2,501Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Pokémon. If I did then you wouldn't be reading this right now. I'd be relaxing in the Canadian wilderness counting my money, snowboarding, and training with Georges St. Pierre and all of the other famous Canadian Mixed Martial Arts because I like training to fight, I'd have the resources to move to Canada and to afford training in the best places, and I'd be thoroughly bored in my early retirement after conquering the world.
Chapter 2: A Matter of Fact
"Come on brat, show me what you've got!" Jiraiya ordered from Naruto, facing off from him on the open portion of deck provided to the two of them by the sailors on their ship for a spar, "Let the fruits of my tireless work be shown!"
Naruto rolled his eyes but did as his teacher requested of him, "If you're asking for it you've got it Ero-sennin!" So fast, his fingers weren't even seen making the hand-seal, Naruto created over a dozen Kage Bunshin who all scattered across the ship trying to disorient Jiraiya amid the cheering of the sailors that were given a break to watch Naruto try and put his training to practical use.
Before it was too late to act, Jiraiya formed a few hand-seals and activated his next jutsu, "Hari Jizo (Needle Jizo)!" Jiraiya's long spiky white hair grew around his entire body and hardened up just as Naruto's clones launched shuriken of multiple sizes at him. Instead of harming him they just bounced off of his hard, sharp hair as if it was made of metal, "Ho ho! That's dangerous you know."
"Shut up!" The clones all barked in unison before renewing their attack with a different approach. Looking as if they would all rush in to attack, Jiraiya was about to chide Naruto for his lack of strategy that he figured he had beaten into his head when going up against a superior opponent by then, but that all changed when he saw a puff of smoke by his feet. Two of Naruto's large shuriken transformed into the boy himself, looking as if they were going to prepare a Rasengan.
"Hari Jigoku (Needle Hell)!" Needles shot out from Jiraiya's hair and hit not only the two Narutos that were preparing an attack, but the Narutos all over. Even the sailors had to take some cover to avoid being hit by the jutsu as they ducked behind crates, barrels, anything they could find, "Oops. Sorry." He said sheepishly before noticing that he hadn't hit the real Naruto. Both of the two preparing the Rasengan had been clones.
Damn little bastard was getting better at using those clones to wear down the competition without putting himself into harm's way. Apparently getting beaten up periodically for two months taught him to look before he leapt so to speak. So where was he?
Looking around the deck, Jiraiya's eyes rested on Naruto's recently obtained Growlithe who was obediently sitting off to the side amongst the sailors, just observing the match between the two, panting excitedly at the action. The brat's dog would have to know where he was. Dogs had some kind of bond with their masters that had them seek them out all the time didn't they? He had to be of some help, "Where is he boy?" Jiraiya said in a patronizing baby voice, "Come on, where's the brat? Where's your owner?" He said, turning around to point across the ship hoping the dog would back when he pinpointed the right spot.
Not exactly liking the baby voice and once again seeing the swishing white ponytail antagonizing him when Jiraiya turned around, Ranbouen stopped being so happy and growled at Jiraiya, looking like he was about to stand up and attack as he barked angrily at the middle-aged sage, "Grrr-Growl! Growlithe!"
Jiraiya looked prepared to dodge whatever the ornery dog that had been downright hostile to Jiraiya for some reason whenever he turned his back on him when Naruto jumped down from a spot on the mast and tried to run over to stop Ranbouen from attacking his sensei, "Ranbouen stop! Don't attack Ero-sennin!"
A gleam came to Jiraiya's eye and he rushed over to deliver a kick to Naruto, "Don't be so merciful! Fight's not over yet brat! I never said stop!" When the wooden sandal connected with the small blonde boy, Naruto turned into smoke, "Another clone?" He then felt a massive influx of chakra coming from behind him.
"Duh! Did you really think I gave a damn if Ranbouen bit you or shot fire sparks at you? I'm not blowing my hiding spot for that!" Jiraiya turned around to see Naruto charging at him, a clone at his side and a larger than normal Rasengan between them. Both of their eyes were red, showing that they were drawing upon the Kyuubi to power their jutsu, "I needed some time to charge this! Odama Rasengan (Great Ball Rasengan)!"
Jiraiya held out his hands and desperately waved them to get Naruto to stop, "Brat turn it off! If you hit me with that you'll mess the ship up! Remember what happened every time you ever tried it!" They had to start working that jutsu on the water because the potential for explosions occurring from that jutsu were guaranteed with every use.
Naruto and his clone realized this and stopped in their tracks, falling face-first onto the deck after letting the Rasengan fade. The clone disappeared and the original picked himself up onto his feet, "Ugh, ow. So did I win this spar or what?" He asked with a grin, his more feral Kyuubi features fading, "I got you to say stop."
A bark of laughter came from Jiraiya as he shook his head, "Ha, you're still a few years too early to beat me with that one. I'd have dodged it and you would have sunken the ship. That's why I said to stop. It was for all of our sakes."
"Growwwl! *snap*"
"Gah!" Jiraiya shouted as Ranbouen latched his teeth onto Jiraiya's backside and continued to growl, not letting go of the grizzled old shinobi, "What's with this dog? He doesn't bite anyone else like this!" He turned towards Naruto who was stifling a laugh and pointed to the puppy Pokémon attached to his butt, "Get. Him. Off…"
Naruto let out a few snickers but pulled out a Poke Ball and called Ranbouen back, "Return." A stream of red light shot out of the middle button of the ball and turned Ranbouen into red energy that got sucked back into the device, freeing Jiraiya from his jaws. After the dog was back in the Poke Ball, Naruto let out one more snicker and whispered to the ball, "Good boy… we'll work on what I know about your attacks later."
Ignoring that, Jiraiya walked gingerly through the sailors to get to the hold of the ship, "Do Pokémon have rabies? I need to get the bite wounds on my ass disinfected…"
XxX
(Sometime Later – Unknown Town)
The ship landed in a narrow inlet that only seemed to be able to house that vessel and nothing else. Upon getting off of the ship and onto the ground again, the first thing Jiraiya did was make his needed hand-seals and slam his palm right onto the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)!" Just like on Cinnabar Island, there was nothing.
"Still no toads?" Naruto asked, frowning as he already knew the answer. On Cinnabar Island it didn't matter that much since he was still excited from getting Ranbouen and being in a new place, but it was starting to get a bit disconcerting since it kept happening, "What's going on?"
"I wish I could tell you kid." Jiraiya said, getting back up from touching the ground, "It worked when we were on the ship. I hadn't used it for a week before trying it once we landed at Cinnabar Island though. Why can't we summon here? There isn't supposed to be any range to summoning."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" The chances were low, but Naruto still wanted Jiraiya to know that he was aware of the situation and how important it was. The toads were his identity pretty much. He repeatedly introduced to him.
More than half of his self-introductions were toad-related.
However Jiraiya just started walking about, hand on his chin in thought, "I don't think so kid. You've got your mission to get to right? Why don't you poke around this place and see what you can figure out. First of all find out what it's called."
Figuring that the best thing he could do at the moment was follow the order that was given to him to proceed with the task bestowed upon him by Tsunade, Naruto did just that and left Jiraiya to his own devices. There wasn't really a beach here so there wasn't an overt worry that Jiraiya would go off to ogle women. He seemed too preoccupied to do so anyway.
So Naruto took the time to walk around the small town. The roads were dirt trails and the homes looked very different from what he was used to in Konoha. There were a few trees but none of the volume that the Elemental Nations possessed. Secrecy and misdirection apparently wasn't a big thing and being able to easily get to places was probably important to them.
Instead of forests this town had a lot of open grassy plains with kids a few years younger than him playing around in them. Probably kids that would be in the Academy if they were in Konoha. It was peaceful.
Walking around for long enough, Naruto managed to see a very large residence with a windmill sitting on top of it situated atop the largest hill in the town. That looked like an important place, "Hey!" Naruto shouted at the kids to get their attention, "What's that big building up on that hill?"
The kids looked at each other before speaking up, "That's Professor Oak's lab. Are you a Trainer?" One of the kids asked.
He didn't look like he trained people did he? But then again, Konohamaru asked him to train him and he didn't even seem to care that Naruto was just a genin. So what kind of answer could he give them? Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto responded, "I train. Why? And why does that Oak guy live in such a big house?"
Looking like they were conferring upon themselves, Naruto eventually cleared his throat and got their attention back on him, "Oh! Well if you're a trainer you probably want to go there. Everyone that trains and comes to Pallet Town goes to see him."
"Yeah, and he knows like everything about Pokémon too!"
Well that last thing was all that Naruto needed to hear. Giving the kids a thankful grin he nodded before turning down the path and taking off speedily towards the lab, "Thanks you guys!" He shouted back at the kids that were awestruck at how fast he ran.
XxX
(Pallet Town – Professor Oak's Laboratory)
It was kind of an intimidating place to stand directly in front of the doors of, and Naruto was not very eager to knock on the front door. A frown marred his face as he seemed to be balancing the possible pros and cons of getting this person's attention, 'A professor that lives at the edge of town by himself in a big house by itself on a hill… I've seen scary movies that started like this.'
"Are you going in or are you just going to block the door all day?"
Naruto turned around to see a boy his age walking up the hill path towards the lab. He had spiky brown hair and wore a purple long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and brown boots on his feet as well as a reflective pendant on his chest. He seemed rather impatient as he got closer to Naruto, eventually sliding past him to enter. Not really knowing what else to do since this kid just seemed to walk on in, Naruto followed, "Sorry, I didn't know I could just go in." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "So you train?" He asked, trying to make conversation.
The boy turned around towards Naruto and smirked, "You should go ahead and remember this name since you asked me that; my name is Gary Oak, and I can tell you that in one year I'll be the best trainer in Kanto. Guarantee it."
Well there wasn't any lack of confidence in this guy at all. But it did beg the question from the blonde foreigner, "Why a year exactly Oak?"
"Because I'm starting for real today." He replied sharply before getting a tick mark on his head at what Naruto called him, "Hey, don't use my last name like that, it sounds lame. If you've got to use my name or call me anything just call me Blue alright? No one uses my actual name anyway."
Blue. That's weird, "Oh, well I'm Uzumaki Naruto… but you can just call me Naruto I guess." He then started looking around the multiple books on shelves and the more technological shelves that seemed to hold Poke Balls, "So what are you doing here anyway? I came here to talk to this Prof. Oak guy. I heard he knows a lot about Pokémon so maybe he can help me out."
Blue chuckled a bit as they walked to a lab room with an open view of a large patch of land that must have been laboratory property, "Yeah… Gramps knows his stuff. He's like the most famous Pokémon Researcher in Kanto.
"Gramps?" Naruto said before thinking about the kid's name. It was Oak, like Prof. Oak.
Ignoring Naruto's questioning tone when repeating part of his previous statement, Blue cupped his hands by his mouth and yelled, "Oi! Gramps are you here? You told me to show up today to get my first Pokémon!"
The shout echoed through the lab, even through the second level of the lab up the stairs where a shout came down in response, "Blue? Ah, I lost track of time again!" There were the sounds of rummaging upstairs before footsteps and finally the sight of a figure descending the steps, "I'm coming, I'm coming." A man with short grey hair and bushy black eyebrows that wore a pair of brown slacks and a red button-up shirt underneath an open lab coat, "I was just finishing selecting your first Pokémon for you." He said, walking up to Blue with a smile as he held out a Poke Ball.
An excited Blue eagerly received the ball with a huge smile on his face, "Thanks Gramps." He said, eyes not peeling away from the ball for a moment, "You just gave the future champion his first Pokémon you know."
"Just make sure that you go see your mother and sister before you head out on your journey." Prof. Oak chuckled a bit and gave Blue a pat on the head before realizing that there was someone else there with them, "Oh, where are my manners? I just left my other guest here without acknowledging him at all. Hello." He said before catching sight of the calmly smiling blonde boy that made Prof. Oak think he had seen a ghost, "*gasp* Minato? It's been fifteen years. You're way smaller than I remember… and wearing more orange."
Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion, "Uh, my name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." He then realized that Oak had used the name of the Yondaime Hokage, "Wait, you knew that guy? That guy was the leader of my village!" He said with a big grin.
"Minato was?" Oak said before beginning to laugh, "Ah, that was a trustworthy young man back then. I assume you're from the same place he came from. You're kind of far out of the way aren't you? How is Minato doing anyway?" It had been a very long time since that man had stumbled through the streets of Pallet Town, a confused expression on his face until he finally ran into Prof. Oak and slightly less longer since Oak saw off the Konoha ship housing his foreign friend for the last time.
At that, Naruto's grin dropped, remembering the circumstances around the Yondaime Hokage's loss of his position in Konoha, "Well… he died… twelve years ago to protect our village." He said, not adding the exact specifics in case this person was actually good friends with the former Hokage and would seen Naruto differently, perhaps in a negative light.
The expression on Prof. Oak's face fell at hearing that touch of bad news, "Oh, I see. That's quite sad. I knew him very well when his ships from the Elemental Nations came here. He walked up to the largest building in Pallet Town and asked me whatever he could." He began to walk over to the large screen door that lead to the back of the property and looked out onto the land as he continued to talk, "The world lost a very good young man in that case."
Lost on the context of the conversation, Blue finally chose to interject, "Gramps you know this kid?"
Prof. Oak turned around towards his grandson and spared a look at Naruto before chuckling and replying, "No I can't say that I've had the fortune of meeting Naruto here before. I know of his village though. It's an exceedingly faraway place. Farther than Hoenn, farther than Unova. The distance is incredible. Thousands of miles. So far that Pokémon don't even exist there. So what brings you to Kanto in the first place? Don't tell me you're sightseeing from the stories that Minato and his crew told your homeland." He joked.
"Well…" Naruto said before looking around and whispering to the older man, "I'm on a big-time S-rank mission for my village. But it's okay, I can tell you though because I need your help. I'm here to report whatever I can find on Pokémon for my village leader."
"Mission?" Blue said before letting out a laugh as he looked at Naruto, "What are you, some kind of soldier or secret agent? You're a runt, who'd send you on a mission?"
Naruto glared at Blue and prepared to give him a heated earful until Prof. Oak spoke up once more, "I see. Well this is a very difficult mission that you've been sent on young man." He said, walking off to a desk in the corner of his room, seeming like he was looking for something, "But from what I know of your home I feel it's one that you can handle if you were sent here."
While this was happening, Blue was in disbelief, "Gramps you actually believe this kid? How can anyone send him on a mission? He's not any older than me!"
"Minato told me all the time that the majority of the youth in his homeland became soldiers for their village's standing military; to keep the peace and defend the region's interests among other things." Prof. Oak said, still rummaging around, looking for something, "So yes, I do believe him. Especially since the first thing that Minato asked for when we first met was if he had any work that paid. Saying something along the lines of, 'Even D-rank missions would do at this point.'" He remembered with a laugh, thinking about how confusing those days were before he found what he had been looking for, "Ah! Here we go, this is it."
When the man made his way back over to Naruto, Blue saw what was in his hand and quickly snapped his head back towards Naruto, "What? You're giving him a Pokédex? What the hell is up with that?"
"Language." Oak said sternly with a pointed glance that got Blue to recoil a bit, "And yes I am. If this boy's mission is to find information on the Pokémon of our world then he would need a tool like this to catalog the information of what he sees." He placed a red, thin rectangular device into Naruto's hand that had a part that opened up to reveal a screen and buttons inside, "Naruto, this is a Pokédex. If your mission really does entail finding out all about Pokémon that you can, this will at least help out in regards to keeping the information. No writing."
Oh thank goodness. As far as Naruto was concerned he really didn't want to deal with having to write a mission report for an S-rank mission like this. At least he didn't have to write all he found on Pokémon. Who knew exactly how many that would be or how much he'd need to write. His worst nightmare.
Accepting the device with a grin, Naruto looked at it before grabbing the ball containing his Pokémon to let it out, "Come on Ranbouen, let's see how this thing works!" In a pop of energy, the Poke Ball released the fire breathing dog that looked around his new surroundings curiously.
"You had a Pokémon already?" Blue said, pointing at Naruto's Growlithe. Didn't his grandfather just say that Naruto was from a place without Pokémon at all?
Out of excitement at finally getting something on the Pokémon he apparently owned, Naruto flipped open the Pokédex that scanned Ranbouen and relayed its information to Naruto as a picture of a Growlithe, its footprints, possible attacks, and basic metric info appeared on the screen, "Growlithe; the Puppy Pokemon. Growlithe has a superb sense of smell. Once it smells anything, this Pokémon won't forget the scent, no matter what. It uses its advanced olfactory sense to determine the emotions of other living things. Extremely loyal, it will fearlessly bark at any opponent to protect its own Trainer from harm." Oh, so the freaking Pokédex talked too? Also convenient.
Seeing Naruto's focus on the information in the Pokédex, Prof. Oak gave Ranbouen a few pats on the head, "Now since you have a Pokémon here I don't believe I need to offer you one, which is good because I don't have any starters ready. Still though, fire-type Pokémon are notoriously hard for beginners to control. Ow!" He yelped when he accidentally wound up with his hand in Ranbouen's mouth for a moment, "Heh, he's mouthy."
"Ranbouen's good." Naruto said, kneeling down and giving the Growlithe a hug, prompting him to lick Naruto's face spiritedly, "He bites everyone like that when they first try to pet him. He bit me like that. At least you're not Ero-sennin though… he bites him for real."
Blue looked at Naruto and his Growlithe and let out a laugh after getting over the fact that some random kid from across the ocean had a Pokémon before him, "Can't even control your Pokémon…" He then shrugged haplessly and turned around, "It doesn't really matter anyway. That thing's a runt. I wouldn't have even bothered catching it."
Knowing when someone was talking about him, Ranbouen growled at Blue and barked the name of his own species gruffly several times until Naruto rubbed his neck to calm him down, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with Ranbouen." Naruto insisted, getting up from his kneel, "I bet he's already stronger than whatever you've got in that Poke Ball." From the book that Naruto read to learn a little bit on how to possibly take care of his Pokémon, he learned that people that had Pokémon had them fight each other from time to time. Well this was one of those times, "Why don't we battle and find out?"
Blue shook his head, still smirking before turning to leave the lab, "Sorry. I've got an important trip to go on. You see, I'm about to go out and beat every Gym Leader in Kanto and enter the Pokémon League. I can't waste any time with that, especially with some kid and his angry Growlithe." He spared a wave to Prof. Oak before reaching the front door, "Thanks for the Pokémon Gramps. I can't wait to show you how many strong Pokémon I catch."
Naruto stared after Blue as he left the building before muttering under his breath, "I don't like that guy." He said flat out and plainly, not even apologizing for saying it in front of Blue's grandfather.
"Gary is a good boy, he's just had it in his mind that since I'm his grandfather that makes him a superior prospective keeper of Pokémon." Prof. Oak said as he knelt down to Ranbouen and rubbed his head again, much to the young Growlithe's delight, "There's nothing wrong with this little guy at all. He's young and he's very healthy, aside from that I know from experience that his teeth are strong."
Ranbouen ran over from Prof. Oak to Naruto and started playing tug-of-war with his fun master's Poke Ball that usually housed him when it was time to rest, "Growwl…"
While the puppy started playing with Naruto, Oak looked at the boy and couldn't help but see parts of Minato in him. Goodness, he looked similar to him, but too different to ask the question he wished to ask. Also from the way that Naruto never referred to Minato as his father, it led the scientist to believe that his assumption of such was mistaken, "I wish you luck Naruto. That Pokédex is set to send any extra Pokémon you catch to me, so just give me a call whenever you need any. My number is in the Pokedex. And take yourself some Poke Balls from the shelves so that in case you find any Pokémon you would like to have you can capture them."
Naruto heard the old scientist and stopped his play with Ranbouen to give him a huge grin, "Wow, thanks Professor! For an old guy you're really cool." With that, Naruto grabbed a few Poke Balls and ran for the door, "I've got to go tell my sensei all of this stuff! You two should meet each other, you're both old so you'd have something to talk about!"
As Naruto left, Oak couldn't help but remember Minato's own rapport with the Pokémon he had managed to catch when he was in Kanto. Though he let them go because he feared that they wouldn't live healthily in the Elemental Nations. Naruto had a kind spirit much like that man did.
One thing irked him about young Naruto though, "…I'm not old… am I?"
XxX
(Pallet Town – Seaside Inlet)
Naruto and Ranbouen chose to run all the way through town back to the dock where the ship was situated. It had been a few hours since he had left that place to check out the town, but when he returned he found the ship ready to set sail again.
"Naruto, come here." Jiraiya said, leaning against a post on the docks as sailors were loading and unloading things on and off the ship, "I've got something I need to tell you."
Jogging over to Jiraiya with a grin, Naruto started first, "Ero-sennin, I found some old guy named Professor Oak who gave me something that would help me keep info on Pokémon I find here. That's gonna make this so much easier! He even gave me Poke Balls to catch more too."
Jiraiya gave Naruto a smile and ruffled his hair, "That's good. Maybe you really can handle this on your own for a bit." He said, getting a look of confusion out of Naruto, "I need to see how far out from Kanto I have to be to summon so I hired this ship to head back the way we came until I can do so. I summoned while we were on that ship, but I hadn't tried it in a while so I don't know how far it would be. I need to find out why we can't summon here, and when I do I'll come right back and catch up to you."
"You're leaving?" Naruto said in rapt disbelief. He wasn't going to admit that he was scared out loud, but he was being left alone in this strange place. While the people did seem nice and the danger seemed less than there happened to be in the Elemental Nations, there was still a touch of nerves there, "But aren't you training me?"
"I'm not leaving for long kid." Jiraiya said with a roll of his eyes, "I'll be gone for a week or two, no longer than that I'm sure of it. And I'll come back to get you and pick up. I've given you something to work on in the meantime, but don't even try touching the Kyuubi's chakra without me unless you're about to die." Naruto nodded chiefly, knowing the dangers of abusing the Kyuubi's chakra.
Ranbouen could read the aura between the two Konoha shinobi and whined as he walked over to Jiraiya and butted him in the leg with his nose, getting Jiraiya to rub his head comfortingly, "It'll be okay Ranbouen. Return." Naruto said, holding up his Poke Ball and recalling his Growlithe into the orb. Naruto took a deep breath and gave Jiraiya a look full of determination, "I'll be fine while you're gone Ero-sennin. But how are you going to find me when you come back?"
"How far do you really think you'll get?" Jiraiya joked with a grin, "You shouldn't underestimate a legendary ninja like myself Naruto. I can find you just like that." He said with a snap of his fingers, "All I have to do is follow the roads… and the stories of destruction and mischief about a blonde kid that makes copies of himself." He finished under his breath.
Naruto scoffed in an offended manner, "How much trouble do you think I can get into just looking for Pokémon?"
Famous last words.
"Whatever you say kid." Jiraiya said before leading Naruto onto the ship, "Now come on and gather all of your gear. I paid the captain of this ship to depart before sunset so that I can hurry up and get back to you quickly." The sailors wanted to get back to Kanto's mainland and do some trading too, but Jiraiya's money was good. Very good.
After grabbing his things and saying goodbye to the members of the crew he had befriended during travel, Naruto sat on the docks next to his re-released Growlithe and watched the ship disembark and head back out to sea.
Well it wasn't any different than any of the solo missions he had to take right after Konoha's invasion by Otogakure. Hell, chances were it would probably be safer. And he wasn't even alone; he had Ranbouen for company.
The ship let out a blast of its horn to get Naruto's attention and he heard Jiraiya's voice yell out to him, "Hey kid! You might want to read the scroll Tsunade gave you now since you're there by now! No prying eyes in Kanto you know?"
Blinking to himself, Naruto realized that Jiraiya had a point. Whipping off his backpack, Naruto rummaged around inside for his mission scroll and popped it open to read through it and figure out just what his real directions were before destroying it as he was supposed to with S-rank mission scrolls.
Naruto.
I hope that by the time you're reading this you're doing well on your mission. It's just like the kind that you seem to enjoy going on; difficult, in a new place, and with parameters that you've never heard of anyone else trying to work through before. Don't tell me that you haven't been enjoying yourself thus far because I know that would be a lie.
But this has been written to inform you that the entire reason for this mission was to get you to travel with Jiraiya per the original plan to train you. The same plan that would see you travelling abroad for three years to prepare you for the threat of Akatsuki trying to take the Kyuubi from you. And before you say that all you care about is bringing Sasuke back I'll urge you one more time not to dwell on that, but all the same I'll say that if you can defeat Akatsuki members then you can take Sasuke down as well.
So don't bitch about it, and don't be a little punk about it. It's training, so do it, get strong, and if you have to mouth off about it do it there where I can't hear it because if you wait until you get back to gather your thoughts and shoot your loud little mouth off at me I'll put you through a wall Jiraiya-style.
That aside. I wish you luck, Shizune wishes you luck, and Sakura wishes you luck. Since you're there it would be good for you to really perform the mission and gather information on the strange animals of Kanto, and it still counts as an S-rank mission. You just deserved to know the reason for the misdirection.
I'll see you again in three years. Keep yourself out of trouble kid. If anyone can handle this it'll be you.
Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, Senju Tsunade.
Wow.
And as he finished reading through the 'mission scroll' for the third time to validate what he had just seen, Naruto dropped it on the deck and jumped up to his feet to shout at the ship that was swiftly distancing itself from shore, "Oi! Ero-sennin you'd better turn right back around now and take this beatdown for tricking me damn you!" The ship just kept going and he could swear that it sped up, "I am going to kick you right in the face when you get back!"
…
"Ha! If you could do that then you wouldn't need the training trip would you? Keep working on the last thing I gave you to train on and maybe you'll have a shot!"
Jiraiya just had to get in one last jab while he was still somehow in earshot. And Naruto's responding loud shout was cut out by the horn of the ship blaring to cover up his voice. Ranbouen could hear him clearly though and started howling in correspondence to Naruto's lingering yell.
Eventually Naruto ran out of breath and jumped off of the dock to stand on the water and continue expressing his displeasure about being tricked, "An S-rank mission, there's always a catch!" He grumbled to himself as he kicked around the water beneath his feet as if the ocean could feel pain, "OW!" He shouted, jumping back onto the dock and landing on his belly as he felt something latch onto the front of his kicking foot, over all of his toes, "What the hell?"
On Naruto's foot was a light purple complete shell with two spikes on the top and two on the bottom. For some reason it was latched on tight, and it made no sense how a shell got on his foot when he was on the surface of the water.
Naruto jumped up and tried to kick and shake the shell off of his foot but fell on his backside as it wasn't going anywhere. Ranbouen watched Naruto make a Kage Bunshin to help him try to pry the shell off of his foot in interest. His master was sure interesting. Nothing was ever boring with him around and he was learning a lot about humans; because he didn't know that they could do that. Was that how they multiplied instead of being hatched from eggs like Pokémon?
"Get off!" Naruto shouted as his clone finally gave up trying to pry it off, "Haah… I think we're going to have to Rasengan it off…" The clone looked nervous at that proposition, "I know it's crazy, but come on. Just do it." The clone shrugged and moved to Naruto's side to create a Rasengan between the two of them when they heard something high-pitched.
"Shellder!"
They stopped forming the Rasengan between their hands and looked at the shell that was starting to wiggle around on the real Naruto's foot. Ranbouen sniffed at the shell and began to growl at it, getting it to shake in… fear?
The clone looked at the shell and then at Naruto, "You don't think…"
Naruto shrugged and pulled out his Pokédex which came with an immediate answer, "Shellder; the Bivalve Pokémon. Shellder's hard shell repels any kind of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open. It swims backward by opening and closing its two shells. Its large tongue is always kept hanging out."
"A Pokémon." Naruto said as Ranbouen tried to bite the shell only to recoil with quite a bit of tooth pain, "Ranbouen, didn't you just hear the Pokédex?" After his dog failed to get the shell off, Naruto's clone helped him back up where he continued to shake his foot and kick about to get the Shellder off. Eventually the shaking got to the little Pokémon and it dizzily fell to the ground where Ranbouen proceeded to face off with it, still growling.
Now that it was detached from his foot, Naruto could see a pair of eyes and a large tongue from the inside of the shell and a black body that he couldn't make out within. It didn't seem to be afraid of Ranbouen in the least either now that it was free.
Well he read that Pokémon got into battles, so now was as good a time as any to see what Ranbouen had. But Shellder was a water Pokémon, and that was a problem for Ranbouen's fire-type. Still, the little puppy didn't seem to care at all, looking to want to fight regardless of type.
"Growl!" Ranbouen barked, gesturing his head towards the Shellder intently for Naruto to pay attention to, "Growl! Growlithe!"
Alright then. A battle was alright with Naruto, "Okay, use Ember!" He ordered of his Pokémon. Watching as Ranbouen unleashed a volley of small fire sparks from his mouth. Shellder's shell just closed via the use of Withdraw to prevent taking any damage from the attack, "Damn it. We've got to get past that shell…"
Shellder launched itself at Ranbouen and smashed into its face, knocking him down on the dock, but the tough little dog got right back up and shook himself off, "Grrrr… Growl!" A look of determination came over Ranbouen's eyes as Shellder launched itself at him again with another Tackle, forcing the Puppy Pokémon to dodge the attack much in the way he had seen Naruto dodge Jiraiya's attacks during his training on the ship during their few days of travel from Cinnabar Island.
Confused as to where Ranbouen had gone due to the limited field of vision available from the inside of that shell, Shellder looked around and then at Naruto in confusion as he grinned and pointed behind the wild Pokémon, "Shellder?"
A growl from up close right behind the seafaring Pokémon got it to freeze up in fear before it turned around and faced the snarling Growlithe right up close.
"Ember!" Naruto ordered with an excited shout as Ranbouen blasted the sparks right into the opening of the shell, peppering the creature inside of the shell relentlessly until it seemed to be rendered unconscious from the barrage, "Yeah!" Naruto shouted as he pulled out a Poke Ball and threw it at the Shellder, enclosing it into the orb that landed back onto the deck. It shook around to show a little bit of fight, but eventually the small noise that signified a successful capture emanated from the ball, "Got it! Good job Ranbouen!"
Ranbouen looked at the full Poke Ball on the dock and let out a few happy and victorious barks, "Growl! Growwwlithe!" Following behind his trainer happily, Ranbouen watched Naruto pick up the ball and place it in his supply pouch, "Growl!"
With a grin still on his face, Naruto rubbed Ranbouen's head before holding up the Poke Ball that housed him and recalled him, "Return." After watching the Pokémon disappear in a red beam of light, Naruto felt his bad mood mostly vanish as he turned back at the empty horizon where the ship was out of sight.
So he had all of Kanto to go through, looking for Pokémon like his Growlithe and his new Shellder. Some he could catch the way he did them, but all of them he had to catalogue in his Pokédex. And he had to get stronger by himself until Jiraiya came back to help his training.
Easy. He was Uzumaki Naruto after all, and he could do anything he wanted.
With nothing left to shout or yell, Naruto turned to walk away from the docks to head towards the northernmost path out of Pallet Town. His walk turned to a jog and his jog then turned to an outright run. He had supplies, he had Pokémon, and he had himself. That was all he needed to get ahead as far as he was concerned as he ran through the quiet streets of the small town and let them hear just who he was.
"Kanto! Say hello to Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"
XxX
(A While Later – Route 1)
Signs on the roads told Naruto that this was the path to another place called Viridian City. It was a wide open area with trees littering the outskirts of the route where the path wasn't beaten, and most Pokémon weren't fool enough to stand in the path of one Uzumaki Naruto who was rolling unopposed over the grounds, hopping up ledges and running a path through tall grass like a reaper.
A trip that would have taken most people several hours of walking was shaving time down immeasurably in regards to Naruto due to his all-terrain effectiveness of travel. His answer to any natural obstacle was to run past or around it, or to jump over it.
He stopped at a river to give his newly named Shellder Hogohei (Protective Soldier) some time in the water as well as to let Ranbouen get something to drink before the trip continued, "We're almost to that next town." Naruto said to his two Pokémon, noticing that Hogohei was mellow ever since being captured, "Are we all good here?" He asked, getting two calls of affirmation from his two Pokémon, "Alright, return." He called them back to their Poke Balls and prepared to continue onward.
"No! Rattata don't let this guy beat you!"
A shout from a young sounding voice got Naruto to hurry over to where he found a battle going on between a purple mouse with a white underbelly that had a long whisker coming out of each cheek and two large visible buck teeth, "Rattata; the Mouse Pokémon. Will chew on anything with its fangs. If you see one, it is certain that 40 more live in the area." And a small brown Pokémon with a bushy tail and a lighter brown mane around its neck that looked like a mix between a dog, a cat, a fox, a rabbit, and other mammals, "Eevee; the Evolution Pokémon. Its irregularly configured DNA is affected by its surroundings. It evolves if its environment changes in certain ways and has multiple possible evolutions."
"Sand Attack! Then follow up with Quick Attack so we can put an end to this!"
The trainer of the Rattata, a boy around Naruto's age watched in helplessness as dirt was thrown into the eyes of the Rattata, setting it up for a follow-up attack that involved the Eevee quickly darting from its starting place faster than even Naruto could move to smash into it, knocking it to the ground unconscious, "No!"
"Ha!" Oh, that voice. Yeah, it had to be Blue. No doubt about it, "That's what I'm talking about! My skills are just way ahead of yours kid!" The boy from Pallet Town said as his Eevee ran back to his side.
"Vee-vee!" The Eevee cried out in a satisfied manner over its victory.
"Even my Eevee knows that it's the best." Blue said, still gloating over his victory as he pulled out his Poke Ball and recalled his Eevee to within its confines, "The trainers around here all suck. They're so weak." He said to himself as he began to walk past the dejected young man he had just defeated.
"Hey Blue!"
Recoiling at hearing his voice shouted by the distinct tone of someone he had met earlier that day, Blue turned around and palmed his face at seeing Naruto jog up to him, "Oh no it's you again. Why are you here?" He said before pointing something out, "Wait, I left Pallet Town right after I left Gramps' lab. How did you get all the way out here already?"
"I ran." Naruto said matter-of-factly, pointing back the way he came from, "I stopped a little bit to see some of the Pokémon around here, fought a few with Ranbouen and Hogohei, and did a little bit of training, but yeah. I pretty much just ran here."
Blue's eye twitched at hearing Naruto dismiss such a feat as he didn't even look out of breath, but his tone and the fact that he was there in the first place didn't suggest that he was lying, "…It's twenty miles from here to Viridian City." Naruto just shrugged in response, getting Blue to palm his face before regaining his previous swagger, "But I guess since you're here you saw me take that loser back there apart."
"That Eevee, is that what you got from Professor Oak?" Blue nodded proudly at receiving such a rare Pokémon as his first one, "Heh… Ranbouen is still cooler even if it just won." Naruto said with a shit-eating grin as he rubbed the space right under his nose.
Blue looked offended at hearing Naruto just dismiss how good his Eevee was on its first day, "I don't want to hear that. I've been kicking the crap out of every punk that wanted a battle with me all over the road. I even caught another Pokémon on the way up here. So don't act like you want to see who's got the stronger Pokémon." He saw Naruto smirk as if he had just goaded him into a battle and he pulled back his previous statement, "Yeah… I'd show you who's boss, but Viridian City is just a few minutes away." He said, pointing in the direction where one could see the city not too far from where they were.
"So what?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. Why did it matter to him how close they were to town? He just wanted to see Ranbouen and Hogohei drop Blue's self-esteem into the dirt, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"You really don't know anything do you?" Blue said, shaking his head before walking along towards Viridian with his hands in his pockets, "I'm saving my energy for the Gym in Viridian City where I'm going to beat the leader. That's more important than beating the crap out of a newbie."
A fight with a leader of some gym? Like a dojo? That sounded like Naruto's kind of scene. He wanted to test his training out on someone other than Jiraiya to see if he had really gotten any stronger over the last two months of doing nothing but train.
"I'm in!" Naruto said enthusiastically, falling into step with Blue as the two proceeded to walk.
None too excited to be walking with Naruto, Blue spoke up about it, "Could you stop following me? I don't want whatever makes you a loser to rub off onto me. Not while I'm on the hot-streak I'm on today."
"But I don't know how to find this Gym place that you're talking about." Naruto said, looking at Blue through squinted eyes, "…So I kind of have to follow you to get there don't I?"
In return Blue said nothing, but internally he was repeating to himself just how much he disliked this guy, 'I am shaking this punk at the very first opportunity…' He thought to himself as Naruto began to chatter to him about everything and nothing all at the same time.
XxX
(A Little While Later – Viridian City – Viridian Gym)
Viridian City was a pretty big place, way bigger than Pallet Town. It had paved streets, tons of homes on each block, trees all over, and like Blue said there was a Gym that he led Naruto right to whether he wanted to or not. But that was where things took a bit of a shift from what was expected.
CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Both Naruto and Blue stared at the sign posted on the front of the beautiful looking building. Traditional Roman architecture and even a fountain surrounded by stairs sat out front, but disappointment was expressly written on Naruto's face, "Aww… I wanted to beat this guy up and see if I had gotten any stronger."
"Whatever." Blue said dismissively, though he had the same sentiments. Unlike Naruto though, who thought it was a gym for humans, Blue meant to test out how strong his Eevee and his second Pokémon were, but this put a damper on those plans, "If you're going to the next town you should head north. Through the forest there. That's the way to Pewter City."
Naruto blinked and wondered why Blue was telling him this, "Well aren't you going that way too? Why don't you just come with me?" Mostly, Naruto was asking this because he didn't have a map… or money. He himself had only eaten some of immeasurable amount of the ramen he had stored in a scroll in his backpack and had shared with his Pokémon, but they didn't seem to share his love of the food so he would have to get them something else soon. Blue certainly didn't look strapped for cash.
Aside from the fact that Blue just didn't like Naruto, which was reason enough to not want to travel with him, he had other reasons which were his own, "Because I'm not going that way yet. I want to see if I can find any stronger Pokémon around here." He actually wanted to get a move on, but if Naruto really ran from Pallet Town to Viridian City then having him go ahead was the best way to get rid of him.
"Why not just wait here for the Gym Leader to come back?" Quite honestly, Naruto did not want to be denied the chance to show off his ninja skills in a fight against this 'Gym Leader' person… as he still didn't know what the purpose of a Gym was in Kanto, under the assumption that it was meant for people.
"If you want to wait around here forever for this guy to come back then be my guest." Blue said as he began to walk off, hopeful that he finally got Naruto off of his back. From that point forward he was going to wait in Viridian… maybe make some calls until he could really travel in style the way a future champion like him deserved to travel.
On the other hand, Naruto just watched Blue walk off and sighed before starting to do so as well.
Before he could even walk down the stairs to get back to the street the doors to the Gym opened as a man stepped out. Excitedly, Naruto turned around and ran up to him, surprising him. The man wore a black suit over a turtleneck shirt that sat under the jacket and had short black hair, "Hey, I want to fight the Gym Leader in there. Why's this sign on the door if you're here?"
The man blinked before smiling sheepishly, "Oh, I'm just checking up on the Gym until the Gym Leader comes back. Sorry, but the Gym's still closed. You should go north to Pewter City if you want to fight a Gym Leader for the time being, up past Viridian Forest."
"Damn…" Naruto muttered before looking back up at the man as he shut the doors to the building and locked the doors, "Well thanks anyway Oji-san. When this guy comes back I guess I'll be right here to kick his butt the way I planned to." He chuckled at that point, "It'll be easier because I'll be stronger then too. So when he comes back you tell that guy that Uzumaki Naruto is coming for him."
Giving Naruto a courteous smile, the man waved to Naruto as he started to walk away, right up until he saw Naruto jump off of the ledge at the edge of the Gym's property and onto a rooftop where he proceeded to travel above the streets again. At that sight his face changed from the polite one that had been there previously, to a sharper one, more ominous.
The man shook his head as a sleek black car with darkly tinted windows pulled up in front of the Gym, a man in the passenger's seat getting out to let him inside of it that wore black boots, a pair of black pants, and a black turtleneck with a large red 'R' on it, "Boss."
"Don't call me that outside idiot." The 'Boss' said as he climbed into the vehicle and the underling got into the passenger's seat as the car took off down the road, "Let's get back to work shall we?"
"Yes Boss."
"And I'd like our resources to gather information on someone named Uzumaki Naruto. He… interests me."
Omake: Konoha no Kiiroi Senkou in Kanto 1: Pallet Town
Minato never thought he'd be so happy to see land in his entire life, but he almost lost his composure and kissed the solid ground once his ship and the other two from Konoha landed safely. Months of storm-laden hell, and there was no desperation summoning a boss-level summon to keep the ships safe for some strange reason.
Either way, there were still other Konoha shinobi from the three remaining ships, looking around for ways to restock their vessels and find out just where they had been blown off course to.
Spearheading the effort by going around, doing the legwork to ask for work the old-fashioned way was Minato.
And this led him to the largest building in Pallet Town, a large house at the top of a hill with a windmill on the top of it. He knocked on the door and rang the bell but never got any response. Deciding to take a chance as after the two months he had there was nothing that really scared him any longer, Minato opened the door and walked inside, looking around at all of the books and the strange red and white balls that were strewn throughout. The strange machines and copious amount of notes were attention grabbers as well, "Hello? Is there anyone here?"
No response came from anywhere in the house. It was still and quiet all over except for the low hum of some of the machines and the fluorescent lights in the ceiling.
Entering a lab room, Minato looked out at the back of the property that this building seemed to have with a small sense of awe. There were acres and acres of open field, and his sharp vision managed to pick up strange species of birds flying through the air, and strange large purple rats running on the grass outside to say the least of what he saw, "Wow…"
Choosing to open the door and step outside to get himself a closer look, Minato walked through the grass looking around as the creatures just seemed to get stranger and stranger the farther away from the laboratory he got.
What kind of strange place was this country?
Strange small things with blue bodies and shrubs on top of their heads, weird bugs with large mushrooms growing out of their backs… it was pretty amazing. He could stay there all day long it was so peaceful. And these animals were quite the sight.
"Help!"
It was so peaceful and quiet in fact, that Minato could hear a faint shout coming from further within the property. Breaking out in a run to find the source of the yell, he came across different shifts in terrain, to a sandy environment, and then a rocky one, which was where the yell was coming from.
"Help!" A man in a lab coat with brown hair that was beginning to grey was holding onto the ledge of a rocky cliff while below him there was a tall dark grey bipedal rhinoceros-looking creature with a jagged, hard looking hull and a large drill-like horn on its snout, "Someone help!" The man in the lab coat shouted again as the rhino-looking animal rammed into the wall hard enough to chip of pieces of rock and shake the whole thing, "Oh… I can't hold on for too much longer."
Minato quickly grabbed a pair of three-pronged kunai and dropped one there on the ground before hurling it right beside where the man in the lab coat was hanging from. The surprise of having a throwing knife impale itself in the rock right by his hands forced the man to let go and begin falling until a yellow flash appeared by the knife, a man with black pants, black sandals, a black longsleeved shirt, and a forest green tactical vest grabbed his hand to keep him from meeting his demise.
He looked up at the man's face and saw blue eyes, spiky blonde hair, and a black headband with a metal plate inscribed with a leaf, "Gotcha." Minato said before activating his jutsu again to appear safely on the ground, confusing the rhino thing that wondered just what happened, "That was a close one wasn't it?"
"You're telling me." The scientist said with a sigh before turning to Minato and falling on his backside once he became self-aware of what was happening again, "W-W-What was that thing you just did?"
"Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Jutsu)." Minato said, helping the man back up, "No one in this town knows how to get back to the Elemental Nations." The man gave him a blank look getting Minato to sigh, "Or even what the Elemental Nations are… man Kushina is going to kill me when I get back."
"Rhy-don!" It took a moment, but the creature noticed where Minato and the man he saved were and angrily charged at them both for being hoodwinked like that. The rhino creature lowered its head and forced power to its horn, getting it to glow white as it rushed them.
"Aah!" The scientist said again, turning to run away now that he was back on the ground, "It's Rhydon's Horn Attack! Run!"
"Right." Minato said, picking up his Hiraishin kunai off of the ground before throwing it at the Rhydon, "Or I can do this." The metal bounced off of the hardened hull of the Rhydon and jumped up into the air where Minato appeared in a flash before he lowered the boom on the back of the Rhydon's head, "Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)!"
In awe, the scientist watched Minato slam a Poke Ball sized spinning blue orb of pure energy into a rampaging Pokémon's head, knocking it out cold in a crater that was created by the force of the attack and the weight of the Pokémon itself, "Impossible." He thought he had seen everything during his time as a trainer, but this was just amazing. A human effortlessly defeated a Pokémon with maneuvers that resembled Pokémon attacks, "This is simply amazing."
"Thanks." Minato picked up his Hiraishin kunai off of the ground and placed it back with his other equipment before clearing his throat and deciding to get down to the business he came there for, "So I came here wondering if there were any odd jobs that you needed done. With a big place like this there's got to be something a hard-working ninja can do to earn some money. Even a D-rank mission would do at this point." The others from Konoha thought they were too good for D-rank missions, but this was no time to be elitist with the work. They needed to resupply and their money was no good there.
"What is your name?" The man asked, extending his hand for Minato to shake, "I'm Samuel Oak, a professor of Pokémon."
Pokémon. Had to be what those creatures were that he saw all over the place. This man had property full of them, he was a professor of them, and he called the thing that attacked them a Rhydon. Easy to deduce.
"Well Oak." Minato said with a smile, "My name is Namikaze Minato of Konohagakure no Sato… and you've never heard of that place." Oak shook his head, "…I knew it. And I don't think you have any work for me to do."
"Actually." Oak said stroking his chin as he pointed back in the direction that the building lay at, "This all happened when I tried to release this Pokémon in its particular habitat. It was rather ornery. And I still have roughly two hundred more to place in their proper habitats. If you're willing to assist me with this in case of another attack since you seem to be able to handle yourself I would gladly pay you handsomely for the work."
Finally things were starting to look up a bit. Nodding in agreement with Oak, Minato began walking back with him towards his lab, "Sure. And while we do that could you tell me more about this Kanto place and these 'Pokémon' you have here? I'm not really from around these parts."
Naruto's Current Pokémon Team
Ranbouen (Growlithe)
Attacks: Bite (Dark), Roar (Normal), Ember (Fire), Odor Sleuth (Normal), Leer (Normal).
Hogohei (Shellder)
Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Withdraw (Water), Supersonic (Normal), Clamp (Water).
Blue's Current Team
Eevee
Attacks: Tackle (Normal), Quick Attack (Normal), Sand Attack (Normal), Tail Whip (Normal).
Spearow
Attacks: Peck (Flying), Growl (Normal), Leer (Normal), Fury Attack (Normal).
So yo. This story isn't really a priority, nor am I taking it deadly seriously. It is possibly the epitome of a mindless fun story since I'm not writing it to prove anything or to test myself. I'm just doing it on a whim. That's not to say I won't be trying my best at it because I try my best at everything. Just don't expect any seven chapter marathons the way I've done in pretty much everything else I've written.
When I update I update, but that pretty much means that it'll take a month at the latest for one to occur if I'm dragging.
Anyway, for those concerned with what this will entail; it's based more along the lines of the manga Pokémon Adventures as far as continuity and elements that I'll draw upon goes since that is far more serious than the anime is, so there isn't an Ash. Sorry for folks out there that were counting on that, but no Ash and no Team Rocket trio of bumbling uselessness. Since the others are Gym Leaders and stuff they'll show up and whatnot.
I'm using 1st and 2nd generation Pokémon for this too. The first 250 at least since I don't know if I'll go any further than Johto yet.
By the next chapter Naruto will have his first travelling companion. It's going to be good… in my own opinion, but then again my opinion doesn't matter.
Later. Kenchi out.