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.

16. Chapter 16: Preparations, Part 1

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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

I keep telling everyone I'll get better at posting on time…and I only get worse. Thank you to everyone for putting up with me and my bad updates.

Let's see if I can do better than two chapters a year, right?

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Review Response

You've all been beautiful, and I thank you for your advice and reviews. I'll keep this short so you can get to the chapter itself.

To the guest asking about why I didn't name Naruto's frog Gamakichi? Well, because I'm an idiot and I forgot about that specific character when I first named him back in my old fic, and the name sort of stuck ever since then. That's the best excuse I have, even though it's not really much of one. As you can tell, I'm quite the idiot sometimes.

Vongola Ninja: Thank you for the suggestions. Yes, it is fairly obvious that Shoto will go with Naruto eventually. As for what Sasuke will get in turn…well, you'll see.

Dreaming of the Phoenix & CRUDEN: Thank you for your steadfast support. Making Gaara a girl really did making writing her a bit more fun than I expected. Naruto didn't have that many memorable females with memorable moments; the author himself admitted he had trouble writing female characters, and it shows. Still was a good anime, but not without its flaws.

elijahlarson03: I try had to make each character's battle-style unique, though it's surprisingly hard. Thank you for your encouraging words.

ScarletVioletFan: Your advice is greatly valued, and to be honest, you'll see how I take it next chapter, which is halfway done even now (let's hope I can get it done ON time for a change).

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The Hero's Pokémon & Accomplishments:

Naruto Uzumaki:

Team Members: Kubo (Frogadier, male, Starter), Sora (Bagon, male), Kata (Lucario, male, Aura-trained), Prince Sidon Uzumaki, the First (Gabite, male, Shiny, Royalty*)

*Not actually royalty

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

Sasuke Uchiha:

Team Members: Bayushi (Eevee, male, Shiny), Togashi (Charmeleon, male, Starter), Akodo (Luxio, 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), Eri (Mythical Ponyta, female)

*Technically genderless with a male personality

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

Hinata Hyuga:

Team Members: Kikyo (Kirlia, female, Starter, Shiny), Midoriya (Quilladin, male), Katsuki (Quilava, male, genetically altered), Kirishima (Tyrunt, male).

Badges & Awards: Antidote Badge

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Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 16

Preparations, Part 1

…White Serpent HQ…

Professor Faba adjusted his signature green glasses and clicked for the next slide on his power point.

"While we're all in agreement that young Kabuto is the current expert on fossil resurrection, the simple fact is that the late Dr. Fuji's research is far more complicated than reconstructing theropods from fossilized remains."

Kabuto scoffed, letting his anger show. At 25*, Kabuto was surprisingly young to be a doctor, let alone to be one of the lead researchers for the Konoha Region's largest research firm in medical and genetic studies. Of course, Faba always had to take digs at Kabuto's age- he resented having to compete for the Boss's support with a 'boy' half his age. For Kabuto's part, he hated Faba back.

Right now, Faba, Kabuto, and Boss Orochimaru were watching a presentation of Faba's.

Dressed in a white kimono that was edged with muted purple, Orochimaru's already pale complexion looked paler still, even corpse-like, especially with his face framed by his black hair. He let out a raspy, dry chuckle from his lipless mouth before speaking.

"And I assume you think you should be the one heading Project Resurrection, Prof. Faba?"

Faba smiled, slapping his pointing stick in his hand. "I am Konoha's living expert on Pokémon cloning, and my results in genetic engineering speak for themselves."

Kabuto spoke up. "That's something we both agree on, then. Project Type:Full has been nothing but a string of failures and wasted money. If genetically engineered abominations that can't survive outside their nutrient baths are your best argument for stealing my research from me, then you should stop wasting our time and just pack up your office. I'll help!"

"My research has advanced the creation of artificial Pokémon by leaps and bounds, including the technology you use in your fossil resurrection projects!" Faba shouted.

"I advanced resurrection technology myself! Your so-called 'research' has done nothing but give us six dead specimens," Kabuto retorted, being sure to air quote the 'research' just to be impertinent.

"Better than anything Nono Yakushi ever produced! Your mother's only legacy is a collection of mix-mashed fossil abominations, and she had bones and genes to work with! Yet she was still a failure!" Faba snarled cruelty.

"You take that back!" Kabuto said in a deadly way, getting to his feet.

Faba stood as well, continuing his rant. "I constructed Type:Full from scratch, and I still produced a viable Pokémon that could change its type!"

"Until you unplugged it from its life support. Then. It. Died!" Kabuto said, smirking provocatively. "Six tries, six failures!"

"I produced results!"

"That died!"

"Science is full of false starts and mistakes!"

"That's your excuse for everything; you're just one big mistake yourself!"

"Immature child!"

"Failure!"

"Orphan!"

"Fraud!"

The two were practically at blows, shouting obscenities and insults across the table. Boss Orochimaru had his hands clasped in front of his mouth with an expression of disapproval on his face.

"Shut them up," he said, not speaking especially loudly and picking up a stack of papers in front of him. He thumbed through it while Kidomaru and Jirobo, two of Team Snake's top admins and enforcers, stepped up from their posts standing silently by the wall and separated the two scientists. Jirobo even gave Faba a warning backhand when he tried protesting. Once they stopped struggling, the two scientists were shoved back into their seats and made to sit quietly.

After a few more moments, Orochimaru set down the papers, holding one up. "…according to this, Project Type:Full has gone over double the generous budget it was provided with. That makes me think perhaps your interest in Project Resurrection isn't because you think you can provide me with a viable Mew clone…but so you can get your hands on the scant amount of Mew's genetic material we recovered. The DNA of a Pokémon said to be able to learn every move that can be learned seems like it would be a boon to your project to create a Pokémon possessing the strengths of all types, don't you think?"

Faba grimaced; it was easy to forget that the Boss was an accomplished scientist in his own right. Of course he'd be able to piece Faba's real intentions together.

Kabuto smirked. "Trying to save your pet project from going into the tank?"

Faba opened his mouth, but Orochimaru held up a hand. He looked through the file Kabuto provided for his progress on Project Resurrection.

"Hmm, I've come to a decision."

Kabuto smiled while Faba swallowed nervously.

"Kabuto will remain in charge of Project Resurrection- he was Dr. Fuji's assistant on the original project and knows the good doctor's work better than anyone. Furthermore, Faba, we only have a very limited amount of Mew's DNA for which to study and attempt the cloning process. It cannot be wasted on research projects doomed to fail."

Kabuto looked at his rival smugly, but stopped when Orochimaru went on.

"As such, I am ordering Kabuto to give you full access to his research notes. All the data on Mew. Yes, all of it," he added, glancing at Kabuto to cut him off. "If you can use that to produce some viable evidence that your Type:Full project has some promise, you might be provided with more resources, especially if our cloning project provides results. If not, I'll have the Type:Full project shelved and its assets folded into Kabuto's sector for future study."

Faba nodded nervously, while Kabuto seemed to be appraising the situation.

The Boss went on. "In turn for Kabuto sharing his research with you, you'll be assisting him on Project Resurrection. You are, after all, the resident expert on cloning and bioengineering. And don't act like you don't need his help, Kabuto. You're a brilliant scientist, but Faba has twice the experience in cloning and bioengineering as you. This is the most ambitious attempt at Pokémon reconstruction ever attempted. I'd rather not have the two leading experts in the field fighting over who gets the glory."

Kabuto gave a slow nod. "This is acceptable, Mr. Orochimaru. I'll text my staff to transfer our research to Faba's team right now."

"Uh, I can look over Kabuto's set up as soon as we're dismissed, and see if he might have overlooked anything," Faba offered, not wanting to look like the hesitant party in this new agreement.

Orochimaru smiled. The two still hated each other, but now that hatred would push each to work harder at being the more cooperative in this new partnership. And neither would try to sabotage the other for fear of harming their own interests. Heh, people were such easy puppets to manipulate.

"Now, onto the Herba Mystica Project. You've both looked over the report, yes?"

Faba and Kobuto both contributed to the project, though neither one oversaw it, seeing as they had their hands full already.

Faba picked up his notes and adjusted his glasses. "Yes, well, as you know, the Herba Mystica are a collection of plants that folk medicine attributes supernatural healing properties to, and legend claims can cure any ailment or even empower Pokémon. The most obvious explanation for these claims is that the herbs are highly nutritious and offer a concentrated dose of essential vitamins and such for Pokémon development. This is supported by reports of so-called 'titan' Pokémon appearing in areas were Herba Mystica are reported to have been found. As a side note, Konoha's Aura Guardians always seem to be around when these rare herbs appear and harvest most of the plant, leaving very little for anyone else. I think they use it for traditional medicine secrets that have been passed down among the order, personally. Since we couldn't harvest a large supply of the herbs directly, I advised the project managers to simply clone the herbs from the limited samples we had. From their report, the process was a success. Unfortunately, that's where the good new ends, as the examination of the cloned herbs yielded nothing of substance- sure, they were nutritious, but no more than any other 'health food'. Therefore, I believe that either that the Herba Mystica do not possess super healing or empowering properties, and that the appearance of titan 'mons near them has some other connection between the two."

"That's disappointing. But I suppose we could always we can always market our clone supply as alternative natural medicine?" Orochimaru suggested in a mocking way. He turned to Kabuto. "What do you think?"

Kabuto took the mouse that controlled the screen from Faba and opened a video.

"With all due respect to my college, I must respectfully disagree," Kabuto said, being sure to nod in Faba's direction to show the Boss he was fully committed to cooperating with his rival from now on.

The video showed a greenhouse full of various flora, with the camera focused on a pot of Herba Mystica that was placed among a group of non-flowering plants. The camera zoomed out, showing an assistant release a swarm of Cutiefly, which started collecting pollen from the various flowers.

"Cutiefly can sense Aura," Kabuto explained quickly. "Watch what happens."

Very quickly, the swarm started buzzing around and examining the Herba Mystica sample, despite it not being in blossom. The timestamp showed that the Cutiefly swarm continued to examine the plant with great interest for several minutes before moving on to flowers that were actually in blossom.

"We tried this experiment two dozen times under different conditions using different Herba Mystica. Even when the Herba Mystica was in a glass case that prevented its scent from spreading, the Cutifly still swarmed around it and ignored the flowers in bloom."

Orochimaru let out a curious hum while Faba stroked his beard.

"That's an interesting implication. Certainly, it suggests that the Herba Mystica produces a notable Aura of their own," Faba said.

"After further testing, that's the conclusion I came up with," Kabuto said. He switched the display to a video showing various instruments that could be used to detect and measure Aura. The charts provided showed that the herbs produced the mysterious energy in a greater amount than most other plants and animals. "I theorize that the Herba Mystica absorb the natural Aura of their environment, meaning cloning them in a lab would be useless; they need to grow naturally. The Aura enhances their medical properties, but the herbs would also have empowering effects on creatures that eat it regularly. As such, the herbs grow, attract a Pokémon to feed on them, cause the Pokémon to grow and live far beyond its natural lifetime, creating what locals would call a 'titan' Pokémon. The titan protects the Herba Mystica, and the plant provides the titan with power. A symbiotic relationship."

The other two scientists in the room nodded. Then Orochimaru was struck with a thought.

"This could also be why the Aura Guardians always seem to know where these herbs will pop up, and why they're so quick to harvest them- they know of their Aura properties."

"So we just have to round up some Aura-sensing 'mons and go on a merry treasure hunt. Seems simple enough," Faba said, now glad he wasn't in charge of this project.

Orochimaru frowned. "That won't work. We have a limited number of Pokémon that can even detect Aura, and none of them are trained in the art like the Guardians. They've done a good job of keeping their arts secret. It'd be like trying to pit a Slowpoke against a Ninjask in a race. It'd be a complete waste of resources."

"We could aways steal what we need from the Guardians," Jirobo suggested. He knew he was supposed to only be on guard duty, but it seemed like the obvious solution. "They're so confident and proud that they won't expect something like that."

"That's because no one's ever been stupid enough to try and rob a bunch of warriors that can sense your presence a mile way", Kidomaru said. "Now stop being an idiot and shut up."

"I know this is technically not my project, Boss, but might I suggest a solution?" Kabuto said, getting up from his chair.

Boss Orochimaru spared a cold glance at Jirobo and Kidomaru before nodding for Kabuto to continue.

"Perhaps you are aware of the Koraidon species?" Kabuto asked no one in particular.

"Yes, Cyclizar's ancient ancestor. Often mistaken for a Fossil 'mon in media, but it was a contemporary of early humans. The species was fully domesticated and morphed into the Cyclizar line over time; the last known living specimen was from over 10,000 years ago, if I recall correctly," Orochimaru said.

"Correct," Kabuto said. "The theory for its disappearance is that the Koraidon species fed on energy from the natural environment to supplement its incredible physique. In other words, it absorbed Aura. This would also explain why it allowed itself to be domesticated- Aura-sensing 'mons benefit greatly from bonding with humans. As with all creatures that are domesticated, generations of Koraidon were bred for desirable traits like cooperativeness and nonaggression, and the species became less powerful and safer for the average human. Modern Cycliar still seem to feed on Aura, at least passively. Absorbing their rider's warm not only helps raise its body temperature, but it is noted for raising the 'mon's spirit and improving its health."

Orochimaru smiled, seeing where this was going. "Am I to assume you want permission to create a Koraidon clone from a sample you found, and then use it to hunt down the Herba Mystica?"

Kabuto nodded. "Three years ago, before Dr. Fuji's unfortunate accident, he sent me on a fossil hunt to find new specimens for his restoration experiments. While exploring a peat bog during this excursion, I happened across the remains of a Koraidon, fully intact and preserved. It had been naturally mummified in the bog. And as I'm sure you know, the resurrection process is easier the more intact the original templet is."

"But how long would it take to grow a subject, let alone train it?" Faba asked. "If we're going to have to wait for your pet to grow in a petri dish, we might as well try other methods first."

Kabuto shook his head. "You misunderstand. As soon as the Koraidon mummy was discovered, Dr. Fuji and I got to work on not only on the cloning process, but also on altering to a naturally obedient disposition. Credit where it's due, that was Prof. Faba's research that made that process possible."

Faba smiled proudly.

"How much longer 'till your beast is ready for training?" Orochimaru asked.

"It completely matured last year, and I've been working with it in a secured area at my lab in the Fossil World research facility. It is ready and fully trained now," Kabuto said. He had a wicked smile on his face, and Faba was sure he enjoyed playing the mad scientist.

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…Steel Blossom City…

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Today marked the fifth day since the group's arrival in Steel Blossom. Two more days, and it would be time for the Coordination Contest, at long last. Naruto and the others had spent most of the last five days in intense training; Tenten's connections gave them a discount at the Battle Tower (that worked with the discount already provided by the Battle Tower for the gym being closed), so they decided to take full advantage of it by getting as much work in as possible while they still could.

But training wasn't all they'd been up to; they had a lot of distractions to deal with.

The first one was Gaara. The Suna girl was overjoyed to be reunited with Naruto, who she called her first friend, and had made a point of meeting up with them every day.

Sasuke scoffed of the team distracted by 'another girl', but then Gaara challenged him to a 'friendly' battle. And the way she said it, with her cold, dead serious expression, it was clear that Gaara meant 'friendly' with the same intent as a thug in an alleyway called you 'pal' while waving a knife in your face.

Sasuke's Bayushi squared off against Gaara's Cubone (named Marble), and though the Eevee put up a good fight, the battle ended with Gaara victorious, and Sasuke embarrassed. Gruffly, Sasuke admitted that Gaara had some talent…and then quickly added that she wasn't joining their crew.

"She's just hanging out with us for a now," he insisted, stalking off to get Bayushi to the Pokécenter.

At first, Hinata privately agreed with Sasuke. She wasn't bitter or disliked Gaara at all. In fact, the girl proved to be friendly and interesting; however, Hinata just felt that their band of four was big enough as is. There was no reason to want to add a fifth wheel. Sure, Gaara seemed to be dominating Naurto's time, but that was because they were old friends that hadn't seen each other in a long time. Hinata understood that; it'd be wrong to feel resentful. Sure, Gaara seemed to get along well with Naruto and make him laugh, but that was because she had known him since they were young. Hinata shouldn't feel jealous…and she didn't! Not. At. All! Sure, Gaara seemed to be better at battling than Hinata, even though she only used Ground-types…and maybe that's because Gaara was better than Hinata…

The second day they met with Gaara, the girl mentioned the upcoming coordination contest that was being held in Steel Blossom, saying she had signed up for it.

"Did you enter, Naruto? I bet you did. Your mother's into coordination. Did you choose your partner for the contest yet?" she asked casually.

Hinata, who was in the middle of polishing Kirishima's scales, suddenly froze, unable to look up, but also unable to pretend not to be listening.

Naruto smiled obviously. "Yeah! Me and Hinata are working together. In fact, we'd better get to practicing soon! We've got less than a week to go!"

With that, he took Hinata by the wrist and went off to find a battlefield in the Battle Tower where they could work on their appeal in private.

After that, Hinata found she wasn't bothered by Gaara anymore, and even liked her company.

Secondly, Sakura had been spending a lot of time with Gym Leader Tenten, working on the Magnetic Terrain (copywrite pending) technique. It seemed they were making great progress, too.

Currently, Hinata stood across from Tenten on the battlefield, fighting for her Kunai badge. Above them wasn't Ion, the Magnezone belonging to Tenten's grandfather, but rather Tetsu, who was successfully generating the terrain this time; this was as much a test for the Metang as it was for Hinata. As before, they had chosen their teams ahead of time: Hinata's Quilladin, Quilava, and newly evolved Kirlia, against Tenten's Pawniard, Empoleon, and Duraludon.

The battle had started out strongly in Hinata's favor; Tenten started out with her Pawniard, Dagger, while Hinata sent out Midoriya the Quilladin. Dagger attempted to put up a valiant effort in spite of the poor type matchup with Aerial Ace, only for Midoriya to quickly overpower her with Brick Break. The bulky 'mon moved with beguiling grace, easily catching his foe by the wrist with one hand and turning the attack away before slamming a mighty blow to her stomach; Dagger recovered and tried stabbing him with Aerial Ace again, only for the Quilladin to spin on one heel, allowing the bow to defect off his back-armor before completing the turn so that he was standing facing the Pawniard as she rushed past him. A major part of the practice between Hinata and Naruto had been working on their teams' weaknesses, such as Midoriya's clumsiness. Clearly, the training had paid off. As quickly as it started, the match was over, with Midoriya flooring his foe, though unfortunately, Dagger did manage to paralyze him with Thunder Wave before going down.

"S-Switching out," Hinata called, recalling Midoriya as Tenten debated which 'mon to send out next, as per the match's rules.

From her side of the battlefield, Tenten smirked, predicting that Hinata was sending out her Quilava next. After all, the other choice would be her Kirlia, a Psychic/Fairy; and the reason Hinata had chosen her was that her only other 'mon was a weak-old baby. "Okay, ready your guns!" Tenten called, sending out Belle, her Empoleon.

To her shock however, Hinata had indeed sent out her Kirlia!

"Quick Kikyo, use Heal Bell," Hinata said.

"Get her! Flash Cannon!" Tenten countered.

Belle's attack hit Kikyo and knocked her off her feet, but not before she was able to clap her hands together. There was the crystal-clear toll of a bell as gentle, lavender-blue light was released from the clap, shining especially bright in Hinata's direction. From its place on the podium next to Hinata, Midoriya's Pokéball took the same shining lavender light for a moment, signaling that the Heal Bell had cured his paralysis.

"Smart of Hinata!" Sakura commented from the sidelines.

She was with Naruto and Sasuke (Gaara hadn't met up with them yet today), though Sakura was also acting as referee once again.

Belle fired another Flash Cannon at Kikyo's prone form, but she Teleported out of the way and onto her feet.

"Okay, I'm sorry to ask this, but now we need a Light Screen," Hinata said carefully.

Her Kirlia nodded, channeling her Psychic-type power. Once again, this forced her to become a stationary target for Belle's attacks, as Hinata feared. Luckily, Kikyo managed to shroud herself in a shining blue bubble just as the Empoleon fired off the metallic blast of energy. The Flash Cannon met the bubble and partly dissipated, causing the attack to have only half the power as it hit. Even so, Kikyo visibly winced, staggering back. From two attacks, she looked winded and weakened. The Ralts-line might have been known for its grace and power, but they could rarely tank hits well.

However, as far as Hinata was concerned, she had done her job.

"Switching out!" the girl shouted, recalling Kikyo to her Cherish Ball. "Good job, good job," she cooed to it. "Don't worry; you can rest now. Midoriya and Katsuki will handle the rest." Seeing that Tenten made no effort to switch, Hinata simply called out her Quilava next.

As Katsuki appeared, the Light Screen bubble, which had stayed behind when Kikyo was recalled, immediately attached itself to him, cloaking him in its protective field.

Tenten winced; considering both Belle and Teppo (her Duraludon) were special attackers, this made life harder for her. Darn it, why were these challenges all so well-equipped to deal with her team?!

Of course, then she noticed Katsuki's odd coloration for the first time. "Eh? A red and black Quiliava? The universal warpaint of he-who-is-not-to-be-f&cked-with…that's gotta be a dye-job."

Katsuki grinned smugly, lighting his flame vents.

Back on the sidelines, Sasuke noted that Hinata was applying her experiences in her last gym battle. Against Iruka, Kikyo had been bullied and knocked out easily when she tried to fight through her Poison-type weakness, while Katsuki had done well enough, though his aggression left him open to counter-attacks. This time, Kikyo was playing a pure support role, and Hinata had been sure to give Katsuki a Light Screen for some extra defense. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who was cheering Katsuki on and grinning. Had he and Hinata worked out this strategy together, or had Hinata thought it up on her own? Either way, Sasuke made a mental note to be prepared; after all, he and Sakura might fight them during the upcoming coordination contest.

On the battlefield, Belle the Empoleon fired a Water Pulse at Katsuki, only for the Quilava to meet it with a Fire Punch. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been an effective defense, but the Water Pulse's power had been greatly diminished by the Light Screen, resulting in an explosion of steam that not only failed to harm Katsuki, but cloaked him in a steam cloud. Belle fired another Water Pulse, but Katsuki was already on the move.

Katsuki accelerated his speed using Flame Charge, expelling jetpack-like bursts from his back and tail flame vents, using bursts from his hands to suddenly change direction and avoid Belle's ranged attacks. In the span of a moment, he was upon his foe, nailing her in the face with Fire Punch, rocketing away before she could retaliate. At Tenten's order, this time Belle zeroed in on him with Lazer Focus and then fired a Water Pulse. Katsuki retaliated by simply charging straight forward, hitting the water sphere with a Fire Punch- this time, the Water Pulse had hurt, but Katsuki charged through the spray and steam, cloaking himself in fire as he rocketed right into, over, and past Belle with Flame Charge. The hit bowled her over, and Katsuki dug his right paw into the ground to do a quick 180 turn, charging again. Belle flipped onto her belly and Aqua Jetted right at Katsuki, who used a Fire Punch burst to rocket above her at the last moment. Another burst of flames and he was on her back, holding on by her beak's crown-crest. Belle was still cloaked in water, but Katsuki fought through the pain, raining Fire Punch after Fire Punch into Belle's face, even as she thrashed about and slammed Katsuki into rocky outcroppings. The two wrestled for control, until finally Belle managed to throw her foe off, only to crash to the floor soon after, breathing heavily and struggling to get up. Tenten called out to her, but the Empoleon shrugged one last time before falling back down, unconscious.

"Belle is unable to battle. Victory goes to Hinata and Katsuki," Sakura announced.

Smiling viciously, Katsuki pulled himself to his feet, wincing slightly; he had several nasty abrasions across his body and had been more than a little injured in that match. Not to mention, the protective Light Screen flicked out just as Belle was recalled to her Pokéball.

"Switching," Hinata announced, holding up Katsuki's Pokéball. The Quilava looked annoyed but allowed himself to be recalled, and then Midoriya was sent out.

On Tenten's side of the battlefield, she had sent out Teppo, her Duraludon.

"Begin," Sakura said.

"Let's go, Teppo! Flash Cannon!" Tenten said.

"Charge through it; Rollout!" Hinata ordered.

Paying no need to the upcoming attack, Midoriya flipped forward and curled into a ball in one fluid motion. The beam of chrome energy hit, but Midoriya's Bulletproof* ability deflected it. The Quilladin rolled into the Duraludon, knocking her back a step before she slapped him away with Breaking Swipe, followed by a Dragon Pulse that floored him.

"Don't let him get up; concentrate your fire," Tentend ordered.

However, Midoriya rolled several paces to the left, landing on his hands and knees. Teppo turned to follow his movement, failing to notice that his spines were aimed her way. He fired a Pin Missile attack right at her face just as she grazed him with the Dragon Pulse. Teppo resisted the attack, but the shock from several needle-missiles hitting near her eyes sent the Duraludon stumbling backwards. She was able to right herself before falling onto her back, but then Midoriya rammed her in the stomach, sending her down.

"Good! Pin her but stay away from her face. Just like we talked about," Hinata said.

The previous night, Hinata had taken Naruto aside and asked him for advice on dealing with Tenten's team. At first, Naruto chuckled and teasingly said Hinata was trying to cheat. The shy girl blushed, but pointed out there was no such rule against asking another trainer for advice. In fact, she mused, it could be argued that it was both tactical and ethical for a trainer to seek any advantage they could to make sure their Pokémon were as prepared as possible. Naruto just laughed and said he'd be happy to help her either way.

Naruto's advice if Tenten decided to use her Duraludon was twofold: firstly, he suspected that Teppo's ability was Light Metal, since an unevolved Kata could throw her with ease. According to the Pokédex (which Naruto took out then-and-there as he gave advice), most Duraludon with that ability had less muscle-mass than their heavy counterparts, and preferred ranged combat to melee. Secondly, the Duraludon line had light, strong armor that let them move around fairly fast without sacrificing defense. However, their armor wasn't flexible, leaving them with several blind spots. The most notable was directly in front of them- Duraludon were tall 'mons with armor surrounding their necks, meaning they couldn't aim breath attacks at a small target that was directly on front of them.

Midoriya was now using this knowledge to his advantage. He straddled his foe just below her chest, well away from her mouth, which was releasing a continuous steam of dragonfire, and started pounding away with Brick Break. Teppo didn't take this quietly, smashing her hammer-like fists on either side of his face and thrashing about to escape Midoriya's pin, but the Quilladin maintained control of the situation.

"If you can't shake him off, shock him off! Thunder Wave," Tenten called.

"Off, double-time!" Hinata countered.

An electrical current ran across Teppo's body, though Midoriya had already flipped off her and landed on his feet. Before he could do anything, Teppo, still on her back, slammed a fist against the battlefield, causing a stone pillar to rip out of the ground beneath her. She grabbed hold of the Stone Edge attack as it rose up over ten feet, easily swinging her light frame up atop it when it finished moving.

Tenten started taunting Hinata, but Midoriya was on the move, jabbing a paw at Teppo as a vine shot out from his armor at her.

"Midoriya, wait!" Hinata called, too late.

With the vine hanging halfway there, Midoriya suddenly stumbled, putting a hand to his mouth as he felt a wave of nausea overcome him; the penalty for a non-magnetic Pokémon using a special move on Magnetic Terrain.

"A-ha! You know all about Magnetic Terrain! I knew you were cheating!" Tenten spat, pointing an accusing finger at the other girl. She turned to Teppo. "Fire!"

She hadn't needed to give the other; Teppo was already blasting Midoriya with a Dragon Pulse that threw him backwards, though he was able to quickly roll behind a bolder for cover. However, it was blown to pieces a second later, focing Midoriya to Rollout and move in a serpentine pattern to avoid getting hit again.

Hinata winced, considering her options. She could recall Midoriya and send out Katsuki. His higher speed and mobility would be more advantageous right now. But he was also tired out from his previous battle; more than that, Hinata thought Midoriya could handle the situation. Things were fair from hopeless for him, even if range was his greatest weakness. So, her best bet was either to get Midoriya to Teppo (highly unlikely), or…bring Teppo to him.

"Midoriya, Wood Hammer that pillar," Hinata said, wondering why she didn't think of that sooner.

"Quill!" Midoriya called, suddenly turning onto his side and spinning in place, kicking up a dust cloud. Teppo fired a Dragon Pulse at the front of the cloud, where she expected him to jump out from, but instead Midoriya had dove behind a nearby bolder and was now making a beeline for the pillar. He pulled back a fist cloaked with Grass-type energy shaped like a log and slammed the rock, letting out a mighty cry. The pillar cracked and part of it crumbled way; poor Teppo lost her footing and fell with the loose stone.

However, Tenten thought quick, ordering Teppo to blast at the ground, using the impromptu boost to throw herself back onto what remained of the pillar, which she easily gripped her with crawls. In the meantime, Midoriya had scaled up the pillar with surprising speed, punching his claws into the rockface, and with one desperate lunge, he avoided Teppo's final Dragon Pulse and flew at her, slamming a Brick Break into her face. The blow knocked her off and caused her to fall with Midoriya, though because her body was lighter and had high wind resistance, she hit the ground with a light 'clang' a moment after Midoriya did. The Duraludon did not stir from where she landed.

"With that, it looks like the match goes to Midoriya, and the battle goes to Hinata Hyuga!" Sakura announced, chopping the air.

"Darn it! I didn't even knock out one of your Pokémon…though of course, you cheated," Tenten growled, glaring not at Hinata, but at Naruto.

He gave her a mock-sheepish grin and shrugged.

Hinata, who had called out her entire team to congratulate them, frowned and came to Naruto's defense. "Y-you know, I checked all the gym rules, and it says nowhere that a challenger isn't allowed to ask another trainer for advice."

Tenten frowned. "Yeah, well it's still dirty."

Sasuke scoffed. "All warfare is based on deception," he said, once again quoting something his father had said.

Tenten was of a different option, but since Hinata hadn't broken any rules, there wasn't anything she could do about it anyway.

Hinata's friends were quick to give their congratulations. Especially Naruto.

"Haha! You didn't lose a single Pokémon! Bet you're not feeling down about our last gym match now, huh?" he said, clapping her on the back.

"…rub it in, why don't you?" Tenten grumbled off to the side.

Sakura heard her and smiled sympathetically.

"You know, Hinata's team had a strong advantage, with the right types to deal with Steel Pokémon, the Bulletproof ability, and they're mostly physical fighters, so Magnetic Terrain wasn't much use. Plus, the Light Screen crippled your special attacks. I'd say you shouldn't feel too bad about losing. Besides, a few losses are not going to stain your record."

Tenten scoffed but shrugged.

Above them, Tetsu cheered happily, waving a claw at them as he tried to agree with what Sakura was saying, though he didn't understand a word of it.

"At least it seems Tetsu used Magnetic Terrain properly," Sakura suggested.

"…yeah, he did!" Tenten said, eyes suddenly blazing. Her mind whirled with a dozen thoughts at once. "If we taught it to that bolt-brain, then we can teach it to at least one of my team! And then I can petition to the Konoha League to formally acknowledge it as a real move once at least three different Pokémon can do it!"

Sakura tried asking Tenten what the plan was, but Tenten was too caught up in the excitement to notice, continuing to speak rapidly to herself.

Meanwhile, Hinata had asked Naruto and Sasuke to take a picture of her and her team to commemorate the victory. She didn't say it, but she planned on sending it to her father- call her shallow, but she was feeling very proud of herself. Of course, she insisted on letting Kirishima pose with the rest of them, even though he hadn't actually taken part in the battle.

Naruto took a picture, but then Sasuke took the Pokénav from him, criticizing the photo. Surprisingly, he had an eye for photography, and insisted that if they were going to do this, they were to do it right. Quickly, he ordered each of Hinata's teammates into various positions. Katsuki was standing with his back to the rest of the team, arms crossed, and looking over his shoulder 'grim and stoic', as Sasuke had put it, in order to make him look tough and show off his black and red flame-vents. Kikyo was standing to Hinata's left (it was important that she was on the left, Sasuke insisted, since she used support-moves instead of attacking), and she was curtsying modestly, like a lady. Midoriya, meanwhile, was at Hinata's right, holding up a Wood Hammer and winking at the camera. Lastly, little Kirishima (who was now nearly Hinata's size and had the bulk to carry her on his broad shoulders), was 'hiding' modestly behind Hinata, though he was really sticking out on either side of her, with his tail on the right side, over Midoriya's head, and his front sticking out on the left, mouth open in a big cheer. Meanwhile, Hinata herself was to stand at the center of them all, smiling gently and holding out her right hand to show her newly earned badge…which was when Sasuke realized that Tenten hadn't given Hinata her badge yet.

"Hey, hawk it over, quick! We gotta take this photo before the baby gets restless," Sasuke shouted at the gym leader. He seemed to be taking this even more seriously than Hinata was.

-0o0o0-

Hinata turned the Kunai badger over in her hand, contemplating it for a moment. It was a simple design, just two crossed kunai. Still, as she put it away in its case next to the Antidote badge, Hinata couldn't help but swell with pride.

She did well in that battle; according to Naruto's gushing praise, she did great, in fact. And though it might be childish of her, she really did want to call home and tell her family all about it.

The band (Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata) were sitting down for a quick lunch in the Battle Tower's cafeteria, discussing their plans for the day.

"We're going to have to skip coordination practice today, Sasuke," Sakura said apologetically. "Tenten wants to do some more work with Magnetic Terrain (copywrite pending) today. She's confident we can get at least one of her teammates to learn it now."

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly, though inwardly, he was slightly annoyed. They didn't really have their appeal down for the contest, though they had been working on some ideas that were promising. He decided not to say anything and just hang with Naruto and Hinata; as of late, they'd been practicing apart (they were on different coordination teams, after all), but Sasuke was sure they'd let him practice with them if he asked. Maybe he could glean a few ideas from them, too.

"I-I think I'll skip today, too," Hinata said, blushing slightly. "Gaara asked me to go shopping with her later today, and I wanted to call home before that."

"Ahh, you two abandoning us guys now that you've got some female friends?" Naruto asked playfully. He laughed. "Don't worry! Sasuke and me can keep ourselves entertained! We'll just go bust some mailboxes and set fire to private property."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Besides, your team deserves a rest after that awesome win," Naruto added.

Hinata blushed, nodding. "Yeah. And I want to use that TM* Tenten gave me."

Most gyms had the custom of giving out TMs of the gym leader's favorite moves to trainers who perform especially well, and the Steel Blossom Gym was no exception. Tenten gave Naruto Flash Cannon (which he immediately taught to Kata), Iron Tail to Sasuke (for Akodo), and lastly, Iron Head for Hinata.

After some careful thought, Hinata decided to teach the move to Kirishima. A Steel-type move would be useful for dealing with Fairy-types, after all.

TMs were normally administered to 'mons at Pokémon centers, after which the Pokémon had to be monitored for 12 hours, to ensure nothing went wrong during the process. As such, poor Kiri would have to stay at the center for most of the day, though he'd been doing a good job of behaving himself while they were inside. Hinata felt somewhat bad about leaving him with Nurse Joy while she went shopping, but she supposed it was important for Kirishima to learn that he could be separated from her and still be safe. She had mentioned this to Nurse Joy, who assured her that she had handled many such cases of a young Pokémon being left at the center for the first time, and things would be just fine.

After lunch, the group parted, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to their own devices while Hinata went to the Pokécenter and Sakura continued working with Tenten. With nothing better to do, the boys headed to the Battle Tower's first floor and signed up for some randomized matches. There wasn't much point in trying to practice coordination without their partners, after all.

It took only a few minutes for both boys to be matched. Naruto ended up battling in the tropical forest area on the four floor while Sasuke was set for a match on the fifth, which mimicked various urban settings.

"See ya, Sasuke. Good luck," Naruto said as he stepped off the elevator. Sasuke grunted dismissively.

The Battle Tower's four floor fit every stereotype of a tropical biome. The air was thick and humid, with large trees, vines, and shrubs growing all around. It seemed like harsh sunlight flittered through the leaves above, though Naruto could tell the light was artificial. Even the ground was made of dirt and packed earth, though there were clear-cut paths and signs telling customers where to go. As Naruto followed the trail to his match's location, Battlefield Three, Naruto heard a variety of stereotypical jungle sounds from speakers hidden among the trees, like the cries of Mankey or calls from the Pikipek-line. The Battle Tower went all-out when it came to ambiance, it seemed.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" a referee asked when the blond arrived, quickly checking his tablet.

Naruto nodded, but before he could say anymore, he was cut off by a bark-like cry.

"Naruto, you sack of Tauros-crap! What're you doing, showing your face here?!"

Naruto spun around, ready to punch the speaker, but stopped upon seeing who it was.

"Kiba! It's you-!" Naruto began with a smile, only for the wild boy to give him a solid punch in the stomach. "Ouch! What was that for?!"

"For abandoning me back in Sprout Town, ya' dumbass!" Kiba growled, getting ready to punch the other boy again. Next to him, Akamaru the Growlithe barked worriedly at his trainer, telling him to stop before they got in trouble.

In that moment of distraction, Naruto moved quickly, grabbing Kiba by his arm and sweeping him down. Before Kiba knew it, he was pinned with his arm bent behind his back and Naruto on top of him. "Hey, get off me!" Kiba protested, struggling.

"Not until you say you'll stop sucking punching me!" Naruto said.

Kiba turned to Akamaru to tell him to help, but instead the Growlithe rebuked his trainer, calling him an idiot. Did he forget that Naruto was the best wrestler in school? As if to emphasize this point, Naruto twisted Kiba's arm slightly and sent a shot of pain up it to his shoulder.

"You ready to call it quits?" the blond asked in a steely voice.

"Stop it, you two!" the referee shouted, jumping forward and pulling Naruto off the other boy. "What's the matter with you two? I could throw you out for fighting like that!"

"Ah, don't worry about it; just guy stuff," Naruto said, taking a step back as the referee helped Kiba to his feet. Naruto looked at the other boy purposefully. "Right, Kiba?"

Kiba glowered at him, but thought better of it and nodded. "Yeah…sorry for sucker punching you."

The referee wasn't really satisfied with this, but when the boys assured him they wouldn't try brawling anymore, he decided not to push the issue.

"In case you two didn't realize, you're each other's opponent for the match. You both signed up for a 3-v-3, right? Since you two clearly know each other, we can skip introductions and start when you're ready."

Kiba nodded. "Heh, guess I get to pay you back for leaving me to die back in the woods, Blondie!"

"Leaving you to die…?" Naruto said, still somewhat confused. He'd been so angry with Kiba attacking him that he didn't even think about what the other boy had said. Then something clicked. "Ah! You mean back when we rescued Hinata from those Sound Trio losers! Ha! I forgot that you got knocked out before any of that."

Kiba stared at Naruto, confused. "…eh? What're you talking about?"

Naruto shrugged, turning to the referee. "Mind if we talk a bit before our match, Sir?"

The ref checked something on his tablet. "Hmm, sure. Battlefields Two and Five are open, so it's not like we've got a line of trainers waiting. But be quick, okay?"

-0o0o0-

…Meanwhile…

-0o0o0-

Sasuke frowned at his opponent. He knew he'd met the other boy before, though he couldn't place his name. Sasuke subtly glanced over at the scoreboard without turning his head: Toru. Ah, now Sasuke remembered; it was the trainer he'd pummeled a few times in the past.

"Hey, I guess this will be your chance to try and make up for your defeat last time?" Toru asked, smiling awkwardly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I didn't lose."

Toru shrugged nonchalantly. "Your Dewott interfered during the match, thereby disqualifying you. Ergo, I won!"

Sasuke's face darkened. But instead of arguing, he just threw a Pokéball. "Shoto, go."

"Heh, sending out your funny Vulpix? This should be easy," Toru used, reasoning that he had technically beaten Sasuke's Vulpix last time they battled (though not by knockout). "Okay Ratty, let's show 'em what we can do!" he said, calling out a Raticate.

The judge called for the match to begin.

"Ratty, start out with Quick Attack-!" Toru shouted, only for Shoto to act first, his mismatched eyes releasing a blue and red flash. "Eh? What was that-? Ratty, what are you doing?!"

Toru's Raticate was thrashing and rolling on the ground, tearing out tufts of his own fur as he clawed desperately at himself.

While Toru continued to shout in alarm and confusion at what was happening, Sasuke smiled inwardly, realizing that Shoto had decided to use a Confuse Ray on his own initiative…and was now shooting his opponent with Freeze-dry without waiting for Sasuke's order.

As the battle went on, Sasuke privately thought that Shoto's habit of thinking for himself would be a useful trait. Bayushi, however, couldn't help but notice the ever-so-slight expression of boredom on the Vulpix's face.

-0o0o0-

…Back to Naruto…

-0o0o0-

"You've got a shiny Gabite?" Kiba asked in awe, looking Prince Sidon Uzumaki III up and down from across the battlefield. "That's so cool!"

Naruto, meanwhile, admired his opponent's Pokémon. It was Bolt, the Yamper Kiba had sent against Naruto during their first battle…only he wasn't a Yamper anymore, but a handsome and well-groomed Boltund.

"You sure know how to care for your team's coats," Naruto remarked, glancing from Bolt's glossy coat to Akamaru's, who was by his master's side.

"Thanks," Kiba said, flashing a genuine smile. "But seriously, good job catching the red dragon!"

Sidon puffed up haughtily as he took off his cape and crown and put them safely aside. At least someone was giving him the respect he deserved!

"You may begin whenever you like," the referee called.

"Bolt, we better cripple that one; use Nuzzle!" Kiba said. To his own misfortune, he never paid much attention to type match-ups in Elements class. As such, Kiba had no idea why the Gabite was completely unaffected when his electrified Boltund pressed against him, allowing Sidon to easily throw his foe back with a powerful Dragon Claw.

"Huh, what gives?" Kiba asked, dumbfounded.

"Gabite's a Dragon/Ground Pokémon; he's immune to Electric attacks, dummy!" Naruto said, amazed that Kiba didn't know that.

The other boy scoffed. "Ya' can't expect me to memorize every 'mon's typing! Some of us have better things to do with our lives! Bolt, try Crunch!"

"Sidon, trap Bolt with Sand Tomb," Naruto said.

However, the Gabite ignored his trainer and slammed a foot onto the ground, sending out a Bulldoze wave that hit his foe and threw him back. Before Bolt could recover his footing, Sidon sent another Bulldoze his way, throwing the Boltund into the battlefield's forcefield and knocking him out.

Sidon looked smugly at his trainer from over his shoulder as Kiba recalled his dog while the referee declared Sidon the winner.

"Yeah, yeah, you did good. But you've gotta start listening to me! I'm the trainer!" Naruto shouted, not liking Sidon's attitude.

The Gabite snorted and said something in a guttural tone- had Kata or Kikyo been available, they'd have translated, 'You're also crunchy and taste good with ketchup, human'. Even without them, Naruto got the gist of what his rebellious 'mon was saying.

The referee cleared his throat, asking Kiba to send out his next Pokémon. Kiba held his next Pokéball up, whispering something to it, and tossed it.

"Haida, you're up!"

Haida the Mightyena, evolved from the Poochyena Kiba and Naruto had fought over, appeared with a growl, activating his Intimidate ability and releasing a wave of weakening energy. It hit Sidon, who staggered back and hissed in confusion, though the red dragon quickly recovered.

"Haida, take out that lizard with Ice Fang!" Kiba shouted, taking the initiative.

Sidon scoffed and slammed his foot into the ground to release another Bulldoze, but Naruto realized something was wrong. "Wait, go for a different attack!"

It was too late- Sidon's Bulldoze travelled across the battlefield, only for Haida to easily lunge over the low wave and go straight for Sidon's neck. The Gabite shrieked and slashed at his attacker with Dragon Claw, but he couldn't throw the Mightyena off, having been weakened by Intimidate. Haida redoubled his efforts, biting down with Ice Fang again, getting a better portion of Sidon's neck and landing a critical hit. The Gabite shivered, letting out a strangled cry as he fell over, knocked out.

"Darn it!" Naruto sighed as he recalled Sidon. The battlefield, already nothing more than packed dirt, had been broken apart by the two previous Bulldoze attacks Sidon used. As such, the third one he used against Haida had to travel through the rubble, losing much power and speed in the process, making it easy for the Mightyena to avoid it.

Still, Naruto wondered how Kiba figured that out. Clearly, just because he was stupid enough to use an Electric move against a Ground-type didn't mean he was an idiot. Naruto's mental tally on Kiba's threat level went up.

"Okay Kubo, you're up!" he said, calling out his Frogadier.

"Heh, your Water-type again? We'll take him out just as easily as last time! Thunder Fang!"

"Smokescreen-Low King!" Naruto countered.

Haida charged forward with his fangs sparking, but Kubo nailed him with a smoke bomb between the eyes. As the Mightyena wined and flailed about blindly, Kubo pressed forward, sliding past Haida and sweeping all four of his legs out from under him. Haida hit the ground painfully and tried biting at his attacker, but Kubo was already out of the way, flipping up onto the forcefield ceiling and prepping a Water Pulse.

"Switching out!" Kiba said quickly, recalling Haida just before Kubo launched the attack. "Akamaru, you're in!"

"Growlithe!" Akamaru barked, charging onto the battlefield without hesitation.

As soon as Akamaru was inside the forcefield, Kubo threw his Water Pulse at the Growlithe, who deflected it in midair with a Flamethrower. Then the Growlithe barked furiously and released his Intimidate ability, draining Kubo of some of his strength.

"Man, just how many of your Pokémon have that ability?" Naruto asked, grimacing.

"You've seen him use it before, ya' idiot!" Kiba snapped.

"Yeah? Well, eat a Water Pulse!" Naruto snapped back.

Akamaru once again tried deflecting the attack with a Flamethrower, however this time the water bubble burst and showered him instead of being deflected. Yelping, the Growlithe scrambled in a panic, dodging another Water Pulse in the process still getting splashed in the explosion.

"Stop deflecting attacks. Use Smokescreen," Kiba called.

The Growlithe breathed out a veil of black smoke that expanded outwardly until it cloaked nearly half of the battlefield. Kubo had no way of knowing where his foe could be.

Naruto grimaced. He figured that with the attack drop from Intimidate, his best bet was to keep at a range and use their type advantage- Naruto was certain Kiba had taught Akamaru Thunder Fang (he was right, too), so melee combat was completely out of the question. Fighting at long range shouldn't be difficult for Kubo, anyway. Aside from knowing Water Pulse, the Frogadier could also hang on the forcefield's walls and ceilings, while all Akamaru could do in response was send Flamethrowers the frog's way. It seemed like an easy win.

However, Kiba recognized the situation and had a solution.

"Now use Rock Tomb!"

"Huh?"

Akamaru howled and stomped from inside the Smokescreen cloud. Kubo followed the sound and threw a Water Pulse at the source, hitting his target. However, at the same time, a flurry of stones broke out from ground around Akamaru at flew out at Kubo, smashing him to him and knocking him off the ceiling. He hit the ground and was stunned.

"Quick! Get him while he's still down!" Kiba shouted desperately.

But the Water Pulse left Akamaru slightly disorientated. The Growlithe was unsteady on his feet, shaking his head back and forth to try and get the world to stop spinning.

Meanwhile, Naruto was desperately calling out to Kubo to get up.

Finally, the two Pokémon recovered at the same time. Akamaru charged. Kubo pulled himself free from the rocks that had pinned him. He tried to lunge away, but Akamaru's strong jaws clamped down on one of his legs, sparking with electricity. However, at the same time, the leg went from blue to green, with a woody texture, followed by the rest of Kubo's body.

Akamaru let his jaws go slack in surprise.

"What the-?" Kiba asked from his side of the battlefield, not recognizing the Camouflage attack, nor realizing that it temporarily gave Kubo the properties of a Grass-type.

"Frog!" Kubo shouted, conjuring a small Water Pulse and throwing it into Akamaru's face at close range.

That shook Akamaru free of his surprise. The Growlithe furiously sent a Flamethrower at his foe, who had to desperately dodge the attack. However, in doing so, Kiba noticed Kubo's now woody skin singe from the heat, and the mass of leaves that replaced the Frogadier's bubble-mane wilt badly. Then things clinked. Kiba's mind was not academic, but he was a quick learner.

"We've got him! Forget Thunder Fang, just use Flamethrower!"

Kubo used his tongue to lasso a nearby tree branch and pull himself out of the way of another stream of flames, but Akamaru pressed the attack. At Naruto's instruction, Kubo dove behind the tree, and when Akamaru tried following him, it seemed that the frog had vanished.

"Grr, I guess that skin-changing move can also make him invisible," Kiba growled. Then he smiled aggressively. "Too bad we don't need our eyes to see 'em!"

Akamaru yipped in approval, closing his eyes and sniffing deeply. The Odor Sleuth technique allowed the Growlithe to zero in on his almost-invisible foe. Akamaru opened his eyes, flames billowing from his mouth.

Naruto shouted a warning, and a frog's tongue shot out from what appeared to be a bush until a moment ago and wrapped around Akamaru's neck. Kubo pulled himself at his foe, both hands holding a Water Pulse. Meanwhile, the Growlithe stubbornly braced himself and shot his Flamethrower, blasting his foe full-on even as Kubo hit him with the Water Pulse at point-blank range.

There was an explosion of fire, steam, smoke, and water.

-0o0o0-

…Back to Sasuke…

-0o0o0-

Bayushi nailed the Wartortle with one final Hidden Power, knocking her out.

Toru bemoaned the defeat of his last Pokémon, recalling her, but Sasuke wasn't paying that much attention. The battle had been easy. Too easy, in fact. Shoto froze Toru's Raticate, Akodo took care of his Roggenrola, and Bayushi just trumped his Wartortle.

Sasuke had hoped to have a battle that let him use the cityscape-themed environment of this level of the Battle Tower to his advantage. His last gym battle made him realize that utilizing terrain during battle was important, and Sasuke wanted to put the principle into practice. However, in the end, he'd beaten Toru without even breaking a sweat- or, truth be told, Sasuke'd been so riled up by Toru's claim that he'd beaten Sasuke last time that he had gone all out without thinking.

Dissatisfied, Sasuke whistled for Bayushi, who jumped up onto his shoulder, and the two wandered away from the battle as soon as the referee declared him the victor. Sasuke debated between signing up for another match or seeing if he could just find another trainer to battle on his own.

A commotion drew Sasuke's attention to a particular battlefield. Several other trainers had gathered along the edge to watch, which Sasuke assumed meant a great match was underway. He made his way over, managing to push his way to front of the crowd.

The battlefield was a simulated junkyard, with a pile of debris on one side, a pond of mud and filth on the other, and dirt arena strewn with junk in the middle. The two trainers were having a 2-vs-2 match. The first trainer was a long-haired boy, a few years older than Sasuke, with Hyuga-white eyes, dressed in the traditional garb of an Aura Guardian. One of Hinata's relatives, Sasuke was sure.

Sasuke's jaw dropped when he spotted the second trainer: it was Cross! The redheaded teen stood smugly with his arms crossed, smirking confidently as the battle raged.

Currently, Cross's Lycanroc was grappling with the Hyuga boy's Weavile. The smaller Weavile struggled wildly, suddenly throwing her larger foe off as she spun like a top, cloaking herself in ice and snow. However, Cross's Lycanroc avoided the worst of the Ice Spinner attack, slamming a claw into the ground to make a Stone Edge pillar burst up, riding atop it to put some distance between his foe and himself. The Weavile's trainer told her to follow, and she did, easily skating up the leaning pillar with a pair of ice-blades she conjured on her feet, allowing her to move with even more speed than Sasuke thought possible. In an instant, the Weavile not only caught up to her foe, but zipped past him from between his legs. Quick as the wind, she was up on his back, claws clamping down on the Lycanroc's jaws shut as she started to freeze them shut. But then the Lycanroc counterattacked, flinging himself onto his back and flipping backwards, leaving the Weavile on the ground as he got to his feet. In an instant, he sank his jaws into her shoulder while his forepaws pinned her claws down. Then there was a burst of fire, not only from the Lycanroc's mouth, but from his forepaws as well. The Weavie screamed and struggled against the joint Fire Fang-Punch combo, but her protests died as quickly as they had started. However, to make sure she wasn't playing possum, the Lycanroc savagely shook his foe about in his jaws; when she didn't stir, he tossed her aside with a satisfied growl.

"…well done," the Hyuga boy said curtly, recalling his Weavile in a white Premier Ball. In fact, all five of the balls on his belt were Premier Balls. Sasuke thought that Naruto would like this boy, whoever he was.

Cross smirked with such arrogance that Sasuke wanted to punch him. "Wish I could say the same to you. Come on, give us a fight!"

Cross's Lycanroc howled in agreement and raised a paw towards the heavens. The crowd around the battlefield let out a collection of laughs and cheers, Cross's infectious arrogance causing them to send a few taunts the Hyuga boy's way.

The Hyuga boy showed no signs of even noticing the catcalls from the crowd. "Okami, go forth," he said, calling out a Lucario.

Okami the Lucario materialized in the lotus position, floating a few inches off the ground, eyes closed in meditation. Seemingly unperturbed at being called to battle, the Lucario half-opened his eyes and raised his head, acknowledging his opponent. Other than that, the Lucario made no move to end his meditations. He didn't even get to his feet. However, Sasuke noticed the Hyuga boy's eyes glow with the power of Aura. And from the way Cross's face turned from a cocky grin to a look of concern, Sasuke bet Cross was starting to realize the situation was about to turn against him. That made Sasuke smile.

"Minuano, use Rock Polish!" Cross said.

As the Cross's Lycanroc started to pound hist chest and shake off a layer of dusk, Sasuke privately wondered who the hell 'Minuano' was, until common sense told him it must have been the Lycanroc's name. Huh, that's the first time I've heard it, Sasuke mused.

But before Minuano the Lycanroc could finish Rock Polishing himself, there was a blur of blue accompanied by a rush of air that kicked up dirt across the battlefield.

-CLANG!-

The unmistakable sound of metal hitting something softer than itself split air, and Minuano was sprawled out on the ground, tongue hanging out of his open jaws. He was nowhere near where he'd been standing, but rather was a good 10 feet away, with a trail of upturned earth going from his crash point to where Okami the Lucario was now standing, arm still outstretched from his Bullet Punch. From his side of the battlefield, the Hyuga boy was holding his own fist out in the exact same pose, eyes glowing softly with Aura. With deliberate slowness and grace, both the boy and his Lucario moved in perfect unison, shifting their stance so they were now in a relaxed pose, hands folded together in a peaceable manner.

"Holy Miltank, that was fast! That was like the Yellow Flash!" the referee gasped. The 'Yellow Flash' was the media nickname given to Minato Namikazi's signature 'mon, a Shiny Lucario, who was an infamously fast Pokémon on a team of notably fast Pokémon. Popular rumor claimed that the Konoha League had to invest in expensive specialized cameras because the standard ones they used weren't fast enough to capture the Yellow Flash's best moves, but such claims were denied by the league. The referee then noticed something that shocked him even more than the Okami's speed. "Hey! You broke his teeth!"

A camera drone zoomed in and showed a closeup of Minuano's mouth as the Lycanroc propped himself up onto his elbows. Several of the teeth on his right side were indeed cracked.

"I could penalize you for unnecessary roughness!" the referee warned.

The Hyuga boy seemed unperturbed by this.

Cross spoke up. "Don't worry about it; Lycanroc teeth are made of rock. They're constantly grinding down and being replaced by new growth. Still, that was one Houndoom of a punch," he said, looking over at his opponent.

The Hyuga boy looked bored. "Continue the match….we'll wait."

Cross spat and shouted orders for Minuano.

The Lycanroc quickly lifted one of his back legs and slammed it down heel-first, shattering the ground and kicking up large shards of earth, which he then rapidly kicked at his Lucario foe in a Stomping Tantrum attack. Not waiting to see if the attack hit, Minuano hit the ground where he lay and called up a small Stone Edge, using the pillar to push himself up from the prone position before grabbing it and heaving it over himself and then swinging it down at Okami. The stone shattered in a dust cloud, but Minuano burst out from it, swinging a pair of Fire Punches with both fists.

But Okami casually dodged each attack, and what's more, the Lucario gave taunting commentary each time!

"[Slow,]" Okami commented as he moved in a blur to avoid the Stomping Tantrum.

Then there was the Stone Edge, which Okami evaded with equal ease.

"[…sloppy…]"

And then the Lucario easily leaped over Minuano as the Lycanroc lunged at him, even doing a needlessly complex triple twirl before he landed right behind his foe and did a stage whisper in his ear.

"[Sad.]"

Minuano didn't turn around, but just hit the ground with a Stomping Tantrum. This time, the shattered earth actually threw Okami off-balance, letting the Lycanroc throw his head backwards for an Iron Head attack, but it was largely deflected both by the chest-spike on Okami's chest and by the Lucario rolling with the blow.

"[…better,]" Okami conceded, tapping his chest where he was hit. Quick as a blur, he lashed out, striking Minuano in the chest with a palm strike. A burst of blue energy exploded from his open palm, blasting the Lycanroc off his feet and into the battlefield's mud pond. The Lycanroc's landing created a splash of mud and filth, but Okami easily stepped out of the way, even casually brushing off his shoulder with disdain.

Cross swore loudly. "Of course the damn thing talks. Just like Uncle's," he muttered. Unlike most of the crowd, he was not in awe at a talking Lucario (while Sasuke was privately wondering if he'd ever seen a member of the Lucario that couldn't talk, now that he thought about it…of course, he'd only ever known Naruto's and Uncle Minato's). Cross fingered a Pokéball at his belt, considering the switch.

"Where's that confidence from earlier?" the Hyuga boy asked coldly. "You're clearly outmatched. You're slower and weaker."

"[And none too bright, on top of that]," Okami added, looking rather smug. "[You'd be wise to surrender. But, since we know you're lacking in wisdom, we will gladly continue the lesson.]" He bowed, suddenly making his stance relaxed, but once again waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

Now the crowd was throwing catcalls and taunts in Cross's direction, questioning his skills and ethics as a trainer for continuing to fight when his Pokémon was so badly outmatched.

Cross grit his teeth, clearly hating the taunts, but as Minuano pulled himself out of the muck, an expression of surprise flashed on his face, followed by a grin.

"Minuano, Operation: Quicksand," Cross said, calm and collected. "Ranged fighting!"

The Lycanroc grinned, barking out a Snarl attack, sending Dark-type soundwaves at his foe. The soundwaves fanned out in a wide cone, making dodging the attack impossible. But Okami didn't try dodging, instead suddenly spinning in place as he cloaked himself in Aura.

The special Protect maneuver didn't simply deflect the Snarl but threw it back at his foe. However, Minuano was already on his next attack, calling up a Stone Edge pillar in front of himself to act as a shield. Then he stomped in the mud and motioned hard, as if moving something heavy.

Both the Hyuga boy and Okami tilted their heads in unison, puzzled. They had expected Minuano to shatter the Stone Edge shield with Stomping Tantrum.

But then the earth beneath Okami shifted and tried rising up around him like a grasping paw. Minuano was shaping the ground with Earth Power!

Scoffing, the Lucario chopped an opening between the dirt fingers and jumped out of the trap just as the paw-fist closed around him.

"…this no longer amuses me. End it," the Hyuga boy said. His eyes flashed with Aura, as did Okami's.

The Lucario moved as the wind, jumping into the mud pond after his foe. The Lycanroc tried ducking behind the Stone Edge bolder, but Okami punched right through it.

-CLANG!-

The sound of metal being struck once again split the battlefield, but it was Okami staggering back while Minuano advanced, swinging a Fire Punch that hit his foe in the jaw.

"What the-?!" the Hyuga boy gasped, not sure what happened.

Okami recovered himself and tried going for a Bullet Punch, but he stumbled, and Sasuke now realized what was happening.

"You might be faster, but that doesn't mean jack when we're both thigh-deep in mud," Cross said, flashing his Sharpedo-like smile.

While Okami struggled to figure out how to move in the mud pond, Minuano had very little trouble, smoothly pushing himself through the muck and moving at a reasonable speed. Sasuke guessed that aside from his Rock-typing helping, he and Cross had trained for such a scenario, considering the code-phrase Cross had shouted earlier.

Now the Lycanroc tried closing in with Close Combat, suddenly lunging out of the mud and raining a flurry of blows with all four of his limbs (all burning orange with Fighting-type energy). However, Okami scoffed, holding one arm out to create an energy-shield of Protect, while with his free hand he started conjuring an Aura Sphere attack. Minuano hit the shield, and to the utter amazement of the match's spectators, rapidly beat it down, breaking through it after a moment and pushing forward onto the now defenseless Okami! He managed to get a number of hits in, even biting down hard onto the Lucario's neck with his broken teeth, before Okami slammed the Aura Sphere into his stomach. The ball of energy punched Minuano backwards and up, up into the air, finally slamming him up into the forcefield ceiling before exploding. The Lycanroc then fell, landing face-first in the mud with an impressive and painful splash.

"…whoa," the referee said, truly impressed. Then he caught himself. "Okami the Lucario wins!"

As the crowd erupted into cheers, Sasuke looked at Cross. The redhead seemed to be contemplative as he recalled his Lycanroc into a Cherish Ball. Then he took a moment to whisper words of praise to it before tucking it away. Sasuke blinked in surprise- this was the same jerk that had abandoned Ochako. The idea that Cross could show affection to his Pokémon, even after they'd been beaten, was something Sasuke hadn't expected.

Instead of calling out his next Pokémon, he looked up at the Hyuga boy. "It's been a long time since someone knocked out Minuano. For mocking you earlier…I apologize." He then folded his right arm in front of himself and bowed in a manner more common among foreigners. From the expression on his face, it was hard for Cross to swallow his pride and admit such a thing.

The Hyuga boy took the statement in, measuring it for what it was worth. Then he simply said, "Accepted," returning Cross's bow with the slightest inclination of his head.

Cross then took the only plain Pokéball from his belt. "Sundowner, bring the burning winds of destruction!"

There was a burst of fire as Cross's Pokémon materialized. The 'mon roared, causing the flames to rise up to the forcefield's ceiling, and a wave of heat hit the crowd before the battlefield's forcefield adjusted to contain it. Cross's Pokémon let out a theatrical laugh, fist pumping at the crowd and feeding off their awe and enthusiasm.

"What in the Distortion World is that?" a trainer next to Sasuke asked, pulling out his Pokédex.

"Incineroar, the Heel Pokémon. Known for having a violent, selfish disposition, this Pokémon enjoys no-holds-barred battles, and is difficult for unskilled trainers to handle. Though rough mannered and egotistical, Incineroar finds beating weak foes to be boring, only getting motivated when fighting stronger opponents."

On their side of the battlefield, both the Hyuga boy and his Lucario looked positively bewildered at their opponent's showboating as Sundowner the Incineroar fist-pumped first at one side of the battlefield to get the onlooking shouting, then at the other, then turned and flexed for everyone, even making his pecks dance when he noticed a camera drone zooming in for a closeup.

"…do you think you might be able to take a break from performing to continue our match?" the Hyuga boy asked, his voice dripping with disgust.

Cross scoffed and smiled. "Think you could do something 'bout that stick up your ass?"

The referee told Cross to be civil and ordered the match to continue.

Cross's Incineroar let out a mighty bellow as he activated his Intimidate ability. However, the black wave hit Okami only to bounce right off. The Lucario's Inner Focus had protected him.

-0o0o0-

…Back to Naruto…

-0o0o0-

"Double knockout!" the referee called, chopping the air.

Naruto recalled Kubo while Kiba did the same to Akamaru.

"Darn, you did really good there; Water against Fire should have been an easy match-up for me," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

Kiba smiled. "Yeah, I am pretty great. Still, you and your frog didn't do half bad."

Naruto was caught between scowling and grinning, but decided to make no further comment.

Briefly, he considered calling out Kata, but decided against it. Kata had been getting a lot of attention since his evolution, and Sora hadn't really gotten to battle outside of training with the rest of the group. With that in mind, Naruto tossed his Bagon's Premier Ball, calling him to the field, while Kiba did the same for his Mightyena.

Of course, the very first thing that happened was Haida the Mightyena releasing an Intimidate, much to Naruto's chagrin. Followed by some biting words on Kiba's part.

"Heh, that's the same Bagon from our first match, right? The one that almost killed Hinata with a Dragon Rage? The little guy hasn't evolved yet? Really?"

Sora hissed and Naruto glowered. "It hasn't been that long! And Bagons take a while to grow!

"Haida and Bolt both evolved since then, and I caught Haida the day we met," Kiba pointed out smugly.

"Why you-!" Naruto began, only to be cut off by Sora's wrathful scream.

It wasn't a particularly loud or impressive scream, considering it was coming from a small wyrmling of a dragon, but what it lacked in volume it made up for in spirit! Sora let out one long, angry tone, with his face drawn tight and his whole body rigid. On and on the cry went. Naruto wasn't sure how his Bagon could keep it up without breathing, but it gave him a very odd sense of pride knowing that Sora could pull it off.

Finally, the Bagon paused, drawing in a deep breath.

"…uh, good for you?" the referee said slowly. "Now, you guy can start-"

"RRHEEEE!" Sora roared, beginning the process all over again.

"Oh come on! I wanna get fighting!" Kiba shouted in exasperation.

Something occurred to Naruto. "…wait, are you trying to evolve?" he asked, looking closely at the Bagon, who was shaking urgently, and once or twice, might have glowed, ever so slightly.

"Seriously? That's so cool!" Kiba said.

Suddenly, both boys were kneeling next to the screaming Bagon, with Haida nearby.

"I think his back just glowed!" Naruto gasped, pointing.

"Nah…ooh! His front claws grew!" Kiba said.

"No, I think he's just flexing them," Naruto said, looking dejected.

Once again, Sora ran out of breath, only to breathe deep and start screaming again.

"He's definitely trying to evolve! Come on, buddy, you can do it!" Naruto said.

Their referee, who had walked over to tell the boys to either get battling or pack it up, took a surprised step back. "Whoa! He definitely glowed a little bit that time."

"But nothing still happening," Naruto said, needing to speak loudly to be heard over the screaming Bagon.

Sora now had closed his eyes as he strained with effort, hoping up and down slightly as he kept his whole body flexed.

An idea came to Kiba.

"Hey, stress can induce evolution, right? Maybe we need to get him angry!"

Naruto was going to ask what Kiba meant, but then Kiba shoved Sora in the chest.

"You should just give up, you little punk!" the wild boy said nastily. "You're never going to do it, so don't even try!"

One of Sora's eyes cracked open to glare at Kiba.

"That's right! You're a loser! You make me sick, you big baby!" Kiba said, pointing his finger only a few inches away from between Sora's eyes.

Next to him, Haida started releasing a flurry of insults and jabs in Pokéspeech.

"Hey, lay off!" Naruto said quickly.

Instead, the two went into overdrive, sticking out their tongues, making faces, and getting into the Bagon's personal space.

"What're you going to do about it, you big baby?" Kiba asked, not really paying attention to what was happening around him.

Next to him, his Mightyena snarled and used Taunt, his eyes flashing red as he assailed the young Bagon's psyche.

There was a glow of teal light leaking out from Sora. It was mostly coming from his throat, but there was also light leaking from his eyes.

The referee gasped. "He's almost there! It's happening!"

A sense of dread filled Naruto; he didn't think that Sora was evolving. "Uh, Kiba, you might want to-"

-VRRROOOOM!-

With a sound not unlike a jet engine, Sora suddenly released a beam of multi-hued teal fire from his mouth. The Dragon Pulse attack had such force that it swept both Kiba and Haida away, throwing the pair all way into the arena's forcefield wall.

"-duck," Naruto said, wincing as the pair bounced off the wall and hit the ground with a loud thud.

Kiba sat up and managed to ask, "Did he evolve?", before slumping into unconsciousness.

Sadly, Sora hadn't evolved. Instead, the Bagon fell backwards in a stupor, having spent every bit of his energy on the attack.

"Darn it!" Naruto said, recalling his Pokémon. He had gotten his hopes up for a minute there. Naruto turned and went to check on Kiba and his Mightyena.

"Ah Houndoom it, that'll be a lot of paperwork for me," the ref sighed, wincing. Though, considering the kinds of things he'd seen Pokémon do their trainers over the years, he doubted the boy would be more than stunned.

-0o0o0-

…Back to Sasuke…

-0o0o0-

On one side of the battlefield, Okami the Lucario panted and culched his right shoulder, which had a nasty burn that stretched from the bottom of the shoulder blade, up across the top, and down his chest, highlighted with a ring of deep teeth marks. Across from him, Sundowner, Cross's Incinerator, looked even worse for wear, kneeling on one knee as he tried shakily to pull himself to a standing position. His left eye was swollen shut; Okami had blackened it with a Mach Punch only a few minutes earlier. Still, both fighters had given as much as they'd taken.

The battle had started with Okami throwing an Aura Sphere, only for Sundowner to release an Overheat from his belt that not only swallowed the energy ball but bathed the entire battlefield in a flood of fire. When the conflagration had cleared, the whole battlefield had been baked- even the mud pond had been dried up. Yet Okami had been unharmed, using his spinning Protect technique to shield himself from the flames.

But spinning in place meant that Sundowner was able to spring at him through the fiery flood. The instant the flames cleared, the two were wrestling on the ground, where the Incineroar's greater size, strength, and skill for grappling allowed him to dominate the fight. He easily pinned the Lucario and started releasing bursts of fire at close range, drawing out cries of pain from his foe. But Okami cloaked himself in Aura and spun, throwing his foe off (a trick Cross scornfully said was getting old).

Sundowner tried springing after him, but Okami was suddenly a blur, hitting his foe with a solid Extreme speed to the gut, then following up with a Mach Punch the right side of Sundowner's face, then to his left (this particular blow hitting so hard it gave Sundowner a black eye). But then, just as Okami was rushing at his foe from behind, the Incinerator whipped around and caught him by the throat.

Roaring with fury, Sundowner slammed him into the ground so hard it shattered. Then, predicting Okami would go for his spinning defense again, Sundowner attacked with Fire Fang, biting down on the Lucario's shoulder. Sundowner was so big that he was able to fit Okami's entire shoulder in his mouth and then some! The Incineroar locked his teeth in place and dug his claws into the Lucario's back, trapping Okami- he'd not be able to spin free of this grapple!

But the worst was yet to come: instead of releasing his teeth and going for a second bite, Sundowner clamped down and started chewing, drawing horrible screams of pain from the Lucario.

Okami struggled madly, thrashing wildly and punching Sundowner repeatedly in the face, yet the Incineroar was completely unphased, continuing the brutal assault. Finally, Okami focused his strength and hit Sundowner with a knee to the groin.

The blow made Sundowner pull back and gasp in pain. A second knee-strike made Sundowner drop Okami completely, who fell to the ground and delivered an Aura-enhanced mule kick to Sundowner's groin for a third blow. That left them both on the ground, struggling to get up.

At some point, the referee must have said something about the match getting unnecessarily brutal, but both trainers had ignored him, and the audience only seemed to get stirred up by the violence. Sasuke found himself waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next. He even started to admire how the Incineroar handled his faster opponent before Sasuke reminded himself that it was Cross's Pokémon.

Now, Okami and Sundowner glared at one another. They were exhausted and hurt, but it seemed neither they nor their trainers were willing to give in. But before anything could happen, the referee spoke up.

"Stop the match! I'm calling it!" he said, punctuating his order by pressing a buzzer that signaled the fight was over.

There was a collective groan from the audience. The Hyuga boy frowned and stared down the referee, while Cross protested vocally.

The referee didn't back down. "This fight's getting out of hand. You both did good, but things got way too brutal there." He motioned first at the nasty bite and burn marks on Okami's arm, then to Sundowner's black eye.

"Injuries are bound to happen during battles; none of those break any league guidelines," the Hyuga boy said.

"Yeah! Sundowner lost a fang once in a gym fight!" Cross pitched in, then added to himself, "Even if it was baby tooth that was already loose."

Sundowner grinned proudly at the memory.

"It is up to the league-appointed referee to decide if an injury is a violation of the limitations. And I say it's getting way too violent for a casual battle," the referee said. "Keep arguing with me, and I'll ban you both from the Battle Tower for a week!"

Reluctantly, the two trainers accepted the ruling.

Cross recalled Sundowner, nodding begrudgingly but respectfully to his opponent. "You're strong. I'd like to fight you again sometime."

The Hyuga boy shrugged. "I'd like to settle this match sometime…I'll give you my number." He had put a hand to his Lucario's shoulder, and the Lucario put his paw over it. Both glowed with Aura, and Sasuke guessed that the two were healing the worst of the burn together.

Cross glanced at the crowd, and Sasuke found himself scrunching down and ducking back before he realized what he was doing.

"Veevee?" Bayushi asked, somewhat disgusted as Sasuke abruptly turned and walked away. The Eevee had to move quick to keep up with Sasuke's pace.

"I want to fight him, believe me. There's nothing I'd like more than beating that arrogant prick," Sasuke grunted. "But even I have to admit he's way out of our league…for now."

"…Eevee," Bayushi sighed bitterly, agreeing with his trainer.

Sasuke was surprised at his own anger. Cross hadn't hurt Sasuke, or any of Sasuke's team. At least not directly. The redhead had done wrong to Ochako, which made him Sakura's enemy, not Sasuke's. At best, because Ochako was Togashi's sweetheart, then by extension, Cross had inadvertently wronged Sasuke through him through her. But that was a weak connection at best.

Sasuke mulled over this, searching for the source of his resentment.

Cross had been a jerk to Sasuke when they first met, but that didn't mean much. Sasuke knew he was brusque himself, so he wasn't offended at the rudeness of others. Sure, there had been something to their interactions that left Sasuke with a bad taste in his mouth, but that wasn't what bothered him.

No, Sasuke realized that he had taken Cross's abandonment of Ochako personally. The way he casually admitted to it. The disloyalty of the action. How Cross made it clear he wasn't sorry for it in the least.

The memory made Sasuke's blood boil.

He scoffed, feeling the heat rise in him at the thought. Sasuke's mind drifted, thinking not about Ochako and Cross, but of Shiba. Sasuke's Houndour- no, now a Houndoom.

Strong. Devoted. Loyal.

So loyal that not even four years of separation and an overdose of Venom could bring Shiba to hurt Sasuke.

Ochako had that same loyalty in her soul. Even after being abandoned by Cross, she'd felt nothing but joy at being reunited with him…only for Cross to kick her aside and dismiss her tears.

Sasuke found himself grinding his teeth and fuming with anger. He forced himself to calm down, but the train of thought still made him burn.

How could anyone see such loyalty, such honor, and cast it aside? It was an affront. An abomination! An insult to everything a trainer should love and value-!

Sasuke's mental rant was interrupted by his Pokénav ringing.

"Hello? Mother?" Sasuke said, answering the phone and moving out of the way of foot traffic.

For a moment, Sasuke thought he was getting news regarding Shiba. However, that hope was quashed by his mother's next question.

"Eh? 'Can I get to Lilybog City in 10 days?' Uh, no, I don't think so. Why?"

His mother spoke excitedly.

"…what do you mean you'll send me a train ticket? …what? Grandmother Kikuko would never forgive me for missing it? Missing what?! What are you talking about?"

Finally, his mother calmed down enough to explain herself.

"…Grandmother's having an exhibition match for her retirement? Wait, who's her opponent?!"

-0o0o0-

…Steelblossom Gym…

-0o0o0-

"You're doing it! You're doing it!" Tenten cried excitedly as her Honedge, Caliburn, struggled to maintain the ring of electric magnetism around her. With a surge of effort, she pushed the ring outward, slowly at first but quickly picking up speed, until it had spread across the whole battlefield. The field stabilized, allowing the Honedge to release it. Bits of magnetic clay floated a few inches off the ground, and the air was distorted with the occasional ripple.

"Trng!" Tetsu the Metang said proudly, clapping Caliburn hardily on the back, to which she responded by slashing at him. Floating above them, Ion the Magnezone rolled his central eye. Throughout the week, Tetsu had been enthusiastic about helping his fellow Steel-types work on the Magnetic Terrain technique (copyright pending). Almost too enthusiastic about it, in fact, and Tenten's Honedge clearly getting tired of his unfailingly cheery disposition.

Even so, both Tenten and Sakura were overjoyed at this breakthrough; not an hour earlier, Tenten's Empoleon Belle had grasped the basics of the technique as well.

"So Tetsu, Belle, and Caliburn are all able to use it. And of course, Ion," Sakura said, listing them off. "Two fully inorganic Pokémon, a Ghost-type, and your organic Empoleon. With a variety like that, the Konoha League is sure to recognize Magnetic Terrain (copyright pending) as a real technique!"

Tenten nodded, smiling thoughtfully. "Yeah…hehe, too bad Grandpa's out on vacation. I'd have liked for him to see this." She paused and looked meaningfully at Sakura. "Sakura…thank you. Uh, I have something for you."

Tenten rummaged around in her pack for a moment before pulling out a small metal object and handing it to Sakura.

It was the Kunai badge.

Sakura gasped. "But-!"

Tenten cut her off, quick and stern.

"Stop right there, Sakura Haruno. I despise touchy-feely moments, and the only thing I hate more than that are bad clichés. So no, you are not going to try and say you didn't earn this by helping me out, and you are not going to make a big deal about it. Capeesh? Your friends already got theirs anyway, so unless you want to make them stay behind and wait for you to somehow beat my Steel-type crew with your team of Grass and Psychic-types (and a baby Dragon), I suggest you accept it and let that be the end of it."

Sakura stood quiet for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Excellent! Now let's move on!" Tenten said, suddenly smiling. "Why don't you head over to the Pokécenter on the first floor while I call the Konoha League Move Department and-"

Sakura's Pokénav started ringing.

"Uh, excuse me," she said, turning away and answering it. "Prof. Tsunade? Hello!"

Tenten gasped, as she was a great admirer of the professor. "Tell her about our breakthrough!" she said excitedly.

Sakura motioned for the other girl to quiet down. "What was that? You want me at Lilybog city within 10 days? Why?"

What the professor said next shocked Sakura so badly she dropped her phone. Luckily, Mina was crawling around at her feet and caught it.

-0o0o0-

…At the Pokécenter…

-0o0o0-

Hinata unlocked the door to their room and opened it wide, allowing Midoriya to enter first. The Quilladin hummed pleasantly to himself as he strode in carrying a shopping bag under each arm. They were the higher quality paper bags used by more professional clothing stores. Hinata had called Midoriya out not only to give him a chance to stretch his legs, but also because he'd been the only 'mon to accompany her while they were out shopping. Everyone else had to stay at the Pokecenter: Kikiyo wanted to rest after their gym battle, Kirishima was recovering from getting the Iron Head TM administered to him, and Katsuki decided to stay with Kiri to keep him company (Hinata was very pleased when he volunteered to do so).

The girls also hadn't asked Midoriya to carry their bags. Rather, he noticed how Gaara's hands were full carrying Granite the Larvitar, so he picked up her bag for her like the little gentleman he was, and then decided to take his trainer's bags, too. Hinata said she could carry them on her own, but Midoriya was so adamant about it that she relented and gave her bags to the Quilladin.

"Thank you, very much, Midoriya. Just set them down anywhere. Why don't you go check on Kiri and Katsuki? You've more than earned some playtime to yourself," Hinata said, patting her Pokémon on the head.

"Quil!" Midoriya said, giving her a salute as he marched off, pleased that Hinata thought him capable enough to wander around the Pokécenter without supervision.

"He's very responsible," Gaara observed as she sat down. The redhead fished out a broke tile from her backpack and handed it to Granite to snack on while they talked. "I love that dress you got. It'll be perfect for the contest!"

Hinata smiled somewhat guilty. It had been the first time she had gone clothes shopping with another girl her age- which was somewhat ironic, since Sakura was Hinata's first real female friend. Then again, they never had a reason to go shopping together for anything other than supplies. In any case, since it was Hinata's first time doing so, she decided to indulge herself a little.

They hadn't gone anywhere ritzy. Just a regular clothing store. Even so, it had been lots of fun. Hinata's family had very subdued tastes when it came to how they dressed. Standing out in a crowd was seen as vulgar. Hinata didn't disagree with the point, but it was nice to indulge her girly side a little bit. She hadn't bought anything outrageous or pricy…but she had gotten a complete outfit for the upcoming contest for herself, and even some matching things for Naruto, at Gaara's insurance. They were going to be partners, after all.

Hinata's outfit was a simple, yellow sweater-dress that came down to her knees and had a sunny orange belt, with a matching sunhat with a sunflower on the band. She also bought a set of plain white dress shoes and long stockings. It wasn't really much, but Hinata thought it was a practical, happy outfit. Gaara said it brought out her 'natural charms', though when Hinata asked her what exactly that meant, Gaara sheepishly admitted she had no idea.

At Gaara's suggestion, Hinata decided to see if the store had any sports jackets that Naruto might like. To both girls' immense surprise, they not only had several fit for young teens, but had one in orange. The color everyone but Naruto hated! It was a mature, burnt orange, admittedly, but an orange was still orange. Stranger still, the girls also found a trilby hat and an aviator's scarf in the same color.

It was around this time that Hinata and Gaara finally realized why a general clothing store had such niche items: the upcoming contest. There were several 'fancy' dress clothes available, in several distinct colors. And, since the contest was only a few days away, the store was having a clearance sale on all of it. In fact, the section the girls were in had been largely picked clean. The only reason they found the outfit that would soon be Naruto's was because it was orange, and no one liked orange (except Naruto).

Hinata also grabbed a small something for Sakura and Sasuke. Not because she wanted to do more shopping, but for practicality's sake. The store was in the middle of a sale, after all, and unless they found something now, they might not get another chance! Hinata, not knowing if Sasuke or Sakura had thought about what they were going to wear, decided to be kind, and grabbed them something, just in case. An indigo jacket for Sasuke and a pink dress for Sakura. It was nothing creative, and Hinata had to guess their sizes, but she felt she did the right thing.

…though she promised herself to ask all three of her friends to pay her back, or at least pay half the price. Technically it was her father's money she was spending. And she needed to work on her assertiveness, after all.

For her part, Gaara had just bought a few accessories for her Pokémon, having brought a few coordinator outfits with her from Suna.

She also had picked up a package at the store. Gaara said it was something her contest partner had ordered a few days prior. Hinata decided to ask her about it now.

"Oh, that. It's just a leather jacket with metal studs in it. My partner ordered it; 'said he wanted something that'd make him look 'tough'." Gaara finger quoted 'tough' and rolled her eyes. "He tries too hard to look tough; comes across as a poser, instead. Heh, he's lucky he's kinda cute and got some muscles, or he'd just end up looking like a total loser."

Gaara chuckled, and Hinata chuckled with her.

"You don't sound too impressed. Do you know him?"

"Not all that well. I met him once when I was 10 and my family was visiting Naruto's," Gaara admitted. "He was a little punk then too. He kept calling his Rockruff 'Blade Wolf', of all things." She snorted. "I am so glad he decided to change that nickname."

"Wait, you met him while visiting Naruto? Naruto knows him?" Hinata asked.

"Of course. They're cousins," Gaara said. She went on, ignoring Hinata's surprise at this statement. "Anyway, we met up by chance a few months ago when we both arrived in Konoha from our home regions and exchanged contract information. Here, I've got his picture on my nav." She pulled it out, thumbed through it, and handed the device to Hinata.

"Hmm, he is sort of handsome. But I don't see much of a resemblance to Naruto," Hinata admitted fairly.

Gaara shrugged. "Their fathers are adoptive brothers. No blood between 'em."

Hinata made a note of this and examined the picture a bit more. "I see what you mean about him trying too hard. Leather vest. Ponytail hair. Bangs styled like that. And that smirk. He's really trying to look like a rebel."

Before Hinata could ask anything more about the newest member of Naruto's family, her own nav rang. She didn't recognize the number.

"Uh, hello? This is Hinata Hyuga. May I ask who this is?"

The young man on the other end answered.

"I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong number. I don't know a Mr. Kaguya," Hinata said. Then the full impact hit her. "Ah-! W-wait! Mr. Kaguya? As in Kimimaro Kayuga?!"

Kimimaro Kayuga of the Konoha Elite Four answered in the affirmative, and Hinata nearly fainted. Why on earth would someone as important as him be calling her?!

-0o0o0-

…Back with Naruto…

-0o0o0-

Naruto hung about aimlessly in the Battle Tower's Pokécenter, having decided to take his team there after making sure Kiba was fine. The dog trainer turned out to have been stunned but otherwise unhurt.

He sat in the waiting room, which was larger than the standard center's and equipped with an eatery and booths. It was, after all, part of the Battle Tower and designed to act as a general rest hall.

One of the screens showed a news broadcast running a story on an upcoming exhibition match involving the Konoha Elite Four, but Naruto gave it barely any notice. Instead, he thumbed through his Pokédex, checking up on what sort of Pokémon could be found in the area, with a notepad out.

"Hmm, Kubo'll evolve into a Water/Dark, Sora's gonna be a Dragon/Flying, Kata's Fighting/Steel, and Sidon's Dragon/Ground. Uh, so let's see…"

He scribbled out a diagram of his team's type matchups in his notebook. Though perhaps 'scribbled' was too harsh a word. Because while he wasn't the best student, Naruto had a steady hand and an artist's eye. It helped that his father was something of an amateur artist and taught Naruto a bit of calligraphy. So in all irony, while Sakura had the messy handwriting of a doctor, and Sasuke wrote in very strict, scratchy script, Naruto easily had the best handwriting in the group.

In any case, his diagram was meant to help Naruto figure out his line-up's major weak points, which in turn would help him figure out what to catch next. This normally wasn't his thing, but Naruto had seen Sasuke and Sakura doing this earlier (Sakura actually made her chart on her Pokénav), and he figured it looked like a good idea.

"Okay, so, we've got a quad-weakness to Ice…no wait, make that two. I forgot that Flying's also weak to it. Wait, isn't Water weak to Ice? It's water; cold freezes it!" He checked his 'dex's type match-up chart. "…right, it resists it, even if that doesn't make any sense." Naruto let out a theatrical sigh. "Okay, so, Kubo and Kata at least resist Ice, and Kata can deal super-effective damage to 'em. But then both of 'em are weak to Fighting, or at least will be," he noticed, remembering that Kubo hadn't evolved. But it was wise to plan for the future. "Ugh, don't have any good counters for that…it'll be a while before Sora evolves into a Salamence and gets the Flying-type. And with two Dragons and a Dark-type, we're gonna have trouble against any Fairy-types. Kata's Steel kinda helps with that, but that's only one answer, and he's part Fighting-type, so he's not resistant."

Naruto added several more lines using a red pin to indicate weak points in his team. He didn't like how the red lines outnumbered the blue ones, which symbolized good type matchups.

Naruto looked over the types he didn't have on his team.

"Hmm, a Poison-type would really help against Fairies and be a good defensive answer for Fighting-types…some Psychic coverage would be good too."

At the mention of Psychic-type Pokémon, Naruto's mind went back to the crazy Espurr they had encountered twice now. Sure, he was crazier than a Meowth strutting through a barn full of Growlithe, but he was also strong…and pretty funny, Naruto had to admit. That Espurr would make a great addition to his team, schizophrenic tendencies aside. Though he had no proof the Espurr would ever show up again, Naruto had a gut feeling they hadn't seen the last of the crazy kitten, had purchased a special Pokéball for their next encounter.

"What the Houndoom?! Is that li'le baby Naruto I see?" a loud, proud voice asked, ripping Naruto from his distracted thoughts.

I recognize that voice! Naruto thought as an arm wrapped around his throat from behind.

"What're you doin' here, you little shrimp?!" the voice asked as Naruto was put into a playful chokehold and noogies were delivered to his head.

With a minimal struggle, Naruto slipped free from the hold and looked at his 'assistant'. Far be it from angry, Naruto instead smiled broadly.

"'What am I doin' here?!' What're you doing there!?" Naruto asked, playfully punching the redheaded boy on the shoulder. "Ah man, it's good to see you!"

He and the redhead embraced in a manly hug before separating. Naruto beamed at his cousin, who was only a year older than him. But he was tall for his age, with muscled arms and long hair in a messy tail.

Cross smiled. "I've got a surprise for you, cousin. But first, let me tell you about the kickass battle I just had!"