Author's note: Slightly shorter chapter than the last one, I know, but I liked the way I ended this, so there. Also not that it has anything to do with this story, but my oldest cat turned fifteen years old this week. She's still the queen of the house :)

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

Warnings: Reference to Trainers being idiots

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 chapter!

Chapter 16

Toxtricity lingered near the bed, appearing completely at ease as if it was normal that he was here. It baffled Naruto and he quickly checked his window, which was still firmly shut, muffling the sound of the rain slightly. If that was closed, then how had Toxtricity managed to get into his room? How had he even known where to find him? Why had he sought him out?

Placing Vulpix' Pokéball back down, Naruto questioned, "How did you get in here?"

Before Toxtricity could even answer, an odd noise echoed through the hallway and Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, turning to look at the closed door. The sound confused him at first until he could finally place it: the noise of wind howling through an opening. But there shouldn't be any openings in the hallway, seeing as all the doors and windows had been –

"Did you enter through another room?" Naruto asked slowly.

Toxtricity hissed in confirmation. Through window.

A window which may or may not be broken right at this moment. A part of him thought he should get up and at least try to find this open window before rain could possibly get into that room, but the day's events had drained him and he didn't really feel like being charitable to the owner who'd clearly been less than pleased that he had to host Naruto for the night. Not to mention, how sturdy could those windows truly be if a Pokémon could get through them easily?

"Right," Naruto said, because what else could he say to that? More importantly, "Why are you here?"

No place, Toxtricity answered laconically.

Naruto winced and rubbed the back of his neck. Right, after the battle they had had against those two men, the house had been completely sealed off by the police. On top of that, the walls had received significant damage due to those attacks, which might make the shack complete inhabitable.

Pokémon weren't a stranger to living outside – in fact, Toxtricity was the odd one out, having made the shack his home – but Toxtricity didn't seem to be from around here. As far as Naruto could recall, Toxtricity were more likely to be found nearby big cities, skulking around dark alleys or near power stations. A quiet, unassuming town like this one seemed like an odd choice for a Toxtricity.

"Do you have a place you can go to once the storm lets up?" Naruto asked curiously.

Perhaps Toxtricity was only here because of the storm? Naruto couldn't blame him; he wouldn't want to spend the night outside in this weather either.

No place, Toxtricity reiterated and shuffled a bit closer. Stay with you?

"With me?" Naruto repeated mystified. "As what? As part of my team?"

Yes.

"Why?" Naruto couldn't help but ask baffled. "Wouldn't you want a Trainer more at your level?"

It wasn't as if Toxtricity was at an impossibly high level, but all the same, why would Toxtricity want a Trainer like him? Naruto hadn't done anything special to garner his attention, save for taking in space in his home and giving him some food in return.

Had Trainer before, Toxtricity said and his eyes darkened slightly. When I was little. Showed me off. Took lots of pictures. Boosted to everyone how cool I was.

A tad apprehensive, Naruto questioned, "What happened to them?"

I evolved, was Toxtricity's simple but devastating answer.

Devastating because even though Toxtricity didn't explain, Naruto unfortunately had no trouble imagining what might have happened. Toxtricity's Trainer had loved him when he'd been a Toxel, like a lot of Trainers loved their baby Pokémon. Not all Trainers were happy when their Pokémon left their baby form behind and evolved, however. Naruto had read and heard all sorts of excuses when he had spent time at Tsunade's office. From the inane sounding "I don't have the time to train him" to the "I don't know how to deal with this evolution" to the classic "I only specialise in baby Pokémon, you have to understand", that kind of Trainer always had some sort of excuse to ditch their Pokémon once they were no longer their "cute" or "adorable" baby self.

Toxtricity had had the great misfortune to encounter such a Trainer. A person who'd been more than happy with their Toxel form, but who had only been interested in the attention they might have garnered by having such a Pokémon. Once Toxel had evolved, he had been deemed no longer desirable and had been abandoned, perhaps replaced by a new Toxel.

Hatred was perhaps a strong word, but it came pretty damn close to what Naruto felt for that type of Trainer. If you couldn't accept your Pokémon like they were, faults and evolutions and all, why did you even become a Trainer in the first place?

"I'm sorry. You didn't deserve to be left behind," Naruto said softly. "No Pokémon should be abandoned just because they evolved. Have you been alone for long?"

A while, Toxtricity hissed. He hesitated then before saying almost inaudible, his hiss nearly absorbed by the rain, Don't want to be alone.

Naruto's heart clenched and he bit down on his lower lip. "I only started out as a Trainer, so I'm not that experienced," he cautioned Toxtricity.

Don't mind, Toxtricity said lightly. Team seems fun.

"Well, then you're very welcome to join us," Naruto said cheerfully and riffled through his bag to find an empty Pokéball. He held it out towards Toxtricity. "You ready?"

Toxtricity lifted his head slightly, remaining relaxed as the Pokéball opened up and enveloped him in a red light. The ball closed, dropped down onto the floor, wiggled once and stopped then.

Capture successful.

When Naruto bent down to pick up the Pokéball, he couldn't help but grin giddily, cradling the ball against his chest. This was his sixth Pokémon! He actually had a full team now! How amazing was that? It definitely wasn't what he had expected when he'd first arrived in this town. It was definitely not something he had thought would happen when Toxtricity had appeared in his room just now.

"We're going to make a great team together," he grinned.

Toxtricity's Pokéball wiggled once as if in agreement.

Naruto made sure to leave early the next morning, wanting to be gone before the owner could discover the possible broken window.

The storm had ended somewhere in the middle of the night and he inhaled the fresh scent of rain still lingering when he stepped outside. The sky was clear this time, white fluffy clouds lazily drifting past as they played peekaboo with the sun.

It was with slight apprehension that he approached the bridge again, but to his surprise the storm of last night hadn't worsened the situation. In fact the bridge was visible once more; the water level having lowered to just below the edge of it. He was surprised by the sight as he had expected the storm to make the water level even worse, but then several heads popped up out of the earth, followed by a chorus of "Trio, Trio, Trio!". Several Dugtrio and Diglett were making their way alongside the water line, broadening the river by creating small craters and underground pathways to allow the water to divert to the newly freed space.

Naruto stood there watching them work for a little while, seeing their heads poke in and out of the earth as they steadily moved forwards. Water eagerly rushed into the newly created holes; it might not be that long anymore before the water would be at a decent level again.

Some puddles decorated the bridge still, making his shoes squeak as he crossed it, but he paid the sound no mind. He had checked the map this morning and the next town was at least a week travelling, so he was planning on making use of that time to train more and have his team become accustomed to their new team member. He wasn't sure which type the Gym in the next town specialised in, but he figured he could ask around when he got there.

He travelled over the dirt road for a little while before trees started lining up on each side of the road. The trees grew in numbers until he found himself walking through a small forest; all sorts of Pokémon jumping from one tree branch to the other or shuffling through the bushes. Some Rattata scurried past him and a Rookidee eyed him suspiciously before ruffling its feathers and taking flight. A couple of Deerling got startled by him and they rushed away, disappearing in the tall grass. A couple of Jumpluff idly drifted over his head, chirping to each other as their round bodies travelled higher and higher, letting themselves be taken wherever the wind led them.

Spotting a clearing up ahead, Naruto made a beeline for it, deciding that this would be a good place to introduce everyone to each other. There were some pebbles strewn about, some holes left in the earth that might have been created by a Diglett or dug by a Sandshrew. The grass was still glistening with the rain of last night, so Naruto opted to remain standing, not wanting to get his trousers wet.

One by one he threw his Pokéballs into the air, calling forth his team. Mimikyu appeared first, yawning before shuffling over to Naruto to cling to his ankle with one of his shadowy tendrils. Next was Vulpix, who shook out her fur and stretched, leaving tiny grooves behind in the dirt when she scratched at the earth. Pidgeotto released a soft screech before doing three loops above Naruto's head, landing on top of the lowest hanging tree branch, closest to Naruto. Vaporeon chirped in greeting, darting back and forth across the clearing, seemingly delighting in feeling the wet grass. Riolu was still half asleep, his eyes half lidded as he looked around, taking in their surroundings.

All five of them instantly focused on the newest addition to their team when the last Pokéball was thrown into the air, releasing Toxtricity. If Toxtricity was bothered by having five pairs of eyes staring at him, he didn't show it. He studied them in return, something akin to a smirk dancing around his mouth.

"Guys, Toxtricity has decided to join our team," Naruto announced, smiling. "Isn't that great? Now we're actually a full team! Toxtricity, you already kind of met Mimikyu and Vaporeon yesterday. This here are Vulpix, Pidgeotto and Riolu."

"Riolu!" You're big!

Toxtricity scoffed lightly. Big to you perhaps. Bigger Pokémon out there.

"Mimi. Mimikyu!" True, like Onix.

"Vulpix, Vulpix, Vulpix?" Onix the biggest one?

"I think there are Pokémon even bigger than Onix," Naruto mused. "Not sure which ones, though. Anyways, you all feeling up to training today?"

"Pidgeotto, Pidgeotto, Pidgeotto?" What happened to men?

"Ah yeah, them!" Naruto smacked his fist in his open palm. "Don't worry about them; the police got them, so they won't bother us any longer."

"Mimikyu, Mimi, Mimi!" Otherwise kick arse again!

Naruto snorted and bent down to quickly pat Mimikyu's back. "Yeah, you and Vaporeon definitely made it clear who was better yesterday. You as well, Toxtricity, you really handled that Golem amazingly, especially considering he had the Type advantage!"

Toxtricity's hiss sounded just as condescending as his reply did. Type advantage doesn't matter. All about power and being better.

"Riolu!" True! Riolu practically vibrated on the spot in his agreement.

Well, Toxtricity definitely did not suffer from a low self-esteem, Naruto sighed inwardly. Then he thought about what Toxtricity had told him last night, about being abandoned simply for evolving, and he pursed his lips together. Perhaps it was better that Toxtricity was still this confident even after the harsh start he'd received when he evolved.

Whoever that miserable Trainer was, Naruto dearly hoped they would forever regret abandoning Toxtricity.

Training went a whole lot easier compared to a month ago, when Naruto hadn't had really a clue as to what he was doing. They had set up a system that worked really well: Vaporeon and Vulpix trained together for the majority of the time, each of them practicing their own Type-oriented attacks. Vulpix would keep trying to improve her fire attacks, while Vaporeon did his best to put them out as quickly as possible, gaining speed every time.

Pidgeotto's training took place mainly in the air, where he practiced both his speed and his flying attacks. Riolu, Mimikyu and Toxtricity were somewhat grouped together. Riolu would practice his attacks on Toxtricity, testing out his Quick Attacks, his Feints and that memorable moment he learnt how to use Metal Claw, which had actually sent Toxtricity crashing into a nearby tree in surprise.

Riolu hadn't stopped gloating for more than an hour after that had happened.

Mimikyu would sometimes practice together with Toxtricity, but he was more content to practice his attacks on trees or the occasional wild Pokémon sneaking by. He was becoming better and better at using Shadow Ball; the dark sphere leaving larger and larger holes and craters behind with each attempt Mimikyu made.

Toxtricity, meanwhile when he wasn't training with Riolu, practiced his Thunder Shocks and Sparks on dead tree stumps, splitting them neatly in half by learning how to perfectly direct his attacks. When his Toxic attack caused a whole bush to wither and die, Naruto quickly decided that that particular attack was probably best suited to practice against Pokémon, who would be sturdy enough to take the hit.

Still, it was rather impressive to see how easily the bush withered underneath the purple black gas.

His team was improving steadily, but Naruto was even more proud of how easily the others had accepted Toxtricity as their team member. The first day had had them still rather wary around the purple coloured Pokémon, uncertain what to think of the Pokémon who had taken on a threatening stance during their first couple of meetings, but by the evening of the first day together, they had all relaxed. For all that Toxtricity could react rather snarky, he wasn't antagonistic or mean on purpose and Mimikyu especially seemed to delight in the stories Toxtricity occasionally offered about Pokémon he had easily defeated – amongst which the most impressive ones were a Gengar and a Grapploct.

The way his team had been created might have been incredibly unconventional, but there was no way he would trade them for anything in the world. They were his team, his friends, and he couldn't wait to find out just how strong they would become.

To Naruto's surprise the forest ended at the edge of – well, it wasn't a town perse, because it was much too small for that. There was no better way to describe it than the place being a collection of a couple of houses, seemingly randomly placed with none of them facing the single road leading to presumably the town Naruto had found on his map.

There was an elderly woman in a rocking chair in front of her house; a heavy blanket covering her as she slept while a Kirlia stood guard over her. When Naruto glanced at them, he caught Kirlia adjusting the old woman's blanket, ensuring she wouldn't become cold. Once Kirlia was finished with that, it started walking around the porch, freeing it of old fallen leaves.

"Wonder why this place isn't on the map," he muttered, adjusting the strap of his bag.

Was it because this place wasn't officially a town? When could something be called a town, though? Clearly these people lived here permanently, judging by the well-cared for houses and the faint tracks of bikes leading from their porches to the road.

There was no Pokécentre he could stop by quickly to refresh his Pokémon, nor was there any kind of store. It appeared that if the people here wanted goods, they would have to travel towards either the town Naruto had left behind a couple of days ago or make the trek to the next town.

Then he spotted some dark blue canvas covering patches of ground next to two houses and he realised that perhaps they were self-sufficient enough that the lack of stores didn't bother them.

He mentally run through his stock of food and was relieved to remember that he'd stocked up enough to be able to make it until the next town. While his Pokémon had occasionally battled with some wild ones, they were also still in fairly good condition. If need be, he could use a Potion on them until they encountered a Pokécentre, but for now they were good.

Judging by the stance of the sun nearly hidden behind the clouds, he surmised evening was close to falling. He would have to find a decent spot to put up his tent and studied the cluster of trees ahead of him. Hm, perhaps setting up a tent amidst the trees would be good? He didn't want to disturb the people living here; there might be a reason why they lived rather secluded after all.

Watching his breath form small clouds, he started making his way down the road, nodding politely at the elderly woman when she woke up, briefly looking up. She raised her eyebrows at the sight of him, but smiled politely in return before rising up with some difficulty, clutching the blanket tightly around herself. Her Kirlia was instantly at her side, helping her walk into her house.

A light went on in the house to his left before curtains were drawn and somewhere a Hoothoot called out softly. A flock of Zubat startled him lightly and he looked up, watching the mass rapidly make his way over the cluster of houses, disappearing into the trees. Clearly the night Pokémon were waking up, ready to take over from the others.

Right as he was about to walk past the last house – a small cottage one with a red tiled roof and some empty flowerpots discarded against the faded white wall – the door opened and warm light poured out. Someone stepped outside, adjusting their coat, turned in his direction and abruptly halted.

"Naruto?"

Naruto paused and his eyes widened when he fully turned around, taking in the woman who had just left the house.

"Professor?" he called out equally surprised.

What was Tsunade doing here?

AN2: Apologies for the slightly shorter chapter, but I felt like this would be a nice way to end it. Normally the next chapter should be longer 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.