BP: I've decided to test my hand on a Pokémon/ Naruto crossover I thought of on a whim. Don't worry, I will continue the Psychic Prodigy, just that updates would be slower.

In this one, the Naruto world and the Pokémon world are co-existing together, so villages and regions exist. The animal summons would be replaced by Pokémon, which is all summoned from the Pokémon regions. Although they are wild Pokémon.

Pokémon mechanics such as Mega Evolution, Z-Moves and Gigantamax exists. A person would either be a shinobi with the ability to only summon certain species of Pokémon dependent on contract, or be a Pokémon Trainer where they have access to all Pokémon by travelling through the regions to catch them all. It is dependent if they are born with chakra/Aura or not.

Certain people in the Pokémon world can access psychic powers and Aura in the Pokémon World, so I would keep this, especially for those in the PAL Region, where I expanded on the concept of using Aura. Unlike in Naruto, where everyone has access to chakra, only some such as Sabrina have unlocked them. So, there are few people who have the potential to do both.

The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had a look of anger, tiredness and disappointment on his face as he looked out the window at the moon from his office in the Hokage Tower. The emotions he felt was not only for the people of the village but also for himself for his inability to protect the four-year-old child sleeping on the couch behind him. His injuries were still bleeding heavily.

This four-year-old was one Uzumaki Naruto, the container of the Kyuubi. Ten minutes earlier, he was brought to the Hokage after another attack by the mob who couldn't tell the difference between a child and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. It's like a kunai and the scroll it was sealed into.

'What have I condemned this child to? No one deserves the abuse he's been through.' Sarutobi thought as he sensed someone coming via chakra. He turned to see an ANBU member in a boar mask. "Report, Boar." He barked sternly.

"Everyone involved in the attack has been rounded up and taken to Ibiki, Hokage-sama." Boar reported in a professional tone. "There were seventeen civilians with seven shinobi. Three Genin, two Chūnin and two Jōnin."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes at the part where the ANBU reported the shinobi involved. He replied, "Tell Ibiki to have a field day. He has my utmost support to do whatever he wishes to the shinobi. As for the civilians, hand them over to Anko. Tell her to keep them alive if possible. They will be made examples of what will happen for the next idiot that breaks my laws."

Boar blinked, knowing full well how vicious Ibiki and Anko could be. 'Kami, letting those two do whatever they please. I am going to stay as far away from them as possible after giving them Hokage's orders.'

Outwardly, he said, "As you wish, Hokage-sama." With that, he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

After Boar left, Sarutobi made his way over to the couch Naruto was sleeping on to examine his injuries. He couldn't help but grit his teeth when he saw the extent of the injuries the villagers had done to him, the poor innocent child. His usual golden blond hair was practically dyed red from blood and his white shirt and dark shorts were stained red and torn to shreds. It was like he was put in a blender or something.

Sarutobi knew that if he let this continue, it was only a matter of time before Naruto was injured again, or worse, killed. Not being able to stomach the thought of this, the Hokage made a decision. The only decision the Hokage knew of that could make up for the life Naruto has lived.

When he made the decision, he moved to a vault that was hidden behind a portrait to reveal a walkie-talkie. Pressing the button, he made a call to a certain someone.

A few minutes later, he heard the sound of a portal behind him, and turned around. Stepping out of a portal was two people. One was a young man with black hair and brown eyes and wore dark blue shirt and a short-sleeved beige overtop. He wore fingerless gloves, and on the left glove was a rainbow coloured round stone with a symbol that looked like a distorted S shape with horizontal lines in the shape itself. He also wore white trousers with ankle-high black boots.

On his shoulder was what looked like short, chubby rodent with yellow fur with two horizontal brown stripes on its back. It had a small mouth, long, pointed ears with black tips, and brown eyes. Each cheek was a red circle that and it had short forearms with five fingers on each paw, and its feet each have three toes. At the base of its lightning bolt-shaped tail was a patch of brown fur.

Next to him, was a bipedal, canine-like creature, with fur that was predominantly blue and black. It possessed a short, round spike on the back of each forepaw, in addition to a third on its chest. It had red eyes, a long snout and ears, with cream-colored fur on its torso, and blue fur on its thighs that resembled shorts. It had a medium length tail of the same blue colour as well. It also had four black appendages that hanged down from its head.

Another was a young woman with long, shining dark hair with amethyst eyes that did not betray any emotion. She had a voluptuous figure and an extremely impressive set of knockers any girl would kill to have. She was wearing a black headband in her hair, a navy-blue satiny dress with a frilled neckline and a white ribbon, along with black thigh highs and navy-blue high-heeled boots. She also had a katana strapped to her back.

Next to her was a slender-legged creature covered with pale cream-colored fur with pink feet, ears, and tail. It had light blue eyes, long ears with blue interiors and thicker fur, a tiny nose, and two stray tufts of fur on top of its head. There were two bows on its body, one at the base of its left ear and one on its neck. Each bow was pale cream with a pink center and trailed a pair of ribbon-like feelers that were pale cream with light blue tip. It also had fluffy, slightly curved tail.

As soon as both of them entered, the woman saw the injured child, and rushed forward to immediately treat him. She turned cold eyes towards the Hokage.

"What is the meaning of this?" The young man asked coldly. The woman's icy gaze turned to Sarutobi as the injuries quickly healed within seconds under her powers.

"Prince Ash, he's the reason why I called you here today." Sarutobi replied. "Though I see you brought Princess Pakura with you."

"And good thing too, don't you think?" Ash Ketchum levelled a steely gaze at the Hokage. "I told you the villagers would abuse him after the incident and they did. I told you they aren't going to treat him like the hero the Fourth Hokage wanted and they didn't. Now you tell me. What is going on here?"

Pikachu's cheeks sparked, ready to fire at the wrong answer.

"Please, hear me out." Sarutobi persuaded.

"Tell us something we don't know." Ash cut him off, not impressed. "We already know that the reason why he was being attacked was because four years ago, the Kyuubi killed a lot of people that day and nearly destroyed this village in a single night. However, this Kyuubi could not be outright killed, so the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, sealed it away at the cost of his life. He sealed it away in Naruto. But, if the villagers didn't know the Fourth had a son, how did everyone know that it was sealed in him? Who told them?"

When Sarutobi stayed silent, Ash realized it. "You! You told them, didn't you. How could you? You basically told the truth of what happened the night of the Kyuubi attack to them, and omitted the fact that he was the Fourth's son! That was why they felt they were free to abuse him! Did he know why he was being abused? Surely people would talk and he would have heard."

More silence. Ash didn't even need him to verbally confirm it to know the answer. "You…you put a law that makes it illegal to talk about it. You doomed him to this?"

Pakura, who was sitting on the couch, folded her arms and glared.

Sarutobi, who covered his face in shame, stayed quiet. After a few minutes, he said, "I was hoping to apologize to Naruto-kun for the life he has suffered here in the village. My mistake was telling everyone who the Fourth sealed the Kyuubi into."

"Mistake?" An enraged Ash used telekinesis to throw the nearest chair, where it slammed into the wall. Immediately, Pakura was at his side, and gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head.

"Calm down." Pakura spoke up, though her gaze was as cold as ice. She pointed to a sleeping Naruto, as if to tell him that he would wake the kid.

Ash took a deep breath and exhaled, but did not lessen his glare.

"A four-year-old child should not be used to waking up from repeated beatings from a mob. Nor should they be forced to live alone or withstand everyone else's anger and hatred." Sarutobi said hesitantly.

"You can say that again." Ash shot a meaningful look to Pakura. "So, what were you going to ask me?"

"I was hoping you could take him in and give him a home. Somewhere where he could grow up happy and loved." Sarutobi sighed.

Ash said calmly, "Basically, you believe that this incident more than adequately proves that isn't a safe—or stable—environment for Naruto to live in. Also, you want me to adopt him, and raise him away from this village until he's ready."

Sarutobi nodded. "I know you lived a similar life after being framed for the murder of your mother, so you could relate to him. I was hoping you could help him with the Kyuubi as well, seeing you were the one who befriended all Pokémon."

"I had a great mentor." Ash nodded to Pakura, who gave an eye roll but had a slight smile. "Alright, very well, I'll see whether if he is willing to come with us."

"Come with who?" A child-like voice asked.

Everyone except Pakura turned surprised eyes to the voice. "Naruto-kun, how long have you been awake?" Sarutobi asked.

"I woke up after this nice lady spoke up. She has a lovely voice." Naruto chirped, pointing to Pakura. Ash tried to remember when she spoke, and remembered she had told him to calm down.

"How are you feeling, Naruto?" Ash asked.

Naruto gave a shrug of his small shoulders. "Great! Fantastic!"

"Paku's healing powers are always the best." Ash remarked, chuckling. Sarutobi had to agree. Not only were the injuries healed, the scars that he had accumulated from previous attacks were all gone.

"So, who're these people, Jiji?" Naruto asked, pointing to Ash and Pakura.

"I am Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum. Ash Ketchum for short." Ash waved. "This are my partners, Pikachu and Lucario." The said Pokémon waved to Naruto, who squealed at Pikachu's cuteness.

"I'm Pakura Ameyuri, and this is my partner, Sylveon." Pakura nodded politely to Naruto. Sylveon wrapped her ribbon around Naruto, and Naruto felt a sense of calm wash over him.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" Naruto introduced himself cheerfully.

"Why are they here, dattebayo?" Naruto's curiosity sparked again.

"I am here to adopt you, Naruto," Ash said simply.

"WHAT?" the blond cried, shocked that someone actually wanted to take him in.

"I've heard of your situation from the Third Hokage, and I decided that you shouldn't need to suffer the people beating you or being alone anymore." Ash explained, crouching down to his level to speak to him. "No child should go through this, and your Hokage here wants to make it up to you by trying to give you a home with us. You won't be alone anymore."

"R-Really?" Naruto's eyes brimmed with tears, as he saw the sincerity in Ash's eyes. "N-No more people hating me? I'll have friends?"

Ash gave a single nod. "I will be there for you, and if anyone dares to beat you…"

"I'll teach them a lesson!" Pikachu pumped its little fist up. Although Naruto did not understand Pokéspeech, he roughly knew what Pikachu meant based on the sparking on his cheeks.

"So, would you go with them, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, smiling at Naruto.

"But what about you?" Naruto asked, turning to the Hokage. "Would I see you again?"

"Of course. We'll visit from time to time." Ash assured him, as Sarutobi gave Ash the adoption papers. Ash looked over it, before confirming the terms were legit, before signing the papers. He took the duplicated adoption papers as proof of the adoption, before offering a hand to Naruto, who happily took it.

Sarutobi inwardly wished Naruto luck, as Pakura opened a portal to go home.

"Oh, and by the way? Next time you visit the village, better wear appropriate clothes." The Hokage called out jokingly.

After all, to the shinobi, people like Ash were considered oddly dressed as the shinobi in general dressed for practicality rather than aesthetics. Furthermore, it would have given away their aristocratic status due to their dressing being comparable to a modern version of the clothes worn by the nobles or the royal family. It might result in people attempting to kidnap them for ransom or something.

"We know." Ash sighed at the jest, as all of them stepped into the portal. "You called us at a short notice, so we had no time to change."

With that, the portal closed, and they were gone.

Naruto was awed as they ended up in what looked like an extremely elegant hallway, which was filled with tall vases of real live white roses, lovely beige wall-to-wall carpeting and paintings of oldtimey sailing ships and fruit and pretty ladies and handsome men, with huge platinum frames around them.

"We have a lot of rooms here, so we'll just bring you to the room closest to mine and it's yours." Ash beamed at Naruto's awestruck look. As they walked along the corridor, a door somewhere in the middle opened and out walked a young man with black hair and amber eyes wearing a simple blue shirt with black jacket and matching jeans.

Beside him was is a slender, purple feline creature speckled with yellow rosettes. It had a pink "mask" marking over its eyes, a pink nose, and small yellow markings over its green eyes. It had two pairs of long yellow whiskers, and a tufted yellow underside. It had a long, curving tail with a sickle-like shape toward the tip.

"Hey, Jude." Ash greeted.

"Ah, Ash, you're back." Jude waved cheerfully. "Who's this adorable one?" He smiled at Naruto, who blinked as he wasn't used to people smiling at him, save for a select few.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki, or Naruto Ketchum now, depending on how you see it." Ash introduced. "He's my son now. We're just going to get him to his new room."

"I see. Well, regardless, it's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto." Jude petted his head. "This is my Liepard. Say hello, Liepard."

Liepard purred and rubbed herself against Naruto's leg, as Naruto scratched her ears. He was a little frightened at how the feline was almost as tall as he was, but Ash squeezed his hand in assurance.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to look for me." Jude waved, before walking on with his Liepard.

"Jude's one of my friends." Ash explained to Naruto. "We all live together and you'll see more of him."

Naruto grinned, as they walked on until they reached a room. "This would be your room from now on."

Naruto's eyes sparkled as his new quarters were much bigger than his entire apartment back in the village. The bedroom only had one bed, but it was large and under an elegant canopy, between soft, silky fabric and a thick fluffy comforter. Although the walls and shelves were still empty, Ash had told him those were now for him to customize and personalize.

There was a desk with a PC build set-up and a comfy chair, as well as a flat-screen television. There were also drawers filled with fine clothes, and Ash had told him to do anything you wanted and wear anything he wanted since the things in the room are now his.

"Just be ready for dinner in an hour. Don't hesitate to call for me if you need help."

Naruto wasn't listening, however, and made a beeline for the bed, jumping up and down energetically. After a few minutes, he decided to explore the rest of the room. When he did, he saw that the room also had so many automatic gadgets that he had a great time pressing and testing all the functions.

When he went to the bathroom for a shower, he saw that the shower alone had a panel with more than a hundred options he can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils, and massaging sponges. Although some options confused him, he decided that he would only learn if he pressed them.

Naruto arbitrarily pressed buttons on the control board without reading and ended up hopping from foot to foot as alternating jets of icy cold and steaming hot water assaulted him. Then he was deluged in lemony foam.

'Oops.' Naruto scratched his head.

"Are you alright?" Ash's voice floated to him. He must have yelped in pain.

"I'm fine, dattebayo!" Naruto said optimistically.

"Are the panels giving you a hard time?" Ash asked, apparently not buying his response.

"Yup…" Naruto replied. "Could you help me?"

"Sure!" Ash answered, as Naruto opened the door.

Ash came in and helped Naruto scrape the lemony foam with a heavily bristled brush, being careful not to scrub too hard, lest he breaks Naruto's skin. Ash helped Naruto program in the gentlest cycle, and let Naruto shower under the warm spray.

"Sorry…" Naruto apologized. He wondered if Ash would see him as a burden for needing help like most of the villagers did.

Surprisingly, Ash smiled. "Don't be sorry." He replied softly. "I know it's difficult to remember the programming, but this is why we're here. To help you out."

With that, Ash petted Naruto on the shoulder, disregarding the fact that he was wet, and left the bathroom. Naruto watched him leave, a smile slowing creeping onto his face at how kind Ash was.

Once Naruto was done showering, he discovered that when he stepped out on a mat, heaters come on that blow-dry their body and a box would send a current through one's scalp, untangling, parting, and drying their hair almost instantly.

"Cool!" Naruto grinned to himself. Back in the room, he found that the torn and tattered clothes he was wearing were gone. In its place was a black shirt with a red swirl at the back with long dark blue pants and leather shoes.

Ash later came again to collect him for dinner, and Naruto grinned and happily followed Ash to the extravagant dining room, where there was a table with highly breakable dishes. At the neighbouring living room, Naruto saw a bunch of different creatures eating.

Jude was chatting animatedly with a person that had combed down brown hair, baby blue eyes and an awkward smile on his face. The person was currently wearing a white shirt with blue horizontal lines long it, a black jacket and dark grey pants.

Sitting across from the pair was a girl with long, black hair, emerald green eyes and a sweet smile on her face. She was wearing a dress that was white at the top and pink at the bottom, with a black belt across her waist. On the pink skirt, there was a poodle printed on it. She also wore white ballerina flats.

Jude spotted Naruto, and jubilantly greeted him. "Great seeing you again, Naruto!"

The boy next to Jude turned to him and said, "Oh. H-Hello. I'm Phillip Robinson. It's a p-pleasure to see you." He gave Naruto a meek smile.

The girl giggled, as her hand flew up to her mouth. "You've adopted a cute kid there, Ash. Hello, little one. I'm Akeno Calfuray Cheveyo."

"The four you just met are part of my team." Ash told Naruto, who gave him a puzzled look at that statement. "I'll tell you more about them if you have any questions. Right now, it's time to enjoy dinner."

Naruto was amazed as the dinner came in courses. Lobster bisque, potato salad, roast beef with gravy, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake. Throughout the meal, Ash tried to remind Naruto to save space because there's more to come.

However, Naruto was stuffing himself because he never had food like this, so good and so much. It was better than any food he had ever tasted, although all he had in comparison was cup noodles.

"You're going to get a stomachache." Ash gave a wry smile as he ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Well, you can't blame him. Pakura's food is superbly amazing." Jude turned a smirk at Pakura, who had a slight frown on her lips.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself." Ash beamed at Naruto, who nodded as he continued gorging himself. However, as he never really learnt how to use a fork and knife, he was eating everything with his hands instead as none of the dishes used chopsticks.

Although he wasn't exactly having table manners, the others were nice enough and did not make any comments over it. After all, they understood that Naruto never really had enough to eat. When he did have food though, table manners were surely the last thing on his mind at the moment. All of them except Pakura simply smiled fondly at the kid enjoying himself.

When the meal was over, Naruto was fighting to keep the food down. After all, his stomach wasn't used to such rich fare.

Noticing this, Ash pushed a cup of peppermint tea to him. "Drink this." He told Naruto. "It'll help soothe your stomach."

While he was drinking the tea, Ash said, "So Naruto, tell us all about yourself. Tell us anything at all you want to talk about."

"Anything I like?" Naruto looked surprised, and everyone nodded.

Naruto grinned and began straight away. It was all a bit higgledy-piggledy, but he talked for all he was worth. He told the group how he liked to play pranks on other people; how other children would play with him but the parents would tell them not to later; how nice the Third Hokage was at the village; about the Ichiraku Ramen, where the owners treated him nicely as well; how he used to live in an orphanage but then the Hokage decided to let him live alone.

He went on and on, as the group would laugh at the happy parts and be solemn at the bad parts. Either way, they would say, "And then?"

Naruto was so happy he kept right on talking. But finally, he ran out of things to say. He sat drinking the peppermint tea trying hard to think of something.

"Haven't you anything more you can tell us?" asked his new adoptive dad.

'I don't want to stop now, dattebayo!' Naruto thought, looking at all the expectant faces. It was such a wonderful chance to have someone who would listen to him talk about even the most trivial things. Then he had an idea.

He could tell them about the orange outfits he wore. He actually wore the orange jumpsuits mainly because that were the only things the shopkeepers would sell to him and had to keep buying them because his clothes were always torn when he got attacked by villagers. Then again, he liked the idea of wearing orange because it was bright and it stood out, so people would pay attention to him.

"The villagers are always looking at the next Hokage, dattebayo!" said Naruto, pumping up a fist. He noticed that all that time none of them yawned once or looked bored (Pakura's expression remained unchanging but even she listened raptly), but seemed just as interested in what he had to say as he was.

Jude checked the clock and said, "Oh Arceus, it's ten already."

If he had been able to tell time, he would have been astonished, and even more grateful to his adoptive father and his team. After all, dinner actually ended at seven thirty, and Jude's comment indicated that they had listened to Naruto talk for two and a half hours.

As the Elites cleared the dishes to wash them, Ash turned to Naruto. "So, being Hokage is your dream?"

Naruto nodded happily. "Yep!" He chirped.

Ash had a smile, and asked, "Why do you want to be Hokage?"

"That way, the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!" Naruto promptly answered.

"Is that all?" Ash had a thoughtful look on his face.

Naruto nodded, and Ash replied, "Your reason of being Hokage is all wrong."

"What do you mean?" Naruto tilted his head.

"What I am saying is, you want to be Hokage to gain the respect or acknowledgement of the villagers, right?" Ash clarified. "What does Hokage mean to you?"

"The strongest ninja, of course!" Naruto's voice was chirpy, although it was faltering.

"By being the strongest, you agree you would have to protect those who were weak, right?" Ash went on.

When Naruto nodded, Ash asked, "Are you certain that you would willingly protect these same people who didn't protect you and even abused you knowing you were weak due to you being a child?"

That got Naruto to stop and think. After all, being the Hokage meant that one would be the strongest ninja in the village and that the position was one of great respect.

However, when Ash put it that way, he wondered if he would truly protect those who had abused him. In fact, now that he thought about it, he would rather let them get what they deserved.

"I figured it was better to be ignored or hated…" Naruto whispered, but Ash still heard him.

"Naruto, what I'm trying to say is that there is more to it than being the best when it comes to the Hokage title." Ash told him seriously. "Believe me, it's not as glamorous as it seems on the outside. It's not a job for those who are not completely dedicated to the village and its people. Everything that makes the village tick is somehow affected by you."

Naruto was listening intently, as Ash went on, "Every business owner, merchant, food vendor, and civilian falls under your jurisdiction. There would be paperwork relating to these sorts of things and you have to make sure the goods are enough to supply the village along with a limited budget. Every decision you make do not just affect you; it would affect everyone else in the village."

"Then, there would be the shinobi. You would have to be aware of each shinobi's strengths and weaknesses, how well they work with other individual shinobi and the mission objectives to send an individual or the team best to complete that mission because you control how the mission's teams are formed." Ash ticked them off with his fingers. "Do you know why this is important?"

Naruto tilted his head, and motioned for Ash to give him the answer.

"This is because all of their lives and the success of the mission could very well depend on this decision. If you mess up and send the wrong shinobi not well-equipped for a certain type of mission, you would lose manpower because of this mistake, leaving you vulnerable to invasions. You may even have to send them on suicide missions if that is the only way to complete it. Even when the deaths of your people are on your hands, you still have to persevere and not let this emotionally affect you and prevent you from leading the village, because everyone else depends on you to keep things running." Ash explained. "To the people, you are supposed to be the guiding light to lead them out of the dark during dark times. Everyone will look to you for guidance and leadership."

Naruto looked at his adoptive father and he saw the pain and sorrow in his eyes and knew that Ash likely have seen and made his share of mistakes and was still paying for them today.

He was surprised when Ash took his hand and said, "Come here, I want to show you something." He led Naruto to the window and let him climb on his shoulders to look out the window after making sure the window was closed.

Naruto looked out of the window and was amazed at the exquisite view. The view was grandeur, with a balance of magnificent glistening buildings that tower into the air, a sparkling waterfall in the distance and gardens and trees that littered the grounds. He saw people walking around with some creatures by their side, and some creatures flying in the air.

"It's beautiful!" Naruto squealed.

"This is what I seek to protect and in the Hokage's case, he protects the village. You have to protect every man, woman and child and they are your responsibility. Their lives would depend on the choices that you make. One day, you may have to fight on the frontlines and do whatever it takes to protect the people you rule over, even if it costs your life. To be willing to shoulder the burden to protect the people, even if it costs your life, that is what it likely means to be Hokage." Ash concluded, as he put Naruto down.

Naruto looked at him with awe. He never knew that being the Hokage was such a responsibility and was ashamed at how he declared boldly he would be the Hokage without even knowing what it meant. Ash was right, to be the Hokage just for respect and acknowledgement would be a disgrace to the previous Hokages who had died for their village.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a voice said, "Pika" from below him. Naruto glanced down was greeted with the most precious view. There, at his feet, was Ash's Pikachu. Naruto picked up Pikachu and hugged it to him.

He opened his mouth to say, "You sound like you're a Hokage or something." as he scratched Pikachu's ears.

"Close enough." Ash snickered. "I'm the Prince of this region and the Crown Prince of Rota back in Kanto."

3…

2…

1…

"EEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH?" Naruto shouted, as the other members (except Pakura) snapped up their heads at the two from the dining table.

Now that this information was revealed, Naruto supposed that Ash lived in such a grand place was no surprise. It's because he's a Prince! A Prince of most likely two regions. Speaking of which, he wondered how big is the region they are in now. Also, what is a Kanto?

He must have asked it out loud, for Ash replied, "We can explain it to you tomorrow, how our system works. It's actually completely different from what you're familiar with. I simply adjusted my explanation to fit what you're familiar with, since our responsibilities differ slightly."

"Wait, but you adopted me!" Naruto turned to Ash, somehow putting the pieces together. "Does it mean I'm-"

"A Prince? Yep, of Rota at least." Ash answered. "After all, just because you aren't my son by blood doesn't make you any less my child."

Naruto's eyes began to glisten with barely controlled emotion. He was sure that almost no one in the village cared about him except for a select few. But here Ash was, telling him he was his child in all but blood with unwavering faith and conviction despite only having adopted him today.

"Thank you, er…" Naruto wasn't sure what to call him.

"Well, just call me Ash for now." Ash waved it off. "It's fine."

"Did Jiji choose you on purpose? So that I'll know what being Hokage really mean?" Naruto gave Ash a look.

"Who knows." Ash shrugged. "I'm not saying your dream is invalid, but I want you to achieve your dream for the right reasons. I don't think you should strive to gain the acceptance of those who don't make the effort to understand you just for some deluded reason that you're a monster. You shouldn't worry about the acceptance or their acknowledgement then."

"Thanks, you gave me a lot to think about." Naruto nodded.

"But should you choose to continue that dream, I believe you can do it. From tomorrow on, all of us are going to teach you all that we know for the foreseeable future. We'll help prepare you to be a true shinobi to the best of our abilities." The Champion said with sincerity in his tone.

"You really mean it?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Of course. You remind me of myself when I was a kid." Ash answered. "I was just like you, wanting to be the very best, like no one ever was. I achieved my dream, and now here I am."

"I want to hear about it, dattebayo!" Naruto was interested. What was the story behind Ash's journey to become the best?

"It's a long story. You might not understand since you're nor familiar with our culture…" Ash scratched his head. "We will be beginning lessons tomorrow to familiarize yourself."

"Eh?" Naruto didn't like the thought of taking lessons, but said energetically, "I'll do it! You'll see, I'll become the best student you ever had, dattebayo!"

"I believe you will." Ash gave a grin. "Come on, do you want to play video games?"

"What are they?" Naruto tilted his head, puzzled at the term.

"Come on, you have some in your room. Let me show you." Ash took his hand, and they rushed off to his room, with Pikachu and Lucario bounding after them.

A few minutes later, while playing video games, Naruto learnt that he and Ash had a lot in common despite not being blood-related. It was like Ash was a more mature version of him or something.

"If you want to play a prank, Naruto, do it with more finesse." Ash advised him, when Naruto told him all the pranks he used to do to get attention.

"How?" Naruto wondered, as they mashed buttons to defeat the boss.

"For instance, you can't just vandalize the Hokage Monument with random scribbles. That's too simple." Ash answered. "Next time you do it, paint them with weird colour schemes. Like paint the stone face with hair that is the different colour from the original person. Eyes a different colour. You'll be surprised the effect they can have."

Naruto's eyes shone, as inspiration got to him. "Do you have any tools that can allow that?"

"Sure. I mean, Phillip made coloured balls that would explode and spread colour quickly for a faster paint job." Ash waved his hand. "There was one prank where someone actually disguise themselves as an unassuming shrub. People walked past and they scared them. Things like that."

"Wow…." Naruto definitely liked Ash now, as the finished the boss, and went back to the main menu.

"Of course, the key is to not get caught. Be sneaky. Or alternatively, be outrageous. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it's unbelievable." Ash had this sly grin on his face. "If you want ideas, here." He gave Naruto a book titled Pranklopedia: The Funniest, Grossest, Craziest, Not-Mean Pranks on the Planet!

"Not-Mean Pranks?" Naruto read the title.

"Well, mean pranks would be those where you know that someone has claustrophobia, but you prank them by locking them in the closet." Ash stated. "That is a line you should never cross. Never trigger any mental health issues they may have, such as anxiety or panic attacks. Remember, it's not a good prank if the victim is not laughing."

"They never laughed at my pranks." Naruto noted sadly, thinking of the angry villagers that would cuss him every time he pulled off some prank.

"Let me rephrase. If the victim is someone you care about. Someone whose opinions you would take seriously. Like your Jiji or the ramen stand owner back in your village." Ash corrected himself.

Naruto nodded. He was definitely going to miss them, though. But Ash did say they could pop over to the village to visit whenever he wanted, so there's that.

When it was time for bed, Ash tucked him in and gave him a hug before going to his own room.

Konoha was lit up with many festive lights as the villagers celebrated the fall of the Kyuubi. Everyone was out enjoying the celebrations. All except for a young boy that had an angry mob trying to murder him…

All around Naruto were darkness, people were screaming to kill the demon.

"Die, you demon brat!" one of the villagers screamed out as they chased Naruto.

"You'll pay for everything you've done to us!" another voice screamed, earning a frightened whimper from Naruto, who was running as fast as his short legs would allow him. If only he could make it to the Hokage Tower…

"Don't let him get away!" a particularly malicious villager exclaimed.

Naruto couldn't outrun them for long, as one of the shinobis managed to pin him to the ground, and pulled out a kunai to cut his face. It dug deeply into his cheek, opening a wide gash.

Naruto heard the laughter from everyone around, as they began beating on him. Their eyes cold and merciless as they willingly gave him more wounds, ignoring his pleas for them to stop. One of them turned back and let out a shout that was picked up by the other villagers nearby that they got the demon.

Naruto screamed as the shinobi that gave him the cheek wound begin to dig deeper into his face, almost as if to carve his face.

Naruto gave a strangled cry and woke with a start, sweating and shivering. Cradling his cheek, he realized he was actually safe in bed. He decided to leave the room for the kitchen for a glass of water or something.

As he padded down the corridor silently, he thanked whoever had the habit of leaving the hallway lights on, as otherwise, it would have looked very eerie. It also made it easier to spot her, in her black nightgown with short sleeves and white trim, as she sat on the lounge, apparently spacing out.

It was either Naruto wasn't as silent as he thought or she had excellent hearing, as she said, "What are you doing up?" in this bored tone without even looking back at him.

"I-" Naruto started, as Pakura turned around, face unreadable.

Naruto gulped. The last thing he wanted was to anger her, for she seemed to be someone who exuded a powerful, no-nonsense air.

Something about her softened considerably at his expression, for she gestured for him to sit. When he did, she went to the kitchen to make something, and handed him a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream.

"Drink this." She told him. When Naruto did, he marvelled at the sweetness of it, and calmed down.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Pakura went straight to the point.

When Naruto nodded, she asked, "What did you dream about?"

Naruto took a sip of the hot chocolate, and replied, "I dreamt about the times the mob would chase me down, trying to kill me. I don't understand. What is a Kyuubi? Why does everyone back in the village hate me?"

Pakura remembered that Naruto had heard the term Kyuubi from their conversation when he woke up. However, she knew the Third Hokage had made it illegal to talk about it in the village.

Inwardly, she smirked. The Third Hokage did make it illegal to talk about it in Konoha. However, he did not say it wasn't to be talked about outside the village.

"If you want to know, I can tell you." Pakura offered.

Naruto wiped his eyes, and nodded. He wanted to know everything!

Pakura took a deep breath, and said, "Four years ago, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, killing a lot of people and almost destroyed the entire village. Because the Kyuubi cannot be killed, the Hokage at that time, Minato Namikaze, sacrificed his life to seal it away instead. He had to seal it away in someone in order to keep it at bay."

"He sealed it in me." Naruto was on the verge of tears, putting two and two together. "Out of everyone in the village, why me?"

"Because you're his son." Pakura answered, making Naruto look at her, surprise written all over his face.

"It's perfectly true. I'm not sure of the details but when you were born, there supposedly were great measures taken because the seal holding the Kyuubi in your mother would weaken with the strain of childbirth. However, someone infiltrated the birthing chamber and extracted the Kyuubi from your mother. Your father Minato had no choice but to seal it in you and died as a result. I heard his last wish was for you to be seen as a hero, but then the Third Hokage had to break the news of what happened to the Kyuubi and Fourth Hokage to the village." Pakura explained. "When we were speaking to him, we realized he actually told the truth to the people and omitted the fact that you were Minato's son and forbidding people to talk about it. Which was why you were freely abused and ostracized."

Naruto felt the image of his Jiji crack deep inside. Not because of the fact that he created this law but because he had asked countless times why the villagers hated him and he never got the truth but rather half-hearted excuses.

"Am I a monster?" Naruto asked, whimpering.

Pakura was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Am I the demon fox that destroyed the village years ago?"

Pakura frowned, and said, "Put it this way." She took the half-drank cup of hot chocolate. "Think of the Kyuubi as the hot chocolate, and you as the cup. Does it make the cup hot chocolate?"

Naruto shook his head, as Pakura held onto Naruto's shoulders and looked at him dead in the eyes and firmly said, "You are not the Kyuubi. Just pouring hot chocolate into a cup does not turn the cup into hot chocolate, sealing the Kyuubi inside you doesn't make you the demon fox itself."

"Then why does everyone call me a demon! Why does everyone hate me!" Naruto screamed, his tone carrying the pain and frustration he felt when the mob gave him a beating.

Pakura doesn't seem fazed by the screaming, and calmly answered, "Because humans in general don't use all of their brains. Many people lost their loved ones during that attack and that made the Kyuubi the prime target of their hatred, pain and grief. Because it's inside you they lost the actual target they should have vented their hate on so they turned to the next best thing: you, the person whom the fox is sealed in."

Naruto stayed silent after hearing these words. His heart boiled with hate for the people that treated him so badly. Just like Pakura said, he was not the Kyuubi, just the person to hold the Kyuubi but everyone treated him like the demon for no good reason!

"Why didn't Ash tell me?" Naruto gritted his teeth.

"You didn't ask." Pakura shrugged. "Besides, it was illegal to talk about it as I mentioned earlier."

"Wait, if it was illegal, why did you tell me?" Naruto pointed at Pakura, as he sipped the last of his hot chocolate.

Pakura's eyes held a bit of malice. "Well, the Third Hokage said we couldn't talk about it in the village. He never said we can't do it outside the village."

They sat for a long time in silence, before Naruto could ask, "How do I deal with nightmares?"

Pakura gave a look, and replied, "Nightmares are never going to go away. They are only unbearable while we're giving them our full attention. It's a representation of what we fear most. If you face your nightmare, you can face your fear and become a stronger person."

Naruto nodded, as he registered what Pakura said.

"I'll take you to Ash's room." Pakura carried Naruto in her arms.

"Thanks a lot for the talk, Pakura-san." Naruto said gratefully. "How can I ever thank you?"

"Don't mention it." Pakura answered.

Naruto started to laugh, but Pakura said unflinchingly, "No, seriously, don't. Reputation takes a lifetime to build, and seconds to destroy."

Naruto wondered why Pakura did not like her kind acts to be known, but he was interrupted when Pakura knocked on Ash's door. A sleepy Ash opened the door, and mumbled "What is it?"

"Your son had a nightmare." Pakura answered shortly, handing Naruto over.

Ash gasped, and hugged Naruto tightly. "Oh, Naruto, I'm so sorry! I didn't hear your screams because the rooms are soundproof! Not to worry, I'm here now."

Naruto felt that his ribs were going to break in a good way, and said, "I'm fine, Ash."

"Thanks for bringing him, Paku." Ash turned to Pakura, who rolled her eyes.

"Keep an eye on him next time." Pakura replied curtly, before turning and heading to her own room.

"Sorry about Paku, she's always like that." Ash smiled ruefully.

'Not really. She's a kind lady.' Naruto thought, as Ash tucked him in his bed and slept on the other side.

As Naruto slept, Ash vowed he would do his best to take care of Naruto and make sure the villagers regret treating Naruto horribly.

Dawn was breaking through the windows when Naruto woke up. Slowly, he dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, programming the buttons that Ash had showed him. Once he finished his shower, he found an outfit had been left for him at the front of the closet.

A simple stretchable black pants, plain dark blue kimono top with a mesh armor shirt beneath it with a grey sash holding the kimono together and black shinobi sandals.

Naruto was hungry and decided to head down to the dining room, hoping there would be food. He wasn't disappointed. The table was laid with at least twenty dishes, as Pakura was setting up the table. Ash, Jude, Phillip and Akeno were already seated.

"Good morning!" Naruto greeted them cheerfully.

"Morning, Naruto!" Everyone greeted back, except for Pakura, who nodded curtly.

Naruto loaded a plate with eggs, sausages, batter cakes covered in thick raspberry sauce, slices of fruit. As he gorged himself, he watched the sun rise over the region. He had a second plate of hot grain smothered in beef stew. Finally, he filled a plate with rolls and dipped them into hot chocolate, the way he saw Phillip do earlier.

When Ash had finished several platters of stew, he pushed back his plate with a sigh. He poured himself a cup of coffee and took a few sips.

"Alright, Naruto. Let's get down to business. Training. Phillip has designed your first set of schedules. I'm not going to tell you it's easy, because it won't be. The coming years will be difficult. We intend to train you until you drop." He looked Naruto in the eye. "Are you prepared?"

"Yes, Ash." Naruto nodded.

"Take a look at your schedule." Phillip passed him a piece of paper.

Day 1

7:30am- Physical Training with Jude, 10 laps around PAL Region with a starting weight of 5kg on each wrist and 10kg on each leg. Followed up by 20 laps in the river.

7:30am- Pokémon Theory lessons with Ash. Homework to be decided by Ash.

10:00am- Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu theory with Phillip/Pakura

10:00am- The theories of Aura with Ash. Homework to be decided by Ash.

1:00pm- Lunch

2:00pm- Basic weapons training with Pakura.

2:00pm- Hand-to-hand combat/Martial Arts training with Jude.

5:00pm- Fūinjutsu theories with Akeno. Homework to be decided by Akeno.

5:00pm- World History with Pakura. Homework to be decided by Pakura.

7:00pm- Dinner

8:00pm- 11:00pm- Recap/Homework (brushing up on the skills the student is lacking during the day)

11:00pm- Bed time

Naruto's mouth fell open. Homework? There's going to be homework? No one said anything about homework.

"Don't let flies get in your mouth, Naruto." Jude snickered.

Naruto closed his mouth. Homework?

He also wondered how he was going to complete two lessons at once. As if reading his mind, Ash said, "Don't worry. There's a little something called the Kage Bunshin. I am going to show you the theory after breakfast. We will be observing your performance and adjusting your next day's training schedule accordingly. Are you ready?"

Naruto nodded with determination. "Yes." He said resolutely.

"Then, let's begin." Ash smiled at the fire in his eyes. "Let's start with the Kage Bunshin."

With that, Naruto's training began.

BP: So, I'll end the prologue here. I've also decided to answer some questions you might have after reading this story. And no, this Pakura isn't the same Pakura as the one from Suna.

Q: Why does Sarutobi know Ash and Pakura?

A: In here, while they are not exactly allies like how Suna might be to Konoha in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, they have strict professional partnership with each other. This partnership stems in the fact that they exchange people.

For example, The Third Hokage may send those not born with chakra whatsoever to PAL Region for other career options. On the other hand, they may send over those born with chakra to the Ninja Academy to learn how to control it.

In this case, think of these cases as something like Muggle-born wizards or wizard-born Muggles like in Harry Potter. Every year, they visit to discuss arrangements for those cases and may even exchange information if proven to be beneficial.

They are doing each other a favour in this case. Imagine this: You're live in a village full of people with chakra and for some reason you can't utilize them. You'd get looked down upon. You get mocked. You get discriminated.

So, what are you supposed to do?

That's when regions come in. They give these ordinary people a chance for an alternative career- Pokémon Trainer. Or train them up to an occupation they want, as PAL Region has loads more opportunities due to their resources. Alternatively, those ordinary people not born with chakra may seek to try and get Aura as an alternative form of fighting ability and stay there to hone it.

They have agreed not to interfere with each other, so they avoid integrating their culture together or exchanging resources. However, being who he is, Ash may have given the walkie-talkie to Sarutobi to call them in case of an emergency.

Q: Why is Ash and Pakura called a Prince or Princess?

A: This has something to do with how PAL Region works in the original stories. For those who haven't read my Pokémon works, PAL Region is a principality, which is a place ruled by a Prince or Princess, but unlike normal monarchies, they choose their rulers based on skill, contributions to the region and willingness to put their lives on the line and love the region.

Think of it as a Kage to the villagers, except on a much larger scale. Like the Kages, only one Prince/Princess can rule at a time. Think of Ash and Pakura's dynamics to be something like Hashirama and Tobirama.

So, why are there two rulers, you may ask?

Long story short, Pakura actually used to be the sole ruler until Ash challenged her to a Pokémon battle during the Elite challenge. She was handed her first loss, and not only did Ash become PAL's first Champion due to her being the final member he had to face, she decided to hand her Princess position over to him, feeling since she was defeated for the first time, she wasn't worthy of the title.

However, Ash acknowledged her to be the best person to be rule due to her experience and a compromise was made: both would rule the region.

There were rumors that she resented Ash for defeating her and ruining her perfect win record, but it's unconfirmed.

Q: Why OCs and not canon Pokémon characters?

A: I don't feel right taking a Champion position from a canon Champion and want all the Champions to keep their positions to save the hassle.

Furthermore, PAL Region had been my creation that existed for a long time. My idea that this is the region Ash would lead, to show he is the best of the best.

Think of PAL Region like a naturally-beautiful yet advanced Capitol in the Hunger Games, except without the bizarre clothing, plastic surgery, and most important of all, instead of the other regions supplying them, it's PAL that supplies the other regions financially and exports their goods.

Due to their region being a practical Mega Corp and how it is considered a supernatural and extremely technologically-advanced region, the requirements to even be part of the Elite Four/Champion there is very high, way higher than any other regional Elite Four/Champion.

For Ash to be able to attain the Champion of PAL and Prince of PAL means that it's saying something. Well, and the Pokémon readers like the PAL Elites apparently.

However, there are more to PAL than meets the eye. It would be elaborated upon in the story.

Q: I have realized you mentioned something about Aura. What is it, and how is it different from Chakra people in Naruto use?

A: Aura is something that is exclusive to people living in the Pokémon world. Unlike Naruto where everyone can use chakra, there is only a small percentage of Aura users in the Pokémon world, just like in Pokémon there are only a few people that can use psychic powers.

Furthermore, in Naruto, you can be born with chakra. Aura requires initiation in order to even unlock it. Due to the fact that you actually require someone else with Aura to unlock it for you or physically attacking the non-Aura user to unlock their Aura, it's considered very dangerous as it typically results in injury, permanent disability, or even death.

You can be born with Aura, but for best chances, it's best that both parents are Aura users. So far, it has not happened yet.

As to the more detailed differences, I would explain in the next chapters as to how the Aura I envisioned in the stories are different from Chakra.

If you have any questions, let me know and I would either answer you in PM or in the next chapter. Just tell me how you would prefer your questions to be answered.

Oh, before I go. Let me know what pairings you want in this story, especially for Naruto. I might pair Ash and his team with characters from Naruto as well. Just let me know what pairings you want and I will consider.

Do review, favourite and follow!