Author's note: Look at that, another regular update! So far I'm doing good.

Thanks to the following reviewers: PinkiePieParty122894; swordsmanwielder; leighd1314; Iraheta 127; Pen-Woman; robinnsamual; rntobi; SarahNThatcher

Warnings: Minor suspense; reveal of the mysterious Pokémon

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 this part!

Chapter 14

The storm – and okay, yeah, the unknown Pokémon lurking in the other room as well – made it hard for Naruto to actually catch some sleep. Every time he managed to doze off for a while, the wind would howl louder than before, ripping him out of his light sleep. Eventually he just resigned himself to catching some minor shuteye, curling up around Mimikyu and Vulpix, the only ones who'd elected to remain out of their Pokéball. Riolu had debated for a little while before he'd eventually settled on returning to his ball like the rest of the team.

Neither Vulpix nor Mimikyu seemed able to catch some decent sleep either, but Naruto couldn't tell whether that was because of the storm or because of the Pokémon hiding in the other room. Occasionally Vulpix' or Mimikyu's eyes would flit towards the doorway, narrowing as if they expected the unknown Pokémon to launch a sudden attack.

Truthfully that was something Naruto also worried about. The form hadn't been small by any means and had looked quite threatening hidden within the shadows of the room. He had considered aiming his Pokédex at it, but he wasn't sure whether the Pokédex would be able to properly identify the Pokémon in the dark. There was also the concern that the sight of the Pokédex might set off the Pokémon in a bad way and the last thing Naruto wanted, was to get attacked by it when he had no clue whatsoever who it could be.

Perhaps setting up his tent in a dilapidated shack with a potentially dangerous Pokémon wasn't one of his smartest moments, but so far the mysterious Pokémon hadn't attacked him and staying here beat getting pelted by the storm outside. It also saved him a whole whopping eight thousand a night. Seriously, who on earth would ask that much money for a room?

The storm finally petered out to a light shower by the time dawn broke, allowing Naruto to finally sleep somewhat deeply.

He had no idea how much time had passed since he'd managed to fall asleep, but when he woke up again, eyes heavy and gritty, grey daylight was sneaking through gaps in the walls and the windows. The rain seemed to have let up for now, with only the occasional 'plink', 'plink' sound of drops falling down audible still.

A look out of the smudgy window revealed that a lot of the grass and fields surrounding the shack had turned into a muddy mess, making Naruto grimace. That wasn't going to be very pleasant to walk through. Were his shoes even waterproof? He supposed he would find out soon.

There was some food left over after he and his team finished their breakfast and he considered the plate for a moment. Well, he had already given the mystery Pokémon some berries last night; some breakfast would be a nice gesture for letting them stay the night – and well, not attacking them during it. He was definitely grateful for that part. So after putting away his tent and calling his Pokémon back in their balls, he picked up the plate and cautiously approached the hallway once more.

While daylight was pouring through several cracks and gaps the place had accumulated over the years, the window in the other room must be completely boarded up, because it was still as dark as it had been the previous night. The Pokémon hadn't left, however. His hulking form – not that much shorter than Naruto was, the blond realised uneasily – lurked in the middle of the room. The Pokémon visibly tensed up when Naruto set foot in the hallway, but when he merely lowered the plate onto the ground and took several steps towards the door, the shrouded form relaxed slightly.

"Erm, we got some breakfast left over; figured you might like to eat as well," Naruto said awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you for letting us stay here. It's much appreciated."

He shuffled closer to the door, resting his hand on the doorknob as the Pokémon remained in the room, clearly reluctant to come forwards as long as Naruto was still here. That stance was at least preferrable to the Pokémon storming towards him in fury.

Jerking his thumb towards the door, he jiggled the doorknob and nearly stumbled outside, calling out, "So, erm, yeah, we're going now. Thank you again!"

The ground was, as expected, quite slippery and it took Naruto a painstakingly and embarrassingly long time to carefully trudge across the sodden fields, back onto the main road. Leaving the grassy fields behind didn't really improve his ability to walk, though, as multiple large puddles hid the road from view, forcing him to jump from one side of the road to the next one and back to avoid the biggest ones. This had to have been one of the worst storms they had experienced in years and he was glad he had managed to find shelter underneath an actual roof. His tent wouldn't have survived the onslaught of rain for sure.

The plan had been to leave the small town behind and train in the open fields near a lake that laid not far from the town. He only needed to cross a bridge, in fact, but when he arrived at the wooden structure, the only things left visible were the support rails. The rest of the bridge, the part actually necessary to cross to the other side, was completely submerged under water he discovered to his dismay.

A group of villagers were talking nearby, dressed in long rain coats and wearing rubber boots as they tried to survey the damage.

"Excuse me!" Naruto called out, approaching the woman closest to him.

Her black hair, streaked with the occasional silver strand, was done up in a messy bun and she had faint wrinkles near the corners of her eyes. She had a rather severe looking face, the sternness accentuated by her sharp nose, but when she turned to acknowledge him, her dark brown eyes were friendly.

"Yes?"

"Sorry, but is there another way to cross to the other side?"

Because this bridge was obviously a complete goner. The river, which hadn't been that impressive yesterday when Naruto had briefly walked alongside its border, had seen its water level risen so much there was no way he could risk wading through it over the bridge. The water was churning almost violently still, rushing past so quickly no one in their right mind would dare to cross it in its current state. It could be called a miracle that the entire town hadn't become flooded overnight. As it was, the ground here was incredibly soggy, making them sink deeper into the mud with every step they took.

The woman clucked her tongue and crossed her arms. "No, this bridge is the only way out of the village on this side. You'd have to walk for days on end if you want to find the next bridge."

"Which would be a waste of time and energy as the water level should go down within the next couple of days," an elderly man interrupted, leaning his cane heavily on the raised doorstep of the house behind him. "Wouldn't recommend trying to cross now, the water's too wild. Even if you've got a large Pokémon to carry you, it's too risky. All the Magikarp and Goldeen that were in this river even got whisked away!"

"Ah damn," Naruto sighed; his shoulders slumping in disappointment.

Perhaps if Pidgeotto had already evolved and had been able to practice flying with heavy weights, he could have asked him to carry them across the stream, but alas, that wasn't the case now. Vaporeon wasn't big enough to carry him across his back and besides, the water was too violent for any Water Pokémon to attempt to wade through.

After thanking the small group, Naruto retraced his steps and left the village the way he had entered it, across the small bridge, making his way to the small collection of trees that might be called a miniature forest if one was feeling optimistic. He had hoped to test how far his Pokémon's attacks could reach by setting markers in the wild fields past the village, but that idea would have to wait until the water level had gone down far enough to safely travel across the bridge.

The sky still looked rather dreary and he cast a suspicious glance at it, wondering if he should risk putting up his tent outside tonight or not. What other option did he have, though? The motel was too expensive; there was no way he was wasting that much money on a simple bed! His only other option was the abandoned shack, but was testing the unknown Pokémon's patience by showing up for a second night a good idea?

Most likely not.

He would figure out his predicament later tonight. No point in wasting time worrying about it, when he could spend that time training his Pokémon!

They had just taken another break, getting ready to start training again, when a voice drifted over to them, making them all freeze up instantly.

The voice shouldn't have sounded so familiar, not after just hearing it once, but Naruto didn't think he would forget any time soon that someone had offered to buy his Pokémon. That same man was now nearby and from the sounds of it, not alone this time.

Immediately Naruto crouched down behind a row of thorny bushes, gesturing hurriedly, but quietly for his Pokémon to go down and hide as well. If they were confused about his sudden order, they didn't show it. While Pidgeotto chose to hide high up in the tree – smart -, Mimikyu and Riolu pressed themselves against Naruto's sides, with Vaporeon and Vulpix flattening themselves against the ground on either side of them: Vulpix close to Riolu and Vaporeon covering Mimikyu entirely in his shadow.

Carefully Naruto peeked through the gaps in the bush; his heart thudding quicker. Perhaps it was stupid to be on such high alert after having only spoken to the guy once, but that one time had been enough to leave a rather nasty impression behind and Naruto wasn't in the mood for another confrontation.

"Sakon, you sure the kid isn't already on the other side?" an unknown second man was asking, sounding rather annoyed.

"You have seen the water level of that stream, right?" the man Naruto had spoken with yesterday, Sakon, sneered. The two men halted not far away from where Naruto was hiding. "There's no way he made his way across that; not even a damn Lapras would be able to handle the speed of that water!"

"He could have left before the storm started," the second man shot back irritated. "Where else could he have gone to? That motel is way too expensive for a kid like him!"

"You think I didn't ask somebody whether he'd already left?" Sakon snapped. "They said he should still be somewhere around here, which means we're going to keep searching until we find him and that Riolu!"

Next to Naruto, Riolu tensed up, baring his teeth as the appendages on his head trembled.

"All that work just for one Riolu," the second man grumbled, but then a choking noise filled the air, making Naruto flinch.

"You want to go back to the boss and tell him it's just one Riolu?" Sakon mocked him. "Be my damn guest; I'd love to see how long you'll last then! You're getting paid to retrieve Pokémon, so shut up and do your job!"

Their footsteps seemed louder than a stampeding horde of Rhyhorn as Naruto sat there, frozen. The closer they go towards the bush he and his team were hiding behind, the more his hands became clammy. Right as he considered leaping out and sending one of his Pokémon to attack, the two men walked straight past, making their way deeper into the miniature forest.

Neither Naruto nor his Pokémon dared to move for a long time. He kept his ears pricked, but as the minutes went by without the men coming back, he straightened up slowly, ignoring the way his back protested from having been hunched over for too long. Pidgeotto silently flew down, landing on the ground in front of him as Vulpix and Vaporeon rose up; their tails sweeping agitatedly. Mimikyu's shadowy limbs were crawling all over the forest floor, occasionally brushing against Vaporeon and Naruto's leg. Riolu stood up; his appendages still raised high in the air.

"Riolu." Mean people.

"They are definitely not the nice type," Naruto muttered, rubbing his hands over his cheeks.

What should he do now? Go back to the city and talk with a police officer? He had no proof, though. Unless the men followed him straight into the precinct – which was very, very unlikely – he would have a hard time proving his story to be true. So far the only thing he had was the offer to buy Riolu and the conversation he'd just heard, but would that be enough? There was nothing recorded and even if the police could find the men, they would just deny what they had said and it would turn into a they said – he said story.

But he couldn't just linger here in the forest either! They were clearly looking for him and Riolu and from the sounds of it, they weren't going to take no for an answer this time.

Try to hide in a house of one of the villagers? But that might land them in big trouble and the last thing he wanted was for other people to get into trouble for him.

"We can't let them find us, though," he mumbled, scrubbing his forehead as if that would give him a solution.

"Vaporeon, Vaporeon. Vaporeon!" Cross the river. I can do it!

Looking at Vaporeon's anxious, but earnest face, Naruto quirked a quick smile and brushed his head. "Thanks for the offer, Vaporeon, but the water is way too wild to try crossing it at this time. It's going to take at least a couple of days before we can make our way across the bridge."

"Vulpix?" Attack them?

"Riolu, Riolu!" Sounds like a good plan!

But Naruto shook his head. "No, too risky. We don't know which Pokémon they have and with their boss apparently interested in less common Pokémon … That might be too dangerous."

Those two men could have relatively easy Pokémon to deal with, such as an Arbok or a Mudbray, just to name a few, but they could also have stronger ones in their possession, like a Gyarados or a Luxray. With no way of knowing just how many Pokémon and which ones they would have to go up against, attacking them was too dangerous.

"Mimi?" Hide?

"Looks like that's our best bet, yeah," Naruto agreed and nibbled on his lower lip. "But where …"

They all stared at each other before coming to the inevitable conclusion: there was only one place they could hide in – but they might actually get themselves into more danger by doing so!

With the looming threat of the unknown men trying to track them down, the desire to train disappeared just as quickly as food did in front of a Snorlax.

Naruto called them back one by one in their Pokéballs, casting glances over his shoulder every time he thought he heard a strange noise. He wasn't really looking forward to going back to that place after he'd already tested the hospitality enough last night, but did they really have much of a choice? They couldn't sleep outside, not as long as those two men were on their tail, and the motel was too expensive and might very well just sell them out if the men happened to come knocking there either way.

He would just have to hope that whatever had kept that Pokémon from attacking him the night before would last long enough for him and his team to hide out until the bridge could be used again. He had spent some time gathering even more berries which had fallen onto the ground, so maybe he could use that as a bribe again? He grimaced and bent down to pick up his bag. With a bit of luck, the mysterious Pokémon would appreciate the berry of-

When he turned around, he stood face to face with the dark blue haired man from the day before. Next to him a dark skinned man stood with shaggy, black hair tied up in a ponytail. Black eyes glinted when they landed on Naruto, who swallowed, tightening his grip around his bag.

"Good evening," Sakon greeted him as if they were acquaintances meeting each other by coincidence. "What a surprise seeing you here. Have you by any chance thought about the offer I made yesterday?"

Wow, this guy really wasn't subtle at all, was he? Not even trying for some small talk first, just straight to the point.

Naruto offered him a bland smile. "Yes, I have."

Sakon perked up and the other man started to grin.

"And it's still a no!"

Naruto whipped around and started running away, rushing through the trees. Perhaps this was an overreaction, running when he didn't know what the other two would –

Two pairs of footsteps started rushing after him. Nope, he'd been right to run away after all!

"STOP! WE JUST WANT TO TALK!" Sakon yelled after him.

Like Naruto would simply stop running after they started chasing after him!

It was getting quite dark by now and the lack of streetlights meant running across the soggy fields was a risky affaire; the mud threatening to swallow up his shoes. Especially when it started raining again; the droplets freezing and sharp as they hit his face, almost blinding him when they slid too close near his eyes. The wind started gaining strength as well, howling right into Naruto's ears. The adrenaline coursing through his body urged him on, however, and while the abandoned shack looked incredibly foreboding, illuminated by the weak silver light of the moon, Naruto was happier than ever to see it again.

Sakon and the other guy had worse luck with the mud, it appeared, because Naruto could hear them cursing up a storm behind him as they tried to catch up to him. Not daring to waste time by looking behind him, Naruto found another burst of speed and rushed towards the front door, slamming his shoulder against it to ram it wide open. Instantly he got hit in the face with the awful stench and he hastily raised up his hands; his heart hammering in his chest and cold sweat sending shivers down his spine.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I know I said it was only for one night, but there are two men trying to steal one of my Pokémon and I don't know where else to go!" he gasped out; his legs trembling as his body tried to recover from the sprint he'd just forced it through.

The large form of the Pokémon came forwards – in a rather threatening way! Naruto's hysterical mind not so helpfully pointed out to him – but then Sakon bellowed behind him, barely audible over the wind, "DON'T THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM US IN THAT PIECE OF SHIT BUILDING!"

The wind must have distorted the sound completely, because when Naruto turned around, wanting to close the door, Sakon was right there; his hair plastered against his skull and his teeth bared.

Naruto yelled in shock and dashed deeper into the hallway when Sakon made a hasty grab for Riolu's Pokéball. He tried to decide which Pokémon would have the best chance at knocking out that bastard, but before he could even make his decision, a lightening bolt cleaved through the air, illuminating the hallway so brightly that for one moment it looked like it was day again.

That moment was enough for Naruto to finally get a clear look at the mysterious Pokémon, who was now hissing enraged as it stalked up towards a dazed looking Sakon.

The Pokémon was purple with a yellow underbelly, yellow stripes on its legs and equally yellow accents on its back and its palms, which showed when it raised its arms into the air. A yellow electric frill extended from its snout to its neck; the source of the faint glowing Naruto had witnessed the night before. There were two small horns above its white eyes and two larger ones on the sides of its head, which coupled with the enraged look made for a terrifying image. Especially when Naruto counted four sharp looking spikes on its back, four spikes on each wrist and an extra crescent-shaped body part with another seven spikes on its waist. Six organs protruded from its chest and as Naruto watched with his mouth open in shock, another lightning strike struck the floor, nearly electrocuting Sakon who screamed in terror and got slammed into the wall for his effort.

A Toxtricity.

At once Tsunade's warning resurfaced in his mind. A year ago she had received a Toxtricity in her care, the same form as the one hissing and spitting madly in the hallway now. She had called this form the Amped Form and when she'd caught Naruto staring at it in fascination, she'd cautioned him to stay away from it and let her handle it alone.

"But why can't I help you with this one? I've helped out before!"

"Because this form is known to be extremely short-tempered and it will attack anyone who makes eye contact with it," she'd warned him. "Whatever you do, do not ever make eye contact with it. That might be the last thing you'll ever do."

White eyes with black irises locked straight onto blue eyes.

Oh shit.

AN2: Apparently a Toxtricity is only six centimeters smaller than Naruto was at age seventeen. The more you know when looking up heights. Now I'm off to bed, because I'm making fabulous life choices again.

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.