Author's note: Many, many, many apologies for being so damn late with this :/ I don't even know how the hell I managed to not update this one in two months, I'm truly sorry. My entire summer has been shit when it comes to writing (also when it comes to other things, but let's not talk about that). I completely understand if I no longer have readers for this, but on the off chance that I still have some: here is FINALLY the next chapter.

Again I'm so sorry for taking so long with this. All I can do is try my hardest to update quicker next time.

Thanks to the following reviewers: PinkiePieParty122894; Mkayemolina; Elsyra; rntobi; Nellana; JaiJayce; EmperayaDunya; babyvfan; SarahNThatcher

Warnings: Hm, a hint of mystery perhaps?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it. I also don't own Pokémon, that belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and The Pokémon Company.

I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 7

To celebrate their first victory, Naruto had stopped by the Pokémart to buy some special ingredients. There were markets and individual merchants offering more special food items, but neither one of them were present in this town, so he selected the most delicious food he could find in the Pokémart. He bought more berries as well, because the woods hadn't offered that much variety yet. Most likely they would encounter more berries the further they travelled.

"You were both so amazing!" Naruto gushed as he divided the sweet curry he'd just made, topped with apple slices and cream. There was also a small chocolate cake waiting to be devoured afterwards. Their first win deserved to be celebrated with sweetness!

"Mimi!" Mimikyu watched with glistening eyes how his bowl was filled, almost trembling on the spot.

Vulpix was sitting more controlled, but her eyes were nevertheless gleaming as well, awaiting the moment that she could start eating. Her tails were swishing gently back and forth, flattening the grass.

"I'm so proud of you!" Naruto carefully placed their bowls in front of them, eager to start on his own plate. "I knew you two could do it, but it was still so amazing to watch!"

His legs had actually been trembling slightly by the time Mimikyu had launched his final attack. They said that the first gym was always the easiest, but even so, a part of him had been nervous; not wanting to fail during his first try already. His badge was pinned to the inside of his bag so he definitely wouldn't lose it somewhere. His bag was open at the moment, the badge glistening in the light.

"I was thinking that for today we can just relax, because you've been training really hard and we had the gym battle today," Naruto mused aloud, taking another bite of his curry. "Rest is important after all. Starting tomorrow we should start thinking about who else we want to join our team."

"Vulpix." Doesn't matter.

He smiled at her flippant tone. "I guess so, but the next gym is apparently specialised in the Water type."

Yamato had informed him of that fact, right before he had left the gym. The second gym was in the next town to the west and they only used Water Pokémon. That one might prove to be more difficult already, because neither Vulpix nor Mimikyu really had the type advantage then. Especially Vulpix would be in a very vulnerable position. Naruto frowned, thinking about that. With Vulpix extremely vulnerable against water, he couldn't really let her battle then, because the risk of her getting severely hurt was just too big.

But he could hardly let Mimikyu fight all the Pokémon on his own either. He had no idea yet how many Pokémon this gym leader would have, but fighting two or three or perhaps even four straight after each other might prove to be too exhausting for Mimikyu.

"Mimi, Mimikyu," Mimikyu stated confidently. We'll be fine.

"Probably, though it wouldn't hurt to have more members on our team," Naruto said, tapping his spoon against his lips. "If only because I don't want to risk exhausting the two of you too much if you had to fight them all by yourselves."

Suddenly a thundering noise, as if a herd of Rhyhorn were running, startled them and Naruto shouted in surprise when a Snorlax rushed straight out of the trees, aiming right for them. Naruto was just in time to snatch his bag and grab Mimikyu before he and Vulpix rushed to the right to escape from the giant Pokémon. Snorlax didn't seem interested in them, however, launching himself at the remainders of their curry while Naruto stood there, staring with his mouth open.

He knew Snorlax could be quite fast – their large form belying just how fast they could be – when motivated by food, but he'd never seen one move that fast! He and Vulpix barely had had the time to jump to the side!

Next to him Vulpix' fur stood straight up, her back arched as she growled in anger, while Mimikyu's shadowy tendrils threateningly rose up, ready to strike the second he was allowed.

"No, no, don't move," Naruto murmured, tightening his grip carefully around Mimikyu, eyeing the eating Snorlax warily. "I'd rather not be flattened by that guy."

Because while Snorlax tended to be rather laidback in general, some might even say lazy, if they thought food would be taken away from them … He shuddered. Yeah, no, he'd rather not find out just how angry Snorlax could become.

But that was their food, though … Where had he even come from? Naruto didn't think Snorlax could be found around these parts. They tended to be closer to the bigger cities; easier to find food there.

"Pikachu!"

Naruto could only stare as a Pikachu came running through the bushes, little sparks of electricity shooting out of his red cheeks; his black eyes narrowed as he ran straight towards Snorlax.

"Erm, I don't think that's a good idea!" Naruto cautioned, but Pikachu didn't listen.

He simply jumped on top of Snorlax and stamped down on his head, while Naruto gaped in shock. "Pikachu! Pika, Pika, Pi!"

Snorlax wasn't impressed by the scolding and simply continued scarfing down what remained of the curry, reaching for the pan next. Before he could stick his paw into that one, however, a low male voice rang out.

"I leave you out of your Pokéballs for just a minute and this is what happens? This is exactly the reason why I don't let you guys out unless we're staying the night somewhere."

A young man – he couldn't be much older than Naruto unless he had really good genes – stepped out of the trees. He wore a white and red hat, blue jeans, a red jacket with short black sleeves and he carried a yellow backpack. Next to him Espeon marched in time with his steps and to Naruto's immense surprise, a Venusaur, a Charizard and a Blastoise followed the trainer swiftly; the large beings fanning out to the sides once they were out of the woods.

At hearing his trainer's voice, Snorlax instantly pulled away from the pan; a guilty look crossing his face while Charizard snorted derisively, a plume of smoke briefly escaping his nostrils. Pikachu gave one last stamp for good measure it seemed before he jumped down and ran straight into the trainer's arms.

The man petted Pikachu for a moment before his dark eyes found Naruto's and a wry smile briefly flashed across his face. "I'm sorry for what Snorlax did. He was gone before I even realised what had happened. I should have been more careful."

"Oh, erm, not your fault," Naruto replied awkwardly, relaxing his hold on Mimikyu now that he was certain the Snorlax wasn't wild. "I mean, Snorlax loves food and they've got a pretty good nose for it."

"I'll say," the man snorted and sighed. "I can reimburse you for the food."

"No, don't worry. We were almost done anyways." That and he felt a bit uncomfortable accepting money from a stranger for this. It was just the remainders of some food; not like their entire meal had been ruined and Snorlax were after all known for being food lovers.

The man's gaze flickered between Vulpix and Mimikyu; who were both regarding him warily. Vulpix' back was still arched and Mimikyu's shadowy appendages had yet to disappear, though his gaze occasionally flitted towards the Pikachu sitting on top of the man's hat.

"That your team?" the man asked interestedly, taking a step closer.

"Yeah, Mimikyu and Vulpix. We've just started our journey," Naruto explained and couldn't help but stare in awe at the hulking forms of Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise. Snorlax was lumbering towards them, looking properly chastised, even though the man hadn't said anything more to him. "You've got a full team already, huh? Are you from this region?"

The man smiled faintly. "No, I'm not from this region. I'm passing through with my partner. He's doing research."

"Oh, what kind of research?" Maybe they knew Tsunade? Was this partner a professor too?

"Rare Pokémon and where they might appear the most," the man replied. "Legendary ones, mainly."

"That's cool," Naruto said impressed. So far he had never had the fortune to meet a legendary Pokémon and information about them was understandably sparse. It would be incredible if he could ever meet one of them, though. "Are you thinking of joining the Gym challenge here in the meantime?"

"No, I've had my fair share of tournaments and challenges." For some reason the man appeared amused by the question. "I'm content to just travel around with my Pokémon; how far into the challenge are you?"

"Just won our first badge," Naruto smiled proudly and flipped open the lid of his bag, showing off the badge. "I know it's not much yet, but for us this is already an amazing start."

"Don't downplay it, a badge is a badge," the man riposted calmly. "If you don't mind some advice, I would expand your team before tackling the second gym. Having only two is rather risky."

"I know," Naruto admitted and scratched the back of his neck. Both Mimikyu and Pikachu seemed caught in a staring contest now; Mimikyu somewhat tense and Pikachu looking intrigued. "I was just telling my team that we'll have to look for more friends soon. We don't really have the advantage in the next gym," he added begrudgingly.

Next to him Vulpix seemed to have calmed down because she took a couple of steps forwards, sniffing in Espeon's direction. Espeon merely blinked at her but didn't make a move to interact.

"What type has the next gym?"

"Water apparently."

The man nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Mimikyu and Vulpix. "Yes, not the best type for your team at the moment. You're best off trying to find an Electric, a Flying or a Grass Pokémon. Electric would be the best, of course."

"True, though I doubt I'll be able to find one around here," Naruto muttered. Electric Pokémon tended to hang around power plants or any place with a high presence of electricity. He doubted there was such a place around these parts.

Blastoise perked up for some reason, his ears twitching as he turned around.

"There you are, Red, I was wondering where you'd gone off to. One of these days I'm going to tie you down or just have Machamp keep a hold on you. Let's see if you can still sneak out of his hold." A man with orange hair and dark eyes stepped from between the bushes, glaring at the other man. He was dressed in a dark blue jacket and brown trousers; a bag slung across his left shoulder.

"Like ropes will hold me," the man – Red – snorted. "Besides you found me quickly; it's not like you had to search for hours."

"That doesn't matter. Just stay put, damn it," the other man complained before he realised that Naruto was standing there. His eyes then went to the abandoned camp, the empty plates before he looked at Snorlax; a look of comprehension passing across his face. "Let me guess: that glutton Pokémon of yours smelt food?"

Red furrowed his eyebrows, looking chagrined. "I didn't know someone was cooking nearby, okay? I thought it would be nice if they could explore a bit."

"Explore a bit? You mean scare the hell out of the other Pokémon most likely," the man snorted.

"Shut up, Blue, like your Pokémon are all that small," Red huffed and crossed his arms.

"At least I'm not letting them rampage about," Blue smiled finely before he looked at Naruto again. He tilted his head to the left, studying him contemplatively. "Hm, have we met before?"

"Erm, no? I don't think so?" Naruto replied confused. Vulpix was inching closer towards Charizard now, having become intrigued by the burning flame on his tail. "I don't remember ever meeting you, sorry."

"Hm, odd. I could have sworn you look like …" Blue trailed off; his frown deepening for a few seconds before he shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Sorry, must have confused you with someone else. Come on, let's go, Red. We're going to have to fly to another town. The library there is said to have more information."

"Sure." Red shrugged and nodded at Naruto. "Sorry again that Snorlax disturbed you."

"No problem." Naruto shrugged as well, because what else could he do?

Pikachu offered them a cheerful wave, making Mimikyu draw back and Venusaur blinked slowly at them before they all turned around, following the two men back to wherever they had camped out before Snorlax ran away.

Naruto watched them go until he could no longer spot the burning tail of Charizard and sucked at his lower lip before popping it.

Red and Blue … Those names sounded so familiar now that he thought about it. Where had he heard those names before?

He stood there for a moment longer, racking his brain, but the memory refused to come. In the end he gave up and lowered Mimikyu to the ground again; Vulpix wandering back to him.

"Let's see if the chocolate cake survived the attack, all right?"

With no Electricity Pokémon nearby, Naruto decided to focus on trying to either find a Flying type or a Grass type; both of which should be plenty available in the area. They should and they were, but actually catching them proved to be more difficult.

The Grass Pokémon here were a lot shyer apparently than the ones in the forest bordering on the town. His attempt at catching a Tangela ended up with the Pokémon smacking the Pokéball away before darting into the bushes and disappearing from sight. Bellossom and Sunflora literally ran away before Naruto could even call Mimikyu or Vulpix out of their Pokéball and Maractus reacted too foul at the sight of one.

There was a flock of Spearow but thy reacted so violently towards Mimikyu that Naruto instantly decided not to catch one of them. He knew Pokémon tended to become friendlier once they had acclimated to their new team, but he didn't want Mimikyu to have to walk on eggshells either until that had happened. Taillow never came close enough for Naruto to engage them in a battle and a hurt Starly fled before Naruto could try to catch him.

"Man, this isn't easy," Naruto sighed and retrieved his Pokéball after another failed attempt at catching a Taillow.

Mimikyu slumped his shoulders; dejectedly retreating his shadowy arms.

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault," Naruto rushed to reassure him and patted his small back. "I guess Pokémon around these parts just don't want to be part of a team."

He supposed he could just train Vulpix and Mimikyu even more than before their first gym, but he didn't want to tire them out or be a mean, heartless Pokémon trainer like that. Vulpix at least would always have a weakness against Water; that was just her type disadvantage.

"Maybe we should head out further?" Naruto mused aloud, stretching his arms. "We might have more luck closer to the next town. Which reminds me …"

He walked to his bag, which had been placed next to the tent he'd already set up. Dusk was approaching and the dreary looking sky above them promised a bout of rain. Before he'd made another attempt at catching a Pokémon he had set up their camp first, so that they could hide in the tent once it started raining. He had made sure to place his tent against some trees, so that the roof of leaves above it would act as an extra shield against the rain.

Grabbing his Pokédex, he sat down on the ground and crossed his legs, opening the map on the device. "Hm, doesn't look like we're that close to the next town," he muttered, half aware of Mimikyu and Vulpix shuffling closer. He lowered the Pokédex so that they could look at the map as well. "See here?" He pointed at the map.

"That's where we are now and here," he dragged his finger to the right, "this is the town where the second gym is. Looks like it's going to take us another two or three days or so before we'll reach it."

That wasn't taking into account any training they might do, of course, because then it would take even longer to reach the next town.

"I think there might be more fields further down the road," he muttered mostly to himself. The map at least seemed to indicate that it was mainly empty space which could either mean fields or more forest. A small lake was shown as well, midway down the route they would have to take to reach the town. Not that the lake had much significance to him, because he didn't have any sort of rod that he could use to fish up Pokémon. They could relax there, though, if the weather allowed it.

The rumbling of an empty stomach pulled him out of his musings and he blinked bemused, looking up. Vulpix had an almost sheepish look as her stomach rumbled again, a bit quieter this time. Naruto laughed and closed his Pokédex.

"Guess we should eat dinner first before we make plans, huh?"

After dinner, he let Mimikyu and Vulpix play with some small balls he'd taken with him from home. They were nothing too fancy nor had any special effects like being heavier than usual or making any sounds, but the Pokémon he had nursed back to health had liked playing with them. He had figured his own Pokémon might like them too and had packed them in his bag.

When he gathered their plates to wash them off in the nearby creek, Vulpix and Mimikyu started pushing one of the balls back and forth between them, like a mini game of football. Amused, Naruto walked to the creek and squatted down, putting the plates next to him so that he could wash them off one by one. It was starting to become a bit chilly now that they were inching into October; he was looking forward to crawling into the tent where it would be warmer, especially if Vulpix remained out of her Pokéball and next to him.

A rustling sound on the other side of the creek made him look up, curious. For a few seconds nothing happened and he was ready to dismiss the noise, going back to his dishes when the leaves rustled again. He leant forwards, trying to see what was making the noise.

"Hello?" he called out curiously, squinting.

With evening settling in, it was steadily becoming darker, making it more difficult to discern anything in the bushes across from him. For just a second, he caught a flash of big blue eyes, who peered back at him, equally curious.

Right as he opened his mouth, ready to call out to whichever Pokémon was lurking there, a loud, rough screech split the air and he whipped around.

To see a Pidgeotto flying straight at him, claws stretched out, ready to maim.

AN2: Sorry to anyone thinking this is going to be a short story. It probably won't be. Most likely it won't, knowing me. Get out while you still can, I'd say.

Question time! Of all the games, which one has the best rival do you think? Me personally, I like Blue the most. Sure, he's an arrogant prick, but he had the power to back up his smack talk and he always inspired me to train harder (unlike Hop *coughs*)

Next chapter should normally have the second gym and new addition(s) to the team!

Please leave a review behind with your thoughts; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.