Karp
patreon
Pokénin 001 (Naruto/Pokemon)
🕑 Added 2025-02-25 19:51:25 +0000 UTCSummary:
Welcome to the insane world of PokeNaruto, where: every Abra is a Flying Raijin, Recover is broken healing hax, Ditto can become any ninja copying their skills, every Chansey heals like Tsunade, Protect is an OP shield, Ghost types can phase through people/objects like Tobi, Psychic types are Genjutsu masters, moves like Ice/Fire/Thunder Punch are just as effective as Chidori, and farming Voltorb to spam Explosion is a viable strategy!
In this story:
The characters/items/locations/creatures of Pokémon have been added to the shinobi world.
Groups like Team: Galactic, Flare, Magma/Aqua, Plasma, and Rocket are Akatsuki level threats.
Champions, Elite Four, and Gym Leaders are top tier ninja.
Finally:
The MC, Tekai Tatsushiro, is a Dragon/Water specialist reincarnated into the Ryu Clan.
Thrust into a world where Pokémon are deadly, and terrorist organizations are rampant, he is drawn into ever growing conflict as the Third Shinobi War looms on the horizon.
At least he has a serious sensei to guide him along, right? Hrm? Why does he hear a piano?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lanterns hung low in the early dusk of Blackthorn, capital city of the Land of Dragons. Dim light reflected off of the Edo-style buildings, and a full moon was slowly rising on the horizon.
Banners hung everywhere proclaiming good fortune, and hawkers excitedly handed out free candy, compliments of the local ruling family, the Ryu Clan.
A festive atmosphere suffused the people.
The servants, retainers, merchants, foreign shinobi, and residents of the city had all turned out for one event.
The Egg Gifting Ceremony!
Tonight, every child of the Ryu Clan would have the opportunity to claim their companion Pokémon from an egg.
Tekai Tatsushiro, a man transmigrated from Earth had turned 12 this year, and was excited to finally get his hands on a Pokémon of his own.
Currently sweeping the roads clean, Tekai ignored the odd looks of the servants and citizens as they passed him by.
“Black Mark.” One retainer spat on the ground near Tekai’s feet as he walked past.
Tekai bore the disrespect with a smile, as he knew he would soon rise, like a carp ascending the waterfall, and transform into a true dragon. Once he hatched a Pokémon, the clan wouldn't be able to ignore him anymore.
Early on in life, Tekai had learnt he was the bastard son of the Clan Lord and a kunoichi.
When his mother died in childbirth, his father had exiled himself supposedly to satisfy the clan's honor, but secretly, Tekai wondered if he had been assassinated or died in war, and this was a lie to save face.
At the very least, if his parents left him with one thing, it was good genetics. He was pretty handsome, and looked a lot like Robin from the Fire Emblem games. White hair, amethyst eyes, and a slight frame that looked like a stiff breeze would knock him over. He was quite the looker.
His clan even gave him a cape/cloak to wear which was the typical attire of dragon tamers, and really fit his aesthetic.
But good looks aside, the fact remained, his dad's disappearance had left the clan weaker, and subject to infighting as people struggled to become the next Clan Lord. Understandably, Tekai took the brunt of the blame for this disturbance, and received quite a few unfriendly looks during his childhood.
Ever since he could remember, Tekai had found himself in an awkward position. One where most of his family members ignored him, and the servants to the family treated him distantly, unsure of how to deal with him.
No one beat him, or any such thing, but at the same time, he had not been instructed like the rest of the kids in the clan.
Children developed faster in the world of Naruto, and he had been taught reading and writing from a young age. However, etiquette, throwing ninja stars/kunai, or learning how to wield other weapons, and chakra studies had been left out of his official curriculum.
Ever since he was strong enough to hold a broom or move a bucket, he often found himself assigned menial tasks such as sweeping or cleaning.
It wasn't until the age of 5, that he had attended his first Egg Ceremony, and had seen some people wearing headbands. Ever since then, it really hit home that he was in a world dominated by ninja.
Furthermore, upon investigation, he had discovered that his own family clan were something in-between ninja and samurai. Neither beholden to a strict code of honor, or assassins for hire, the clan were defined as chakra warriors.
They were a clan that had fought for supremacy during the Warring States period, and had emerged as the Feudal Lords of a tiny nation. One that bordered the Lands of Fire, Rain, and Earth.
As a result, they became the masters of the Land of Dragons, and were the country where the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls resided.
It was the very same country where Kakuzo of the Akatsuki had originated from!
The revelation that he was in the world of Naruto, and not some feudal Pokémon era, had lit a fire of excitement and dread into his heart. Excitement because he could move like a superhero if he unlocked his chakra, and dread because the world of shinobi was a lethal one.
As a result, Tekai had started to exercise and get in shape. Mostly, he ran, and trained his flexibility/stamina. It was his dream to one day move like a ninja, so he worked hard every day.
At such a young age, and without instruction, he was too cautious to try his hand at molding chakra by himself, and kept his eyes out for an opportunity whilst he conditioned himself.
Someone in the family must have recognized his efforts, because when he was 6, a scroll detailing a special method to unlock and mold chakra had found its way into the tiny room he called home.
It was a skill well known from the Pokémon series:
Dragon Dance.
While some part of him had been worried it was a trap set by someone who wanted to get rid of him, or use him as a pawn, the temptation was too great, and Tekai had found himself immersed in the scroll's secrets.
Ever since then, he had been performing this strange dance on the daily, and could feel an energy move within him that he assumed was chakra.
After a year of training in this, he had tried his hand at the Leaf Sticking technique. It was a somewhat simple technique to learn, but one with a surprisingly high difficulty ceiling.
One leaf wasn't so bad, two a trifle, but a dozen plus at once really strained his concentration!
To enhance his training, he would combine the Leaf Stick with the Dragon Dance, further increasing his chakra control.
Besides Leaf Sticking, the only other skills he actively practiced were water and wall walking, as these were the natural next steps to the Leaf Sticking technique, and served to enhance his chakra control.
During his training sessions, he discovered that performing the Dragon Dance on open water was liberating, and almost felt like a movement technique, greatly enhancing his speed.
Dragon Dance truly was a marvelous skill!
Every day he trained, he noticed himself becoming ever so slightly: physically stronger, more acrobatic, energetic, and producing more potent chakra.
Traits began to emerge in him like: enhanced eyesight, improved hearing, thicker skin, tougher bones, and a keen sense of smell.
It was almost as if he were becoming more draconic with each passing day. When perusing the scrolls, Tekai realized he had a minor bloodline, one that strongly correlated with the Dragon typing from Pokémon.
In many ways, his bloodline was similar to that of the Inuzuka, in that he became more animalistic.
As he grew older, his hidden ally within the family occasionally gifted him more knowledge.
Through these scrolls, Tekai learned a plethora of topics. None of which were directly tied to any jutsu, but helped broaden Tekai's knowledge of the wider world as well as his clan's history and legends.
One such scroll vaguely explained something about a transformative state known as the Dragon Rage, but the details were rather murky. In the games, Dragon Rage was a move that dealt 40 flat damage, and apparently was a ‘shockwave of pure rage’ whatever that meant.
While he wanted to meet this mystery backer, Tekai was also happy to leave it as a mystery, and focus on training. He figured they would reveal themselves when they did. Tekai was just excited to be learning new things.
Whoever that person was, it didn't overly bother him that he didn't know. Tekai was mostly used to being alone on Earth, and so wasn't totally crushed by the lack of social interactions.
That wasn't to say he was friendless, however.
One time, when he was about 8 years old, and dancing between chores, he had come across a friendly drunk middle aged man. After impressing the man with the hard work he had put into the Dragon Dance, he had taught Tekai a few basics that melded the Dragon Dance into a type of taijutsu that combined movement, offense and defense.
During those years of friendship, Tekai had been instructed in the use of hand signs, and roaring like a dragon of all things. Apparently the Ryu Clan could communicate long distances with one another this way, and the specific cadence of each roar acted as a mnemonic to activate jutsu.
For example, where ninjas could move their hands in a: ox -> snake -> ram -> horse pattern to mobilize their chakra for a jutsu, the Ryu could roar in a certain pattern, and do the same.
It was absolutely terrible for stealth, but at the same time, it freed up the hands for combat. Imagine locking weapons with someone, then catching a blast of Dragon Fire to the face! It was actually kind of frightening!
Tekai didn't know if the trade off for a lack of stealth was worth it, but at the same time, it seemed kind of genius, because who would be able to steal this technique? Not even an Uchiha could copy fucking growls!
However, while he had been taught this means to focus chakra, he had never actually cast any jutsu. The drunk never explained why he wouldn't teach him, but he would always take a big sip of his drink, grin, then say something like ‘I'll tell you when you're older.’
Besides this method to channel his chakra, the middle aged man had also taught him how to fight, and for that, he was forever grateful.
He was a bright spot in Tekai's otherwise lonely second life.
Smiling to himself as he recalled the highlights of the last 12 years, Tekai incorporated the Dragon Dance into his sweeping, and got lost in the feeling of his chakra roiling inside of him. His steps became quicker, and the force with which he cleaned the street was greater.
He was so deeply engrossed in this mesmerizing feeling, and immersed in this trance-like state, he didn't realize he had bumped into someone until it was too late.
“Hey kiddo, what are you doing here? The Egg Gifting Ceremony is just about to begin.” A friendly voice called from behind.
“Uncle! Uncle Borah!” Tekai dropped his broom, and turned around to find a portly, elderly bearded man. He didn't like acting like a kid, but this man was like a true uncle to him, how could he not show affection?
“Not so loud, not so loud.” The man laughed, and took a swig out of a gourd. His face was red, and his breath stank, but the man was a breath of fresh air in Tekai's otherwise friendless life.
Tekai wrinkled his nose at the sour smell, but didn't let any frown show on his face as he politely bowed to the one man-outside of his secret helper-from the family to show him any type of compassion.
“Ah, ah, none of that now.” Uncle lifted Tekai up, and pulled him into a hug.
“But it isn't proper! What if the elders censur you again for misconduct?” Tekai glanced around at the servants whispering and gossiping around them. The last time Uncle had been chastised, he had been sent out on a mission that took him away for 4 months!
“Bah, do not worry about me. Besides, who would dare talk?” Bohra glanced at the civilians nearby, causing them to hurriedly leave the scene.
“I guess today is the big day, so it hardly matters…say, Uncle, how come you never taught me any jutsu? You can tell me now that I'm hatching a companion, right?” Tekai asked.
“Haha, you have grown so tall, Little Dragon! It is as I always say-”
“A dragon grows spicier the older he gets. I know, I know.” Tekai interrupted the older man with an annoyed expression.
No matter the world or generation, family elders would always repeat themselves with old sayings and idioms.
“Tekai.” Uncle lowered his gourd, and wiped his chin clean of any liquid. An uncharacteristically serious expression was on his face.
“Uncle.” Tekai felt the air shift, and he looked up to the man who had instructed him with respect.
“The Dragon Dance is the foundation of every technique. Do not ever forget that.” Uncle continued being serious, but then a big goofy smile spread from ear to ear as he eyed a passing lady.
Noticing the waterfall headband, and a symbol of a politoed stitched to her clothing, Tekai snickered.
“She is a kunoichi sworn to the clan, Uncle. Forbidden from lying with a Tatsushiro, what are you thinking?” Tekai rolled his eyes at this perverted old drunk in exasperation.
At that moment, fireworks exploded in the sky, signaling the beginning of the ceremony.
“Oh no, it's begun!” Tekai worried out loud.
He knew he had been excluded from the event deliberately, but he had been waiting here for Uncle Borah to escort him.
Little did he know his drunkard Uncle would be so unreliable!
“Come now, young Tekai. We will not be late. And remember, do your best, and focus on the Dragon Dance, it will see you through even the most difficult of trials.” Bohra laughed, took a swig of his drink with one hand, and grabbed onto Tekai with the other.
They then disappeared in a flash of motion.
One queasy, brief, yet high speed journey later, and Tekai found himself dumped onto the ground next to 24 other children.
Dazedly looking around, Tekai found himself in front of the entrance to a massive cave. Above which, a mighty waterfall was crashing down all around.
It was the entrance to their clan's most holy site, the Dragons Den.
Surrounding them, there was a large venue all turning out to see the children hatch their eggs. About 200~ Ryu Clan members all dressed in fine cloaks, a few hundred armed & armored retainers, a dozen ninja from various villages, some merchants/foreign dignitaries, and a few thousand citizens of Blackthorn were in attendance.
In short, a decent chunk of the Ryu Clans power base that weren't out on a mission, or guarding another location had gathered for this important event.
Blinking his eyes, he saw the angered scowls of two wrinkly old elders, and a neutral expressioned, hunched, staff wielding, bushy-haired, ancient looking man standing between them.
The hunched man was someone he had only seen from afar, it was his grandfather!
“Clan Lord!” Tekai swiftly got down on one knee, and bowed.
“This is highly irregular, Clan Lord, and is an embarrassment to our guests.” One elder spoke in disapproval, and gestured towards the foreign shinobi.
“Tradition demands this Black Mark be dismissed from such a holy event. Besides, only those who can perform the Dragon Dance are permitted the opportunity of this sacred venue!” The other elder demanded.
“Who says the old man's grandson doesn't know the Dragon Dance?” Uncle took a swig of his gourd and burped.
The two elders shared a look, and seemed as if they were going to say something, but a voice spoke before they could.
“Hrm. What do you think, Lance?” The old hunched man, and acting Clan Lord asked.
“If he knows the dance, he must be accepted.” A young man's voice spoke up.
“Show them, Tekai.” Uncle nudged him in the side.
Tekai rose from his bow, and stood to see who had vouched for him.
Standing next to the elders, a cloaked teen with spiky reddish-pink hair was crossing his arms, gazing intently at Tekai.
This was the young master of the clan. He was also Tekai's older half brother, Lance. When he was very young, this brother of his had taught him reading and writing. But as he grew older, he saw Lance less and less. By now, he couldn't remember the last time they had spoken to one another.
He had initially been super excited to learn one of the Champions from the games was his relative, but reality proved that distance and time could make even blood brothers distant.
“Well?” One of the elders demanded.
With all eyes on him, Tekai firmed his heart, and ignored the feelings of the past. He then started to move, and perfectly performed the Dragon Dance.
A blue aura began to coalesce around him as he lost himself in the move he had practiced thousands of times.
In fact, he felt as if he had something to prove, and pushed himself harder than he ever had before. Black clouds began to rumble around his form, and Tekai felt a stronger invigorating boost to his chakra, strength, and speed than at any previous time when he had tried the Dragon Dance.
A moment later, a bright purple-blue blast of lightning entered his sight, and thunder resounded in his ears. Tekai found himself on his back in a daze. Pain filled his chest, and he felt his vision almost go to black for a few seconds.
All were silent at the unexpected event.
“It seems the Ryu Clan are blessed with another Rising Dragon. Please, accept Konoha's appreciation.” A young, busty blonde woman that Tekai belatedly realized was Tsunade bowed.
By her side was a bored looking Jiraiya, and a leering Orochimaru. But Tekai didn't care to watch their expressions as his chest amplified in pain, and he felt strangely invigorated?
Was this lightning actually a good thing?!
Tekai felt as if his senses had briefly amplified, as if everything were clearer, sharper…but that also applied to the pain he felt too!
Biting his bottom lip and clenching his fists tight, Tekai tried his best not to cause even more of a scene, and nix his chance to hatch an egg.
‘Be strong dude. You have to be strong.’ Tekai thought to himself, and stood up with an extreme amount of effort.
‘Hrm? What's this soft pillow?’ Tekai dazedly thought as he rocked back and forth like a drunkard.
“You honor us, Lady Tsunade. Please excuse our uncouth squabbling.” The hunched Clan Lord nodded toward her in return.
Tekai rapidly blinked his eyes, and caught a good natured smile on Tsunade's face as she hovered over him. A second later, a healing green glow erupted from her hands, and Tekai felt as if he hadn't been hurt at all.
“Thank Lady Senju.” Uncle Bohra whispered, breaking Tekai out of his thoughts.
‘Is that a hint of bitterness I detect in your voice, Uncle?’ Tekai thought as he stared at his Uncle in silence.
Was there some underlying tension between the Ryu and the Senju?
A nudge to the side, and Tekai was broken from his daze.
“Ah! Thank you, Lady Senju!” Tekai hastily got to his feet, only to deeply bow.
“No need.” The lady waved her hand back and forth as if it weren't a big deal.
“Please, continue with your ceremony, Lord Tatsushiro. The children are the stars of this show, I do not wish to interrupt this sacred event.” Tsunade backed away.
“Of course, Lady Senju. Ahem. Children of Blackthorn, step forth, and seize your destiny.” Grandpa Tatsushiro coughed, and gestured towards the children.
Tekai blinked his eyes, and only now saw that a few dozen Pokémon eggs were laid out in front of them.
Already, several kids had moved to an egg, and began to perform the Dragon Dance with them in hand.
After the chakra merged with the egg, it would rock back and forth before ultimately hatching.
Several baby Pokémon burst out, and Tekai witnessed many dragon type/dragon adjacent Pokémon emerge. The likes of charmander, swablu, and bagon were relatively rare, whilst dratini was the most common, and sought after. Every time someone hatched a dratini, they were looked upon with favor, and the crowd of retainers would cheer the loudest.
Suddenly, there were only two people left who hadn't gone forward to claim an egg.
Tekai felt an ice cold glare coming from his side.
Turning to look, he saw a blue haired girl who seemed familiar. He had only seen her from a distance, and had never spoken to her, but her name was Clair.
She was the granddaughter of one of the elders. Once, when guests from the Hidden Cloud had visited, he had seen her easily beat up some Genin, and overcome a Chunin in a spar. She was considered a true prodigy. Tekai figured she would be up there with the likes of kid Orochimaru in skill.
The blue haired girl was every bit the prim and proper stereotype of royalty. If there was a human embodiment representing the pride and arrogance of a Dragon, it would certainly be Clair!
“Just because you can summon the black clouds does not make you special. If you want to go last and embarrass yourself, then by all means.” Clair tossed her hair aside, and confidently picked up an egg.
Tekai shrugged his shoulders, and decided he didn't need to stall this out. He eagerly searched through the eggs, and let the chakra in his hand brush up against egg after egg like the scrolls had taught him.
His chakra was unique, and it would find the best suited partner for him. The kekkei genkai of the Ryu Clan was unique, in that all members had Dragon type chakra as their primary nature.
Most Ryo clansmen also had Wind or Water as their secondary nature, which was a big deal when determining which egg might get chosen.
The Dragon Dance, meanwhile, served as a means to strengthen this Dragon type chakra, and explained why, despite being a 12 year old boy, he could perform incredible physical feats.
Eventually, after searching for what felt like hours, but likely was only ten minutes, he came across an egg at the back of the pile that he felt an affinity with.
Picking it up, he began the Dragon Dance in an effort to hatch it.
It began to move as his chakra flowed within, but as it rocked back and forth, it slowly started to stop, seemingly uninterested in hatching.
The more time that elapsed with nothing happening, he began to feel some worry in his heart. He had seen someone fail to hatch an egg before. The kid was so distraught, he had dashed his head upon the rocks, rather than dishonor the clan any further.
The culture in this world was insane, what with child soldiers, and entire branches of government being dedicated to torture or Anbu. Pokémon training, Ghost types, and Legendaries just added a whole nother dimension of ‘fucked up’ to the messed up death world that was Naruto.
Shaking his head, Tekai strained to put more of his chakra into the egg, but no matter how much he inputted, nothing happened.
‘Why isn't the egg hatching? Come on little guy, push!’ Tekai thought to himself in a panic.
Already, several of the other children were looking at him with looks of schadenfreude, and several retainers were muttering in the background.
The pair of elders were more reserved in their mockery, but Tekai could feel their self satisfied pleasure at his misfortune from where he was at.
Every second that ticked by, Tekai became more and more forlorn as the movement in the egg decreased further and further. If he failed now, he would be seen as a completely lost cause, and never have an opportunity to learn the true secrets of his clan!
Was all the effort he had put into practicing the Dragon Dance pointless?
When Tekai was in the depths of despair, a voice pierced his uncertainty.
“Do it!” The shout figuratively sent electricity up Tekai's spine, and broke his fugue.
Briefly looking up from his dance, Tekai saw Lance crossing his arms and looking down on him. Black clouds swirled around his form just like what Tekai had done earlier when he pushed himself to his limits.
Tekai gritted his teeth, and decided to take a chance.
Going through the motions, he pushed his Dragon Dance to the next level, and summoned those black clouds again.
This time when the uncontrollable bolt of lightning sprang up, it struck his egg.
‘Oh no!’ Tekai worried.
However, the egg began to shake, and responded positively to this outburst!
Emboldened, Tekai moved faster than he ever had before, and hit the egg twice, thrice, four more times!
Upon the fourth bolt, the egg cracked open, and a golden light shone upon the venu.
“Shiny! He hatched a shiny!” One of the children shouted in shocked amazement.
Even his grandpa, and the elders leaned forward in anticipation at what would emerge from the egg.
“Karp, karp!” The sound of the Pokémon's call came out.
“Tch, just some magikarp trash.” A clan member tsked.
“Magikarps evolution is powerful, but to hatch one as your starter Pokémon, how unlucky could one person be?” Jiraiya muttered in pity.
“Fascinating.” Orochimaru leered.
All the fanfare and excitement died down and the people actively began to ignore Tekai, or in some cases, scold him.
Tekai didn't care about any of this, as he felt his chakra merge with the magikarp, and a bond developed between them. One in which emotions and basic thoughts could be freely shared so long as they were near one another.
He transmitted warmth, and acceptance towards the fish, and held him in his arms as if he were holding on to a precious baby.
“Karp, karp.” The magikarp happily flopped around in Tekai's arms, and reciprocated said feelings.
At the same time, chakra spread from the Pokémon to Tekai. He suddenly felt that if he was to go swimming again, he wouldn't be able to drown, and he would move much faster than his previous top speed.
‘This must be the shared ability!’ Tekai thought to himself.
In the scrolls, he learned many things, like Pokémon growing stronger with their trainer, and people being limited to binding with 6 Pokémon at a time due to some limit within the body.
But what really interested him right now, was that when a person bonded with a Pokémon, they would inherit their ability!
In the games, each Pokémon caught had an ability, this carried over to the world of Naruto, and Tekai must have received the Swift Swim ability from the magikarp!
Rubbing his fishy friend on the scales, he admired the golden skin, and inherently knew that his new companion was a male.
“You’ll be a tyrant of the seas one day little buddy, so you deserve a proper name. Jormungandr is too obvious, so I'll call you Gilgamesh instead! Or since you're so little, Gil until you evolve!” Tekai happily exclaimed.
“Karp!” Gilgamesh chirped in a ‘fierce’ demeanor.
The emotion Gilgamesh transmitted was tough, but Tekai found it cute coming from a golden fish.
Tekai smiled, and when he looked up, he noticed he was no longer the center of attention.
All the retainers had gone silent, and an eager anticipation filled the air.
Clair was performing the dance, and her egg was about to hatch.
The crowd had preemptively begun to cheer once they saw a blue creature had emerged, yet when it was fully revealed, it was not a dratini.
In fact, it was a horsea.
All the fanfare and cheering suddenly halted.
It was as if the entire crowd had seen the ghosts of the previous Clan Lords rising from their graves, such was the stunned silence.
Not one person made a sound.
“Sea, sea! Horsea!” Only the baby Pokémon, freshly bonded with its partner chirped, and looked to the girl for attention.
Tekai saw this as a chance to make a friend, and placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort and solidarity. After all, if anyone knew what it was like to be a pariah, it was him.
“Horsea isn't that bad of a pick, Kingdra is pretty strong. Plus, it looks cool too.” Tekai gave his honest opinion with a smile.
“Kingdra? You believe in such legends?” Clair replied as if she were speaking to an insane flat-Earther. “I'm doomed, I might as well face the judgement of the ancestors.” Clair harshly pulled away from Tekai. Teary eyed, she ran into the darkness of the Dragons Den.
Tekai still had his hand held out, and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Did no one know that seadra evolved when holding the item known as a Dragon Scale?
While Tekai was frozen in shock at the revelation, he watched Clair run away.
Not a single person moved to stop her. Her grandfather didn't even spare a glance as she ran in.
Lance, the young clan heir uncrossed his arms, and looked as if he was going to say something, but Grandpa Tatsushiro slammed his staff on the ground, signaling the next event to take place.
A second later, many retainers in the crowd began to beat large drums, and created a thrilling atmosphere.
“Let the trial of the dragon begin! Return, worthy successors, with an apricorn in hand by dawn, or do not return at all!” The old man spoke with authority.
‘Apricorns, those are the precursors to modern pokeballs, and were used to store Pokémon in ancient times. Without the high tech appliances seen in the games, I'll need some of these if I am to catch more Pokémon.’ Tekai thought to himself.
He didn't have much time to dither around either, as some participants in this challenge were already going forward. If they got too far ahead of him, his chances of scoring an easy apricorn would diminish.
Tekai looked to the other children, and saw many of them were prideful or arrogant as they entered the cavern.
One black haired, red eyed girl elbowed him in the side as she passed by.
“Come on shiny, betchu I get an apricorn ball first!” The tomboyish, tan girl grinned good naturedly at him, then ran ahead.
Tekai scratched his head in confusion, he didn't remember ever seeing such a girl around before, why was she so friendly?
Peering into the ominous darkness of the Dragons Den, Tekai saw that there were numerous muddy paths, bridges, and lots of water. Dim lanterns were hung throughout, and the reflection of the full moon cascaded within, barely illuminating the scene.
This was the ancient shrine and most sacred place to his clan. It was the center of their power. The ultimate fall back point should the city be invaded, and the supposed source of all Dragon type Pokémon.
Yet from what he had read, the den also contained many wild Pokémon, and in many cases, could be as dangerous, or more so than Konoha's Forest of Death.
Holding Gilgamesh tightly in his arms, he was going to bravely step forward into the dark, when he felt a bear-sized palm push him in the back. Falling forward, Tekai slipped into a rapidly churning stream of water.
As he felt himself being carried downstream by water moving strongly like a flood, he heard the cheery voice of his Uncle echoing in the cave.
“A growing dragon requires strong nourishment. Feed until you are content, my boy. But be careful not to let your greed swallow you whole!” Uncle shouted after him in a serious voice.
Tekai wanted to curse at him as he fell down into the frothing white foam, yet he had to focus as he entered the cavern proper.
Surrounded by darkness and all alone save his Pokémon companion, his trial had truly begun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: I have 20 chapters in stockpile, and will be releasing them either daily or in batches.
