Author's note: Here I am with the next chapter! A bit later than I intended, but hey, it's still within the deadline I set up for myself!

Thanks to the following reviewers: leighd1314; swordsmanwielder; PinkiePieParty122894; Iraheta 127; Weebio: Pen-Woman; Kalos; JaiJayce; Guest (Naruto thought that without a Starter, he would not be able to go onto a journey. It wasn't until later that he realised that technically the rules never stated that his first Pokémon had to be a Starter. It was just tradition to begin with one)

Warnings: Egg hatching; some suspense

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto owns it. I also don't own Pokémon, that belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and The Pokémon Company. The Pokédex entry was taken over from the ones mentioned on Bulbapedia and don't belong to me either.

I hope you'll like this part!

Chapter 13

Vaporeon uttered a squeak in surprise; his tail shooting straight up in the air as more and more cracks raced through the eggshell like a spiderweb being spun rapidly. Something started wriggling inside the egg and Naruto hastily removed his scarf, putting both it and the egg onto the floor.

The light pouring through the cracks turned harsher and brighter to the point where he had to shield his eyes from it, worrying it might actually be strong enough to burn his retinas. One final cracking noise and then slowly, the light died out, turning the gym to its regular dimness once more.

Cautiously Naruto lowered his arms and looked down.

Red eyes gazed straight back at him.

The Pokémon in front of him was small and blue with its torso and legs completely black. Its tail was as blue as the rest of his body, but it was in possession of a yellow collar and it had curious white rounded bumps on the back of its forepaws. Its face while canine like, had a black marking around its eyes and nose as if it wore a mask. It had two black appendages hanging down from its head, which twitched slightly as if wanting to rise up in the air. It sat on its butt, but as Naruto kept staring, the blue Pokémon rose up on its wobbly feet, standing on its toes instead of flat on its feet.

"A Riolu?" Kurenai said surprised. "My, you don't see those every day! Where did you find its egg?"

"It was given to me," Naruto muttered and retrieved his Pokédex from his bag. A Riolu? He had never seen a Pokémon like this before!

'Riolu. The Fighting Type. Though infantile in appearance, it has the mysterious ability to read the minds of humans. The pure of heart are met with Riolu's approval, while those of ill nature earn only its loathing. Its body is lithe yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night.'

"Wow, quite the powerful Pokémon you are," Naruto said in wonder. "I wonder where you came from."

"Most likely the mountains," Kurenai surmised. "They say Lucario often retreat in the mountains to train and can't be found if they don't want to see anyone, so it's likely Riolu came from such a place. You've got an interesting new addition to your team, I must say."

Vaporeon carefully came forwards; his nose twitching as he sniffed in Riolu's direction. Riolu regarded him warily in return; the appendages on its head twitching faintly again.

Vaporeon mewled questioningly. New teammate?

"Looks like it," Naruto answered and slowly rose up, being careful not to startle Riolu. "I think it's best if we visit the Pokécentre first before we celebrate our win and get to know Riolu better."

His team could use some healing anyways and Mimikyu needed extra cloth to repair his costume. After everyone would be in top shape again, they could go celebrate their newest victory and the rest of the team could meet Riolu.

Vaporeon chirped in agreement and allowed his Pokéball to call him back. Riolu considered the red beam with suspicious eyes as if it was a monster about to eat it.

"How about I carry you to the Pokécentre?" Naruto suggested, figuring it was best to give Riolu a bit more time to get used to its new surroundings before he would use a Pokéball. He took his scarf, wrapped it up and put it back in his bag. "The streets are rather busy and I don't want people to accidentally walk into you."

People should normally be careful considering Pokémon weren't an uncommon sight even in towns, but it did happen occasionally that a Pokémon would be stepped on.

Riolu easily reached out its arms, allowing Naruto to pick it up. Riolu was definitely heavier than Mimikyu was, but that wasn't exactly difficult considering Mimikyu was partly a Ghost type. Riolu felt a little bit lighter than Vaporeon did, but not by much, so Naruto was secretly a tad glad that the Pokécentre wasn't that far away. His arms still ached with the memory of having carried Vaporeon all the way to a Pokécentre back then.

"Don't forget your badge," Kurenai chuckled and pressed the Flame badge into his palm when he awkwardly held open his hand for it. "Good luck with the rest of the Gyms, though with such a team, I'd say you don't have to worry too much."

"Ah, thanks," he grinned and after a quick nod, he turned towards the door she pointed out at him.

It was on his right, blending in partly with the rest of the wall. Walking through it led him straight into a small corridor that brought him straight back into the entrance hall. That made sense. It would be pointless to send him back through the previous rooms.

Nurse Joy was more than happy to take care of his Pokémon quickly while he sat down on the couch in the corner, Riolu sitting next to him, swinging its legs.

"You a boy or a girl?" Naruto questioned curiously as he started riffling through his bag, hoping he still had enough thread and cloth left for Mimikyu to take care of himself.

"Riolu." Boy.

"All right, so here's the plan, Riolu," Naruto grinned, placing the thread, the package of needles and the yellow cloth on top before closing his bag. "Once the others are back, I'll buy us a treat to share because we won at the Gym, we go somewhere nice and quiet and then you can meet everyone! You already met Vaporeon for a bit, of course, back at the Gym, but there's also Mimikyu, Vulpix and Pidgeotto! I'm sure you'll get along with each other just fine!" He beamed.

Riolu looked thoughtfully. "Riolu?" Think so?

"I know so," Naruto said confidently. "The others are all different types, but they all get along splendidly. I'm certain that's going to be the case for you too. Tomorrow you can even join the training if you want!"

"Riolu, Riolu!" Sounds fun! Riolu's eyes lit up with brimming excitement.

"You don't often see Riolu around here."

The unexpected remark had Naruto turning away from Riolu. A young man with fair skin and straight, dark blue hair with long bangs covering his right eye stood near him. He was dressed in a grey sweater and dark brown trousers; a long open coat revealing a row of Pokéballs at his belt. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat and had his head slightly tilted down; his gaze fixated on Riolu.

Riolu for his part regarded the man carefully before shuffling closer to Naruto, bracing one paw on Naruto's thigh.

"No, they tend to live more near mountains, right?" Naruto said, wondering if people were going to keep remarking on Riolu's presence. Surely he couldn't be the only one to have a Riolu?

"Right, you've been together for long?" the man questioned. He would flicker his eyes over to Naruto for a bit before he would focus on Riolu again.

"Hm, a little while if you count me carrying around his egg," Naruto smiled, but he couldn't help but eye the man carefully.

There was something about the way he stood and the way he looked at Riolu that put him on edge. Riolu didn't appear at ease either; the appendages at his head twitching rapidly now.

"You know, I've got a boss who does a lot of research regarding Pokémon that are harder to find than others," the man said out of the blue. "We're not talking about Legendary or Mythological ones, but you know, the ones that tend not to mingle often with us humans, like Riolu and Lucario. He tries to research what makes them so different from all the other Pokémon who do show up near humans a lot."

"That's nice?" Naruto had no idea why the guy was bringing up his boss' research. Good for the man, but Naruto wasn't particularly interested in it. Some Pokémon were just more solitary than others; what was there to research about?

"Hm, he's been looking for Pokémon like that to examine, so what do you say? How much for your Riolu?" the man inquired casually.

"Excuse me?" Naruto could only stare at him, wondering if he had misheard him.

Nope, he hadn't.

"How much for your Riolu? The boss can pay, he's not exactly poor," the man smirked.

"Riolu isn't for sale," Naruto said sharply and frowned.

"Ah come on, name your price. I guarantee you, the boss will write the cheque."

"I'm not in the habit of selling Pokémon," Naruto said curtly. "I'm afraid your boss will have to find another way to come into contact with Riolu."

"You're sure about that?"

"Very sure," Naruto said. Feeling quite creeped out by now, he grabbed Riolu and put him on his hip before making his way around the man, keeping a certain distance between them. "I think my other Pokémon are ready."

He marched away before the other man could open his mouth again, but the whole way up to the counter he was very much aware of the piercing look aimed at the back of his head. He resisted the urge to hunch his shoulders and speed walked to the counter, where Nurse Joy was typing something on the computer.

"Riolu." Creepy. Riolu was looking over Naruto's shoulder; a low threatening rumble making his chest vibrate.

"Very creepy," Naruto agreed and leant against the counter, mustering up a smile when Nurse Joy looked up. "Hello, are my Pokémon ready?"

She smiled and rose up from her chair, stroking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "They should be! I'll go check on them right now."

In the reflection of the screen on the wall Naruto watched the weird guy walk out of the Pokécentre; his gait leisurely as if he hadn't just offered to buy a Pokémon.

What was wrong with some people?

Before he left the Pokécentre he made sure to put Riolu in a Pokéball. He'd rather not have even more people gaping at the sight of Riolu, or even worse, try to convince him to sell him. He was on guard when he stepped onto the street again, but after carefully looking around, he couldn't spot the weird dude anywhere. He waited a couple of minutes, carefully keeping track of everyone who passed by him, but when he couldn't spot any sign of a long coat or long hair, he breathed out and turned to his left.

The guy had thankfully left, but Naruto thought it was probably for the best if he didn't linger in the city. He would buy the treats he'd promised and they would eat it at the local park where Mimikyu could repair his costume. Then they would leave again. They could spend the night elsewhere, no problem. It was getting closer to that time of the year when a tent might no longer hold up for an entire night, but it should still be doable for now.

His team was first way too busy enjoyed their pancakes and ice cream to notice the new addition, but as soon as the last drops of melted ice cream had been licked up, the others realised they were suddenly one member richer.

Vaporeon, of course, had met Riolu before and simply laid down, resting his head on his paws as he studied the baby Pokémon. Pidgeotto hovered near Naruto's shoulder, eyeing the newcomer curiously. Vulpix was already shuffling closer, sniffing the air. Mimikyu, on the other hand, was plastered against Naruto's side; two shadowy tendrils wrapped around Naruto's thigh as Mimikyu stared warily at Riolu. In return Riolu regarded him suspiciously as well, taking in the newly mended costume and the shadowy mass sometimes peeking out visibly from underneath the edge of the costume.

"Everyone, we've got a new team member as of today!" Naruto announced cheerfully and clapped his hands together. "Riolu hatched out of his egg today! Riolu, meet Vaporeon, Mimikyu, Vulpix and Pidgeotto. I hope we can all be friends."

"Vulpix?" In egg?

"Yeah, he was in the egg I carried around," Naruto grinned. "I guess the excitement of the Gym battle must have provided enough energy for Riolu to hatch. What do you all think?"

"Mimi, Mimikyu." Can beat him easily.

That made Riolu raise his hackles; his appendages flying straight up. "Riolu, Riolu, Riolu!" No, you can't! I'm going to be really strong!

"Mimikyu, that wasn't appropriate to say," Naruto chided him gently, bopping him softly on his fake head. "Riolu is still a baby, he needs to train like the rest of you. I'm sure he'll catch up to you in no time."

"Pidgeotto, Pidgeotto, Pidgeotto?" Why the weird appendages?

The appendages in question lowered themselves and Riolu turned to face Pidgeotto. "Riolu, Riolu. Riolu." To know how others feel.

"Huh, that's interesting," Naruto muttered to himself. Were other Pokémon capable of doing that or could only Riolu feel what others felt? Was that the reason why Riolu and in extension Lucario preferred to remain in the mountains instead? To lessen the chance of becoming overwhelmed?

"Vulpix!" Sounds neat!

"Riolu!" Riolu puffed out his chest. I know!

Naruto covered a laugh just in time. Well, except for Vaporeon who was still working on it, he supposed none of his Pokémon suffered a lack of confidence. Nothing wrong with that, of course.

"All right, we'll take the rest of the day off. Let's leave the city behind and see how far we can get before evening falls, hm?"

The next town turned out not to be that far away from the city. The road out of the city led him past a couple of acres where farmers were tending to the last crops of the years with the help of some Machoke and even an Onix. He crossed a bridge over a small stream where several Magikarp were splashing about, before he spotted the first roofs of the new town.

The town was quite idyllic looking with its small houses and their red roofs dotted all across the place. There was no Gym here, not even a Pokécentre. There was a pharmacist if one was in need of medicine for Pokémon and a small grocery store, but the rest of the town was made up out of small houses and farm fields.

As he gathered some stuff at the grocery store for their dinner, the elderly man behind the counter squinted at him. "You a Trainer, boy?"

"Yes, I am, sir," Naruto confirmed. "Do you know a place around town where I can spend the night?"

That made the man snort as he started punching in numbers on the register. "Bah, there is a motel down the street, but you might as well throw your money in the wind," he grumbled. "Way too expensive, those prices belong to one of those fancy hotels in the big cities!"

Naruto deflated slightly. "That expensive?"

"Perhaps it's the simple farmer's side of me, but it wouldn't call eight thousand a night cheap," the man answered derisively. "Don't know why that buffoon thinks he can make big business with those ridiculous prices around here. You have more luck pulling a tooth from a Gyarados!"

Eight thousand? Naruto's shoulders slumped and he barely covered a groan in defeat. There was no way he could justify spending eight thousand for one night at a motel. He needed that money for food and Potions. Spending it all on one motel room was just ridiculous. He wouldn't even have considered sleeping at the motel if he hadn't noticed the early signs of an ugly storm brewing. He had hoped to spend the night inside just to be on the safe side, but that price was just way over the top.

Oh, but wait!

"I came across a house near the fields at the southern side when I walked here," Naruto started, bagging his food.

To call it a house was perhaps being rather generous, as it appeared more like a dilapidated shack. It was even smaller than the houses in the main street here and ivy had taken over the complete left side of the building, swallowing up the window upstairs. The roof showed signs of decay, with some of the shingles having fallen down, revealing small gaps. It appeared completely desolated and if that was the case then Naruto might have found a nice sleeping spot after all!

Sure, it would most likely be quite dusty and it probably wasn't suitable for a long stay, but he thought it was doable enough for at least a couple of nights.

"The one with the ivy climbing up the wall? Does it belong to someone or can I spend the night there?" Naruto continued hopefully.

For some reason, the man's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't belong to anybody anymore, no," he said curtly. "But you're best off staying away from that place, kid."

"Why?"

"Because that place is haunted," the elderly man stated bluntly; his moustache trilling a bit as he breathed out harshly.

"Haunted? By whom? A Gengar?" Naruto asked perplexed. "Or another Ghost Pokémon?"

Ghost Pokémon tended to be attracted to lone buildings. Perhaps he could make some sort of deal with whoever was there and explain he wouldn't bother them for long? There had been some Ghost Pokémon roaming around his home and while they had been rather fond of pulling pranks – Gengar especially – they had always been rather respectful, never messing with Naruto too much.

"Bah, if only! A Ghost Pokémon would just content themselves with stupid pranks," the man muttered; the wrinkles on his forehead increasing when he furrowed his bushy eyebrows. "No, whatever it is, it's rather violent and testy, attacking whoever gets near. People say it stinks incredibly as well, so if I were you, boy, I'd stay far away from that place and set up your camp somewhere near the other houses."

"All right, thanks."

After paying, Naruto walked out of the store, turning his head towards the lone building in the distance. He should heed the shopkeeper's advice. If it was indeed so violent, it wouldn't be a good idea to approach. Could it be an angry Muk? That might explain the stench, but did those even appear around these parts?

Perhaps he should just try his luck with one of the villagers, asking them if he could put up his tent against their house as a way to create shelter against the storm. Not knowing from which direction the storm would hit the hardest would make it quite tricky to figure out where exactly to install his tent, though. That was why he had figured he could spend the night in the empty building instead.

He stood there, pondering his dilemma for a little while longer before he started walking, retracing his steps in the direction of the old building.

"Just a quick check," he muttered to himself, tightening his grip around the bag's ears.

He would just peek around quickly, try to see if he could spot the Pokémon and perhaps try to strike a deal with them. The shopkeeper had said the Pokémon was violent, but was it violent all the time or only when it felt threatened? If Naruto would just remain calm and careful, he might have a shot, no?

The sun had long since disappeared behind the growing mass of clouds and by now, none of the farmers were still working on the fields; everyone having returned home by now. The wind was picking up; a sign that the storm was approaching.

He paused in front of the shack, sniffing the air carefully. He couldn't immediately detect any foul stench, so did that mean it couldn't be a Muk then? It couldn't be a Garbodor either then. Their smell was definitely difficult to hide.

After hesitating for a moment, he steeled himself and knocked on the door, which swung open underneath his third knock, making him jump in surprise. Cautiously, he peeked his head through the gap, ready to retreat the second he noticed anything amiss.

"Hello?" he called out; his voice echoing through the house. The hall was completely empty and so did the room on the left appear from what he could see. "Is somebody here? I don't mean to bother you, but there's a storm coming and I wanted to spend the night here with my Pokémon. Is that okay with you?"

Nothing but silence greeted him and he furrowed his eyebrows, worrying his lip between his teeth. Was there even a Pokémon present? For all he knew, the shopkeeper could have just been yanking his chains and could have told him the story simply to scare him. The house was clearly abandoned, there was no doubt about that, with the miserable state it was in, but that didn't automatically mean an angry Pokémon had made it its dwelling.

"I'm coming in now, all right? If you don't want me here, please let me know," he called out again, silently hoping that letting him know wouldn't result in him getting attacked. That would really suck.

He waited a couple of seconds but when silence still reigned, he pushed the door open further and slowly walked inside, covering his nose when dust was stirred up, floating around him. He looked around him, noting the gap in the middle of the staircase and the missing wooden planks at the top, preventing him from going upstairs unless he wanted to take a tumble straight into the basement. There were three rooms on the ground floor; two on his left, one on his right with the right one being in front of the staircase. The room on his right was completely empty, save for a forgotten carpet that looked oddly scorched.

"I'm going into the right room, okay?" Cautiously he entered the room, keeping his ears pricked.

He was going to need some light here, if only to see what he was doing when he would put up his tent and prepare their dinner, but the room seemed doable when you ignored the dust coating the floor. The walls at least looked stable enough to protect them against the –

Something moved in the corner of his eye.

Heart thudding quicker, aware of one of his Pokéballs shifting around against him, Naruto slowly turned around, peering into the dimness of the house.

There was a form in the room opposite to the one he was standing in now. The form wasn't very well-defined, except for how it appeared rather big and stood somewhat slouched. Naruto couldn't see its eyes, but the heavy weight of its stare made it clear that the Pokémon, whoever it was, was looking straight at him. Something appeared to be faintly glowing around the neck area – or what Naruto presumed to be the neck area at least – but that didn't really give him any clues as to which Pokémon it could be. He could only say for certain that it seemed to be walking on two legs and that his posture was slouched.

For what felt like hours but was most likely only a couple of minutes they stood frozen in their respective rooms, awaiting what the other one would do. A faint smell started to penetrate the air then, something sickly sweet and almost cloying, carrying the hint of danger with it.

Naruto would have to act fast.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," he said and slowly put his shopping bag and his backpack on the floor, aware of the way the gaze moved with him. "I've got some food for you if you'd like. We won't bother you for long; we're just here to wait out the storm. We'll stay in this room and won't come closer to you, I promise."

He did his best to unzip his bag in a measured pace, worrying that move considered too fast would end with him getting attacked. The scent was still lingering in the air, but it wasn't growing stronger at least; a small mercy for now. He searched through his bag until he found the box with Berries and removed the lid from it.

"I've got some Berries if you like," he offered, hoping his voice wasn't wavering as badly as he thought it sounded. "Is it okay if I bring them to you?"

The stench increased a notch.

"I can leave them in the hallway instead!" Naruto hastily corrected himself. "Would that be okay?"

For a long time nothing happened as he knelt awkwardly in front of his bag. A second Pokéball was starting to twitch, signalling his Pokémon were trying to get out and react to the threat present. He subtly pressed his arm against them, however, willing them to stay put. The last thing they needed now was for a brawl to break out when he had no idea who their opponent was.

His next inhale made him realise that the stench was dissipating and he cautiously peered into the darkness of the other room. The form was still there, still slouched, but it didn't seem ready to attack him and Naruto took that as a cue to get up slowly.

"I'm going to bring the Berries into the hallway now, okay?" he called out, muttering a quick "Please don't attack me," underneath his breath.

He used the lid of the box as a makeshift plate to prevent the Berries from being coated with dust and placed them right in the middle of the hallway. He backed off then, walking backwards into the room.

"So, erm, I'm going to set up my tent now, all right? I promise I'll keep my Pokémon with me, so they won't bother you," he said and after an indecisive moment, he took a deep breath, turned his back towards the door and unearthed his tent from his bag in order to set it up in the middle of the room.

The heavy gaze lingered on him as he set up his tent and started warming up dinner, cautioning his Pokémon not to leave the room under any circumstances. All of them kept glancing at the other room, indicating that they were very much aware of the mysterious Pokémon occupying it, but thankfully they made no move to investigate, even as Mimikyu's shadowy appendages kept waving through the air agitatedly. They all stuck very closely to Naruto, listening as the storm finally got unleashed, sending a torrent of rain down and making the wind howl loudly, beating into the walls.

It took a long time before Naruto could no longer feel eyes staring at him.

AN2: What's a bit of creepiness, hm? Any guesses who the mysterious Pokémon might be?

Fun question: what is your ultimate favourite starter line? Mine is the Charmander one. Don't care if that makes me basic, Charizard is the best. Treecko's is an amazing second one.

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; 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.