo, put her on his back, and told her to hang on. In a flash, he was off, leaping across the street and parking lot with such speed that Naruto lost track of him for a second.

"Damn, he can move," Sasuke said, impressed.

Kata crossed his arms and let out a jealous 'hmph!', to which Naruto couldn't help but chuckle and give him an affectionate head pat.

Kubo made it to the building, seemingly undetected, and dove out of sight.

They watched in silence for a few seconds, before Sasuke pointed just in time for the others to notice something flicker into an open window.

"[…okay, I'll admit, he's got some skill,] Kata said, eyes wide with surprise. He had been using his Aura-Sight to watch Kubo, and even then, he had lost track of the Frogadier. For that matter, Kubo silently praised Sasuke for being able to notice him sneaking through the window.

"So now what?" Sakura asked, speaking to no one in particular.

Sasuke frowned and pointed downward, as if to say, 'we wait here'.

"Can't Kikyo speak to us telepathically?" Sakura asked, turning to Hinata.

"Not to you, no; her normal telepathy doesn't have a range that far," Hinata explained. "However, she and I have established an Aura-bond, so we stay connected over a much farther distance, as long as I can concentrate on it." She held up a hand, signaling for them not to distract her anymore as her eyes took on a far-off look.

Nodding, Sakura looked over at Naruto. He was watching the Espurr with interest, while the Espurr had landed on the ground and was now staring vacantly, mouth open slightly, with his eyes glowing. Sakura was about to ask what was going on, but Naruto held up his hand. Nearby, Sakura noticed many of their Pokémon were also watching the Espurr, with differing levels of interested and hostility. Kata openly glared at him, Togashi was reserved but looked ready to spring at the first sign of trouble, while Tetsu just drifted across the air, staring blankly at the Espurr. Once, he floated an inch away from the other Pokémon's face without any reaction.

"What's so fascinating?" Sakura finally asked, unable to help herself.

"They're coming back!" Hinata gasped, cutting in.

Sure enough, there was a blur of movement as something leapt from the same open window Kubo entered a minute ago, and with flashing leaps, the Frogadier came to a skidding halt before his trainer, setting down a very frazzled-looking Kikyo.

…Fast…and bouncy… she managed to say. She looked dizzy, and Kata had to hold her up lest she fall over.

Naruto noticed that Hinata had a similar look on her face, and he wondered if maintaining telepathic contact had downsides, or if it was just coincidence.

"So, what's going on?" Sasuke demanded. "Is the little nutjob lying, or-"

"He was right!" Hinata said, eyes wide. "Kikyo saw those three Team Snake members that attacked us in the forest!"

"You mean the Sound Trio?" Sakura asked.

Kikyo and Kubo both nodded grimly.

"What are they doing- wait, screw that. Where's Karen?!" Sasuke demanded.

"She was captured. She and Iruka were tied up and locked in one of the back rooms," Hinata explained. "But that's not all-!"

She gasped as Sasuke started to run towards the contest hall. Naruto cut him off, holding Sasuke back. Togashi and Kata had to help, as Sasuke was struggling wildly.

"Let me go!" he demanded. "My sister-in-law is in there!"

"And so's my favorite teacher, but we can't just rush in!" Naruto demanded, shoving him back. "First, we have to listen to the rest of what Hinata has to say. Then we have to come up with a plan, or we'll just be walking into a trap!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in realization, and he nodded. Inwardly, he rebuked himself for almost doing something so stupid.

They turned to Hinata, who went on.

"The Sound Trio wasn't alone; Mizuki was there, helping them."

Sakura gasped, putting her hands to her mouth, while Naruto let out a vicious growl.

"I thought there was something slimy about him," the blond spat. "When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna tear off his head and sh#t down the hole!"

Hinata did a double take, looking at Naruto with wide eyes, before continuing.

"Uh, also, they have a strange device that prevents Pokéballs from working; that's how they were able to capture Karen and Iruka. Kikyo noticed it, and gleaned Sound Trio's thoughts to figure out what it was."

Sasuke nodded. "That makes sense. Those punks couldn't take Karen in a straight fight on her worst day."

"So, that means they're planning on ambushing us as soon as we walk through the front doors," Naruto mused. "They're not expecting us to have our Pokémon out already…so we have the advantage."

"The first thing we should do is call the police," Sakura pointed out. "And call your brother," she added, looking towards Sasuke.

"No. We have to strike now, and strike fast," Sasuke said firmly. "Remember last time we fought? They Teleported away as soon as things turned against them. If they think their plan's not working, or if they get suspicious or spooked, they could Teleport away, taking Karen with them!"

"Not to mention Iruka!" Naruto said. "We need to make sure the hostages are safe before anything else!"

Next to him, Hinata nodded in agreement.

Sakura frowned. "So, what do you suggest?"

Naruto looked at the contest hall, pondering. After a few moments, he spoke.

"We'll hit 'em from two sides. Two of us can get up to the roof and cause a commotion, drawing their attention. Meanwhile, the others will be in position to break in from the back. Hinata said that's where Karen and Iruka are being held."

"That's…actually pretty good," Sakura admitted.

Sasuke however, was less impressed. "How exactly do you think we'll be able to sneak up on the roof without catching anyone's attention?"

"Espurr!"

The Psychic-type suddenly floated up between the humans, eyes glowing with silver power. "Espurr Espurr-purr!"

"Ha, I can't believe we forgot about you," Naruto said, flashing a little smile. In truth, he had been hoping for a chance to catch the Espurr, once things settled down- after all, a Psychic-type would be useful when they had a rematch at Iruka's gym. But now wasn't the time for any of that!

"Eh? What do you want?" Sasuke said sternly. "Listen, we don't have time for your insanity, you little nutcase."

"Wait, Sasuke. Maybe he's got something important to say! He was right about us walking into a trap!" Naruto pointed out.

Instead of answering them, the Espurr let out a deep growl, flinging his arms upward as Psychic power surged through him. Silvery energy sprang from him, gripping Naruto, Hinata, and their Pokémon. Without further warning, the Espurr flew off, carrying them off to the contest hall's roof.

"Hey, wait-! Stop! Come back!" Sasuke shouted, shaking an angry fist at the Espurr, while Naruto shouted similar protests as he and the others were carried off.

Sasuke quickly turned to Togashi. "Take him out with Flamethrower!"

"Don't! He'll drop them!" Sakura said quickly, putting a hand on Togashi's shoulder. "Besides, it's already too late," she added, pointing.

The Espurr had already flown them to the top of the hall and landed with a thump that was audible across the street.

Sakura winced, looking over at Sasuke.

"…maybe they didn't hear that?" she suggested bashfully.

Sasuke stared at her for a second, then started for the contest hall, sticking to the shadows and alleyways. "Come on, we don't have a choice anymore- we'll go with Naruto's plan and storm the back while Naruto and Hinata distract them!"

-0o0o0-

-THUD!-

"What was that?!" Kin gasped, jumping to her feet.

Her companions did the same, looking towards the roof.

"It sounds it like someone's up there!" Zaku said.

Mizuki, who was watching the security cameras, scoffed. "That's ridiculous. How could anyone even get up there without us noticing? We've got cameras set up for a reason. And why would anyone sneak up there, anyway? It was probably just the wind, or maybe a bird Pokémon dropped something."

"It sounded bigger than that. And we only set up a camera in the front," Dosu pointed out, crossing his arms. "It'd be easy for someone to sneak around from the back. Go up and check it."

"You go and check it out if you're so worried," Mizuki said, still thinking it was nothing.

Dosu growled, but decided it wasn't worth the argument. "Come on," he said to Zaku before turning and motioning for their Pokémon to follow.

"Don't forget to put on your masks," Kin said, slipping on her own domino mask.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want a Pidgey to recognize you," Mizuki called in a taunting voice.

From the stairway, Zaku glowered and briefly considered ordering Punk and Glam to attack the arrogant adult, but he thought better of it, following Dosu, with Bohemian leading the way (with Echoes resting on Dosu's shoulder).

"At least go on turn on the Pokéball suppressor, you lazy jerk!" Kin ordered Mizuki, giving him a hard smack on the head, but they were already climbing up the stairs before they could hear his response.

"That stupid…arrogant…moron!" Zaku spat. "Who does he think he is?!"

"He's acting this way because we've been out-doing him this whole mission," Dosu pointed out. "We're so awesome, that Mizuki feels threatened by our superior masculinity."

That got Zaku smiling. "Heh, yeah! The wimp!"

Dosu was about to go on when Bohemian held out an arm, motioning for silence. The Pokémon pointed at the door that led to the roof, which was a little over 10 feet from them.

Though his hearing wasn't as good as his Exploud's, Dosu's ears were much sharper than average, and after a moment of concentration, he could tell something was on other side of the door, too.

"Someone's there!" Dosu whispered to Zaku. He held up a finger, motioning for his friend to keep quiet. "…there's lots of 'em; humans and Pokémon. Sounds like they're trying to keep quiet…probably an ambush. No one's near the door, though."

Zaku nodded, wishing he had Dosu's freakishly good hearing. "Maybe we should say hello?" he quietly suggested, smiling.

Dosu nodded, stepping to the side so that their Pokémon could all crowd up in front of the roof's door.

Silently, Dosu counted down to three with his fingers; in unison, the Exploud, both Toxicity, and Echoes all fired a sonic blast that blew the doors clean off the hinges.

-0o0o0-

…A few minutes earlier…

-0o0o0-

Naruto groaned; somehow, the Espurr had managed to drop everyone else on top of him.

"You little nutcase!" he snapped, shoving the bodies off him that hadn't scrambled off yet. Hinata held out a hand and helped him up. "What's the big idea-? Whoa!"

The Espurr, who had landed next to the group, suddenly cried out in pain and started convulsing violently, rising into the air as energy crackled across his body. Naruto attempted to reach out and grab the Pokémon, only for Kubo to wisely pull him back.

-POP-

The air distorted as the Espurr vanished, just like the last time.

"…what the Houndoom was that?!" Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet. "Why does that keep happening?"

Nearby, Katsuki growled angrily in agreement, lighting his flame vents.

Kata, however, held up his paw, eyes aglow. "[Hold it, Boss! We got other issues to worry about; I sense someone coming!]"

Naruto swore, glancing around. The roof was largely plain and bare. There was just the door leading to the stairs, a fire escape ladder off to the side, and an air conditioning unit that wasn't large enough for them to hide behind. He had wanted to set up an ambush, but it didn't look like that was possible.

"Come on, hide as best you can, and be quiet!" Naruto said, moving behind the corner of the doorway. Most of their teams followed suit, with Hinata pressing against the wall next to Naruto.

They heard the steps of several people and Pokémon walking up the stairs as the enemy neared the doorway. Naruto gulped as he realized that some of those steps sounded heavier than what a human could make; it sounded like the Sound Trio had more teammates than the last time they fought…and during that battle, Naruto and his friends had barely won. If he and Hinata had to fight all three of the Sound Trio by themselves…

Hinata's quiet gasp pulled Naruto from his thoughts. Katsuki had broken away from the group and jumped in front of the doors, lighting up his flame vents and smiling sadistically.

"Katsuki, don't!" Hinata hissed, motioning for her disobedient Pokémon to get back in formation. However, the stubborn Fire-type ignored his trainer, too eager for a fight to even think tactically.

From the stairway, the footsteps suddenly came to a halt, and Naruto winced. If that idiotic Quilava tipped off the enemy to their presence, Naruto silently promised to kill him if they lived through this!

Next to Naruto, Kata glowered at Katsuki, motioning for him to hide.

Kikyo acted, telekinetically throwing Katsuki to the side-

-just as the doors to the stairs were blasted off their hinges and flung across the roof by a sonic explosion.

The blast sent shards of brick and metal flying everywhere; before Hinata knew what had happened, she was dragged to the floor by Naruto, who shielded her face with his arm.

"Knock-knock." Dosu marched through the doorway's remains, flanked by Bohemian, with Zaku and his crew following. Dosu's eye narrowed the sight of everyone scattered across the roof.

"Well, it looks like Mizuki was wrong about the noise just being the wind," Dosu said darkly. "I don't how you punks figured out we were waiting for you, but you still saved us the trouble of having to hunt you down-"

A wordless scream of pure rage drowned Dosu out as a black and red blur slammed into him with an explosion of flame.

"GETITOFFME!" Dosu screamed, stumbling backwards as Katsuki held onto him with one paw and loosed a flurry of Fire Punches with the other.

Bohemian reacted first, grabbing Katsuki and flinging him clean off the roof before helping pat his trainer down, trying to dose the fire.

"Katsuki!" Hinata gasped, then breathed in relief upon seeing Katsuki rocketing himself back to the roof with Fire Punch.

"Tch, what a pain; Punk, Glam, blast him from the sky!" Zaku ordered.

The Toxtricity pair started to strum on their chest-picks, only for a long tongue to shoot out, wrap around one of their necks and pull them into the other. Before they could recover, Kubo was flipping over them, slamming a Water Pulse bubble into both their faces, followed by Sora slamming into them with Headbutt, knocking the pair over.

"Good work! Don't let up," Naruto cheered; he was on his feet, and had pulled Hinata to hers.

Hinata nodded. "Kikyo, Psybeam!"

Before the Ralts could complete her attack, Bohemian cut her off, bellowing a Screech attack. The horrible high-pitched sound engulfed Kikyo, Sora, and Kubo, distracting them long enough for the Toxtricity pair to get to their feet and move a safe distance away.

This was followed by a blur of blue nailing the Exploud in the eye, and then by Midoriya shooting a barrage of quills into his open mouth.

"[Yeah, teamwork!]" Kata cheered, landing in a handstand just on the roof's edge.

"You little shits!" Dosu screamed as his Exploud staggered back, choaking.

At the roof's edge, Katsuki had managed to rocket his way back, already preparing an attack. Echoes swooped in and hit him in the face with Chatter, sending the Quilava into a Confused panic as he fell down the building's side.

Hinata cried out, directing Kikyo and Midoriya to help, but Kata was quicker, flashing to the edge of the roof and reaching out to grab Katsuki's paw-

The roar of a guitar rift filled the air as the Riolu was hit with first one then two waves of electrified sound, blasting him off the roof right after Katsuki.

"HA! Got ya!" Zaku cheered.

Next to him, Punk and Glam were holding crackling electrical charges that roughly resembled guitars, produced from their chest-picks.

While everyone else delt with the Toxtricity pair, Midoriya leapt into action, jumping off the roof after Kata and Katsuki. The Chespin lassoed the pair with one of his vines, shooting the other one up and grabbed hold of a rain gutter. The vines snapped taut as Midoriya tried reeling them all in, slamming everyone against the building's side. Midoriya had been able to land with his feet pushing against the wall, but his body strained as he had to support Kata and Katsuki's weight with one of his vines, and both theirs and his weight with the vine wrapped around the gutter, which had been wretched out of place and was threatening to collapse.

Luckily, being banged against the wall had knocked Katsuki out of his Confused panic. The Quilava gasped, looking around and taking in the situation.

"[Welcome back, Moron!]" Kata snapped in a false cheery voice. "[In case you were wondering what's happening, we're all about to die because you're an idiot who can't listen to anyone!]"

Katsuki started to shout back angrily, but Midoriya's pleading voice cut him off.

"[Please guys! Don't fight! This is…hard enough…as is!]" he gasped, pulling with all his strength to reel Katsuki and Kata up.

Scoffing, Katsuki pulled his hands free and pointed them downward, rocketing upward with blasts of fire. He flew past Midoriya (with Kata shouting at him to grab the Chespin), dragging him along by the vine still wrapped around his waist, and landed back on the roof. As soon as he touched down, the Quilava pulled himself free and surveyed the battle, completely ignoring Midoriya and Kata.

"[You're welcome, ya' jerk!]" Kata spat as he pulled Midoriya up on the roof with them.

Back in the main battle, Naruto, Hinata, and their Pokémon had moved to one side of the roof, with the Sound Trio (technically a Sound Duo right now) on the other, guarded by their teammates. Bohemian stood at the front, flanked on either side by a Toxtricity, with Echoes circling above.

Kata noticed Naruto lean in and whisper something to Kubo. The Frogadier nodded and sprang to action, first ducking side to side. One of the Toxtricity pair fired an Overdrive at him, followed by the other, but both times, Kubo evading the attack, before finally flipping backwards and throwing a Smokescreen down. Before Zaku or Dosu could order their 'mons to fire into the smoke, Kubo sprang out, flying high into the air with a Water Pulse held overhead.

Echoes flew into action, swooping in and disrupting Kubo with Chatter.

"Get him while he's still in the air! Double Overdrive!" Zaku shouted to his Toxtricity.

The pair strummed a wicked rift in unison, unleashing a joint wave of electrified sound at the plummeting Frogadier.

"Got ya!" Naruto said with a grin.

From within the smoke, a frog's long tongue shot out, grappling Echoes and pulling him into the path of the two Overdrives.

The attacks hit both the Chatot and Frogadier, but while Echoes convulsed in pain and hit the ground (while singing a pitiful "This is Major Tom to ground control" as he crashed), Kubo just burst into smoke.

"It was a Substitute-!" Zaku started to gasp.

Kubo, however, was already on the move, lunging out of the Smokescreen and darting at Bohemian, preparing to throw a Water Pulse. The Exploud was ready, firing a Hyper Voice that clipped the Frogadier and sent him skidding across the roof. The wave of sound flew onward, forcing Naruto, Hinata, and their teams to dive out of the way.

"Hit him while he's down!" Zaku said quickly, pointing at Kubo.

Once again, his Toxtricity fired an Overdrive at the frog; this time, however, it was Kikyo saving the day, yanking Kubo away with Confusion.

Zaku screamed in frustration, but his words were drowned out by an even louder scream as Katsuki rocketed into the fray, slamming into Punk with a flurry of Fire Punches. Glam moved to help, only for Kata to zoom in and hit him in the back of the leg with Quick Attack.

"Alright!" Naruto laughed.

To his shock, however, the Toxtricity pair strummed a harsh note from their chest picks, each launching an Overdrive attack at one another. Before anyone could react, the pair and their attackers were hit with the electrified sound. But while Katsuki and Kata were both thrown backwards, Punk and Glam seemed hardly affected.

"HA! My Toxtricity twins' ability is Punk Rock! Not only does it power up their sonic moves, it also makes their bodies resistant to them, unlike your Pokémon!" Zaku said, smiling wildly.

"Stop blabbing and get them!" Dosu shouted. "I've got to handle this freak!" He pointed; Kata was back on his feet, darting around Dosu's Exploud and nipping him with Quick Attacks before dashing out of reach. The whole time, he was shouting taunts and insults at both Bohemian and his trainer.

At Hinata's order, Kikyo pulled the still dazed Katsuki and then started administering Life Dew healing, while Naruto sent Kubo in to help Kata.

"You know, I am getting tired of that Ralts interfering so much. Punk! Glam! Sludge Bombs away!"

The pair spat balls of gunk at the little Fairy-type, who was right in the middle of administering Life Dew to the prone Katsuki. Before they hit, however, Midoriya jumped in the way, turning his armored back to the attack and spreading his arms out wide, bracing himself. Both Sludge Bombs hit Midoriya, but he remained standing.

"Bah, keep firing! You'll take him out, then the other two!" Zaku said arrogantly.

"Midoriya!" Hinata gasped; however, as the Sludge Bombs pelted his back, Hinata noticed that the Chespin had a defiant grin on his face. In fact, it seemed he was unaffected by the attacks completely!

Naruto jumped in. "Sora, help them out! Dragon Rush!"

The little Dragon-type scrambled to the side, drawing in draconic energy before launching himself wildly at Glam and Punk, his body cloaked in teal energy that took the shape of a dragon in flight. He slammed into both with such force that they all were carried over the edge of the building.

Hinata called to Midoriya, who grabbed Sora before he could fall, only for Punk to grab Sora's foot while Glam grabbed Punk.

"Chespin!" Midorya screamed, skidding towards the edge of the roof as the combined weight of everyone pulled him down.

Kikyo used Confusion to pull Midorya back, and Naruto dove in and grabbed the vine to help, but even then, it wasn't enough to hold them for long.

"Sweet Arceus, make Bohemian help them!" Zaku shouted to Dosu, but he shoved him away, telling the Exploud to instead focus on fighting Kubo. Swearing, Zaku called out his Golbat, telling him to go help.

"Quil," Katsuki growled dangerously. He rolled onto his feet and over to the building's edge with one rocket-leap. He only took a second look back at Midoriya, scoffing, before glaring down at Glam and Punk.

Before they could even beg for mercy, the Quilava blasted Punk in the face with Flamethrower. The Amped Toxtricity screamed and released Sora, sending the twins plummeting to the ground below.

"NOOO!" Zaku screamed in horror; his Golbat dove after the two, managing to grab them and flap hard, slowing their fall enough to be safe, but there was no way he could carry them back up to the roof. They'd have to climb back up.

Midoriya, Naruto, and Kikyo pulled Sora back on the roof, making him land right next to his trainer.

"Bag!" the Dragon-type cheered, saying that was fun.

Naruto smiled, giving his Pokémon a fist bump.

"Enough of this!" Dosu spat, drawing everyone's attention back to the battle.

His Exploud had tossed Kata aside and was now grappling with Kubo. Electricity sparked from Bohemian's fists as he used Thunder Punch to shock Kubo into submission before hitting him at pointblank range with Hyper Voice. The attack blasted the Frogadier backwards and continued onward, right at Naruto and the others.

Kikyo reacted first, telekinetically throwing the others out of the way without thinking. The Hyper Voice hit her, knocking the Ralts onto her back, knocking her out.

"You jerks!" Naruto spat jumping to his feet.

Sora echoed his trainer's feelings, suddenly launching himself forward in another Dragon Rush attack. The Bagon flew right into Bohemian's mouth as he attempted to use Hyper Voice again, leaving the Exploud to hack and choke as everyone screamed in horror; Naruto and Hinata because they thought Sora had been eaten, and the Sound thugs because they thought the Exploud was going to choke!

However, with a tremendous cough, Bohemian spat Sora out like a loogie, still hacking and trying to catch his breath.

"Sora! Are you okay?" Naruto gasped, running to his spittle-covered Pokémon's side.

"Baaaaag-!" Sora muttered, his eyes unfocused and spinning. He proudly held up his hands in a victory pose, then slumped over, unconscious.

"Yeah, you fought good, buddy!" Naruto reassured him, recalling the little Dragon-type, and then Kubo as well.

Naruto rose and faced Dosu and Zaku. At his side stood Hinata, with Kata, Katsuki, and Midoriya standing protectively in front of them. On the other side of the roof, Dosu patted his Exploud reassuringly.

"Why don't you just give up and bugger off, you dumb crooks?" Naruto demanded, motioning angrily. "It's three verse one, now!"

Dosu scoffed. "And my one is better than six of yours! Bohemian, Hyper Voice!"

"Is that the only move he knows?" Naruto taunted, starting to instruct their team on what to do.

What happened next, however, made him pause.

The Exploud tried taking in a deep breath- only to start hacking and coughing. Painfully, he tried it again, with the same results.

"It looks like Sora hurt your Exploud's throat with his last attack," Hinata pointed out evenly. "You might want to reconsider surrendering before your Pokémon's seriously hurt-"

Hinata was cut off by Katsuki murderous screaming as the Quilava launched himself at Bohemian. Inwardly, Hinata cringed in exasperation.

"Bohemian doesn't need Hyper Voice to win," Dosu spat confidently before turning to his 'mon. "Get rid of that thing with Brutal Swing!"

"Stop him, Kata!" Naruto said, causing the Riolu to run into the fray.

Bohemian scoffed, grabbing hold of the Katsuki and slamming him into Kata with a downward swing. The Exploud hauled Katsuki up and clubbing him into the Riolu again and again. After the third slam, Katsuki managed to rip free from his grasp, blasting a Flamethrower into the Exploud's face before moving to put some distance between them.

Behind him, Kata snarled at Katsuki and rose to his knees, trying to stop his head from spinning. "[You moron! How could you let him use you like a club?! Ain't you supposed to be hardened killer!?]"

"Kata, not now!" Naruto shouted desperately.

It was too late; Bohemian hit him from behind with Mega Kick, throwing Kata right into Katsuki.

Katsuki was up first, punching the Riolu on the jaw. "Quil!"

"No, don't start that now, you idiots!" Naruto shouted.

"This is too easy! Bohemian, take them both out with Water Pulse," Dosu ordered.

The Exploud took in a quick breath before firing a great bullet of water. Kata was up and away before the attack was halfway across the roof, but Katsuki was reacting too slowly to avoid it-

Suddenly, Midoriya used Vine Whip to pull himself in front of Katsuki, bracing for the attack.

"Quil-?!"

The Water Pulse hit, but once again, Midoriya was standing, seeming unaffected by it.

"What the Houndoom? Even if he's a Grass-type, that attack hit him dead-on! It should have at least winded him!" Dosu said.

Realization struck Naruto. "Ha! Midoriya's got the Bulletproof ability!"

Hinata smiled in relief, looking approvingly at her Chespin.

From behind Midoriya, Katsuki fumed- four times now, that wimpy nerd had saved one of their teammates; and two of those times, it had been him! Katsuki wasn't just being shown up; he was being completely outdone!

Hinata ordered Midoriya to use Rollout, while Naruto told Kata to support him with Bullet Punches from behind, and Katsuki realized that his trainer had given up even trying to get him to listen. His anger turned to shame.

The Exploud grabbed Midoriya with Brutal Swing, and then seized Kata when the Riolu tried to free him. At Dosu's order, Bohemian raised the two towards his mouth, teeth freezing with Ice Fang-!

"Quilava!" Katsuki screamed, rocketing in. Quick as a flash, he threw a Fire Punch towards Bohemian's face before grabbing both of his teammates and rocketing away.

"Katsuki!" Hinata gasped, genuinely surprised.

"Hell ya!" Naruto cheered.

The three landed. Kata looked up at Katsuki, bewildered.

"[Did you just save us?]" he stammered.

Before Katsuki could answer, Kata suddenly shoved him down, eyes glowing with Aura. The Riolu Copycatted Water Pulse, firing one to meet one Bohemian had fired after them; the two attacks collided and dispersed harmlessly.

"You guys can kiss and make up later; for now, we've got a fight to win!" Naruto said.

Kata and Katsuki looked at each other, nodding.

Dosu scoffed, calling out his Thwackey. "Hahaha! Bet you forget I still had him, didn't ya?"

From behind him, Zaku's Toxicity climbed into view from the building's side, with his Gobat flying up after them.

"Ha, now who's outnumbered?" Zaku taunted, smiling cruelly.

Naruto winced, swearing under his breath. He did his best to put on a brave face, stealing a glance at Hinata, who had steeled herself and took an aggressive martial stance, as if she was willing to jump into the fray herself. Even so, Naruto could see her hands trembling slightly. She wasn't feeling confident about this fight at all…and neither was Naruto.

Shaking his head, Naruto banished such thoughts, clinching his fist and staring definitely at the two Team Snake thugs. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be the Konoha Champion! I am not afraid of you!"

Kata smiled proudly and Katsuki blazed with fire, daring their foes to make the first move.

Across the battlefield, Dosu smirked behind his mask.

"That cocky attitude of yours is going to get you into a lot of trouble one of these days-"

An explosion that rocked the roof cut him off, followed by the sound of glass shattering and flames blazing. A steam of fire came into view from the down on the building's side. A blast of flame had escaped from one of the windows, but a fire was still raging on inside. The fire alarms sounded, and they could hear the sprinkler system going off, but the inferno from inside the building didn't seem to die out. Already, smoke was rising up all around the roof.

"WHAT THE HOUNDOOM WAS THAT?!" Dosu gasped, staggering to the side to try and find out what was happening. Another steam of flames escaped the building, this time blasting a hole in the wall.

Zaku pulled Dosu back. "…I think we should just cut our losses and get the hell out of here before we're roasted alive." He had already recalled his Toxtricity twins and pointed over the side of the roof. "Look, Kin's already got the same idea!"

From down below, their third teammate had run out of the burning building and hopped into Mizuki's car, apparently prepared to drive off on her own (even though she didn't have a license and wasn't old enough to drive).

The contest hall groaned dangerously beneath them.

"Good idea!" Dosu said, recalling both is Pokémon, before turning to Naruto and shouting, "You won't be so lucky next time!"

The two crooks each grabbed one of Nightwish the Golbat's legs and jumped off the side, using the giant bat like a parachute.

"Get back here you, you cowards!" Naruto shouted.

Hinata grabbed him by the shoulder. "Let them go! We need to get down from here before the roof caves in!"

Naruto nodded. "And we need to make sure everyone else got out safe!"

He pointed towards the ruined stairway that led inside the contest hall. While the doors where broken, luckily the rest of it seemed intact.

"Come on! Kata, be ready to Copycat Water Pulse and douse the flames!"

With that, Naruto took Hinata by the hand and boldly entered the burning building.

-0o0o0-

…A few minutes earlier…

-0o0o0-

Akodo slowly peered around the hallway's corner, careful to stay low and stick to the shadows. He pulled his head back, turned to his trainer, and nodded that it was clear.

Sasuke smiled, motioning that he'd go first, and for the others to follow.

They had already snuck in through the back, and were making their way to the main hall. Sasuke had told Sakura and their teams that they had to be quiet, at least until they were sure Naruto and Hinata had pulled off their distraction successfully. That meant keeping to the shadows, hugging corners, and not making a sound. At Sasuke's order, Akodo took the lead. The Shinx could see in the dark and had overall sharp senses; plus, being fairly small, it was unlikely that anyone would notice his head peeking around a corner. On a more annoying note, Hitomi had pushed Shoto to the back of the group and insisted he stay there, far from any danger.

Silently, Sakura was impressed with how through Sasuke was being, especially since he had first tried charging into the contest hall, screaming, when he found out Karen had been taken hostage. Apparently, he was a much better leader when his head was clear and calm.

They darted down another hallway, and now they were just outside the main auditorium. Beyond the double doors, several voices could be heard. Sasuke motioned for everyone to remail still and carefully pressed his ear against the door.

"-At least go turn on the Pokéball suppressor, you lazy jerk!" a female voice ordered, followed by the sound of a loud slap, an then a yelp of pain.

It sounded like someone scrambled out of their chair.

"Fine! I'll do it!" a man's voice cried; Sasuke and Sakura recognized it as Mizuki's. "It's not like we need it on, but if it will shut you up, fine!"

The teenage girl sent some choice swears his way, and Mizuki responded in kind, his voice getting fainter as he left the room.

Carefully, Sasuke pushed one of the double doors a sliver open, peeking into the room.

"It's the girl from the Sound Trio," he whispered, turning to Sakura. "She's got her Steenee and her Bronzor with her, but they're the only ones in in the room. We can ambush her and take out Mizuki next."

Sakura nodded, moving to give Sasuke room.

He motioned to Togashi. "Aim a Flamethrower for the Steenee." Then he pointed to Hitomi. "Aqua Jet to the Bronzon and Nightslash him. Understand?"

The two nodded.

"Good. Now, get ready…" Sasuke held up three fingers and started to count down. …three…

…two…

An explosion of sound, like someone had use a jet turbine to blast down a wall, blasted out from the roof and echoed throughout the whole contest hall, ringing so loud it shook the walls.

Sakura started to open her mouth to ask what had caused that noise, but Sasuke slapped his hand over her mouth and raised a finger to his lips, reminding her to be quiet…

…which is also when Mina, who had been napping silently in Sakura's backpack, woke and started crying loudly.

Sakura gasped, quickly trying to shush the poor child.

Sasuke just stood frozen, mouth gaping. How could they have forgotten to recall the baby to her Pokéball before trying to sneak around?! That was something only a stupid twelve-year-old would do!

"Someone's there, behind the doors!" Kin gasped from inside the auditorium, having heard Mina's cries. "Flash Cannon! Magical Leaf!"

Sasuke swore and moved to shove Sakura away from the doorway.

Shoto, however, reacted faster, blasting the doors with Freeze-Dry, covering them in a barrier of ice in an instant. An instant later, a flurry of energized leaves and a blast of metallic energy hit the doors, breaking through, but failing to do more than crack Shoto's frozen shield.

"Nice!" Sasuke said quickly; he couldn't waste time saying anything more. "Togashi, go!"

The Chameleon fired the strongest Flamethrower he could manage. It melted through the ice wall and kept going right into Kin's Steenee, who had started slamming on the ice wall with her sepals. She screeched and stumbled back as Kin's Bronzor flew between them, body coated with Protect.

"It's the Twerps!" Kin gasped, gawking for a second. "You were supposed to fall into our trap, not the other way around!"

Sasuke smirked. "A little kitty told us what you were planning, so we decided to gatecrash. Togashi, Flamethrower! Bayushi, Mimic!"

"Evasive tactics!" Kin shouted quickly, before turning over her shoulder. "Mizuki, get your butt in here!"

Togashi and Bayushi shot a stream of flames, which Bijou (her Bronzor) met with a Flash Cannon; her attack was much too weak to stop the Flamethrowers, but it slowed them down enough for both her and Killer Queen (Kin's Steenee) to move out of the way. Killer Queen moved behind a decorative pillar while Bijou flew up high.

Hitomi attempted to Aqua Jet after the Bronzor, only for a mass of sludge to explode from her shadow and pull her down; before she could react, Mizuki's Muk Swallowed her.

"Get 'em!" Mizuki shouted from atop the stage at the back of the auditorium, tossing two more Pokéballs. They flashed open, sending his Seviper and Beedrill into the fight.

"Darn it!" Sasuke hissed, thinking quickly. "Alright! Free Hitomi first; then everyone, focus on one enemy at a time!"

Akodo reacted first, Sparking up and running towards Muk.

"Don't do that! You'll shock Hitomi, too!" Sakura shouted quickly.

The Shinx quickly skid to a halt, leaving himself open for a Sucker Punch from the Muk, who gurgled evilly as Hitomi struggled to free herself.

Without warning, Shoto moved in, firing a beam of icy energy at the Muk's arm, freezing it before quickly moving onto his face. The Sludge Pokémon gasped in horror as his body started to freeze…which also meant he was no longer concentrating on keeping ahold of Hitomi. There was an explosion of sludgy water, and Hitomi Aqua Jetted out. She hit the ground, hacking and choking as she spat up a mouthful of disgusting sludge.

Shoto moved next to his sister, protectively hovering near her as she recovered her breath.

Sakura, who had been so concerned with Mina that she had been unable to focus on the fight, took a quick study of what was happening. Togashi and Killer Queen were shooting Flamethrowers and Magical Leaf attacks at one another as they ducked behind cover, while Bayushi and Akodo circled Mizuki's Seviper. The snake lashed a Poison Tail at Akodo and then Wrapped Bayushi, only for the Eevee to Mimic Akodo's Spark, shocking the Seviper into releasing him. That just left the Beedrill and Bronzor unaccounted for…

A loud buzzing sound focused Sakura's attention, and she realized Mizuki's Beedrill was rushing straight toward her, stinger raised.

Before she could react, Tetsu moved in, blocking the Poison Sting attack with his body. He let out a metallic shriek and spun around, slapping the Bug-type away before chasing after it.

"Focus on the fight, Sakura," Sasuke said in a stern but even tone.

"Right! Uh," Sakura paused, and noticed Kin's Steenee duck behind a column to avoid another of Togashi's attacks. "Ochako, Vine Whip; pull her out!"

Ochako acted quickly, roping both of Killer Queen's legs and yanking them out from under her. She started reeling the struggling Steelee in, to which Kin shouted for Bijou to aid her teammate; the Bronzor fired a Flash Cannon, only for Tetsu to break off fighting with Beedrill to move in and tank the hit. With no one to help her, Killer Queen was helpless as Togashi unleashed a Flamethrower right in her face, knocking her out.

Kin let out a wordless scream of frustration, recalling her injured Pokémon. She turned angrily to Mizuki. "Be useful you moron! Send out the rest of your team!"

Swearing to himself, Mizuki threw in his Mareanie, while shouting orders to his team.

Togashi turned his attention towards Muk, while Bayushi and Akodo continued to double-team Seviper, and Tetsu managed Bijou and Beedrill.

The confusing, three-way battle went on; Sakura decided to help free up Bayushi and Akodo, and ordered Ochako to Vine Whip the Seviper just as it attempted to use Flamethrower. Ochako bound the snake's mouth shut, resulting in it choking on a mouthful of flames, while Bayushi nailed it with Take Down and Akodo finished the job with Thunder Fang, knocking the Seviper out.

Up above them, Tetsu cried out in pain as Beedrill beat him back with Knock Off, with Bijou flying nearby to support the Bug-type.

"Ochako, help him!" Sakura ordered.

However, Mizuki's Mareanie suddenly joined the fray, leaping high and spinning above Bayushi, Ochako, and Akodo, releasing an Icy Wind attack. The biting cold numbed the three's limbs and the sharp shards of ice forced them to keep their eyes shut, effectively locking them in place.

"Ha! Nice work!" Mizuki laughed.

Sasuke gave an order to Hitomi. The Water-type bodychecked the Mareanie with Aqua Jet, shoving her into a wall, before following up with Night Slash.

That might have helped Ochako and the others, but Tetsu was still being harried by the Beedrill and Bijou. The two were pressing the advantage, forcing the Beldum into a corner. The Beedrill prepared one final Knock Off attack-

A gout of flames sprang up from behind Bijou, swallowing her and pushing on to scorch Beedrill.

Sakura gasped and started to thank Togashi, but realized he was wrestling Muk. She turned to find the source of the flames: Shoto!

The Arctic Vulpix's left eye blazed with light as he used a Flamethrower to beat both of Tetsu's attacks back. Privately, Sakura remembered that they had discovered Shoto's unique power over ice and fire. Sasuke, however, was more impressed that his Vulpix was such a proactive battler- he hadn't given Shoto one order this entire fight, and he was still pulling his weight!

However, just as quickly as Shoto's fire blazed, it died out; the poor Arctic Vulpix collapsed, struggling to breath as he spat up black smoke.

"Shoto's file said that he was hurt by his own fire!" Sakura pointed out.

From up in the air, Bijou and Mizuki's Beedrill had shifted from Tetsu to Shoto, with the Beedrill completely abandoning its original target and flying at the helpless Shoto. Bijou attempted to nail him with Flash Cannon, but Tetsu slammed into her and started wrestling with her midair.

Before Shoto could do anything, the Beedrill floored him, driving him down with a flurry of Twinneedle attacks!

"DEWOTT!" From across the battlefield, Hitomi let out a bloodcurdling scream. Ignoring everything else, she rocketed off her Mareanie foe and Aqua Jetted into Mizuki's Beedrill, driving the evil beast away from her poor, helpless baby brother. Before he could recover, Hitomi slashed him savagely across the middle with Razor Shell. The Beedrill screamed in pain, quickly trying to scramble away, but Hitomi held it pinned, slashing with another Razor Shell. The attack knocked him out, but Hitomi still raised her scalchop for another attack.

"Hitomi, that's enough!" Sasuke ordered.

Hitomi snarled, looking over her shoulder at Sasuke; she then noticed her brother prone on the ground, and seemed to regain some of her senses. Abandoning the Beedrill, Hitomi quicky moved to Shoto's side, lifted him up, and rushed over to Ochako, demanding that she heal him.

Sasuke growled, disliking how having her brother nearby had shifted Hitomi's behavior. However, he couldn't do anything about that right now.

Mizuki had recalled his knocked-out Pokémon, and the battle was looking grim for Team Snake. Bayushi and Akodo had joined Togashi in fighting Muk, forcing the Sludge Pokémon to retreat with Shadow Sneak, reappearing before his trainer, dragging the heavily injured Mareanie along with him. Up in the air, Tetsu and Bijou continued to battle, with Tetsu shoving Bijou away with Take Down before Togashi fired a Flamethrower at the Bronzor- luckily, Kin recalled her Pokémon before she was knocked out (so Bijou could Teleport the Sound Trio to safety later if it was needed).

"Screw this; I'm out of here!" Kin snapped, turning to run.

"Wait, we can still win this! Call up Dosu and Zaku!" Mizuki shouted desperately.

Up above them, the sound of a raging battle wracked the ceiling. Kin shook her head.

"Forget it; I'm cutting my losses and getting out of here," the girl said. "I'm out of Pokémon, and so are you!"

Mizuki grabbed the girl by the arm, but before they could continue arguing, Togashi spat out a spiral of fire. The Flame spread out wide before landing in a large ring that trapped Mizuki, Kin, and Mizuki's last two Pokémon.

"You have my sister-in-law!" Sasuke proclaimed angrily. "Where is she?!"

"Yeah, and what did you do with Iruka?" Sakura added.

"Tell me, or by Giratina's black heart, I swear I'll burn the flesh from your bones!" Sasuke said, suddenly shouting.

Kin screamed, pointing towards the stage and saying they were tied up in the backroom.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura, motioning for her to check it out.

Meanwhile, Mizuki suddenly remembered the Pokémon in the black Pokéball…the one HQ had provided for him. He felt in his vest pocket, and sure enough, he had the injection gun with the vials of Venom. He had been warned that the beast was violent, disobedient, and only to be used as a last-ditch effort, but that was exactly the kind of situation they were in. Best of all, the Twerps were no longer paying any attention to him.

"You Houndoomed moron," Kin hissed, subtlety reached for Bijou's ball.

"Don't worry," Mizuki said with a wicked smile. "I've just begun to fight…MUK, POISON GAS!" he suddenly shouted, throwing the black Pokéball to the ground and pulling the injection gun out, loading it.

Sasuke turned back to the crooks, having been too interested in checking on Karen to keep an eye on them. He swore, ordering Togashi to fire, but Mizuki's Mareanie jumped up and used Protect to take the hit while his Muk spread out a smokescreen of poisonous gas. There was a flash as Pokéball was opened, followed by vicious snarling.

Sakura stopped and turned back to the battle. "What the-?"

The smoke cleared, unveiling Mizuki's newest Pokémon: a powerful, hateful Houndoom that was so vicious he had a steel muzzle on his jaws. There was also a high-tech collar around his neck that Sakura recognized as a control device. More disturbingly, Mizuki had pressed an injection gun to the Houndoom's side, pumping a vial of something green and sinister into the Pokémon, who already was shaking with barely contained rage.

"Lugia guard us, he's using Venom!" Sakura gasped. She had seen the aftermath of that awful drug before in Tsunade's lab, and she knew what kind of effect it had on a Pokémon.

"Eeyep! You want at fight? You got one!" Mizuki laughed wickedly, pulling out a controller and pressing a button. "Get them, you beast!"

At once, the Houndoom's collar crackled with electricity and his muzzle fell off, allowing him to let out a rage-filled howl as he charged right though Togashi's Fire Spin.

Hitomi reacted first, Aqua Jetting right into the Houndoom and knocking him off his feet. The Houndoom rolled with the blow and was back up, loosing a Fire Blast that shoved Hitomi backwards, in spite of Resisting it.

"Haha, how do you like that!?" Mizuki laughed. "Hit her again!"

However, instead of obeying, the Houndoom thrashed about wildly, slamming his head against the floor and foaming at the mouth.

"Something's wrong!" Kin said. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that there were three empty vials of Venom at Mizuki's feet. "You gave him all three doses!?"

"Of course!" Mizuki said, as if it was obvious.

Back on the battlefield, Akodo had rushed in to defend his teammate, bravely latching onto the Houndoom's throat with Thunder Fang.

"Darn it, stop it!" Mizuki ordered, turning to his Muk.

The Sludge Pokémon moved to obey with Shadow Sneak, but the Houndoom had already thrown the Shinx to the floor. Mizuki's Muk rose out of his shadow and lunged for the Shinx, to which Hitomi shoved him away with Aqua Jet.

Mizuki started to give an order, but he was cut off as the Houndoom suddenly refocused and loosed a Fire Blast at all three of them; there was an explosion of flame, and all three were knocked out.

"You stupid beast! You knocked out-!" Mizuki started shouting, but he couldn't finish.

The Houndoom's eyes had turned a poisonous green color, and blood was dripping from its smoking mouth. It took in only shallow, quivering breaths as it scanned the battlefield for something to attack.

"You gave it too much Venom!" Kin hissed.

From Sakura's backpack, Mina started fussing again.

The Houndoom turned to the noise, and then sprang after it.

Sakura screamed in horror, pulling Mina into her arms and turning away from the rapid Houndoom vain attempt to shield the poor baby Pokémon.

"NO, YOU DON'T!" Sasuke shouted, punctuated by Togashi, Bayushi, and Tetsu all bodychecking the Houndoom. Instead of letting him get up, Togashi immediately attacked, hitting him with Flamethrower; Bayushi joined in, using Copycat.

Sasuke gasped in horror. "Stop! Don't do that!" But it was too late.

Instead of being harmed by the raging flames, the Houndoom's body started absorbing them. Shuttering with strength, the Houndoom rose to his paws, jagged line of dark red flames cracking across his fur, as if there was a volcano ready to erupt beneath the surface. Roaring with primal fury, the Houndoom unleashed a Fire Blast attack; this time, it was made of blue fire, twice as powerful as before. Thinking quick, Togashi swept both Bayushi and Tetsu away with his tail before the fireball hit, clearing them from the bast. However, as with the Houndoom, instead of being harmed by the fire, Togashi's body absorbed it, causing his tail-fire to turn gold as a matching golden light burned from his eyes and mouth, as if there was a brilliant fire inside him.

"What the heck happened?" Mizuki asked.

"It's the Flash Fire ability," Sasuke explained stoically. "A Pokémon with it absorbs the heat and energy from fire attacks and turns them into power."

"I didn't know the Charmander-line could have it!" Sakura said.

Sasuke gave a tiny smirk. Normally, they couldn't…however, Togashi wasn't an ordinary Charmander. The Uchiha family had been breeding the Charmander-line for generations, alongside their signature Houndoom. They developed the Flash Fire ability specifically so the two lines could work together.

He pushed the thought from his mind and focused on the battle. "Togashi, fire won't work, so use Dragon Breath!"

"Char!"

The Chameleon hit the rabid Houndoom with a green blast of dragonfire, to which the Houndoom respond with another Fire Blast. Togashi absorbed the hit, but the explosion such concussive force behind it that it still knocked the Charmeleon back a few feet.

"Sakura, find Karen and Iruka! I can handle this!" Sasuke shouted over to the pink-haired girl.

She nodded and started running for the backrooms again.

"Stop her!" Mizuki shouted, pressing a button on his controller.

The Houndoom's controller activated, giving it a jolt of pain as Mizuki attempted to redirect its attention towards Sakura. However, the Houndoom just continued to battle Togashi, getting more and more angry all the while.

Meanwhile, Sakura had climbed up into the stage and made her way to the backroom when she suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air before being to the side.

Kin jumped into view, her Bronzor floating in front of her.

"Did you forget about me, Pink Twerp? There's no way I'm going to let you-!"

-CLANG!-

Tetsu suddenly slammed into Bijou, cracking her so hard the Bronzor hit the floor, eyes spinning. Bayushi and Ochako jumped in, flanking Sakura on either side, glowering angrily.

Kin looked at her nearly unconscious Pokémon, then over at her three opponents.

"On the other hand, discretion is the better part of valor. Bijou, Teleport!"

The two twinkled, and before Sakura could stop them, they vanished, reappearing outside the contest hall.

"Come on, let's find the hostages!" Sakura called to the others, running to the backstage.

Bayushi and Ochako followed her, but Tetsu hesitated. He felt funny, and for some reason, he was starting to glow…

Back to the battle between Sasuke and Mizuki, the Team Snake thug screamed in frustration as Kin fled via Teleport.

"Darn it, I said stop the girl, you stupid mutt!" he shouted, pushing down on the punishment button and holding it down. "Can't you do anything right?!"

The dog whimpered, glaring hatefully at Mizuki. Sasuke couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor Houndoom…it clearly was not wanting to obey the pathetic thug. Then the boy noticed a vicious gleam in the Houndoom's eyes.

The Houndoom took in a great breath…and dropped the biggest Fire Blast he had at his own feet.

The burning explosion shook the floor, spreading out far beyond the Houndoom, and causing the fire alarm to sound as the sprinkler system to go off.

What concerned Sasuke, however, was the fact that the Houndoom let out a scream of pain and triumph, and as his body absorbed the heat, Sasuke realized why: the control collar around his neck was damaged and half-melted. Snarling, the Houndoom flicked his head back, throwing the collar off, and turned to Mizuki, blood dripping from his foaming mouth.

"…uh oh," he squeaked, feeling small and helpless.

Letting out a terrifying roar, the Houndoom launched a Fire Blast at Mizuki. Mizuki dove out of the way, but was still caught in the explosion. He screamed as his jacket caught flame, even with the sprinkler systems running. Yelling in pain, Mizuki threw the jacket off and scrambled for the door, no longer caring about pleasing Team Snake.

The Houndoom drew in fire, preparing another Fire Blast, only for Togashi to suddenly bodycheck him, sending the fireball towards the ceiling, where it exploded and broke through several windows.

"Come on, boy, you're free!" Sasuke shouted desperately. "You don't need to keep fighting- whao!" He had to drop as a stray fireball nearly hit him.

The Houndoom was now in a frenzy, sending Fire Blasts out at random, creating an ever-growing fire that the sprinkler system could not put out.

Togashi cried keeping him in check, but the sprinklers were also harming the Charmeleon, while the Venom-drugged Houndoom seemed unaffected by the artificial rain. Near Sasuke, Shoto attempted to help by shooting rays of ice to smother the flames, but he was already greatly weakened from earlier, and the heat was getting to him.

Desperately, Togashi grabbed the Houndoom by the horns and launched a Dragon Breath right into his face, only for the Houndoom to respond with a full-power Dark Pulse, sending Togashi sprawling, knocked out.

The Houndoom prepared to attack the fallen Charmeleon again; Sasuke returned his fallen Pokémon, drawing its attention.

The rabid Houndoom turned to Sasuke, who swallowed nervously. He took a step back, only to find himself backing into a wall, with the raging fire cutting off any escape. Quietly, Sasuke mused that maybe he shouldn't have sent Bayushi to help Sakura…

Valiantly, Shoto moved between the vicious Pokémon and his trainer, puffing his fur out threateningly. However, he was already starting to waver from the heat surrounding them. Even so, he started to draw in power, preparing a Freeze-dry attack-

"Stop!" Sasuke said quickly, dropping to his knees and pulling the Vulpix back. "Don't provoke him!" He knew there was no way Shoto's Ice-type powers could do much anything to the Houndoom, so their best bet was to wait and pray by some miracle the Houndoom didn't attack.

…which is exactly what happened.

-0o0o0-

In the backstage, Sakura first came across a humming device that she guessed was the Sound Trio's Pokéball suppression field generator. She thought about smashing it, but then stopped when there was an explosion from back in the auditorium, followed by the sprinklers going off and the fire alarm sounding.

"Oh no!" Sakura gasped, turning around. She froze, thinking quickly. Sasuke had trusted her to find Karen and Iruka; he said he could handle the Houndoom, and considering Togashi has Flash Fire and the beast only seemed smart enough to use Fire-type moves, it seemed that Sasuke was right. The sprinklers would likely take care of the fire if one had broken out, and more importantly, it was even more important for Sakura to find the hostages now, just in case the fire got out of control!

"Eevee!" Bayushi cried, sniffing in front of a door.

There was the sound of muffled voices and people kicking against the wall from inside.

"Don't worry!" Sakura shouted, pulling on the handle. "I'll have you out of there…in…in no time!" She heaved and pulled against the door, but the damn thing was locked!

"Of course," Sakura mused angrily.

"Chika!" Ochako said, using her vines to push Sakura out of the way before trying to yank it off. That proved just as effective as when Sakura tried it.

"Vee!" Bayushi offered, preparing a Hidden Power attack.

"Wait, give them time to move away from the door, or else you might end up hurting them," Sakura said quickly. She banged on the door to get Iruka and Karen's attention. "Hey, if you're able, please move as far away from the door as possible! We're going to have to blast it open!"

"HRM?!" the muffled voice of Iruka gasped, clearly not enthusiastic about the idea.

Sakura started to say they had no choice when a heavy mental hand fell on her shoulder, causing her to jump and scream; she squeezed Mina tightly, causing the Goomy to slip out of her hands-

-only to be caught by Tetsu…who now sported a new, larger body with two hands, floating proudly before his trainer.

"Mrrngg!" the newly-evolved Metang cheered, smiling as much as his metal face would allow. In his hands, Mina looked at him with eyes full of wonder, too awed to be upset.

Sakura stared gapping at him for a few seconds before speaking.

"Oh, so now you evolve, when all the fighting is already over?!"

"Tng," Tetsu said bashfully, shrugging.

As if to make it up to his trainer, Tetsu handed Mina to her and gently pushed the girl to the side, motioning for everyone else to move back. With that, he slammed a metal fist into the door, punching right through it; after a few seconds of groping around, he found the handle and unlocked the door, pulling it open. "Trrr-tng!" he said, mimicking a 'ta-da' sound as best he could.

"Thank you!" Sakura shouted, running into the room, the others quickly following.

Karen and Iruka were tied up securely, and though the sprinklers weren't on in this room, Sakura's hands were still wet from earlier; she found it impossible to quickly undo the knots.

"Oh, sorry!" Sakura said desperately as she pulled on Karen's bindings, getting more and more nervous- the sound of explosions continued from the other room. Sasuke might be needing help! Sakura pulled up her backpack. "Maybe I can find a knife or something-"

Tetsu held one of his hands in front of his trainer's face, flexing his metal claws. Without another word, the Metang grabbed Karen's gag and cut it off, moving on to the rest of her bindings, and then on to Iruka's.

"Thank you," Karen said after taking in a deep breath. "But what are you doing here?!"

"We're here to rescue you!" Sakura said happily.

"You didn't call the police?" Iruka asked indignantly.

Sakura winced, realizing they failed to even think about doing that.

"Only an idiot complains about a rescue they don't like!" Karen said, getting to her feet as she rubbed her rope-burned wrists. She'd have to have it healed at the Pokécenter later. She turned to Sakura. "Am I to assume Sweet Sasuke and your other friends are here, too?"

Sakura nodded. "Naruto and Hinata are fighting on the roof, and Sasuke's in the auditorium-" there was another explosion "-but I think he might be having trouble."

Karen nodded, looking serious. "Where are my Pokémon?"

For a second, Sakura dreaded that Kin might have made off with them, but Bayushi and Ochako found both Karen's and Iruka's complete team in a box nearby.

Karen smiled evilly, pulling a Cherish Ball from the box. "Well, let's see how those thugs fair against an Elite Four-level opponent when she can fight back! Titan, it's time to smash!"

Karen tossed the ball, but it just fell the floor, wiggling but not opening.

After a few seconds of silence, Sakura laughed. "Oh right, I never turned off the Pokéball suppression field!"

Karen leveled a glare at the girl that made her shrink down. "Way to ruin a moment," she sighed.

Tetsu, deciding to be helpful, went off to smash the stupid thing.

-0o0o0-

Sasuke watched as the Houndoom just stared intently at him for a moment with its Venom-drugged eyes. Then the Dark Pokemon whimpered and shook his head, growling and even biting himself. After a moment, Sasuke realized that the Houndoom was fighting the effects of the Venom. For some reason, the Houndoom didn't want to attack Sasuke.

Then Sasuke noticed a scar across the Houndoom's muzzle. But it was no ordinary scar. It was two crisscrossing slash marks.

Sasuke gasped, mind racing as he thought back to when he was eight and his family went camping. He had wandered off (against his father's strict instructions not to) and was attacked by a wild Scyther. He'd have been seriously hurt or even killed…had it not been for Sasuke's Houndour, who jumped in and blocked the attack without hesitation. The faithful Pokémon drove the Scyther off, but the Bug-type left him with a crisscrossing scar across his muzzle.

A scar that matched this Houndoom's.

Slowly, Sasuke found himself speaking a name he had almost lost hope of ever calling again.

"…Shiba?"

The Houndoom, who had been in the middle of biting his own leg so hard it was starting to bleed, froze, turned to face the boy. Even in his drug-addled state, a look of recognition appeared in the Houndoom's eyes- no, a look of recognition appeared in Shiba's eyes. He whimpered again, fighting the awful feelings the drug was forcing on him. But even if his mind was making him feel nothing but anger and hate, something deep within his soul made Shiba remember Sasuke. Remember his first duty.

No longer caring about the fire raging around him, the water from the sprinklers, or the danger he was putting himself in, Sasuke took a confident step forward, and then another, holding out his hand.

"Shiba, I've missed you," he said, letting a bright smile spread across his face.

For a brief second, the Houndoom seemed to smile up at his former trainer.

…but then the smile was replaced with a grimace. The Houndoom snapped threateningly, letting out a puff of fire and backing away, back arched.

"Steady, boy! Steady!" Sasuke said in a firm but soothing voice.

Shiba growled and snapped again, his eyes becoming more clouded and aggressive.

Sasuke found himself taking a step back before he could help it. "Shiba, please," he pleaded, trying not to let his fear overtake him.

The Houndoom lunged forward, knocking Sasuke onto his back. From behind him, Shoto jumped into action, hitting Shiba in the face with a Freeze-Dry attack. The Houndoom snarled, breathing a burst of fire at Shoto, knocking him out.

"Shiba, stop! STOP!" Sasuke shouted, scrambling up onto his elbows and he tried moving between the Houndoom and his fallen Vulpix. "Please! Hear me!"

A Water Pulse attack hit Shiba in the side, creating an explosion of water that put out the nearby fires and knocked the Houndoom backwards. Immediately, Katsuki flew onto the scene, landing between Sasuke and Shiba.

"Sasuke! Are you alright?!" Naruto shouted from the stairway. Kata Copycatted Water Pulse again and used it to clear away more flames, giving Naruto and Hinata a path to the dark-haired boy.

"Yes, but listen! That Houndoom; it's-" Sasuke started, but he was cut off as Shiba jumped up and snarled at Katsuki. The Quilava sent a Flamethrower at him, only for Shiba to absorb it with Flash Fire. "Stop! STOP!" Sasuke shouted desperately.

Too late, Shiba hit Katsuki with Dark Pulse, causing Kata to try and take him out with Water Pulse, which Shiba blocked with a Fire Blast, creating an explosion of steam.

"We have to get out of here!" Hinata said desperately. "Where's Sakura and the others?"

"Here we are!" Sakura called, running out from the backstage.

The steam and smoke had cleared, bringing Shiba back into view. The aggressive Houndoom snarled, preparing to attack, only for the ground under him to suddenly rip open as pillars of rock shout out, creating a barrier between him and the trainers.

"And I brought some friends!" Sakura cheered, pointing backwards with her thumb. It was Iruka and Karen, and with them, a rather large and serious-looking Tyranitar.

"Titan, drive that beast back!" Karen ordered to her Tyranitar.

Sasuke shouted for Karen to stop, but Titan had already obeyed, slamming his tail into the ground and sending another Stone Edge attack at Shiba.

The Houndoom leapt backwards and hit the stone pillar with a Flash Fire-empowered Fire Blast, creating an explosion of hellfire and stone shards.

Sasuke felt himself hitting the floor; Naruto had tackled him down to prevent him from getting caught in the explosion's blast. When the smoke and debris had cleared, Sasuke looked up, and saw a hole in the wall, created by the blast. Shiba was gone.

-0o0o0-

…Much Later, at the Teakgrove Pokécenter…

-0o0o0-

Sasuke sighed, absentmindedly scratching Bayushi behind the ear.

Everything in the contest hall that happened after Shiba ran off felt like Sasuke was in a dream. Karen and Iruka sent out their teams to help contain the fire until the firefighters showed up, followed by the police and paramedics. That was followed by several hours of questioning, and then they had to go to the Pokécenter to get their teams tended to. On top of all that, Itachi arrived frantic and worried sick. He had been told what happened as soon as he arrived in Oakcrown, and immediately flew back to Teakgrove (flying on his Hydregion so he wouldn't overexert his poor Honchkrow, which had flown him from Teakgrove to Oakcrown). Once everyone had managed to assure Itachi that both Sasuke and Karen were unharmed and perfectly fine, Sasuke was finally able to tell everyone about Shiba.

Everyone's reaction to the news was about what Sasuke expected: Sakura was shocked, Itachi was sympathetic, and Naruto kept apologizing for attacking Shiba.

After about five minutes of it, Sasuke had enough and pulled himself away to brood privately. Taking the hint, Itachi announced that he was going to call their father and talk to him about this development.

After about an hour, Naruto decided to come over and sit down next to Sasuke.

"Hey," Naruto said slowly, not sure what to say. He looked at his friend, and notices his eyes were somewhat puffy and red. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said quickly, turning away. "My eyes are still stinging from the fire."

"Oh…"

Silence hung in the air.

Naruto began to say something, but Sasuke spoke first.

"You did the right thing."

"Eh?"

"I said you did the right thing," Sasuke repeated. "Attacking Shiba. He was out of control and dangerous…he could have killed me if you hadn't stepped in."

"You don't know that," Naruto said.

Sasuke frowned. "Yes, I do. I was so happy to find my dog, I let myself be blinded to reality…I see that now." He paused. "Oh, and thanks for saving me at the end there…from the blast.

Naruto gave a lopsided smile. "Ah, don't get all sappy. You'd have done the same thing for me."

The doors to the waiting room opened, and Karen stepped in, along with Sakura and Hinata.

Sasuke nodded, acknowledging his future sister-in-law. "So, what do you want?" His tone was neutral, not rude.

Karen snorted, but deiced not to comment on his lack of manners; after all, the day had been draining on all of them. "I wanted to apologize about what happened. If I had listened to you, I could have had Titan detain your Houndoom rather than drive him off."

Sasuke considered it. "No. Everything happened all at once. You acted to protect me and everyone else…but, if you want, I forgive you."

Karen smiled. "Ah, you really are sweet, Sasuke."

Then she turned to Sakura and Hinata. "Oh, and also, I never did thank you for saving me from those would-be kidnappers," Karen added, smiling.

At this, Sasuke let out a small chuckle. "I have forgotten about that."

"Yeah, we were awesome, weren't we?" Naruto said, looking rather proud of himself.

"You mean foolish," a voice reprimanded. Iruka stepped over to the group, followed closely by Itachi. "You could have gotten kidnapped or even killed! You should have called the police!"

"From what they told the police, they didn't really have much time to really think things through," Itachi pointed out. He looked at Sasuke. "And while I agree with Iruka that you should have contacted the police, I can't say I'm not proud of how well you four did."

Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head in mock embarrassment. "Ah, go on!"

Hinata spoke up. "Um, Itachi, sir? What's going to happen now? Are we in trouble?"

Itachi shook his head. "No. The police have decided, at my suggestion, that you four acted appropriately, as the situation allowed, and with the right intentions; you are not going to be held responsible for any of the damages to the contest hall."

"Speaking of damage, the fire department was able to save the building, but it's going to need lots of repairs before it can be used," Karen said. "So, the contest is going to have to be rescheduled and moved to another city."

"Darn. I worked so hard to have it held in Teakgrove, too," Iruka sighed.

Naruto patted him on the back. "There'll be other ones," he suggested sympathetically.

"Are you still going to host it?" Sakura asked, looking hopefully.

Itachi spoke up before Karen could. "Absolutely not. This attempted kidnapping is a serious security breech, and until we find out how Team Snake pulled it off, Karen will be under 24-hour guard!"

"Oh, you better be exaggerating, Sugar Cube," Karen growled in a tone that made it clear she had no intention of being a prisoner in her own home.

Itachi shrank meekly. "It's for your own protection, Sweetums! And besides, Dad ordered it, not me."

She grunted, not convinced.

Naruto smiled at the couple's antics, but then thought of something. "Hey, whatever happened to that slimeball Mizuki? Did the cops nab him? Or what about the Sound Trio?"

Iruka shook his head. "All of them are still at large. From the looks of it, the Sound Trio stole Mizuki's car- the cops found it abandoned at the city limits, and a trucker admitted to giving a ride to a trio of hitchhikers that matched their descriptions. As for Mizuki-" Iruka paused "-as for him, the police checked his apartment; from the looks of it, he skipped town. The police have set up a manhunt through the whole area for him." Sighing, Iruka turned away. "…I can't believe he was a member of Team Snake! I feel so stupid! I trusted him, thought he was my friend!"

"Being taken advantage of by the worst of humanity is the price you pay for looking for the good in others," Karen said sympathetically.

The conversation continued like this for a few minutes. Then Sasuke spoke up unexpectedly.

"What about Shiba?" he asked, looking at Itachi.

That got everyone's attention.

"Don't worry, Baby Brother. Dad and I already talked about this," Itachi said reassuringly. "He's already contracted the best trackers in the Uchiha family; they're going to fly in first thing tomorrow and search the city until they find Shiba. Dad and Genji are going to help them!" Itachi added. Genji, their father's Houndoom, was one of the finest trackers the Uchiha family had ever bred and trained. He also happened to be Shiba's father, coincidentally.

"Do you think you'll find him?" Sakura asked. "What if he already left Teakgrove?"

"It's not likely," Itachi explained. "Considering he can find food, shelter, and everything else he needs here, there's no reason for Shiba to leave the city's boundaries to explore unknown wilds. But if he does, we'll still track him down. The Uchiha family have used Houndoom to hunt down criminals and bounties for generations, and Dad's Genji is the best hunter in the family."

Sasuke smiled, but then he thought of something. "…what if he's hurt someone?"

Everyone looked at him, and Sasuke elaborated.

"They pumped so much of that evil Venom-drug into him…what if he hurts someone while its still in his system?"

"Uh," Itachi said, not sure what to say.

Karen spoke up. "Don't worry, Sasuke. Shiba won't. He didn't hurt you, even when he under Venom's influence; it's not in his nature."

Sasuke nodded, but he was not convinced.

"Hey, do you want to stay here until Shiba's found?" Naruto asked, wanting to change the subject.

Sasuke paused, considering it. But after a few seconds, he shook his head. "No. That would be selfish. You shouldn't put your journeys all on pause because of me."

"I never said I'd stay here with you," Naruto pointed out teasingly.

"Besides, we have a schedule to keep," Sasuke went on. "First, we have to get to whatever new town the contest is being held in; in case you forgot, I'm Sakura's partner, and I want to win."

Sakura smiled, blushing.

"Secondly, remember the promise you made to Sora," Sasuke said to Naruto. "You told him you'd take him to the Dragon's Teeth Mesa, so he could find his mother. And you never go back on your word; that's your trainer's way, isn't it?" he added in a mocking tone.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. "Of course!"

"Good," Sasuke said flatly. "Then it's settled.

Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "You are being very grown up about this, Sasuke. I'm proud of you."

Iruka cleared his throat. "Well, if you don't mind, I think there's one last bit of business that needs to be taken care of."

He stood up and moved so that he was facing Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke. "Today, all four of you proved yourselves to be capable and responsible trainers (even if I still think you should have called the police). Naruto, Hinata, you were not only able to fight a pair of trainers with stronger Pokémon than your own, but you were able to overcome them by getting Kata and Katsuki to work together. You both showed courage, grace-under-pressure, and maturity as trainers. For that reason, I award you both the Antidote Badge."

He held out two shiny badges for them.

"For real?!" Naruto gasped, gapping for a few seconds. Finally, he took the badge after Iruka started shaking it with irritation.

Next to Naruto, Hinata quietly took the one offered to her. "B-But, we didn't really work with them…Kata and Katsuki just teamed up because we were in danger."

"Which means your Pokémon value your safety over their pride," Iruka pointed out. "You still have a lot of growing to do as trainers, but today, you proved yourselves worthy of your first badge."

Iruka paused, pulling out a small plastic box from his jacket; inside were several injection cartridges with purple labels; Naruto and the others recognized them as TMs, Technical Machines.

"All things considered, I think you all went above and beyond the call of duty, today. And since gym leaders are encouraged to give TMs to exceptional trainers, I'd say you deserve this too." He paused, and pulled out two identical cartridges. "This TM is one of my personal favorite moves: Poison Jab. I've taught it to each member of my team that can learn it. A strong, simple move that also can Poison a target. If I recall correctly, Riolu and Chespin are both compatible with it."

Iruka handed the TMs to Naruto and Hinata, and continued talking.

"Now, as I said earlier, the Poison-type is not considered very useful traditionally; it is resisted by many types and only useful against Grass and Fairy-types. However, Riolu is a Fighting-type, and Chespin evolves into one, meaning they'll both have trouble with Fairy-types, so teaching them a good move like Poison Jab is a solid strategy."

"Heh, you always have to take an opportunity to be a teacher," Itachi said teasingly.

Naruto ignored him. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei!" He turned to Hinata and smiled, grabbing the girl by the shoulder and fist pumping with his other hand. "Yeah, we did it!"

Hinata blushed brightly, smiling.

Iruka nodded, turning to Sasuke and Sakura and offering an Antidote badge to both of them.

"Don't think you're being left out of this, either. You two showed just as much character and courage as Naruto and Hinata. Beyond that, you displayed the intelligence, quick thinking, and coordination every trainer needs to be successful on their journeys. And I am proud to offer you your first badge."

The two took the offered badges, Sasuke bowing his head humbly and Sakura gave him an enthusiastic 'thank you', jumping up and hugging him.

"We did it, Bayushi," Sasuke said softly to his Eevee as Iruka gently pushed Sakura away.

"As for your TMs, I have a slightly different set here," Iruka explained. He reached into his box and pulled one out that had a label of a different shade of purple. "First is Sakura's. Now, I noticed you have a Goomy on your team. As a pure Dragon-type, the Goomy-line has serious trouble with Fairy-types. However, the line also happens to be very compatible with Poison moves, more-so than most Dragons. As such, I offer you the Sludge Bomb TM, a Special move with great range and a high chance of Poisoning the target."

"Whoa! Thank you!" Sakura said gratefully. She looked down at the Goomy in her arms. "Do you want to learn how to shoot bombs of toxic sludge at Fairies, my little darling?"

The Goomy laughed and blew some harmless bubbles out.

"Yeah, you'll get 'em good, won't you?" Sakura cooed with a smile.

Iruka laughed. "And finally, to Sasuke." He turned to the youth. "Your team doesn't have anyone with a strong affinity for Poison-type moves, but I do believe your Shinx can learn Poison Fang, which has a high chance of inflicting Toxic-Poison on a foe; considering Grass-types resist Electric moves, your Shinx could find it useful."

Sasuke nodded, taking the TM. "Thank you for the advice."

"Eevee," Bayushi said, taking a curious nibble of the glass cartridge before Sasuke pulled it away.

"We did it! We got our Antidote Badges! Believe it!" Naruto cheered, leaping up out of his seat. "Come on out, everyone!"

He called out Kubo, Kata, and Sora; from their Pokéballs, they could hear what was happening outside and started cheering and dancing with their trainers.

"Oh Naruto, don't be so childish," Sakura chided softly.

A ball flashed open from her belt, and Tetsu materialized.

"Tnng, tnng!" the Metang said, letting out tones like a celebration bell as he grabbed Ochako's Heal Ball and called her out.

"Hey, I'm the trainer, not you!" Sakura said sternly.

"Chika-Chika!" Ochako laughed, running up to Sasuke and looking at him expectantly.

"…why not?" Sasuke shrugged, letting out Akodo, Hitomi, and finally Togashi.

The Chikorita smiled and jumped next to the Charmeleon, very proud in their trainers' success.

"Ah, this is so cute, isn't it, Dearest?" Itachi said, taking his fiancé by the hand."

"Yeah, Honey-bunches," Karen agreed. A crafty smile spread across her face. "Hey, we should get some pictures! First, everyone with their gym badges! Then, each trainer with the teams they used during Iruka's Gym battle! Oh, and then-"

Sasuke groaned, but resigned himself to his fate.

The friends took pictures and celebrating earning their first badges together. Sasuke was patient but quiet, giving small smiles and going along with it all. However, late that night, when the day was finally over, and everyone tucked into bed, Sasuke held his Eevee close…and wept bitter, silent tears, thinking of the boyhood pet he had lost twice now.

-o0o-

-0o0o0-

Trainer Spotlight

Naruto Uzumaki

1. The 'Hero' of the story; Naruto's family are all highly accomplished Pokémon trainers on both sides, and Naruto wants to live up to that legacy by becoming the next Konoha Champion. However, he also wants to become the Konoha Champion because his loves Konoha and wants to protect it.

2. Naruto has strong connections to the Ame Region from both his mother's side, and through his (adoptive) uncles and aunt on his father's side, since Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were all from the Ame Region. Naruto has been to the Ame Region many times throughout his boyhood, and is very familiar with many Pokémon that can only be found there.

3. Naruto has a talent for caring for eggs and young Pokémon, which he learned from his mother. He also inherited his father's deep empathy, which allows him to bring out the unique strengths of his team.

4. Naruto's team doesn't have a name-theme, though I noticed they all have 2-sylable names.

5. Naruto plans on catching each of his Pokémon in different Pokéballs.

6. Naruto's greatest strengths as a trainer is that he inspires his Pokémon through example, joining their greatest strengths with his own.

Team Info

Kubo – Frogadier, male

Name Origin: Kubo was named after the titular character from Kubo and Two Strings; there was no reason for it. I simply liked the movie, and the sound of the name.

Nature & Characteristic: Adamant; Protective of Others

Ability: Torrent

Pokéball: An orange-topped Pokéball

Known Moves: Lick, Water Pulse, Smokescreen, Substitute

Trivia: Naruto's Starter Pokémon; a gift from Grandpa Jiraiya. Naruto's father, uncle, and Jiraiya all had Froakie for their Starter Pokémon. Kubo is a responsible Pokémon that sees it as his job to keep his trainer and team safe.

Sora – Bagon, male

Name Origin: Sora means sky, and is fitting considering the Bagon-line's eternal quest for flight.

Nature & Characteristic: Innocent; Likes to Play

Ability: Rock Head

Pokéball: Premier Ball

Known Moves: Dragon Rage, Dragon Rush, Headbutt, Scary Face

Trivia: Naruto's first capture. Sora is still very young; almost a baby. He was separated from his mother under mysterious circumstances, though he seems to have some memory of the Dragon's Teeth Mesa. He seems to have a friendship with Tetsu and Mina.

Kata – Riolu, male, Aura-Trained

Name Origin: Kata are the various poses and motions that make up martial arts maneuvers.

Nature & Characteristic: Confident; Proud of his Power

Ability: Prankster

Pokéball: Quick Ball

Move Pool: Bullet Punch, Copycat, Quick Attack, Force Palm

Trivia: An Aura-trained Pokémon who had a name before Naruto caught him. Kata is cocky, overconfident, and wears his heart-of-gold on his sleeve…just like his trainer. He also possesses great speed. Kata has an elder brother, and his sensei is an old and mysterious Absol. He has a rivalry with Katsuki, and a soft spot for Kikyo. Kata's personality was inspired by the character Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sasuke Uchiha

1. All of Sasuke's teammates are named after samurai families from Legend of the Five Rings (4th Edition). I was in the middle of GMing a dramatic L5R game when I first started writing my original fic, and I liked the idea of all of Sasuke's Pokémon being named after samurai families. Ironically, I found out a lot of the of the names used in L5R are mistranslations or not authentic.

2. Sasuke wants to become the next Konoha Champion; the current champion is Obito Uchiha, his uncle.

3. Sasuke has been best friends with Naruto for as long as they can remember; their mothers were traveling companions and their fathers were rivals.

4. Sasuke knows about Sakura's crush on him, but chooses to ignore it.

5. Sasuke's greatest strength as a trainer is his ability to command respect and discipline; he hammers and hones his Pokémon's strengths like a fine blade.

Team Info

Bayushi – Eevee, male, shiny

Name Origin: The Bayushi family in L5R are known for their loyalty and their love of underhanded methods.

Nature & Characteristic: Naughty; Thoroughly Cunning

Ability: Anticipation (though he hasn't used it yet)

Pokéball: Pokéball

Known Moves: Mimic, Hidden Power, Quick Attack, Charm

Trivia: A gift from Itachi when Sasuke was 10, for both companionship and protection. Bayushi is Sasuke's second Pokémon, after his pet Houndour Shiba was kidnapped by members of Team Snake. Spoiled yet deeply loyal, Bayushi is a cunning 'mon. His ability is Anticipation, allowing him to sense immediate danger, but I haven't really thought about it yet, nor have I gotten a good chance to showcase it. But I imagine it'd be a good ability to have for a Pokémon who's meant to be a bodyguard.

Togashi – Charmeleon, male

Name Origin: The Togashi family in L5R are the leaders of the Dragon Clan.

Nature & Characteristic: Stoic; Likes to Fight

Ability: Flash Fire

Pokéball: Pokéball stamped with the Uchiha family crest

Known Moves: Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Seismic Toss, Dragon Breath

Trivia: Sasuke's starting Pokémon, Togashi came from the Uchiha Family breeders, and is larger and stronger than normal members of his species. His ability, Flash Fire, is common among the Uchiha Charmander-line. Togashi takes his duty as Sasuke's Pokémon seriously, and is the strongest member of his team. He seemed to have an affection for Ochako, Sakura's Chikorita.

Akodo – Shinx, male

Name Origin: The Akodo family from L5R are the leaders of the Lion Family; they are also the most honor-bound samurai in the setting.

Nature & Characteristic: Brave; Eager to Prove Himself

Ability: Intimidate (though he hasn't used it yet)

Pokéball: Pokéball

Move Pool: Thunder Fang, Bite, Spark

Trivia: Sasuke's first capture. Sasuke saved him from rival Shinx and Luxio who were bullying him, nearly getting Sasuke killed. Akodo loves chivalry and honor, and even talks like a knight among fellow Pokémon. The rest of Sasuke's team does not always take him seriously for this reason. He has a bit of a rivalry with Bayushi, seeing the Eevee as villainous.

Hitomi – Dewott, female, genetically altered

Name Origin: Hitomi was a character of the Mirumoto family, who are known to be masters at using two swords in battle; her defining characteristic was her devotion to her brother.

Nature & Characteristic: Calm; Very Maternal

Ability: Oblivious

Pokéball: Net Ball

Known Moves: Razor Shell, Night Slash, X-Scissor, Aqua Jet

Trivia: Originally a Pokémon experimented on by Team Snake, and used in illegal blood sports. Hitomi's father named her and taught her of the world outside of Team Snake's clutches; as such, family is very important to her. Her unique ability, Oblivious, lends itself well to her calm disposition; aside from being immune to moves like Taunt and Attract, Hitomi is also very longsuffering and does not rise to insults. She knows Katsuki from their time in Team Snake's possession, and is completely unfazed by his behavior. She is Shoto's elder sister, and is devoted to him, to the point of being overprotective.

Shoto – Vulpix, male, Arctic variant, genetically altered

Name Origin: Shoto's name does not come from L5R, but from My Hero Academia, named after Shoto Todoroki, who has ice and fire powers

Nature & Characteristic: Quiet; Has Trouble Expressing Himself

Ability: Icy-Hot (Unique ability that lets him use Fire and Ice moves).

Pokéball: Luxury Ball

Known Moves: Freeze-Dry, Flamethrower

Trivia: Shoto is a nod to MHA's Shoto Todoroki that couldn't be more obvious. Like his sister, Shoto was altered as an egg by Team Snake, and is considered one of their greatest acomplisments. His experiences have left him emotionally stunted and unable to express himself. Though he does not show it, Shoto is excited at experiencing the world, and quietly resents his sister's overprotectiveness. Also, I have no plans of Sasuke keeping him for more than a few chapters. How Shoto will be leaving Sasuke's team…I'll let you guess for now.

Sakura Haruno

1. Sakura is the student of Prof. Tsunade, and would like to be a great Pokemon Doctor like her mentor.

2. She has an open crush on Sasuke Uchiha, and a rivalry with Ino Yamanaka, which was sparked because she likes Sasuke, too.

3. Sakura is the most 'normal' of the group, coming from a unremarkable family with good parents.

4. Sakura's team has a My Hero Academia theme, which resulted in others also having Pokémon with a similar theme. Sorry, but I fell in love with the series.

5. Sakura's greatest strength as a trainer is her intelligence. For her age, she has great knowledge of Pokémon physiology and knows how to use it.

Team Info

Ochako – Chikorita, female

Name Origin: Ochako means "Tea Child", and Ochako smells of tea; also, Ochako is the leading female from MHA, though Ochako the Chikorita shares few traits with the character.

Nature & Characteristic: Naive; Very Emotional

Ability: Aroma Veil

Pokéball: Heal Ball

Known Moves: Aromatherapy, Heal Pulse, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf

Trivia: Sakura's Starter Pokémon. Ochako was abandoned by her previous trainer, and still bares emotional scars from the experience. Sakura rescued and bonded with her, and the two are very close. Ochako has a natural affinity for healing moves. She is very fond of Togashi; the feeling seems mutual.

Tetsu – Metang, male*

Name Origin: Tetsu is named after Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from MHA, a character with the power to turn his body into metal.

Nature & Characteristic: Bold; Likes to Help

Ability: Clear Body

Pokéball: Pokéball

Known Moves: Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise, Zen Headbutt

Trivia: Sakura's first capture; Tetsu was trapped and injured when Sakura rescued him. At first, his personality was very bland, but I quickly found I liked characterized him as someone who is helpful and somewhat oblivious. His evolving at the very end of the chapter when the danger was over was something of a joke, since in the Pokémon Anime, evolutions are always dramatic. He was somewhat stupid as a Beldum, but he'll prove somewhat smarter now, since he's literally got twice the brainpower as before. For the same reason, Sakura might start calling him "Tetsutetsu" as a joke from time-to-time. As an inorganic Pokémon, Tetsu doesn't have a biological sex like most Pokémon, though he has a male personality.

Mina – Goomy, female

Name Origin: Mina is named after Mina Ashido from MHA, who has acid powers and is pink.

Nature & Characteristic: Sassy; Loves to Dance

Ability: Hydration/Gooey

Pokéball: Pokéball

Move Pool: Water Gun, Rain dance, Dragon Breath, Protect (she actually has not used any moves yet)

Trivia: Sakura hatched Mina from an egg; she was gifted to Sakura by Prof. Tsunade, and is the daughter of Tsunade's Goodra. She's very sweet, but as a baby, she hasn't really had time to express herself as a character. She's curious, affectionate, and sweet, like most babies. She likes Hitomi (who knows how to handle babies), Ochako (who smells nice), Tetsu (who is funny), and Sora (who's around her age).

Hinata Hyuga

1. Hinata comes from the powerful Hyuga family, most of whom are Aura Guardians. Hinata has Aura powers, but they are relatively weak.

2. Rather than making her father neglectful and cold, as in cannon, I decided to go with the opposite approach. Since Hiashi lost his wife and brother within a few years of each other, he became overprotective of his children, especially Hinata. He treats her like she's a fragile flower, which has given her confidence issues. Hiashi was against her going on a journey, but was persuaded to allow it.

3. Hinata is not sure what she wants to do on her journey, unlike her friends.

4. She has quiet affection for Naruto, admiring his confidence and compassion; the reason for these feelings have yet to be revealed.

5. Hinata's team originally had a Japanese floral name theme, though because two of her Pokémon follow Sakura's MHA theme, this isn't readily apparent.

6. Hinata's greatest talent as a trainer is seeing the potential in her Pokémon, and her ability to help it blossom in adversity.

Team Info

Kikyo – Ralts, female, shiny

Name Origin: Kikyo is the Japanese name for the Chinese bellflower, a flower symbolizing unchanging love. It is also blue, like Kikyo's hair.

Nature & Characteristic: Modest; Very Thoughtful

Ability: Telepathy

Pokéball: Cherish Ball

Known Moves: Psybeam, Dazzling Gleam, Teleport, Life Dew

Trivia: Hinata's Starter Pokémon & her pet from childhood; Kikyo is the child of her mother's Gardevoir and her father's Mienshao. Kikyo's natural Telepathy and her Aura training allow her to freely communicate with humans. She and Hinata have an Aura bond, allowing them to sense the other's thoughts and location across several miles. She shares her trainer's distaste for violence. Kikyo seems to have an admiration for Kata's confidence, but also a distaste for his arrogance.

Midoriya – Chespin, male

Name Origin: Named after Izuki Midoriya from MHA, with whom he shares many personality traits. The meaning of Midoriya, 'green valley' also lends itself to Hinata's floral theme.

Nature & Characteristic: Timid; Highly Persistent

Ability: Bulletproof

Pokéball: Pokéball

Known Moves: Pin Missile, Rollout, Wood Hammer, Vine Whip

Trivia: Hinata's first capture. Midoriya is an emotional crybaby, but he's also a strong battler who needs a trainer who can help inspire his inner strength. Luckily, Hinata is such a trainer. He's both strong and tough, able to give as much a beating as he can take. He admires many of his comrades, and wants to help Katsuki overcome his issues, even though the Quilava hates him.

Katsuki – Quilava, male, alternative coloring, genetically altered

Name Origin: Katsuki is clearly based off of Katsuki Bakugou from MHA.

Nature & Characteristic: Aggressive; Explosive Tempered

Ability: Sheer Force

Pokéball: Ultra Ball

Move Pool: Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Smokescreen, Flame Wheel

Trivia: Katsuki caught himself after Hinata earned his respect. Like Hitomi and Shoto, he was heavily experimented on by Team Snake, and was forced to fight in gladiatorial blood spots. Both his personal history and unique physiology have left him with a terrible temper he barely controls. Secretly, he also recognizes his problems and hates them. Though based on Katsuki Bakugou, I've also taken several traits from the character Shadow the Hedgehog. Katsuki is by far the strongest Pokémon among the group, and is actually very intelligent; but this is all hampered by his lack of control and refusal to cooperate. He has a unique black and red coloring (the universal warpaint of he who is not to be messed with); his explosive fire is represented with the ability, Sheer Force, which removes the secondary effects of moves in exchange for more power. Katsuki also suffers from severe cleithrophobia, the fear of being trapped or confined.