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.

11. Chapter 11: Lair of the Red Wyrmling

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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 finished this chapter at the end of last month, but the editing process went into this one. For those who noticed, my birthday passed, yay, I'm 32…ugh.

Anyway, got a new job, I'm pleased with that, and enjoying myself greatly.

My next chapter might be delayed a bit; I have a personal matter to take care of (it's a good one, btw). I've started the chapter, mind you, so I might be able to get it done soon after taking care of my personal business.

Thank you everyone for your support.

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Review Response

Dreaming of the Phoenix: Thank you for your comment. I hope you find my handling of

Dylan Millwood: Yes, Fossil World will be a huge opportunity for both profit and scientific advancement for Orochimaru, so he'll be invested in making sure it doesn't crash and burn. As for who catches what, you'll have to wait and see. I have plans for Katsuki's relationship with his yet-hatched sibling, but none for Shoto with Kushina's Ninetales…I might have to change that; it's a fresh idea, I admit.

I brought in Toneri and Cross to be rivals for the main heroes. Toneri's status in cannon makes him an easy rival for both Naruto and Hinata, while their other rival (Neji, who has yet to appear) also has the dynamic to be a rival to both Hinata and Naruto. It was something I noticed and liked. Toneri was made to help push Naruto and Hinata together in cannon, but I wouldn't call Naruto and Hinata a 'forced' pairing. As for Cross, I have plans for him; he'll be a piece of work, all right, but I hope to make him deeper and more interesting that just a jerk. Rivals are more fun when the heroes are forced to concede they have points, sometimes.

Tops: Thank you for your review. For you and everyone else wondering about how Toneri knows Hinata and Naruto's names, I'll get this out of the way: as far as I can tell, Toneri hasn't been stalking or even met them before last chapter. So, if he knows someone's name, that means he must have heard it somewhere, right? I mean, it's not like he could somehow know it by some other means, right? Haha, that's all you'll get out of me. I'd rather show you more of the Little Creeper and let you find answers then tell them. As for the Elite Four, there are only 3 active members: Katashi, The Lightning's Fang, Itachi, Heir of Right Nights, and Kimimaro, Prince of the Fossil Kingdom, who is replacing the team's eldest member, Kikuko/Agatha (who Sasuke & Itachi called 'Grandmother', but that could just be a term of respect for a powerful old woman, and not an indicator of blood relation). The last member, Siba/Bruno, retired after Might Guy defeated him, according to Itachi in a previous chapter, though Might Guy did not take his post. As such, there is one last opening; anyone want to guess who'll take it?

Guests: Naruto will not catch a Meltan,

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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)

**Sasuke's Shoto is currently traveling with Naruto as well

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

Sasuke Uchiha:

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

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

Sakura Haruno:

Team Members: Ochako (Chikorita, female, Starter), Tetsu (Metang, 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: Antidote Badge

Hinata Hyuga:

Team Members: Kikyo (Ralts, female, Starter, Shiny), Midoriya (Chespin, male), Katsuki (Quilava, male, genetically altered)

**Hinata also has an unidentified egg in her possession; it is brown and rocklike, with a ring of orange bumps around it's middle.

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

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Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 11

Naruto & Hinata

Lair of the Red Wyrmling

Hinata hummed sleepily as she carefully turned her egg, allowing Katsuki to warm it on all sides evenly.

The sun was only just rising. The world was basked in an eerie twilight, cloaked in mist and a strange stillness that seemed to muffle the sounds around them. Naruto, Hinata, and their Pokémon were camped out at the quarry's edge at its highest cliff, where they had the clearest view as allowed in the misty conditions.

At Naruto's suggestion, they had gone to bed early, and woken up half an hour before sunrise, so they'd be able to make it to the quarry just before dawn.

"Twilight is the magic hunting hour! That's what my dad told me," Naruto had explained.

Most Pokémon, predators and prey alike, were active during the day or at night; there were several that could see just as well in darkness as in light, if not better. However, very few were adapted to be active during the lowlight environment of dawn or dusk. These were the magic hours in which Pokémon would scurry back to their homes, after a long day of activity hunting or gathering food. The poor illumination of the twilight hours messed with most creature's eyes, whether they were used to seeing in daylight or darkness. It was when they were tired and least guarded.

In short, Naruto explained, it was the peak time for hunting rare Pokémon.

"Do you see anything yet?" Hinata asked Naruto, being sure to not speak too loudly.

"A bunch of 'mons heading back to their dens, but none that I want," Naruto said.

He set down his binoculars, rubbing his eyes. He only had a regular set, designed for daytime use, and trying to see anything in the twilight illumination was straining his eyes. And he had to be careful not to nod off. Even if they went to bed early, Naruto wasn't used to being awake this hour.

"Can you pass me another muffin?" he asked Hinata, watching the quarry without using the binoculars for a while. Knowing they'd be getting up so early, the team packed a breakfast of muffins, bread, and some fruit to eat at the quarry the night before.

Hinata passed Naruto his muffin and turned her attention back to her egg.

Katsuki wasn't producing a large fire- getting things too hot would risk harming the egg, not to mention a blazing fire would alert the Pokémon of the quarry to the party's presence. Instead, the Quilava was making small puffs of heat and sparks in a controlled, continuous stream. Naruto had shown Katsuki how to do so yesterday soon after the Quilava took on the responsibility of being the egg's 'big brother', and Katsuki grasped the technique in only a few tries. He really was a fast learner.

After Hinata was done checking on her egg, she picked up some of the muffin she had quartered for herself and nibbled on it, doing her best to wake up. Nearby, Midoriya was getting as close to the egg as Katsuki would allow, though Hinata suspected it might also be to get close to the warmth the Quilava was producing; the foggy air was chilling. Kikyo gently napped in Hinata's backpack, not that Hinata minded.

Kubo diligently looked about the quarry with his sharp eyes. Shoto sat next to Naruto with his legs folded neatly under him, not sure exactly what to do but wanting to be useful.

At first, Naruto allowed Sora out…but quickly realized it was a bad idea when the Bagon leapt off the cliff two seconds after being let out. Luckily, Naruto was able to recall him before Sora hit the ground.

Finally, Kata was sprawled out snoozing on Naruto's backpack, which he had commandeered as a bed/pillow. He shifted, opening his mouth wide as he let out a loud, shameless snore.

"Hey! Wake up, ya' slacker!" Naruto growled, kicking the backpack.

"[Gah! I didn't do it, Sensei! It was Ōkami, honest!]" the Riolu shouted, scrambling about in a panic.

Kubo's tongue shot out, knocking some sense into him.

"[Ouch! Oh, shoot,]" Kata said, rubbing his cheek as he remembered where they were. "[Uh, so, did anything happen yet?]"

Naruto scowled. "No. And you're supposed to be using your Aura-sight to help us!"

"[Ah, come'on, we've been waiting all day!]" Kata whined melodramatically. "[Stakeouts are never like this on TV. There's usually two lines of dialogue and then they see their guy.]"

"Yeah? Well, life's not like TV," Naruto responded sternly.

Hinata gasped, grabbing their attention.

"Look!" she said, pointing not towards the quarry, but towards the tall grass of the nearby field.

A small, cute, pink and brown Pokémon had poked out of the tall grass. It resembled a quadrupedal bear cub. Hinata guessed that the little Pokémon was half-asleep as it stumbled about in a slow, lazy fashion. It sniffed the air, and started meandering towards them, not really noticing all the humans and Pokémon about.

"Whoa, aren't you bold?" Naruto asked playfully as he picked up a muffin and tossed it in the cub's path.

The Pokémon stepped on the muffin before noticing it, then started eating it in a slow, mechanical way, mouth half open and eyes gazing forward blankly.

"Poor thing's more dazed than a Komala," Naruto joked, once again referring to a Pokémon that no one else knew about.

Hinata had taken out her Pokédex and opened it, while Naruto knelt down to the bear cub's level (who still looked forward blankly, not noticing him).

"Hehe, you're a real cutie, you know that? You know, now that I think about it, you look familiar. I bet I've met your evolved form, but where-?"

Hinata's Pokédex provided the answer. "Stufful, the Flailing Pokémon. These seemingly adorable Pokémon are infamous for their intense dislike of touch. Even a light touch from anyone other than a friend sends Stufful into a flailing frenzy, which is especially dangerous as they possess a strength that far exceeds their cute appearance. They have been known to knock down trees and smash boulders when truly agitated, and even their casual failing can knock back unexpecting people and Pokémon."

The 'dex had only gotten halfway through its explanation when Naruto touched the Stufful's head.

Eyes widening to full wakefulness, the Stufful let out a very high shrill and fell back onto her haunches, slapping Naruto back as her forepaws flailed wildly. The sight would have been somewhere between cute and funny…had she not hit Naruto so hard he tumbled backwards and rolled off the cliff.

Kata zoomed in and grabbed Naruto's left arm, while Kubo shot his tongue around the boy's waist and secured him. Hinata had grabbed Naruto's right hand soon after Kubo had got the other one, and together they heaved the dazed boy up to safety.

"Holy Miltank! I almost died!" Naruto gasped, doing the stupid thing and looking over the cliff's edge. He got hit with a spell of vertigo, pulled back onto safe ground, and had to fight the urge to hurl.

Hinata tried asking Naruto if he was okay, but found herself nearly laughing instead!

Poor Naruto had a red paw mark across his face from where the Stufful had struck him. With emotions running high and the stress of the situation, Hinata found it to be darkly humorous; if she tried talking, she'd have broken out in a fit of laughter.

Kata turned over to the Stufful, who had stopped flailing, but was now in a defensive posture, glowering.

"[So you like play rough, huh? Fine!]" the Riolu growled, rushing forward and jumping at her in an overly dramatic fly kick. "[Then you'll love my High Jump Kick!]"

Unfortunately, just calling it a 'High Jump Kick' didn't actually mean Kata knew the move. More so, however, was that Kata had failed to realize that as a part Fighting-type, the Stufful had reflexes and coordination that matched his own.

Telegraphing the flashy move, the Stufful whipped around onto her forelegs, bent in, and delivered a mule kick to Kata's crotch. The resounding impact sent a shiver of pain through every male present.

Time seemed to have stopped. Kata lingered in midair for a second, his mouth open in a voiceless, soundless wail of pain.

All at once, it was like time moved forward in order to catch up with reality.

Kata was on the floor, cradling his nether regions, loosing a series of oaths and swears in his natural voice, now a high falsetto, Kikyo had rushed to his side, trying to sooth his injury with Life Dew (not that Kata would let anyone get close to the injured area), and Katsuki was doubled over with laughter.

"Miserable, little troublemaker," Naruto glowered. "Now I remember: Stufful are the unevolved forms of Bewear!"

"What are those?" Hinata asked, eyeing the cute but dangerous Pokémon. Offhandedly, she was considering catching it.

"Some of the most dangerous wild Pokémon of all; they have a reputation for killing trainers that get too close," Naruto said dramatically. "The fact that my mother has one-"

"Wait, your mother owns one, and you didn't recognize its unevolved form?" Hinata asked, looking skeptical.

"It's not like I ever saw it when it was still small. And unlike the rest of my mother's team, her Bewear never had any eggs of her own, so I never saw a Stufful in real life."

The Stufful, now fully awake, noticed the smell of the muffins they had been making a breakfast of. Bold as can be, she started trotting over, deciding to try and nab one (it wasn't clear if she even realized she had eaten one already).

To get to the muffins, however, the Stufful had to get close to Hinata's egg…something Katsuki did not appreciate.

The Quilava jumped forth and roared ferociously, flame vents blazing. Before he could do anything, the Stufful turned tail and fled, shrieking. Katsuki stood staring at her terrified retreat, so surprised his flames went out.

"No, wait!" Hinata shouted, trying to pull a Great Ball from her backpack (she and Naruto had both bought one when shopping the other day). But the Stufful was out of sight before she could throw it. "Oh, darn! I wanted to catch her!"

Katsuki winced, looking up at his trainer bashfully.

"Don't feel bad, Edgy McEdge-Face," Naruto said playfully, "Stufful are terrified of fire; their coats are extra vulnerable to it…of course, that's because their fur is so thick and strong that it absorbs physical punishment like a sponge absorbs water!"

Hearing this, Hinata sighed. "It sounds like a cute and strong Pokémon." She noticed the look on Katsuki's face, and quickly added, "Not that it's your fault! You were just wanting to make sure our egg's safe!"

Midoriya tried patting Katsuki on the back, but he pulled away and growled for the Chespin not to touch him.

"Believe me, Hinata, you don't want one," Naruto said gravely. "Bewear are big and strong and affectionate, but they have no concept of restraint or self-control! They just pull you in for a hug, and without meaning to, they snap you in half! One time when I was four, I fell over and scraped my knee, and my mom's Bewear heard me crying! She stopped my crying…by nearly smothering me! Kitsune had to set her on fire to get her to let me go!"

Hinata gasped gently as Naruto continue talking animatedly. In the back of her mind, however, she noticed the name 'Kitsune', and vaguely recalled hearing it before.

"[Ugh, killer bears and nut-shots; stake-outs suck!]" Kata grumbled, finally able to sit up on his own, though he had still adamantly refused to allow Kikyo to use Life Dew on his injury (he'd rather suffer in silence than face the embarrassment of her touching him there!).

Naruto patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. "Well, like I said, it's not like TV. People just don't say two things and then boom, it cuts to the action!"

Before he could continue, however, something tapped his leg. Looking down, Naruto saw that it was Shoto, who was pointing towards the quarry with a blank expression on his face.

Following Shoto's paw, Naruto's eyes became wide as dinner plates. Even in the twilight lighting, it was easy to see.

There, near a pond of rainwater at the bottom of the quarry, was a Gible. But, even better, unlike the standard grey-blue like most Gibles, this one was red!

"Holy Miltank!" Naruto gasped, grabbing Hinata by the arm and pointing. "Tell me I'm not the only one seeing that!"

After getting over her surprise at being suddenly grabbed, Hinata looked at what Naruto was talking about, gasping herself.

"Oh my! A red Gible! You don't see that every day."

"Come on, before he gets away!" Naruto shouted, jumping to the narrow walkway that led down to the quarry below. "Kubo, go on ahead of us and make sure that Gible doesn't try sneaking off! Kata, Shoto, let's go!"

"[Yeah, I ain't running anywhere,]" Kata said, scoffing as Naruto and Shoto sped down. "[But you can go have fun without me!]" he called after them.

Katsuki let out a belt of mocking laughter before making a mocking comment about Kata's manliness.

"[I ain't no eunuch, whatever that means!]" he spat hotly. "[I'll show you!]"

Without thinking, he ran down after his trainer, though after the first long stride, he stumbled and had to adjust his step.

"[OUCH! Small, careful steps!]" he cried, talking to himself.

For a second, Hinata just stood there, looking bewildered. She sighed yet smiled a little.

"Fighting even if he's hurt, determined, brave and emotional…but not always the brightest," Hinata said. "I guess Pokémon really do take after their trainers."

Next to her, Kikyo tittered. …Stupid, but cute…

Hinata half-heartedly told Kikyo she shouldn't say things like that while also agreeing with her, and then set to work putting their stuff away, while Katsuki carried her egg for her.

They could catch up with Naruto soon enough. Besides, it'd be cruel of Hinata to try and catch that Gible for herself…even if it was tempting to have such an unusual and rare teammate.

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…Meanwhile, in Lilybog Town…

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Kimimaro Kaguya of the Konoha Elite Four sat on the east-facing courtyard outside his office, meditating quietly as the dawn broke across the horizon. He could feel the sun's warmth as it fell upon him, lighting up the six highly polished Pokéballs set out before him. Kimimaro focused his attention on the sound of a something striking sharply against rock from the menagerie-section of his gym that was just outside the courtyard. Absentmindedly, Kimimaro found himself guessing what was making the noise. It could have been one of the gym's Kabutops, but they preferred to stay near the water section. Perhaps a Cranidos ramming against a rock to test its strength?

His musings were interrupted when the glass door to his office slid open, and his young assistant called for him.

Without a sound, Kimimaro opened his eyes, gathered his Pokéballs, rose, and walked into his office, only sparing a passing glance to check on the source of the sound; to his delight, he found he was right. It was a Cranidos.

Kimimaro's office was beautiful, spartan, and functional. It was designed with the same archaic style of the Kaguya family, with cushions and rugs for kneeling, and a low table instead of desk, near which were a calligraphy pad and inkstone, and a tea set designed for ceremonies. Both were hobbies Kimimaro indulged in when he could, which was becoming increasingly rare. Behind him was a stand of various fossils and stones Kimimaro found especially interesting or attractive.

The office's floor, however, wasn't the traditional wood that so many ancient houses favored. True to his gym's specialty, Kimimaro had all the old wooden floors and tabletops ripped out and replaced with polished stone, different for each room. For Kimimaro's office, it was all one piece of smooth obsidian. The sleek black stone contrasted strongly with his pale hair and features, and visitors found the room had an aura of both elegance and stern power.

Without looking at the two youths standing at attention in his office, Kimimaro sat down and thanked his assistant as she poured him a cup of tea, along with two additional cups that she set at the low table's opposite end. He motioned at the two empty places at the table in front of him without saying anything.

The pair took the hint and knelt down to their places. They were twins, identical save for how their lank, shoulder-length, grey hair covered their eyes; for one, it was the right, for the, the left. Both of them wore dark blue lipstick and eyeliner, making their androgynous appearances even more disturbing, and they were dressed in the fame fashion as Kimimaro and his gym trainers. Of course, considering they were some of the most talented members of his gym, this was to be expected.

"So, you finally arrived. How was your flight?" Kimimaro asked in a conversational tone. He picked up his cup, taking care to turn it around in his hand before taking a silent sip. "Ah, this is wonderful; you prepared it beautifully," he said to his assistant, smiling gently and nodding. "If you don't mind, I'd prefer for this discussion to be private."

She bowed and left without making a sound.

Once the door shut behind her, Kimimaro took another sip of his tea (turning the cup slightly), before looking up at the twins. "So, Sakon…Ukon…I'll just cut straight to my first question: How do you lose a dinosaur?"

Ukon, the elder twin, spoke up first. "Hey, for starters, we didn't lose one of your precious dinosaurs!"

"Yeah, they were just a couple of eggs! That's not nearly as bad," added Sakon, who was younger.

Kimimaro raised his cup to his lips and took a third sip, once again turning it. "…you really should try this; the tea was brewed to just the right strength. It reflects the brewer's soul. For her, it shows the care and professionalism she puts in her work."

He looked up from his cup.

"So…how do you lose a dinosaur?"

"We already said they weren't any dinos; it was an egg!" Ukon snapped.

"Two eggs," Sakon coughed, nudging his brother.

"Right, two eggs," Ukon corrected himself. "That isn't nearly as bad as if we had lost a living fossil!"

"Yeah, and besides, it wasn't our fault," Sakon said. "We were just the security on the airship; the eggheads onboard were supposed to be looking after the eggs and Pokémon."

Kimimaro's allowed his head to tilt quizzically, but he said nothing.

"Apparently, whoever doped the dinos on the transport ship did the math wrong, 'cause one of the stupid sail-backs woke up in the middle the flight," Sakon explained.

"Am I to assume you are referring to an Aurorus?" Kimimaro asked without a change of expression.

"Yeah, whatever," Sakon said. "Anyway, it woke up, and you know those things have the Snow Warning ability, right? Well, this one used it to call up a blizzard inside the ship, and if that wasn't enough, it broke free of its restraints and started slamming into the ship's walls. It nearly knocked us out of the air!"

"Yeah, the pilot had no choice but to land, and then we had to beat the Aurorus into submission and catch it before it wrecked the whole lab," Ukon said.

Kimimaro's eyes lit up. "You caught her?"

"Yeah, we had no choice," Sakon insisted.

The newest member of the Konoha Elite Four sighed in exasperation. "That Aurorus was part of a very important research project. She was created from our newest clone generation; they're supposed to be the most tame and docile we've created yet. We were going to compare her behavior with that of an Aurorus that had been captured and raised since hatching…now, the entire project is moot."

"It was either that or let her smash the ship," Ukon pointed out. "Besides, she went crazy when she woke up in the ship. Clearly, she wasn't all that tame."

"…or she was confused at waking up in a new environment, on a flying ship, separated from her eggs, which, need I remember you, you still lost," Kimimaro said in a flat, steely voice. He set down his cup (gently, for it was very old and fragile) and spoke in a deadly whisper. "Now: How. Do. You lose. A. Dinosaur?"

He rose to his full height, looming over his subordinates with an aura that could only be descried as 'murderously calm'.

Sakon opened his mouth, but Kimimaro cut him off.

"I don't care what your excuses are," he hissed. "Your job was to protect my investment, and you failed. These excuses you're giving only give me reason to doubt if you two are the right replacements for me as Lilybog Gym Leader." He looked up, thoughtfully. "Perhaps Guren is better suited?"

Sakon winced.

"Ah come on! She's more interested in jewelry than Fossil Pokémon and battles!" Ukon protested.

"Enough. I was just thinking aloud," Kimimaro said firmly. He sat back down, taking another sip of his tea before continuing. "Do you have any idea what sort of problems those eggs can cause for us?" he asked. "Just imagine the PR nightmare for Fossil World if one of those eggs hatched and attacked someone?"

Sakon gulped. He hadn't thought of that.

"Speaking of which, why did you two take so long to get back here after? You reported them missing yesterday afternoon," Kimimaro asked.

"We actually have some good news for that," Ukon explained. "After we realized the eggs were missing, we sent a report to you, which you got in the middle of your press conference (that was hilarious how you swore on TV, by the way), and then turned the ship around to see if we could find the eggs before they hatched or were eaten by a wild Pokémon, or something."

"The eggs weren't at the landing site, but we found some tracks belonging to some kids," Sakon said, continuing for his brother. "They went down the road to a Pokécenter; we talked to the Nurse Joy, and she said that three kids arrived and reported finding two eggs!"

"Ah, so you were able to retrieve them after all?" Kimimaro asked, wondering why they hadn't told him this earlier.

"Uh, no," Sakon admitted.

"You see, because no one reported any missing eggs, the Nurse Joy told the kids they could keep 'em. Worse yet, she was really suspicious of us, since we refused to say how we lost them, or what kind of eggs were they, or anything else that might lead back to you," Ukon explained. "She said because we didn't provide any proof those eggs belonged to us, she didn't see any reason to tell us where those kids ran off to. She even threatened to call security when I tried making her tell us the brats' names!"

"I told you to let me do the talking! You lose your temper too quickly!" Sakon hissed.

"…so how is this good news?" Kimimaro asked in a flat tone.

"The Nurse Joy might not have been willing to help, but just before we left, we saw a girl with one of the eggs!" Ukon said excitedly. "I wanted to just try and get the egg from her, but Sakon said you'd want us to talk to you first and let you decide," Ukon said crossly.

"I said that because the Nurse Joy was watching us," Sakon said. "She'd have made a fuss if we tried anything at the center, and the girl and her friend were staying there for the night, so we couldn't just ambush her, either! The smart thing was to report back here and wait for further instructions." Sakon turned to Kimimaro. "Right, Sir?"

He nodded wordlessly, lost in thought.

Sakon smiled smugly at his twin.

"Brown-nosing kiss-ass," Ukon whispered.

"Muking moron," Sakon whispered back.

The two started arguing loudly.

Kimimaro barely noticed this, instead picking up his cup, turning it (as per tradition) and taking a sip. It was no longer hot; only lukewarm. That was a disappointment.

"Enough," he finally said, cutting off the twin's argument.

"So, you want us go and get that egg back from the girl?" Sakon asked. "We took a picture; she's got 'Hyuga eyes', so she's pretty easy to identify. We could find her easy. Plus, from what Nurse Joy told us, she knows the kid who found the other egg. Maybe we can 'persuade' her to tell us who they are and get back her egg all at once."

"No," Kimiaro said firmly. "No. Don't bother her, or whoever has the other egg."

"Eh? But you were so upset when they were missing!" Ukon protested.

Kimimaro shook his head. "This changes things. If you approach that girl and say the egg's yours, she'll want an explanation as to how you lost it. And that could lead to bad PR for Fossil World. Our generous patron-" Kimimaro took a moment to nod towards a symbol on the wall of a coiled, white Arbok "-told me that he doesn't want anything to go wrong with the park. As it stands, any negative press could ruin Fossil World before it opens, and the Boss invested a not-so-small fortune into it. Trying to just outright mug her would raise suspicions too, especially if that Nurse Joy you talked to put two-and-two together and realized what happened. You'd have to just silence the girl and her friend…and frankly, I'm against that sort of thing."

He leveled an accusing glare at the twins, making it clear they'd better not try anything like that.

"So, you're just going to let her keep it?" Sakon asked.

Kimimaro shrugged. "It's out of our hands now. If the egg hatches and starts causing problems, it's not our fault anymore. It belongs to someone else, it's their responsibly. Luckily, considering how tame the egg's mother is, I doubt there'll be a problem. If anything, a random girl walking around with a rare Fossil Pokémon is free advertisement for the park. It's a shame to lose those eggs…but trying to get them back isn't worth the risk to the Boss's plans."

Ukon considered this. "Yeah, but once it hatches, won't the girl realize it came from our lab? She might report it to the news or something."

Kimimaro smiled. "Remember my news conference yesterday? I left early, and someone made up the lie that a thief had broken into the gym? Once the eggs hatch, I'm sure their new trainers will assume that they were stolen from this gym. If she contacts us and asks any questions, we just tell her that, and explain we kept the matter hushed up to protect our security secrets. Easy enough."

The twins looked at each other. "That's… a pretty good point, Sir."

Kimimaro nodded. "Also, if possible, be sure to keep an eye on this Hyuga girl. The Hyuga family runs the Aura Guardians, so she might be the daughter of someone important. If we play our cards right, we might get a favor out of her."

-0o0o0-

…Back at the Quarry…

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Naruto skidded down the narrow pathway to the quarry's bottom as quickly and as quietly as he could, with Shoto nearby, and Kata some distance behind. Though he was still sore from earlier, the Riolu wasn't about give Katsuki another chance to taunt him. Meanwhile, Kubo was climbing straight down the quarry wall. Soon, they were once again within sight of the red Gible. It squatted at the edge of pond, apparently polishing a stone. Naruto held his breath, containing his extasy at finding such a rare Pokémon, and started to pull out a Pokéball. Then he stopped, and instead looked into his pack for the Great ball he had bought for just an occasion. But when he found it, Naruto accidently dropped a normal ball, which hit the rocky ground with a loud crack.

The red Gible flinched and whipped around for the source of the noise. He spotted Naruto and hissed, ducking down and digging into the muddy earth.

"Don't let him get away!" Naruto shouted.

Kubo and Kata took off in blurs of blue; Kata released a continuing string of "Ouchouchouch!" while he zipped by Naruto and Shoto, but even ignoring his pain, Kubo was quicker, lunging down the cliffside after the Gible

The Frogadier was upon the Dragon-type, lassoing it with his tongue and pulling it out of the ground before it burrowed out of sight. This action was rewarded with pain as Kubo's tongue met the Gible's Rough Skin. Kubo winced, loosening his grip, and the red Gible took the opportunity to fling a handful of mud right into his eyes, then Biting Kubo's tongue. The Frogadier couldn't help but release of the feisty dragon and dive into the water, trying to clean his eyes and sooth his tongue.

"[Hey, that's dirty sport!]" Kata shouted, rushing at the Gible with Bullet Punch.

However, as before during the Teakgrove Gym challenge, Kata had not taken the terrain into consideration, and a few steps before reaching his target, the Riolu tripped in the mud, falling face-first right into the Gible's open mouth! The red Gible chomped down and savagely shook its head back and forth, trying to just throttle Kata into submission. However, the Riolu quickly regained his senses. He wanted to sock the Land Shark Pokemon in the eye, but he couldn't from his position in the Gible's mouth. He decided to do to the Gible what it had done to Kubo.

Naruto and Shoto had rushed down to the bottom of the quarry as soon as there had been trouble, and Naruto had nearly fainted at the sight of Kata's upper body eaten by the Gible. But then, the Gible's eyes suddenly went wide. It let out a scream of pain, and Naruto saw that Kata had bitten down on the Gible's tongue!

No longer trapped, Kata quickly delivered a Bullet Punch to his foe's eye, who screamed in pain and staggered back. Kata tried to follow up by attacking its other eye, but the Gible nailed him with Dragon Breath when he got too close, blasting him backwards.

"Darn it, that thing's tough!" Naruto said, raising his Great ball. He hesitated, however, not sure if the feisty Dragon-type was weak enough to catch, even with a Great ball.

Shoto noticed this, and, being irritated that Naruto hadn't seen fit to give him any orders, decided to act on his own, sending a Freeze-dry beam at the Gible.

"What- Shoto!" Naruto gasped in surprise as the cold blast flew past him.

Naruto's shout was all the warning the Gible needed, allowing it to duck below the beam, which instead hit the pond. The water's surface froze in an instant as the attack spread, transforming the top of the lake into a thin sheet of ice.

"Frog!" Kubo gasped. He had been up to his knees when the water was frozen. He pounded against the ice, which was thin enough for him to break, but having his legs frozen instantly had a chilling effect that left him feeling numb from the knees down.

The Gible wasted no time scrambling across the ice for a cave across the lake.

"After him!" Naruto shouted.

Kata slid across the ice behind the Gible, for once mindful of his step (having learned his lesson from the mud earlier), while Shoto took in a breath for another attack. But Naruto stopped him.

"Hold your fire! You could hit Kata!" Naruto pointed out.

Twice, Kata almost got the Gible, only for him to slip away, when finally, with a desperate lunge, Kata grappled the Land Shark, right in the middle of the frozen lake.

"[GOT YA!]" Kata shouted triumphantly; the Gible's Rough Skin bit into him as he held it down, but the Riolu didn't care. Holding it down after all the trouble it gave them felt good!

There was a low, groaning sound from the ice beneath them, causing them to freeze in place.

"[…tell me that was your stomach,]" Kata whimpered pitifully.

"Don't move!"

It was Hinata shouting, having caught up with them at last, with her Pokémon in tow.

"Don't move," she repeated, "Kikyo will get you out of there!"

Naruto pointed out that the pond itself was not very cold or deep, meaning falling in wasn't a great danger, but Kata wasn't paying any attention to that. Instead, he noticed that the Gible looked at him, grinning evilly.

"[…what are you planning- ah Muk!]"

The Gible reared back and then plunged forward, right through the ice, taking Kata with him!

Hinata screamed. Kikyo tried grabbing him with telekinesis, but missed.

A second after the two went under, the red Gible resurfaced at the far end of the pond, breaking through the ice, and ran off into the cave.

Kata, however, stayed under. From the hole in the ice made when he fell in, they could see the water churning and bubbling…but it was starting to get still.

"Kata? KATA!" Naruto shouted.

The Riolu broke the surface, flailing his arms in a wild panic. He tried grabbing hold of the ice near where he broke through, only for it to break as he sank back down.

"Houndoom it, he can't swim!" Naruto realized. "Kubo, help him!"

Kubo had attempted to help Kata as soon as he fell into the water. But when he tried crouching for a leap, the Frogadier's legs seized up and cold pain shot through them, forcing him to the ground.

The water was getting still again, and bubbles had already stopped rising to the surface.

Naruto ripped off his jacket and started running towards the pond- the ice broke under his weight, and his feet fell into the water. It was bitter and cold.

Hinata said something, but Naruto paid no heed; he was sure the pond couldn't be more than 10 feet deep, and Kata was only 50 feet away. Naruto knew he could easily swim-

Fire exploded behind him as what looked like a comet crashed through the water where Kata sank, disturbing the water so much that the rest of the icy surface was shattered.

A second later, Katsuki broke the surface, hauling Kata up with him and forcing the Riolu's head to stay above water. The Quilava struggled to keep above the waves while supporting Kata, and shouted something at Midoriya, who tossed him a vine that wrapped around the two of them. Immediately, everyone started pulling them in. Soon, Kata and Katuski were both out of the water.

Kikyo was by the Riolu's side after Katsuki pulled him ashore and stepped back; he was struggling to breath. Eyes glowing, Kikyo put her hand to Kata's chest, and another to his solar plexus, releasing a pulse of Psychic-energy.

The effect was instantaneous, with Kata kicking wildly and puffing out his cheeks before turning to his side and puking out what seemed to be a gallon of pond water. Naruto quicky knelt down and helped the Riolu to his knees and rubbed his back, while Kata finished hacking up the last bit of water in his lungs.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Naruto asked.

Kikyo was at Kata's side, hand to his chest, helping him regulate his breathing. After a few ragged breaths, he was able to answer.

"[Y-Yeah…I think so,]" he groaned, shivering something awful.

Noticing his shivering, Hinata pulled off her jacket and put it around Kata's shoulders.

"Here, try to keep warm," she said, eyes glowing as she used Aura to quickly examine him.

Once she saw Kata was okay, Hinata moved on to Kubo, with Kikyo following to offer what help she could.

"[Aaah, a-ain't ya' gonna nurse me back to health?]" Kata stuttered after the Ralts, who turned around and playfully stuck her tongue out at him before returning to the task at hand.

The Frogadier had laid back and was rubbing his legs, trying to suppress the unconformable cramps still shooting through his muscles.

Neither Hinata nor Naruto were as trained in medicine as Sakura, but Hinata had been taught basic emergency aid and various Aura techniques to do things like soothe pain or quicken the body's natural healing process.

Kata turned to Katsuki, teeth still chattering.

"[S-so ya' jumped in the w-water after me, eh?]" Kata asked teasingly.

Katsuki grunted something, to which Kata laughed.

"[Ah, ya' love me; admit it,]" Kata said. "[You know what this calls for? A hug!]"

He reached over, but Katsuki snarled at him threateningly.

"[Come on, man, don't make it weird,]" the Riolu insisted, trying to put an arm around the Quilava, who angrily pulled away. "[Just a little man-hug, see? Just let me put my arms around you- okay, see? By fighting it, you're making it weirder than it needs to be! Just relax and-!]"

Katsuki overpowered the Riolu and shoved his face in the ground.

"Katsuki, stop that! Kata needs his rest," Hinata ordered, barely looking up.

"And don't push your luck, Kata," Naruto warned as Katsuki released him.

"Frog," Kubo rebuked as he leaned back and allowed Hinata to examine his legs.

After a few minutes, she was finished.

"I don't think either of them are seriously injured," Hinata explained, motioning to Kata and Kubo both. "However, Kubo's going to be feeling pains in his legs for at least a few hours, and Kata should take it easy for the day."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I thought so." He turned to the two apologetically. "Sorry guys. Looks like you're out of the adventuring party for the day."

"[Lies! I feel just fine!]" Kata protested, jumping to his feet, only for his legs to buckle dangerously just before Kubo, who was laying down next to him, easily tripped him by giving him a light push.

"[…that doesn't prove anything,]" Kata said bitterly.

"Frog," Kubo said; had his legs not been cramping up at that exact moment, he'd have given the Riolu a solid kick on the head.

Kata let out a tremendous sneeze.

"…oh, and he's got the sniffles," Hinata added. "Probably from the shock of nearly drowning. But I'm not really an expert like Sakura."

Kata tried protesting, but Naruto cut him off.

"Quit it. You're being worse that Katsuki," he said warningly.

That shut Kata up.

"Sit down and get some rest. And quit making a big deal out of this; you're disturbing Kubo," Naruto added. Then he took Hinata aside and the two of them started talking.

"So, what do you think we should do now?" he said, once they were far enough not be overheard by their teams.

"You're going to go after that Gible, right?" Hinata asked.

"Of course!"

"I expected as much. But why are you asking me what to do next, then?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well…I was wondering what we should do about them-" he motioned over to Kubo and Kata "-if it's better to return them, or…" He trailed off.

"…or if you should leave them out of their Pokéballs, so they could heal?" Hinata suggested, finishing Naruto's thought. "And if so, could I stay and watch them while you go off hunting the red Gible?"

Naruto laughed nervously.

"Yeah, I guess that was what I was wondering," he admitted. "I'm sorry! I know you should be looking for your own Pokémon to catch, and I should take care of my own team-"

"Its fine. I'll do it," Hinata said, cutting him off.

"Wha-? Really?"

She nodded. "Of course. I'm not really interested in anything like a Gible or a Larvitar anyway. And when are you going to find another chance to catch a red Gible? You can't just let him get away like that!" She smiled playfully. "Go get hunting. I can handle things here, fine."

"Aww, you really are too nice," Naruto said, smiling broadly.

He pulled out Sora's Premier ball, but paused before calling the Bagon out. Naruto's attention was focused on something hanging from Hinata's neck.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing.

Hinata was wearing a fine silver chain, on which hung what looked like a shimmering lavender marble. Naruto had never noticed the necklace before, but that was because Hinata always had her jacket on, covering it.

Hinata took in a slight breath of surprised, her hand instinctively going up to the bit of jewelry.

"Oh, uh…" she said hesitantly.

"It looks like a Key Stone!" Naruto said excitedly, noticing how the marble changed color in the light and the cat's-eye-like pattern at the it's center.

"Uh, well, it is," Hinata admitted, looking a little bashful. "Please, I didn't mean to hide it…I just never thought about showing it to you, or to Sakura or Sakura," she added.

"But this is awesome!" Naruto said with a slightly manic smile. "Mega Evolution is so cool! And you got a Ralts, so all you need is the right Mega Stone, and you'll be set! But…how do you even have one?" he asked, looking a bit awed. "Those are supposed to be really rare!"

Hinata blushed, twiddling her thumbs.

"Th-the truth is…it b-belonged to my mother."

Upon hearing this, Naruto sobered up. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry!"

"No, no, it's okay. Really," Hinata reassured him.

She stopped fidgeting with her fingers and took the Key Stone in hand, holding it up so Naruto could see it more clearly.

"My father and his brother found this a long time ago, when they were still young trainers on their first journey. It's actually one of a matching pair; Uncle kept his for his whole life, but Father had other ideas. He gave it to my mother when he confessed to her," Hinata explained. She smiled warmly for a moment. "You see, my mother's first Pokémon was a Ralts- Kikyo's mother, in fact. Father wanted to impress her by helping her master Mega Evolution. Only, he never could find a Gardevoirite. Hehe, a Key Stone's not much use without a Mega Stone for your Pokémon. Still, it was a very sweet gesture for him…mother treated it as a sort of engagement present." Hinata gazed at her necklace, smiling warmly.

She recomposed herself and went on.

"When I started my journey, father gave me Mother's necklace. He said it carries her spirit, and it will keep me from harm."

Naruto nodded. "Thank you for sharing that. And you keep that treasure safe! Granny Tsunade has a Mega Stone, one that's been passed down for generations. Legend says it cost the clan's founder enough gold to buy three mountains! And that one-" he pointed at Hinata's necklace "-sounds like it's just as valuable!"

Hinata giggled lightly. "Not true…but it's sweet of you to say."

"It's true!" Naruto insisted.

Hinata considered asking Naruto how he knew so much about Mega Stones, seeing as they were very rare, but then a thought struck her.

"Wait, what about the red Gible!?" she gasped. "He's getting away while we're talking!"

"Oh Muk!" Naruto swore. He tossed a Pokéball and called Sora out.

"Come on, lads, we're on a mission!" Naruto shouted, looking from Sora to Shoto. "That dishonorable red Gible might have gotten away using cheap tactics and nearly drowning Kata, but I'm not upset…okay, I'm a little upset, but I'm not discourage!" He pounded his fist against his chest. "We're going to track down that little punk and catch him! Nothing is going to stand in our way! Are you with me?"

"Baaaag!" Sora cheered, jumping his short arms enthusiastically.

"I can't hear you!"

"BAGON!" Sora roared, shooting Embers into the air.

"YEAH!" Naruto cheered. He leaned in and gave Sora a fist bump.

Then the two looked over at Shoto, who had watched them silently.

"…a little enthusiasm, please?" Naruto requested.

Blinking, Shoto considered what to do for a moment. Finally, he just raised his paw and bumped it against Naruto's fist. He looked up at the trainer with an expression that seemed to say, 'That's good, right?'

"Yeah, Shoto's on board!" Naruto proclaimed.

He whipped around and pointed at the cave across the pond.

"All right, boys, last time we saw that Gible, he was fleeing inside that cave!" He turned over to Kubo and Kata. "You two, get some rest, and be on your best behavior. Hinata's going to watch you for a bit! Don't worry, we'll be back with a new teammate before noon! Believe it!" he added with a wink. He turned to his team of two. "Okay men, MARCH!"

He started off towards the cave in an exaggerated soldier's march, with Sora following right behind him, mimicking his every step, while Shoto followed and watched the two with a bewildered look on his face.

Kubo chuckled at the marching trio, while Kata called out a warning.

"[Hey, Icy-Hot! Some friendly advice: AIM and fire! That way, next time you'll hit the target, rather than freezing your friends!]"

The Vulpix just looked back and nodded, as if Kata really was just giving friendly advice. He was just too stoic and emotionally reserved to notice or care that he'd been insulted.

-0o0o0-

Luckily, the cave the red Gible had fled down seemed to continue off in only a single path, though it kept curving left and right. It went up at a gentle slope, but it was no harder to climb than a hill.

Naruto had a flashlight out, with Sora and Shoto on either side of him. He paused, checking his Pokénav's reception.

"Signal's getting weak. Pretty soon we won't be getting anything," Naruto said, wincing slightly. He had hoped they'd be able to call Hinata in case they found trouble; not to mention he'd been using the nav's map and compass to keep his bearings.

A minute later, the group encountered their first problem, as the tunnel split off in two directions.

"Bagon?" Sora asked, wanting to know what now.

"Great," Naruto sighed.

The nav also lost its signal.

Still, Naruto was far from helpless; he had learned more than a few survival tricks from his family, including always having some practical gear on hand.

He set down his bag and started going through it, first pulling out a compass, then a notepad and pencil, and finally a long length of thin rope.

"Pix?" Shoto asked curiously, pawing the rope.

"It's an escape rope," Naruto explained as he took one end with a clip and hooked it to a belt hoop on his pants, then tied off the other end to a nearby stalagmite. "It's strong, light and a little stretchy. You clip one end to yourself, then tie off the other end somewhere, and you can follow it back. Smart, right?"

Sora nodded eagerly, though Shoto thought it was too simple to be impressed.

"Okay, now let's see, which way did our little Dragon-type go?"

He started looking for some tracks or other clues the red Gible might have left behind, then stopped when he heard something sniffing. Naruto looked up, expecting to see Shoto trying to pick up the Gible's scent. But it wasn't Shoto. It was Sora, holding his head up and taking in quick, deep sniffs. After two sniffs, Sora lumbered towards the left tunnel, nearly tripping as he kept his head turned up and nose pushed out.

"Eh?" Naruto said, more than a little surprised. "You smell something?"

Taking one last deep sniff, the Bagon turned to his trainer and growled with animated glee. He jumped up and down and pointed town the tunnel.

"Wait, how did he pick that up before you did? I though mammals were supposed to have good noses," Naruto said, looking over at Shoto.

The Vulpix seemed to consider this, and walked over next to Sora, smelling the ground. After a while, he looked up, a bit perplexed. There was something, but it was very faint, and since Shoto had no idea what Gible smelled like, he wouldn't have recognized it even if he noticed it before.

For a minute, Naruto wracked his brains, thinking back to all his head leaned about the Bagon-line from his mother. Vaguely, he recalled one conversation in which she had mentioned that Dragon-types possessed some of the sharpest senses of all Pokémon. While Naruto knew Salamence had very sharp eyes, he guessed they must have had pretty good noses too, from how Sora was acting.

"Good job, buddy," Naruto said, giving Sora an affectionate rub on the head. He picked up his pad and pencil. "Okay, lead the way!"

However, for the next 50 feet, they just continued down a straight tunnel. Nothing branched off from it, and it remained mostly the same shape. It was almost boring, in fact.

"Well, at least there's not much chance of us getting lost," Naruto mused, taking a moment to check his escape rope, just in case fate decided take offense to his statement.

Sora looked around at the dark, rough-hewn passage with wonder. As far as he could remember, he hadn't ever been underground, and now they were in so deep that the air was stale and musty, and there was no light, save for Naruto's flashlight. If the tunnel collapsed on them, what would happen?

Suddenly, Shoto paused as the strange scent from earlier hit his nose. He sat on his haunches, sniffing inquisitively.

Naruto noticed, and followed suit, taking in a deep breath through his nose. Now, even he could smell it, human as he was. It was familiar and unmistakable to the boy.

"A Dragon-type's lair is nearby," Naruto exclaimed, smiling broadly. He pulled out a Great Ball. "Everyone, be quiet."

After one last bend, the tunnel widened out into a cavern, perhaps twenty feet across and ten feet high. Tunnels, irregular and small, lined the walls on either side. Some looked very fresh and steady, while others looked shabby. Naruto guessed that the Gible must have dug these, considering they were far too small for a human to use.

At the end of the room farthest from the tunnel's entrance, there was a low, burning glow, like embers in a dying fire. When Naruto first noticed it, he nearly panicked, thinking it was the red Gible, and made a fool of himself trying to cover his flashlight,

However, the glow didn't change a bit, and Naruto dared to shine his light on it.

By the looks of it, it was the red Gible's nest: a pile of dirt and rocks that had been ground up and pounded to the desired softness, with some large leaves and what looked like a very old and likely stolen blanket added for comfort. The red glow came from within the nest, though Naruto couldn't tell what it was at this distance.

"Bag!" Sora said, pointing at the nest excitedly.

Naruto took one last look around at the cavern, trying to see if the red Gible was hiding anywhere, waiting for them.

"Hmm, looks like no one's home," he said at last, walking over to the nest to see what the source of the glow was. Sora happily skipped in front of him, while Shoto followed behind, looking left, right, and back every few seconds, always turned so that he never left his flank exposed for too long.

Offhandedly, Shoto was reminded of a proverb his father used to tell him: the only thing more dangerous than walking into a Dragon-type's lair was walking into an empty one. Shoto, however, saw no point in trying to warn Naruto of this, and considering small but ever important issues of the language barrier between them, it didn't really matter anyway.

The contents of the nest turned out to be dazzling!

Nearly two dozen shining treasures lined the red Gible's nest: smooth and polished stones, gems that sparkled in the light of Naruto's flashlight, a broken pickaxe head, a miner's lantern old lantern, and a few tin cans that had been lovingly cleaned until they shined.

The finest and greatest treasures, however, were a pair of glowing stones put on a pile of dirt above the rest of the hoard. The first stone was red with many smooth sides, glowing and flickering as if live embers were trapped within. The second was orange and beautiful, shining gently with a steady yellow light, almost like the sun. Naruto could feel warmth radiating from both stones, comparable to that of a campfire, and he recognized the treasures for what they were: evolution stones. Crystals with the raw elemental power of Pokémon trapped within. The red one was a Fire Stone, and the orange a Sun Stone, Naruto guessed, though it was pretty obvious.

Naruto was snapped out of his amazement as Sora leaned in close to the collection of treasure; the only thing keeping him from jumping into the next was Shoto moving in front of him and pushing him back.

"Hehe, all Dragon-types love treasure," Naruto said. Everyone heard stories of dragon hoards hidden in the hearts of mountains, or of them raiding cities to steal gold and treasure.

According to Naruto's mother, most such stories were exaggerations, but there was plenty of truth to them.

Dragon-types loved treasure. It was just part of their nature; no one knew exactly why. Professional dragon tamers, however, had come to the general agreement that Dragon-types see themselves as the strongest type of Pokémon, and were just a little vain about it. They collected gems and gathered hoards as a way of proving their superiority, since it meant they'd had what humans wanted. Of course, it was also agreed that most Dragon-types, especially young ones, seemed to just love and even be mesmerized by the shimmer of a well-polished jewel.

"Hmm, let's see what the Pokédex has to say," Naruto suggested, pulling the device out. He looked up the entry on dragon hoards and opened it.

"Hoarding treasure is the natural habit of all Dragon-types, though some are more given to the behavior than others. The Gible-line have some of the most famous hoards out of all Dragon-types, both in folklore and from scientific observation. Gabite are the most well-documented treasure hoarders; this is because a Gible only starts hoarding treasure just as they're getting ready to evolve, and Gabite are far more common than Garchomp in the wild. However, on the rare occasions that a researcher has uncovered a wild Garchomp hoard and lived, the estimated value has always been legendary. The most famous dragon hoard, collected and guarded by a Garchomp who was given the name 'Fafnir' by the locals, contained treasures spanning a 200-year period and was said to be more valuable than a whole kingdom."

"Cool," Naruto said, looking over at the comparatively small hoard the red Gible had gathered. "Looks like this little guy's got come catching up to do."

He noticed a section in the description that read 'Warning: Please Read', and pressed it.

The 'dex pinged. "Warning to amateur trainers: do not, under any circumstances, steal treasure from a Dragon-type's hoard. Dragon-types memorize the contents of their treasure hoards down to a penny, and will take violent and immediate vengeance on any thief. A common folk legend maintains that a Dragon-type will never forgive a theft, even after a thousand years pass and turns their bones to stone; scientifically, this saying is poetic, but very close to the truth. An especially infamous incident that was recorded tells of a Salamence successfully tracking down a thief over a hundred miles, crossing an ocean, and burning down their whole village over a stolen bronze cup."

"Bag-gon," Sora said, looking up at his trainer with wonder.

Naruto let out a chuckle. "Yeah, what a drama-queen."

He tucked his Pokédex away, and then pulled out a cloth bag from his backpack.

"Anyway, better get to work!" Naruto said as he shoveled in handfuls of the dragon hoard into the bag.

"PIX!?" Shoto gasped, lunging forward and grabbing hold of Naruto's harm. He looked at the boy, as if to ask if he was crazy.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Naruto insisted.

Shoto gave him an expression that made it clear he didn't believe the boy.

"Look, my mom taught me the best way for catching Dragon-types," Naruto explained. "If you can't chase it down, you make it come to you! Steal its hoard, leave a trail of breadcrumbs, set up an ambush, and wait. Sure, it'll be mad as hell at first, but after you catch it, you give it back its hoard, and add some more shiny stuff to it, like some polished coins or a bottle. They'll forgive and forget the whole thing! My mom pulled the same trick with her Salamence when she was still a Bagon, and it worked like a charm!"

Sora cheered, telling Shoto that the plan was foolproof!

Shoto reflected that only meant they hadn't found the right fool for it.

Still, there was no stopping Naruto and Sora from carrying it out, and soon they had the red Gible's treasure tucked away in the bag, which Naruto then swung over his shoulder as he stood.

"Well then, boys, now we-"

Naruto stopped when he heard the sound of something small scampering through one of the small tunnels. He gasped, moving around to try and find what direction the sound was coming from, but it echoed across the cavern and bounced around the many tunnels, so that it seemed to come from all around. Grunting, Naruto moved towards the large tunnel they had entered from, calling for Shoto and Sora to follow.

But before they could make their escape, the red Gible jumped from a hole, chattering happily to himself with his eyes closed as he grinned proudly. In his claws, he held a shiny bit of metal.

"Gibgibgibgib-!"

The Gible stopped, first noticing the smell. He opened his eyes, seeing that his nest was now treasure hoard-less, and before Naruto could budge an inch, the Gible whipped around, screaming accusingly. His mouth was already blazing with dragon fire-

Shoto acted, nailing him with Freeze-dry. As quick as the red Gible had gone on the attack, now he was frozen. There he stood, still as stone, his face contorted in rage as dragon-fire from his unlaunched attack faded, first just an ember-like glow, and then to nothing.

"Heh, that was easy!" Naruto laughed. He turned to Shoto. "Not what I had planned, but I'll take it!"

He pulled out his Great Ball and tossed it. It hit and absorbed the Gible but didn't have the chance to shake once before bursting in half.

"What the-?" Naruto began, but he quickly stopped when he saw the red Gible glowing.

In the span of a few seconds, he burst through the ice, his body growing to over twice his original size, so that now he was as big as Naruto. The red dragon groaned and flexed, shaking the last bits of frost from his frame. Once he had recovered from the shock of evolution, the Gabite turned his dark gaze to Naruto, zeroing in on the bag of his treasure Naruto had slung over his back.

"Hehehe, uhhh, 'Truly, songs and tales fall utterly short of reality, O' Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities,'" Naruto said, smiling nervously as he started backing out of the tunnel slowly.

The Gabite roared, spitting gouts of terrible red dragon fire. Naruto screamed and stumbled backwards, but once again, Shoto saved the day with his quick thinking, hitting the Dragon Breath with a beam of ice. The attacks collided into a cloud of steam and sparks.

Seeing an opportunity, Sora roared a challenge (which was not nearly as loud or intimidating as the Gabite's) and prepared to Dragon Rush him through the mist. Naruto, however, grabbed the Bagon, pulled him back, and shouted to Shoto, "Freeze the entrance, NOW!"

The Arctic Vulpix did as he was told, quickly creating a wall of ice that sealed off the tunnel from the Gabite's lair. No sooner was the wall erected, however, that it started to tremble and hiss as gouts of the Gabite's red Dragon Breath hit it from the other side. Shoto continued to use Freeze-dry to reinforce it, but the ice wouldn't hold out for much longer. Suddenly, the flashes of light from the dragon fire stopped, and Shoto paused in his work, not sure what was happening.

All at once, there was a terrible pounding, and the ice wall started to shake and tremble. The red Gabite was now throwing himself against the barrier with all his rage. With each blow to it, the whole tunnel seemed to shake, with cracks appearing in the walls and ceiling all around the ice barrier. If they didn't get out soon, the whole place would cave in around them!

Shoto got ready to reinforce the ice with another Freeze-dry volley, but Naruto cut him off.

"Don't bother! We don't have time!" Naruto said. He had set Sora down and ripped off his jacket for some reason.

The boy grabbed Shoto, had Sora jump onto his back, and then quickly explained his plan.

"Okay, you freeze the path in front of us while Sora pushes us forward with Dragon Rush, and I'll steer!" he explained,

Shoto wasn't sure what they were planning, but he nodded and did as he was told, freezing the ground directly in front of them.

From behind them, the sound of shattering ice told them that the Gabite had broken through. Instead of turning back, Naruto threw his jacket onto the ice and jumped onto it, shouting for Sora to let it rip! The Bagon cloaked his body in draconic energy and pushed forward. With Naruto's jacket acting as a makeshift board, the company flew down the icy slope like a rocket!

"Shoto, whatever happens, don't stop!" Naruto instructed, now daring to look behind himself and flash one last taunting look at the Gabite just before they got away- only, it was right there, lunging forward with its jaws open wide and about to close down around Naruto's face!

Naruto's mouth opened, but he was too shocked to scream. Just as the beast's teeth were about to dig into his head, Sora's Dragon Rush went into overdrive, shooting them forward while blasting the Gabite back! They tore down the tunnel in a mad rush, barely able to steer and with no way to slow down.

Once Naruto had gotten his senses back, he let out a little chuckle and turned around, only to scream and pull hard to his right to when they came to a turn. Right, he thought, keep your eyes on the road if you wanna live long enough to catch that Gabite!

The Gabite they had let behind just lay in the dust for a moment, taking in deep, shaking breaths. In his mind's eye, he still saw the little burglar sliding down the tunnel, his treasure hoard still thrown over the brat's back.

The Gabite's rage passed description. It was not the rage seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy suddenly lose something they have long had but never before used or wanted. No, what awoken in him was beyond thought, beyond sapience. It was instinctual, and primal, and furious, born from the very genetic code that made him a Dragon-type. Every bone quaked, every muscle tightened, every breath screamed with his rage. His blood literally boiled with his wrath, and hot drops of it spilled from his mouth, burning the ground where it fell.

Burning energy poured out from his body, cloaking him in dragon fire. Unlike Sora's teal energy, this was red and furious.

With a tremendous leap, the Gabite took off after them in a screaming, destructive Dragon Rush attack.

His mind was blank, save for three thoughts: Burglars! Fire! MURDER!

-0o0o0-

…Meanwhile, with Hinata and her team…

-0o0o0-

Midoriya hummed happily to himself. After they had settled down, Hinata said they might as well do what they wanted to amuse themselves, so Midoriya decided to explore the quarry, walking along a path that led up a cliff and into a cave. To his surprise, he caught the delicious smell of roasting berries in the air. Taking a good whiff of the aroma, Midoriya hastened his pace, 'till at least he came to the cave's entrance. A pile of berries had been set upon red hot stones just outside the cave's entrance, the floor of which looked oddly smooth and shiny, almost like it had been melted down to liquid and cooled many times. What was odder still, however, was that the Stufful from earlier was there, carefully rolling a berry off the hot burning rocks and onto cooler ground where she could eat it safely; from the juice on her paws and mouth, Midoriya observed that she'd already eaten one or two this way.

The Stufful froze and looked up, apparently noticing Midoriya. She growled and arched her back, saying that she found these berries, and they were hers!

Midoriya stepped back, holding his paws up and nervously saying that he wasn't going to try and steal them.

However, a thought occurred to Midoriya: from what the Stufful said, she had found them, meaning someone else must have left them out. Someone who'd been able to heat the stones they were cooking on until they glowed red. Someone who was apparently hot enough to melt the cave's floor when they stepped across it. Midoriya also remembered the Stufful's pyrophobia.

"Chespin-chesi?" he asked, suggesting that perhaps they should leave.

The Stufful snorted. She responded that she knew what Midoriya was just trying to trick her into leaving so he could have all the roasted berries for himself. Well, she wasn't going to fall for it! She brew a rasberry at the Chespin.

Midoriya started pleading with the Stufful, so that neither one noticed the glow coming from inside the cave at first, or that it was getting closer and closer. However, they couldn't ignore the wave of heat that hit them like an open oven. Midoriya, who was facing the cave, sat it first, mouth hanging slack in shock. Gulping, the Stufful turned slowly around.

A very large and very angry lava monster glowered down at her. It looked like a snail made from magma, with a shell of stone.

The large Magcargo growled dangerously, asking the Stufful in an almost conversational tone what she thought she was doing eating its berries.

The Stufful started to back away, not daring to look away from the beast. The Magcargo roared, releasing an explosion of fire and lava from its body. The Lava Plume attack would have consumed the Stufful had Midoriya not pulled her away with his vines. Even so, the wave of lava and fire rushed onward, cutting off the pathway Midoriya had taken up. With the way he came covered in lava, and the Magcargo advancing upon them, Midoriya made up his mind. He took hold of the Stufful and leapt off the cliff. He shot both vines out, grabbing ahold of two different anchor points. Midoriya and the Stufful were snapped in the air by the sudden stop, but it had only been a drop of a few dozen feet, so they were unhurt. However, the Magcargo's roaring got louder, and to the pair's shock and horror, it had begun climbing down the quarry's wall after them!

-0o0o0-

At their makeshift rest spot, things were rather peaceful.

Kata had decided to lay back and enjoy the sun, claiming that his Sensei had taught him how to absorb Aura from the sun. Though Hinata was reluctant to believe such a claim, she did recall that the Riolu-line needed to be in direct sunlight in order to evolve, so maybe there was bit of truth to the claim. Either way, she was sure to give him some suntan lotion.

"[Hehe, mind helping me oil down?]" Kata asked Kikyo flirtatiously, wiggling his eyebrows.

She responded by telekinetically splashing him with water from the pond.

"[Hey! I didn't deserve that!]" the Riolu protested. "[What is it, 'Abuse Kata Day'?]" he demanded, and then shook himself violently like a dog, splashing Kikyo just as she had done to him.

She shrieked and giggled, trying to shield herself.

…Sorry, sorry!... she laughed, …Okay! I give! I'll help you put on your lotion, but be a gentleman…

"[What are you talking about? I'm always a perfect gentleman!]" Kata insisted.

Nearby, Kubo watched the pair with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. Hinata had given him her Pokénav, set to a battle channel, but the soap-opera romance antics happening before him in real life were much more entertaining.

Hinata had not noticed the playful flirting between her and Naruto's Pokémon, however. No, her attention was occupied with her egg, which had started wiggling violently, so much so that Hinata had thought that it was going to hatch. She watched the egg, too awed to have the presence of mind to shout for the others to come see. Only Katsuki, who had been warming the egg when it started wiggling, was there to witness it.

However, after wiggling for about five seconds, the egg went still and stirred no more. Hinata and Katsuki both watched it with bated breaths, but nothing happened.

Hinata sighed, but reflected that it might have been too much to expect the egg to hatch a mere day after she found it; she hadn't even gotten to show it to Sakura and Sasuke yet. And Naruto wasn't around to witness it's hatching, nor Midoriya. All in all, it was for the best that the egg remained unhatched for now.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an explosion off in the distance. Hinata looked up to see what appeared to be a small eruption from the quarry's wall that had curved just out of her line of sight. For a moment, her heart stopped, thinking for one absurd moment that the quarry must have been over a volcano that had become active. However, the plume of lava and smoke quickly vanished, and was followed by no other signs of an eruption.

However, Hinata did hear the unmistakable sound of something screaming. Two voices, in fact. And two heartbeats later, the owners of the screaming voices whipped around the corner and ran into view: Midoriya and the Stufful from earlier! Behind them, a cloud of black smoke rose up from beyond the curve, following the path they had taken.

"What on Earth is going on?" Hinata said, standing up and calling over to Midoriya.

Just then, a blast of volcanic rock flew at the pair from behind, and would have hit had Midoriya not grabbed the Stufful and pulled them both out of the way with Vine Whip. The blast was followed by a deep, angry bellowing.

"On dear," Hinata gasped. From the trail of smoke, the angry bellowing, and trajectory of the blast, she realized that her Chespin was being chased by a Pokémon of some sort. A Pokémon he seemed to have angered.

Whatever it was, however, it was slow, as Midoriya and the Stufful made it to Hinata's side before the bellowing beast came into view.

"What's-?" Hinata began, only to stop when she realized that the Stufful had continued running past her and up the pathway that led out of the quarry. "Wait!" she called desperately, reaching to grab a Pokéball from her bag. By then, however, the Stufful was already gone.

Quickly, Midoriya launched himself into a rushed summary of what had happened, pausing once or twice to catch his breath, with Kikyo translating.

While this was all happening, the Magcargo had not stopped its angry bellowing, trailing smoke as he advanced upon them, slowly but surely. It was only when Midoriya had finished explaining and Kikyo finished translating that the Magcargo finally came into view, advancing upon them without hesitation, even though Midoriya was no longer alone, but with a human trainer and several other visible Pokémon. All the while, it continued to bellow and smoke.

In the back of her mind, Hinata mused that the Magcargo was truly persistent. She wasn't sure whether to be amused or frightened by this. She took out her Pokédex.

"Magcargo, the Lava Pokémon, and the evolved form of Slugma. Magcargo's shell is actually skin that has cooled and hardened; it is strong but brittle. Magcargo repair any damage the shell takes by dipping in magma or slathering a layer of lava on it. Magcargo's body has the qualities and temperature of lava, and it is so hot that water evaporates on contract. If the shell is broken, flames burst from the cracks, making contact moves against it exceptionally dangerous. A common urban legend claims that Magcargo's internal temperature is 18,000 degrees F; for comparison, the sun's surface is only 9980 degrees, and if Magcargo was indeed that hot, it would melt through the ground until it hit the water table and then explode."

By now, the Magcargo had made it halfway to them, all the while still bellowing without pause or rest.

"[Is that thing a Pokémon or an engine?]" Kata joked. He and Kubo, though both were feeling unwell, had risen to their feet, ready to help.

Katsuki scoffed and stepped forward, but Kubo put out his arm; a Fire-type vs a Fire/Rock wasn't a good match up, but a Water-type like Kubo wouldn't have any difficulties.

"But the Pokedex said water just evaporates on contract!" Hinata warned as the Frogadier jumped forward, legs still shaky, and threw a Water Pulse at the Lava Pokémon.

"[Don't worry!]" Kata reassured her as the ball of water hit its target. "The 'dex is just…being…artistic?]"

There was an explosion of steam upon impact, and the bellowing paused. However, the next moment, the Magcargo cleared the steam with Lava Plume, and started advancing again, angrier than ever. Part of its face where it had been hit by the water had hardened to rock, but it was already melting back to lava.

"[Okay, so it wasn't just artistic license. That doesn't make you invincible!]" Kata shouted, throwing off Hinata's jacket. He crossed the distance to the Magcargo, who roared at the Riolu and spat out a Rock Slide in the form of volcanic rocks. However, Kata easily dodged the attack and rushed so that he was behind the Magcargo; before it could turn around, Kata slammed a Bullet Punch into is brittle shell. It broke with a satisfying crunch, only for a torrent of flames to issues out of the break, engulfing Kata. He screamed, flailing backwards and rolling on the ground, putting out most of the flames, but the Magcargo had turned around, advancing dangerously.

Kubo's tongue shot out, lassoing Kata and pulling him into the Frogadier's arms. Kata winced at the rough treatment, as he was covered in a nasty Burn.

Kubo moved to jump back to the group, only to trip as his legs broke out into a spasm. The Magcargo launched another Rock Slide. Kubo told Kata to run, but the Riolu scoffed. Even if he wasn't covered in burns, he'd sooner get crushed than abandon a teammate!

"Gogogo!" Hinata shouted.

The air before them distorted with a pop, and there stood Kikyo, holding Midoriya in her left hand and Katsuki in her right. Midoriya jumped to the front, turning around and spreading his armored body out as his shell took on a metallic shine of Iron Defense. The bulk of the Rock Slide bombardment hit Midoriya's back, causing him to stagger but remain standing. The few stones that got past Midoriya were knocked aside by Katsuki.

The Magcargo roared at the interference, only for Katsuki to rocket at it and deliver a Fire Punch to its face. The Quilava pulled back and nimbly dodged as the Magcargo spat lava after him, laughing madly. This bluster was an act, however. The Fire Punch had done nearly nothing to the Magcargo, and had hurt Katsuki just as much as it had his enemy. Most Quilava had heatproof fur, a side-effect of their Flash Fire ability. Katsuki, being a genetic altercation, didn't have this luxury. His body produced extra-powerful fuel for his flames; among other things, this left his fur soaked in in his nitroglycerin-like sweat, meaning he was somewhat more vulnerable to Fire Attacks than other Fire-types.

Katsuki landed a good distance away, fighting the urge to wince. The paw he had punched the Magcargo with burned in pain; he was actually very lucky the explosion of fire from the attack had blown the lava off his paw before it could do serious damage.

Hinata, who was watching the fight and noticed Katsuki favoring his paw, realized what was wrong. She looked to the rest of the team.

Kikyo had Teleported Kata away and was administering Life Dew treatment to him; however, she was not a skilled healer like Sakura's Chikorita, and even with healing, Kata wouldn't be in any shape to keep fighting.

Meanwhile, Kubo had refused to flee, instead readying another Water Pulse, though he was hesitant to throw it, while Midoriya ran to back up Katsuki.

"No one touch it!" Hinata warned. "Katsuki, keep your distance and just throw Flamethrowers at it. Midoriya, use Pin Missile!"

Midoriya obeyed first, launching a wave of needles at the Magcargo from behind, though most of these hit its shell without even damaging it. Those few that hit its flesh burned up upon impact. Meanwhile, from the front, Katsuki billowed flames aimed at the Lava Pokémon's face.

Both of these attacks seemed only to anger and irritate the Magcargo. Plant needles and flames were not things that could harm a something made of lava. However, the Magcargo was angry and distracted, first advancing towards Katsuki, only to turn with anger when Midoriya hit it from behind. Both opponents were also so much faster than it, easily keeping out of reach of its Lava Plume Explosion and able to dodge its Rock Throws.

Finally, after another artful dodge by Katsuki, Kubo tossed his Water Pulse, once again hitting their foe in the face. Even if the water evaporated, Kubo was hoping it would make the creature harden and slow down, if anything else.

There was an explosion of steam as the Magcargo screamed in fury. Midoriya jumped backwards, using his vines to pull away before being swallowed in the cloud of steam. Katsuki, however, took the opportunity to shoot another Flamethrower at the target. There was a rumbling sound, followed by a shelf of earth ripping upwards and slamming into Katsuki. The Magcargo roared, part of its lava body sinking into the ground as unleashed an Earth Power attack. The pile of earth pushed forward as Katuski struggled against it. He gasped as he felt wet sand against his feet; the Magcargo was trying to shove him into the pond and bury him! Katsuki pulled back, but then lost his footing in the sand. The Earth Power attack rushed forward, shoving the Quilava down into the water, where it pinned him. The Magcargo slid up the earth pillar towards Katsuki, intending on blasting him in the face and finishing the job.

Hinata shouted for Midoriya to free Katsuki, while Kikyo Teleported in to distract the Magcargo, blasting it from behind with Psybeam.

The Psychic-type attack proved to be the most effective attack against the Magcargo so far, leaving its shell with great cracks and causing it to visible wince in pain with every hit. The Lava Pokémon roared angrily and sent a Rock Slide Kikyo's way, only for Kubo to pull her away with his tongue. The Ralts hit the Magcargo with another Psybeam volley, after which Kubo grabbed her by the middle and rolled away as the Magcargo angrily started launching a barrage of volcanic rocks at them, completely ignoring Katsuki.

Midoriya used the distraction to slip unnoticed into the water after Katsuki. The Quilava was defiantly struggling to slip free of the rock pinning him, but he was growing weak. Midoriya motioned for Katsuki to pull his arms out of the way, then shattered the rock with Wood Hammer. Katsuki broke the surface, gasping for air while Midoriya supported him.

The Magcargo was still on the rock and hadn't noticed the two, so distracted as it was with Kikyo and Kubo. Kubo had just dodged another attack while carrying Kikyo, but then his legs spasmed, and the Magcargo prepared another attack.

Gasping, Midoriya let go of Katsuki and jumped up onto the rock the Magcargo was standing on. A bolt of inspiration had struck him, and though he wasn't sure if it was a good idea, the Chespin decided to try it.

Midoriya's Vine Whips shot out and wrapped around the Magcargo's shell. Fire was billowing from its cracks, and even if it had been whole, it was hotter than an oven to touch. Even so, Midoriya pushed past the pain, pulling back hard!

The sudden grab from behind shocked the Magcargo so badly that it stopped its attack on Kikyo and Kubo to whip around to see what was going on. It spotted Midoriya, and glowered, fire cloaking it as it drew in power for a Lava Plume.

Hinata was shouting for Midoriya to stop and run, Kikyo had started to Teleport, and from behind, Midoriya felt Katsuki reaching around his waist to grab hold.

And then, there was a surge of energy. Everything seemed brighter for a moment as new strength rushed through Midoriya. The pain and heat from the fire was still there, but he hardly noticed it.

The muscles in his arm, back, and legs all gave one mighty heave, and without realizing it, the newly evolved Quilladin used a Superpower, whipping the Magcargo high into the air before slamming it into the middle of the pond, just as it unleashed its Lava Plume.

The impact of a superheated Pokémon into the cold pond of water had the predicable result of a massive steam explosion.

Midoriya would have been caught in it and seriously injured had Katsuki not taken hold of him and rocketed off at maximum speed. Kikyo had likewise Teleported Kubo to where Hinata, Kubo, and the egg were. At Hinata's command, the Ralts created Light Screen bubble around them; they had gotten the idea from their battle with the crazy Espurr, and Hinata was glad they had spent the last few weeks practicing it in private. Katsuki and Midoriya flew into the Light Screen safe zone just in time to outrace the steam explosion.

Superheated air and water billowed all around them, pounding against the deceptively delicate-looking bubble Kikyo had conjured, but the bubble endured. Soon, the explosion subsided, leaving the surrounded by hot steam.

"G-good job, everyone!" Hinata said, beaming with bewilderment. "Kikyo, let's keep the Light Screen up, at least until the steam's cleared away."

The inside of the bubble was hot and sweaty, so it wasn't hard to guess that outside with the steam would have been scalding.

Hinata saw a shadowy figure in the steam crawling off in the opposite direction of them, moving slowly and wobbling. It was the Magcargo, having been half-hardened after being doused in water, with its actual shell cracked and caved in from the explosion. It had finally accepted defeat and was crawling back to its hot cave to lick its wounds and stay out of trouble.

For a moment, Hinata played with the idea of catching it, but shook her head, deciding that the poor thing had been through enough punishment, and didn't need to add being captured to its humiliation. Instead, she turned to Midoriya, admiring his newly evolved frame.

"Your quick thinking saved us all, you know. I don't think we could have taken that Magcargo out without your help."

"Quilladin," Midoriya said, dazed with excitement and adrenaline. He gasped, not recognizing his now deeper voice, and then looked down at himself, realizing for the first time that he had evolved! "Quilla-quilla! Quill!"

He spun around, trying to get a good look at himself, only to trip. His new body felt awkward and clumsy.

Kata helped him up, and Midoriya asked for a mirror, pushing aside his fatigue.

"[Believe me, you might not want one,]" Kata joked as Kikyo pulled one out. "[You're one of those lines that goes through a 'goofy adolescent' middle evolution. It's the price you gotta pay for having such a badass final form.]"

"I think he looks adorable," Hinata said.

She and Kikyo had taken to tending to Midoriya's badly burned vines while he examined himself in the mirror. Life Dew followed by ointments and bandages would prevent infections, but she had decided that once Naruto was back, they would head back to the Pokécenter for professional help. She didn't care if it meant losing yet another day; Midoriya needed to see a doctor, even if he was putting on a brave face.

However, aside from needing to sit down, Midoriya didn't seem to be in much pain. Mostly, it was because he was so distracted trying to get a good look at himself in his new form without stumbling over that he was ignoring everything else, including all little and no so little aches and pains that were his body trying to say, 'lay down and pass out for a while, idiot'.

He readily agreed with both Kata and Hinata; he found this new form even more armored than his last one, and he felt a lot stronger, but also found he couldn't move around as nimbly as before. However, he wasn't unhappy with his new look, and based on the picture in the Pokédex, he agreed with Kata: his next evolution looked 'badass', and it was worth going through this somewhat awkward middle stage.

The steam had dispersed enough that Kikyo was able to lower the Light Screen.

Hinata noticed Katsuki was fussing over the egg with extra attentiveness, and correctly guessed that he was trying to seem busy.

"Katsuki, you saved Midoriya, you know. That was very brave and selfless of you," she pointed out. She reached out her hand, and when he relaxed, she stroked him affectionately on the head. "That's twice today you've saved someone you claim you can't stand."

Katsuki grunted something Hinata was sure meant that he only saved Midoriya because he had saved him first, but when Katsuki thought Hinata wasn't looking, he gave the Quilladin a quick first bump.

All of a sudden, the peace was broken by screaming, and out of the cave shot Naruto, Shoto, and Sora, riding an ice-slide that Shoto was conjuring as they went!

"AAAAAAAH- wait, where's the lake?!" Naruto gasped as they slid by the now empty pond.

With no way to break, Shoto tried slowing them down by creating a sharp turn in the ice path…which instead sent them flying off the path and towards the quarry wall.

Luckily, Kikyo reached out and telekineticly slowed Naruto and Shoto in midair enough for Kata and Kubo to spring up and grab 'em.

She could have done the same to Sora, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She had felt the pure escalation the Bagon was experiencing as he flew through the air, arms spread and flapping wildly. Besides, Kikyo mused as the Bagon hit the quarry wall headfirst with a resounding crack, Bagons had very thick skulls for a reason.

Sure enough, Sora immediately jump up, laughing and dancing like a kid who just road his first roller-coaster.

"Still alive!" Naruto cheered as Kubo set him down.

"Did you catch the red Gible?" Hinata asked simply, looking at the ice slide with more than a little curiosity.

"Uh, about that," Naruto began, only to be cut off as the screams from the Gabite in question started echoing from the cave, rapidly getting louder.

"[Uh, I think he's saying 'I will catch you, Burgler, I will catch you and break every bone in your body, and you will watch while I eat your still beating heart', but I might have gotten a few words mixed up; my Gabite's pretty rusty,]" Kata joked, unable to help himself.

"Gabite?" Hinata gasped, looking at Naruto.

"Yeah, you're gonna want to move out of the way," Naruto motioned, unusually calm, turning to Shoto. "Buddy, mind freezing the entrance like before?"

The Vulpix created a barrier of ice at the cave's entrance, not sure what Naruto was planning. Surely he wasn't stupid enough to think a thin sheet of ice was going to stop a rampaging Gabite? It wouldn't even slow it down. Wouldn't it be better for Shoto to hit him with Freeze-dry as he flew out?

"Okay, that's good!" Naruto said, grabbing Shoto by the scruff and pulling him away while the ice wall was still thin. He turned and said, with a manic smile, "Everyone, stay clear!" Then he held up three fingers, counting down. "Three…two…one!"

Right on time, the Gabite flew through the sheet of ice with Dragon Rush, cloaked in red and flying at full speed!

…which is why he didn't have time to slow down or turn before hitting the quarry wall, just like Sora. Only, unlike Sora, he didn't have a nice, thick skull.

-CRACK!-

"Ouch! Sweet Arceus, that must have hurt," Naruto said, wincing as the Gabite slid down the wall to the floor, its Dragon Rush cloak puffing out rather harmlessly. "…yeah, I feel bad for tricking him like that, but he was going to eat my heart."

"Is he dead?" Hinata asked, bewildered. She was even more bewildered when Naruto calmly walked over and checked the Gabite's pulse, with Sora jumping up atop the beast and posing proudly. Or how he calmly pulled away when the red dragon struggled lightly against his touch.

"No, he's just stunned. He'll need to spend the night at a Pokécenter, but Dragon Rush creates a protective pillow around the user, so they don't accidently kill themselves doing stuff like this," Naruto explained calmly. "Which reminds me..."

He started going through his backpack, setting down the bag with the Gabite's hoard.

"Darn it, he broke my only Great Ball," Naruto said, sighing. "Now all I've got left are regular Pokéballs! Ugh, I wish I had a Cherish Ball; a rare beauty like this boy deserves one!"

The Gabite stirred, snapping at Naruto, though he was out of his reach; Naruto reacted coolly to it, but Hinata gasped in terror.

Kikyo lifted a Pokéball from Naruto's backpack and hit the Gabite with it. The Dragon-type was absorbed and caught without a struggle.

"Hey! That was my moment," Naruto said.

…You're welcome… Kikyo shrugged.

Naruto would have said more, but then noticed Midoriya.

"Hey, you evolved!" he exclaimed, pointing.

"Quilladin!" Midoriya nodded, flexing.

"What happened while I was gone?" Naruto asked, looking up at Hinata.

She gave a gentle laugh. "Oh…nothing much." She looked meaningfully at the now evaporated pond, and then noticed the bag containing the red Gabite's treasure hoard. "…perhaps you have some explaining to do as well?"

Naruto first explained his misadventures with the red Gible/Gabite, and then Hinata told their story of the angry Magcargo, and how Midoriya ended up saving the day.

While this was going on, Shoto watched Naruto with an appraising eye.

The reason the boy made Shoto put up only a thin sheet of ice was so that the Gabite would Dragon Rush right through it at top speed and hit the quarry wall. Had Shoto made the wall thicker, the Gabite would have been able to fly through it without injury anyway, but it might have slowed him down enough so he could turn and avoid crashing. On the other hand, had Naruto told Shoto to spread out a Mist to blind the Gabite, he would have realized what was going on and stopped before flying out of the cave.

What was really impressive however was that Naruto had improvised his plan in the span of a few seconds, getting the idea because they themselves had almost crashed into the same wall. And Naruto acted like it was nothing special. That it was perfectly normal. He was, Shoto realized, someone who pulled off stunts like these all the time. He wasn't a planner or a tactician, but he was a cunning and clever person.

Privately, Shoto looked forward to their escapade.

-0o0o0-

Off in the distance, unknown to everyone, a small, fluffy figure watched the group from a safe hiding spot.

No, that was not true.

She wasn't watching the group.

She was watching Midoriya.

And she liked what she saw.

-0o0o0-

…Back at the Route 11 Pokécenter…once again…

-0o0o0-

Naruto had agreed with Hinata's decision that they should head back to the Pokécenter. Aside from treating Midoriya's injuries, they also had to heal up Naruto's newly caught Gabite…after which, Naruto had to convince the dragon to forgive him for stealing his hoard.

Luckily, Naruto had a cunning plan.

"Gabite love treasure," he explained as they sat together at a table, "so all I need to do to earn his forgiveness and loyalty is hand over some treasure! My mother did the same thing with her Salamence."

"And what sort of treasure do you have in mind?" Hinata asked, sipping on her milkshake.

Naruto smiled and held up his left hand, pointing to the watch he was wearing with his right hand.

It was a childish Froakie-themed watch, though it was white-blue, like the shiny coloration of the Froakie-line.

"This limited-edition shiny Froakie watch is my most valuable possession!" Naruto said, beaming with pride. "It was only available for one year before they stopped production; I'm not sure why. Anyway, it was a gift from my grandpa for my tenth birthday." Naruto took the watch off and held it in his hands, running his thumb across the glass reverently. "It's a big sacrifice, but there's no way that Gabite'll stay mad if I give him this! Believe it!"

Hinata looked from the watch to Naruto's beaming face. She chose her words carefully.

"Naruto, uh, are you sure it's…wise to try and bribe him with that?"

"Eh? What's wrong?"

"Well, I know your watch means a lot to you…but maybe your Gabite wants something more…treasurey?" she suggested, not how else she could put it. "They like gold and gems, not trinkets. He might take the offering of something like a watch as an insult."

Naruto considered this and nodded. "You're right…ugh, that means I need to find some real treasure! How am I going to do that?"

Hinata looked around, wondering the same thing. There weren't any jewelry stores nearby, and even if there were, it wasn't like Naruto could afford that sort of thing.

However, something in the Pokécenter giftshop's window caught her eye.

"That might work!" she said, pointing.

Naruto followed her finger, smiling broadly at what he saw.

-0o0o0-

Naruto, Hinata, and every member of their team stood outside the Pokécenter in a loose circle. Inside the circle was Naruto on one end, and the red Gabite on the other. The Cave Pokémon wavered slightly in place, mostly because Nurse Joy had given him a mild relaxant after patching up his head. Naruto had suggested it, though the Nurse Joy had said she usually did as much after treating head injuries, even relatively minor ones. Which was good, considering it meant the Gabite was too groggy to kill Naruto the moment he called the Dragon-type out.

However, the red Gabite still growled at Naruto, baring his teeth.

Before he could spring forward, however, Naruto poured out the red Gabite's hoard out onto a blanket in front of him before stepping back, arms motioning to the pile of treasure.

"See? Your hoard is safe. Every little piece is here; feel free to count it," Naruto said.

That wasn't really necessary, as the Gabite was already sorting through the pile, mentally checking off every item as he did so. All the while, he kept one eye on Naruto, fearful the boy would try to steal his hoard again.

Naruto, however, was unphased.

"I just want to start out by saying sorry for stealing your hoard, then tricking you into flying headfirst into a wall at stop speed," Naruto began. "But, that's all in the past now, and I really hope we can get along. You're my Pokémon now, after all. I caught you fair and square!"

The Gabite growled dangerously at this, crouching low and wiggling his rear, getting ready to spring at the boy.

"AndIalsowanttogiveyouthisPleasedon'tkillme!" Naruto added rapidly, pulling out a box covered in wrapping paper and ribbon and shoving it towards the Gabite.

The Gabite relaxed, eying the present curiously. He first sniffed it, then started poking it with his claws.

"[You're supposed to open it,]" Kata explained, "[Just pull on the bow and-]"

"Gabite!" the red Gabite hissed, snapping when Kata reached out to help him.

The Riolu drew back, glowering and muttering, "[Brat!]"

After a few seconds, the Gabite had cut the ribbon and paper from the box and ripped off its lid. He looked like he was having great fun doing so, and Hinata mentally praised Naruto; gift wrapping the 'tribute' had been his idea, even though it costed extra.

Upon looking at the box's contents, the Gabite actually put a claw to his chest, gasping with delight. Mesmerized, he reached in and pulled out a golden crown. It was encrusted with many large gemstones, including one very big ruby at the front, which to the Gabite's delight, sparkled and shined like a star.

…of course, it wasn't really made of gold and jewels. It was a child's toy Naruto had bought from the gift shop. The crown lit up when you pressed a button, which Naruto had done just before wrapping the gift, thinking it'd be a nice surprise. It was part of a set (which Naruto had purchased at what he knew was a marked-up price), which also included a king's fur-lined cape (made of felt and cheap cloth), and a toy sword with a jeweled scabbard made of cheap plastic.

The red Gabite hardly noticed the other goodies, so taken as he was with the crown- nay, so taken as he was with his crown, which he was now trying to pick up with his claws. However, it was hard to be do so while also taking care not to scratch his precious treasure.

"Here, let me help," Naruto said, boldly stepping forward. When the Gabite didn't stop him, he picked up the crown, held it up as the Gabite knelt reverently, looking up at the shining treasure.

"And thus, I name thee…" Naruto said, treating the situation with the utmost sincerity, "Prince Sidon Uzumaki, the First."

And with that, he placed the toy crown on his Gabite's head. It was had been designed for a human child's head, not for a Pokémon with one of the most unusual head shapes of all, but Naruto secured the crown in place with a band of elastic.

Everyone's reaction to the whole 'coronation' was…mixed.

Hinata, Kikyo, and Kubo were amazed at Naruto's ability to keep a straight face, or that the newly named Sidon seemed to take it all with the utmost seriousness. It was funny, but they didn't do much more than smile.

Midoriya and Sora, much like Sidon, actually took the whole scene at face value, and made a point of bowing before what they thought was royalty. This proved difficult for Midoriya, with his bulky, new armor frame, and he ended up faceplanting on the ground. Sora, thinking this was the proper thing to do, followed suit, slamming his face into the ground in subjugation.

Finally, Kata and Katsuki, who had been standing next to one another, were doing their best to keep from giggling too loudly at the whole affair. Once Midoriya and Sora hit the ground, however, it was all too much. First Kata fell over laughing, and Katsuki grabbed hold of his sides, doubling over as he at least attempted to quiet down.

Prince Sidon Uzumaki the First, however, ignored the peasants and let Naruto put on his kingly cape and jeweled scabbard.