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.

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Author's Note

This is a redo of my old fanfic, Pokémon Konoha. I did not like how directionless and overly complicated that fic got, so I've decided to give it a clean slate. Hopefully, I'll do better this time around. I do not plan on making things identical to the way they were before, but I'll have plenty of similarities and nods to my old work. There will also be changes, as you'll see soon, so its best to view this fanfic with new eyes. Once again, if someone wishes to continue the Pokémon Konoha fiction on their own, by all means, you are free to do so; you may ask me questions as to where the story was going, or do your own thing. God Bless you all, my faithful readers.

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Review Response

Thank you everyone for your warmth and support with Pokémon Konoha, and I hope Pokémon: Konoha Region lives up to its predecessor's fame and popularity.

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Pokémon: Konoha Region

Chapter 1

The Journey Begins!

The Uchiha Family Compound was a perfect place to host a private celebration. It had a spacious yard, a well-tended garden, and was surrounded by high walls that shielded its inhabitants from prying eyes of Oakcrown City. Which is exactly what the Uchiha family and their Uzumaki guests wanted.

It was the first day of spring following the 12th birthdays of the sons of the two families, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Today, the two boys would start their long-awaited Pokémon Journeys. They could have already started, as both had turned 12 a few months ago, but it was considered safer to start in the spring rather than in the late fall/early winter. Besides, Sasuke's father Fugaku pointed out that the first day of spring was an auspicious day for starting journeys (he was not truly superstitious, but he was a traditionalist who thought such things brought good fortune).

Currently, the two families were outside sitting at a table under the shade of some trees. For Naruto, this included his father Minato Uzumaki (who had taken his wife's maiden name), his adoptive grandfather, Jiraiya, as well as his uncle and aunt, Yahiko and Konan Namikaze. Naruto's mother, Kushina, was getting the cake she had baked in celebration of the day out of the oven. For Sasuke, his parents, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha were present, as was his young uncle, Obito Uchiha. Unfortunately, Sasuke's elder brother, Itachi, was unable to see Sasuke off on his Pokémon Journey. As the newest and youngest member of the Elite Four, having earned the position just last fall, Itachi was needed almost day and night by the Konoha Pokémon League officials. In fact, he had moved out of the Uchiha home and into his new quarters at the official League Headquarters, due to being on-call at all hours of the day. Having been close to his brother, Sasuke was disappointed but he was mature enough to understand and accept things the way they were.

Itachi wasn't the only important member of the two families; in fact, aside from the two boys, just about everyone present was noteworthy. Fugaku was Chief of the Konoha League Police Forces, not to mention Head of the Uchiha Family, one of the most important and influential groups in the region. His wife, Mikoto, looked to be a simple housewife but she was actually an S-Ranked Gym Leader, specializing in Dark-types (Itachi had learned as much about battles from her as he did from Fugaku). Though he was Fugaku's baby brother by more than a decade, Uncle Obito was actually the Konoha League Champion and pride of the family. He had held the position for almost 8 years now, since his mentor, Minato Uzuamki, gave up the crown. Ironically, he was also something of a goofball; while the rest of the Uchiha were dignified and refined, Obito was an exception. He was dressed in everyday clothes, including a cap, and had an adorable Pikachu on his shoulder he stubbornly refused to evolve.

If Obito looked like a goofball, Minato appeared to be the most unassuming person present. He had a kind face, an easy smile, and a gentle voice that he rarely ever raised, even when discipling his mischievous son. And all this did not change the fact that Minato was possibly the strongest trainer in the whole Konoha region, and was a contender for the title of strongest in the world; he had claimed the title of Konoha Champion at age 15, the youngest ever, and had held it, undefeated, until 8 years ago, when he unceremoniously gave it up and vanished from public sight. Even when he was champion, Minato was a shy, quiet man; to the rest of the world, he was Minato Namikaze, having kept his marriage and family secret from the public.

By contrast, Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was a dynamic figure, both in the public eye and to her family. Loud and confident where her beloved husband was quiet and soft-spoken, Kushina hadn't always lived in Konoha. As a girl, she was practically a princess, the heiress of the royal Uzumaki family of the Ame Region. But strife and war had robbed her of her girlhood home, and she was spirited away to Konoha, where she had a normal life. 'Normal' being used in the loosest sense; Kushina may no longer be a princess, but she was never one to sit down and stay quiet. In her lifetime, she had gained fame as a skilled Pokémon Breeder, a powerful battler, and one of the top Coordinators in all of Konoha. And unlike her husband, Kushina enjoyed the spotlight (though she never brought it into her private life).

Uncle Yahiko was also from the Ame Region; he, like Minato (and Konan for that matter) had been found and adopted by old Jiraiya as a boy. Upon becoming an adult, Yahiko and Konan returned to their homeland and restored peace, overthrowing the tyrant that had conquered the region and rebuilt their Ame Pokémon League. Since then, Yahiko had been the Ame Champion, bringing order and prosperity back to the land, with Konan at his side, as both his wife and First Lady, but also as a member of the region's Elite Four.

Jiraiya, sitting peacefully, had no official title, unlike everyone else. Still, his great skill as a trainer had earned him acclaim in-and-out of Konoha, and he was known as a great sage and skilled teacher, of both Pokémon and other lore. He was also known as a shameless pervert and the author of a wildly popular adult book series, but that was beyond the point.

Both families were nothing short of outstanding and amazing. However, right now, they were just normal people, celebrating one of the most important days for their boys. Currently, Uncle Yahiko honored the occasion by regaling everyone with a story of one of his most grand adventures.

"The last thing I remember was the great leviathan's crimson tail crashing down on the ship," Uncle Yahiko said dramatically, slamming his fist down on the table for effect. "SMASH! One slap of its tail, and boom, the Dancing Kingdra was nothing more than shattered flotsam, and my crew was dragged down in the depths."

His audience had heard this story before, but that didn't mean they were not entranced; if anything, it was one of their favorites. Yahiko was master storyteller, and Naruto always begged him for a tale when he visited. Even Fugaku, who often regarded Yahiko's stories as fish tales, sat quietly with his his faithful Houndoom, Genji, beside him and listened respectfully. Only Konan didn't seem spellbound by her husband. If anything, she looked amused; then again, she was used to his wild tales (and had lived through a good number of them).

"Next thing I knew, I was sinking down into the depths of pitch-black water," Yahiko continued. "I couldn't see any of my shipmates, or even tell up from down, and my lungs were burning for air. Taking my chances, I chose a direction and started paddling harder than I ever did. Seems luck was on my side, 'cause eventually, I saw the flash of thunder from the stormy sky peeking through the waves, and I swam so hard when I broke to the surface, I must have flown five feet out. I took in the sweetest breaths of air I've ever breathed in my life, and headed for the biggest piece of my boat that was still floating; as fate would have it, it was the part that had the ship's name newly painted in bright yellow letters. Then, after crawling up on the flotsam and getting my footing, I grabbed a long, thin piece of wood, made it into a makeshift harpoon, and then, I waited, scanning the stormy waters for any sign of the monster from the depths."

Yahiko paused and took a sip of his drink, savoring the way his nephew squirmed in anticipation for him to continue. Finally, Naruto could take it no more.

"Well?!" he demanded, "What happened next?" He knew the story, of course, but he wanted to hear his uncle tell it.

Yahiko smiled wryly, looking past the boy to his mother, who had just walked over to them, carrying her cake. "Let's hold off that bit for a little; cake's ready, and it'd be disrespectful to your mom to make her wait any longer."

"You just want a slice of it while it's still fresh," Kushina teased, walking up to the table and setting the cake down. Behind her, Kushina's beloved silver furred Ninetales, Kitsune, followed faithfully. Kushina's most trusted companion and assistant, Kitsune was just as much a part of the Uzumaki household as anyone else, often serving as a babysitter and guardian to Naruto and his friends, and had fished him out of trouble more than a few times.

"Making any man wait for your cooking is a crime," Minato said, gently reaching up and stroking a lock of Kushina's hair as she set the cake on the table.

Naruto distinctly saw Uncle Yahiko roll his eyes and mutter something like "Brownnose" under his breath, but Aunt Konan elbowed him and glared. That shut him up.

"So, excited about starting your journey?" Minato asked, coming up from behind his son and ruffling his hair affectionately.

"You bet I am!" Naruto said, flashing a big smile. "I can't wait to start my Pokémon Journey! I've been waiting for this day forever!"

Minato chuckled. "I know you have, and you're gonna do great on it. However, how about we enjoy your mother's cake first? It'll be the last time you'll get to enjoy her cooking for a while."

"Whoo yeah!" the boy cheered.

Next to the excited blond, Sasuke rolled his eyes; quiet and emotionally reserved where Naruto was loud and boisterous, Sasuke had said little as he sat and listened to everyone else. In fact, the white Eevee on his lap had made more noise than him. Possessing a snow-white coat, Bayushi the Eevee had been a gift to Sasuke from Itachi when he was 10-years-old; since then, Bayushi had been Sasuke's faithful, if spoiled, pet and companion.

Kushina was passing Sasuke a slice of cake when Bayushi sprang up from his lap and tried to dig into it; however, Kushina knew the Eevee, and reacted in a flash, pulling the plate back and giving him a sharp tap on the head with it. "No!" she said sternly.

Sasuke tried reprehending him, but both Genji and Kitsune drowned him out, barking loudly in disapproval (Genji for shaming Sasuke with such behavior, and Kitsune for treating her mistress with such disrespect).

"…I could have handled it," Sasuke said, feeling like everyone was treating him like a child.

"If you could handle it, he wouldn't try to pull stuff like that," Fugaku said with a slightly disapproving tone to his voice.

"I warned you not to feed him from the table," Mikoto added.

"I know," Sasuke sighed, once again hating how everyone felt the need to treat him like a child.

Obito noticed, and felt that it was time for him to swoop in and be an uncle. "Ah, come on, Big Bro, it ain't a big deal. I feed Sparky from the table all the time!" He pointed to his Pikachu, who had politely accepted a small slice of cake from Kushina (she had baked it specifically to be eatable by people and Pokémon alike).

"The difference being Sparky can behave like a civilized 'mon and wait his turn," Fugaku pointed out.

Obito shrugged. "Eh, Bayushi's still learning. No big deal. He's still a kid, like Sasuke; they make mistakes."

Fugaku had something to say to that, but Mikoto tapped him under the table. "Don't forget that your father didn't always approve of how you raised your Pokémon, Love."

Fugaku gave her a thoughtful look, and nodded.

Subtly, Obito smiled and gave his nephew a subtle wink.

Once he was behaving properly, Kushina gave Bayushi a small slice, along with the rest of the Pokémon who were kept outside their balls. After setting Genji's plate down in front of him, she stood up, looking at the last slice she had cut. "Hey, where's Kurama?"

Kitsune looked up, tails suddenly spreading out. Kurama was her pup, and she was especially protective of him.

"Oh, don't worry," Kushina said dismissively. "He's probably off pranking someone in the house."

"Not likely; there's no one else on the compound," Fugaku pointed out. "We gave the staff the day off so we could have privacy." As Kushina looked around to see if she could find her missing Pokémon, Fugaku turned to Yahiko. "So, how are things in Amegakure?"

This perked Naruto's interest; after all, his mother had been a princess in the Ame region. Though his heart would always belong to Konoha, he did feel a certain tie to his mother's homeland- it helped that his family had spent every summer vacationing there with Uncle Yahiko and Aunt Konan since before Naruto could remember.

Yahiko grunted. "Always gotta talk business, right?" He chuckled, but went on. "Things are pretty good, on the whole. We've finally found a Fourth member of our Elite Four and a suitable eight Gym Leader."

Fugaku nodded. "What a coincidence; the senior member of our Elite Four announced their retirement last winter, just as Itachi was sworn in. Now the League's scrambling to find a replacement; I suggested Might Guy, but he refused. Something about 'the springtime of his youth being meant for life in a Gym with his students' or some hogwash like that. The point is, it's been a nightmare; Itachi couldn't even make the time to see Sasuke off today."

Yahiko laughed. "Haha, what's the matter? Shortage of strong trainers?" He glanced over at Jiraiya. "Why don't you sign up for it, Pops? You've got enough frogs to pass as a half-competent Water-specialist."

Jiraiya, who had a mouthful of cake, choked at the suggestion. "Are you nuts?!" he finally asked, clearing his throat. "Can you imagine someone like me being responsible for anything? I'd kill myself first!"

"You'd have to get in line for that," Fugaku said darkly, recalling the one time he caught the old man 'accidently' peeping on his wife back when they were teens.

Yahiko laughed, directly the subject back to the original conversation. "Life's on the up and up in Ame, overall. The only real problem I've got is having no one strong enough to challenge me. I don't think there are any trainers in Ame that can give me a real fight! I'm afraid I'll lose my edge at this rate."

He glanced over at Minato, who nodded. "So that's why you've been visiting more often than usual. I figured it had to do with our tradition of always having a battle during visits."

"You're the only one who can give me a real fight, bro," Yahiko said, looking rather proud of himself. "You know what it's like, climbing all the way to the top, only to find out life was much more fun when people were stronger than you."

At this, Obito gave an exaggerated chuckle. "Boy, I do; it's not easy being the best." He winked at Sasuke, who grinned.

Yahiko scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, kid; you've got a long way to go before you're on the same level as me and Minato. We're legends."

"And oh, so very humble about it," Konan said drying, looking unamused by Yahiko's grandstanding.

"Don't underestimate me!" Obito said, drawing himself to his full height. "Just because you've been champion of your region longer than I've been of mine doesn't mean anything. Only the best become the Konoha Champion!"

"Minato was the best," Yahiko responded, gesturing to his brother, who shrank down meekly. "He retired because he's a shy wimp that can't stand the spotlight-" do remember that Yahiko is Minato's big brother, so he can say whatever he wants about him "-meaning you never had to beat him."

"I could've!" Obito responded defensively.

While the two regional champions argued back and forth like children, everyone else watched with a variety of emotions. Jiraiya and Fugaku realized Yahiko was probably trying to bait Obito into a fight, but Jiraiya found it amusing while Fugaku thought it was disgraceful behavior. Meanwhile, Konan had half a mind to grab her husband by the ear and scold him like the child he was acting like for being such a poor guest to the host family, while Mikoto wanted to do the same to Obito for provoking one of their guests, as she saw it. Kushina was just deeply amused and chanted "Fight! Fight! Fight!" in the background while Minato was getting ready to step in and break it up. As for Naruto and Sasuke, the two watched their uncle trade barbs back and forth, each one convinced theirs was the cooler one.

"I've beaten every challenger that's faced me," Obito said, poking a finger to Yahiko's chest. "Plenty of which fought Minato-sensei and gave him a run for his money. I beat them, fair and square, and I could do the same for Minato- no offense, Sensei!"

"None taken."

Obito turned back to Yahiko. "-and I could beat you, too!"

At this, Yahiko smirked, looking down at Obito's finger and casually pushing it aside. "Remember way back when you were 13 and had just started learning under Minato, and I came over to visit? You wanted to impress that girl- what was her name again-? Rin, right? Anyway, you thought it'd you'd look really cool mouthing off to me, the Ame Region Champion. And do you remember what happened?"

Obito chuckled nervously, suddenly not so confident.

Yahiko continued. "I grabbed you, bent you over my knee, and paddled your behind- literally. I spanked you. Right. In. Front. Of. Your. Crush- and yet, somehow, she still ended up marrying you." Yahiko laughed as Obito's face turned red. "Keep talking tough, and I might just do that again."

Naruto grinned, elbowing Sasuke, who glared back and looked over to his uncle.

"Yeah, well that was a long time ago! You couldn't do that to Uncle Obito now!" Sasuke said.

Obito nodded, trying to look fierce. Unfortunately, Sparky managed to do a better job of that.

Yahiko grinned and opened his mouth, but Fugaku interrupted him. "Enough. We're here to celebrate our boys, not watch you two have a dick-measuring contest."

Kushiha opened her mouth to say something about her husband winning that contest, but Mikoto, who knew exactly what she was thinking, clamped a hand over her mouth.

Sighing, Obito nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Big Bro. That really was something only an immature child would do." He shot a look at Yahiko.

"Takes one to know one," he responded smugly.

"You know," Minato interjected, "instead of trading barbs and embarrassing your nephews-"

"I'm not embarrassed," Naruto said.

"Kick his ass, Uncle Obito!" Sasuke added, causing Mikoto to smack the back of his head.

"-as I was saying," Minato went on, "instead of all this bluster, why not just arrange to have a real match sometime? That's what this is really about, right? Yahiko wants a real fight, and Obito wants to prove himself, so why not just settle this like men?"

"He doesn't mean right now," Fugaku added quickly as Yahiko reached for a ball from his belt. "For heaven's sake, you are at your nephew's sending-off party; have a little decorum. Why don't you two just talk to the Konoha League and set up a real match? It'd be a great opportunity to strengthen relations between our regions, and it'd be one of the best matches of the year."

"Hehe, sounds fun," Yahiko said.

Obito nodded, agreeing.

Naruto, however, looked disappointed. "Darn it, I wanted to see an epic battle."

"You'll get to, Pup," Yahiko said, winking. "We'll call you as soon as we have a date set, and you can watch it with the rest of the world. Hell, I'll send you tickets so you can sit in the front row and watch a legend in action."

"Yeah, and he'll get to see you fight, too," Obito added playfully.

Sasuke smirked.

Kushina spoke up. "Okay, enough of this serious talk. Besides, weren't you in the middle of a story?" She looked over at Yahiko.

"Oh right!" Yahiko cried, cheering up. He thought for a moment. "Now where was- ah right, I remember."

He cleared his throat, and then went back into storytelling mode, motioning and waving with his hands as he spoke. "So, there I stood, in the middle of the black waters, the clouds above me echoing with thunder as they blotted out the moon, and the rain on my back. I scanned the waters, just waiting for the great beast to rise up from the depths and try to finish what he started. I didn't have to wait long; soon, a glowing pair of eyes shone up from the watery depths, looking straight at me. I still remember those eyes, and the fear they filled me with; I remember how they rose up from the depths, getting bigger and bigger as the beast swam at me. Finally, it broke the surface, and in spray of water, I finally saw the whole monster I'd been hunting; the Great Red Death, the legendary Gyarados. The beast must have been two hundred feet long, its scales glistening blood red in the storm's flashing light."

His audience (save Konan) gave a collective gasp as Yahiko paused to let his story sink in. Smiling, he went on. "There I was, facing my almost certain death, with only a splinter of my ship as a weapon; the Red Death eyed me, not striking right away. Perhaps it was curious as to what a little human armed with a stick on a raft hoped to accomplish, or maybe it just was feeding on my dread. Either way, it was content to just loom over me while the storm raged and nearly tossed me from my raft. Finally, I could take it no longer; with a defiant scream, I hurled my harpoon at it, what little good that did. Now that got the monster's attention. Rearing back, the Red Death roared in rage, and lunged at me, its great jaws open wide. SNAP! With one bite, my world was darkness, and down the beast's throat I went."

"Whoa," Sasuke breathed, looking amazed. "It ate you?"

"Did you die!?" Naruto asked in horror.

"Sadly, yes," Yahiko admitted, looking down.

Naruto's jaw dropped while Sasuke rolled his eyes. They had both heard this story before, but this was the first time it took a turn like this!

"But, I lived!" Uncle Yahiko quickly added, giving a mad smile. "And I tell you, never in my life had I ever felt so alive (not including when Konan and I got hitched, of course) than when I was so close to death in that beastie's throat. Struggling with all my might, I clawed my way up his gullet until I reached that gross dangly-thing at the back of his throat. I grabbed hold of it, and gave it a jolly-good tug. I pulled and swung on that thing until the Red Death couldn't take it anymore, and finally spat me right out!"

"Cooool!" Naruto said, looking at Yahiko in awe. "What then?"

"Well," his Uncle mused, looking very smug, "I'm not sure if your parents would want me to give you all the gruesome and ultra-violent details, but I can tell you this: I may have lost a ship that night, but I didn't swim back to shore." He pulled out a Pokéball that was completely blood red and had waves carved all over it.

"You caught the Red Death!" Naruto gasped, pointing. "Can you show him to us?"

"Catch him I did," Yahiko nodded. "But, I'm going to have to pass on showing him off. Sorry, Little Buddy, but the Red Death is just too big to show off casually, even in a yard as big as our hosts'." He nodded to Mikoto, smiling lightly. "There's just no way I could call him off without catching the attention of everyone in the city, then we'd have paparazzi and cameramen swarming this place!"

"Drat," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "I've never gotten to see him, even when you've battled with Dad.

Sasuke scoffed. "That's probably because Yahiko's just telling a wild fish tale. I bet you he's just a normal Gyarados, if he even has one."

Yahiko's eyes narrowed, but they were more playful than insulted. "Careful, boy. The Red Death is a proud beast, and he can hear you now, even from inside his Pokéball. I wouldn't want to provoke him if I were you."

Sasuke opened his mouth to once again say Yahiko was just making things up when a deep, powerful growl came from behind the two boys.

"GRRRRR!"

Taken by surprise, the two whipped around, only to look into the eyes of a red Gyarados, not 2 feet from them!

"IT'S THE RED DEATH!" Naruto shrieked, grabbing his father in shock.

Sasuke gasped and tried to scramble away, only to stumble over Bayushi. The Eevee shrieked like a little girl as he tried pulling himself out from under his trainer, and the Gyarados face let out a high, un-Gyarados sort of laugh.

"Zo-rururururu!" it giggled, its red scales dissipating in black and purple smoke. As the illusionary smoke cleared, the beast was gone, leaving only a small, black, foxlike Pokémon rolling on the ground with uncontrollable laughter.

"Kurama!" Naruto growled, jumping up. "It was you!"

"Zorua!" the Tricky Fox Pokémon said, wriggling his tail smugly.

"Got ya!" Kushina and Uncle Yahiko shouted in unison.

"Hahaha, you should have seen the look on your faces!" Naruto's mother said, walking over and patting Kurama on the head. "Oh, you did perfectly, little one. Your timing couldn't have been better."

"Zoooor," Kurama purred, giving Naruto a mocking smile.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you!" the boy shouted, lunging at the little fox. Kurama jumped away, only for his retreat to be cut off by an equally angry Sasuke and Bayushi. The three had him surrounded-!

"NINE!" Kitsune hissed as she jumped in-between the brawl and stood protectively above her pup, her breath flaring with red sparks. She pushed Kurama back and wrapped him up in her tails protectively.

"Hey, no fair!" Naruto cried, trying to move past the Ninetales, "only a coward would hide behind mommy, Kurama!"

"Ru-ru!" Kurama growled back, struggling to get free from his mother's tails.

Kushina decided it was a good idea to step in. "Okay, that's enough out of all of you," she demanded, clapping her hands. Nearby, Mikoto pulled Sasuke away by his shoulder. "Naruto, Sasuke, come on now, it was just a joke, there's no need to get violent; Kurama, the joke's over, so no more teasing. And Kitsune," she added, giving a wily smile and scratching the Ninetales ear, "thanks for not frying Naruto. Good girl."

Jiraiya moved over and ruffled his grandson's hair. "You know, you gotta admit, Naruto, that was funny."

Naruto frowned, but then shrugged. "Oh, okay, I admit, that was pretty good, Mom."

"Zor-zo-rua," Kurama laughed, swishing his backside at the boy.

"Ninetales," Kitsune sighed, grabbing her pup by the scruff of his neck. Ignoring his protests, she plopped her baby down in front of herself and started giving him a bath, muttering something about his fur being messy.

"Okay, okay, quiet down everyone," Minato called, holding up his hands. "Now it's time for the moment we've all be waiting for, especially you two." He gave his son a big, broad smile.

"We're gonna get our Starters!" Naruto said, practically giddy with anticipation.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend's childishness, but smiled lightly.

Minato turned to Fugaku; as the son of the hosts, Sasuke should get to go first.

Nodding, Fugaku stood with his wife, looking at his son with a stoic yet proud expression. "A journey is the first step towards adulthood and independence, son. You are well prepared for your journey, and you will bring our family honor. There is nothing more to say." With that, he took out a highly polished Pokéball that had the family crest etched in it and handed it his son.

Hesitating for just a moment, Sasuke took it and called out his Starter Pokémon. "Togashi, come on out."

It was a Charmander, tall and healthy for its species. Togashi smiled and gave a small bow to both his trainer and Sasuke's parents.

"A Charmander, eh? I should have seen that coming," Kushina said.

"A traditional Starter Pokémon for members of our family," Fugaku pointed out. "Just like me, and my father, and his father, and his father before him, and-" he stopped, noticing Obito giving him a lopsided smile "-well, traditional for most of our family members."

Bayushi had hopped up onto the bench so he could look the tall Charmander in the eye; the two took a moment to sniff one another before Togashi nodded, as if to defer to the other Pokémon. That made Bayushi smile.

"And I couldn't help but notice that the boy's already calling him by name, even before letting him out of his ball," Jiraiya pointed out.

"Oh course; after all, they've met before," Fugaku said simply. "We took Sasuke to the family breeders last week so he could select his starter from all the Charmanders available."

"Tch, nepotism," Yahiko said teasingly.

As Fugaku and Yahiko traded a few playful barbs back and forth, Sasuke looked thoughtfully at his Pokémon- both Bayushi and Togashi. He had wanted to use Bayushi as his starter, of course. The Eevee was something of a brat, but he was Sasuke's brat- his beloved pet. Sasuke's father, however, had said no to the idea. Bayushi was a house pet, and not suited for battles; he had been raised to be a companion, not a fighter.

Sighing, Sasuke knew his father was right. However, he didn't want to leave his Eevee at home- even if his mother said she'd take good care of him and he'd be back before he knew it.

Fugaku cleared his throat, catching Sasuke's attention. "Now, we all know that Sasuke already has a Pokémon; his pet Eevee." Fugaku spared Bayushi a nod, and went on. "Normally, a trainer leaves behind any pet Pokémon they have with their families; however, in this case, after talking the situation over with my wife and my brother, we decided, in this case, it'd be better for Sasuke to keep Bayushi with him."

Sasuke gasped in surprise, but did his best to contain his joy.

Naruto grinned at Sasuke teasingly. "Awe, how sweet; now you're not gonna get separated from your little baby- ouch!"

Bayushi bit Naruto's finger. Naruto reached for the little devil, only for Sasuke to get between them. Kushina grabbed her son by the shoulder, telling him to let it go.

"As I was saying," Fugaku went on, giving a light glare at Naruto before continuing, "Bayushi wasn't raised to be a battling Pokémon, but he's young enough to learn, and the experience should be gratifying for Sasuke. Besides, Mikoto and I have enough to do without having to take care of our son's pampered pet.

"Veeeee," Bayushi growled lightly, but stopped when Fugaku's Houndoom Genji silenced him with a glare. Genji was a large, powerful specimen, easily a head taller than most Houndoom, and Bayushi had quickly learned the beast had no patience for anyone disrespecting his master.

Sasuke bowed his head respectfully to his father. "Thank you, Father. I'm…I'm glad you trust me enough to raise Bayushi properly."

"Thank your uncle," Fugaku said, motioning to Obito. "He's the one that convinced me it was a good idea; he also took the liberty teaching the little fuzzball a new Technique when we took him in for a check-up two weeks ago."

Obito grinned bashfully, rubbing the back of his head. "Eh, I'm a sucker for the bond between a boy and his Pokémon." He smiled at Sparky.

Sasuke bowed to his uncle and thanked him the same way he had his father.

"What'd you teach the little punk?" Naruto asked, sticking his tongue out at Bayushi.

"Mimic. A tricky technique, but surprisingly useful," Obito explained. "It all depends on how clever the trainer is. A perfect way for a starting trainer to learn tactics and strategy. I'm sure you're smart enough to really make use of it, Sasuke."

Sasuke once again thanked his uncle, and then it was Naruto's turn.

Smiling, Naruto's parents pulled out a small orange box with a blue bow on it and handed it to him.

Giddy with excitement, Naruto opened the box and pulled out a shiny Pokéball; unlike a normal one, it had an orange top, with the Uzumaki spiral symbol carved onto the front.

"He's from all of us to you," Minato explained as his son picked up the ball with overflowing joy.

Naruto gingerly picked up the ball, looking awestruck at it. "C-Can I open it now?"

"Of course you can, baby," his mother chuckled. "Go on and say hello to your partner!"

"All right, come on out!" Naruto shouted, tossing the ball up high.

The Pokéball opened with a flash of light, and a small Pokémon appeared. He looked like a blue frog with a cape of foam bubbles. "Froakie?" he croaked, looking up at Naruto with big, yellow eyes.

"A Froakie! He's just what I wanted" Naruto squealed, giving his new Pokémon a hug.

"Yeah, it was kind of easy to guess, with you telling us over and over again," Minato, smiling lightly.

"His name is Kubo," Jiraiya said as Naruto threw his arms around his new Pokémon in a bearhug. "He was hatched on my reserve last spring." Jiraiya owned a mountain hideaway that he had turned into sanctuary for Pokémon, especially ones belonging to his family. Though the reserve specialized in caring for frog-like Pokémon (Jiraiya's preferred type), Naruto had seen many rare and unusual Pokémon there. "You can name him something else, if you want. I just called him that so he wouldn't get mixed up with all the other tadpoles."

"Nah, Kubo's perfect!" Naruto said, tightening his grip

"Kie!" Kubo gasped, pushing his owner away and glaring.

"Be careful or you'll frighten him," Aunt Konan warned. "And then you'll be sorry. He may look cute and small, but he's still a Pokémon, and a very strong one for his size."

Sparing a smile for Konan, the Froakie looked back at Naruto and took a martial stance, as if to say, See how tough I am!? It was actually pretty adorable.

"Sorry," Naruto said bashfully, bowing in apology.

Kubo looked at Naruto questioningly for a moment, then nodded. "Froakie," he said, accepting Naruto's apology and holding out his fist.

The boy couldn't help but giggle with delight and gave his new friend a fist bump. "We'll be the best of friends!" Naruto declared.

Quick as a flash, Naruto whipped around and gave his parents a great, big, hug. "He's awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you soooo much, Mom and Dad!"

"Froakie!" Kubo said, mimicking his trainer and joining the hug.

"Whoa there, boy. Remember, he's from all of us, not just your mother and I," his father reminded him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Right; got ya!" He turned to the rest of his family and started giving out hugs and thanks.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya smiled smugly, looking over at Minato and Kushina. "See, I told you he was perfect for the boy," he whispered, winking at his daughter-in-law.

"Ah, I still think he and Kurama would have been a good choice," Kushina said, shrugging dramatically.

Next to her, Kitsune hissed hatefully at the very thought of it, pulling her precious baby tightly to her. Giving an outcry of protests, Kurama struggled free, and hopped on over to inspect this new addition to the family.

"Oh, you wanna say hi, Kurama?" Naruto asked, watching as the Tricky Fox Pokémon sniffed Kubo down.

The Froakie looked at the fellow Pokémon questioningly. "Froakie?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Froakie?" the Zorua mimicked. He glowed for a moment, and then turned into an exact mirror image of Kubo.

"Fro!" the Water-type cried out, stumbling back. Kurama snickered, turning back into his own form.

"Nine, Ninetales," Kitsune sighed, warning her pup to play nice. She extended on of her tails, pushed Kubo back to his feet, and then rubbed him clean of any dust.

"Thank you all soooo much!" Naruto said again.

"Oh, we're not done quite yet," Kushina laughed. "There are still a few more things you need to be a real Pokémon Trainer." She pulled out an orange Pokédex and handed it to her son; likewise, Fugaku handed his son a standard red one.

"Why does everything he has have to be orange?" Fugaku asked, looking towards Kushina, who just shushed him.

Naruto smiled broadly as he looked at his dex. It was more than just a piece of trainer's equipment, after all; it was his trainer's license, undebatable proof that he was no longer just a child. Next to him, Sasuke eyed his own in wide-eyed wonder, turning it over in his hand.

"Why don't you kids try them out?" Jiraiya suggested.

Nodding, Naruto pointed his Pokédex at Kubo. With a ping, the device came to life. "Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokemon. From its back and chest, Froakie produces a mane of bubbles called Frubbles, which is uses as both armor and weapons to protect itself. Beneath its happy-go-lucky disposition, Froakie keeps a watchful eye on its surroundings, and is rarely caught off-guard."

"Cool," Naruto said, smiling at his Pokémon. "Happy, yet watchful; you're the perfect Pokémon for me."

"Froakie," Kubo agreed smugly, crossing his arms and nodding.

Nearby, Bayushi scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Next were the Pokéballs; five for each boy. "I wanted to get you both an Ultra Ball, but Fugaku said that'd be spoiling you guys," Obito said, casting a dirty look at his brother.

"That's okay, Uncle," Sasuke said respectfully. "We're only starting trainers. This is more than enough."

"There is one last thing," Minato said, pulling out two boxes from under the table and handing one to each boy. "Part of the reason Fugaku forbade Obito from getting you two Ultra Balls is because we got you these."

Lifting the lid, Naruto found an orange device that he didn't recognize, while Sasuke had a blue one. They resembled a Pokédex and a phone slightly. Naruto looked to his parents to explain what it was.

Fugaku spoke up. "It's a Pokénav; the newest model. It's like a GPS map that can pinpoint a person's location. We can use it to keep track of you and you can use it to find your way."

"Wish I had one," Jiraiya muttered. "That would have saved me time and money."

"A Pokénav can also be used as a cell-phone," Fugaku continued, "but its major function is as computer. If you face a trainer in an official battle, the Pokénav will record their ID, along with any Pokémon they used; if they have a nav themselves, you can call them, too. It also can be used to record battles and the like"

"Whoa," the Naruto muse, looking at the device.

The two boys thanked their parents, and put the navs away after being shown how to use them.

At long last, it was time for the boys to start their long-awaited journeys.

"I'm going to miss you sooo much, Naruto," Kushina said, squeezing her son so hard he wasn't sure he could ever get away. "Call home on your Pokénav every day, understand? Remember, don't forget to take baths whenever you can, and be sure to eat right; not just ramen. I've packed everything you'll need, but be sure to double check every time you get into town to make sure you have plenty of supplies, okay? And change and clean your clothes every day, especially your underwear-"

"Mooom!" Naruto shouted, pulling out of her death grip a little. "You're embarrassing me! I'm not a baby anymore!"

"Oh, I know," she said, smiling and letting him go. "It's just that you'll always be my little boy." She gave him one last kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Mom," Naruto sighed, exasperated but smiling.

Nearby, Mikoto gave her son a similar goodbye, though without fussing to remind him about a half-dozen things. Amusingly, this was followed by Uncle Obito throwing his arms around the boy and sobbing. Sparky stood nearby, looking at his trainer's display with equal parts embarrassment and disgust.

"Aren't you glad I'm a much cooler uncle than that?" Yahiko asked, holding out his hand to Naruto for a firm handshake.

Naruto smiled, taking the shake. "Yeah, you're way-"

"Ah, who am I kidding? Come here, you little punk!" Without warning, Yahiko pulled him forward in a death grip bearhug and gave him a noogie on the head. Satisfied, Yahiko flung the boy over to Konan. "Now give your aunty a hug goodbye."

Shocked and somewhat disoriented, Naruto staggered into his aunt's arms and did his best to hug her without falling over. Thankfully, she was much more merciful than his uncle.

"Good luck, sport," Jiraiya said, ruffling up his hair affectionately.

With that, only the boys' fathers were left.

Stoic and firm, Fugaku gave Sasuke a firm handshake and a respectful nod. "You will do well," he said simply. The way Fugaku said it, he sounded like he was stating fact, not wishing his son well; Sasuke found it oddly reassuring, and gave his father a nod and a slight smile.

Minato, meanwhile, looked at his boy with his signature gentle-goofy smile. "I can't say much anything you haven't already heard, so I'll just say them again: good luck, stay strong, and don't worry. You're going to do great, and we're already proud of you." He reached into his coat. "Ah, and one last thing." Minato pulled out a red and white hat with a symbol of a stylized Pokéball over a leaf, the Konoha League symbol. "I believe in you, boy," he said, pushing the hat on his son's head and rubbing it affectionately. "Now go have an adventure!"

Adjusting his new hat, Naruto flashed one last smile at his family. "Believe it!"