Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Pokémon. If I did, I'd have a lot of money…but I don't. So don't bother suing, you won't get anything out of it.

Notes: (Crossover, could be a crack!fic if you want) Here there be Naruto characters and Pokémon monsters! This is a seven-part short story which follows "Ditto!".

I hope that you enjoy it!

Falling Down
Part I

Naruto groaned and wiped more sweat from his forehead as he paused in his hike. After his sojourn in the desert of the Land of Wind, he'd figured that the cool mountain air of the Kage Mountains would be a nice change. Too bad that struggling along steep, rocky mountain trails was just as sweaty work as trudging through the desert.

The scenery was a whole lot more interesting, though. Instead of endless stretches of featureless sand dunes and the odd sandstone mesa, the young Uzumaki found himself in the midst of majestic peaks. There were sheer cliffs, misty waterfalls, and he'd just exited the lengthy Toad Mouth Tunnel, which was so maze-like and dark that he'd gotten lost for a few days. And hopefully once he'd hiked to the end of the trail he'd find a more welcoming town than dusty Suna City had been when he'd cleared the worst of the desert.

Myouboku Town was a small, remote place, and a resort town. It was blessed with many natural hot springs which led to the building of many spas and onsen. Tourists would travel there from all over to relax and be refreshed by the warm water and mud baths. But Naruto didn't care for any of that; his interest lay in Myouboku Town's gym.

He had four gym badges already. The first three had cemented his trainer's license. With that pressure off his shoulders, he'd challenged a pokémon dojo and gone to a foreign gym on a whim to acquire his fourth badge. Now that he was halfway to having the necessary eight, he was ready to get badge number five.

After this, I'll head to Senju City, Naruto decided as he started hiking again. The Forest of Death is around there. I hear that's a great place to train—lots of grass, bug, dark, and ghost types there. And if Shadow hasn't managed to evolve by the time I get there, I'll see if I can find the Mossy Stone that's supposed to be hidden there so that he can become a leafeon. Maybe I'll rename him "Konoha" then…that's supposed to mean "leaf"—

A crashing sound stopped him short. Up above the narrow trail there was a ledge where a wild machoke was tussling with several gravelers. The beefy fighting type hefted one of the rock pokémon over its head and hurled it aside. The boulder-y creature rolled down the slope…and straight for Naruto.

With a yelp, Naruto scrambled to the side to avoid being crushed. But he moved too close to the edge of the path and the ground crumbled under his feet. Screaming, he fell down a sheer drop of a few yards and then tumbled end over end down a rough, gravelly slope and then there was a boulder—

Something was wrong. Demon sensed this instantly when he escaped the containment field of his pokéball and found himself on the side of a mountain instead of on a hiking trail. And then, as he struggled to keep his footing on the loose rock, he spotted the blonde-haired human boy crumpled up against the side of a large boulder.

:…Whisker Face?:

When the golden-colored vulpix got no response from the human, he carefully crept closer. The human lay still with eyes closed as if asleep, but the boy was positioned awkwardly on the ground, his bare skin was all scraped up, and there was blood on his face. Demon crinkled his muzzle at the metallic odor of blood and pressed his front paws on the human's shoulder to shake him.

:Hey, get up Whisker Face!: Demon barked. :This is no place to take a nap!:

The young pokémon trainer didn't wake up.

:Hey, what's going on?:

Demon looked a few feet up the slope to find that Bolt had also escaped his ball. The pikachu looked around frantically in confusion, alarmed by the trail of supplies that had exploded from the human's destroyed backpack. When the electric mouse spotted Demon crouched by the fallen trainer, he glared and sparks danced around his red cheeks.

:What did you do?!: Bolt squeaked furiously.

:I didn't do anything!: Demon growled. :I found him like this.:

:I don't believe you!: Bolt shot back. :It's always your fault!:

:It is not!: Demon hissed.

:Why are you fighting?: a new voice whimpered. :What's going on?:

Shadow the eevee was loose now and taking in the scene with wide, confused eyes.

:Demon hurt Naruto-kun again,: Bolt said.

:No I didn't!: Demon barked. :I didn't do anything to Whisker Face!:

:Naruto-kun?: Shadow squeaked. He spied the blonde trainer limp as the base of the large rock. :Naruto-kun!: The eevee panicked and tried to run to the human boy, but the gravel gave way under his paws and he slipped sideways down the mountainside. :Aah! Help!:

One of the other pokéballs that had come loose from the trainer's belt wobbled and then the sphere cracked open. A purple and black toad creature appeared and sprinted down the unstable slope to catch the falling eevee. Once it got hold of the smaller pokémon, it dug its feet into the gravel and slowed the slide until they stopped.

:Good save, Gamakichi!: Bolt cried, pumping a fist into the air.

:No problem,: the croagunk grinned and carefully carried Shadow back up towards the boulder. :So, Naruto, do you have any snacks for me?: the poisonous fighter asked. When he reached the up-slope side of the rock where his trainer lay, he froze. :Er…Naruto?:

:Naruto-kun…: Shadow whimpered and slipped from Gamakichi's now limp arms to paw at the boy's scraped arm.

:Whoa…: Gamakichi puffed out his red cheeks with a croak. :What happened?:

:I don't know,: Bolt answered. :But I bet that it's Demon's fault.:

:It was not!: Demon snarled. :Stop blaming me for something I didn't do!:

:Stop fighting!: Shadow yelped. :Naruto-kun hates it when you fight…:

:…He's really hurt,: Gamakichi murmured, gently probing at tears in the boy's clothes. :What should we do?:

Bolt ran his nimble paws through the boy's blonde spikes of hair. :He's too big and heavy for any of us to move him…:

:Typhoon could do it,: Shadow suggested hopefully.

:The ground is too steep and loose,: Demon snorted. :He'll just take us all further down the mountain if we call him out.:

:We should wait for Naruto-kun to wake up,: Bolt decided. :When he wakes up, we'll help him find a pokémon center so that he can be healed.:

Demon frowned and stared down at the human boy. He was so still and pale and quiet that it didn't seem natural. The stupid human was always so noisy and energetic…

:You really think he'll just wake up on his own?: the vulpix scoffed. :I say that we go find another human to help Whisker Face.:

:And abandon Naruto-kun to whatever wild pokémon that are around?: Bolt squeaked angrily. :No. We stay here and protect him until he wakes up!:

:I'm not leaving Naruto-kun!: Shadow declared.

:Leaving might not be a good idea,: Gamakichi said uneasily. :We could get lost.: The croagunk flipped up on top of the boulder. :If any humans walk past on the trail I'll see them and then we can get their attention.:

:Cowards!: Demon sneered. :You can't do anything for yourselves now that you're tamed!: He turned away from them and started carefully picking his way up to the trail. :I'll see you babies later when I find a human.:

The fox only hesitated when he reached the flat, stable ground of the path. He wasn't sure which way that the blonde boy had been heading, but surely there would be humans in either direction. There was always a human somewhere on a marked path.

Alright. Demon took off down the trail at a gallop, his nose seeking the pungent scent of humans. Now to find a human…

Minato stared out over the mountains as the sun set behind them. He loved the Kage Mountains. He'd grown up in Myouboku Town and knew the cliffs and ravines around town like the back of his hand. And there were a lot of places in the mountains that were so isolated that no one knew about them. Minato had found a few such places, and he was currently on his way to one of them to camp out for a while.

Being the League Champion of Hi no Kuni was not how he had imagined that it would be. There was the respect, recognition, and knowledge that he was one of the elite pokémon trainers in the world…but there were also a lot of obligations that went with the title. He had to participate in certain league tournaments and other official events. As one of the most skilled and respected trainers, he also was counted on to help the police in cases where criminal organizations and pokémon were intertwined.

And then there were the unwritten, unofficial obligations. People all over the country, and even outside of the country, looked up to him. If some of his fans recognized him, he couldn't just dodge them; he had to be polite and indulge them a little. There were requests for autographs and photographs and even the occasional young punks who thought that they were the better battler even though they hadn't bested the required eight gyms.

It had been a novel yet unnerving thing at first for awestruck strangers to approach him wherever he went. But it quickly became simply unnerving. Minato wasn't shy, but he was a private person and preferred anonymity over fame. Over the years it drove him to become as reclusive as he could—traveling to remote places and foreign countries simply to be alone for a while. It just got so hard to stand the shining eyes of small children, and the mix of envy and admiration of other trainers, and the romantic hope and lust of young women who dreamed of winning his heart…

…He especially needed to escape from the female fans.

Minato had never imagined that he would attract a female following upon earning his title. When he'd first started out as a trainer he'd been so young that girls hadn't had any place in his mind. Even when he'd grown older he hadn't given much thought to the consequences of achieving his dream. All that was on his mind was pokémon and how to be better.

Maybe that was my mistake, he brooded as the vanishing sun created the illusion that the mountains were on fire. I only focused on what I wanted in the future, not what the future would actually be like. I never paid enough attention to the present. If only I had…if only…

The sting of a light static shock jolted him from his grim thoughts and he blinked, finding Kiroi sitting on the ground in front of him.

"Sorry," he sighed. "Was I looking too gloomy?"

The raichu slowly climbed into his lap.

"Alright," he chuckled humorlessly and patted Kiroi on the head. "No more brooding on how big of an idiot I am."

Kiroi licked his fingers.

Minato sighed and eased the raichu onto his shoulder. He needed to find a good spot to sleep for the night before it got too dark. By tomorrow afternoon, he should be at one of his special hidden spots for a good two weeks of alone time.

A metallic chiming sound caught his ear just as he was readjusting his camping pack on his back. He thought it was a chingling or chimecho at first, as those pokémon produced chime-like calls. But as he listened, he found the sound to be more like a bell. Minato glanced around at the thorny brush and stunted trees that grew at this altitude for the source of the sound. But the sound found him.

The bushes rustled and then a vulpix burst out into the open. Minato frowned at the little fox pokémon and slowly pulled out his battered pokédex. He was familiar with the species, but this one's coloration…

It's shiny, he realized in awe.

When he'd been young he'd watched the documentary on the rare red gyarados whenever it had come on TV—he'd been fascinated by it. And once he'd encountered a trainer who possessed a "shiny" meowth (the feline had been light pink instead of the usual pale yellow). Acquiring such a unique pokémon had been a wish of his ever since he'd first learned that such creatures existed.

The golden-yellow vulpix flinched at the sight of him and stared up at his face as if transfixed. It was heavily panting like it had been running for a while. Minato almost ordered Kiroi to hit the vulpix with a thunder wave so that it couldn't run away and he could capture it, but then he heard the bell jingle again.

A soothe bell, he noted. So…it belongs to someone already. Damn.

"Hello there," he greeted softly, keeping his tone friendly and non-threatening so that the small monster couldn't flee. "Are you lost?"

The vulpix broke from its strange little trance and yapped at him. Kiroi slid down from his shoulder and slowly approached the fire fox. His raichu calmly engaged it in a conversation that only the two of them could understand while Minato patiently watched.

The language of pokémon was one of the biggest mysteries that lingered around the creatures. Countless pokémon researchers spent their entire careers trying to decipher the way that pokémon communicated without success. Each species made its own kind of unique vocalizations, and yet all species—even those that would never naturally meet—seemed to have no difficulty in understanding each other.

When the discussion ended, Kiroi beckoned to him while the vulpix anxiously paced.

"So we're going on a field trip?" Minato asked. "It's getting late; can't we do this in the morning?"

The vulpix snarled and actually sprayed a small burst of embers at him. Minato let out an undignified yelp and stumbled out of the way of the attack. Kiroi immediately disciplined the fire fox, using her long, thin tail to sweep the vulpix's legs out from under it and then pinning it to the ground with one foot. The vulpix thrashed but Kiroi stilled it with a warning crackle of electricity from her yellow cheeks.

"Okay, okay," Minato sighed. "We go now."

At his signal, Kiroi released the vulpix. It gave them both an ugly look before heading off the way that it had come; periodically pausing to make sure that they were following. Kiroi seemed rather disgruntled by the vulpix's audacity, but Minato was more intrigued with why the vulpix wanted them to follow it.

In his experience, the rarer the pokémon, the more jealously a trainer protected it. A pokémon as unique as this vulpix should never be alone in the wild without its trainer anywhere in sight. This seemed to indicate that something had happened to its trainer.

Camping can wait. This might be more important…

Kushina stared out over the glassy surface of Lake End as the sun set behind the trees. Her vaporeon dozed by her feet and her kabutops crouched watchfully nearby while the rest of her pokémon lurked beneath the still waters of the lake. A cool breeze that carried the sounds of a distant flock of spearow combed through her long red hair and made her shiver.

She missed her son. For eleven years her entire world had revolved around him. If her mind ever wandered onto thoughts of the past, she simply distracted herself with looking after Naruto. But with her son away, there was no escape from the shadows of her own past…and her old mistakes.

Small mistakes were nothing; she could deal with those no problem. But big problems, big mistakes…those she ran from like the devil was after her. People always thought that she was brave, but her boldness and impulsiveness was just so that she didn't have time to think—time to get scared.

I'm such a coward, she thought bitterly. I run away to escape…but I only trap myself more. My life's a mess and it's all my own damn fault.

On the surface, her life was fine. She had a loving son and a nice house in a nice town. But aside from Naruto and her faithful pokémon, she was alone.

She missed her family and her home country. She missed all the friends that she'd made on the road as a trainer. She missed him.

But she couldn't go back to them. Surely they'd all resent her for leaving them, for all the things that she'd kept from them. Maybe they'd even hate her; he definitely would.

Kushina couldn't bear that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, vainly hoping that the breeze would carry her words to all the people that needed to hear it.

The brightly-colored sunset faded into murky twilight.

"I'm so sorry."

Shadow stared up at the yellow full moon and shivered. Naruto-kun was getting cold and he was starting to breathe funny. He still hadn't woken up.

Before the sun had gone down, Bolt and Gamakichi had collected all of the things that had fallen out of Naruto-kun's bag. The pikachu and croagunk had tried to fix the bag, but they'd only ended up tearing it worse. Shadow had just stayed curled up near Naruto-kun's head to keep him warm while they waited.

Why can't I evolve? the eevee wondered miserably. Bolt evolved into a pikachu just fine. I should be able to evolve the same way, so why haven't I?

Naruto didn't seem to mind Shadow's failure to transform. He had to be one of the best, nicest trainers in the world. He'd taken them through four gyms and a pokémon dojo. He'd not only won Gamakichi from the dojo, but he'd gotten Sandy the trapinch from the creepy gym leader in Suna City. And he'd raised Bolt from pichu to pikachu, and Typhoon from a lowly magikarp to a mighty gyarados. One day everyone would see how great Naruto-kun was.

But will I still be with him? Shadow worried. If I don't evolve soon, he might get fed up with me and send me away. He might replace me with a better pokémon.

It was a worry that had been growing inside of him for more than a month. Whenever he confided his fears to the others, they always tried to reassure him that Naruto-kun would never do that. Well, not Sandy because she was too new, and not Demon because he was mean, but Bolt, Typhoon, and Gamakichi did.

A cold wind moaned through the peaks and Shadow snuggled closer to Naruto-kun. His trainer always tried to do some training with him at night in hopes that the eevee would evolve. But Shadow hated the dark; it was scary.

A creepy laugh drifted on the air.

:Did you hear that?: Gamakichi muttered.

:It's probably just the wind,: Bolt whispered back.

The laugh grew louder and closer. :I'm not the wind!:

:Who's there?!: Bolt demanded.

A gengar materialized in the air above them. :We are!:

:We?: Shadow whimpered.

:Yes!: the gengar cackled wildly. :We!:

And then a haunter, two gastlys, and a pair of shuppets appeared from thin air around the floating gengar.

:What do you want?: Gamakichi asked warily, his body shivering in anticipation.

:We want to eat that human's dreams!: the gengar laughed madly. :Move aside and maybe we'll leave you alone.:

:But Naruto-kun is hurt,: Bolt squeaked angrily. :You can't eat his dreams!:

:You could kill him,: Gamakichi growled.

:We don't care!: the haunter sneered. :We're hungry!:

The haunter vanished only to reappear right in front of them, disembodied hands spread wide. A cold sensation washed over Shadow, but both Bolt and Gamakichi went flying several feet away and down the mountainside. All the other ghosts swooped in, aiming for the helpless human.

:G-go away!: Shadow squeaked and tried to cover his trainer's body with his own smaller one. :Leave Naruto-kun a-alone!:

:Ugh, normal-types are so annoying,: one of the gastly groaned.

:I'll take care of it,: the second gastly said and extended its tongue to lick Shadow.

The eevee shivered at the disgusting contact and swung his tail at the gaseous ghost…only to touch nothing.

:Idiot!: the gengar cursed and smacked the gastly. :Ghost attacks can't touch normal types! That's why it didn't move when Haunter used astonish on them! Put a curse—:

Gamakichi appeared out of the darkness and slammed into the gengar. :Take that!: the croagunk cried and lunged at the startled shuppets in pursuit. :Come back here you stupid sheets!:

:Ow!: the gengar grunted. :I hate faint attack! Gastlys, lick that toad!:

The two shadowy gas balls moved to attack Gamakichi from behind while he focused on the shuppets, but were interrupted by a burst of electricity.

:Not so fast!: Bolt squeaked angrily, his red cheeks sparking. :Don't forget about me!:

:You're annoying,: the gengar sneered. It hurled a misty orb of light at the pikachu. :Eat this!:

At first Bolt just sat there after being hit with the mysterious attack. Then the pikachu started to stumble and grope around. It was like his body was disobeying him, or that he was seeing things that weren't there.

Oh no! Shadow trembled. It confused him!

:Argh!:

The eevee flinched at the croagunk's cry and turned to find the poisonous fighter trembling in paralysis. Gamakichi had battered both shuppets into submission, and badly damaged one of the gastly. But the second gastly had landed a good lick and now he couldn't move.

:Heh,: the gengar chuckled. :Now that those two annoyances are taken care of…let's eat!:

The gengar, haunter, and two gastly crowded around the fallen boy, brushing Shadow aside with their cold presences. They started drawing hazy streams of energy from the human. Naruto-kun's breathing got even worse and he started to moan and cry.

:Stop it!: Shadow cried and threw himself between the ghosts and his trainer. :You're killing him!:

:We don't care you fluffy rat!: the haunter snarled.

:Move out of the way, or one of the gastly will curse you!: the gengar threatened.

Shadow trembled in fear. Bolt was still staggering around in confusion. And Gamakichi was still frozen in paralysis.

:N-no,: Shadow gulped. :I…I'm not moving. I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun!:

The gengar drifted down to the ground and strolled right up to Shadow with a sinister grin. :…Too bad! Curse him!:

The healthier gastly loomed over him with a wicked, toothy grin.

I can't run away.

The ghost generated a large nail and prepared to drive it into itself to lay the curse.

I have to do something.

The moon was big and full and bright.

I have to protect Naruto-kun!

The eevee started to glow, giving the ghosts pause. Then the little monster's silhouette began to change and expand. When the aura of blinding light disappeared, a very different creature crouched there.

It was sleek and black and three times the size that it had been. Yellow rings were on its shoulders, hips, forehead, ears, and tail, which glowed faintly in the moonlight. Its eyes were red and glaring.

:I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun!: