-0-

Disclaimer

Let me just start out with the standard Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Pokémon, or any of the associated or mentioned franchises/companies, and I am not making a profit on this.

-0-0-0-0-

Author's Note

Sorry everyone for taking forever to post this. I was really enjoying my new job as a student assistant at my university, feeling very good about myself, when the Wuhan Virus struck, and my life temporarily fell apart. I lost my job, my hometown was shut down, and everything just went crazy. I held off on writing while I got everything fixed up; I got my job back, though I'll have to be moving on, soon.

Hopefully, with my life in more order, I'll be able to keep up with my fic. I want to be able to post at least a chapter a month, from now on. My track record says otherwise, but I need to be more responsible, and keeping up with a simple fic is a good place to start. Thank you all to my loyal readers for putting up with me. On a plus note, I have the skeleton of my next few chapters written, so that should help.

A very important note: after some consideration and talking it over with my beta-reader, I've decided to change the name of Sakura's Beldum. Originally, he was named Jupiter; however, I've decided to go exclusively with Japanese names, at least for the main heroes. It just feels better, in retrospect. As such, from now on, the Beldum formally known as Jupiter will henceforth be known as Tetsu. Sakura, like Sasuke and Hinata, will have a subtle theme to their Pokémon names. I won't say what it is yet, but if you look up Ochako and Tetsu, you might be able to figure it out…especially as she gets more team members.

-0-0-0-0-

Review Response

Chrisplayz: Thank you; I'm glad you like it.

clynch3: Sorry, but nickit is not on Naruto's list of Pokémon I have planned for him. Kurama is already confirmed to be a Zorua.

Shadowwolf1997: Kata will be coming back, though Rhapsody returning is not something I've got planned. However, his persona and basic character might be brought back in a new teammate of Hinata's. I'm actually surprised you mentioned him, since most of my readers didn't seem very attached to Hinata's Totodile.

mwto: Yes, I plan to use a number of my old gags (as you'll see when you read this chapter). Bagon was something I had planned for a long time in my old fic, since Naruto's mother had a Salamence; I decided that because Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon take so long to evolve, it made more since to have the heroes catch them early in their journeys, rather than towards the end, as often is the case in the games.

HarunoWolf17: Love the enthusiasm, friend, though you might want to reign it in, just a tad. Thank you for enjoying my work so much. I appreciate your drive, as well. Hinata's Ralts is female, so it really isn't possible for Kikyo to be a Gallade, just so you know. Also, Hinata is an Aura Guardian (in-training) this time around. I found it simplified my story while still giving her family a unique trait; you'll see more about that this chapter. Yes, the pairings will remain the same as before, and I will consider your request for Pamchan (don't get your hopes up, though). Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy my work.

Vvtop: Thank you for being forthright and honest in your review. I will point out that my original fic is several years old, and I could argue that I used several Pokémon before they became 'typical' of the heroes, at least as far as I can tell. I just used Pokémon I liked for them. Also, more than anything, I think the personalities of each Pokémon are what matters. Personality is really what determines if a Pokémon feels fleshed out, unique, and brings something to each character, moreso than if it is commonly used or not.

Dreaming of the Phoenix: Thank you for being such a loyal reader over the years. Sorry this took so long to post. I'm greatly enjoying the story now, which is much more cohesive. Hinata's story, as well as everyone else's, will be much more straightforward and involved in the plot this time around.

mwto: Thank you. Perhaps you can mention what gags you liked best, so I might try to

Guest #1: Tetsu (formally Jupiter) is a male Beldum because I dislike refering to sapient beings as 'it'; in my fic, all genderless Pokemon are still male or female, based on their personality. It makes naming them and conveying their character easier.

Other Guests: I am so sorry this took so long to post.

-0o0o0-

The Hero's Pokémon & Accomplishments:

Naruto Uzumaki:

Team Members: Kubo (Froakie, male, Starter), Sora (Bagon, male)

Badges & Awards: None

Sasuke Uchiha:

Team Members: Bayushi (Eevee, male, Shiny), Togashi (Charmander, male, Starter), Akodo (Shinx, male)

Badges & Awards: None

Sakura Haruno:

Team Members: Ochako (Chikorita, female, Starter), Tetsu (Beldum, male*)

Note: Tetsu was originally named Jupiter, but that has been retconned.

Badges & Awards: None

Hinata Hyuga:

Team Members: Kikyo (Ralts, female, Shiny, Starter)

Badges & Awards: None

-0o0o0-

Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 4

A Girl, a Dog Trainer, and 3 Bandits Walk into a Forest…

"Audino, use Heal Pulse," Nurse Joy said.

Sora was on the examination table, leaning forward while the nurse's Audino used Heal Pulse on his damaged skull ridge. In a minute, the hairline crack disappeared. The Audino smiled, patting Sora on the head. "Audino!" she cheered.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "Is that everything?"

The nurse nodded. "Eeyep, that should do it. However, we'll just do a quick scan to make sure everything's fine."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Naruto said.

A few minutes later, Naruto returned to his friends in the waiting room, holding his Bagon in hand. "Thanks again!" the boy called over his shoulder.

"Don't mention it!" Nurse Joy responded, smiling.

Naruto and his friends were in the Sprout Town Pokémon Center, having exited River Scar Valley after traveling through it for two days. Since they became a team, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura hadn't caught any new Pokémon or fought any major battle. In truth, between Akodo and Sora's injuries, they'd actually been taking it easy.

Naruto sat down, letting Sora jump down on the ground and play with the other Pokémon that were out. Sakura was sitting peacefully, alternating between sorting through her bag's supplies, tending to her egg, or trying to make idle chatter with Sasuke. For his part, Sasuke mostly grunted as he looked off in the distance thoughtfully. In his lap, Sasuke absentmindedly stroked Akodo, who was curled up and sleeping peacefully. The Shinx still had a prominent scar across his eye- the center's staff could only heal the damage and not undo the scar itself at this point. Still, at least there had been no serious damage to Akodo's eye.

Bayushi purred and stretched, winding between Sasuke's feet, trying to get his trainer's attention, apparently wanting Akodo's spot. If Sasuke noticed, he was ignoring the Eevee's behavior. Scoffing, Bayushi turned and walked over to Sakura, hopping up into her lap without warning. She gasped, dropping her bag, but quickly fell under Bayushi's charm before she could scold him.

On the floor, Togashi, Ochako, and Kubo sat across from one another, playing some sort of game, while Tetsu floated at Sora's eyelevel, the two apparently having a staring contest. Without warning, Sora brought his head forward, bonking Tetsu's metal face. The Beldum let out a metallic gasp, and then paused. A moment later, the two Pokémon bonked heads again, creating a sound not unlike a metal drum. They giggled, and did it again…and again, and again, and again.

"Ha, trying to make a song?" Naruto asked playfully. Sora turned to his trainer and gave him a thumbs up before turning back to Tetsu. The Bagon held up his hands, counting three, and the two bonked heads three times in rapid succession.

"Should he really be doing that?" Sakura asked. "He just had his skullcap fixed!"

Naruto shrugged. "Nah, Nurse Joy said that his head was as good as new, and he could start jumping off cliffs and crashing his head as much as his heart desired…that's what Bagon do for fun," he added upon noticing Sakura's confused look.

"Isn't that a little strange?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"Not really," Naruto said. "I mean, they really want to fly, so-"

Sasuke cut him off. "Not your Dragon's suicidal tendencies, I mean Nurse Joy. Isn't it weird how she's exactly the same as the Nurse Joy back in Oakcrown City? The same name, same appearance, same job…"

"It's a little weird," Sakura admitted. "But the Joys are a big family, and the Pokémon nursing tradition runs in their family for generations. I've met four of them. I know they all look alike, but that's mostly because they wear similar uniforms; if you look closely, you'll notice differences."

Naruto scoffed. "A family of all women who all have the same hair, eyes, face shape, and profession? I don't believe it. My mom says they're really the result of the government experimenting with human cloning!"

"You watch too much science fiction," Sakura said dismissively.

"Yeah," Sasuke added. "Everyone knows the Joy are all Ditto."

Sakura and Naruto looked at him.

"It's true! My father told me! See, they're training them so that they'll have an army of shapeshifting spies. They first have the Ditto mimic nurses to get used to it; it's easy because they just have to do the same job every day, say the same phrases like 'Welcome to our Pokémon Center' or 'We hope to see you again!', so that the Ditto can master mimicking human speech and behavior before getting the rest of their training as spies."

Naruto looked at Sasuke carefully. "So…you're saying, if I threw a Pokéball at one, they'd be caught?"

Sasuke scoffed. "No. You can't catch someone else's Pokémon. They're all already owned by them!"

"Who's 'them'?" Sakura asked, finger-quoting the word. "A secret branch of the government?"

"No, the people behind the scenes, who are trying to take over," Sasuke said, his eyes almost wild. "My Dad says they don't have an official name, but he's making a list of people he thinks are part of them-" He finally noticed that Sakura and Naruto were looking at him like he was crazy. "…never mind."

"Yeah, uh, let's just get going," Sakura said, suddenly getting up.

Grumbling, Sasuke decided to avoid conversations with his traveling companions for a while (at least until they stopped looking at him like he was crazy) and recalled his Pokémon with Naruto. Picking up Bayushi (with Sakura holding Ochako), Sasuke and the others headed for the door. However, as they were about to step out, Sasuke held up three fingers, counting: 3, 2, 1-

"We hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy called as they exited.

Sasuke gave his friends a knowing look, and Naruto couldn't help but notice how automatic and soulless the phrase sounded. The two boys paused, looking over at Sakura.

"You're both idiots!" she huffed, rolling her eyes and stomping away.

-0o0o0-

Back in the Pokécenter, a dark-haired girl sitting off in a corner sighed, setting down the book she had been using to hide her face. Hinata was not sure why she had gone to the trouble of hiding from Naruto and the others…but after what happened at the river, she was too embarrassed to face them!

The Nurse Joy up front called her name, shaking Hinata from her thoughts. She went over to the counter and retrieved her Shiny Ralts, Kikyo.

"Your Pokémon are as good as new!" Nurse Joy said. She bowed her head. "We hope to see you again soon!" It really did seem like she spoke in stock phrases, Hinata noted, having overhead Sasuke's…unusual theory regarding the Joy family.

"Ralts?" Kikyo asked, sending Hinata a telepathic message. …Rose pink embarrassment, and the tertiary colors of conflict... she noted, in her usual way of speaking of emotions like colors. …Is something wrong?...

"Uh, yes and no, I guess," Hinata sighed, letting Kikyo ride on her backpack as the two made their way out of the Center. "Sometimes…sometimes, I wish I wasn't so shy."

…If you weren't you, who would be?... Kikyo asked, noting her swirling emotions taking on the dark shade of doubt. …Mama says what we see as flaws really define our best qualities…, though in truth, the young Ralts was not sure what that meant. It just sounded helpful.

"I saw Naruto and his friends just now. I-I was too shy to say hello," Hinata admitted. "I-I was afraid they might recognize me from the river, and then I'd have to explain what happened!" She shuttered.

"Ral…" Kikyo sighed, noticing the swirling emotions her trainer was feeling. Yellow happiness, the true blue of friendship, tended with grey loneliness, and much more, but all soon squashed with a whitewash of worry and fear.

…It is not fun being embarrassed…, Kikyo admitted. …I do not like feeling it...but it might be nice to make new friends, and share their colors…Lots of colors, like a kaleidoscope…

Hinata looked over her shoulder at her Pokémon, giving her an appreciative smile. Unfortunately, this meant she was not looking as she turned a corner, and Hinata ended up bumping into someone and getting knocked over.

"Ofph! I'm sorry," Hinata quickly said, "I wasn't looking where I was-"

To her shock and surprise, the person she ran into quickly grabbed her hand and helped her up, rapidly apologizing himself.

"Oh, man, so sorry! That was all my fault, Hinata!"

Hearing her name, the girl backed up and looked at the boy; it was Kiba Inuzuka, a wild-looking boy with messy brown hair and red fang marks beneath his dark eyes. He had gone to the same school as Hinata. And nearby was Akamaru, his pet Growlithe, who yipped happily at Hinata.

"K-Kiba!" Hinata gasped, jumping back a little. Undaunted, Kiba picked up Kikyo and handed her to her trainer.

"Yeah, I'm surprised to see you too!" Kiba said, flashing a big toothy grin that showed off his sharp, canine-like teeth. "I thought you'd be off doing Aura Guardian training or something."

Hinata gave him an awkward smile, settling down now that the shock had worn off. The Aura Guardians was a loose origination of Aura users in the Konoha Region. For the most part, people who could manipulate Aura, or life energy, were very rare. For the Hyuga family, however, Aura users were very common. All members of the Main House were trained as Guardians- even Hinata, who was a fairly weak Aura user by Hyuga standards, had received basic training in Aura arts. In fact, ever since she was 10, she had to skip many classes in Pokémon school so she could train with her father and tutors…something that had made Hinata, an already a shy girl, become invisible to most of her classmates.

Breaking away from her thoughts, Hinata shook her head. "N-No! Most Aura Guardians don't start their professional training until 16; they're expected to go on Pokémon Journeys and strengthen themselves and their teams until then."

"Cool!" Kiba responded, looking oddly pleased with the news.

Kikyo noticed a passionate swirl of red and pink in him, but it felt so embarrassing to her that she decided not to tell Hinata.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a few seconds. Finally, Kiba broke it.

"So, uh, since you're here, and not off training like I thought, I was just thinking," he began, scratching the back of his head. "Er, I mean, uh…" Growling, the boy looked away, his face flustered as he tried to find the right words. Steeling himself, Kiba abruptly turned to Hinata and blurted out, "Would you like to go out!?"

Hinata stood frozen in place, eyes wide with shock.

After a second, Kiba grimaced. "Uh, I mean- sorry, that totally came out wrong! I meant to ask, 'would you like to hang out?' I mean, the two of us...hanging out...together...like friends- since that's what we are, and that's what friends do!" he added awkwardly. His confident persona quickly deflated as the boy stumbled on. "I mean like...we could totally start traveling together- since we're both here on our Pokémon Journey. I mean, it's safer to travel in groups...if you want to, that is!" Kiba sighed, feeling his face turn bright red. Next to him, Akamaru had put his face in his paw, shaking his head.

Hinata gave him a kind smile, and was about to say something, only for Kiba to suddenly speak up.

"Uh, shoot, I just remembered I gotta go walk Akamaru! Nice seeing you, Hinata! Bye!" And with that, Kiba grabbed Akamaru and ran off.

Shocked again, Hinata just stood there for a moment.

...Pink and yellow embarrassment...Flustering emotions...that was strange… Kikyo mused.

Hinata sighed gently. "Kiba was embarrassed; I get very flustered when I get mixed up when talking. It must be very embarrassing for someone confident like him." She paused. "He didn't mean any harm...maybe I should have said something."

...Maybe it would be nice to travel with a friend?... Kikyo suggested.

"...maybe," Hinata admitted.

After a few minutes of quiet pondering, Hinata spoke again. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

-0o0o0-

"It's only three hours until nightfall. I think we should stay in town for the night and start out first thing in the morning," Sakura suggested, as the three of them stood together in the town square. They had done some quick resupplying and were deciding what to do next.

"Fine," Sasuke said, somewhat reluctantly. He would have just preferred traveling and camping in the woods, but it wasn't likely they'd get far in three hours anyway; no point in arguing with the others over it. "If we're staying near a Pokécenter, we might as well make use of it. Let's get some battles in."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, pulling out a Pokéball.

Sakura rolled her eyes; why was it that Pokémon battles were the only thing boys ever thought about? Naruto and Sasuke had mock battles at least once a day since Sakura started traveling with them…which, considering it had been only three days, might not be saying much now that she thought about it.

She was pulled from her thoughts when a boy their age walked up to them. "Hey, did I hear someone mention wanting a Pokémon battle?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered, looking calm but interested.

"Well, would you like to battle me?" the boy asked eagerly. "I just started my journey and I haven't had an official battle yet. I really want one!"

"Hmm, sure," Sasuke replied, before anyone could stop him. "Three against three. You can do that?"

"S-sure!" the boy replied nervously.

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto protested.

"I could beat you any day. It's good to fight against as many different opponents as possible," Sasuke said plainly.

"No, I meant why don't I fight him? I wanted to battle, too," Naruto exclaimed. He quickly added, "And who says you'd beat me?!"

Sasuke scoffed. "He has three Pokémon, I have three Pokémon. You have only two."

Before they could continue arguing, Sakura pointed out that they'd need to be sure they were on the outskirts of town. Battles in residential areas were strictly forbidden.

-0o0o0-

"Hmm, there's something you don't see every day: a white Eevee."

The speaker was a brown-haired youth in his mid-teens, with an eyepatch over his right eye, an ugly burn scar extending from above it down to his chin. The boy was sitting outside at a table, enjoying a meal with his two companions. One was a youth with messy black hair and beady eyes, and the other was a dark-eyed girl with black hair that fell down to the floor.

Dosu, the eyepatch boy, pointed at Sasuke, who had Bayushi riding on his shoulder.

"Oooh, a Shiny Eevee!" the girl, named Kin, cooed. "Eevee are pretty rare as is! A Shiny's extra special!"

"Not to mention, the Boss has a thing for white Pokémon," said Zaku, the last member of the trio. "Let's get it!"

Kin nodded eagerly, but Dosu shook his head.

"Don't be stupid. The kid's not alone." Dosu pointed at Naruto, Sakura, and the other boy they were walking with. "Right now, they outnumber us- if we try to mug him now, we're just asking to get caught." He scoffed, picked up a sugar cube from a cup on the table, and held it up to the Chatot on his shoulder.

"Don't be stupid," Echoes the Chatot parroted, snatching the sugar cube with glee.

Kin and Zaku glared. "So, what do you suggest?" Zaku asked.

"Hmm, from the looks of it, they're going off to have a battle," Dosu said thoughtfully. "We'll follow from a safe distance, and strike when the opportunity presents itself."

-0o0o0-

A little while later, just outside of Sprout Town…

-0o0o0-

"O-okay, I'm ready!" the boy said nervously, pulling out a Pokéball. "My name is Toru, of Oakcrown City, and I challenge you to a three vs. three match!" He tossed the Pokéball containing a Rattata. "Whiskers, I choose you!"

Sasuke smirked. "Bayushi, you're up," he said. His Eevee jumped onto the makeshift battlefield, arching his back and growling.

"Sasuke, you're supposed to introduce yourself! It's good etiquette," Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Sasuke Uchiha, of Oakcrown City," he said, taking no notice of how his opponent's eyes widened. The Uchiha family was quite famous, after all. "Now...begin!" With that, he ordered Bayushi to start things off with Take Down.

"You can do it, Sasuke!" Sakura squealed, posing with her arms held up like a cheerleader.

From the sidelines next to her, Naruto watched the battle glumly, arms crossed.

Sakura noticed. "Don't be bitter because Toru wanted to battle Sasuke and not you. It's not mature to sulk."

Naruto scoffed. "He didn't want to battle Sasuke. Sasuke wanted to battle him. He'd have been happy battling me!"

Sakura said something, but Naruto barely heard her. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen something move around in the nearby bushes. Turning, Naruto was able to catch a glimpse of a grey tail disappearing into the underbrush before he could even pull out his Pokédex.

"Did you see that?" Naruto gasped.

"Shush!" Sakura hissed, apparently enthralled by the battle.

Bayushi had the Rattata on the ropes already. He landed one last tackle, and the Rattata was out. Sakura gave another girly cheer.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto ran off after whatever had disappeared in the underbrush.

"You did good Whiskers, don't you worry," Toru said, recalling his Pokémon and pulling out a new one. "We'll avenge your honor! Shelly, you're up!"

His Pokémon appeared in a flash; it was a Squirtle.

"Bayushi return," Sasuke said, pulling out a new Pokéball and tossing it. "Akodo, go."

-0o0o0-

"Where'd you go?" Naruto asked, talking to no one in particular as he crashed through the underbrush. As if to answer him, a figure jumped out in front of him, growling and doing its best to look intimidating.

Naruto, however, had a different reaction. "Ahh, it's a Poochyena, how cute!" he said, pulling out his Pokédex.

"Poochyena, the Bite Pokémon," it pinged. "At first sight, Poochyena will bite at anything that moves and chase after any prey that flees it. However, Poochyena are naturally cowardly, and will turn tail and flee anything that strikes back."

However, by the time the Pokédex had finished mentioning 'will bite anything that moves', the Poochyena jumped forward and bit Naruto's hand so hard it drew blood.

"MOTHER F$&K&!" Naruto screamed, flinging his arm wildly in an attempt to detach the biting Poochyena. He hit it against a tree, causing the Poochyena to let go and land roughly on the ground. Yelping, the Poochyena scrambled up and fled with its tail between its legs.

"Get back here you little coward and fight like a man!" Naruto shouted, picking up his Pokédex and running after the fleeing Pokémon.

-0o0o0-

"What was that?" Sakura gasped, hearing a loud shout of pain. She turned around to ask Naruto, but he wasn't there! "What- Sasuke, Naruto's missing!"

"I'm kind of busy!" Sasuke growled.

On the battlefield, Sasuke had sent out Togashi, who was now battling Toru's Bellsprout. The Bellsprout had caught Togashi in its vines with a Wrap attack, and was slowly squeezing down. Growling, Togashi breathed out a cloud of sparks with Ember right into the Bellsprout's face. Gasping, it staggered back, loosening its vines just enough for Togashi to break free. Wasting no time, the Charmander followed up with a second Ember attack before closing in and finishing his foe with a Scratch to the face.

"Oh, Beans!" Toru cried, rushing to his Pokémon's side.

Togashi laughed and started to spin in place, only to notice how somber Sasuke was. The Charmander quickly stopped and crossed his arms, nodding stoically at its opponent.

"Thanks for the battle-" Toru started.

Sasuke, however, wasn't paying attention anymore. Walking up to Sakura, he asked, "Now, what did you want?"

-0o0o0-

The Poochyena jumped out of the underbrush as quickly as his little legs could carry him. A moment later, the bushes exploded as Naruto tore out of them, raising a Pokéball. "Get back here!" He threw it, but missed the Poochyena.

The Bite Pokémon whimpered, suddenly turning out of sight behind some shrubbery. Naruto swore, skidding across the dirt as he attempted to turn after his target. He spotted the Poocheyna take another turn out of sight- the distance between them was growing.

"You're not getting away!" Naruto growled, running as fast as he could.

Much to his surprise, the Poochyena suddenly turned around and was running back in his direction, yipping in fright.

"What-?!"

A Pokéball flew in from the direction it was fleeing, hitting the Poochyena and absorbing it. After a single ping, it locked.

"Alright, I caught it!" said a gruff voice Naruto recognized. Kiba Inuzuka ran onto the scene, gleefully scooping the Pokéball up. "And with one try too! Man, am I awesome or what, Akamaru?" Kiba smiled and turned to his Growlithe companion, who barked happily. He turned, noticing Naruto for the first time. "Hey, Naruto! What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Naruto said angrily. "And more importantly, why are you stealing my Pokémon?!" He pointed angrily at the Pokéball Kiba was holding.

"What do you mean, 'stealing your Pokémon?' I caught this pup fair and square!" Kiba snapped back.

"I was after him first!"

"Yeah, and if you'd had caught him first, he wouldn't have run right into me." Kiba tossed the ball up and caught it. "You had your chance, and now he's mine!"

Naruto's face got red. He puffed up his chest and pushed it against Kiba's. "You filthy-"

"Hey, stop it!" a feminine voice said from behind the two of them. Sakura walked onto the scene, followed by Sasuke.

"Oh, hey guys," Kiba said, recognizing both of them from his class.

"Yo," Sasuke said simply, crossing his arms.

"What in blue blazes is going on here?" Sakura said, stepping between the two boys and pushing them apart.

"He stole my Poochyena!" Naruto protested.

"I caught him fair and square!" Kiba retorted.

"Can you two stop fighting for one second?" Sakura said. She glared at both boys. "Now, is this really worth fighting over? Naruto, why were you even chasing that Poochyena anyway?"

Naruto glared, but slowly, as he mulled it over, his face softened. "I was chasing him…because he bit me, and I wanted to throttle the little bastard." He growled and rolled his eyes. "Keep him, Kiba. I didn't really want to catch him anyway."

"Thanks," Kiba said smugly. "Not that it matters; I caught him fair and square, and if you had anything to say about it, I would have crushed you anyway.

"You wish!" Naruto said, half playfully and half challengingly.

"What to test that?" Kiba asked eagerly.

A grin cracked across Naruto's face.

-0o0o0-

"I don't understand boys," Sakura said.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba were back in the clearing near town, where Sasuke had battled the kid from earlier. Only now, it was Naruto and Kiba's turn.

"How does two vs. two sound?" Kiba asked.

"Great!" Naruto responded. He pulled out Kubo's orange-topped Pokéball. "And to start with, Kubo, I choose you!"

Kiba eyed the Bubble Frog Pokémon, having never seen one before. "Hmm, I bet that's a Water-type," he said slowly, pulling out a Pokéball. "In that case, I'll send out Bolt first!"

The Pokémon that materialized looked like an adorable yellow corgi puppy. "Yam-yam!" he barked happily, panting.

"Oh, how cute!" Sakura said from the sidelines, pulling out her Pokédex.

"Yamper, a Puppy Pokémon," it chimed. "Yamper are popular herding dogs that generate electricity in the base of their tails as they run. They are also gluttonous Pokémon that are motivated primarily by food."

"An Electric-type against a Water-type," Sasuke mused quietly. "Huh, Naruto should have sent out his Pokémon the same time Kiba did.

On the battlefield, Naruto sized up his opponent. "Type advantage isn't everything!" he said defiantly.

"But it is a lot," Kiba countered. "Bolt, use Spark!"

The Yamper rushed forward, electricity building from his hindquarters and traveling all across his body.

"Kubo, Bubble his face, then Lick-out! Just like we practiced," Naruto countered.

The Froakie grabbed a handful of his sticky bubble mane and flung it right in-between Bolt's eyes. As the Yamper reeled in shock, Kubo shot out his tongue to grab hold of a low branch up above. Before Bolt could realize what happened, Kubo had swung across the battlefield, throwing another Bubble Attack at his hindquarters.

"No bad," Sakura commented, watching as Kubo jumped and used his tongue as a grappling hook again, once again avoiding Bold's attack before throwing another Bubble in his face.

"Alright Kubo, finish him off with Lick!" Naruto ordered.

Kubo shot out his tongue, wrapping it around the Yamper's neck and tightening.

"Bolt, counter with Nuzzle," Kiba said.

"Yamp!" Bolt snarled, wiggling his butt. A charge of electricity flowed from it up to his face, and then up Kubo's tongue.

The Froakie released his grip on Bolt, wheeling backwards in pain as the shock inflicted the Paralysis condition.

"Alright, now follow up with Spark!" Kiba ordered.

Bolt charged towards Kubo; Naruto shouted for Kubo to dodge, but his reflexes were too slow to respond.

"Yamp!" Bolt cried, slamming Kubo to the floor. The Froakie struggled for a second, and dropped unconscious.

"Darn it," Naruto sighed, recalling his Pokémon. He looked at Kubo's Pokéball. "I'm sorry buddy. I should have known better than to try something like that against an Electric-type."

"Yeah, you really should have," Sakura whispered.

Sasuke shushed her.

"Good job, Bolt," Kiba said from across the field to his Yamper, who barked back happily. Kiba looked over at Naruto. "Send out your second Pokémon."

Naruto nodded, pulling a ball from his belt. "Okay, Sora, this is your first battle, so give it your all!"

-0o0o0-

Humming gently to herself, Hinata walked along the woodland path, Kikyo riding along in her backpack. It was a pleasant late afternoon, and Hinata was beginning to forget about her worries for the day.

Something in the underbrush snapped, pulling Hinata out of her daydreaming. Gasping, she turned towards the sound. There was nothing, but Hinata felt uneasy- as if someone or something was watching her.

"Kikiyo, did you hear that?" she asked, looking about vigilantly.

"Ralts," Kikyo responded; the Psychic-type reached outward, scanning all around for a mind nearby. She picked up nothing, and turned to Hinata, shaking her head.

Hinata sighed, relaxing a little. "I-It must have been my imagination-!" A shadow had loomed in the corner of her eye for a brief moment. She turned, but it was gone. It was then that Hinata noticed that there was no ambient noise in the forest anymore. No birds singing, no wild Pokémon chittering or moving about. An eerie silence hung in the air.

Gulping loudly, Hinata started to back away, eyes ever alert. "K-Kikyo, I-I think maybe we should get back to the Pokécenter."

The Ralts nodded, but Hinata had already turned and started walking swiftly away, carrying Kikyo, repeatedly checking over her shoulders, half-expecting something to be there. She broke out into a run.

After the girl and her Ralts vanished from sight, a horned creature with red eyes stepped out of the shadows, watching them with a solemn, thoughtful expression.

-0o0o0-

"Sora, use Headbutt!" Naruto ordered. His Bagon rushed forward, slamming into Bolt head-first with a telling blow. The Yamper rolled backwards, wincing before giving up and falling down, knocked out.

"Alright! You won your first battle!" Naruto cheered, running over and giving Sora a hug.

Across the field, Kiba grumbled to himself, returning Bolt. He turned to Akamaru. "Okay, buddy, go and wipe that smile off his face!"

Akamaru yipped happily and onto the battlefield. "Growlithe!" he barked, rearing up on his hindlegs before slamming down, releasing a wave of shadowy, black energy. The wave rushed over Sora, causing him to suddenly get wobbly in the knees for a second.

"Hey, no fair attacking before the match starts!" Naruto shouted, pointing accusingly at Kiba.

"We didn't!" Kiba said defensively. "That's just Akamaru's Intimidate Ability, you idiot! It lowers the Attack power of the enemy when Akamaru enters the battlefield!"

"…oh," Naruto said. "You know, that's actually pretty cool."

"I know! It even extends to all nearby enemy Pokémon in a multi-battle!" Kiba said excitedly.

"Well, if Attack is lower, we'll just use Special moves; Sora, use Dragon Rage."

-0o0o0-

Hinata paused to catch her breath, looking over her shoulders. It no longer looked frightening, and the sounds of the forest had returned. Now, she was starting to feel foolish.

"Kikyo…What are we even running from?" Hinata said slowly, looking at her Ralts, still riding in her backpack.

"Ralts, ral!" Kikyo responded, somewhat embarrassed.

"That's silly," Hinata said. "There's no one there. It was just our imaginations getting the better of us." She motioned around at the empty forest surrounding them. "There's no one watching-"

There was a loud snapping sound, as if made by a large animal stepping on a branch.

Hinata gasped, spinning around, but Kikyo acted first, grabbing hold of her trainer and calling upon her Psychic power. In an instant, they blinked out in a flash of light, Teleported away by the panicking Ralts.

-0o0o0-

Akamaru dove to the side, evading the Dragon Rage attack, which hit a tree and exploded violently.

"Grr, counter with Flamethrower!" Kiba shouted.

"Fight fire with fire! Dragon Rage again!" Naruto responded.

Sora and Akamaru started charging their attacks-

-when the battlefield between them suddenly distorted. A flash of light, and then a girl appeared out of thin air, right between the two attacking Pokémon! Kiba's eyes widened, recognizing Hinata.

"What the-?!" Naruto shouted, dumbfounded. He realized Sora was still in the middle of an attack. "SORA, STOP!" he shouted.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Kiba screamed desperately at Akamaru.

Even as they gave the order, however, both Pokémon were already launching their attacks. Sora tried veering the attack away at the last second, while Akamaru shut his mouth and turned away, choking on his own flames.

Even so, a small wave of fire came at Hinata from one direction, and a ball of Dragon-type energy from the other; panicking, she raised up her hands to shield her from the flames, while everyone else could only watch in horror.

From Hinata's back, Kikyo desperately grabbed ahold of her trainer; she was still disoriented from Teleporting them both, but it was her trainer's only chance!

The flames licked Hinata's hands. Even so, the air around her rippled, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone!

Sora's attack, however, was still flying forward. The Dragon Rage ball flew through the fading puff of flames right into Akamaru, who was doubled over and coughing from swallowing his Flamethrower attack. The explosive ball hit the poor Growlithe with full force, blasting him backwards into his equally unprepared trainer and lifting him off his feet. Both slammed into a tree and fell down, unmoving.

"...WHAT THE HOUNDOOM WAS THAT?!" Naruto screamed, looking around wildly. "What happened!?"

"Be quiet," Sasuke said coldly, doing his best to remain stoic. "I think that was a girl Teleporting into the middle of our battlefield."

"Yeah, but- but-" Sakura said helplessly, pointing at where Hinata had been. "It all happened so fast!" she finally managed.

"Hey Sakura, I need your help!" Naruto said. Having overcome his initial confusion, Naruto had the sense to check on Kiba and Akamaru.

"Right!" Sakura gasped, scooping up Ochako and running over.

-0o0o0-

Dosu set down the binoculars he had been using to watch Sasuke and the others, looking rather satisfied. He turned to his companions, who had been watching the battle as well. "See," he said smugly, "I told you it was smart to wait and watch." Dosu's face was now covered in a mask of bandages; besides him, Zaku wore a scarf that covered the lower half of his face, while Kin wore a domino mask. After all, they had to protect their identities when on the job!

"I still don't get what happened," Zaku said, looking confused. "One second, they're fighting, and the next- kaboom! Everyone's panicking. What gives?"

"Their attacks collided and caused a huge explosion, idiot!" Kin hissed.

"No, you fools, someone Teleported right in the middle of the battle" Dosu snapped, shoving them both. On his shoulder, his Chatot parroted Dosu's words, but everyone ignored him. "Just as they were getting ready to attack, and then she Teleported again! It all happened in a second!"

"Talk about fate! What are the odds of that happening?" Zaku said, looking rather pleased. "So... you think this is a good time to swoop in and grab the emo-twerp's Shiny Eevee?" he asked tentatively.

"Nah, I got a better idea," Dosu said. "We're going after the girl, first. Then we'll take care of the emo-twerp."

"What's so special about her?" Kin asked, looking indigent.

Dosu smiled behind his bandage-mask, a glint in his eye. "She had a Ralts with her- that's what was teleporting her. And even though I only say it for a second, I noticed it had blue hair!"

Zaku and Kin both gasped. "Oooh, a Shiny!" Kin whispered.

"Two of 'em in one day!" Zaku added excitedly.

"Yeah, and considering it had to Teleport its master twice in rapid succession, I'll bet it's exhausted," Dosu pointed out. "We'll track her down now, before she has a chance to recover." He lifted his binoculars and checked on the twerps. "And by the looks of it, emo-twerp and the others are getting ready to spread out and try to find her. We can use this to our advantage."

"First we get the girl, then we take out the twerps," Zaku concluded. "But how are we gonna find her first?"

Dosu looked over at Kin and nodded. The girl smiled, pulling out a Pokéball; it had a steel top with a musical note etched on it. "Bijou, come on out!"

Kin's Pokémon materialized, a cobalt blue metal Pokémon that looked to be a bronze mirror.

"Brrng!" the Bronzor chimed in a light, feminine tone.

"When a Pokémon Teleports, it leaves behind a trace of energy," Kin explained. "A trace that Psychic-types can follow."

-0o0o0-

"Okay, it looks like he's fine. Just stunned," Sakura announced, rising to her feet and looking at the unconscious Kiba. Nearby, Ochako patted the equally unconscious Akamaru on the head with her leaf, satisfied that he was likely unharmed. "I think it's safe for us to move him."

By that, she meant it was safe for Sasuke and Naurto to move him, of course. The two of them complied, propping him against a tree and setting Akamaru right beside him.

"Okay, but what are we going to do about that girl?" Naruto asked. "I mean, she could have been hurt or-" He gasped, eyes going wide.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"That girl…" Naruto said slowly, "she was the one that pulled me out of the river!"

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's starting to come back to me!" Naruto said hurriedly. "Yeah, I remember her and her blue Ralts!"

"She had a Ralts?" Sakura asked.

"You didn't notice?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Well, she was only there for a second!" Sakura replied defensively. She shook her head and turned back to Naruto. "Never mind, it's not important. We need to try and find her!"

Naruto nodded. "That's what I was going to say! Come on!"

"All of us? But what about Kiba?" Sakura asked, but Naruto was already running off into the woods.

"What about him?" Naruto called back. "You said he was fine; besides, it's not like he's going anywhere!"

"But-" she started, only to notice Sasuke was heading after Naruto. She huffed angrily to herself and followed. "Grr, stupid boys! They never listen to me!"

Ochako looked up at her trainer, not liking it when she was angry, but otherwise remained quiet and just jogged alongside her.

After walking about twenty yards, Sakura stopped. "Hey, wait a minute!" she shouted, suddenly struck with an idea.

Ahead of her, Naruto and Sasuke stopped and turned around. "What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke said that the girl had a Ralts with her, right? Then maybe we can track her down that way!" Sakura said.

"How?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura smiled. "Tsunade once mentioned that Teleportation leaves a Psychic residue that other Psychics can detect. And I just so happen to have a Psychic-type!" She held up Tetsu's Pokéball and called him out.

"Good idea!" Naruto cheered.

Next to him, Sasuke looked less impressed.

Sakura, however, paid that no mind. "Okay Tetsu, we need you to track down the Pokémon that just Teleported!"

For a few seconds, Tetsu just stared at her silently.

"…I think they have to specifically trained to track Psychic-types," Sasuke said skeptically.

"Uh, you do know how to do that, right Tetsu?" Sakura asked nervously. Next to her, Ochako nodded in agreement.

Once again, her Beldum just stared at her blankly. Then, he turned and started floating off in a direction. "Brrrm" Tetsu intoned, motioning for them to follow.

"Ha! See? I told you it would work!" Sakura shouted, running after him, with Naruto right next to her.

Sighing, Sasuke glanced over at Bayushi. "Let's hope this works."

At the front of the group, Tetsu floated along blankly. He wasn't sure what Sakura had asked of him. Beldum as a species have very weak Psychic powers; there's barely anything they can do outside of manipulate and detect magnetic fields. However, he had just sensed notable magnetic field being generated nearby, and it was moving. Perhaps it was a Pokémon of some sort? Whatever it was, Tetsu had hoped it was somehow related to what Sakura was talking about. He didn't want to disappoint her, even if he didn't understand her sometimes.

-0o0o0-

"Ouch," Hinata sighed, looking at her hands. Luckily, she had been able to draw upon her Aura powers to creative a protective field around herself before the flames hit, but she hadn't been able to make the shield perfect- her palms were singed with light burns. She sighed, noting that she was lucky this was all that happened to her.

Nearby, poor Kikyo was laying down, nearly unconscious. For a young and untrained Pokemon to Teleport themselves and their trainer once in a single day was taxing, but to do it twice in the span of a few seconds would be stressful even to an experienced Pokémon. Hinata looked over at her little Ralts with affection and pride.

…Sorry…my fault… Kikyo said sadly, having repeated the message over and over.

"It was an accident. It is no one's fault," Hinata said softly, reaching over and stroking Kikyo's head. She let soothing Aura flow out from her hand, ignoring the stinging sensation caused by her burns. The energy spread from Hinata to Kikyo, causing the Pokémon to go still and fall into peaceful sleep. Smiling to herself, Hinata looked at her hands. She might not have been up to her family's standards with Aura use, but even she knew a few useful tricks. Hinata pulled out Kikyo's Cherish Ball and recalled her. With Kikyo taken care of, Hinata wet about tending to her own injuries, pulling out her first aid kit and doctoring her hands. Some burn ointment and bandages wrapped around her palms and fingers helped lessen the pain greatly, but it'd still be best to get professional healing at the center. "I suppose now I should just head back to the Pokécenter and get some rest…as soon as I figure out where I am."

She took out her Pokénav, checking its map.

"Hmm, if that way is north, that means Sprout Town should somewhere that way," she mused aloud. Humming to herself, Hinata headed off.

After a few minutes however, she stopped, looking over her shoulder. She didn't know why, but once again, Hinata had the unshakable feeling that she was being watched. She froze, gulping her breath and looking around slowly. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except one again the forest had gone eerily silent. Hinata's hand drifted unconsciously down to her belt, brushing against Kikyo's ball- but she was in no position to fight, even if there was trouble.

A feeling of helplessness started to creep through Hinata, causing her to shiver. Unable to help herself, the girl started to whip around in all directions, her breath becoming short and panicked. Before it became worse, Hinata steeled herself, slapping her cheeks. "Ugh!" she grunted, running off towards town, willing herself to ignore everything else.

Once again, a horned creature loomed in the shadows, watching her retreating form. The creature sighed, its eyes flashing red with arcane knowledge. Growling, it flashed away in the darkness.

After running for about 50 yards, Hinata started to slow down, glancing over her shoulder. There was nothing there.

"It's all in my head," she said quietly, glowering to herself. She slowed down some more. "There's nothing there- aah!"

An unseen force grabbed hold of her, lifting Hinata into the air.

"What- What's going on?!"

A chorus of cruel laughter rang out as three masked figures emerged from the bushes, with a Bronzor floating among them, aglow as it held onto Hinata with Confusion.

"Well, well, look what you've gone and caught, Bijou," Kin said, letting out a haughty, dramatic laugh. Her Bronzor let out a metallic giggle at her trainer's praise.

"Yeah, looks to me like a little girl with a rare Pokémon," Zaku said, walking up to Hinata with a smirk. He sized the floating girl up, noticing that her Ralts was out of sight. "Speaking of which, where did it go? It didn't run away, did it?"

"Let…me…go!" Hinata gasped, struggling in the Bronzor's telekinetic grip.

"Sorry girly; can't do that. We're Team Snake, after all, and we've got a reputation to keep up," Zaku said mockingly. "Just tell us where your Shiny Ralts is and we'll all be on our way-"

"Stop blabbing and just grab the Cherish Ball from her belt, you idiot!" Dosu snapped, pointing.

Zaku started to snap something in response. However, as soon as he was distracted, Hinata sprang into action. Bijou might have been holding her with Confusion, but that was an overall weak telekinetic move- especially for someone who's been taught how to draw strength from their Aura. Surging the power of her spirit, Hinata broke free from the Psychic-type grasp and slammed her palm into Zaku's gut, releasing a flood of aura. Striking him with her burnt hand might have hurt her, but it hurt Zaku more! He staggered backwards in surprise, gasping for air as he fell over. Behind him, Dosu and Kin jumped in surprise, not sure what happed; Bijou was so shocked that her concentration broke, releasing Hinata completely.

As soon as she fell to the ground, Hinata sprang up to her feet and ran as fast as she could, shouting for help.

"She's getting away!" Kin screamed, trying to run after her. However, she tripped over the prone Zaku, who had rolled onto his back trying to catch his breath.

"You idiots!" Dosu growled, sidestepping the tangled mess and pulling out a steel-topped Pokéball with a musical note carved in it. "I have to take care of everything myself!"

Suddenly, the earth before them exploded as huge pillars of rock pushed out of the group in a mighty Stone Edge attack.

Dosu shouted, jumping back in time to avoid being showered in stone shards, while Kin and Zaku had to do their best to shield their faces. Growling, Dosu whipped around, looking for their attacker. He spotted a four-legged figure in the shadows, eyes glowing red, but then he blinked at it was gone.

"What- what the Houndoom was that?!" Zaku stammered.

"Never mind that," Dosu growled, pulling Zaku up by his collar. "Just stop her before she gets away!"

"Grr! Nightwish, split the skies!" Zaku shouted, tossing a Pokéball (steel-topped with a musical note, of course).

Kin turned to her Bronzor while calling out a second Pokémon. "After her, Bijou! Killer Queen, back them up!"

Dosu had already tossed the Pokéball he had pulled out, and then motioned to his Chatot, which had flown into the air to avoid the Stone Edge. "Crush, Echoes, don't let her get away!"

Zaku's Nightwish turned out to be a Golbat, while Kin's Killer Queen was to be an especially mean-looking Steenee. And lastly, Dosu's Crush materialize; it was Thwackey that immediately pulled out the stick-clubs from its hair and beat them against his chest, showing off his unusually sharp teeth as he rallied the troops.

From above, Echoes swooped down, singing an ill-fitting, cheery tune as the army of thugs chased after the fleeing girl.

"One way or another, I'm gonna find ya
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
One way or another, I'm gonna win ya
I'm gonna get ya, get ya ,get ya, get ya"

-0o0o0-

"Help! Somebody help me!"

Naruto gasped. "Hey, did you hear that?!"

Before Sasuke or Sakura could answer, however, something burst through the forest and ran right into Naruto, knocking them both over.

"Ouch-!" Naruto began, but then he noticed who had run into him. "Hey, it's you! We've been looking for you!"

Hinata, however, looked less than pleased to see him- actually, she looked outright panicked, flushed-faced and gasping. She was trying to speak, but she was too out of breath. "Please- please help-!" she managed between gasps.

"Easy there," Sakura said, gentling helping the other girl up. "Don't gulp. Take in steady, slow breaths. Now, what's wrong?"

Behind Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke growled, pointing. "I think we're about to find out."

The Sound Trio's Pokémon posy had caught up to them, Crush leading the charge. Letting out a terrible hiss, the Thwackey leapt off a tree branch towards Hinata, teeth bared and clubs raised.

Naruto started to move between Hinata and the attacking Pokémon, but Sasuke reacted first.

"Bayushi, Hidden Power!"

The Eevee leapt from his trainer's shoulder, conjuring a ring of sky-blue orbs around himself and launched it at the Thwackey, blasting the monkey to the ground. Bayushi landed on all fours, hissing with his fur on-end.

"I don't know what's going on, but it looks like trouble!" Naruto shouted, releasing both Kata and Sora. Behind him, Sasuke called out Akodo and Togashi, while Sakura ordered Ochako to join the fight.

The two groups of Pokémon face off against one another, each daring the other to make the first move. In the middle of it all, Sakura noticed Tetsu pointing directly at the Bronzor, following its movements as the Bronzor floated back and forth, like a compass. "Urh, don't tell me you were tracking that thing this whole time!" Sakura sighed quietly.

"Bel," Tetsu responded, in a tone that said 'duh'.

A trio of masked trainers followed the mass of Pokémon that had been chasing the dark-haired girl. Sasuke noticed they were all dressed in the uniforms of Team Snake, a notorious gang of Pokémon thieves.

Naruto didn't notice that, but he did notice Hinata gasp and shrink back at the sight of them. He glowered, stepping in front of her and shouting at the newcomers. "Hey, what the Houndoom do you think you're doing? Get lost, ya' masked freaks!"

"Careful Naruto," Sakura said, "look at their uniforms; those are Team Snake grunts."

"Grunts?!" the boy whose face was covered with a scarf spat, looking indignant. "We're no mere grunts, we're the Sound Trio, the pride of Team Snake's Boss!"

Next to him, the bandaged-faced boy stepped forth, pointing at Hinata and then Sasuke. "Enough of this! Hand over the Shiny Pokémon if you wanna live!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah, like cliché threats have ever worked. Everyone, attack!"

All at once, the battlefield exploded.

Togashi rushed forward and fired a Flame Burst into Chrush's face, driving the Thwackey back further. He attempted to fire a second shot, only for Dosu's Chatot to swoop in and hit him with Chatter. The sonic attack not only damaged the Charmander, but Confused him, too. Togashi staggered wildly, breathing fire in random directions as the Chatter's noise reverberated through his skull.

"Damn, Togashi Return!" Sasuke said, recalling the Pokémon before he became a danger to the rest of them. Because of the safety limit on the Pokéball, he wouldn't be able to call Togashi out for about 30 seconds- if he did it sooner, he'd risk scrambling Togashi's atoms. That left him with Bayushi and Akodo.

"Hit them again, Echoes, and make it count!" Dosu shouted.

"Make it count!'" Echoes echoed, loosing a second Chatter right at Bayushi.

"Bayushi, Mimic!" Sasuke countered.

Bayushi took on a while glow and opened his mouth, releasing an identical sonic wave to Echoes'. The two attacks hit, canceling one another out.

"Good, now Akodo, go high and get him with Spark!" Sasuke said.

Growling, the Shinx leapt into action, climbing up a tree and jumping at Echoes. The electrified Akodo hit his mark, biting viciously as he brought it down. The victory was short-lived, though, as Crush jumped, slamming both his clubs into Akodo's face with Double Hit. Sasuke shouted for Bayushi to attack with Chatter again, only for Crush to counter it by throwing a club at Bayushi that hit him squarely in the throat.

"Heh, good shot," Dosu smirked.

Akodo attempted to help by tackling Crush with Spark, but the Grass-type was barely affected as he started beating down on the Shinx with his remaining club.

Meanwhile, Sakura squared off against Zaku and his Golbat, Nightwish.

"Hehe, a floating ball bearing and a daikon radish," Zaku smirked, looking from Tetsu to Ochako. "Hardly a match. Why don't you run along little girl, before you get hurt?"

"Sasuke was right," Sakura said in disgust, "You jerks really do like your clichés. Ochako, let's show him what we think of that; Razor Leaf!"

"Chi-ka!" the Chikorita cried, swinging her leaf and loosing the attack right at Nightwish.

Zaku just scoffed. "Is that your best shot? Whack it away Nightwish, then use Supersonic!"

The Golbat easily deflected the attack with his wing, and then loosed a horrible screech, firing a barrage of sound waves at both Ochako and Tetsu.

"Ochako, quickly, use Aromatherapy!" Sakura countered.

The Chikorita released the cloud of healing pollen just as the Supersonic hit; as Sakura predicted, the Aromatherapy worked instantly- just as quickly as the two were Confused, the effect lifted.

"Ooh, what an annoying little radish; Nightwish, take out the happy healer with Poison Fang," Zaku said.

"Tetsu, block him!" Sakura responded.

The Beldum slammed into the swooping Golbat's open mouth, pushing it back with Take Down. The Gobat tried biting down on the troublesome little ball baring, but that only resulted in him nearly breaking a tooth. Sakura smiled as Nightwish screamed in pain, flapping to put some distance between himself and Tetsu. "Really, trying to use Poison-type moves against a Steel-type?" she asked mockingly.

Sakura's attention was suddenly grabbed by Kin, who had her Bronzor teleport herself and her Steenee past Sasuke and herself, going straight for Naruto and the dark-haired girl. She then remembered that Naruto recently had a tough battle against Kiba, with no real time to rest between then and now. "Ochako, don't worry about us; go and heal Naruto's team," Sakura ordered. She turned back to Zaku, glaring. "Tetsu, hit him with another Take Down!"

"Nightwish, counter with Wing Attack!"

The two clashed mid-air, with Nightwish attempting to ward off his foe by beating the Beldum away with his wings, with only limited success.

"Steel-types resist Flying, you idiot; are those the only moves your overgrown bat knows?" Sakura taunted.

"As a matter of fact, no," Zaku responded, face darkening. "Nightwish, use Crunch!"

Before Sakura could shout a counterattack, Nightwish seized Tetsu in his fangs, which were charged with Dark-type energy.

"BRRRN!" Tetsu shrieked as it struggled to escape the super effective attack.

As Sakura and Zaku faced off, Kin decided to go straight for the girl with the Shiny Ralts. "Bijou, Teleport us over there."

Meanwhile, Naruto had turned to Hinata. "Hey, if you have any Pokémon, now would be a good time to call them out."

The girl winced, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but Kikyo's too tired to battle-"

Before she could finish, Kin and her two Pokémon popped into existence right in front of them. "Killer Queen, Bijou, attack!"

"No you don't!" Naruto shouted, giving commands to Kubo.

The Froakie moved like lightning, shooting his tongue out in a swift Lick attack that ensnared Kin's Bijou.

"Good job, now, slam it!" Naruto ordered.

Kubo and Sora worked together, grabbing hold of Kubo's tongue and heaving. They swung the Bronzor into Killer Queen, knocking the Steenee over.

Naruto cheered. "Follow up with Quick Attack, Kubo!"

The Froakie rushed forward, but this time Kin was ready for him. "Killer Queen, use Razor Leaf!"

The prone Steenee whipped out her hand, firing a spread of knife-like leaves right into Kubo's face. The Froakie was knocked backwards by the attack's force, and hit the ground, unmoving.

Naruto winced, but noticed Ochako running towards them from behind Kin- if he could hold out for a little longer, she could patch up Kubo and they'd have a fighting chance!

Killer Queen and Bijou had gotten up and were advancing on Sora. "Look, I don't know how long Sora can last on his own," Naruto said to Hinata, "But any help would be more useful than no help! Even an exhausted Pokémon can distract them long enough for Ochako to help." He turned to Sora. "Keep them at bay with Ember!"

The Bagon spat out a spray of sparks, causing the two to back off. However, the trick wouldn't last long; Bijou was already circling around for a flanking attack.

Nodding, Hinata pulled out Kikyo's Cherish Ball. "I know you're tired, but we need your help!" With that, she called out her Ralts.

Sora continued his Ember attack, trying to keep a cloud of sparks and fire between himself and his foes. However, he couldn't keep breathing fire for much longer, or could he keep taps on two foes. An opening presented itself, and Bijou struck, grabbing the Bagon with Confusion. Forcing his mouth shut, the Bronzor hoisted Sora into the air while Killer Queen waltzed forward, looking rather smug.

"Hehe, good job girls, now hit that little dragon hard!" Kin hissed.

Killer Queen pulled back her sepals for a hard hit-

However, a lavender aura suddenly surrounded Sora, counteracting Bijou's Confusion. Freed, Sora blasted Ember right into Killer Queen's face, getting her in the eyes. Screaming, the Steenee staggered back, covering her eyes, while Sora landed on the ground and rocketed into her stomach, delivering a mighty Headbutt.

Naruto looked around to figure out what happened, and found his answer: Hinata's Shiny Ralts, looking ragged and exhausted, had managed to fight Bijou's Confusion with her own. "All right!"

"You little shit!" Kin shrieked, "You'll pay for that! Bijou, take that thing out with Gyro Ball!"

Spinning like a saw, the Bronzor flew at Kikyo. The Ralts tried to push it back telekinetically, but the effort caused her collapse.

"Kikyo!" Hinata cried.

Kubo's tongue suddenly shot in, lassoing Bijou, followed swiftly by a pair of green vines. Ochako was standing with Kubo, her leaf pressing against the Froakie as she administered Heal Pulse, while she helped him grapple Bijou.

"Yeah, teamwork!" Naruto shouted.

Giving a mighty heave, the two swung Bijou around, building up momentum. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Sora had been driving Killer Queen back by blasting a stream of Ember at her face, but the Steenee had managed to kick him way. "Okay, slam that Bronzor into the Steenee!"

Kubo and Ochako did just that, hitting Killer Queen with such force that it knocked her out. Bijou herself barely managed to float up, winded and nearly unconscious.

"Damn it!" Kin swore, looking panicked. Bijou wasn't just her last Pokémon- she was the Sound Trio's emergency getaway with Teleport! If she was knocked out, they'd be screwed. Kin glanced over at her other teammates.

Zaku had beaten the pink-haired twerp; she was recalling her Beldum and shouting for her friend's help. However, Dosu looked like he was in trouble. He had knocked out the emo-twerp's Shinx, but he responded by sending out his Charmander, which was pressuring Dosu's Thwackey with help from the Shiny Eevee.

"Screw it, we're out of here!" Kin announced. "Bijou, emergency Teleport!"

"What?!" Dosu and Zaku screamed, turning to face their teammate.

It was too late to do anything. The Bronzor flashed with blinding light, causing the Sound Trio and their Pokémon to glow for a second, and then vanish, with a pop.

There was a second of silence as Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, and their Pokémon looked dumbstruck at what had happened. Naruto spoke first.

"You miserable cowards! Come back here and fight!"

"It's no use, Naruto, they can't hear us," Sakura scolded. "And maybe it's better…our teams not exactly in the best shape." She pointed at Akodo, Sora, and Kikyo, and then at Tetsu's Pokéball.

Sasuke scoffed as they started recalling their unconscious Pokémon. "We could have taken them."

Hinata, meanwhile, ran over to her Ralts, scooping the unconscious Pokémon up. "Thank you for trying so hard, Kikyo," she said gently, pulling the bandage off her hand and touching the Pokémon's forehead; her hand glowed, transferring Aura from trainer to Pokémon.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked, looking over her shoulder.

Hinata gasped. "Oh, uh, well…"

"Hey, wait a second," Naruto said, recognition spreading across his face, "I know you!"

"Yeah, Naruto, we know; she's the girl that pulled you out of the river the other day," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"No, that's not it," Naruto said angrily, looking at Sasuke from over his shoulder. He turned back to Hinata. "You were in our grade in Pokémon school, right? Your name's Hinata, right? Hinata Hyuga?"

Hinata gasped, her face turning red as a tomato.

"Hey, now that I think about it, she does look familiar," Sakura said, eyes wide with surprise. "How come I didn't think about it earlier?

Still blushing, Hinata looked down, twiddling her fingers. "Uh…well…y-you see…we were not in the same class last year, and well…I spent a lot of time studying with my family-"

"Yeah, you were training to be an Aura Guardian," Naruto interjected. "All the Hyuga are Aura Guardians, right?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Despite herself, Hinata giggled. "No, not every member of my family…and I'm not one, either….at least, not yet. I-I'm still in training"

"So that's what you were doing…like, using Aura to heal your Pokémon, or maybe give it some energy?"

"Just a little energy," Hinata explained. "I'm not well-trained enough to do much else."

"Maybe we're doing this wrong," Sakura said, stepping forward. "We should introduce ourselves. I'm Sakura Haruno; I'm sorry for not recognizing you earlier."

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said, "but you probably know that."

"Yeah, and I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said. He smiled and gestured to his team. "And these are my Pokémon: Kubo and Sora."

"H-Hello, all of you," Hinata said, suddenly feeling nervous again. She bowed. "I'm Hinata Hyuga- but you know that already. Uh, this is Kikyo, my Ralts. Th-Thank you for saving me!"

"I should be thanking you!" Naruto said, holding out his hand. "You pulled me out of the river, and then vanished without a trace!"

Hinata blushed. "Well…Kikyo used her powers to lift you out…and, uh, Kikyo accidently Teleported us away." At Naruto's confused face, Hinata explained. "Uh, Ralts are very sensitive to their trainer's emotions. I guess she felt how embarrassed I was at being called a hero, and well, she decided I just wanted to disappear…" She gave a small, nervous laugh.

Naruto flashed an understanding smile. "It's okay. Thanks again for saving me!"

Hinata smiled, doing a curtsy. "And thank you for saving me."

"This is awfully cute, but let's get out of here," Sasuke said firmly. "We should get back to the Pokécenter before the Sound Trio decides to try and ambush us again."

"I thought you said we could take them, Sasuke?" Sakura said teasingly, grabbing hold of his arm. "Not feeling so tough now?"

"Only a fool is not vigilante against his enemies," Sasuke responded, which was one of the many sayings his father taught him. He pulled out of Sakura's grasp, and she in turn playfully tried grabbing him again. The two started walking away.

Naruto turned to Hinata. "Come on, that sounds like a good idea; we can get our teams healed up and a hot meal…and we can ask Nurse Joy to look at that burn on your hand."

Hinata, who was in the middle of returning Kikyo, felt herself blushing. "You noticed that?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, when you pulled the bandage off to treat your Ralts. I guess that burn was caused when you Teleported right in the middle of my attack…sorry about that."

"It was my fault," Hinata explained. "I…" She thought back to what had happened; in hindsight, it all seemed so silly. "I guess I got spooked by something that wasn't there and panicked. Sorry for all the trouble I caused you."

Yet, even as she and Naruto walked off after Sasuke and Sakura, Hinata briefly felt as if something was watching her. However, she just smiled and brushed it off, feeling safer than ever before.

Just as they reached the edge of the forest, Naruto turned back, looking a bit confused. "Why do I get the feeling we're forgetting something?

-0o0o0-

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest…

-0o0o0-

"Those stupid jerks!" Kiba growled angrily. "Abandoning me in middle of the woods while I'm unconscious! I'll get them…but first, I gotta rescue Hinata!" Kiba had remembered what happened as soon as he had regained consciousness, and had immediately started looking for her. "Come on boys, we've gotta find her scent!"

All three of Kiba's Pokémon, Akamaru, Bolt, and Chance, were out, using Oder Sleuth in an attempt to find the girl. However, they weren't having any luck.

"Growl-Growlithe," Akamaru said, looking over at his trainer.

"Yeah, I know it'd be easier if we had something with her scent on it, but unfortunately, I'm not a creepy stalker, so I don't have anything that belongs to her," Kiba said, as if he could understand the Pokémon.

Akamaru scoffed and was about to retort, only to stop when there was a flash and a popping sound above them. All of a sudden, a bunch of people and Pokémon fell from the sky, landing on top of Kiba!

"Ouch!" Zaku said, struggling to get up, "What's the big idea, Kin?! We almost had them-! Wait, who the Houndoom are you?" he demanded, pointing at Kiba.

Growling like an animal, Kiba detangled himself from the mass of people, eye wild. "What's the big idea, falling out of the sky like-?!" He trailed off, eyes widening as he noticed their Team Snake uniforms and the masks they were wearing. "IT'S TEAM SNAKE! WE'RE BEING AMBUSHED, BOYS!"

Before the trio knew what was happening, Kiba slammed his foot into Zaku's face, knocking him out cold. Nightwish shrieked in anger, trying to defend his master, only for Bolt and Chance to attack him from behind, biting down on his wings with Thunder Fang.

Crush and Bijou attempted to interview, but Akamaru hit first, knocking out both with the same flamethrower. The Growlithe then turned to Dosu, who was reaching for another ball at his belt, flames and smoke leaking from his mouth as he dared the trainer to make a move. Gulping, Dosu raised his hands above his head, with Kin following suit.

-0o0o0-

A while later, at the Sprout Town Pokécenter…

-0o0o0-

Hinata looked at her hands, where were as good as new thanks to Nurse Joy's Audino's Heal Pulse. Across from the table, Naruto and the others sat. enjoying the dinner Hinata had insisted upon buying for them as way of saying thanks for all they had done. Nearby in the center's play area, their Pokémon were enjoying a relaxing evening together after all the excitement.

"Thank you again," Hinata said, a phrase she had repeated many times already.

"Hey, you saved my life from the river," Naruto pointed out. "If anything, I should be buying you dinner."

"It'd be the only time a girl would let you," Sasuke snarked.

Hinata blushed, but Naruto brushed it aside.

"Hey, Hinata, how would you like to join us on our journey?" Naruto suddenly said.

Once again, Hinata was red as a tomato. Sakura's mouth dropped, and Sasuke started to say something, but Naruto clamped a hand over his mouth without looking.

"You saved my life, so I owe you; one of the reasons Sakura's traveling with us is because she helped save him," Naruto explained. "Also, I think it'd be really cool to hang out with an Aura Guardian-in-training. Besides, considering those Team Snake losers were after your Shiny Ralts, they might try it again! My mother would never forgive me if I left allowed a lady to travel unprotected," he concluded, giving an overly dramatic bow and smiling.

Next to him, Sakura looked surprised. "You know…that's actually some pretty solid reasoning. I'm with Naruto on this; you should totally join the team, Hinata!"

Sasuke pulled away from Naruto, glaring. However, instead of protesting, he just rolled his eyes, grunting, "Do as you wish."

"I-I…uh, thank you!" Hinata said, beside herself. "I'd really…really like traveling with you…all of you," she added. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she went on. "I've never had any serious friends before…Kiba and some others were nice, but this would be the first time people wanted me to be part of their group."

At the mention of Kiba, Sakura's memory clicked. "Shoot, we left Kiba behind!"

While Hinata looked at the other girl in confusion, Naruto struggled to between feeling guilt or amusement over the situation. "Don't worry, Kiba's a big boy. I'm sure he's just fine," he said nonchalantly, trying to convince himself it was true.

-0o0o0-

Back in the Woods…

-0o0o0-

Dosu, Zaku, and Kin hung helplessly in the air, suspended upside-down from a sturdy branch, dangling a few feet above the ground. In front of them, in a neat little row, were their Pokéballs, all with their Pokémon recalled inside and the safety lock engaged. Once in a while, one would wiggle as the occupant tried to escape, but with the lock on, it was impossible.

It was an elaborate set up, but Kiba thought it was worth the trouble.

The wild-faced boy glowered down at his would-be attackers, pacing back and forth in front of them, slowly drumming a branch the size of a baseball bat in his hand. Akamaru sat in front of the trio, looking rather menacing, while Chance and Bolt flanked them on either side.

"So," Kiba growled, coming to a stop in front of Zaku, "Thought you could get the drop on me, did you? Thought that because I was wounded and my head was still spinning from being knocked out, I'd be an easy mark?" He poked Zaku in the face with the branch. "Too bad I've got a lot more fight in me than you expected!" He pulled the stick back, as if he were winding up for a hit-

"I swear, you've got it all wrong!" Zaku pleaded quickly. "We weren't trying to mug you at all! It was an honest mistake!"

"No, you just jumped me all at once with your Pokémon out by accident," Kiba said flatly, looking unimpressed. Still, he lowered the stick.

"We didn't jump you! We were accidently teleported on top of you!" Zaku explained hurriedly.

"…really?" Kiba asked, looking like he could almost believe it.

"Of course it's true, you moron!" Kin shouted.

Next to her, Bolt growled, his rump sparking with electricity.

"Stop antagonizing the dude threatening us with a club!" Zaku shouted at her. "Especially when he's aiming it at me!"

"Stop groveling, you coward!" Kin snapped back. She turned to Kiba, who had walked over to her. "Think about it, you idiot: our team was already mostly knocked out and tired. Why would we be ambushing you with our crew like that!? We just got in trouble, and I had my Bronzor Teleport us out of harm's way; now stop acting all tough and cut me down! All the blood's flowing to brain and worst yet, my hair's getting rubbed in the dirt!"

Kiba looked thoughtful for a moment, considering all she had said. "Really? What sort of trouble?" he asked casually.

"We ran into an Ursaring's den," Dosu lied smoothly. "We didn't realize it was a mother with cubs." On either side of him, Dosu's teammates nodded vigorously in agreement.

All at once, Kiba's demeanor changed. "Oh, man, I am soooo sorry for all this! Man, I feel so stupid! That makes perfect sense!" He pulled out a knife, reaching for the rope holding Kin up.

"Of course it does!" Zaku said. "It's the truth!" He was so relieved, he started laughing deliriously, and soon, Kin and Dosu joined in.

"Yeah," Kiba said, stopping just before he cut the rope. "…except, for a few problems."

All at once, the laughing stopped.

"You see, my mama took me camping all the time, so I learned a few things," Kiba said slowly. "For starters, there aren't any Ursaring in these woods. You find them closer to the mountains."

Dosu winced; the blood must have been getting to his brain to make a mistake like that.

"Secondly," Kiba went on. "I went through your pockets, and you aren't carrying any IDs on yourselves…not even a Pokémon license. Now, the only reason for anyone to do that is if they don't want anyone IDing them somehow. But really, the most obvious reason I know you're lying: you're all wearing Team Snake uniforms, and you all had masks on. Care to explain that?"

The trio looked at one another helplessly. Finally, Zaku spoke up. "…we were cosplaying for a convention?" He smiled nervously.

Kiba glared, dropping his stick. He turned to his dogs. "Boys, sic 'em!"