Chapter 6
It's All About the Contests

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Shukaku Desert..

In certain cases some truths can be unfortunate. Like to catch a high level Pokémon you have to weaken it first. To qualify for the Elena tournament you have to first obtain eight badges. Or in order to get to Sand Dune town from Wave town you have to first cross a vast and harsh desert. Where the days are hot and humid and the nights are freezing cold. To travel during the day could cause many things to happen if one is not properly hydrated. Dying of thirst is one harsh thing that could occur, or even a mirage could lead you off course, making you lost out in the wasteland. Traveling at night could cause you to freeze to death, and it is also when the nightly creatures come out. No matter the time of day, one must always look out for a sandstorm, these can happen at any time.

The Shukaku Desert, there was a strange legend behind the wasteland. One that Naruto read of in the book that was written by the master Jiraiya. As he whipped the sweat from his brow, he recollected on the legend as he had read it. Many years ago, before any humans lived in the Elena region, there was a fierce Pokémon by the name of Shukaku. The only one of his kind, a legendary, a massive beast that could control winds and sand. One day the legendary Pokémon battled Arceus, the god like Pokémon of this world. No one knew why the two battled; some say that it was over territory, others state that it was to protect the world from the fierce Shukaku. No one knew, they only knew that the battle was long and fierce leveling the once forested area they had battled upon. When it was over Arceus stood the victor, leaving the legendary Shukaku to die. When the Pokémon did pass, it is said, his body created the vast sandy wasteland. The legend was started many years ago; some say it was a way to prove why there are certain forest areas of the desert. As well as why it was in such a random location. Others don't believe anything of the sort actually happened, but either case could be true, for it is hard to determine which is correct.

He didn't know if the legend was true or not, but Naruto had to admit that the battle must have been awesome to have watched. Two powerful Pokémon going at it head to head, it makes him think of his future battles, especially the one against his dad. "Damn, it is so hot." Naruto groaned out the last part of the sentence. His pink haired companion could only muster a nod. "I wish there was another way to go." Another nod from Sakura. "How are you holding up buddy?" Naruto asked the golden Vulpix that rested upon his shoulder. Kurama could only continue to pant heavily.

"Naruto-sempai, any idea on when we will reach the town?" Sakura managed to ask through her exhaustion.

"According to the map by afternoon, tomorrow." Naruto sighed exhaustedly.

"That long?" The pink haired girl whined, "We'll be dead by then."

Naruto didn't answer, but he started to walk towards a rock structure. There was some shade being giving on the opposite side of the rocks. "Let's rest here, it's not much, but it will keep us cool while we rest a bit." Sakura nodded mustering what little energy she had and made her way towards the boulders.

When they sat down Naruto pulled out a couple bottles of water, he handed one to his friend. The girl practically ripped the cap off and proceeded to chug the liquid. Shaking his head, Naruto pulled out a small white plastic bowl and placed it on the ground. He poured some water out of his bottle into the bowl, where Kurama happily drank. Drinking his, Naruto could fill his throat becoming less and less dry.

"What do you think we should do once we get to Sand Dune Town?" Naruto turned to his pink haired traveling companion.

"Check into the Pokémon Center for one." She stated bluntly.

"Yeah that's obvious, but I meant after that." Naruto elaborated his question.

"Well, I plan on training for the contest. It's my first one, and I'm really nervous." Sakura admitted.

"You'll do fine Sakura-Chan, don't let the crowd get to ya and you'll be great." Naruto patted the girl on the back lightly.

"Thanks, but that's easier said than done. So what about you, what are you going to do?" Sakura asked.

"Well I'm going to try and get a battle with the gym leader." Naruto stated.

"Any idea on who that is?" Sakura asked curious.

"Yeah, Sasori, but that's all I know. The book I have is great, but it doesn't say much of anything about the gym leaders." Naruto took another sip of his water, "I mean, it tells you how to get to each town that has a gym. It also tells you how to prepare for the trip to that town.

"Like, for Sand Dune Town, it states to bring gallons of water. And for Boulder City it mentions to have plenty of repels, if you're in a hurry." He took another sip, "But it tells you next to nothing about the gym leaders themselves. It only gives you tips, like for Sasori; it mentions that you should have plenty of Antidote or even Pecha Berries with you. From that I gather that Sasori uses poison type Pokémon. I don't really have much that will counter act those types." Naruto took another sip from his drink. "I'm just going to have to work on dodging and try to use long range attacks." When he was finished talking, he had drunk the rest of his water.

"It sounds like you might have a tough battle ahead of you." Sakura stated, finishing off her bottle as well.

"Yeah, it's going to be tougher than the last one," he began to pet Kurama, "but I have faith that my Pokémon will do great, and I'll soon have two badges." He smiled at Kurama as the Pokémon looked up to him. He stood up and placed the two empty bottles and the plastic bowl back inside of his pack. "Well let's get going, we can rest again at night fall." Naruto started to lead the way towards the next town, following the map.

Dusk..

The only part of the day that is tolerable of the dessert is dusk. The time when the sun is just setting and the moon isn't completely out. This part of the day is what Naruto was looking forward to. He wanted to do some training in the desert but thought that the sun would be too much for his Pokémon. Except for Kurama, after the short break the Pokémon was right as rain. Naruto assumed that the Pokémon was just thirsty before, now the fire type was enjoying the heat of the desert. Naruto guessed this is one of the perks of being a fire type.

The reason Naruto wanted to do some training is due to a trainer tip he had read in the notes Jiraiya had given him. It stated that a trainer should train his Pokémon in different environments and weather conditions. The notes went on to say that this would help counteract the moves that manipulated the environment or weather. Like training during a rain storm will help the Pokémon endure the move Rain Dance. Training in the desert will help to with stand the move Sunny Day, which is why he wanted to train in the desert. Another good reason would be to train during a sand storm to help endure the attack of the same name. But it said to do that, you either had to be very strong, or very stupid. Naruto didn't think his Pokémon were quite ready for that kind of training yet.

If he had done some training earlier he knew his Pokémon would faint from the heat, except for Kurama. That's why he wanted to start at dusk; it was still hot, however, not as hot as earlier. With his mind set, he examined the area for a suitable training area. He had a certain area in mind, taking a tip from his book to heart. It had stated that the desert has caves spread across it. The book didn't state why the desert had caves just that these were great places to sleep and rest. If you stay deep inside the cave you could avoid a possible sandstorm. Again, he thought of training during a sandstorm, but that would be too extreme. However, if one of his Pokémon was up for it, he may consider doing so.

After walking for a little longer, the blond finally found what he was looking for. "There, let's head for that cave." Naruto pointed to the fore mention cavern.

"Yay, we can finally rest, my feet are killing me." Sakura cheered, relieved.

"Well we'll rest for a bit, but after that we should train. I want to try to be ready for my battle and maybe you should try to train for your contest." Naruto looked to his companion when he mentioned the final part of his sentence.

"Yeah, do you think you could help me?"

"Well, I don't really know what I could do to help, but I guess I could." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. Secretly he was ecstatic that his crush was looking to him for help, but he was the only one here so he didn't read too much into it.

"Thank you, let's get in that cave, I need a rest." Naruto nodded at the girl's proclamation, he could use a little rest too.

The entrance to the cave wasn't large, but it wasn't overly small either. Roughly the entrance was about as tall as the blonde. A few inches of leeway were all there was, but it was pretty wide. To go deeper the two had to practically crawl to avoid hitting their heads. If there was another cave to utilize then he would take it in a heartbeat. There wasn't, however, so this small cave would have to do until morning.

"It's a tight fit, but it will have to do." Naruto sat down; he pulled out some more water bottles and the plastic bowl from before. "Let's rest for a few minutes, and then we'll get started on some training." Naruto took a swig of water. "Let me do my training first, and then I'll help you with yours, sound good?"

The girl nodded, then took another sip of her water. "Any idea on a strategy for your battle, Naruto-sempai?"

"Well I know Verdant would be able to withstand most poison attacks, plus with his speed and reflexes he'll be able to dodge." Naruto took a sip of water, "Now, I know for sure that it will be a three on three, so I need to figure out who the other two will be." Kurama looked up to Naruto.

"You better chose me whiskers; don't forget you promised I'd get to fight in the next battle." The golden Vulpix's yips went unheard for a second.

"Naruto-sempai, I think Kurama wants to be in the battle." Sakura spoke up for the Pokémon.

"Don't worry buddy I didn't forget my promise, you'll be the first in the battle, sound good?" The Pokémon seemed indifferent, but Naruto could tell that the fire type was excited for the upcoming fight. "That just leaves one spot open, now who should it be?" Naruto took another sip of his water and started to ponder the third spot.

"What about Neptune? He may want to try to battle." Sakura suggested.

"Maybe," Naruto took another sip. "Puka just evolved, and she may not be totally used to her new form. If she isn't that could cost us the battle, so I can't use her." Naruto took another sip of water, his bottle was down to the last few drops. "Valor, well I would prefer to save him for another battle, he still needs the training with Aura Sphere." Naruto drunk the last of his water, "Well, breaks over, let's get to some training."

Sakura nodded, then finished off her water, the two then started to crawl out of the cavern. Once they were out they could feel the heat of the desert upon them. It wasn't as hot as earlier that day, but it was still humid compared to the climate back in Leaf Town. Sakura started to long for the warm spring like days of her home town, wishing she was there right now.

"Let's get to it guys!" Naruto shouted throwing four balls into the air, unintentionally ripping the girl from her thoughts. "You guys ready for some training?" The four Pokémon gawked at their trainer as if he had just grown a second head. Kurama was by Naruto's side, he was really liking the heat, thanks to a trait that fire types have. He may have been hot before, but most of that was due to dehydration. Now he was fully used to the heat, he raised his head up towards the sun letting it's rays shine down on him.

"You lot are wimps. What's the matter tree hugger, can't take a little heat?" Kurama grinned towards Verdant.

"What did you say fire freak?" Verdant glared back at his partner. Even though the two verbally fight, when the cards are on the table the two make an awesome team. "I'll have you know that I like the heat, a perk of being a grass type."

Naruto looked between the two, he knew the two didn't get along too well, but they did make a great tag team for a double battle. Speaking of, "All right Puka you come here." The darker yellow colored Pikachu slowly walked over to her trainer. She climbed up his leg and body to come to a rest upon his shoulder. "Alright, Neptune and Valor you two team up. Verdant and Kurama you two are going to tag team again." The blond smirked when he noticed a joint groan coming from the Valor and Neptune. This was his way of strengthening a friendly bond between the two, but he figured the two didn't like getting all bruised up. "Alright guys, team one, Verdant and Kurama, will be on defense. Team two, Valor and Neptune of course, will be on offence." He looked to his Pokémon, no visual complaints from them.

Valor slipped into his fighting stance, palms and eyes glowing blue, waiting for Naruto to give the command to start. Neptune pulled off his clam shell and had water appear from the object forming a scythe like blade of water. He held the water weapon behind him and was in his fighting stance for offensive attacks. Verdant and Kurama both just stood there in an almost relaxed stances. Kurama was sitting on his hunches with a bored look. Verdant had his arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed, also a bored look on his features.

It was this about the two that pissed off Neptune and Valor. You'd think they would be smirking, planning to exploit the two Pokémon's relaxed stances. However, the last time they tried that they had their asses handed to them. The two Pokémon both were levels above Valor and Neptune, so much so that they could afford to be relaxed and still win the spar.

Naruto looked between the two groups of Pokémon, taking in how they were, looking for any signs saying that he should not start the spar. Not seeing any, he put the whistle, around his neck, to his lips. "Ready?"

He blew on the whistle, the only ones to move were Valor and Neptune, but it was only a flinch. The two shared a look, with a nod of the head they acted. Neptune threw the blade of water straight for the grass type in front of him. The Treecko never moved, and just when Neptune thought the attack was going to hit, six metal tails nocked the blade off course. Kurama was standing in front of Verdant with his tails to the others, the metal of them dying down.

Valor moved to thrust a palm at the fire type, but his thrust was caught by the green glowing hand of Verdant. Valor moved his other palm for a strike, but it too was caught. The Riolu then went to kick off of the grass type using the hold to his advantage. However, Verdant let go of the two captured palms, just as the Pokémon was making his move. This caused Valor to fall back, giving Verdant enough time to jump away from a Water Gun attack from Neptune.

Verdant landed next to a sitting Kurama, then went back to his earlier position. Valor recovered himself then regrouped with Neptune. "Man, I hate those guys." Valor complained to his friend.

"I know, every time we attack one the other defends. I mean if you didn't know any better you'd think the two of them were best friends." Neptune inspected his shell to see if Kurama did any damage to the object. He didn't, but the water type always made sure that his shell was constantly intact.

"What do you think we should do?" Valor looked to his companion.

The Oshawott was trying to figure out a strategy, but he was having a hard time thinking under pressure. "I don't know, usually when we're like this it's either Kurama or Verdant that has a strategy."

Valor got into his stance, "Well I got a plan, you go for Verdant."

"But, my attacks won't have an effect on him." Neptune worriedly looked at the one who would be his opponent.

"Just try it, okay?" Valor spared the water type a glare, "Trust me, plus I have something that I wanna try."

"Fine," Neptune let out a sigh. Valor took off as Neptune let a jet of water out of his mouth, aiming to hit the grass type. He didn't expect Kurama to jump in front of the grass type and let loose a stream of fire out of his mouth. When the two attacks collided it caused a steam cloud to rise up and cover the area.

'Amazing,' Naruto thought as he looked towards the sun, 'he's using the heat of the sun to intensify his fire attacks. Normally Water Gun would snuff out Flamethrower, but not with this heat.' The blonde smirked at his starter's brilliance.

Neptune stared wide eyed at the steam cloud before him; he thought that his water attack would have repelled the fire attack. He wasn't expecting this steam to occur; he looked for his partner but couldn't spot him. He tried to spot his opponents, but he couldn't see beyond the thick steam. "Valor! Valor where are you?"

Valor was expecting the steam, but not this much; he knew that Kurama would jump in to defend Verdant. He guessed that the fire type would use a strong long distance attack. He wanted to take advantage of the steam, with his glowing blue eyes he could make out his two opponents. He threw his arms behind him and started to make a small blue ball. The ball started to increase in size as he ran towards his opponents. The blue of his eyes started to flicker, he was having a hard time focusing on seeing their aura and forming the Aura Sphere. Every so often the figures in front of him would appear, and then be replaced by the image of steam. He thrust the attack towards where he last saw Kurama. "Take this you fox-bastard, Aura Sphere."

Kurama had little time to react, Verdant had already jumped away. The fire type moved his tails to his front as they started to glow then turn to metal. The sphere hit the glowing tails resulting in a huge dust cloud that blew away all the steam. The loud explosion caused Neptune to flinch and fling a water blade to his front for a makeshift shield. Verdant landed on the ground several feet away from the blast zone. Naruto blew his whistle signaling the end of the spar. He then ran out towards the battlefield trying to see pass the smoke.

When the smoke had cleared he could see that Kurama was knocked on to his back, panting. Across from him was Valor, he was panting but not as hard as Kurama. Naruto looked the Pokémon over; he still had his two arms extended forward. A satisfied smirk was on the fighting types face, the Pokémon soon relaxed.

Valor walked over to his ally, he bent down to the Pokémon, "How'd you like that?"

"Not bad kid, not bad." Kurama panted out smirking.

Naruto bent down to his starter and looked him over, "Man it looks like Valor did a number on you." Naruto chuckled a bit, he handed the fox Pokémon an Oran Berry the fire type was more than happy to eat the offered fruit. "Great job there Valor, using the steam to hide your movements, that was a good strategy." He handed the fighter a berry as well, Valor ate the offered food with much satisfaction.

Kurama recovered and approached the fighting type. "Had I not used my tails that would have done some serious damage, again not bad." The Pokémon gave a nod of approval then went to stand by his trainer.

Valor went over to Neptune, the two gave a slap of paws then Valor was at the water type's side. "So was that your plan? The steam and everything?"

To be honest the whole thing was a complete guess, he was not a hundred percent on the idea working the way it did. He figured it had a fifty-fifty chance of working. "Yep," but Valor wouldn't let his friend know that.

"Alright you guys, get back into your pairs, this time around team one will be on the offensive and team two will be on the defensive." Naruto announced as his Pokémon got into their positions. Neptune and Valor seemed worried though. The blonds guess would be that the two on team one were as great at offence as they are on defense. He shook his head though and chuckled lightly, "Ready?" He blew his whistle, and that's when the hurting and bruising of team two began.

Afternoon the next day..

The traveling trainers were sweating so bad that their clothes were soaked. Sakura was for once happy to have a short skirt on with shorts. But she had taken off her scarf, and she was still sweating profusely. Naruto couldn't say he wasn't sweating; he had taken his shirt off and just had his sleeveless hoodie on with the hood up. Luckily his mom had sent the cargo pants that could have the bottoms zip off to become shorts. Kurama, who had fully gotten used to the heat, was walking on the ground enjoying the heat of the sun.

"Must be nice to be a fire type." Naruto stated, to which his companion nodded.

"Are we there yet?" Sakura whined.

Naruto let out a sigh, he was getting annoyed. "It's the same as when you asked me five minutes ago, no." Naruto still had patients, if he didn't have a crush on the girl he probably would have gone off on her.

She sighed, "Any idea on when we will get there?"

Naruto pulled out the book he had and looked at the map, and then read the directions to the town. "According to this, we'll start to see the town once we see the sand dunes. I guess that's why they call it-AHHH!" He never finished his sentence. Being out in front slightly caused him to reach the edge of a sand dune and fall down the side. Not paying attention the blonde had fallen forward and started to tumble down.

"Narut-AHHH!" Sakura was standing at the edge of the dune when she started to call out, some sand gave away and she too was tumbling down.

Kurama was a bit more cautious; he looked over the edge of the dune to see the two trainers rolling down. He couldn't help the smirk on his face, "Whiskers and pinkie, geez those two are AHHH!" Even though he was cautious the sand still gave away resulting in the fire type rolling down the hill.

When Naruto finally stopped he stood on shaky legs to see the town he and his companion had been looking for. Like random parts of the area it had trees surrounding it, but the weirdest part was the forest that could barely be seen from his position. With a slightly green area like this you would think the legend of Shukaku and the Shukaku Desert was true. Naruto heard screaming and just when he was about to turn his pink haired companion came rolling down too sweep his legs. This resulted in the blond to fly up for a bit then land with his back on Sakura's. The girl let out a cry of pain when the blond landed.

Naruto was about to get up, but he saw a golden blur heading right towards him. The golden Vulpix hit his face then, due to the momentum, flew up into the air. When he landed he did so with a thud, right on his trainer's crotch. "My master balls!" Naruto squeaked. Once Kurama moved Naruto was able to roll off Sakura and let the girl up. The blonde was sitting with his legs open, head down, and breathing slowly. "Is," he cleared his throat, due to his voice being a bit high pitch. "Is everyone okay?" He managed out once the pain subsided.

"I'm okay, my back hurts a bit." She sent a lite glare at the blonde.

"Hey you tripped me." Naruto counter the glare, but it was replaced with a look of pain as his 'master balls' started to hurt.

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the pain on her friends face. This caused Kurama to laugh as well. Naruto sent the two a heated glare, but soon he started to laugh as well, occasionally saying 'ow'. "Well we're finally here." Naruto stated standing up; he shook the sand out of his hair and fixed his goggles.

"Finally, I can hear the bed calling my name, oh and the shower. Oh I can't wait to take a shower." Sakura had a goofy look on her face as she thought about taking a shower.

Naruto shook his head, "I second that, let's get going." He led the two towards town, heading straight for the Pokémon Center.

Later..

Naruto had finally cooled off, he was sitting on one of the two twin size beds that were in the room he and Sakura had gotten. They decided to share a room again, neither one minded the company. He had just changed his shirt to the orange one he had. He also changed his under garments as well as his pants back to his pair that he had on when he first began his journey. He fixed his goggles on his head then slipped on his shoes. Afterwards he made his way towards the bathroom door, he knocked twice.

"Yeah?" Came the voice of his companion on the other side, he could hear the sound of the shower running. When the two had gotten the room Naruto let the girl take her shower first while he tried to cool off.

"I'm going to head out and look for the gym; you want me to lay your clothes out in the front to be cleaned?" The blonde asked.

"Sure they're just by the door in here." She called. "Come on in and get them."

Naruto couldn't help the blush, seeing as he had permission, he opened the door. He tried not to look towards where he heard the sound of water. He saw the basket with her clothes inside it, "I see them." He announced, then grabbed the basket and closed the door.

"Thank you Naruto-sempai." She called out.

"Y-yeah," Naruto managed out as he went to the door. He looked down to the basket and almost had a large nosebleed from the sight of the girl's lite pink panties. He quickly averted his eyes and went out the door. He placed the basket by the side of the door along with his; he took his and placed it on top so no one would try to take the girls undergarments other than the staff in charge of laundry. Also so that no boy passing by would see the girls panties.

After composing himself, he went down the stairs to see if his Pokémon might be ready for him to take back. Before they had gotten their room, Naruto and Sakura left their Pokémon with the nurse. He approached the desk, where he saw Nurse Joy working. He still couldn't get over how they all look the same. "Excuse me," when the woman gave him her attention she let out a slight gasp.

"Oh, Namikaze-sama," she bowed, "how may I assist you."

Naruto had an annoyed look, he really hated it when people would do that to him. "Uhm, its Naruto, and I wanted to see if my Pokémon were ready? I had the golden Vulpix and four poke balls."

"I'm sorry, but they're not quite finished yet, about thirty more minutes, Namikaze –sama." Nurse joy said with a sweet smile.

"It's Naruto, and thanks I'll be back later then, uhm by the way, where is the gym?" Naruto decided to ask the nurse.

"Oh, well just head out the doors, go right for about two blocks. Take a left and you can't miss it." Joy smiled.

"Okay thank you." Naruto waved as he exited the center.

"Good luck Namikaze-sama." The comment made Naruto grind his teeth. However, he opted to ignore the comment.

He headed the way the nurse had pointed out and was amazed at the sight of the large gym. It was bigger than the gym in Boulder City. It almost looked like a theater where they would put on plays and shows. You would think that, if not for the large words 'gym' on the front. Naruto approached the gym, still in awe by the size; he made his way to the sliding doors. They slid open upon his arrival to them, and the blonde was met by two attractive brunettes. They seemed to be twins, for Naruto couldn't spot a difference between them. They were dressed in a type of blue usher uniform, the kind you would see in a regular theater.

"Hello young traveler." The one on the right stated.

"Welcome to the gym of Sasori-sama." The one on the left came next.

"I'm Mia," The girl on the right called.

"And I'm Tia," Said the girl on the left.

"Welcome!" They announced in stereo.

"Uhm," Naruto couldn't figure out what to say, he was not only caught off guard, but he was also left speechless by the two girls simultaneous actions and way of speaking.

"Just follow Tia; she'll lead you to Sasori-sama." The one on the left said.

"I'm Mia, Tia." The one on the right had a cute glare on her features.

"Oh sorry Mia." The girl on the left sheepishly said.

"That's okay Mia." The one named Mia stated, mixing up the names.

"I'm Tia, Mia." The girl named Tia now had a cute glare.

"Let's just both lead him to Sasori-sama." Said Mia.

"Follow us!" They announced in Stereo.

As they were walking down the hall, Naruto couldn't help but notice the posters on either side of the walls. They advertised various plays and productions; he turned a curious look to the twin girls. "Excuse me, Tia?"

"Yes?" Mia asked.

"He said Tia, Mia." Tia announced.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mia." Mia stated.

"I'm Tia, Mia." Tia had an annoyed look.

"I'm sorry Tia." Said Mia.

"It's okay Tia." Tia stated.

"But I'm Mia, Tia." Mia huffed.

"Girls!" Naruto shouted.

"Yes?" They said in Stereo.

"One, you each have a name tag," Naruto pointed out the two tags on the girls' chest. "Two, I just wanted to know about these posters."

"Oh, well they are the various plays and puppet shows that Sasori-sama puts on." Tia explained.

"Sasori-sama loves puppet shows; he loves to entertain the kids of the town with them." Mia jumped in.

"He's such a sweet guy isn't he Tia?" Tia announced with hearts in her eyes.

"Yeah, but I'm Mia, Tia." The girl stated.

Naruto went around the girls and continued down the hall, "I'll just find him myself." He didn't think the girls notice him leaving, for he could still hear the two argue over the names. "Oh, God am I glad to be rid of them." He said while putting his hands into his pockets. He continued down the hall a bit until he came to a series of double doors. He walked through a set to be met with a large theater like setting. Rows upon rows of seats were strewn about the large room. On the stage he could see a spot light on a boy and girl. They were talking to each other, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Cut!" He heard a voice yell. Then up on the stage came a tall spiky red haired man. He wore a black beret on his head, brown slacks with a white shirt tucked into them. A black vest over his shirt, and shiny dress shoes upon his feet. He held a megaphone in his right hand, he approached the two actors, Naruto assumes they were actors. "That was terrible!" He yelled into the megaphone, probably to get his point across.

Naruto decided to let his presence be known, "Excuse me?!" Naruto shouted so he was heard.

The man with the megaphone looked towards the blonde, he then grew an annoyed look. "This is a closed set!" he yelled into the megaphone putting emphasis on 'closed'. "The production will not be premiering for another two weeks, please come back then."

"I'm not here for the show! I'm a trainer!" Naruto shouted back.

"Oh! Well why didn't you say so?!" The man stated, "This is a closed set, if you want a battle ask me after the contest tomorrow!" He shouted into the microphone.

"Why after the contest?!" He shouted his question.

Naruto could see annoyed looks on the actors and crew members' faces; he swore he heard a groan come from the people. "Well because the contests are full of such raw talent that I must attend!" He shouted almost happily into his megaphone. "Why? You ask, well I might just find my next star, and I do love a good show of beauty and grace one could always find at a contest! I am also a judge for the affair. So that, my dear boy, is why you must wait 'till after the contest to challenge me to a battle!" Sasori, whom Naruto is assuming he is, stated. "Now go, I have a show to direct!" He shouted into the microphone again. "Now from the top!" Naruto heard the man state as he was leaving.

Naruto let out an aggravated sigh, 'What is with all these gym leaders and blowing off battles?' He thought as he continued down the hall. As he was walking he started to hear the voices of Mia and Tia. They were still arguing about their names, Naruto rolled his eyes at the twins. They didn't even notice him going around them, "Bye." The two didn't stop arguing even to say bye to the boy as he was leaving. 'Well at least I have time to train.' He thought as he left the building.

The Pokémon Center..

Naruto walked into the building with a somber look, it never left his face as he made his way towards the nurse desk. He never made a sound, even when the nurse called him 'Namikaze-sama'. "Are my Pokémon ready?"

"They are Namikaze-sama, just one moment please." She left the desk, going towards the back.

Naruto looked around the center; there were quite a few trainers there. However, with the way they were brushing they're Pokémon he could tell they weren't here for a gym battle. 'They're probably just coordinators for the contest tomorrow.' With that thought he briefly wondered if his pink haired friend was done with her shower. It was during these musings that the nurse cleared her throat.

"Here are your Pokémon, Namikaze-sama." The woman smiled despite the scowl on the blonds face.

Kurama leapt into the boy's arms, happy to see his trainer. "I missed you to buddy." Naruto chuckled.

"If you're wondering where your friend might be, she already picked up her Bulbasaur and left for the cafeteria." The nurse stated.

"Thank you," Naruto left before the woman could reply, he did not like it when people referred to him as 'Namikaze-sama'. He felt as though they didn't see him, but that instead they just saw his dad. That's why he hopes to leave his father's shadow by battling him and showing the world what he can do. When he made it to the cafeteria, he looked for pink hair, which would stand out by like a lot. Therefore it wasn't hard for him to find his companion, she was sitting at a booth near a window, where her stare currently was. The girl in question had a plate of food in front of her, she looked hungry but she was picking at her food. "Hey," Naruto said once he got up to the girls table. He saw a look of doubt in her eyes before it was replaced with surprise.

"Naruto-sempai?" She stated, "Hey." She motioned for him to sit down.

"You okay?" Naruto asked as he sat down in the booth, taking the seat across from her. Kurama jumped up to rest beside his blonde trainer.

"Yeah, it's just," she paused, "can I tell you something?" She asked, and even though she didn't say it, her eyes added 'please' to the end of the request.

"Yeah, you can tell me anything." Naruto stated without missing a beat.

"Okay, well don't tell anyone this okay?" the blonde nodded, "Well, the reason why me and Sasuke stopped traveling together, it's because of what he said."

"What did he say?" Naruto asked prompting the girl to open up to him a little more.

"Well he said that I would never be anything but an annoyance, that there was no reason for me to go to the contests. He said that I would just fail and that stopping would be," she was tearing up at this point. She was trying to control her emotions. "He said it would be a waste of his time, and of his goal."

Naruto stared in shock and clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. "That bastard." Naruto whispered with a bit of a growl in his voice.

"Please don't say anything to him or anyone okay? I try not to think about it, but I still wonder, is he right?" She looked to her blond friend; Naruto could see the hurt in her eyes.

"Fine," Naruto breathed out, "I won't do or say anything to him. And I promise not to tell anyone." He looked at the girl seriously. "But don't you dare think for one moment that he's right. Sasuke is just an idiot that wouldn't know talent if it bit him on the ass." Naruto thought back to when they were in the desert, Sakura's Pokémon showed some awesome moves. The girl was a natural coordinator; he knew she would continue to develop great maneuvers as time rolled on.

The stared in shock at the boy in front of her; her emerald eyes were slowly starting to lose the tears she held back. "Do you really think I have talent?"

"No," Naruto shook his head, which surprised the girl, "I know you have talent." Naruto looked her dead in the eye, serious being written on his face. "From what I saw in your training with Jade, you're going to do great in the contest tomorrow."

"Thanks," she wiped her tears away, "wait, how is it that you know when the contest is?" She asked noticing how the blond worded the sentence.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, well the gym leader told me." She gave him a look asking for him to explain. "He said that I have to wait until after the contest tomorrow to ask him for a battle."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Well, the guy is kinda weird; he said something about talent shining or something like that? I don't know, but he said that he is a judge for it so he would be busy until afterwards." Naruto explained.

"The gym leader is a judge for the contest?" Sakura had that look of surprise again.

"Apparently, yeah." Naruto stated, he then notice the look on the girls face. "Something wrong?"

"I'm more nervous now then I was before." The girl stated, starting to hyperventilate. "A gym leader judging a contest, what if I screw up? What if something happens? What if-" She was cut off when she noticed Naruto's hand over, hers?

"It's okay; it will be okay, just breath." The girl started to calm down, "I told you your great, don't let the nervousness get to you." The girl nodded, she started to calm down a little. She started to get her appetite back for she began to eat her food.

"Well I'm going to get something to eat, and then I'm going to do some training." Naruto got up, but he turned to face the girl, "You should come with me, we can train together, sound good?" The girl just nodded, she had food in her mouth with her cheeks puffed out slightly. Naruto chuckled thinking she looked like a cute chipmunk, "Okay."

The next day..

Naruto walked up to the contest hall, amazed by the sheer size of the building. Sakura had already gone ahead of him to the coordinators entrance. He himself was headed for the front entrance to buy a ticket and cheer on his friend. He looked around him at the crowd of people that were also waiting in line to get in to see the contest. Kurama was also looking around from the blondes shoulder; he was a bit overwhelmed by the large crowd. Naruto reached up at started to scratch the Pokémon under his chin.

"Hey, buddy it's okay." Naruto continued to scratch his starter, looking around he wondered aloud, "Did they all cross the desert?" Somebody heard him and gave him a curious look.

"Are you talking about the Shukaku Desert?" A man behind him, wearing a brown suit and a fedora on his head, asked.

"Uh, yeah, my friend and I crossed it to get here." Naruto wasn't prepared for what happened next. The man began to laugh, not a chuckle or a bark, a full on laugh.

"Oh that is rich young man," He saw the serious face of the blonde. "You're serious?"

"Uh, yeah, it was really tough." Now the man had a surprised look about him.

"Why didn't you take the train?" The man asked as the line moved forward.

Naruto stood still for a moment; he finally moved but asked the question on his mind. "Train?"

"Yes," the man nodded, "the train that goes from Boulder City to Sand Dune Town. How else do you think all these people get here? Certainly not through the desert, it's too dangerous, that's why they built the underground rail way connecting the two places." The man explained, the information shocking the blonde.

"So," Naruto had gotten over is shock, but was still upset that he didn't know about the train before hand. "So you can travel to Sand Dune Town without crossing the desert?"

"Yes." The man stated simply.

"Well shit." The cuss surprised the man, "Oh sorry, I'm just a bit upset I didn't know that earlier."

"Well at least you know it now, here." The man handed Naruto two tickets.

"What are these?" Naruto asked looking at the strange tickets.

"My daughter and son-in-law were supposed to accompany me to the town for this contest. But last minute changes prevented them from coming with me, so it left me with two extra round trip tickets for the train." The man flashed the train tickets in front of Naruto, "I would like you to have them, for you and your friend that came with you."

"Thank you, but I don't have anything to trade for them and I don't have much extra money." The man waved off the comment.

"Do not worry young man, after hearing that you bravely crossed the desert, well I say that earns you these tickets." The man smiled, "You can use them at any point in time, so you don't have to worry about catching the train early or something."

"Thank you mister…" Naruto trailed off.

"Aomori Kudo." The man smiled.

"Namikaze Naruto, Aomori-san." Naruto bowed his head.

"Ah the champion's son, well you must be a trainer then eh?" The man asked.

For once he didn't call him sama or anything like that, just asking if he was a trainer. "Yeah."

"Since you're in this line, I assume you're not in the contest." The man stated more than asked.

"Yeah, I'm just here for my friend, she's a coordinator, you?" Naruto asked the man, basically, why he was here in line.

"Moral support for your friend, that says a lot about you Naruto-san." The man stated, "As for why I am here, I enjoy contests, so I try to attend as many as possible. They are quite fascinating. What is your friend's name, I shall root for her." The man chuckled.

"Haruno Sakura." Naruto answered, "She could use it, she's a bit nervous."

"Oh, her first contest? Well good or bad the first contests are always the hardest and toughest for a coordinator." The man stated as he and Naruto got closer to the ticket booth. "I have seen coordinators choke under the pressure, and I have seen their Pokémon choke due to the nervousness of their trainer. You see boy when a trainer is nervous, at times their Pokémon mirrors that nervousness and will sometimes choke or perform badly. That's why I say that the firsts are always the toughest."

"Oh, wow. I hope Sakura-chan does fine." Naruto had a sad look; it didn't go unnoticed to Kudo. He suspected that the girl might mean more to the blond then just a friend, but didn't question it.

"Well, whatever happens, tell your friend this. Never give up, no matter how bad the first contest goes it will only get better from there." Naruto stared in awe at the man. "Like I said, I have been to many of contests."

They got to the booth, Naruto approached the window. "I would like-"

He was cut off by Kudo stepping in, "Two tickets please for the front row, for me and the boy. I assume that Pokémon get in for free?" The ticket person nodded, he handed the man the tickets, and Kudo handed the man the needed money, taking it out like one would pocket change. This told Naruto that the man was obviously wealthy. Kudo handed the blond a ticket, "A present to say good luck to your friend." The man stated.

"Thank you, but you have done too much already, I don't know if I can accept." Naruto stated, hesitant on taking the ticket.
"It is fine, like I said it is a gift. Please do me the honor and accept." The man handed Naruto the ticket, the spiky blonde took it after some hesitation.

"Thank you Aomori-san." Naruto stated.

"Your very welcome, Naruto-san." The man nodded his head, "Well, shall we take our seats?" The blond nodded, he followed Kudo to the seating area.

Later..

Naruto was surprised by how great of seats he had gotten, and it was all thanks to the man sitting next to him. The man, Aomori Kudo, was watching the contestants with interest. He clapped when appropriate and cheered when he felt the contestant needed cheering. They had gone through nine contestants already, and Naruto was anxious to see his friend's performance. He's seen her train her Bulbasaur, the routine she came up with would defiantly impress the judges. Then the words of the man next to him came back to him. If Sakura was really nervous, and even if she could hide it, Jade might pick up on it and… He shook his head, his friend didn't need doubt now what she needs is confidence.

"All right folks, it's time for the next coordinator," The announcer's voice boomed over the large contest hall. "All the way from Leaf Town, please give a round of applause for Haruno Sakura!" Everyone began to cheer.

"Yeah, go Sakura!" Naruto shouted over the clapping of the crowd. Kudo smiled, he clapped and gave a cheering whistle for the pink hair girl.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat when he saw Sakura's outfit, this was the first time he's seen the dress. She was clad in a formal red gown, which puffed out at the bottom. Three big lite red bows went down the right side; the top left her shoulders bare but covered a bit of her arms. She had on long white gloves; her hands shook slightly due to her nerves. Her pink hair was doubled layered in the back; the upper part was clipped tight with a lite red bow that matched the ones on her dress. The bottom layer of her pink hair was left to flow down to cover her upper back. Her two bangs still hung in front framing her face. She had on lite touches of makeup, nothing too heavy, just enough to make her eyes stand out and to look more beautiful then she normally was. That was Naruto's thought.

Sakura looked at the crowd; she swallowed a hard lump in her throat. 'Here goes.' She held out her poke ball that was inside a blue cover. A pink flower sticker was on the front of the blue cover. She held it with both hands extended, she had her eyes closed. She brought the ball to her lips and gave it a lite kiss. Opening her eyes slowly, she spun around and threw the ball into the air. However, during her spin she almost tripped, and that is when it started to go south. "C-come o-on out J-Jade!" She announced, but was stuttering due to the embarrassment of her almost trip.

The ball popped, as it did pink cherry blossom petals started to rain down from the ball as a Bulbasaur came out. The Bulbasaur had a lite red bow on her ear, to match her trainers theme. She landed, but she too was nervous, she forgot her routine and froze. Instead of catching herself with a Vine Whip then lowering herself down to the stage, no instead she landed with a flop. When she righted herself and saw the crowd, she just stood in shock.

"Don't be nervous Jade, w-we can do this." The almost stutter and doubt in her voice did not help the grass type. Sakura looked around, in a nervous shock.

"You can start anytime you want, Haruno-san." Sasori, whom she knew thanks to Naruto, stated. The man was still wearing the beret from when Naruto had met him. But his vest he wore was a lite purple color, over a bluish violet shirt that was tucked into a pair of black slacks.

Sakura continued to look into the crowd, until she caught a glimpse of blond hair. She focused on it and saw Naruto in the second row from the stage. She wasn't expecting him to be that close, she could almost hear Naruto's voice over the crowd. He was telling her to not be nervous, either that or he wanted room service. The lite joke calmed her nerves a bit. "Come on Jade, let's do this."

Jade looked around, she was still nervous, the Bulbasaur wasn't expecting this big of a crowd. She barely heard her trainers command; she shook her head to focus. After her trainer said the attack once again, she let loose a barrage of leaves. She was supposed to use a Leech Seed attack then a Razor Leaf. She messed up, and was more embarrassed then before that she froze, not even moving when her trainer called to her.

Sakura reluctantly returned Jade to her ball; she faced the judges with a red face of embarrassment. All she wanted to do now was to run and cry, she wanted to lock herself away and never leave the room. As she looked from the judges to the crowd she caught sight of Naruto. The blond was looking at her with concern in his eyes. She couldn't face him, not when she let him down, he had helped her train and she failed. She turned her gaze away and focused on the judges.

"I'm going to give you a two," Sasori was the first to speak. "While your dress and outfit of your Pokémon matched perfectly with your routine, your Pokémon's routine however needs some work. While I'm sure your Bulbasaur was just nervous, make sure that next time you focus mostly on your Pokémon's resolve, rather than your opening routine." Sasori finished the critic and while the other two judges had similar things to say their final score wasn't as generous as Sasori's. She got a one from the last two judges, all because she didn't focus that much on Jade's nerves. She felt stupid; she failed because of some idiotic mistake like that.

When they were done, she turned around to leave the stage, a slow leave at first. Once she was out of sight of the crowd, she ran to the locker room of the stadium with tears in her eyes. She was mostly upset with herself, thinking things along the lines that she wasn't meant to be a trainer. Her parents were shop owners back in Leaf Town; they didn't even have a Pokémon as a pet. She was the first of her family to get a trainer's license; she had wanted to be a coordinator. She wanted this ever since she was a little girl, when she saw a small friendly contest that came to Leaf Town. She loved every second of it, so she decided that she wanted to be a coordinator. However, as she left the stage she felt that dream die.

Naruto was from a family of trainers, his dad is the champion and his mother was once a coordinator. Sasuke too came from a family of trainers, his brother is a gym leader, and his father was the previous gym leader. One day she knew that Sasuke would be the gym leader of the family gym. She, however, felt like she was only playing trainer. With that the tears started to become rapid.

Naruto watched his friend leave the stage; he knew she needed some comfort. He got up with a confused Kurama on his shoulders. "I need to go."

"Naruto," Kudo started, "don't forget what I told you earlier."

Naruto thought for a second, after remembering what the man had said he nodded. "Right, thanks Aomori-san." Naruto ran off to where he thought the coordinators would be.

It took the blond a while but after asking someone and looking for signs he managed to find the area where Sakura would be. When he opened the door to the locker room he heard sobbing. He knocked first before entering.

"Who's there?" Sakura asked trying to keep her voice steady.

"It's me." Naruto called into the room.

"Sempai?"

"Can I come in?"

"No, please I-I just need some time." He heard her start to cry again. He took a breath and went with his gut, he walked into the room. The sobs got louder as he got closer, when he rounded a corner he saw the girl with her face in her hands. Her shoulders were shaking and sobbing sounds could be heard clearly now. He sat next to her on the bench and pulled her into a hug.

Sakura was shocked at first, but she was too upset to protest. Instead of pushing him away she wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. Her shoulders still shook, but lessened as Naruto rubbed her back. He didn't say anything; he just continued to hold her and rubbed her back. Patiently he waited for her to calm down enough to speak her mind.

After a few moments her crying started to die down, soon sobbing started to die down as well. She slowly left the hug that she had with Naruto. The latter was a bit upset at the lack of presence in his arms. He didn't say anything, when he pulled away he saw Kurama jump from the floor to land in the girls lap. Naruto smiled, it seemed that Kurama didn't want the girl to be upset either.

"I'm pathetic aren't I?" Sakura stated, "Sasuke-kun was right, I lost just like he said I would."

"Sakura-Chan stop that." Naruto got a confused look from the pink hair girl. "You are not pathetic; you did a great job in training Jade. Yes, she choked under the pressure but it's your first contest. Look don't give up, keep going at it, I think everyone's first contest is like this one was. No one is that ready for it, but that doesn't mean you should give up. Keep going 'cause from here on it will only get easier. The hard part is over, and now you know what to work and focus on." He grasped her hand and gave a lite squeeze. "I'll help you where I can, and next time you'll do better."

Sakura saw the seriousness in his eyes, her mouth still hung agape. She was shocked at what Naruto had said to her. She knew he was right and started to berate herself for thinking what she had thought before. "Your right," she wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Thank you Naruto-kun." She blushed when she heard the change in suffix at the blonde's name. When she felt that his hand still grasped hers she blushed even more as they pulled away. A lite blush was on Naruto's face.

"Anytime, Sakura-Chan," Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I can't take all the credit, some of that advice came from a new friend of mine." He then remembered something, "that's right, did you know that there was a train that goes from Boulder City to here?"

"Yeah, I found out when the other coordinators were talking about it." She stated feeling a bit ashamed that she didn't know about it earlier.

"Yeah, well my new friend, aside from buying me a ticket for the contest, gave me two passes for the train. We can use them at any time to get back to Boulder City. Now we don't have to cross the desert." Naruto grinned.

"That's great, I'm so glad we don't have too." She had a relieved look on her face.

"Okay, so any idea on where the next contest would be?" Naruto asked.

"It's in Mist City, I don't know when, but I do know that they have them there often. More so than Sand Dune Town have theirs." A thoughtful look passed across her face.

"That's great, that is where the next gym is wow that is lucky, huh?" Naruto smiled at the luck they were having. "Well I'm going to find Sasori; hopefully I can get a battle out of him soon. Then we can head for Mist City." Sakura nodded, Naruto soon left after that, to give the girl some privacy as well as to find Sasori.

Later..

Naruto made his way back stage, a part of him was surprised at the lack of security in the contest hall. Right now he was more focused on finding Sasori; he found a stage hand and decided to ask this person. "Excuse me, where can I find Sasori?"

The man turned around to face the blonde, "Sasori?" Naruto nodded, "Let's see, I think I saw him over by the water cooler, he might still be there. It's down the hall, you can't miss it really."

Naruto nodded thanks, and then he along with the golden Vulpix was off to find the gym leader. Following the man's simple instructions led him right to the water cooler. He saw Sasori there talking to some random person. He approached the man. "Excuse me, Sasori-san?" The red head turned to face the blonde.

"Hey, your that kid from yesterday right? The blonde with the golden Vulpix, are you a contestant?" Sasori queried.

"No, my friend was though, it was her first time so she didn't do as well as she wanted to." Sasori nodded at this.

"So what are you doing back here? Is this about a battle?" Sasori asked the blonde, hitting the nail on the head.

"Yeah, I wanted to challenge you to a battle, soon hopefully."

"Why the hurry?" Sasori asked, "Can't wait to fight the champion?"

"No, my friend wants to enter the contest in Mist City, and that's where a gym is. So I wanted to get a battle as soon as possible so we can make it in time for the contest." Naruto stated.

"Hmm, you should have gone to Mist City first. See they have a contest every day, small ones. Usually only the locals enter, that's a better place to have a first contest, its smaller crowds. Which one was your friend?" Sasori seemed to completely forget about the battle, which kinda ticked Naruto off.

"Her name's Sakura Haruno, she was the one with the Bulbasaur." Naruto answered regardless of how he felt.

"Ah, I remember her; she has potential, she herself stood out from the others. However, her performance was mediocre, I'm sure it was just due to nerves but a Sand Dune Town contest is not a good starting contest. See most of these performers have won at least two contests before this one. If she did complete her performance, she might not have made it through the second round." Sasori took a sip from a paper cup, "However, if she were to have done at least one small contest before this one, then she would have done a lot better than she did. So tell her to try coming back and trying again." With that Sasori started to walk off.

Naruto was in a stupor for a moment, and then he noticed the gym leader walking off. "Hey, what about my gym battle?" His answer was the man waving his hand lazily as he walked off. Naruto stood confused; Kurama was just as baffled as Naruto. He decided to make his way back to the stands back to his seat.

When Naruto got to his seat he was surprised to see Sakura there in the seat that was once Kudo's. He walked to his seat by the pink haired girl. "Hey Sakura-Chan, where did my friend go?"

"Oh, he waved me down when I was trying to find you, he told me that I could have his seat and finish watching the contest, since I didn't get past the first round. He said that it may help me to understand the second round for next time, he seems to think that I will get that far next time." Sakura had a sad smile on her face, almost as if she didn't believe the words of the stranger. "Oh, and he gave me this," she held up a small note pad, "it has a bunch of notes and key points to work on, hints and tips to get Jade ready for the next contest. I don't know who he was, but he was a nice man." Sakura smiled.

"Yeah, he was a really cool guy." Naruto sat and started to watch the contest, it was okay the second part of the contest was a sort of a talent show. It showcased the coordinators talent while the Pokémon did something that either complimented the talent or corresponded with the talent. It was okay, but Naruto couldn't really pay attention to it. Mostly because he wasn't waiting for Sakura to come on, he would have just left, but he wanted to stay there while Sakura watched. He saw that someone had left a newspaper near his seat, a bit random, but it would help his boredom.

He picked up the paper and began to read it starting with the front page. He saw that the picture on the front was a bit tragic; it showed a car that was completely totaled. The head line stated, 'Tragic hit and run takes life of two.' He reads on trying to figure out how something so tragic could have happened. While reading he found that it happened two weeks ago, the driver that had hit the car was drunk, he survived but wasn't at the scene. They found him later by tracing the plates of his vehicle; he would be going to court the day after tomorrow. It happened near Boulder City, so it must have been around the time that he got his first badge. He's surprised he didn't hear about it then, of course he was only focused on his own goals and getting his first badge. Really it wasn't until he met Jiraiya that he started to open his eyes to others.

The names of the people is what really got him, he didn't recognize the man's last name, but he did the woman's maiden name. 'Aomori?' Naruto thought, 'Is she related to Aomori-san?' Naruto read on, it didn't say anything at first. But he found that the two were newlyweds and that they both were coordinators. Then he found what he was looking for, the family they left behind, the boy was shock to find that Kudo was the girl's father. "My daughter and son-in-law were supposed to accompany me, but last minute changes prevented that." The words of the man came back to him, 'Why didn't he mention it before?' A part of him stated that he didn't ask, which was true. The blonde may have been open to the mothers back in wave, but he was forced to. If he had been open to the man he may have found out that his daughter and son-in-law had died recently. But he was so focused on himself that he didn't think to.

'I need to be more open to people, if I had known I could have said something, right?' He didn't know the answer, but realization hit him, 'That kinda explains why he bought me a ticket and gave me those two train passes. Could it be that I reminded him of the ones he lost?' Again he didn't know the answer; he might have if he had been more open with the man. 'I really gotta start opening up more, and talking to people.' He thought back to wave, and how good it felt to help those mothers out. 'I should probably also help people out more, it felt good helping those mothers out.' A small smile came to his face when he thought of all the rewards he got for helping those mothers. He then decided that he was going to be more open, and be more helpful to others whether they were friends or ones he just met.

"Sempai, the contest is over now." Sakura stated knocking the boy from his musings.

Naruto looked to the stage to see the winner getting a ribbon; he started to clap with everyone else. When the girl stepped down and walked off the stage, she almost tripped, but righted herself. This must have been her first big win in front of a large crowd. Naruto and Sakura were about to leave, just as others were. But Sasori stepping on to the stage and taking the microphone stopped the blonde.

"Can I have your attention please?" Sasori's voice boomed, "First off thanks to all those visiting from other cities and towns, and thanks to all that participated. Now I have a very special announcement, tomorrow at three o clock I will be having a battle at the gym, if you want you are all invited to the event. If you're wondering who the challenger is then he is here with us in the crowd." Sasori pointed to Naruto, in which a spotlight came upon the blonde and his golden Vulpix. "Now, forgive me for not asking sooner, but what is your name?"

Someone came up to Naruto and put a microphone to his mouth, "Uh, Namikaze Naruto?" Naruto didn't know how to answer. He heard a collective gasp from some of the audience members.

"Namikaze Naruto, the champion's son, well ladies and gentlemen you have to come out now. Come see the rising star as he faces off against me. Who will win?" Sasori asked, "And while you're at the gym be sure to secure yourself a ticket for my next production premiering in two weeks." Sasori said into the microphone, the crowd started to clap and cheer loudly at that.

'Uh, do what now?' Naruto couldn't believe his luck, he got a gym battle, but he might have to battle in front of a crowd as big as this one? He swallowed hard, but then he started to think, 'If, no when I face my father, I will have to battle in front of a crowd ten times bigger than this.' The Elena tournament was a big event, one that almost everyone who can, comes to it. That's why it is held in Capitol City, the biggest city in the Elena region. 'Well, I shouldn't worry, my Pokémon can handle anything.' With that He, Kurama, and Sakura made their leave.

"Are you nervous Naruto-sempai?" Sakura asked.

"Nope." Naruto answered simply, but inside his stomach was doing backflips, and not in the good way.

The next day..

Naruto made his to the gym to have his second gym battle, going over his strategy and trying to calm his nerves. 'You can do this Naruto; you trained with Jiraiya one of the three masters. You trained in the desert heat, you can do this.' He looked to his comrade, Kurama. The Vulpix was walking alongside him focused on the road ahead. 'Okay, so I'm going to start things off with Kurama. Verdant will be next, followed by Valor. I would use Puka, she needs a gym battle win, but since she just evolved I'm still getting her used to her new form.' He thought back to yesterday when he tried training Puka. The newly evolved Pikachu was still overwhelmed by her power increase. Plus when he had her working on her agility she was all over the place, she still wasn't used to her new form. Putting her in a gym battle as she is now would not be a smart move. Neptune may be ready, but even though he doesn't freeze anymore, he isn't the best strategist. Not like how Kurama or Verdant is, or even how Valor was the other day in the desert. He's afraid that if things get sticky that he may not think his way out, he still needs experience in other battles.

"I wish I could just have gone with Sakura-Chan, man why does this have to be in front of an audience?" Naruto complained to no one. Sakura went ahead of Naruto early so she could try getting a good seat for his battle. Thanks to Sasori announcing his battle with Naruto, the boy hasn't been able to walk around outside without being crowded by people asking about his dad. He knew that it was going to be a big turnout, mostly because of who his father was. "Well, on the bright side I can show them what I can do." Naruto stated with a fist pump, this excited him a little, enough to calm his nerves. "Yeah, not only will I get my second badge but I'll show everyone that I am Naruto Namikaze, Pokémon Trainer, future champion, and not just the champion's son." With that Naruto began to run towards the gym with Kurama running alongside him. He got to the gym in no time after that, he saw that the last of the crowd was making their way into the gym. Naruto walked up to the doors, to one of the ushers. "Uhm, I'm here for a gym battle, I'm-"

"Mr. Namikaze?" The man asked, Naruto nodded, "Great, this way." He led the boy to the other side of the building, at this point Kurama decided to hitch a ride on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto was led to a pair of double doors; the usher opened the doors and motioned for the boy to step inside. "Just head straight and take a right."

Naruto had a confused look on his face but he nodded. He went through the double doors then they were closed after his entrance. He could hardly see anything, there was very little light. As he walked through the hall trying to see where he was, he could hear a faint noise. It sounded like grouped together mumbling. When he took the right he could see a faint light get brighter as he walked towards it, the mumbling was getting louder as he did so. Soon he stepped out and was shrouded in light, he held up his arm to shield his eyes from the brightness. It came from a spot light; when his eyes adjusted he lowered his arm and took in his surroundings. The mumbling came from the large crowd that was in a stadium like arena. Looking around he could see that every seat was filled, and they were all cheering and clapping.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the challenger Naruto Namikaze!" Naruto heard a voice echoed. He looked up to see a large square like object with four flat screen monitors on each side. On the monitor it showed the blonde looking up with Kurama looking around at the crowd. "And now, introducing the gym leader, Sasori!" The crowd began to roar as Sasori came out the other side with a spot light on him. He waved to the crowd enjoying the attention. Naruto saw that the man was now wearing blue jeans with a green shirt tucked into them. A purple vest over the shirt, and shiny dress shoes; the man still had his black beret on his spikey red head.

Suddenly Naruto's personal space was being invaded as an usher began to fiddle with his shirt. "Hey what the hell?" Naruto was shocked when he heard his own voice echoed through the stadium.

"It's okay Naruto it's just a microphone, so the crowd can hear you." Came Sasori's voice from the stadium speakers.

"Oh," Naruto was told by one of the stage hands to slip the box that the microphone connected to down his shirt. It was so the wire wouldn't get in his way. Doing so the small box was slipped into his back pocket. "Uhm, hello?" At this the crowd cheered again. Naruto started to laugh nervously, a blush coming on his face when he heard his chuckle through the speakers.

"Let's begin this battle, challenger, chose your first Pokémon." The announcer stated over the speakers, Naruto didn't see anyone else on the floor so he assumed that the announcer was probably hidden away somewhere.

"Right," Naruto tried to ignore his voice as it came over the speakers. "Let's do this Kurama!" The golden Vulpix yipped as he leapt from the blonde's shoulders and on to the stadium floor. He crouched down ready for anything.

"Looks like you're ready." He grabbed a ball and threw it to the open arena. "Let's go Clash." Out of the ball came a large purple scorpion like creature. Its eyes were pointed shape with blue upper portions, two small, pointed protrusions between its eyes, and one on the back on its head. It also had protrusions on its jaws, two on the upper and three on the lower, with large, fang-like, white-colored features extending from its mouth. Its body had many segments that ended at the tail with two stingers. It had four segmented legs with pointed toes. The most distinguishing feature is its huge claws, which had a blue circular marking on the undersides, a similar marking being on the tail.

Naruto pulled out his poke-dex; he's never seen a Pokémon like that.

Ding

Drapion, the Ogre Scorpion Pokémon. Its claws give off a deadly poison and they are powerful enough to turn an automobile into scrap iron.

"Whoa," Naruto stated which echoed through the stadium, he was starting to ignore it by now though. "He seems tough Kurama lookout for his claws okay?" The Vulpix nodded as he got ready.

"Let's begin with Act one, ready, and action!" Sasori stated, "Clash, hit him with Bug Bite!" The Drapion came charging in towards Kurama, catching him off guard the attack hit. Kurama cried out in pain when the large scorpion bit him.

Naruto saw that the Drapion was now eating something, and then the attacks effect came to mind. "No, he ate Kurama's Pecha Berry." Naruto stated worried, now if the Pokémon is poisoned he wouldn't be able to heal himself.

"With this strange turn of events, how will our young challenger react?" Sasori stated seeming to narrate the battle. Naruto stare in shock for a moment, but he shook it off.

"Come on Kurama it's only a minor setback, let's win this." Kurama nodded, and to everyone's shock, he started to run towards Clash his tails glowing for a second before all six turned to metal. The fox leapt up into the air and crashed its tails down on the purple Pokémon. He leapt back and waited for the dust to dissipate; while he was waiting he was shocked slightly to see a bit of smoke come at him until it appeared to be Drapion. He turned to run and dodge the Pokémon's attack, but somehow the Pokémon gained on him. It leapt up into the air then came down on the fire type, sinking his now purple glowing fangs into the fox, who cried out in pain. "Kurama!" Naruto shouted.

Kurama stood up when the Pokémon got off of him, with some effort. A purple haze was coming off the area where the Drapion had bitten him. When Kurama stood he could feel it stinging his flesh. "Damn it, I'm poisoned now, and that bastard ate my Pecha Berry. Arceus this hurts." He grunted out as he got his footing, he grounded his teeth as he tried to forget the pain he was in now, but it proved to be difficult.

"Come on Kurama, you can do it!" Naruto called, Kurama could also hear the chanting of the crowd calling for him to not give up. He smirked a bit; he pushed the pain to the back of his mind and glared at the Drapion.

"Is that the best you got?" Kurama stated with a smirk, one eye was tightly shut.

"You're a cocky son of a bitch aren't you?" Clash stated smirking at the Pokémon's actions. Kurama only did a mock shrug, but winced afterwards.

"Now, for a quick script change, Clash Venoshock." Sasori called for the Pokémon's next attack.

The Drapion shot purple ooze at Kurama, the fox tried to move but his poison spot caught him off guard and he winced instead of dodging. When he was hit with the liquid his eyes widen ten times their normal size in shock. He let out a harsh scream that echoed throughout the entire stadium. The pain he was feeling now was possibly the worst pain he has ever felt.

"Kurama!" Naruto shouted out in shock for his Pokémon.

When the liquid was gone and off of Kurama he was struggling to get up off the ground. He managed to stand but only for a second before he fell back to the ground. His vision was beginning to blur, he was having a hard time focusing on his surroundings. 'Maybe I can just take a quick nap.'

"Kurama! Don't give up, you can do it, I know you can! Kurama!" His eyes snapped open when he heard his trainer's cry.

'No, I'll rest right after I defeat this bastard.' He thought as he grinded his teeth together, he stood up on shaky legs, but thanks to sheer will they started to steady. He focused solely on the Pokémon in front of him, his pain and his exhaustion was now in the back of his mind. He charged forward once again with glowing tails, "Take this asshole." Kurama slammed the six metal tails into the Pokémon's head knocking it to the ground; he landed in front of the scorpion creature. Not giving Clash a chance to get up, he started to gather fire into his mouth, and then he let loose a large stream of fire at point break range. The Drapion was engulfed in flames as it cried out in pain, not stopping there; he leapt back creating some distance between him and the other Pokémon. He started to charge forward again, this time he was engulfed in flames as he struck the poison type Pokémon hard sending him back while he was still on fire he struck the ground hard.

When the fire cleared Drapion was still smoking with multiple burn marks on his body. He didn't move only groaning as his eyes were shut tightly. Everyone waited for what seemed like hours but was only seconds, before they saw that the Pokémon was not moving. "Clash is unable to battle the winner of this round is Kurama!" The announcer called over the speakers, resulting in the crowd cheering loudly.

Kurama smirked before he fell forward, "Kurama!" Naruto shouted as he ran out for his Pokémon, suddenly the crowd grew silent as they watched the scene unfold. "Kurama, are you all right?" The Pokémon groaned a bit as an answer. Naruto started to dig around in his bag before he pulled out a spray bottle, he sprayed the purple spot on Kurama, then seconds later the purple color faded away, Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He then put a blue berry inside Kurama's mouth; the Pokémon instinctively chewed the berry.

Kurama started to feel much better now since chewing the Oran Berry. Then he did something that shocked the blonde, he licked his cheek. This resulted in the crowd doing a simultaneous 'awe'. "You did great buddy, good job." Naruto carried Kurama back to his spot, then he laid him down by his feet so he could relax during the rest of the battle, "Just rest buddy okay?" Kurama nodded as he laid his head on his front paws. "Okay, let's go your up Verdant." Naruto threw a poke ball; pooping open it released his blue du rag wearing Treecko. The crowd began to cheer once again, Verdant ignored them, and instead, he chose to focus on the gym leader.

"Now it's time for Act two, let's see how this turns out." He pulled out a poke ball, and then threw it in the air. "Go! Henson." Out of the ball came another Pokémon that Naruto hasn't seen before. It looked like a Venus flytrap, with circular eyes and small pupils. Instead of legs this Pokémon had red and green vines attached to the end of its yellow and green-spotted stem like body; this gave the vines the appearance of tentacles. The leaves on its side appeared to be its arms, and appear to have three leafy fingers.

Once again Naruto pulled out his poke-dex.

Ding

Carnivine, the Bug Catcher Pokémon. Carnivine latches onto tress in marshes and lures its prey with its sweet-smelling saliva.

"Jeez, glad I don't have a bug type." Naruto stated forgetting that everything he said the crowd heard. The crowd of fans started to laugh at the trainers joke. Naruto shook his head, "Okay Verdant, don't get caught off guard by the people, try to strike hard and fast." Naruto stated, the Treecko nodded.

Verdant cocked his fist back as it began to glow green, he ran towards the other grass type. He leapt up into the air then brought the fist down upon Henson's head. He struck the ground hard, Verdant flipped then landed in front of the Pokémon. The Carnivine started to get up with no effort, almost as if he never got hit. This shocked Verdant slightly, but his eyes widened even more when he saw that Henson's left leafy hand started to glow green as he pulled it back. Verdant never got hit with another Grass Knot before, so this being the first time; he had to say that it hurt like hell.

Sasori smirked, he knew calling out the attack was somewhat pointless but he had something to say to it though. "Naruto, you do know that that move is only strong if your Pokémon is heavier than you're opponents. Right?" Naruto grounded his teeth together.

"Come on Verdant, get up, you can win this." Naruto call for his Pokémon, the crowd supported the blonde and the Treecko with more cheering.

Verdant got up, dazed slightly by the attack, but he shook it off. He dashed off towards the Pokémon, avoiding multiple purple sludge's that got fired his way. He jumped up then did a flip in the air. He brought his large tail down and struck the Pokémon hard in the head, causing him to crash into the ground cracking it slightly from the force. Verdant then jumped back and landed in front of the Pokémon, a smirk in place on his features.

Henson soon got up though, causing the smirk to leave the Pokémon's features. He stood tall once again to face the other grass type, however, he was rubbing a sore spot on his head from where the attack had hit. "Henson, use Sleep Powder." Sasori called, causing Naruto's and Verdant's eyes to widen. Henson opened his mouth one hundred and eighty degrees, and then began to release a green powder that shot forth for Verdant. Verdant covered his mouth and tried not to breath in the powder, he even moved out of the way of the attack.

Verdant's eyes started to get heavy, but he fought it off, 'I won't fall asleep, not until this bastard goes down.' He focused on his opponent, 'I need to finish this, now. But how?' His bleary eyes scanned the area trying to figure out if he could use anything to his advantage. Looking up he saw the large square like object above him. "That's it." He stated to himself. 'I never went that high before, but nothing ventured nothing gained.' With that thought he shocked the crowd and the Pokémon in front of him by running towards his opponent. He leapt up once again, using the Pokémon's confusion to his advantage. He did a flip and struck the Pokémon with its tail once again, this time; however, he used his tail as a spring board to propel himself up with as much force as he could muster. This caused the Pokémon under him to grunt with pain, due to him hitting the sore spot. The leap was enough for him to fly towards the collection of monitors, before he hit he turned to land on device.

He then pumped his legs to launch himself off of the monitors and towards the ground where the Carnivine laid. He cocked his fist back as green energy started to glow from his fist. When he was only a few feet from the Pokémon he threw his fist forward. The force of the attack caused the ground to shake when it hit the Pokémon. Carnivine was imbedded into the ground from the attack. 'Whoa, it used the force of gravity from its fall to increase its Grass Knot's power.' Sasori thought in shock. Carnivine struggled to remove his head from the ground, with a pop, he succeeded. The success was short lived, for he soon fell forward.

"Good, he's out." Verdant stated before he fell back letting the effect his opponents last attack consume him. He started to snore as he lay on the ground.

"Henson is unable to battle, even though Verdant is asleep he isn't out, therefore Verdant wins this round." The announcer called causing the audience to cheer for the Pokémon's win.

"Good job, Verdant return." Naruto held out his poke ball letting a red beam hit Verdant, the Pokémon turned to red light as he went back into his small home.

"That was an amazing move you pulled their kid, your Pokémon pulling something like that on its own, well that says something about you." Sasori commented.

"Thanks, I had some help training him and my other Pokémon from Master Jiraiya." Naruto stated.

"Well that explains it then, good work." He pulled out another ball, "Are you ready for act three?"

"Yeah," Naruto took out another ball and threw it, "let's do this Valor." With a pop, Naruto's Riolu came out ready for a good fight.

"Let's steal the show, Ozker." Sasori threw a ball into the air, before it hit the ground it popped open to reveal yet another Pokémon that Naruto did not know of. This Pokémon was cactus-like, with large ear-like extensions. The extensions featured dark green spiky arrangements at the base, yellow spikes further up, and flowers, with pink petals and yellow centers, at the top. It had a yellow spike on its head, yellow eyes and a spiky-looking mouth. Other dark green spiky arrangements adorn its neck, the wrists of its yellow-fingered arms, and base. Its base had three foot or root-like stubs. Naruto had to pull out his poke-dex for the third time that day.

Ding!

Maractus, the Cactus Pokémon. When Maractus dance in rhythm, they sound like maracas shaking. They make their homes in dry desert-like areas.

"Okay Valor, let's win this battle." Naruto declared, the crowd cheered when they heard Naruto's proclamation. Valor stood ready, he nodded at his trainers words and stared at the Pokémon in front of him.

"My, my you're a cutie aren't you?" The cactus Pokémon stared lusciously at Valor, making him a bit uncomfortable at the sound of the female voice. "Too bad we have to battle, wish we could wrestle around in my ball, if you catch my meaning." The Pokémon's feral grin grew as she stared at Valor.

Valor did not know what to think of the flirtatious Pokémon, he was ready for taunting and insults. He was completely caught off guard, which is why he was easily struck by a glowing arm of the cactus Pokémon. 'Damn it Valor! She is just messing with you; you could have easily dodged that attack. Focus!' He screamed in his mind as he stood glaring at the laughing Pokémon in front of him.

"Awe, I'm sorry did I forget to tell you I was going to attack? How silly of me." She made a mock pose which only caused Valor to grow angrier. So with paws glowing blue he ran towards the cactus Pokémon trying in vain to strike her. She seemed to dance around his strikes; an annoying sound of beans shaking in a can was being made with every shake.

"Now use Poison Jab." Sasori called out, as his Pokémon continued to dance around Valor's attacks. Her arm glowed purple as she pulled it back, when Valor wasn't expecting it she jabbed her arm into his chest. He was sent back to hit the ground a few feet in front of Ozker.

'Damn it, that hurt,' when he went to move his right arm he felt a stinging sensation in his chest area. 'Shit, that really hurts.' He grabbed the purple glowing area on his chest in pain. It was enough to send him to his knees; he was breathing hard trying to control his rapid breath. Just when he was about to stand, the Maractus came charging in with another glowing arm, it felt as though he was being hit with pins. It was enough to send up in the air, only for gravity to take hold and bring him back down.

"Valor!" Naruto yelled out when he saw his Pokémon hit the ground. "Valor, come on get up you can do it!" Naruto shouted to give his Pokémon support needed to get up and continue the fight.

The support seemed to work, for Valor soon stood, shakily. When he was fully up, he clutched the purple spot on his chest. 'This poison area is a real nuisance.' He grounded his teeth, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the enemy Pokémon. She never moved, only stood there shaking from side to side, making that annoying sound. 'I can hardly move with this poison area stinging. If only there was a way to ignore it.' Then he was struck with an idea, not giving it much thought as to whether it would work or not, he instead went ahead. His left paw glowed blue as he brought it back, then, shocking everyone, he struck the purple area hard. "Ahh!" He cried out in pain, but it soon subsided, with it the stinging was now dull enough for him to ignore it.

Using the shock to his advantage Valor took Ozker by surprise when he showed up in front of her. He strikes hard with his foot sending her flying back. He then appeared behind her and struck up with his foot, sending her into the air. Then jumping so he could appear above her he struck her several times in the gut with blue glowing paws. He kept striking until she hit the ground then jumped back away from her, putting some distance between them.

"Let's finish this Valor, Aura Sphere." The name of the attack shocked all, Sasori thought it to be some kind of trick, to stall in order to attack with something different. So instead of countering he awaited his Pokémon to stand, so she could launch another onslaught of attacks.

Valor threw his arms behind him, clenching his teeth at the slight pain in his chest, but he ignored it. He instead focused on his aura, forcing it into his paws to where it became dense. Shocking everyone into silence, a blue ball started to appear between his paws. He started a slow walk towards the down Pokémon that was struggling to get up, the ball increasing in size a bit. The walk turned to a jog as he saw that the Maractus was almost up, the ball now half his size. The jog turned to a run when he saw his opponent stand up, the ball now the same size as himself. "Take this you bitch! Aura Sphere!" He thrust his paws forward, thrusting the ball of aura into the shocked Pokémon. The ball struck hard, and with a loud battle cry, Valor shot the ball from his paws sending it and the balls captive straight for the wall opposite of the two Pokémon. With a loud crash the two met the wall, the ball stayed visible for a second before it exploded, causing a large crater to form in the wall, along with stirring up some dust.

Valor still had his arms outstretched, breathing hard, but he suddenly grabbed his hurting chest and fell to a knee. With one eye still opened he stared at the area where his opponent was now, the lack of movement being a good sign. The dust started to clear and with it gone everyone bearing witness could now see the Maractus imbedded into the wall, her eyes seemed to be rolled up into her head. She groaned as she slowly started to fall from the wall to meet the ground with a lite thud. Everyone stared in shock, even the announcer was at a loss for words.

But it was only for a moment, for the man behind the voice soon righted himself, "Ozker is unable to battle, the winner of this round is Valor. Ladies and gentlemen the winner of the gym battle is Naruto Namikaze from Leaf Town!" The man shouted in both shock and excitement, the crowd stood and cheered loudly at the result of the battle.

Valor smirked, but fell to the ground after letting out a cry of pain, "Valor!" Naruto ran out to his Pokémon to check up on him. He was unconscious, but Naruto got to work, he pulled out a spray bottle and sprayed the purple area, this caused the area to clear up. But there was still a bruise there from where Valor had struck himself. Naruto took out another spray bottle and sprayed the area; this caused Valor to flinch and whine a little at the stinging spray. "I know it hurts, but it will help the bruising, at least until we get you back to the Pokémon Center." Naruto patted the Pokémon on the head, "but, good job out there Valor I'm really proud of you." This caused Valor to smile; Naruto pulled out a ball and held it up. "Great work, now rest buddy." Valor returned to his ball with no protests. When Naruto stood he was met by Sasori, Naruto nodded to the man, "Is you're Pokémon all right?" Sasori nodded.

"Yeah, she'll be fine with some rest; it's her pride I'm more worried about." Sasori laughed at the joke, "But you did win, and it was a great battle, Deidara did say that you'd put up a great fight."

Naruto was shock to hear the name, "Wait, you know Deidara?"

"Yes, when we were younger we traveled together; we were quite the pair of double battlers." Sasori seemed to be thinking of something, for he had a nostalgic look on his face. "But anyway, here is your badge, proof that you had beaten the Sand Dune Town gym leader, the Puppet Badge."

The badge Naruto received from the leader was oval shaped, with a third of the bottom part being smaller. The part seemed to be some sort of mouth, two small dots that looked like a nose. Three dots on the upper part of the oval, two side by side with one on top, the top of the badge had what looked like bluish green spikey hair. Naruto held it up, shouting, "Yes! I got, the Puppet Badge!" Kurama jumped up and yipped happily for his trainer. The crowd also cheered for the blonde as he celebrated his win.

(A/N: Soooo Sorry for the long wait guys. I have been going through a lot of stuff in my life and it is hard getting the motivation to write. Before I get to the thanks and stuff. You should know that one of the reasons I am having trouble writing is that my dad died last year due to liver cancer. I'm just now being open about it, and it's almost as if it's just now hitting me. So that is one of the reasons why it's been hard to write. Another is that my love life is getting really complicated and it's been eating up my time. I'm trying to go back to school, trying to get a job, it's just so hard. Anyway, on to the thanks, a great big thank you to blue-hart, he was the one to give me an idea for two of Sasori's Pokémon. He also is doing a fan art for this fic, I hope to put it up as a cover for the story. The idea's of the nicknames of Sasori's Pokémon are last names of puppeteers, I think all of them worked on Sesame Street, but hey they are Puppeteers. So yeah, Henson as in Jim Henson, you should know who that is. Clash as in Kevin Clash, he's the voice of Elmo. Ozker, Eren Ozker she did the Muppet Show way back when. So I thought that those were pretty awesome names. Next chapter will probably take as long as this chapter did to write, but I doubt it will be as long as this chapter was. I am not doing a beta for any of my stories anymore, a great big sorry to Clintosaurus, by the way if you have time or if you need a beta yourself, check out his profile. Sorry no story preview for the next chapter, still working on the plot and all, check back though because I might put one in. Anyone else looking forward to the new Pokémon X and Y game? Fennekin looks like a baby Kurama. Anyway thank you all for the kind reviews and messages, feel free to keep them coming they do help. Have an awesome day guys, ttfn ta ta for now.)