"Who wants to go first?" Drake asked the two boys standing in front of him with their pokemon out. "I'll do it!" Ash announced making his way in front of the dragon master and ignoring all the warnings he got from Brock and Max as his arrogance had made him too confident. Naruto watched in silence alongside his team who were trying to find anything they could use against the powerful pokemon.

'What a fool' Naruto thought at seeing Ash send out his Grovyl to face Drakes Altaria. The grass type wouldn't stand a chance against the experienced dragon and in less than two minutes he was laying on the ground with swirls instead of eyes. He listened to what Drake had to say to the trainer and agreed with him, the arrogance Ash had was only from beating the gym leaders and some rookie trainers.

The dragon master soon turned to him and Naruto involuntarily tensed, the power the old man sent him with just one glance made Naruto that more cautious when their battle began. Aggron stood on Naruto's side whilst a Shelgon appeared on Drakes. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Ash asked him and Naruto sent him an unimpressed glance "There is no such thing as going overboard when facing an elite four-member" Naruto said making the old man laugh and using it as his chance to strike, "Threefold! hold the Ice Beam" Naruto whispered the last part to his pokemon who only grunted.

A Flamethrower came out of his mouth quickly being followed by a Thunderbolt that came out of his horn whilst he held the Ice Beam in his hands. The Shelgon dodged the first two attacks and for a split second had his back turned to them which Aggron used to release his Ice Beam and when Shelgon had turned around he was met head-on with an Ice Beam that froze part of his shell.

Drake seemed to grunt in annoyance but his smirk was still in place something that Naruto had promised to wipe off his face and to try and make the man see him as a serious threat. "Flamethrower," the man said and Naruto retaliated "Bulldoze and then follow it with Sandstorm," Naruto said to the rock type who made the ground rise and move forward which stopped the move and allowed Aggron enough time to release a Sandstorm.

"Not bad" Drake whispered to himself before speaking up "Hydro Pump to stop the Bulldoze and then follow it up with Dragon Pulse," he said to his pokemon who did as told and released the powerful water move which destroyed the ground type and allowed the dragon to shoot a Dragon Pulse at Aggron who without needing to be told destroyed the ball with Dragon Claw.

Naruto watched this all with an emotionless face as it slowly dawned on him that every plan he came up with wouldn't work against the strongest elite. He slowly felt his battle spirit get lower as he realised he was fighting for no point. All his previous battles were fought for a reason whilst this was just him trying to show off his skills, that's not what he was about. His pokemon didn't train so hard to show off but to accomplish there and his dreams.

"Ag" his steel type grunted looking at him making him snap out of his thoughts and look at the rock type. He started gesturing, first pointing at Naruto then himself and the team before putting a fist on top of his heart and the message clicked in Naruto's mind. They didn't just like to fight because it made them closer to their dreams and goals but because it was in their hearts and souls.

Naruto and his pokemon loved a good fight and used the excuse of fighting for dreams to hide the truth. It was true but the need and want for a good challenge was in their souls, that's why when he fought Ash he was so angry and annoyed. The trainer from Kanto wasn't a challenge and it made him mad when he wasted his time on a weak opponent.

"You're more like a dragon than I thought," Drake said breaking Aggron's and Naruto's thoughts and they turned to him for a further explanation. The man's face lit up with a smirk as he spoke "You wish for a good battle and hide it behind a good reason so that people don't judge you but behind that mask of yours is someone with a spirit of a dragon who loves the thrill of battle and feels his pride drop when facing weaker opponents" he told Naruto and he alongside his pokemon nodded to some of his points but the man wasn't done talking.

"You were thinking of ending the battle now and giving up because you realised that I was far stronger than you and to save some pride you thought of forfeiting as any dragon would. Here's a lesson hatchling, when facing a tough opponent you never give up, you either face them and win or lose and come back to beat them." the man told him with a smile on his face now and Naruto stood still after that.

Slowly a smirk came upon his face and he spoke "You better be ready to have a rematch old man" he said making the dragon master laugh before they continued their battle. "Ready buddy?" Naruto asked his steel type friend who sent him a smirk before turning back to the dragon and releasing a roar. A challenge and rivalry began between Shelgon and Aggron at that moment and Shelgon was all up for having someone strong facing him as he roared as well.

"Storm followed by Dragon Claw!" Naruto yelled feeling his fighting spirit blaze to life like an untamed fire, his pokemon felt it through the aura that every mon could see and did as told quickly moving the ground underneath him to get closer to the dragon who opened his mouth and bit him with a Fire Fang. This went on for minutes with both pokemon fighting by themselves as neither trainer wanted to interrupt the fight of the now rivals.

Both pokemon showed their experience with Shelgon showing his endurance whilst Aggron showed how he had learnt to use Naruto's unorthodox strategies when he used a Sandstorm to block a Flamethrower and then follow it with a Thunderbolt. The battlefield was a mess and the two pokemon were on their last legs. "Fire Blast!/Water Pulse!" both trainers yelled at the same time.

Both the pokemon opened their mouths and released spheres of energy that collided and struggled in the air before the experience and strength of Shelgon prevailed and the Water Pulse became no more. Aggron accepted the defeat with a smile as the Fire Blast engulfed him. It didn't take long for it to be gone again and Aggron was seeing laying on the ground with swirls in his eyes. Naruto returned his powerful pokemon with a smile, proud of how close he came to defeating a pokemon owned by an elite four.

The battlefield was a mess and both the trainers knew this and so an aerial battle began. Talonflame came into the field whilst Drake released his Alteria. Talonflame watched his friend battle the powerful dragon and knew what to expect from this and so began by using Speed Boost, a move they had come up with where Talonflame would use multiple Flame Charges to get faster.

Drake and his dragon seemed to catch on to what Talonflame was doing and allowed him, they were dragon type and dragon master after all and they would always want to fight their opponents at their best. It didn't take long until Talonflame had become a blur whilst moving and the moment when the fight began "Steel Wing!" Drake yelled and Naruto didn't speak trusting his pokemon to do what he thought was best.

The Altaria's wings became longer and sharper in seconds before she flew into the air and towards Talonflame who was already flying at her with his own Steel Wing. They met in the middle making a metallic sound go off before making distance and doing the same thing again. "Fire Blast!" Naruto yelled after the fourth collision "Do the same thing!" Drake shouted and the pokemon did.

Both fire attacks met in the middle making a visible inferno which only expanded when Talonflame came flying through it with a Flair Blitz, the fire type absorbed the two moves before turning the energy into Flair Blitz and hitting the Altaria pushing it down into the ground. Before he could slam her into the ground the recoil of the move hit him and he had to stop or risk falling unconscious.

The Altaria seeing the chance to strike quickly flew behind Talonflame and shot a Dragon Pulse hitting the bird and doing damage. Naruto grit his teeth before showing everyone one of his aces "Brave Bird don't stop until I say so!" he said to his loyal bird who squawked before being lighting himself in blue fire and disappearing before everyone's eyes.

Drake actually showed visible surprise if his wide eyes and open mouth was any indication and Naruto turned back towards the Altaria being hit every few seconds as it tried and failed to release an attack. Talonflames speed was something he wished to keep private until the league but if he wanted to prove himself to Drake then he had to try and defeat Drake or leave with his pride.

This went on for a couple of minutes where Talonflame used the strongest flying-type move to chip away at Altarias health before there was nothing left. Drake must have known this too as he broke out of his surprise and spoke "Mirror Move!" Altaria just grunted and lit herself in the same coloured flames but Naruto for the first time of the battle was one step ahead "Quick Attack, Double Team, Flame Charge and Brave Bird" Avoid it and get faster!" he yelled to his pokemon who did as told and soon enough multiple invisible clones came into play with only Altarias keen eyes being able to spot them.

The bird, of course, followed them but Brave Bird soon became too much for it to handle and it stopped using the move something that Naruto was waiting for. A grin came onto his face as he felt adrenaline go through him at a faster speed than before, he felt alive at the moment and knew at that point that what Drake said earlier was true. He was proud and he loved the thrill of battle "Brave Blitz!" he yelled and a visible purple flame appeared just meters away from Altaria who watched it before it disappeared again and the Altaria was smashed into the ground at high speeds.

"Talon!" his firebird yelled finally stopping and getting rid of the purple flames before falling, "Talonflame!" Naruto yelled in worry before running and catching his friend with the help of Lopunny who was quick to react. Naruto held his pokemon in his hands and smiled "You just defeated a pokemon of the strongest elite four-member, be proud because the team and I are" Naruto said to his pokemon who slowly opened one eye and gave him a smile in thanks before exhaustion finally caught up to him and he fainted.

Naruto chuckled and returned his pokemon before standing up and wiping a stray tear that ran down his cheek. "HAHAHA!" Drake laughed walking up to him and slapping his shoulder. "You defeated one of my pokemon congratulations that's not something anyone can do," he said with a smile and an outstretched hand. Naruto smiled and shook the hand speaking while he did so "It was Talonflame who did all the work you should be congratulating him" he said making the man laugh again.

"You are the reason he is so strong and the reason why he was able to beat my Altaria so it was both of you that defeated me and Altaria hatchling," he said again ruffling Naruto's already messy hair. "Here a reward," he said pulling out a Pokeball Naruto sent him an unsure look but the man just pushed the ball forward and Nuto finally accepted.

Before he released it his team quickly surrounded him with Serperior nuzzling him in congrats. Naruto smiled and scratched her chin before pressing the release button on the Pokeball and watching as a foreign pokemon who he assumed was a dragon looked up at him and sent him an unimpressed glance. Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch which only increased when he heard his team laugh as it was uncommon for a pokemon to not like Naruto.

*Axew the tusk pokemon - it is said that their tusks have a tendency to break, but each time they regrow they grow in sturdier and harder. This pokemon knows the moves, Bite, Dragon Claw, Night Slash, Incinerate, Dual Chop.*

"Don't be like that Axew, he just beat Altaria" Drake said to the little pokemon who looked shocked before turning to him with a suspicious glance. He then pointed at Naruto himself and the field. The dragon challenged him to a battle to see if he was worthy of being his trainer. Naruto agreed and they were soon on the field with Serperior standing in front of Naruto.

The little pokemon decided to start the battle by running at them with a Night Slash and even though it looked cute it had gotten training from Drake which showed he had potential. "Dragon Storm," Naruto said calmly to his pokemon who nodded and released a Leaf Tornado and Twister together which hit the small dragon type and made him fly into a wall knocking it out.

Serperior sent him an amused glance and Naruto shook his head in amusement before returning the dragon type. He turned towards Drake who had watched the battle with interest before speaking "Thank you, Drake, but I don't think I deserve a Dragon-type. I don't know how to train them" he said knowing how difficult they were to train.

The man acknowledged his point before speaking "Then stay here for a month, I'll train you for that month and teach you how to take care of that little Axew" he said making Naruto's world blow up. How great could this day get first he battles an elite four member and beats one fo Drakes pokemon, get a dragon type from the said trainer, a rare dragon-type at that before being invited to train with him for a month.

Naruto's pokemon laughed at their trainer's shocked face and answered the question for him by sending nods towards Drake who accepted. Naruto quickly enough got over his shock and they headed off towards the Pokecentre whilst talking about training and Axew.

*One Month Later*

The month went by slowly but it was worth it even if at the end of the day Naruto and his team wanted to die. The training was insane both mentally and physically and they felt their bodies and minds break every day. But like always they adapted and survived, learnt moves that would take multiple months to master in just one month thanks to Drakes powerful dragons.

His team thanks to the elite four member had become strong enough to actually beat a dragon from Drakes main team even if it was the weakest and it took his whole team to do so. He didn't get to spend as much time as he wanted to with his team as he was either learning from Drake or training with Axew who had quickly accepted him as his trainer after the defeat he had faced.

Naruto was surprised at first until he learnt that dragons respected power over everything and when they little guy evolved into Fraxure thanks to Drake and his partner Naruto had to once again show him that he was strong enough to deal with him thanks to Lopunny. His team had also learnt more moves and Lycanroc had started working on her first custom one that had been finished a week after thanks to Drakes Shelgon that taught her all he knew about the fang moves.

They were stronger once again and even though he was left behind by Ash again he didn't really care. Naruto knew he was stronger and had only become stronger thanks to Drake, Naruto had the chance to learn more about Drake. His mentor had travelled a lot with his pokemon and had been on some interesting adventures, Naruto was also able to learn that elite four, champion and gym leaders only took one student throughout their lifetime. This had only made Naruto and Drake closer as he realised how important this training truly was.

Finally, it was time to leave. Naruto waved at his master one last time before leaving not seeing the smile on Drakes's face and the proud tear that went down his face. "Go get them kid" he whispered proud of what his student had accomplished in the last month.

It didn't take long until he reached Mossdeep city again and made his way into the gym where his gym leaders awaited him. He blinked when he saw two kids standing in front of him posing as the gym leaders and it took him a second to realise that they truly were the gym leaders. He apologized to them and asked for a battle which was granted and they were soon moved onto the field.

A Solrock and Lunatone appeared on the gym leaders side and Naruto took that as his queue to release his two members. Liepard and Heliolisk appeared on his, both prepared for the fight they would have to go through to obtain Naruto's seventh badge. "Suuny Tone-" one twin said as the second spoke right after "And Light Screen" Naruto decided to follow them.

"Charge and Hone Claws you two," he said being cautious and watching every move the opposing pokemon made. The twins didn't say anything after that and the pokemon didn't move either. Naruto frowned before making his play "Heliolisk use Quick Attack and Iron Tail, Liepard follow that with Speed Boost and Night Slash" he said to his pokemon who either became a blur or disappeared to the naked eye.

He smirked when he saw the kids eyes widen and before they could speak both their pokemon were already sent flying across the field. "Moonblast and Fire Blast!" the two yelled as the moves were released a second after with Moonblast taking longer. "Dig" Naruto simply said and Heliolisk did as ordered quickly digging a hole in the ground with Liepard following soon after.

Both the attacks went over the hole and soon enough it was silent again. "Calm Mind," the twins said and their pokemon glowed a pink outline Naruto watched in silence going through multiple scenarios in his mind before the best one appeared. "Get out and use Freeze Set!" Naruto yelled into the hole and seconds later just a few meters away from the two Psychics appeared Heliolisk followed by Liepard who stood behind him as he used Glare paralysing them and stopping them from moving before setting off a Flash also blinding them.

Heliolisk used this time to use Charge before he and Liepard both used Dark Pulse as Naruto ordered, both moves hit dealing a lot of damage before they stopped. Naruto knew the battle was far from over but his pokemon would pull through, they always did. Drake had rubbed off of him throughout the last month and Naruto found himself wanting his battles to last longer and for them to be mostly fair.

In other words, he had learnt how to be in control of the field and knew how to control his opponents. He had also learnt to better control his emotions thanks to the old man as he himself had told him that he struggled to find good battles and another reason why he was chosen as his student. Drake saw potential in him and Naruto wasn't going to disappoint. All the other students must already have teams of the element their masters specialised in and while Naruto only had one dragon Drake had told him not to worry about it.

It took another ten minutes and Naruto was soon heading out of the gym and towards the Pokecentre to heal his team and to finally relax. He now had seven gyms which meant he only needed one more to qualify him for the Hoenn League. It took a week to get to Sootopolis and before he could think of finding the gym he heard a commotion near him and when he checked it out he saw a blimp and a lot of water types covered in a net.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened and he quickly released Serperior who protectively made her way in front of him while her tail was behind him, it was her way of knowing that if something happened she had enough time to protect Naruto with her body. Naruto sent her a smile and a nod of his head which she returned before he and another voice spoke "Twister!" they both yelled pointing at the blimp and Serperior nodded before her tail released the powerful dragon type move and hit the target alongside another one.

The nearby crowd quickly turned to him as Serperior affectionately nuzzled him making him laugh and hug her back. "Ah another serpent lover," a calm voice said and Naruto looked up to see Juan, the cities gym leader and Wallaces master. Drake had warned him ahead of time about the water specialist and how dangerous he was. Naruto sent him a smile and introduced himself "I'm Naruto Namikaze a challenger" he said and the man chuckled.

"No need I already know who you are. Drake just can't stop talking about his powerful student" the man said making Naruto turn red and scratch his head in embarrassment. Serperior and Juan laughed at him before another voice spoke up "Naruto it's good to see you!" someone said and he turned to see Ash and May alongside Brock and Max making there way over to them.

Naruto nodded to them in greeting not feeling the same annoyance he felt towards Ash as he did a month ago thanks to the meditation. Serperior also hissed a greeting to Pikachu who gave his greeting back. "Ah and who may you be," the powerful water trainer asked turning towards the group. "I'm Ash and this is my partner Pikachu alongside my friends May, Brock and Max," he said introducing them all.

They waved and said 'Hello' politely before Ash continued "And I'm also a challenger" he said making the man nod before requesting they all follow him. Naruto followed him immediately and returned Serperior before picking up another Pokeball and releasing its inhabitants. Fraxure appeared releasing a deep growl which quickly disappeared when Naruto scratched his chin, a place of his body which calmed him down, something he had learnt from Drake as well.

He heard Juan chuckle at seeing the dragon type before speaking "I'm guessing you are going to get another five dragons" he said and Naruto nodded in confirmation. "Mmmm, Wallace became a water type trainer after me. I know how master and student relationships work" he said telling Naruto a little about his only student.

Naruto nodded his head in understatement and held back a sigh as Brock spoke up "Naruto if you don't mind me asking but why do you need another five dragons?" he asked whilst looking Fraxure over who sent him a warning growl with Naruto not stopping him this time. Naruto nodded his head indicating he heard him before speaking "I've become Drake's student which means I have to have a team of the type he specializes in. Elite Fours, Gym Leaders and Champions only accept one student in their life and it is a great honour when it happens. Multiple people have already been chosen and they all have a head start over me which means if I want to make Drake proud and show that he is a great teacher I have to show everyone else my powers with the same type" he explained.

The group looked at him in shock whilst Juan sent him an approving look as if he was proud of how he handled himself and how he didn't tell them everything. "The league is in three months what re your plans Naruto?" Juan asked after a period of silence and Naruto didn't have to think about it "I'm planning on entering one more contest before meeting up with Drake again and heading towards the league where I'm going to be introduced to the one other student residing in there" he told the man making him nod.

"Do you know who it is?" Naruto asked looking at the man who nodded his head again and spoke "Yes she's Glacia's student your masters rival. Her name is Candice and she's quite skilful with Ice Types, odds are you two won't be good friends thanks to your masters hate for each other" he said making Naruto thank him for the information he didn't know.

Fraxure growled when Juan mentioned ice and Naruto was sure that the dragon would love to fight the student of the Ice Mistress. It took some time but they had finally reached the battlefield. Ash was ready to go first only to be stopped when Juan said he wanted to battle Naruto first. He was surprised to learn that the first battle would be a double one before being three one-one.

Juan decided to start the match by releasing his two strongest a Kingdra and Milotic. Naruto immediately became serious and released his two chosen pokemon, Serperior and Heliolisk both pokemon were some of his most experienced and he knew he would need them for this fight. "Begin!" the referee shouted and Naruto wasted no time "Freeze Set and Sunny Day," he told them and they reacted accordingly.

Helioslisk went in front of Serperior and used Glare freezing them both before using Flash to blind them and using the chance to set up with Charge while Serperior launched a Sunny Day into the sky. "Serperior get close to them and Heliolisk protect her with Quick Attack and any electric type move," he said to his pokemon who nodded and started to move towards the now recovered pokemon "Kingdra Ice Beam and Milotic Mud Shot," Juan said calmly as both the pokemon did as they were ordered to.

Serperior stopped her charge and used a Protect to block the Ice Beam whilst Heliolisk dodged the Mud Shot with his better speed. "Here's our chance Serperior use Leech Seed and Heliolisk distract them with Dragon Rush," he said and Heliolisk moved first, dragon energy surrounded him before he flew towards the Kingdra that stopped his Ice Beam and dodged the electric type which gave Serperior enough time to hit him with a Leech Seed.

They were so preoccupied with the Kingdra that they forgot about Milotic who hit Serperior with an Ice Beam before trying to hit Heliolisk with a Mud Shot again and missing. "Serperior you okay?" Naruto asked his pokemon who nodded and used Synthesis whilst Heliolisk protected her with a Thunderbolt when Kingdra tried to launch a Hydro Pump at her.

"Heliolisk Flash to your right!" Naruto suddenly yelled and thankfully the hours of training kicked in and he was able to react fast enough to his friend's command. Without question, Heliolisk turned to his right and used Flash blinding the Milotic who had shot a Dragon Pulse just meters from him and Heliolisk had never been more thankful of having his friend tell him what to do.

"Serperior set up with Leaf Storm and Heliolisk Charge!" he yelled wanting both their attacks to do a lot more damage. Serperior's storm of leaf's hit both the pokemon pushing them back and giving her a boost in attack whilst Heliolsik charged his attacks behind her. "Now Heliolisk Electro Dragon on Kingdra and Serperior use Forest Storm on Milotic!" he yelled seeing a chance to end the match.

Heliolisk reacted quickly and became a blur getting to Kingdra within seconds. He jumped into the air and spun, his tail glowed with dragon energy and an Electro Ball appeared on the tip and Kingdra could only watch as the electric type hit him with two super effective moves. While this was happening Serperior and Milotic were having their own match as Milotics Twister met Serperiors tornado.

It continued for a little more as Milotics experience allowed her to stop Serperior's Twister and Leaf Storm. Unfortunately for Juan Naruto was a step ahead "Now Heliolisk Mega Punch!" he yelled to his pokemon who appeared behind the water type making her widen her eyes before she was punched and sent forward where Serperior met her with a Leaf Blade.

Naruto quickly checked on Kingdra and was happy to see that Heliolisk's last move had knocked him out and when he turned back his smile widened when he saw Milotic on the floor with swirls in her eyes. That was a hard match but he had learnt to control his emotions and didn't panic as much. He laughed as Heliolisk jumped into his arms for a hug and Serperior nuzzled him.

He thanked them both for their amazing job before returning them. "Some amazing pokemon you have there!" Juan told him and Naruto nodded to him in thanks before releasing first this time. Liepard appeared on his side whilst a Whiscash appeared on Juans. "Dark Pulse!" Naruto yelled, "Meet it head-on with Hydro Pump!" Juan said right after.

Both attacks met in the middle making a smokescreen appear which Naruto used to his advantage. "Repeated Shadow Ball and then Double Team" Naruto whispered to his dark type who nodded and silently did as told. Multiple Shadow Balls were shot into the smoke and he heard it connect with something whilst Liepard made multiple copies and used Hone Claws on her own free will.

The smoke soon cleared and a wall with multiple impacts was seen. 'A Bulldoze' Naruto thought recognising the move that had saved Aggron multiple times. The ground type must have used it as his cover to do something. Hail soon started falling onto the field soon after Naruto thought that and he cursed realising he should have attacked while he had the chance.

Liepard grit her teeth in pain as the Hail hit her but didn't show any other visible signs of pain. "Let's be quick with this" Naruto said to his dark type who nodded before he spoke again "Hyper Beam destroy that wall," he said to his pokemon who nodded and soon enough an orange beam came out of Liepard's mouth and hit the wall demolishing it.

Whiscash soon came out from behind it with a Protect in place meaning he had predicted the Hyper Beam. It also told Naruto that his ability was Anticipation. "Whiscash Water Pulse!" Juan spoke when he saw Liepard still recharging from the earlier attack. The water type only nodded and sent the sphere of water energy towards Liepard hitting her and pushing her back quite a bit.

It seemed Whiscash wanted to do more damage as the entire field shook before breaking and damaging Liepard further showing it was an Earthquake. Naruto grit his teeth knowing he could do nothing but wait until Liepard could move. He had faith that his loyal dark type could live a couple more moves before being knocked out but before that would happen Naruto planned to show off what Liepard had been working so hard on in the last few months.

"Ice Beam," Juan said again releasing their fourth move on the dark type who was now panting and visible hurt. "Naruto return her she can't go on for much longer!" he heard Ash call out and was seriously considering it before he caught the gleam in Liepards eyes. Who was he kidding his pokemon were strong and someone like Ash wasn't going to stop them from getting their victory.

"I know my pokemon better than you do your's Ash. Stay out of this" he said back to the Kanto trainer who sent him a glare before he returned his attention to the field "Grass Knot show them your power!" he yelled to his pokemon who put on a smirk as she planted her foot down on the ground and within seconds multiple vines came out of the ground.

They all quickly travelled towards the Whiscash who panicked and tried to stop them with a Water Gun which did nothing as they went around it and before the ground type knew it he was struck. A while back they had found out Liepard's amazing ability to control grass type energy and when she had learnt Grass Knot they had learnt a lot more. They had spent months on it with Liepard needing both Serperiors and Drakes help before she could use the move to its full extent without tiring herself out.

This was their end result a mini Frenzy Plant that Liepard could completely control by herself. Of course, it required immense focus and that's why Naruto only allowed her to use the move now. The grass type attack would do four times super effective damage thanks to Whiscashes ground and water typing and it was also the reason Naruto had sent her out. He wanted to see if their hard work had paid off and it seemed like it did as Liepards vines all wrapped around the water type and threw him into the air where Liepard was given the chance to attack him and finish it with a Dark Pulse.

Whiscash slammed into the ground after that unconscious whilst Liepard stood on shaky legs. The move still took a lot out of her even if she didn't show it and with the earlier damage she took finally affecting her alongside the Hail she was soon down on the ground as well. Naruto returned her to her Pokeball and spoke to it, thanking her for her help and how proud he was. The Pokeball shook once indicating she heard him before going still.

He turned towards Ash and spoke "I know my pokemon better than I know myself. She would have been able to survive at least another four moves but because of her dark typing, she wanted to be sneaky and make Whiscash overconfident before surprising him" Naruto explained before releasing his next pokemon. Lycanroc appeared on the field glaring at the Sealeo that came out before her.

"Stone Edge!" Naruto yelled starting off strong. "Stop it in its tracks with multiple Water Pulses," Juan said as the large stones got closer. The water type nodded and quicker than Naruto could react shot multiple spheres forward, all of them hit stopping the move from getting any closer but Sealeo kept on shooting the attacks towards Lycanroc. "Thunder Fang destroy them," Naruto said quickly.

The rock type did as she was ordered and as the water move got close she bit it making it blow up in her mouth and pushing her back. 'Dammit,' Naruto cursed realising that the water move would do more damage to Lycanroc if she kept on using Thunder Fang. "Change of plans use Protect and Rock Polish," he said as she bit down on another sphere.

As quickly as she could she made a Protect appear stopping the water move from hitting her and giving her a second to relax. Rock Polish was used seconds later and Naruto grinned as it meant that her speed had increased. The Water Pulses stopped when Rock Polish was used and when Naruto looked at Sealeo he saw the ice type breathing heavily.

"Quick Attack and Iron Tail!" Naruto yelled with Juan quickly reacting "Use Ice Beam!" he yelled hoping to do some more damage and as the water type opened its mouth it was met with an Iron Tail that smashed its head into the ground. Lycanroc acted on her own after that and used Thunder Fang biting on its neck. The water cried out in pain and quickly began to release ice before spinning.

A seconds later he was using Ice Ball and Lycanroc was flung back. Her training showed itself when she landed on her paws right after panting. She was still quite new to the team and Naruto wanted to give her some experience in a gym battle before they went back to non-stop training. The only reason Fraxure was stronger than her was because of his natural dragon typing.

The dragons are known as the strongest types and so for Fraxure to be stronger than Heliolisk and Lycanroc would be understandable. The only reason Heliolisk could beat Fraxure in battle right now is because of his experience and the battle style Naruto used that every one of his pokemon knew. Sealeo soon stopped spinning and glared at Lycanroc trying to get his breath back from experiencing the two super effective moves.

"Finish this Rock Climb and Elemental Fang" Naruto yelled and no sooner did a massive stone come out from underneath Sealeo and send him into the sky with Lycanroc follow it as she ran up it with orange fangs that released electricity and fire type energy. "Brine stop it!" Juan yelled to his barely moving pokemon who did as told and sent the stream of water at the rock type who dodged it multiple times before finally getting to the ice type.

She bit into him and before Sealeo fell unconscious he sent one last Brine at Lycanroc taking her out with him. Both trainers returned their pokemon with smiles on their faces, proud of how well they had done. Juan released his last pokemon a Crawdaunt and Naruto followed releasing Lopunny who immediately got into positions.

Lopunny was his final pokemon for multiple reasons. She had many electric type attacks that she could use alongside her fighting type moves that would be even more effective against Crawdunt. "We will start this, Crawdut use Dark Pulse!" Juan yelled as his water type opened its right pincer and released the dark move.

"Focus Blast meet it head-on," Naruto said knowing his normal type had great aim with the fighting type move as she had spent multiple days trying to control it. It was at the stage where she could control where it would go upon release and as such as long as the Dark Pulse didn't move it would be fine. Lopunny threw the attack at the beam which met it head-on and it stayed like that for a couple of seconds before the fighting type move fizzled out allowing the Dark Pulse to move forward and hit nothing as Lopunny had already moved with Quick Attack.

"Thunderbolt!" Naruto yelled to his pokemon who was to his right and close to the water type. Juan saw her as well and spoke as quickly as he could "Move with Aqua Jet quickly!" he yelled to his crab who closed his pincers and shot into the air just barely dodging the lighting attack. Naruto wasn't surprised to see it have the move as it's species were known for being slow and Aqua Jet was one of the few moves that would allow them to move around the died quickly.

Crawdunt landed on his side and opened his pincers before releasing two powerful Hydro Pumps. Lopunny saw the attack and dodged it with a Quick Attack. The water type wasn't planning on letting his prey go and so continued trying to hit her with Hydro Pump. "Get close and use Low Sweep!" Naruto yelled after watching the cat and mouse chase for the last three minutes.

Lopunny was surrounded in white energy before running towards Crawdunt or at least trying to as he kept on shooting water at her. It took another minute but she was finally able to get close enough towards the crab where her Low Sweep would be able to hit it. "Crabhammer!" Juan yelled as the crab fell on his side and before Lopunny could react she was smacked by a glowing pincer.

Lopunny quickly got over her pain and landed on her feet before getting close again and hitting the now standing crab with a Thunder Punch pushing it back and making it angrier. "Payback!" Juan yelled seeing his chance and Naruto was right behind him "Drain Punch!" he yelled to his pokemon who met the glowing crab's pincers with her own glowing fist.

The dark type move had been neutralised by the Drain Punch and had given Lopunny some of her health back. They were locked in place before Lopunny got closer and released a Toxic from her mouth that hit the Crawdunt's face making him grunt and close his eyes. Lopunny used this chance to push the crab away from her and to make some distance between them.

"Thunderbolt!" Naruto yelled and Lopunny did as she was told releasing the electric type energy that quickly became a bolt of lightning and hit the crab doing super effective damage. "Ice Beam!" Juan yelled hoping to do some last-minute damage but Naruto was one step ahead "Do the same" he said to Lopunny who nodded and met the weakened ice move with her own.

The moves stayed in contact for a couple more seconds before the earlier Toxic did the final damage to Crawdunt making Naruto the winner and getting him the final badge he needed. "Yes!" he yelled pumping his fist into the sky and hugging his normal type in thanks. He quickly let go as Juan walked up to him with a chuckle not expecting the quiet and serious boy he just had a bottle with to scream.

Naruto blushed feeling embarrassed at the way he acted around the famous water type master. "Nothing to be embarrassed about Naruto. Here your badge" Juan said presenting him his final badge. Naruto thanked the man for the great battle whilst showing Lopunny the final badge he would need. "That means it's my turn right?" he heard Ash speak and looked up to see Juan nod his head.

As quietly as he could he snuck out with Lopunny not wanting to watch the match. Only Juan saw him leave and sent the boy one last smile hoping to see how strong he would get in a few years.

Naruto had agreed to meet Drake in Ever Grande City which was also where another contest was being held. He planned to enter it as a reward to his pokemon for the help and to try and get more popularity. He was already famous around the region for easily beating the Mauvile and Lavaridge gym leaders alongside his earlier contest win and some were even calling him the new Wallace.

He didn't mind it but he didn't want to be compared to the water specialist. He was Naruto Namikaze the student of Drake the Dragon Master and the future champion of Hoenn. Not Wallace the student of Juan and the champion of Hoenn. He would make sure to show the world not to compare him to the water type master when he fights in the Hoenn league which was in three months.

A lot of time he would be spending learning, bonding with his pokemon and training with Drake. Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine as he knew that the training would be even harder than before but he and his team would adapt and survive like they always did.

*This chapter is shorter than the rest because I didn't want to start the Hoenn League so soon. Anyways a contest will be happening next chapter as some of you have been asking for and a new character which will have a lot of influence on Naruto will be appearing next chapter *

*Thoughts?*