The Pokémon Wildcard

Chapter 2: The Beginning and an Awakening

"And Nidorino begins the battle with a Horn Attack…Oh but Gengar bounces right back with a Hypnosis attack! This could be the end of Nidorino…but wait! The trainer recalls Nidorino, which Pokémon will he use now?" Announcer spoke with excitement as he along with the spectators were witnessing an intense battle between two trainers and their Pokémon within a stadium "Oh it's Onix! Now giant Pokémon is on the attack but Gengar jumps aside! Gengar is moving beautifully today, its training is topnotch no doubt about it!"

The camera zooms out to reveal the match being shown from a TV as a 12 year old soon to be 13 Naruto sitting on the bed watching it with excitement in his eyes "Oh man, seeing those guys duke it out on the field with their Pokémon makes me wish that tomorrow should just hurry up and come already! I've been waiting all this time and soon I'll be able to go on a Pokémon journey!"

Ever since the time he was at the summer camp, Naruto requested Professor Oak and his mother to teach anything and everything that could help him on his forthcoming journey. Delia took to teaching him about how to cook both normal food and Pokémon food, how to treat injuries amongst the many basics of survival. Professor Oak also taught him about what is needed to be known about Pokémon as well and was happy to do so as Gary outright refused his teachings and preferred to do things on his own much to his disappointment. Naruto himself took to training his body in preparation for the journey as he had seen many trainers who had passed through the though while covered in dirt and slightly worn clothes to show that they had gone through a lot of places which would be hard to reach by normal and it strengthened his desire to go to such places and find possibly rare Pokémon over there. Naruto had also been keeping in contact with Serena, Ginchiyo and Aya through the videophone, he often tends to blush whenever he looks at the girls as they had all grown to become beautiful and they're well aware of his poor attempts to hide his reactions and found it cute.

"I've trained and learnt so many things for that day, soon I'll travel around the world to catch Pokémon and be their friend, then we'll go from league to league to show everyone that we're gonna be the very best that no one has ever been. The ultimate Pokémon master and the ultimate Pokémon!" said Naruto with gusto, suddenly the door was opened and Delia came in with a small frown on her face.

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze Ketchum, do you have any idea what time it is?" asked Delia sternly.

Naruto turned towards the alarm clock on the table to see that it was 11 o'clock in the evening and chuckled sheepishly "Sorry mom, I was just feeling excited about tomorrow that I couldn't sleep,"

Delia walked over to the table and picked up a black TV remote "Well if you can't sleep yet, then at least watch this to get ready for tomorrow," she changed the channel to an educational program, showing Professor Oak giving a lecture about the Kanto starters which beginning trainers will be starting out with tomorrow "Be sure to go to bed when this is done,"

"Okay mom, I will," said Naruto watching the program with rapt attention, with Delia closing the door.

"Greetings aspiring young Pokémon Trainers! My name is Professor Oak and I will be teaching you about the basics of Pokémon and the Pokémon you will be starting out. Their names are Bulbasaur the Grass/Poison-type Pokémon, Charmander the Fire-type Pokémon and Squirtle the Water-type Pokémon." Said Professor Oak as he began the lecture.

Naruto paid attention to the lecture until it ended then he turned off the TV, he changed into his pajamas and went to bed before letting sleep overwhelm him in anticipation for tomorrow. He dreamt that he was journeying along a road with his Pokémon when he heard rustling from a bush nearby and quietly approached it, then he saw a pair of red eyes peering through the bushes and stared at him intently which made Naruto feel uncomfortable and slowly backed away but the eyes followed his every movement before suddenly disappearing.

*Riiiiiiinnnnnnnnngggggg*

The blonde was suddenly roused from his sleep and looked out through the window to see that the sun had already risen and the Dodrio were cawing out loud. Naruto got off the bed and quickly went to take a bath before changing into his new clothes, he wore a black long sleeved T-shirt which he rolled the sleeves back to his elbows, over it is an unzipped sleeveless orange jacket, a pair of trousers with pouches at the thighs, and a pair of black fingerless gloves and shoes with an orange strip in the middle (Refer to the cover image). Naruto quickly went downstairs and made his way out of the house but not before calling out to his mom.

"I'm heading to the lab, I'll be back soon!" said Naruto.

"Okay honey, I'll have breakfast ready by then!" Delia called back.

Naruto ran along the path with great speed thanks to his daily training and was soon arriving close to the Pokémon lab and saw that a large crowd had gathered there, he noted a convertible with Gary along with a group of cheerleaders driving away with a cocky grin on his face.

"Seriously? How is one supposed to catch a Pokémon while driving a car?" Naruto muttered to himself then he went through the crowd and up the stairs to enter the building to the research room to find Prof Oak waiting there next to the table where the starter Pokémon are stored "Hi professor Oak, I came here for my Pokémon to journey together with,"

"Ah Naruto, it's good to see you. There might be a problem though, Gary along with Leaf and Red had arrived earlier than you and acquire the Kanto starters," said Professor Oak sheepishly.

"What?! But I woke up early to come here, there really isn't any left for me?" asked Naruto in shock, he wasn't expecting this at all!

"Actually, there's a Pokémon in the reserves which I could give to you if you want,"

"I'll take it," said Naruto excitedly, doesn't really matter to him if it isn't a starter as he'll befriend it regardless.

"Very well then, just be careful as it can be quite feisty," Prof Oak let out a warning then he pushed a button.

A panel opened up in the middle of the starter table for a Pokéball with a yellow lightning bolt to rise up, Naruto picked up the Pokéball for it to open up for a beam of white light to shot out and strike the table before materializing a Pokémon. It is a short chubby rodent Pokémon covered in yellow fur with two horizontal brown stripes on its back, it has long yellow ears that are tipped with black, on its cheeks are two circle-shaped red pouches, and its large tail is shaped like a lightning bolt with a path of brown fur at the base.

"Pikachu," the Pokémon squeaked out as it looked around before setting its eyes on Naruto.

"This is Pikachu, which is also known as the electric mouse. It's usually shy but sometimes can have an electrifying personality," said Prof Oak.

"I recall you teaching me about it," Naruto bent down to eye level with Pikachu and smiled fondly "Hello Pikachu, my name is Naruto and I'm glad to meet you. I hope we can be friends,"

"Pika," Pikachu turned away with a huff, not wanting anything to do with the human. Although it couldn't help but take a glance at the markings on his cheeks which reminds it of those feline type Pokémon.

"I told you that this one's feisty," said Prof Oak.

"I know, everyone has their quirks. But I want to show Pikachu that I can be a good friend and partner on my Pokémon journey unlike some trainers who don't care about how their Pokémon feel," said Naruto with a small frown, Pikachu's ears twitched upon hearing that and turned to stare into the blonde's eyes for any signs of deception and was surprised to see him stare back without blinking and showed no hesitation "Just give me one chance Pikachu to prove that I can be a good trainer, if not then I'll free you and quit being a Pokémon trainer,"

Pikachu looked at Naruto for a few more minutes before slowly nodding "Pika,"

Naruto smiled brightly at that "Thanks Pikachu, you won't regret it!" he turned towards the professor "I'll go and say my goodbyes to mom before setting out,"

"Alright then Naruto, take these along with you," Professor Oak held out the regional Kanto Pokédex(Generation III version) and six Pokéballs which included Pikachu's "And I wish you good luck on your journey,"

Naruto took the items and put them in their assigned places "Thanks Prof, now Pikachu ret…huh?" he held out the Pokéball to return Pikachu when he saw it look tense "What is it?" then he noticed Pikachu glaring at the Pokéball "Could it be that you don't like going into the Pokéball?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded in affirmation.

"I see, then in that case I won't force you," said Naruto, Pikachu was beginning to see that this human is indeed different from the others it had seen and was liking it. The lightening mouse jumped up to Naruto's shoulder causing him to smile "Let's head over to my house first to get my gear then say goodbye to my mom,"

"Pikachu,"

Naruto left the lab and was cheered on by the crowd and he politely waved at them before making his way back home and went inside for find his mom waiting for him patiently in the kitchen.

"Hello honey, welcome back," said Delia with a smile.

"Hi mom, this is my new friend and partner Pikachu," said Naruto.

"Pika!" Pikachu waved a paw to say hello.

"Awww, isn't he cute," Delia petted Pikachu, making it let out a soft 'chaaaa' in bliss "Well breakfast is on the table so let's eat before it gets cold.

"Okay mom," the group sat down at the table and helped themselves to the meal set before them, Pikachu came to discover that his trainer's mother is a great cook and wondered if he could cook just as good. Naruto himself was enjoying the breakfast and couldn't help that this would be last time he will be eating his mother's cooking in a long time till he returns "All done, I'll be heading to my home to pack up my gear,"

"Okay when you're done, I have something for you," said Delia.

Naruto nodded in affirmation then he went upstairs to his room with Pikachu following him, then proceeded to pack items such as potions, ropes, rubber gloves , utensils etc into a black backpack with a yellow square label and slings with black adjusters on it. The backpack has two pockets and two open compartments on each side. The main bigger pocket is delimited by a black zip fastener, while the external pocket has an orange stripe on it.

"Now where did I put it…there it is," Naruto walked over to the dresser and took out a pair of goggles with orange tinted lens stylized to that of a headband which he tied to his forehead with the locks of his hair hanging over it, he heard a small rumble and turned only to smile upon seeing Pikachu come out from the dresser while wearing a hat which he had received from the Pokémon league in an expo after sending a postcard, it is a red and white hat with a green stylized 'L' on the front "I guess you like it huh Pikachu?"

"Pika!" Pikachu seemed to fancy the hat.

""Well you can have it, had gotten that one out of luck and didn't have much use for it," Naruto picked up the backpack "Let's go Pikachu," Pikachu hopped up to his shoulders and they went downstairs to see Delia waiting for them in the sitting room.

"There you are honey, this is for you," Delia held out what appears to be a large blue handheld device in the form of a flip top while possessing with dual screens with the bottom being a touchscreen "This is the latest PokéGear from the Johto region, I had it specially ordered for you. It acts as a phone, map, and a radio if you acquire the EXPN card from the radio tower in Lavender town. You can use it call me at any time, which I hope you do often when out there,"

Naruto smiled warmly at her thoughtfulness and hidden worry for him, he took the PokéGear before embracing Delia and felt her hugging him "I'll definitely make you proud of me…mama," Delia tightened her grip around him upon hearing that, it was the first words he had ever said to her and he calls her that whenever he is being very affectionate with her.

"I'm already proud of you, now get going…oh and don't forget to change your underwear!" said Delia.

"I know that already, I'm 13 years old!" Naruto ran off with Pikachu laughing at his moment of embarrassment, Delia looked on with tears in her eyes but knows in her heart that he will return with a smile on his face.

Naruto and Pikachu were currently walking along the dirt path away from Pallet town with their next stop being Viridian city to acquire any new info just in case of anything, Naruto then spoke up for Pikachu to hear.

"Now that we are out here, let's see what info that the Pokédex has about you," said Naruto.

"Pikachu," Pikachu hopped of Naruto's shoulder and stood the ground for him to take out the device then point it at him to scan then it spoke in a robotic voice.

Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. It occasionally uses an electric charge to recharge a fellow Pikachu that is in a weakened state. This Pikachu is male with the ability Static. Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Thundershock, Agility.

"That's a pretty decent moveset for the meantime, I'll make plans for you to learn more moves but we'll focus more on body conditioning," Naruto took note of Pikachu looking confused at what he just said and so explained further "What I mean is that we need to work on strengthening body so you have more stamina to last longer in battles, accuracy to hit your targets, speed to counter and defend. All these are what help bolster any moves taught or learnt, do you get it now?"

"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu nodded in understanding, seeing the logic in what his trainer is talking about.

Then their ears picked up the sound of wings flapping above them and looked to see what it is, it's a raptor-like avian Pokémon with brown feathers and a cream-colored face, underside and flight feathers. It has a crest of pinkish-red feathers on its head and black angular markings behind its eyes, the plumage of its tail has alternating red and yellow feathers with ragged tips with its beak and legs colored pink.

"It's a Pidgeotto! That's a rare sight around these parts, let's catch it Pikachu!" said Naruto excitedly.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu took off his hat to give to Naruto before hopping off his shoulder and landed on all fours with his cheeks sparking with electricity. The avian noticed that it was being challenged and so swooped towards Pikachu at high-speed with white energy trailing behind it.

"It's using Quick Attack! Use Agility to dodge and then use Thundershock!" Naruto called out, Pikachu moved like a blur to evade the attack then launched a blast of electricity which struck Pidgeotto for a supereffective hit. Pidgeotto hung tough and started flapping its wings quickly to create a strong current of wind which sent Pikachu tumbling back but managed to recover "Stay strong buddy, now use Quick Attack while using that tree over there as a ramp!" Pikachu took off at high-speed with white energy trailing behind him as he ran up the tree then launched off the branch towards Pidgeotto and slamming into it but the bird Pokémon retaliated by smacking him away with a wing glowing with white energy, suddenly arcs of electricity coursed through its body which made it difficult for it to move

"It's paralyzed, let's finish this by using Thundershock!" said Naruto while taking off a Pokéball and pressing a button to make it larger.

"Pika-chuuuuuu!" Pikachu gathered his energy and fired a blast of electricity to strike Pidgeotto, damaging it to the point that the bird Pokémon crashed to the ground and struggled to get back up.

"This is it! Go Pokéball!" Naruto threw the Pokéball to hit Pidgeotto as it opened up and sucked the Pokémon within it in the form of red energy before closing up and clattered to the floor. The trainer and Pokémon watched with bated breath as the ball rock once, twice, thrice then it let out a ding sound to signal. Naruto smiled widely and ran over to pick up the Pokéball before tossing it into the air and catching to hold before him "Alright, Pidgeotto has been captured!"

"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu happily did a victory sign then took the hat back from Naruto to wear it, Naruto's pokedex beeped before speaking

Pidgeotto the Bird Pokémon and the evolved form of Pidgey. It renders its prey immobile using well-developed claws, then carries the prey more than 60 miles to its nest. This Pidgeotto is female with the ability Keen Eye. Moves: Tackle, Gust, Quick Attack, Wing Attack.

"This is great, we haven't gone that far and we already have a new friend with us," said Naruto happily, Pikachu cheerfully nodded in affirmation "Now let's get you two patched up with a potion here then we move on," he was about to reach for the potions in one of the side pockets when something swooped towards Pikachu whom he quickly scooped out of the way before the mouse got blindsided by whatever that blur was.

They looked to see that it was a small avian Pokémon with rough brown plumage on its head and three brown feathers, it has narrow dark brown eyes with white pupils and a short hooked beak. The feathers covering its wings are pinkish red with lighter tips and it has a beige underside with two thin horizontal stripes, black feathers cover its back and has light pink feet.

"Spearow!" the Pokémon screeched while glaring at them.

"That's a Spearow, but why is it attacking us?" asked Naruto confusedly.

"Wild Pokémon tend to be jealous of human-trained Pokémon," said the Pokédex.

"Oh come on, that's being unreasonable!"

The Spearow swooped towards Pikachu to attack them once more, but Pikachu wasn't pleased with what it's doing and so leapt off Naruto's arms and fired a powerful Thundershock to send it plummeting to the grassy ground.

"Good job Pikachu, now let's get out of here before it-" Naruto heard the wounded Spearow screech loudly then there were the sounds a many wing flapping and Naruto turned to see a flock of Spearow heading straight for them "Darn it, it's called for its flock! We gotta get away from here!" Pikachu nodded in agreement before running alongside his trainer as they tried to get away from their feathered pursuers, Naruto would bat away any of the Spearow which would attempt to attack him or Pikachu but couldn't push away all of them and got pecked by their sharp beaks. Only of the Spearow managed to land a powerful Tackle attack on Pikachu to send him tumbling to the ground.

"Oh no Pikachu!" Naruto scooped his partner up in his arms and ran as fast as he could "Hang in there buddy!" the duo ended up at the edge of a cliff with Naruto's mind racing on what to do next and came up with an insane conclusion "I need you to hold on tight to me Pikachu, we're gonna try to lose these guys by jumping into the river below,"

"Pi-ka…," Pikachu responded weakly.

Naruto took a few steps back then he dashed forward and leapt off the edge and splash into the river below feet first then proceeded to kick his legs rapidly to rise up to the surface, he finally broke through the surface and swam to the stony edge and coughed a few times "We made it, sure hope that we lost those flock of Spearow," then he heard the all too familiar sound of wings flapping "Oh come on, can't they give up already?!"

Naruto got up and took off running once more as the dark clouds gathered in the skies above with the sound of thunder and lightning flashing then it proceeded to rain all around. The blonde found it hard to see through the rain, mud made his balance unsteady, and his body screamed in pain from the strain of running and damage from the Spearow's attacks. His foot suddenly slipped and Naruto fell to the ground and Pikachu tumbled out of his hands, he struggled to his knees and saw Pikachu trying to crawl back to him while the flock flew about with the look of menace. Naruto couldn't believe that something like this is happening, being attacked because of some wild Pokémon's jealousy, it made him feel…very angry and the target of that anger are flying above.

Naruto got to his feet with the front bangs of his hair hiding his eyes "We were just minding our own business and made a new friend when one of you birdbrains attacked us out of stupid jealousy which forced us to defend ourselves…" blue aura began to radiate from his body which Pikachu seemed to have noticed and was surprised "Then you all joined up to chase and hurt us for that dumb sense of reasoning, that is really enraging me. Which is why I have every good reason to say this…" Naruto raised his head to reveal his glowing blue eyes "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" as he roared out, the blue aura burst out from his body in the form of a massive explosion. The powerful aura slammed into the Spearow flock and sent them flying far away, the aura finally receded into Naruto's body which left him seriously fatigued as he collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious.

"Pika pi…" Pikachu crawled over to Naruto and pressed his head against his trainer's to wake him up but to no avail although felt relieved to see that he was breathing and soon fell unconscious as well. Sometime later, there were the sound of footsteps and a black cloaked figure approached the duo then looked down at them as if contemplating of what to do next. Then it bent down and pressed a finger on the boy's forehead, resulting in a bright flash of light.

Naruto let out a small groan then opened his eyes to find himself floating in some sort of white space with no end in sight "What's going on? Where the heck am I? Where's Pikachu?!" he looked around, growing more confused by the second then a voice speak up from behind him.

"You're currently inside your mind while your body is recovering from what you and your little buddy has gone through," Naruto turned round to see a cloaked figure floating before.

"W-who are you?" asked Naruto.

The figure pulled back on the hood to reveal a face which the blonde had the inkling that he has met the person from somewhere "I'm a friend…though it's been a while since we last met,"

Suddenly it all clicked together for Naruto "Hang on, is that you Kurow?"

The ravenette smirked in response "In the mental flesh so to speak, been waiting for this moment when we would met again,"

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto confusedly.

"You may not have noticed but you used your aura for the first time to drive away the Spearow flock before blacking out which is really something as you have the largest amount I've ever seen anyone possess," said Kurow.

"Aura? Isn't that the energy that Pokémon like Riolu and Lucario manipulate in and out of battles?" asked Naruto.

"Pretty much yes, though Aura is a form of spiritual energy and is described as the essence of every living creature, including humans. There are also certain people capable of manipulating aura and they're called Aura Guardians,"

"Aura Guardians?" asked Naruto.

Kurow nodded in affirmation "Aura Guardians traveled around doing good deeds for both people and Pokémon, and passed on their skills to those who also possessed this innate ability. The Aura Guardians disappeared from history, for some undisclosed reason, a long time before the present era though there are still a few left scattered about in different parts of the Pokémon world. I'm the very last of a special group of Aura Guardians," Kurow looked to see that Naruto was paying rapt attention and so continued "There are a different group of aura guardians that also travel around the world and perform good deeds for both humans and Pokémon, however they draw strength from the bonds between them and their Pokémon to be able to perform feats far beyond anyone's imagination whilst using the aura to augment their physical abilities. Each member of has a unique way of utilizing the power of bonds during their adventures which is sometimes shared between a certain few,"

"So you're saying that I have the potential to become an Aura Guardian? But what about my dream of being a Pokémon trainer?" asked Naruto confusedly.

"It won't get in the way of that, but learning about our ways will definitely help you on your journey to protect yourself and those close to you. I've been watching you Naruto, you're a natural born protector and no doubt you will encounter enemies of both people and Pokémon throughout your journey which was part of the reason why you had been training yourself," said Kurow.

Naruto had to admit that Kurow had a point there, he had learnt of people like Pokémon poachers, hunters, thieves and many others from Professor Oak which he came to seriously dislike. If what Kurow says is true, then this training as an Aura Guardian could help him become strong enough to protect his Pokémon and friends.

"Alright Kurow, I'll take you up on your offer. Teach me to become an Aura Guardian," said Naruto determinedly.

Kurow gave a smile of approval "That's good to hear, I've left a tome as well a special gears in your backpack. They're already attuned to your unique aura and no one can take it from you plus they'll work well with the ability which you have awakened since it's closely similar to one of my ancestors Tsukasa Kadoya. I have to get going and look for the Aura Guardians but we'll be sure to meet up later on,"

"Thanks Kurow,"

"By the way, I gave your Pikachu a little pick-me-up so he should be okay now," Naruto gave him a grateful nod then they faded away from the mindscape, however neither of them stayed around long enough to hear a soft growl in the mindscape.

Naruto opened his eyes and slowly rose to sit up from the ground, he looked to see that he was lying underneath a tree with his backpack propped up against it and Pikachu was sleeping next to him with no bruises on his body. Naruto gently prodded Pikachu awake for the mouse Pokémon to open his eyes and yawned loudly, he looked towards Naruto and jumped into his chest and held on tightly.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried out in happiness to see that he was doing okay.

"I'm glad you're okay too Pikachu, really glad," Naruto smiled fondly, suddenly something appeared in a flash of light and they turned to see that it was some sort of card floating before them and it had the image of Pikachu on it. The card floated closer for Naruto to take it and examine closer "I wonder what this is? Could it relate to what Kurow was talking about relating to an ancestor?"

"Pi?" Pikachu looked at his trainer confusedly, what was he talking about?

Suddenly the duo heard a screech, and stepped away from the tree to see that the clouds had parted to allow rays of sunlight to shine through along with a beautiful rainbow, that was when they saw it…a majestic creature in the form of bird with a golden body and sparkles of light. Naruto and Pikachu watched in wonder as it flew over their heads and into the distance, then they noticed something sparkling in the air as it descended towards them. Naruto held out the other hand to catch what appears to be a feather with the colors of a rainbow.

"What kind of Pokémon was that just now?" asked Naruto in wonder.

"There is no data available. There are still some Pokémon are yet to be identified and researched," said the Pokédex.

"Amazing, think this will happen on the very first day of our journey. I can't wait to see what else awaits us in our future," said Naruto excitedly.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu smiled in agreement, he wouldn't have gotten to experience something like this as a wild Pokémon.

"Let's head over to Viridian city for some recuperation then we can come up with a plan on what to do next," Naruto pocketed the card and placed the rainbow colored feather into his backpack at a place it won't get squashed before getting back on the road towards their next destination on a journey through the Pokémon world.

This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto has begun his journey and in good relations with Pikachu. They were able to catch a Pidgeotto but things went wrong when they got attacked by a jealous Spearow which in turned called on its flock to attack the duo, they tried to escape but their pursuers were relentless. The dire situation was enough to awaken a power sleeping within Naruto to drive the flock away. Kurow then appears to explain about the power and those capable of using it while offering to help him learn how to use it. Naruto considered it for a moment before accepting the offer and was given several items which he'll examine later. Naruto and Pikachu woke up to come in possession of a strange card then saw a mysterious flying Pokémon which they acquired a feather of it. Just what is going on around them? Stay tuned to find out.

Be sure to read and review like with the other stories.

This is Hussbek from Ghana.

Signing out.