Author note: Sorry this took way too much longer than I wanted, was planning out details.

"Good seeing that Shalour City hasn't changed." Naruto sighed happily.

"Pan." his partner nodded in agreement.

Naruto, Korrina, Pangoro and Lucario made a comfortable group as they made their way through town. Everyone greeting Korrina as they passed and her responding in kind with a pleased gusto to her, which wasn't surprising seeing as she was the gym leader of the Shalour City Tower of Mastery.

"Never pegged you as the nostalgic type, Whiskers!" Korrina said, slapping her old friend on the back. The action caused Naruto to stumble and he dropped something. A small, black sphere that hit the street with a metallic sound and bounced twice before it grew in size as it stopped on the ground.

A PokéBall. But not the typical one. The PokéBall was almost entirely black with a gold band around the middle as well as a gold button, and It had rings of red on both halves which themselves were flanked by rings of gold.

Seeing it, Korrina gawked. A Luxury Ball?!

The Luxury Ball was the fanciest of PokéBalls made, along with it being the most expensive of them all, with it's buying price being a thousand Poke and the resell price being five hundred! It was designed for luxury as its name suggested. And while it had the same as a normal PokéBall in terms of success rates in general as far as capturing pokémon in them, a Pokémon caught in this ball will form a bond with its trainer more quickly. Due to the Luxury Ball's high cost and reputation as being more comfortable than other PokéBall, it was likely originally designed for celebrities, the very rich, and wealthy Trainers.

Her shock was increased when Naruto picked up the capture device and reduced it's size before returning it to his belt, where five others just like it were connected and hanging in a row.

"Where did you get those?!" Korrina gaped, then turned to Naruto, "Up to your old tricks like when we first met?!"

At that, Naruto glared at her so forcefully, she thought it was a Gyarados that was mad at her for a second. "No. And for the record, I find that offensive, Girlie. A lot can happen in two years." Naruto snapped.

Korrina winced. Ok...that was going to make her be kicking herself for a while. Just because he had been a thief back when he'd had no other option if he wanted to live didn't mean he was one still in the present. She sighed. "Sorry...just surprising you had one of those Pokéballs, much less six of them. And you did say Pangoro was your only pokémon when we had our gym battle the other day, so..."

At hearing his best friend and rival explain herself, Naruto sighed, guilty and exasperated, "I hear ya. But I haven't caught any other pokémon, and Pangoro never liked the idea of being locked up in a ball...so..."

Korrina and Lucario nodded.

Then Korrina realized something. "Really? Two years without any contact and you haven't caught ANY other pokémon?!" she said incredulously, then she laughed, "Oh man...just what the heck were you up to then if you left to get stronger and still have only Pangoro?!"

Naruto looked annoyed at being laughed at, but then thought of something, "Remind me again how many pokémon other than Pangoro I needed for our battle the other day, including clashing with Mega-Evolved Lucario?" Naruto challenged, smirking.

At that, Korrina stopped laughing and replied by punching her old friend in the arm. "Yeah, yeah, yeah...I get it..." she grumbled.

Naruto laughed, "I swear, we need to catch up...sorry, Korrina."

"And whose fault is that?" she huffed.

Meanwhile, Pangaro and Lucario stood off to the side, grinning at one another as they saw their human partners bonding all over again. The scene of reconciliation was suddenly interrupted as someone called in the group's direction, however.

"Halt!"

At the voice, both Naruto and Pangoro froze and groaned.

Officer Jenny.

Going up to the group, she took one look at the whiskered blond and slapped a hand to her face with a moan, "For the love of...! Of all the...! You have GOT to be...! YOU'RE back?!"

"Nice to see you again too, Copy..." the whiskered teen said through clenched teeth, having never liked the woman...or any Jenny for that matter. As someone that had to resort to theft to get by as a kid, he'd developed a distaste for police.

"And here I was I was hoping it was a rumor in the station...what are you up to this time, Uzumaki?!"

"Nothing, you stinking xerox! Look, back then, I had no other options, are you honestly going to hold that against me? Understanding that I didn't have any better route to take with how things were for me back then is hardly asking too much. There was a reason I stopped with all that theft when I ended up getting a better option on how I had a chance to live, after all. " Naruto said, irritated; sure, insulting a cop wasn't a smart move, but it made him mad when people judged him badly over what wasn't really up to him. Especially for bygone events.

Jenny nodded, she understood what he was saying. She'd seen a lot of the ugly side of human nature as a police officer. People being petty and bitter, and refusing to give a single inch unless they get something in return. Kids getting into the corner trade because life didn't give them any other choices. "Convenience" fees. Funerals with tiny coffins. Broken trust. People who refuse to see how good they've got it. People who prey. And the horrible ways that the first thing made the second thing.

The young man before her had started as one who life had given no better options to, but after being taken in as Gurkinn's ward, had gotten a chance to try and make something of himself. Still...that wasn't to say she had forgotten Naruto actually did commit crimes and was a headache for her, mainly since she was just starting out as a police officer at the time.

"Relax, Office Jenny. I'll be keeping an eye on him, and if he gets out of line, I'll just kick his butt to show him who's boss." Korrina spoke up cheerfully.

The policewoman looked at the young woman "...Are you sure that will work? He's pretty stubborn."

"Believe me, she's stubborn, too..." Naruto chuckled. "The two of us are like a pair of Rampardos or Begon when we start butting heads about something."

"Hey!" Korrina snapped, glaring at her old friend.

Naruto turned to her and smirked, "Am I wrong? Or would you like we settle this our usual way?"

The female blond glared, getting in his face, "Oh, that's a riot! I always beat you when we did that!"

"Ancient history, Girlie Like I said, a lot can happen in two years!" he challenged, eyes in a glare with a smirk on his face.

Officer Jenny sighed. So the two were like a pair of Rampardos or Begon when they butted heads about something? She could see it. "...Keep an eye on these two, will you, last thing I need is a homicide on my hands..." she asked, turning to the pair of dual-type pokémon, moreso to Lucario.

Snickering, the two pokémon nodded.

Once Jenny had left after that confirmation; Naruto, Korrina, Pangoro and Lucario exited Shalour City and began their journey as they walked to route twelve, being sure to check around patches of grass but only met a few Tauros, Miltank, Heracross and Pinsir occasionally until they heard something... sounded like growling...

At it reached their ears, Naruto gasped in pain as his scar tissue flared up.

"Naruto!" Korrina cried, alarmed.

"Ugh...what the...?! My arm...! Why does it...?!" He hissed as his friend and their partners helped him stand, him clutching his bandaged limb.

"Well, the flames Houndour's evolved form, Houndoom, breathes when angry contain toxins. If they cause a burn, it doesn't stop hurting."

"Meh...well, true as that is, the one that made me need the bandages wasn't a Houndoom yet. So why's my arm acting up?" The male blond hissed, tears of agony in his eyes.

As if in answer, a shape suddenly lunged at them all, only for it to be intercepted by Pangoro's Focus Blast and Lucario's Aura Sphere. Yet, it seemed to endure the blasts without damage beyond being pushed away.

Skidding to a halt, it was exposed to be a quadruped, canine Pokémon that was mainly black with a long red snout and red underbelly. It had small, red eyes and a black nose. Around it's neck was a white band with a small skull-shaped pendant on it's throat. There were also two white bands on each of it's ankles, as well as three rib-like ridges on its back. It had a long, skinny tail with a triangular, spaded tip and three clawed toes on each paw. On top of its head were a pair of long, curved gray horns that were raked sharply towards the back.

A Houndoom.

It was a magnificent specimen. At least a foot larger than average and with a build that balanced powerful muscle with a lean frame for speed. Based on the horn-size, it was male.

But one thing that was shocking about it was that it had a scar from a trio of claws over it's right eye. And it glared utter murder at Naruto.

"...You...! I-it's you...!" Naruto gawked, then his eyes hardened into a glare. "...So, you evolved, huh?"

"You know this Houndoom, Whiskers?" Korrina asked.

"Remember when you asked about my right arm? Well...meet the culprit." Naruto said, his gaze never shifting from the dual Dark/Fire-type as he glared at it. It met his gaze with horrible, pitiless, terrifying red eyes that burned with sheer and utter hate, teeth bared with flames licking between the fangs.

Korrina's eyes widened as she stared at her friend and rival. Then she glared at Houndoom herself, but as she reached for a pokéball from her belt...

"...Korrina, say out of this. This Houndoom and I have a score to settle.."

The scared Houndoom snarled at that, whether in agreement or not was anyone's guess.

"So what?! I'm just supposed to let the one that hurt somebody I care about get away with it?!" The Fighting-type trainer demanded. "Like it or not, Whiskers, this Houndoom gave me a reason to make this my fight, too!"

"Lucar!" Lucario agreed.

The Houndoom glanced around, assessing the situation, before it snarled, then turned and went away, not liking the odds it was up against right now. As it left, it turned and gave Naruto one last glare over it's shoulder. As it did, Naruto felt his burn scars flare with a sudden fresh wave of agony; making him fall to his knees, gripping his arm as he was practically blinded by the force of how intense the pain was as he gripped his wrapped limb.

"What the hell was with wanting me to stay out of things?!"

"That's how things work on the streets; one of the rules if you want to keep what you claim is you fight your own battles. And like it or not, Korrina, that's how I've had to live! I'm a Street Rattata, after all."

"You aren't a Street Rattata!"

Naruto stiffened, then he chuckled at that, "Yeah...but I was. And if I hadn't taken your wallet when we where kids, I'd still be one...like it or not, it's part of me. I can't just shake off that my past is fact."

"Pan." Pangoro growled, then the massive ursa pokémon smacked it's trainer upside the head, sending him skidding facedown in the dirt.

"Thanks." Korrina told Naruto's partner. While normally she would have laughed at Naruto being d like that and the position he was in, this was a serious matter. Her best friend had a living flamethrower with a grudge after him and he wanted her to stay out of things!

"Uuugh..." Naruto groaned after he stopped making a light trench in the dirt with his face, then spat out some dirt, shooting his partner a glare and getting a grunt in return.

Then a hand entered his field of vision, clearly offering.

He took it without a thought and was pulled to his feet by it's owner, a young woman who wore a fairy-like white outfit with lots of gold trim. She had short light brown hair that was designed in a somewhat star pattern, light blue eyes, and violet eyeshadow. She had on a white choker and white long-sleeved blazer with lapels that possessed large buttons and also a small collar, the blazer finished with three petal-like ends and the sleeves has two golden lines on the cuffs. Two lacy objects on the back of her outfit resembled cloud-like wings that were likely to be connected to the blazer. She also wore a simple white shirt with two golden lines near the end of the shirt. Finishing her attire, she wears short white pants and low high heel boots with the color of white. She carried a pink purse and she wore a necklace, which Korrina recognized as an item for use in Mega Evolution.

"You ok?" She asked him as they walked back to the others.

"Yeah...thanks, umm..." Naruto said, rubbing the lump on the back of his head before noticing his best friend and her partner gaping at the new woman.

"Oh, how rude of me. I'm Diantha." she replied.

"Wait...Diantha?! As in the League Champion of the Kalos Region?! That Diantha?!" Korrina gawked. "What are you doing here?!"

Rather than answer, Diantha shot a disapproving look at Korrina, "That Pangaro of yours is poorly trained, assaulting him like that!"

"Pangaro's my partner. Just needed a smack to the head...being stupid for thinking too much about the past and on what might or might not have been rather than focusing on how good the present is." Naruto clarified.

The champion looked at the blond boy, shocked. "Oh..."

"Goro."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, old buddy, I get it: brooding doesn't suit me, especially on what didn't actually happen." Naruto sighed, shooting the panda a glare.

Pangoro nodded, crossing it's forelimbs over it's broad chest.

Korrina snickered, as did Lucario, "You're right, Whiskers; that doesn't suit you!" she teased.

Diantha smiled, easily seeing they were a close-knit group. "So...you all trainers?"

"Trainers yes, but I have no ambition of joining the pokémon league." Naruto said.

At the declaration, both Korrina and Diantha stared.

"It's just so...repetitive. Everyone's already doing it, so there'd be no point if I did, it'd make me just another face in the crowd. Never wanted that...makes me question the point of living since everything you could do was, is, or will be done by somebody else, only differences would be time and settings." the ex-thief sighed as he explained with a frown.

Frowning herself, Diantha nodded. Ok...that made sense, even if it was depressing...but at least the boy with the Pangoro was honest. Seemed he needed to find his own direction. Then she perked up with a sudden idea.

"In that case, I have an idea for if you're looking to find a path of your own so you at least have a starting point."