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.

13. Chapter 13: New Friends and Old Faces

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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

Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay, and sorry still that it seems I have more delays than anything else. Sigh, I would really like to get back into the grove of writing. In any case, I have some spectacular news: I have recently moved into my own place. It was long overdo, and I'd been putting it off for years for various reasons. I wanted to finish school, I was scared of the independence, and in truth, I kind of felt that my family needed me. However, my new place is not too far away from my kin, so I can still easily give them help. Thank you everyone for your support; I've largely gotten over the grieving process for my father; my Faith in Christ is what has made it easiest for me.
As a side note, thus far, everyone has supported my idea of turning Gaara into a girl, so I'll go with it in future chapters, provided I don't get a sudden influx of hatred for the notion in the meantime.

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Review Response

Dreaming of the Phoenix: Thank you again for your support. You've been a loyal reader over the years.

jjjdunk1: I am glad you like this fic, and I hope you continue to like it.

elijahlarson03: I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Yes, I felt it was more interesting to give Cross hidden depths and show that he cares for his team, while also giving him a demanding, Darwinian outlook. The movie gave some vague hints that Cross was at least a competent trainer (both Incineroar and Lycanroc's Pokédex entries note that only skilled trainers can command their respect and obedience). The Pokémon Anime's greatest flaw is that it has a very black-and-white moral viewpoint, so it offers very view nuanced characters, in contrast to the Naruto series, which at least tries to give more complexity to things. I'm having fun making a ruthless antagonist who still has some good points. Hopefully, you'll like this chapter, as it adds a bit more to Cross's character.

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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), Prince Sidon Uzumaki, the First (Gabite, male, Shiny, Royalty*)

*Not actually royalty

**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), A yet unnamed Mythical Ponyta (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

New Friends and Old Faces

Something pushed against the Houndoom's muzzle. However, he was either too deeply asleep to be disturbed, or otherwise was just too weak to care, since he gave no outward response.

There was another shove, and the Houndoom's face might have twitched.

The shoving continued, now getting forceful. The Houndoom's lips curled in a subconscious snarl, but he otherwise didn't stir.

The shoving stopped. A long, thin pink tail reached out and gently touched the Houndoom on his side. The tail glowed, releasing shimmering pink waves of soothing energy. The waves spread across his body, causing the Houndoom to suddenly stretch and let out a pleasant groan before curling back up, still unconscious.

This time, there was a sigh. The speaker raised her tail up, which started to glow like a lightbulb as sparks of electricity crackled across it. She gave it a gentle shake, causing one spark to fall onto the sleeping Houndoom.

"[GRHAAA!]" The Houndoom screamed, flying to his feet in a flash. He started to bare his teeth and swing his head back and forth, but as soon as he was up on all fours, he was hit with a wave of vertigo so bad that he crashed back to the forest floor. "[Wha-!? Where am I?! What's happening?!]"

"[Sshh! Don't shout!]" the other Pokémon said, her voice high and clear, not unlike a bell. She pulled back nimbly when Houndoom lashed and tried to bite her. "[Well, that's a fine way to say thank you!]"

"[Th-thank you?]" the Houndoom slurred, feeling dizzy and confused. His head was full of emotions, all of which were compounded by the painful throb squeezing his brain. Pushing it aside, the Houndoom looked up at the other Pokémon, who was pink and small, though her belly was notably plump. She was holding up a pink fruit the Houndoom recognized to be a pecha berry.

"[You need to eat this,]" she said, putting the berry down near his mouth. She motioned to a pile of pecha berries. "[In fact, you need to eat all of these. Your tummy's upset and empty, and you won't feel any better until you get something in there.]"

Even in his brain-addled state of mind, the Houndoom was sure strangers didn't help strangers out of the blue. "[Why are you helping me?]" he asked.

"[Pity, mostly,]" the pink Pokémon admitted, indicating to the Houndoom's miserable state. She looked him over and added, putting a paw to her round belly, "[Also, maternal instinct, I suppose.]"

"[Wait, you're preg-?]" the Houndoom started to say, but he was cut off when she took the opportunity to shove the first pecha berry down his muzzle.

The sweet, sticky taste of the berry disagreed with the Houndoom's starved, sick tastebuds, and he would have spat it out, had the pink Pokémon not clamped down on his muzzle and ordered him to swallow. In spite of her size, she seemed to be just as strong as the Houndoom was, if not stronger. Stubbornly, he chewed the berry and swallowed it- the taste wasn't so bad after the initial shock. She held up a second pecha, and the Houndoom took it without complaint, deciding to get this over with.

By the third, the Houndoom decided that his brain was working somewhat better. For starters, he realized the strange Pokémon had been floating the entire time, though he decided not to comment on it. It was, after all, obvious. So instead, he settled on saying, "[Thank you.]".

The pink Pokémon smiled. "[You're welcome.]"

-0o0o0-

…Elsewhere…

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Naruto groaned as he exited the Pokécenter, letting out a yawn that turned into a full-body stretch. He was greeted by dawn's piercing rays, which seemed to seek out his sensitive, sleep-deprived eyes. Hissing melodramatically, Naruto managed to stumble over to the public battlefield, where he found Hinata was already up with her team out, doing some warm-up stretches.

"Good morning," Hinata replied in a cheerful voice. Normally, she rose a half-hour before the rest of the group so she and her team could have time to stretch and practice some martial arts (though Hinata hoped they'd eventually move on to practicing Aura arts). In truth, this was easy for her. Hinata had grown up in a family of Aura Guardians; early mornings dedicated to practice were a part of her daily routine. However, Naruto had managed to get up in time to join her a few times. His family wasn't nearly as devoted to martial studies as hers, but Naruto had been taught Grandpa Jiraiya's jutsu-style. As such, Naruto wanted to at least keep the lessons fresh in his mind. Besides, thus far, it had been a useful training method for the whole team.

Yesterday, just before getting to bed, Naruto had suggested to Hinata that they get up extra early, with the dawn. That way, they'd be able to get some practice in and still have plenty of time to catch up with Sasuke and Sakura. Though, in all likelihood, Sasuke and Sakura would be so far ahead of them there'd be no way to catch up. Not unless they got delayed.

However, now Naruto was starting to regret his decision. They had gotten up even earlier yesterday, which Naruto hadn't recovered from yet, and he'd slept terribly. Or, to be more precise, he'd only gotten half a night's sleep.

Hinata seemed to notice Naruto's foul mood. "You didn't sleep well?" she asked tentatively, signaling for her team to take a break.

"Ask His Majesty," Naruto said, spitting the words as he glared at his new Gabite.

Prince Sidon Uzumaki the First scoffed at his trainer, made a point of straightening the crown on his head, and then squinted at the rising sun. He shuttered, moved over to a patch of grass that was in the shade of a tree, curled up, and started napping, without a care in the world to what Naruto had to say.

"I-I guess he d-doesn't respect you as much as you thought," Hinata said with a slight grimace.

Naruto growled. "That isn't the worst part. Last night, Sidon decided that as royalty, he had a right to the bed. I tried arguing with him, but I was too tired to put up much of a fight, and he was willing to share it with me. So yeah, I had to share a twin bed with a very large Gabite. On an unrelated note, did you know that Sidon's ability is Rough Skin? Or that he kicks in his sleep?"

Hinata winced, and Naruto went on.

"Halfway through the night, I decided to just abandon the bed and sleep on the floor with the rest of my team. That wasn't so bad…except I had to be careful to avoid Shoto's corner. Ice-types leave a layer of frost where they sleep…I didn't know that."

Next to him, Shoto looked up at the boy with a sympathetic expression.

Meanwhile, Kata and Sora were shouting at Sidon to get off his scaley butt and start training like the rest of them.

Naruto sighed. "I might have bribed Sidon into not killing me for stealing his hoard, but I guess you just can't buy someone's respect." Privately, Naruto recalled his mother once warning him that catching a powerful Pokémon wasn't the same as defeating it in battle. Any fool could get lucky and catch a Pseudo-Legendary off-guard once in their life. But no Pokémon would respect a trainer who couldn't beat it in a fair fight.

"Yeah, I guess you'll have to earn his loyalty," Hinata said, and then added, "but I guess you could say it's also good that Sidon's respect can't be bought, right?"

Naruto smiled at this, deciding it was true enough.

Kata was now grabbing Sidon's leg and tugging it…and yep, there was the inevitable kick of Sidon's. Zoom! The Riolu flew right past Naruto and Hinata and crashed into a tree, slumping to the floor.

"BAAAAA!" Sora roared angrily, dragonfire burning in his maw.

The Gabite growled threateningly, so Naruto decided to step in.

"Hey, no fighting, no biting!" he said, holding up both hands and moving between the two. Both of his Dragon-types gave a bit more of a show of growling and snapping, but they did it while backing away and untensing. Naruto assumed correctly that neither one really wanted to fight, but they also didn't want to appear weak, either. Hinata, meanwhile, noted that while Sidon might not fully respect Naruto, the Gabite was willing to obey him when it suited Sidon.

Naruto took in everything: Kikyo and Midoriya were helping Kata to his feet, Katsuki was warming Hinata's egg while Sora trotted over to have a look at it, Kubo had gone back to stretching now that trouble had been averted, and Shoto-

Naruto nearly did a doubletake. There was Sasuke's Arctic Vulpix surrounded by frost as he subtly gathered power for a blast of ice, looking at Sidon with a detached but disapproving expression.

"Whoa, whoa there, little buddy," Naruto said, quickly jumping between Shoto and his intended target. "We do not blast our teammates!"

Shoto swallowed the Ice-energy and coughed up a puff of cold that left Naruto's cheeks frosted. The Vulpix frowned at Sidon, who had returned to his nap. He gave Naruto a meaningful look.

…Shoto feels that Sidon was nasty to you, then to Sora and Kata, and he's not listening to anyone…he should be punished… Kikyo explained helpfully.

It was rather nice to have a telepath for situations like this, Naruto mused. "Uh, okay, fair, but freezing him isn't going to help matters. Besides, you can't just attack someone because you feel they need to be punished." Privately, Naruto wondered if that was how things were done when Shoto was in Team Snake's clutches, or if it was just part of Shoto's personality. He'd make a note to mention it to Sasuke next time they met.

-0o0o0-

Sasuke was awoken not by his alarm clock (which he hadn't bothered to set), but by feeling the sun crawl across his face. He forced himself to sit up and get out of bed as quickly and quietly as he could. That was fairly easy, as Bayushi was not curled up with Sasuke as he was normally, but rather sleeping on the bunk above with Sakura.

They had gotten back to the Pokécenter late yesterday. And as soon as they were back, Sakura wanted to trade with Choji: her Polteageist for his Mythical Ponyta. After all that, and with the minor celebration Sakura insisted they hold for her newest teammate, the friends found themselves unable to get two rooms. In fact, they'd been lucky to get one. That would have been fine, had they had been traveling with Naruto and Hinata. With a group of four, there was nothing odd with everyone sharing a room, especially since it was an even two boys and two girls.

But when it was just one boy and one girl in one room…well, sure, they were just friends, and they were only kids, but it was still a little awkward. Sakura hadn't made a big deal out of it, but Sasuke could tell she was uncomfortable with the arrangement while they were setting up their bunks for the night. But it was too late to do anything about it, and they were both dead tired. Luckily, they were just kids. Had they been around sixteen or so, Nurse Joy wouldn't have even allowed the pair to share a room, and Sasuke would have had to sleep on a coach in the lounge. To do otherwise would have…well, as Sasuke's mother would put it, 'people would talk'.

In any case, Sasuke had gotten up early so he could change quietly and quickly while Sakura slept, since that saved them from another awkward situation. Once that was done, he headed off to check on their teams. After yesterday's odyssey, it was no surprise that Nurse Joy had insisted they stay under her care for the night- only Bayushi and Mina were able to stay with their trainers.

Nurse Joy was seated at the front desk, though Sasuke had no way of knowing if this was the same Nurse Joy as yesterday or if this center had more than one. She gave him the standard good morning greeting, and Sasuke asked about his and Sakura's teams.

"They should be fully rested and healed. I'll go get them for you," the Nurse Joy said.

She went off to go do that, and Sasuke noted she hadn't even asked to see his identification, which was some pretty shoddy security…unless of course she was the same Nurse Joy as last night, in which case she must have just recognized him. It didn't take long for the Nurse Joy to return with the balls containing Sasuke's and Sakura's teams on separate trays.

Thoughtfully, Sasuke knocked on the door to their room before entering, to which came the response, "I'm getting dressed. Would you mind waiting in the lounge?"

Good. Sakura was up, and with any luck, they could be on the road within the hour. They had a long way to go if they wanted to catch up with Naruto and Hinata. Whereas those two must have spent yesterday traveling through the quarry and onward, Sakura and Sasuke had ended up back where they started when the group split up!

Sasuke waited nearly twenty minutes before Sakura entered the lounge, looking rather fresh and clean. Her long hair was pulled into a sporty Ponyta-tail, with a cherry-blossom clip holding in in place. On her front, Sakura was wearing a baby carrier designed for Pokémon use, in which Mina was happily riding. Sakura was dressed in a red, green, and pink outfit Sasuke didn't recognize, too…not that Sasuke made special note of what his friends wore, but his father had taught him that a good detective took notice of things other people would consider 'mundane'. Sasuke was also pleased to see she had her backpack on and was carrying his, meaning she had taken the opportunity to pack them up.

"You're dressed up," Sasuke said blandly as Sakura handed him his backpack. Bayushi leapt into his lap, and he subconsciously started stroking the Eevee.

Sakura flashed him a flirtatious smile. "I just felt like changing things up. What do you think?"

Inwardly, Sasuke's mind sounded the DEFCON alarm. He had seen his mother use this female trick against his father a dozen times. Unless Sasuke answered it carefully, he'd have Giratina to play.

If he answered honestly, saying, 'I couldn't care less how you dressed', Sakura would be offended, and in turn, he'd be traveling with an angry female for the rest of the day. Having been stuck in the back of the car when his mother was cross with his father during a road trip, Sasuke didn't welcome the prospect.

If he lied and answered something like, 'I like it/it suites you', Sakura would then want to know exactly what he liked, why he liked it, why didn't he like her last outfit, until he finally slipped up and she figured out he'd been lying the whole time. Sasuke'd seen his mother pull that trick on his father, too. As such, Sasuke crossed that idea off the list out-of-hand.

Sasuke could try something like, 'fashion doesn't interest me; you know that', which was one of his father's favorite fallbacks, though he usually added something like 'I think you're beautiful the way you are' and kiss mother on the cheek…which of course, Sasuke had no intention of doing here.

"Sasuke?" Sakura said.

"I don't know. You look fine now, you looked fine yesterday. I guess I like your hair better down," Sasuke said quickly. He instantly regretted the last sentence, since he was sure she'd be angry he didn't appreciate her new style and-

"Oh really? I thought you wouldn't care at all! I mean, you never were excited when girls in our class dressed up," Sakura said, looking genuinely surprised.

"Heh," Sasuke mused quietly, grinning to himself. Well, he had dodged that bullet.

They had gotten out of the center and were getting ready to start down the road when Sakura asked, "But you prefer my hair down? You really think it's prettier that way? 'cause you know, I heard you liked long hair, but now that I think about it, you've never said anything about it-"

Sasuke's grin turned to a grimace. Dodged a bullet, fell on a landmine.

There was only one way out of this. Sasuke suddenly turned in a random direction and pointed. "Hey, is that a-? Whoa, red Gabite! Where'd that come from?" He did a doubletake, genuinely surprised.

"What?!" Sakura gasped, following Sasuke's finger. "Whoa, it is a red Gabite!"

At the same time, Naruto heard the voices of his two friends and turned towards them. "Hey, it's Sasuke and Sakura!" He laughed and cupped his hands around his mouth, calling to them. "What are you two doing here? Weren't you supposed to be on your way to Steel Blossom by now?"

"We could ask you the same," Sasuke pointed out as they ran over.

Shoto called a calm greeting to his trainer, which Sasuke responded with a quick nod before redirecting his attention back at the sleeping, red Gabite. It was, after all, very attention-grabbing. Bayushi was more polite, hopping off Sasuke's shoulder to greet his fellow teammate with a curious sniff. Then Hitomi burst out of her ball from Sasuke's belt and materialized next to her brother, drawing him in a shameless hug. However, this was all largely ignored by the humans, who were in the middle of talking.

"…is it safe to guess that this is yours?" Sasuke asked, pointing at the red land-shark.

"Hehe, eeyep! I caught him fair and square!" Naruto said proudly.

Sidon suddenly opened his eyes and lifted his head, snorting derisively at Naruto's claim.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Okay, it's a bit more complicated than that."

The Dragon-type continued to glare at him.

-0o0o0-

…Elsewhere…

-0o0o0-

"[So, you've got no idea who you are, or where you come from?]" the pink Pokémon asked.

After they had settled down and the Houndoom finished eating, he and Pink had started talking for a time. She had asked him about this forest- she wasn't a native here, and was surprised to learn that her Houndoom friend was likewise.

The Houndoom shook his head. "[No. I don't even know why I've spent the last few days running.]"

Pink hummed thoughtfully, one paw on her chin, the other on her pregnant belly. She turned upside-down slowly as she thought, subconsciously doing backwards summersaults. Finally, she righted herself. "[You know, when I found you, you had this strange, greenish foam coming from your mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if your human gave you a drug or something, and then abandoned you when you got sick.]"

"[My boy would never abandon me!]" the Houndoom barked fiercely. The image of an eight-year-old boy smiling warmly at him flashed briefly before his eyes, vanishing just as quickly.

Pink jumped back a little, surprised at his viciousness. "[Well, how would you know? You're the one who said you can't remember a thing.]"

Her Houndoom friend furrowed his brow, confused at himself. He wasn't sure why he even said that. He tried concentrating on the image of the boy, but that only hurt his head. "[I…I don't know,]" he finally confessed. "[I don't know anything else…but I do know my boy needs me. I know that he's 'my first duty'.]"

Pink looked at him questioningly. "[What does that mean?]"

"[…honestly, I have no idea.]"

A small silence hung in the air before Pink broke it.

"[You know, if you weren't a Dark-type, I could try reading your mind. I'm a Psychic-type you know. But of course, the Universe decided to make sure the one amnesiac I came across just happens to be a Dark-type!]" She turned to the sky and shook a fist towards it.

The Houndoom chuckled. "[What about you? You said you don't know where we are either. What's up with that? Couldn't you just read a human's mind to find out?]"

The pink Pokémon glowered at the suggestion. "[I trust humans about as far as I can throw them- wait, no, scratch that. I can throw 'em pretty far. More than pretty far, in fact. Okay, let me start over: I wouldn't trust humans from 11:59 to Midnight! (Hehe, I've always wanted to say that.)]"

The Houndoom decided to ignore this little outburst and just move on.

"[Why'd you even travel here if you have no idea where you are?]"

"[I'll tell you why: humans,]" his pink friend said, spitting the word like it was bitter poison. "[Ever since one human saw me some years ago, they've been pursuing me relentlessly! At first, it was just a minor annoyance. Being a Psychic-type, detecting danger is normally easy. And they were no match for me in any case! But they kept at it. Even if I Teleported several miles away or Transformed into something else, the humans would eventually still find me! Sometimes it took them days, sometimes months, but in the end, they'd show up no matter where I was hiding!]"

"[I see,]" the Houndoom said. He looked away, a bit uncomfortable. "[Why are they so relentless? And how do they keep finding you?]"

Pink scoffed. "[That is something I'd like to know.]" She suddenly winced, holding her belly. "[Ouch, my little one is kicking.]"

That struck the Houndoom as an odd thing to say. Pokémon gave birth to eggs, regardless of if they were mammals, reptiles, or anything else. Phenomenon like the baby kicking were not things they usually experienced. His pink friend certainly seemed odd.

"[Speaking of my baby, things have only gotten worse for me ever since I got pregnant, not that I regret it,]" Pink said, rubbing her tummy affectionately. "[Now I can't Teleport or use Transform- moves like that risk harming my baby.]"

"[Is there anything I can do to help?]" the Houndoom asked awkwardly.

His pink friend gave him a small smile. "[Well, I didn't help you just to get you to help me, but now that you mention it, I suppose there is.]"

"[What do you need?]"

"[For a while now, the humans have been hunting me using Dark-types. You can't sense those with Psychic-type powers, so my first line of defense is useless. In fact, I've had to stay on the move for over a week now, just to keep ahead of them! I have no idea if they're still chasing me, but I'm going to keep moving until I have to give birth.]"

"[In that case, thanks for taking the time to help me,]" the Houndoom said, bowing his head to her respectfully. "[Oh, and for not thinking I was one of the Dark-types after you and finishing me off when you had the chance.]"

Pink's eyes widened in surprise. "[Hey, you're right! Ha, I guess I was too worried about you to think of things like that. Lucky for you! Anyway, I can't sense my enemies, but maybe you can smell them?]"

"[Ooh, that's a good ide-]"

The Air above them distorted and flashed. All at once, a strange, kitten-like Pokémon with folded ears slipped into existence with a popping sound, as if as he had materialized out of the distortion. Pink recognized it as an Espurr.

The Espurr gasped, checking himself over.

"[All right, I'm not on fire this time!]" He looked around wildly before spotting the Pink Pokémon, who had risen several feet in the air to get a better look at the crazed newcomer. "[Hi! I'm from the future! I'm here to save-]"

-FOOSH!-

An explosion of fire hit Espurr, blasting him into a tree. The Houndoom took a step forward as he tried to fire a second Fire Blast, only to suddenly choke and spit up toxic-smelling smoke. Darn, it looked like he hadn't recovered as much as he'd hoped.

"[WHAT IN THE DISTORTION WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!]" Pink screamed, catching the Espurr in a pink bubble before he could fall to the forest floor.

"[Hrrk!]" the Houndoom coughed, spitting up more smoke. "[I thought…I thought I was saving you from the hunters…but since you're angry with me…I'm starting to think I might be wrong.]"

"[Ya think?! He's not even a Dark-type!]" Pink said. She floated the Espurr down and released him from the bubble, setting him gentle onto the ground. "[Hey, are you dead?]"

The Espurr groaned pitifully. "[Darn…I really hoped this would be a timeline were I wouldn't get set on fire.]"

Pink looked up at the Houndoom. "[Alive…but wacko.]"

-0o0o0-

…Elsewhere…

-0o0o0-

"After that, I got my Gabite the crown and cape he's wearing, christened him Prince Sidon Uzumaki the First, and he in turn decided not disembowel me," Naruto said, finishing up his story.

The Gabite in question, who had stopped trying to sleep once everyone's attention was on him, scoffed indignantly and pointed to the plastic sword with faux jewels that he was wearing.

"Right, can't forget about his royal jewels. I got him those, too. Those are very important!" Naruto added, doing his best not to laugh.

Sasuke looked at the Dragon-type. "You're a real jerk for not telling us there were pseudo-legendaries in that quarry. If I'd know that, I would have gone with you."

"That's why I didn't tell you! I didn't want the competition," Naruto pointed out.

Sakura had walked up to Sidon and looked him up and down. "You're stupidly lucky, Naruto. Not only did you catch a pseudo-legendary, but a shiny one. And he's very healthy, too. Big for his age," she added, unceremoniously moving around to his back and running her hand across his scales. "Hmm, looks like he's got the Rough Skin ability. Dorsal fin's at least a third larger than average. That means he'll be at least a foot taller than normal once he's fully grown, with the muscles to match-"

"Graw!" Sidon growled, whipping around and snapping Sakura's exploring hand in-between his teeth.

It was a threat, not an actual bite, and the Gabite had expected her to stumble backwards and leave him alone. Naruto gasped and terror, pulling out Sidon's ball to recall him, while Sasuke and Hinata moved to try and pull him off.

Sakura, however, was not in a panic at all. Instead, she seized one of his horn-like protuberances with her free hand and twisted, pulling Sidon's whole head down to the side. The shocked Gabite released Sakura's hand and growled, attempting to struggle free. Sakura, however, squeezed down and shouted, "Don't do that again! I mean it!"

Sidon growled, only for Sakura to put more pressure on his protuberance and twist it further. "Don't!" she ordered in a warning voice.

Finally, the Gabite went limp. Sakura immediately released him, allowing Sidon to pull away, hissing angrily once he was out of arm's reach.

"Yeah, I know, you're a big, strong dragon and I should be afraid of you," Sakura said in a deadpan tone. She noticed her friends all in a frozen state of panic. "What? Dragon-types are Prof. Tsunade's specialty. One of the first things she taught me about handling the Gible line is that their protuberances are really sensitive- grab and squeeze one, and they'll release whatever they've got in their mouth. Pretty handy bit of information, since they have a tendency to bite things."

Sasuke released the breath he'd been holding and laughed. "Yeah, I remember Uncle Obito mentioning something similar; he's got a Garchomp, too."

Naruto stepped up to sooth his Gabite's bruised ego. "You know, you could have asked to examine him, rather than just going up and groping him like a creepy old man on a subway!"

Sakura threw up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Fair enough. I'm sorry. I just got really excited at seeing such a rare Dragon-type."

Among the Pokémon, Kata was now pointing at Sidon and mocking him, grabbing his own ear and twisting, acting like he was in unbelievable pain. Sidon responded to this pantomime by crushing Kata with his tail. This was followed by Sora, who had clambered up to Naruto's shoulder, leaping into the air and biting down on Sidon's horn-protuberance. Hanging from it like a bizarre earing, Sora twisted and swung about violently. The attack brought the land-shark to his knees before Sidon fell to the ground and started rolling in an attempt to get the smaller Dragon-type off.

"…I think you've taught them something Pokémon-kind was never meant to know," Naruto said, watching the ensuring brawl with morbid fascination.

Naruto allowed the fight to continue for a few more moments before breaking it up. Meanwhile, Sakura congratulated Midoriya on evolving, and then she congratulated Hinata for her luck in finding an egg of her own. Naruto explained his theory about the egg being left behind by an airship, which Sakura thought was silly, but Sasuke found deeply intriguing. Sasuke then called Akodo out, showing how the Shinx had evolved into a Luxio. That in turn drew questions on how Sasuke and Sakura had spent yesterday.

"Well, a lot like yours, actually," Sakura confessed. "We spent a lot of time rescuing Ochako from a mad Vespiquen, Ochako evolved into a Bayleef, and I traded that evil Polteageist for this wonderful cutie!" She tossed a ball, and her newly-traded Mythical Ponyta appeared.

"Whoa, what is that?" Naruto asked, eying the strange Pokémon. It looked like a Ponyta, if one could trade in its fiery mane for a pastel make-over.

"Her name is Eri, and she's a Mythical Ponyta," Sakura explained, stroking the unicorn colt's muzzle affectionately.

"Mythical what?" Naruto asked.

"It's a variant that comes from Senju Forest," Hinata explained helpfully. "Th-They adapted to absorb life energy from the environment and use it for various healing powers."

Naruto thanked her and went back to admiring Sakura's newest capture. For her part, Hinata privately thought about how this was the first time Naruto had ever shown ignorance on an obscure Pokémon species before. It was a bit odd, since in their short time together, Hinata had come to see Naruto as the team's expert on the obscure, arcane facts of Pokémon, and the girl sensed that Sasuke and Sakura had come to see Naruto in the same light. He certainly had a habit of mentioning species not native to Konoha, and seemed to have spent a good deal of time outside of their homeland.

As such, it was a bit disconcerting that Naruto didn't recognize one of the Konoha's very few regional variants. Though, Hinata supposed, if Naruto knew a lot about rare Pokémon from the Ame Region, perhaps it was expected that he won't know as much about the rare ones here.

Hinata was pulled from her thoughts as Sakura, at Naruto's urging, started explaining what happened on her and Sasuke's little adventure.

-0o0o0-

…Meanwhile…

-0o0o0-

"[Here you go,]" Pink said, putting her tail to the Espurr and releasing a shining Heal Pulse. "[There. Feeling better?]"

"[Whoa, yeah, that's nice,]" the Espurr said, closing his eyes and laying back.

Pink looked over at the Houndoom, who shrugged. She turned to the Espurr, asking, "[Uh, before you go to sleep, would you mind telling us what you mean when you say you're 'from the future-?']"

He suddenly opened his eyes and jumped to his feet, shouting, "[Waitaminutewedon'thavetimeforthisIneedtosavethebabiestosavethefuture-]"

THWAMP!

The Houndoom's paw landed on the Espurr and shoved him face first to the ground.

"[I've spent Arceus-knows-how-many-days in a drug-fueled fever dream, and your high-pitched twitter is like a pair of ice-skaters on a chalkboard. Talk like a sane Pokémon or I'll smother you,]" he growled in a warning tone.

The Pink Pokémon frowned, pulling his paw off the Espurr, but didn't rebuke him further. The Espurr's manic speech had been a terrible pain to her ears. "Okay, Sweetie, start over, and this time, slow down, and please, don't forget to breath between sentences.]"

The Espurr looked at them both, nodding. He spent a few seconds taking in a comically deep breath.

"[I'm from a bad, bad future where everything is dead and on fire and dead and bad and dead and nothing grows and is dead and there's no hope because everything's dead! Me and my friend were sent back in time by our other friend so we could make sure our present doesn't become your future-]"

"[The future where everything's dead, right?]" Pink asked sardonically.

"[Yeah, thanks for paying attention. Anyway, we got separated while traveling back in time, and I lost my way, so I spent the last few days jumping and trying to find the point in the past I was aiming for…but I kept meeting a blond boy and his friends instead!]"

He paused, exhaling and taking in another long breath.

"[And now I've found you, but it might be too late because I was trying to find you in the timeline just before you met Shiba here and-]"

"[Shiba? What do you mean by that?]" the Houndoom said, jumping to his feet. "[Is that my name?! How do you know that?!]"

"[I'M FROM THE FUTURE! DUH!]" the Espurr said, as if it that explained everything. "[Anyway, please don't interrupt, we don't have much time. Because now they're after you and your babies so they can-]"

"[Babies? What do you mean by babies?]" Pink asked, putting special emphasis on the plural.

"[STOP INTERRUPTING ME! We don't have time; any moment, a tengu, a hair-fairy, and a glam-punk furry are gonna burst through the forest!]" the Espurr screamed, pounding his ears in frustration. "[Oh, if only I'd come earlier! Now, if I don't help you escape, they'll catch you and turn your twins into horrible genetic mutations that will unleash the apocalypse!]"

The Espurr took in another gasp, said, "[Aaaaand that's all!]", before collapsing onto the ground face-first.

Pink looked from the Espurr to the Houndoom, and then down at her belly.

"[I wonder if anything he said has a lick of truth to it,]" the Houndoom said. Shiba…the name had a ring to it.

"[I could try reading his mind,]" the Pink Pokémon suggested, reaching for the Espur's head. "[We'll find out if he's crazy or-]"

The Houndoom noticed a strange, subtle odor in the air. He sniffed, growling. It was oak trees, but there were none in this area. Which meant-

"[We have to go! Now!]" he barked, grabbing the Espurr with his teeth and pulling him to his feet. However, the little psycho psychic flew up in the air, a teal bubble surrounding him.

"[They're here! Go! Flee to safety! I'll hold them off!]" he shouted dramatically.

Pink was about to ask what he thought he'd do against Dark-types, but then a shrill whistling sound from above cut her off. The Espurr reacted without looking, throwing a log up high between them and the attack. Whirling blades of wind hit the log in an explosion of splinters. High above them, a Shiftry screamed in frustration, waving his fans to throw another Razor Wind attack at the trio. The Houndoom was quicker, knocking the Shiftry from his perch with a Fire Blast.

"[See! There's the tengu, just like I said! Now to do believe me?!" the Espurr shouted in manic triumph.

"[Come on, we've got to get out of here!]" Pink called.

However, at that moment, she was hit with a painful wave of contractions, causing her to fall to the ground.

"[What's wrong?!]" the Houndoom asked, trying to look at his friend and watch for attackers at the same time.

"[Ouch, my water broke!]" the Mew groaned.

"[How can your water break? You're a Pokémon- we lay eggs!]"

"[My kind does things the old-fashioned way! Believe me, I know what I'm talking about!]" Pink shouted. "[Ouch, I can't fly like this!]"

There were flashes of light and explosions as the Espurr engaged another enemy.

"[Save her!]" he shouted over his shoulder. "[Save the babies! Save the future!]" He punctuated his order by telekinetically lifting a boulder up and slamming it down onto the face of an oni-like Pokémon just as it stuck out from the shrubbery. The boulder split with a satisfying crack as the oni-Pokémon slumped to the floor. Then the Shiftry reappeared, screaming vengeance as he hurled a flurry of Razor Leaves at the Espurr, driving him back.

The Houndoom tensed, but he knew his duty. Quick as a streak of lightning, he grabbed his pink friend and threw her onto his back. "[Hold on!]" he ordered, giving her half a moment to grab him by the fur before bolting off into the forest. In spite of her labor pains and general confusion, Pink was able to look back between the treeline: the Espurr had hit the Shiftry in the face with a Signal Beam, only to be swatted aside by a third attacker.

-0o0o0-

…Meanwhile…

-0o0o0-

"After we returned to the Pokémon Center, Choji and I both wanted to do the trade right away. He got the evil Polteageist while I got Eri and made off like a bandit," Sakura concluded, giving her newest Pokémon an affectionate scratch on the muzzle.

The Ponyta nickered bashfully.

"Whoa, and I thought Hinata and I had trouble during our side-quest," Naruto said. He laughed nervously. "Man, it just goes to show ya: you should never split up the party! No good ever comes from that."

While Hitomi shouted in agreement, hugging her brother close (while he just zoned out and accepted it), several of the team's other Pokémon voiced disagreements.

"[Yeah, nothing good every comes of it!]" Kata said in a mocking tone, and then translated his fellows' protests. "[Nothing good, except: catching new teammates-]" …said by Eri… "[-finding loot-]" … put in by Sidon, who adjusted his crown… "[-evolving and defeating terrible foes in glorious combat (really, Akodo, did ya have to add that last part?)-]" …Akodo both put in, with Midoriya nodding… "[-and finding true love- yuck, man, did ya' both have to be so sappy?]" Kata asked, flashing a look at Togashi and Ochako, who were snuggled up together, him clasping her vine in his claw, after they put in their input.

There was a cough, and Kikyo pointed over to Katsuki, who was standing with Hinata's egg. He coughed again, doing his best to be nonchalant while glaring at Kata for forgetting the egg.

"[Oh, right, and of course, unexpected but perfectly welcome adoptions. But yeah, aside from all that, nothing ever good comes from splitting up the party!]"

Naruto cringed. "Okay, I was being dramatic."

"Not to mention the opportunities we all got to be badass. Pretty sure that helped us all grow as trainers, having the chance to depend on our wits and strengths," Sasuke pointed out conversationally.

"Hey, I said I was wrong," Naruto said flatly.

"Like how I got to make use of all those kendo lessons I took to fight right alongside our Pokémon, or how Hinata was able to deal with that mad Magcargo," Sasuke went on, a wicked gleam in his eye. "Then again, I suppose all Naruto did was run away from an angry dragon and trick him into running into a wall; I wouldn't care to remember that compared to how awesome the rest of us were."

"Hey!" Naruto protested angrily.

"Sasuke, be nice!" Sakura said warningly, though there was amusement in her voice. "Besides, no need to rub in his face that he was the least awesome out of all of us yesterday."

Naruto growled angrily, but Hinata stepped in.

"Okay, that's enough," she ordered in a surprisingly forceful tone. "All of us, human and Pokémon alike, did very well for ourselves."

They all conceded the point, with Sasuke muttering something about only teasing while Naruto said he hadn't really been bothered.

Sakura decided to change the subject.

"So, how are we going to get to Steel Blossom now? Are we going to split up again and take the same routes as before? Or maybe switch routes and see what we find?"

"Oof, awesome as yesterday was, I don't like the idea of repeating it anytime soon," Naruto said.

"Yeah, our parties were nearly wiped out. We should take a day or two off from any serious activity," Sasuke added.

"Are you suggesting we stay here for now?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "No. Why not just take the bus to Steel Blossom? It'll be here by noon, and we'll arrive in Steel Blossom before sunset, so we'll also make up for the time lost yesterday."

"Good idea! I like it!" Naruto said, followed by Sakura and Hinata echoing his agreement.

Of course, Sasuke hadn't pointed out that with his stipend still cut, someone would have to pay for his ticket…they could come to that later.

-0o0o0-

…Back in the Forest…

-0o0o0-

The forest rushed past the Houndoom and his rider in a blur; he darted between trees, under branches, and even through the occasional foliage if he thought he could do it without risk of harming his passenger. All the while, poor Pink had to do all she could to just hold on and ignore her labor pains. She had been sick once already, puking up a spew of berries across the Houndoom's side, not that he took any notice. They couldn't keep this up for long; Pink was feeling nauseous, weak, and there was the little fact that she was supposed to be giving birth-

"[Dodge left!]" Pink shouted, warning the Houndoom just in time to avoid a hail of needles.

The Houndoom skidded for a moment before regaining his footing and galloping onward. From behind them, the pair could hear the screams of frustration, and Pink looked back in time to see one of their pursuers- the oni-faced Pokémon -spit out a Dark Pulse from his mouth, though his aim was poor and went far off-mark. A moment later, the Houndoom came across a thorn bramble, so thick and overgrown that it seemed more like a wall, completely baring the way. The Houndoom did not slow down, but instead picked up speed, and the pink Pokémon feared he was planning on trying to run through it. Instead, the Houndoom suddenly vaulted over the bramble, clearing it with room to spare! The shock when he landed on the other side almost knocked Pink clear off his back, but she was able to hold on.

However, instead of speeding off, the Houndoom turned around and waited, his ears swiveled towards the thorny expanse. Pink wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she could tell his was listening for something, and wisely decided to keep silent.

Barely a heartbeat passed before the Houndoom growled, taking in a deep breath as heat rose up from his belly. He shot a Fire Blast towards the top of the bramble wall, just as their Shiftry foe started to leap over it. The fiery cross hit its mark and exploded; the Shiftry was first set on fire, then thrown back by the blast, and finally landed in the thorny bramble, where his thrashes of pain only resulted in him getting more tangled.

The Houndoom tried to grin, but instead coughed up tarry spit and toxic smoke.

"[Hrrk! Ugh- heh, that should slow 'em down!]" he grunted, turning and continuing to flee.

"[Are you okay?]" Pink asked.

The Houndoom just continued to press on, through his breathing was noticeably more labored.

Even so, it was clear they were putting distance between them and their pursuers.

First, the Shiftry's cries of pain were becoming distant and faint.

Then the sound of the other hunters trying to tear their way through the bramble faded away.

And finally, the Houndoom had raced so far ahead of them that they couldn't hear their pursuers at all. He decided to risk a short break, if only to check up on Pink.

"[How are you? And the baby?]" he asked, all business.

Pink tried to smile, but a painful contraction put an end to that.

"[OUCH! Ough, sorry, but this baby's coming, and coming soon,]" she groaned.

The Houndoom growled, looking back where they had come from. His sharp senses and hunter's instincts told him they hadn't shaken off their enemies. He looked about, trying to find something that could help them. He noticed another bramble, but at the foot of this one was a burrow-like opening. He went over to investigate, sticking his head in- something he reflected was very unwise, but he was in a hurry.

"[What are- Ngh!]" Pink called, cut off by another contraction.

The Houndoom pulled back, his horns caught for a moment in the thorns, though he was soon free.

"[It's an abandoned hallow,]" he called urgently. "[It's completely clear on the inside, but no one's lived in it for years. I can smell it. Come on, the passage is big enough for you to crawl in there and be safe!]"

Relieved at the prospect of being able to lay down and rest, Pink allowed her Houndoom friend to help her to the burrow, which she then crawled into. The inside was indeed cleared away, giving her about five feet of room in all directions. It was only then se realized that the tunnel was too small for her friend.

"[But what about-?]"

She was cut off by the Houndoom shoveling dirt into the burrow, burying it.

"[Stay here!]" he commanded. In an instant, he was gone.

-0o0o0-

…At the Bus Stop…

-0o0o0-

"You know, tricking us into paying for your ticket was a new low, even for you," Naruto grumbled as he climbed into the bus after Hinata and Sakura.

"I did nothing of the sort," Sasuke lied smoothly, following behind.

"I still say we should make you walk to Steel Blossom on your own," Naruto grumbled as they put their bags up and settled in their seats.

"You don't get a say in the matter," Sakura growled. "I paid for his ticket, so I can choose to complain about it or not."

Naruto glowered but said nothing. Then a thought crossed his mind. "Hey Sasuke," he said, whispering so only he could hear, "does using your looks to manipulate a girl into paying for your stuff make you a gigolo?" Naruto gave a mock gasp. "What would your mother say?!"

"Ah, shove it," Sasuke muttered, turning away and feeling thoroughly emasculated. Privately, he hated having to depend on everyone else to pay for everything. It was very…humiliating (which was, he had to admit, the point of the punishment).

It was a small bus, able to seat maybe twelve passengers. However, it looked like Naruto and the others were the only riders.

The bus driver looked around to see if there were any potential passengers. Seeing none, he shrugged. "Meh, never get many at this stop anyway. Only young trainers come this way, and they always want to go through the wilds." The driver got to his seat, took one last glance to see if there was anyone else, and then turned over his shoulder to look at his four passengers. "Oi, since there's no one else waiting, how about we just head out a few minutes early?"

He got a cheer of agreement.

"Okay, in that case, take your seats everyone. We're off!"

With that, he pulled the lever which shut the bus door, put the vehicle in gear, and rolled off.

-0o0o0-

"Wait!" a boy screamed desperately, dashing out the Pokécenter doors while buckling his pants and wearing only his undershirt, his backpack looped over only one shoulder. Behind him, his Growlithe howled for the bus to stop.

It was Kiba and Akamaru- the two had arrived at the Pokécenter when it was nearly dawn; as such, Kiba had set his alarm so that they'd be able to get as much sleep as possible, leaving only just enough time to get up, get dressed, and grab their tickets before the bus rolled off (Kiba had left everything in his backpack to save time). Poor Kiba did not, however, consider the possibility that the stupid bus driver would decide to leave a full 10 minutes early! Had his window not been open, he wouldn't have even heard it leaving!

"No, wait! You can't leave early! That's against the rules! I'll report you to whoever your boss it, Houndoom it all!" Kiba shouted, running after the bus franticly as he put his backpack, with Akamaru following close behind.

The bus took no notice of them. However, it did slow down due to a bump in the road. Desperate, Kiba lunged and managed to get a grip on the spare tire hanging from the back. Akamaru jumped after him, latching onto his backpack's free strap.

"Hang on, buddy!" Kiba said, lifting Akamaru up on top of the tire and then getting a better grip on his handhold. He turned back to the bus. "Hey, you idiot! We're back here! Stop the bus!"

There was no indication that anyone heard him.

"Damn it, I paid for my ticket!" he said, getting ready to pound on the window.

"Stuf?" a small voice squeaked next to Kiba's ear.

He nearly let go of the tire in his surprise. Curled up on the hub of the spare tire was a small, doll-like bear Pokémon. It was a Stufful, though Kiba didn't recognize it.

"Oh look, another stowaway," Kiba said in astonishment, looking at the adorable little Pokémon that happened to be right next to this face. Unfortunately, he moved a quarter of an inch within her persona space.

"EEEEEEEE!" the Stufful shrieked, uncurling itself and flailing wildly.

"ARHG!" Kiba cried as he was bashed no less than three times in the face. His grip on the tire slackened, and the next thing he knew, he was experiencing the heart-stopping sensation of weightlessness that occurs right before you crash very quickly and painfully.

The boy panicked, his arms going wild as he tried to grab something before it was too late. He felt Akamaru's teeth on his right hand as the Growlithe tried to grab and pull him to safety, only to be pulled down with his trainer.

-Thud-Tumble-SKIIIIIIIID!-

At last, the boy and his Growlithe came to stop. Luckily, nothing was too seriously damaged- Kiba had managed to break the fall with his face. At some point in their crash, he'd lost his shirt, but managed to keep his pants (and what remained of his dignity). Painfully, the boy lifted his face of the dirt and glare at the bus as it drove off.

He noticed a 'how's my driving?' sticker on the bus's bumper, along with a number to call-in complaints. Kiba spat contemptuously- it was bloody, though he hadn't broken a tooth, luckily.

"Pfui! 'How's your driving?' F*$K yeah, I got something to say about it!" he snarled, reaching for his phone-

-which he had left in his jacket…which he had left hanging on a chair in his room back in his room at the Pokécenter.

"Darn it! I can't even report him!" Kiba said, almost sobbing.

Akamaru had pulled himself next to his master and whimpered sympathetically, nudging him to try and get up.

However, Kiba didn't feel like moving. Covered in abrasions and bruises, he felt more like he wanted to lay down and die.

And so, he laid there, in the middle of the road, feeling sorry for himself. After a moment more of trying to nudge his trainer to action, Akamaru sighed and curled up next to Kiba, waiting patiently. The sun started to rise through the air, beating down on the pitiful pair.

Kiba wasn't sure when he fell asleep. But he was awoken with a start- it felt like someone was pouring water on him!

"Mama, I swear I didn't mean to sleep through the alarm!" he screamed, sitting upright and wrapping his arms around his head protectively out of habit.

"I am not your mother," a calm voice said.

The cool sensation of water was now all across Kiba's chest, followed by a light pain that was almost pleasant.

The speaker was a ghostly pale boy holding light green parasol. Even in the parasol's shade, Kiba swore the boy's eerie blue eyes were shining like the lights of a jack-o'-lantern.

Next to the pale boy was a Ralts, who was silently administering Life Dew to Kiba- the pleasant but slightly painful sensation was actually his abrasions being cleaned and knit shut.

"You dropped this when you fell off the bus," the pale boy said, holding up Kiba's backpack and undershirt.

"Uh, thanks…uh, who're you again?" Kiba said dumbly as he took his stuff. Somewhere in the very back of his mind, he didn't recall seeing anyone else on the road when he was running after the bus…

"I am Toneri Otsutsuki, and Toneri Otsutsuki means me," he said, suddenly flashing a disturbingly large smile.

Kiba actually flinched at the sight of it, but Toneri didn't seem to notice.

"Why were you running after the bus, Kiba?" Toneri asked as he helped the other boy up.

"Because me and Akamaru wanted to catch a ride!" Kiba explained indignantly. "I can't believe they left without us- wait! Where's Akamaru!?"

Toneri pointed blandly to one side of the road: there was Akamaru…hiding behind a tree.

"Hey, what're you doing there? Here, boy!" Kiba called, whistling.

Instead of coming, the Growlithe whimpered loudly.

"What's gotten into him?" Kiba said, asking no one in particular as he walked over and picked his dog up. Luckily, the Growlithe offered him no resistance, though he continued whimpering and squirming as Kiba walked back over to his new…well, Kiba decided it wouldn't be a stretch to call the strange, pale boy a friend. After all, hadn't he healed him out of the blue?

"He's been like that ever since I arrived. I can't imagine why," Toneri explained. "So, you're heading to Steel Blossom, too?"

Kiba nodded. He hadn't told Toneri where he was going, but considering the bus only went to Steel Blossom, it wasn't really surprising he had guessed as much. "Yeah! I'm hoping to earn my badge, compete in my first contest, and meet with some friends…hehe, some more than others," he added, the image of a certain girl flashing in his mind.

"Me too!" Toneri said, suddenly getting animated and excited again. "Say, how about we travel together? Let's head back to the Pokécenter so you can get your jacket and phone, then we can take the next bus and catch up with the others! I'll even cover the price for the bus tickets, since we're friends now!"

"There's another bus?" Kiba asked in surprise.

Toneri nodded. "Of course. You didn't know that?"

Kiba shook his head.

"Then you are lucky I told you as much," Toneri said, smiling that disturbing ghostly smile. "Aren't you lucky we are friends?"

Chuckling nervously, Kiba nodded. The boy was a bit creepy…but he was also offering to pay for Kiba's ticket. Generosity was always a welcome trait to have in a friend, as Kiba's mother taught him.

Halfway down the road, a thought occurred to Kiba.

"Say, how'd you know I left my jacket at the Pokécenter?"

"I think you mentioned it earlier," Toneri said automatically, suddenly looking away.

Akamaru let out another loud whimper.

At no point did Toneri's Ralts make a sound as he glided across the ground next to his trainer.

-0o0o0-

…Continuing the Forest Chase…

-0o0o0-

The forest rang with the sounds of the Houndoom and his pursuers crashing through the underbrush. A quick glance behind confirmed that at least two 'mons were after him: the oni-Pokémon, and a black and white badger on two legs. The Houndoom could have easily escaped- ragged as he was, he was far faster and fleet than either of his clumsy pursuers. But he didn't want to escape. He wanted them to keep following him, away from his pink friend.

Blast, where's the Shifty? the Houndoom thought. If he was lucky, maybe he'd knocked it out with that Fireblast earlier. If not, maybe it had found Pink's hiding spot…

He shook the thought from his head. No point thinking about that now. Now was a time for action!

The Houndoom came a sudden stop as he dug his right front paw into the dirt, claw splayed. His front-half came to a stop while his hindquarters were pulled whip-fast by the centrifugal force, resulting in a perfect 180-degree turn. He smiled wickedly at his startled foes just as they came into view, sparks and smoke billowing from his mouth. He drew in breath for Fire Blast…only to choak and sputter, barfing out a thick, cindery cloud of black smoke.

The failed attack still scared both enemy 'mons, who had lunged to either side, taking cover. They had seen firsthand what the Houndoom's fire could do to a Pokémon.

Hacking and coughing, the Houndoom took the opportunity to dash into the underbrush and hide. His movement had been hidden by the accidental Smokescreen, but already both the badger and the oni were up, tearing through the brush looking for him.

Taken by panic, the Houndoom tried another Fire Blast when the badger's head presented an easy target…only to hack up smoke and sparks again. He was out of fire! Worse yet, the badger noticed him coughing. It flung an arm out at him, releasing a hail of sharpened hairs. A Pin Missile attack. The Houndoom took several to the face before he could dodge, bolting away blindly.

He hit something and tumbled to the ground with it. It let out a sharp exclamation, and the Houndoom realized he'd run into a human!

He opened his eyes and looked down into the shocked eyes of an orange-haired boy. Before the Houndoom could do anything more, a pair of strong, rock-hard claws grabbed him by the middle and threw him away from the boy. The Houndoom hit the earth and rolled to his feet, looking up. A Lycanroc (though the Houndoom didn't recognize the species as such) stood between him and the boy, roaring furiously and bearing his claws and fangs. The boy had gotten to his feet, looking at the Houndoom appraisingly.

Then the oni and the badger crashed through the bushes, screaming threats and menaces. The pair only spared a glance at the boy and his Lyranroc before charging the Houndoom. But the Houndoom was quick, leaping up onto a low-hanging branch before jumping to another, sturdier one. The Oni Pokémon screamed, punching at the trunk of the tree the Houndoom was in. To the Houndoom's utter shock, wood splintered and groaned as the tree buckled and started to go down. The oni was stronger than it looked, and it already looked strong enough! He started to leap to another tree when the oni grabbed one of his hindlegs, starting to squeeze down-

-only to get a face full of Sludge Bomb from the Houndoom, followed by a vicious kick in the nose. He might have been out of fire, but he was far from defenseless!

The oni screamed, releasing him and franticly wiping the Poison from its face as it staggered backwards. The Houndoom realized the Sludge Bomb had hurt it more than even the kick in the face. It's weak to Poison, he thought as he landed roughly on his feet.

Further introspection was interrupted by thundering Hyper Voice from the badger. The attack knocked the Houndoom down and flipped him backwards as he was pelted with rocks and debris that had been hurled by the sonic blast. The Houndoom recovered, spitting a Sludge Bomb at the badger, only for it to charge forward, crossing its arms to block the attack and knock it away. It closed in, ripping a branch from a tree as it did so and hurling it at the Houndoom. He jumped over it, coughing up another Smokescreen and disappearing. The badger 'mon stopped before entering the Smokescreen, scoffed at the obvious trick, and started throwing Pin Missile attacks up into the trees above.

Gotcha! the Houndoom though as he charged out the smoke and bit down on the badger's crotch, his teeth electrified with Thunder Fang!

His foe screamed in agony as he staggered backwards, trying desperately to pull free from the Houndoom's jaws. When that didn't work, the badger started pounding on his face with its fists. The blows drew blood, but instead of releasing, the Houndoom bit down harder. The badger-like Pokémon squealed pathetically, dropping to its knees. It was still pounding on his face, but it was rapidly losing any will to fight-

-powerful fingers wrapped around the Houndoom's neck, squeezing so tight the Houndoom had to unclench his fangs. The next thing he knew, the Houndoom was lifted high slammed into a tree. Everything went white.

…by the time the Houndoom regained his senses, the oni had helped the badger to its feet, and now both were advancing murderously towards the Houndoom's prone form.

"[And now, we're gonna- 'ay, wait a tick! Where's our target!?]" the oni said, his voice thick with the effects of a broken nose. It had been the first time the Houndoom had heard either foe speak.

"[The hell did it go?!]" the badger growled, looking left and right stupidly, as if Pink would just pop out and say, 'Here I am!'.

The Houndoom chuckled as best he could, trying to get to his feet, only to slump back down. He had been exhausted and confused even before this chase had started. It had been a miracle that he'd been able to give these two numbskulls this much trouble.

"[What's the matter? Did you think she was still with me?]" he said, managing to get up onto his front paws this time. He flashed a mocking smile at them. "[While you were busy chasing me, she gave you the slip. Idiots.]"

"[Ya' mangy mutt! I'll rip your head off!]" the oni screamed, lunging forward.

-only for a wall of rock to burst out of the ground between them!

Behind the Houndoom, the boy's Lycanroc howled excitedly as he leapt up and slammed into the Stone Edge pillar he had summoned, pushing it crashing down at of the two enemies. The pair scrambled in time to avoid being crushed, but they were still pelted with shards of stone when it shattered after hitting the earth.

The Houndoom let out a laugh which turned into a cough. He had forgotten about he boy, and so had the other 'mons. Luckily, it seemed the kid was on his side. Which was good, because the Houndoom wasn't sure he could fight on much longer…everything was getting dark.

Speaking of the boy, he had now walked forward to confront the pair, his Lycanroc moving so he could block any would-be attack against his trainer.

"Why don't you pick a fair fight, ya weaklings?" the boy asked, looking scornfully from the badger to the oni and back again.

They glowered, moving slowly to flank the Lycanroc, who remained calm and loose.

The boy let out a cold laugh.

"Minuano, take them," he said dismissively.

The pair rushed the Lycanroc from both sides; the Lycanroc slammed a foot into the ground, creating a Stone Edge pillar between him and the badger as he grappled with the oni. The oni grinned as his started to overpower the Lycanroc with his superior strength, leaning his face close, only to get an Iron Head attack straight into his already broken nose. The oni tried to stagger away, but the Lycanroc pulled down, bringing his face into a second Iron Head before whipping around and flinging him into his companion. The two crashed, and the Lycanroc howled with bloodlust, crouching low and dragging a claw across the ground.

It was at this point that the Houndoom lost consciousness.

-0o0o0-

…Elsewhere, sometime later…

-0o0o0-

"Ah, here at last!" Naruto cheered as he stepped off the bus. He looked around excitedly, took in his first impression of Steel Blossom City. Right away, he could tell things would be vastly different from their time in Teakgrove Town.

Whereas Teakgrove Town had been a small, pleasant city with old-fashioned architecture and lots of greenery, Steel Blossom rang true to its name, looking like blooming icon of industry. The streets and sidewalks were all paved and smooth. The buildings were tall constructs of concrete and glass. Not a single tree or bush was in sight. But above all else, unlike Teakgrove Town, which had a small population, Steel Blossom City was bustling with people, cars, trucks and even Pokémon. There was a team of Gurdurr repairing an overpass as a Conkeldurr oversaw them, a Mr. Mime was manning a crosswalk (Naruto could see the light gleaming off the invisible Barrier it had created between the pedestrians and traffic), and up above, bird Pokémon filled the skies carrying letters and packages.

"Whoa, this place must be bigger than Oakcrown," Hinata said in wonder as Sasuke exited the bus last, referring to their hometown (and Konoha's capital). From her backpack, Kikyo winced, feeling whelmed by the sudden influx of so many minds nearby. The Ralts centered herself, drawing her telepathy inward.

"No, it's about half the size, but Steel Blossom has a higher population density and is a center of industry," Sasuke said crisply. He wrinkled his nose. The city might have been named after a blossom, but it certainly didn't smell like one.

The team gathered their things, with Naruto shouldering Sidon's bag of treasures- normally, a trainer could just have his Dragon-type's hoard at home, but Sidon didn't really respect Naruto yet, and until he did, he wouldn't trust the boy enough to be separated from it for long. In the meantime, that meant Naruto had to lug the bag of jewels, coins, rocks, and junk with him everywhere.

Sakura pulled out her Pokénav and checked the map. "It's a few miles to the nearest Pokécenter. Of course, they couldn't put one near the bus stop," she said bitterly. She eyed the busy streets. "Should we hail a taxi?"

"No way," Sasuke said. "We already spent money on the bus ride. It's only three past noon. We've got time to walk."

Hinata agreed, as did Naruto, and so they walked.

The streets were crowded and the people were in a hurry, so the group had to stay close together or risk being swept away by the tide. Sakura initially suggested calling out Eri and Tetsu to help clear the way, but Sasuke pointed out that disturbing pedestrian traffic with Pokémon was a finable offense. As such, they just soldiered on, making the best of it. Luckily, after leaving the transportation district, things cleared up considerably. They even found a restaurant where they could have lunch with their Pokémon. Such places were actually common in crowded cities where trainers would otherwise have trouble letting their Pokémon stretch their legs.

As they ate, Sakura pulled out her 'nav again and started talking about the city.

"It says here that Steel Blossom's gym specializes in Steel-types (no surprise there), and unlike most gyms, it's actually relatively young, being around 30 years old," she explained.

"Heh, sounds like it'll be a breeze for me," Sasuke mused, smiling at Togashi, Hitomi, and Akodo.

"Yeah, and an uphill battle for me," Sakura sighed.

"Eh, why do you say that?" Naruto asked without thinking, not realizing that none of her teammates would match up well against Steel-types.

"Don't worry about it," Sakura said, shrugging it off. She returned her attention to what she'd been reading. "Huh, it also says that the current gym leader is the granddaughter of its founder, and that she's only recently been given the responsibility."

"That's good news for us; a newbie's going to be an easier opponent," Naruto said a bit ruthlessly. "Who knows? Maybe she has stereotypical confidence problems stemming from trying to live up to her grandparent's expectations of her!"

"Don't be dramatic," Sasuke ordered, giving Naruto a shove.

They finished their meal, recalled their teams, and arrived at the Pokécenter, the day still far from over. Since the center made up the ground level of a large department building, Sakura suggested that she and Hinata have a look at the clothing department. When Sasuke protested, Sakura reminded him that she lost her bag full of extra clothes saving him from the pride of Luxray when they first met…carefully leaving out the part where said bag had been one of two, and that she still had plenty of clothes.

The boys hung outside in the center's recreational area, conversing casually as their Pokémon played.

"You know, I think this is one of the few days nothing amazing has happened to us since we started our journey," Naruto said in a rare moment of introspection.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "There's been plenty of peaceful days where nothing major happened. It took us a while to reach Teakgrove, and aside from when we met Sakura and Hinata, I'd say it was uneventful."

"Yeah, aside from when I nearly drowned," Naruto pointed out.

"I was counting that as part of our meeting with Hinata."

Naruto laughed. "Okay, so not every day since we started our journey has been an adventure, but you've got to admit, we've had some crazy times these last few weeks. Like yesterday, for example!"

"Especially yesterday," Sasuke agreed. "After all that, even I'm okay with us taking a break." He looked up, watching Togashi and Ochako strolling near some bushes. The Charmeleon plucked a blossom from one and put it behind Ocahko's ear (or, more accurately, her antenna). Sasuke looked away from the sickeningly sweet scene with disgust. "They sure are," he added, indicating to the pair.

Naruto laughed and looked to their other Pokémon.

Sidon was now sorting through his treasure and polishing it, carefully tallying each piece down to a coin as he did so. In truth, the Gabite had taken account of his hoard as soon as Naruto let him out; he was only doing so again to show it off to all the other Dragon-types out and about. Nothing gave more value to a dragon's hoard than the envy of other dragons. Presently, Sora was sitting in front of Sidon, bewitched by the sparkling collection. Earlier, another trainer's Druddigon had come over and tried to swipe Sidon's Sun Stone. Before anyone could step in, Sidon slashed the punk across the face, shoved him onto his back, and stomped onto his chest, growled menacingly. Thoroughly cowed, the Druddigon submitted and backed away apologetically. Sasuke was shocked when no one did anything, but then Naruto explained that it was standard social behavior between Dragon-types. In fact, it'd be unhealthy for trainers not to allow their Dragons to interact like that at least once in a while!

On a TV, there was an announcement that several regional champions had agreed to participate in a charity tournament between Konoha, Suna, and Ame, with open invitations to champions and noted trainers from other regions. It sounded interesting, though Sasuke gave it little thought as he drifted into partial consciousness. On his lap, he stroked Bayushi absentmindedly. He really hadn't been one for relaxing…but it was nice that today had been uneventful.

-0o0o0-

…Back in the Forest…

-0o0o0-

Cross stroked the Houndoom behind the horns thoughtfully as he looked down at his work. He had bandaged its muzzle and several other lacerations he had found while tending to it, but Cross could already tell that the dog would need medical attention beyond what he could give it; among other things, he was pretty sure the poor beast's muzzle had been fractured from the Obstagoon's pounding. Now Minuano (Cross's Lycanroc) was sniffing the unconscious Pokémon curiously. After dealing with the pair of bullies that had ganged up on the Houndoom, Minuano had been particularly worried about their new…friend.

"He'll live," Cross said curtly, taking out his Pokénav. "But he'll need a doctor." Cross started checking to see if it'd take less time to turn around and go to the Pokécenter on Route 11, or to keep going to Steel Blossom City.

The device beeped, indicating that Cross had just gotten a message from his father. Aside from the usual stuff about remembering to call home, it also said that his cousin had started his journey this month, and that Cross should call or pay him a visit. Cross winced. He'd forgotten that, and he'd forgotten to let his cousin know that he was in Konoha, planning on taking on their Pokémon League. Cross sighed, making a mental note to make the call. The text message ended with a link. Cross opened it.

"Huh, a stadium ticket? Why would Pop give me one of those?" Cross said, taken back. He then read what it was for: an exhibition match, and the two trainers fighting would be…

"Oh man, this rocks!" Cross shouted, pumping his fist.

Minuano gave him a quizzical look, and Cross showed him the ticket, pointing to the names. The Lycanroc grunted approvingly.

"You know what I'm takin' about, boy! This is gonna be epic!"

Suddenly, the Lycanroc growled hatefully, ears flicking back. Cross looked where his wolf Pokémon indicated just as four Mightyena rush out of the forest and spread out in an aggressive formation. For a moment, Cross thought they might be wild, but then he noticed they each had on beeping tracking collars. Sure enough, five humans followed after them, four of which seemed pretty generic. However, the fifth one, a teenage girl with long red hair and a bad attitude, was clearly in-charge. Aside from the authoritative way she stood out among the rabble, the girl had also shoved two of the others out of the way and marched to the front, with the others flanking her. The group's Mightyena growled at Minuano, who returned the growl, unintimidated.

"Whatta you want?" Cross asked, doing his best to sound nonchalant and unimpressed.

The girl scoffed, unimpressed with his postering. She had red hair down to her shoulder blades, which she kept in place with a black cap. She might have been fairly pretty, if it weren't for the disapproving glower that seemed stuck on her face. "None of your f&*king business!" she snapped. Then she noticed what had happened to the Obstagoon and Grimmsnarl that had been hunting the Houndoom. "What the hell?! What did ya do to my Pokémon!?"

The pair laid together in a mangled heap. Minuano hadn't done any permanent damage, but neither one be much good for anything other than lying in bed for at least a week.

Cross scoffed. "They attacked my dog, so they got what was coming to 'em. I should be asking what the hell they were doing!"

The girl grimaced. She seemed to be eyeing Cross appraisingly, wondering just how tough he was. Her eye fell to her mangled 'mons, and she thought better of it.

"Sorry about that- those two idiots have been completely out of control ever since they evolved," she said, flashing an insincere smile. "It's gotten to the point where I've had to keep 'em both locked up, since they always cause trouble if they're loose.

"Uh-huh. And do you always have four assistants with Pokémon and tech around to help ya search for them?" Cross asked, looking from the girl's companions to the Mightyena team with homing collars.

"Uh, we're good friends-!" one of them began, but the girl cut him off.

"We're part of a research project on Pokémon evolution," she explained quickly. "The details are classified, but these guys are basically the project's security forces."

"Uh-huh," Cross said, still not convinced. An idea struck him. "…if you really are what you say you are, what are you going to do about my Pokémon?" He motioned to the injured Houndoom, which was sleeping restlessly on a blanket Cross had provided. Cross pointed to his bandaged muzzle.

"What about it?" the girl asked bluntly.

"Your out-of-control 'mons tried to kill him, that's what! You're lucky I haven't called the cops!" Cross shouted. Then he got an evil grin on his face. "You know what? That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Why don't we get the cops involved? Let's see if your 'research project' stays 'classified'. How's that sound?"

"F*&K You, you punk-posing Sonofabitch! Who do you think you are, trying to blackmail me?" the girl screamed, hand going to her belt…which was empty of Pokéballs.

Cross's wasn't, however. Quick as a flash, he called out three Pokémon, with an Incineroar at the front. The Mightyena darted forward, closing in to form a barrier between the girl and Cross. But the Incineroar just growled; the sound sent a shiver down the girl's back and sent the Mightyena backing away, though they maintained formation.

"Let's not do anything rash," one of her associates said, holding up a hand. But Cross noticed his other hand was resting on a ball at his belt.

Then something odd happened: a small flash of pink flew off in the sky above them. The flash had been so small and quick that Cross wasn't sure he'd even seen it, but then he saw the girl had reacted too, staggering back and looking in the direction the flash of pink came from. Whatever the flash was, she had gotten a better look at it from where she was standing.

And then the girl's demeanor suddenly changed, losing the scorn and hostility that characterized her earlier.

"Look, I'm sorry for blowing up earlier. You were right," she said quickly, turning to one of her cronies. She smacked him and motioned, muttering quickly, and a second later, he'd handed her a tote bag he'd been carrying. She routed through it very quickly and pulled out a checkbook and pen. "Look, how about I just give you something for your trouble, and we all go our ways? No need to get the cops involved, right?" She looked up at Cross, batting her long eyelashes, and Cross realized the girl was trying to be flirty…though she clearly needed practice.

One of others started protesting, but the girl silenced him by punching him in the face.

Cross cocked an eyebrow. "…suddenly in a hurry, ain't ya?" he asked, wondering what exactly that flash of pink had been.

"…yes," the girl admitted bluntly. She quickly wrote out a check, ripped it out, and walked over to Cross, not minding his Pokémon one bit as she handed it to him. "But does it matter?"

Cross did a double take when he saw how much the check had been made out for. He looked at the check's signature. Tayuya Hokumon. The check itself bore the legend of the White Serpent Corporation, one of the largest scientific research groups in Konoha. He looked up at her.

"Tayuya, eh?" he asked.

"We good?" Tayuya asked, all business.

Cross considered it for a moment, then nodded, putting the check in his vest.

"Yeah, we good."

"Thanks. Sorry for all the trouble," Tayuya said, recalling her Obstagoon and Grimmsnarl. She turned around and snapped her fingers at her lackies. "Come on, you stupid bastards, let's get going! Daylight's burning!"

Cross's Lycanroc moved to follow them, but Cross held him back, shaking his head.

"Leave 'em. It's not important." He turned his attention to the Houndoom. "Besides, we gotta get this tough guy to a center. The sooner he's better, the sooner we can give him a proper introduction to our team."

At this, Cross's Incineroar roared with approval, spitting out a steam of fire into the air.

Cross laughed, pulling out a Dusk ball.

-0o0o0-

…Later…

-0o0o0-

It was dark now. That wasn't a problem for Tayuya's crew, since one of them had a Watchog with Illuminate. After encountering Cross, Tayuya had her team relax for a few hours. They weren't in a hurry anymore. She'd seen the target just before it got away, so she knew they'd been too late. But more than that, Tayuya had seem something very important: after flying up in the air, the target Teleported away. That could mean only one thing…

Her underlings' Mightyena growled excitedly. They were getting close.

Sure enough, soon Tayuya and the others were standing in front of an enormous thorn-bramble. One Mightyena had found the buried entrance and started pawing and digging at it, with his packmates soon joining in.

"Don't bother," Tayuya said, calling out her Shifry. "Cut it open, and be careful not to mess up the inside!"

When it materialized, her Shifry was still showing signs of its earlier fight, with most of its white mane singed off. Still, it obeyed, swiftly cutting a human-sized entrance in the bush. As Tayuya expected, the inside was hollow. She smiled, took out a flashlight, and stepped inside, careful to watch her step. One of her cronies started to follow her but she rebuked him sharply. "Don't, you idiot! You'll step in something!"

Once the grunt had pulled back and swiftly apologized, Tayuya continued examining the area. Something caught her attention enough that she knelt down, put gloves on both hands, and took out a forensic kit. The rest of the team could see she had a pleased look on her face. They were honestly not sure if that was good or bad.

"Yes!" she whispered to herself, scooping up a bit of the dirt from the earth in a sanitized vial and putting it away. She looked up, now finally taking notice of her crew. "You, call HQ and have them send in a forensics team," Tayuya said, pointing at one of them at random. 'The rest of you: secure the area. I don't want anyone touching that bush until the lab guys get a good look at it; person, Pokémon, whatever. Keep it away from there. Got it?"

Her men scrambled to obey, not bothering even to nod their heads in agreement. Out of all of Team Snake's Elites, Tayuya had the worst temper. Grunts had to pull straws to see who was assigned to assist her. They all knew how volatile she could be.

Having given her orders, Tayuya pulled out her cellphone and hit the speed dial.

Someone answered. Despite the late hour, he sounded awake and aware. Likely because he'd been waiting for this call.

"It's Tayuya," she said bluntly. "…no, we didn't capture the target…hey, screw you too, you little shit. If its so easy, why don't you crawl out of your lab and do it yourself?! Look, Four-eyes, I didn't call you to be lectured…I didn't ask if you liked my attitude. That's why I have it in the first place, you stupid nerd…" She sighed. "…listen, we met with a snag. Some idiot trainer and his Houndoom got involved…no, I'm sure he doesn't know anything about the target...He wasn't acting like he did, for starters. Trust me, a woman could tell…If any trainer had caught the target, they'd be totally obvious. Think about it; you're supposed to be good at that…Anyway, he didn't know anything. He might have suspected something, but he didn't know. He was only interested in how my Pokémon hurt his stupid dog...Don't worry, I paid him off…Yeah, don't worry, I had a scanner in my pocket. I snagged his Trainer's ID from his Pokénav. Plus, you could always just trace whatever account he puts that check into…No, this is not why I called, you idiot. I got some great news! The target might have gotten way, but we found its nest! Congratulations, Kabuto. You were right: Mew gave birth today."