Ooh, yeah. Aura powers! I know Lucario is the Aura Pokemon and that humans can have it too? (Or, at the very least, Ash has some) and it’s game canon that some people have psychic abilities which might be based on aura…
I like your idea, anon! From now on, the equivalent of natural chakra is aura! 😀
So obviously, Orochimaru is someone trying to experiment on people/Pokemon for aura. Which–and, I might be wrong on this, but is Ash supposedly the reincarnation of mythical aura user of the past?–kind of works with his original reason of wanting immortality to meet his parents’ reincarnations? Like, aura is linked with reincarnation somehow?
I don’t think Akatsuki have many natural chakra users, but the whole Kaguya/Zetsu thing definitely did. Ooh, maybe aura abilities was more common in the past but something sealed it away. Psychics now are kind of like the mutated version of aura that managed to sneak out of the seal–so Akatsuki is trying to break the seal but so as to keep all of the aura to themselves??
Shikako probably has the closest thing to real aura powers of any human alive now, whereas Naruto and Sasuke’s abilities are both activated because of Kyuubi or whatever Orochimaru’s Curse Seal equivalent is in this world.
Obviously, Team Seven is like the Ash of this world. Just split up that boy’s luck three ways. And, hey, you know what? A lot of Legendaries come in sets of three.
I was considering linking the Nara clan to Xerneas somehow, but that seems almost too grand for them? I mean maybe a looooooooooooong time ago to the point where it’s just a “oh, probably it was just a particularly powerful Sawsbuck and the story has been exaggerated over time” (lol, nope).
So maybe Shikako gets to meet or temporarily partner up with Xerneas, but no way does she actually ever catch it. And probably same thing with Sasuke and Yveltal. OR, maybe there’s a bit of a switch around where somehow Shikako ends up with Yveltal, Sasuke ends up with Zygarde, and Naruto ends up with Xerneas? Temporarily, of course.
I feel like that’s the way with a lot of Legendaries, anon, but I get what you’re saying. Of the XYZ Legendaries, I think Xerneas is the most elusive/skittish of people. Given that Yveltal’s whole schtick is, when it wakes up, it absorbs the life force of everyone around it, it would have to seek out said life forces to absorb. With Xerneas I figure it’d be cool to just make another forest uninterrupted and then go back to sleep. And then there’s Zygarde which is some kind of walking science experiment, so…
Maybe the forest that the Nara live in/cultivate was the one that Xerneas made millennia ago. There might be one tree in particular that is more special than the others, but the Nara have been protecting the entire forest so there’s no real way to figure out which one it is. And the Nara teach their children about how their forest is a gift from a might deer legendary (which, given it hasn’t been seen in literal millennia) might very well have been assumed to be an exaggeratedly powerful Sawsbuck.
With this in mind, I’m actually really fond of the swap-around version. Because if Zygarde is being experimented on by Orochimaru (and maybe the Curse Seal is having Zygarde cells injected into you?) then there’s Sasuke’s connection there. And Shikako probably was first on sight to Yveltal’s awakening–and because she does have aura and affinity for Dark Pokemon, maybe Yveltal kinda just: hey, a little meat puppet, cool.
And even though Naruto wants to fight and rescue her, Kakashi knows when they are in over their heads and rushes back to Konoha League to warn them/inform the Nara that Shikako’s been taken?
And Yoshino is crying and Shikamaru is raging and Shikaku just sits there stony faced, calmly listening. At the end of it, the boys of Team Seven carved out at the idea that they’ve left one of their own behind, Shikaku stands up and tells them to follow him.
They go to Sembei-obaasan, the oldest living member of the Nara clan who has all the oral history and tells them about the Life Pokemon that wakes up every millennium and can defeat the Destruction Pokemon. It’s a long shot, but Naruto will take it–he goes into the forest and searches for the Xerneas tree.
And it’s probably one of those Philosopher’s Stone type deals where you can’t get the power if you want it for yourself, but if you want it for a pure selfless reason you can have it? And Naruto just wants to save his friends. HE IS WORTHY.
“Always You” is hilariously misleading and romantic sounding if it were metaphors, but since Kankurou means it absolutely literally it really is a “Shikako what have you done?” song. Probably something like:
When the ground breaks, and the sky opens up, amongst all the noise, it’s always you.
Then the earth shakes, and the stars come to life, sword through the chest, it’s always you.
Doesn’t it sound like a really beautiful way to explain falling in love? But y’all know what I’m talking about here. 😀
Yep, Shikako and Gaara’s relationship really comes out of nowhere for the media. Like, first of all, tabloids mostly were keeping their eyes on the other two members of the Sand Trio–they never even suspected Gaara of dating someone. Second of all, Shikako is an unknown. She’s not a celebrity at all–outside of academia, that is–so it’s just like… whaaa?
I do think, though that’s they’d be a pretty careful about that sort of thing? Like, they’re not really a PDA kind of couple, and they always make sure Shikako has backstage passes and such, so on the surface reporters just think she’s a particularly devoted fan.
I more like the idea that it’s not the tabloids that out it but a fan who accidentally does so? Or it’s, like the relationship, out of nowhere. Like they’re getting interviewed and the interviewer asks about inspirations for their songs and their answers kind of accumulate into the idea that it’s the same individual for each of them.
And maybe some enterprising and devoted fan–not maliciously–pieces together from the different songs that, oh, the person they’re singing about would be this this and this characteristics. And another fan goes like, hey I’m looking through my pictures of the concert and I mostly focused on the foreground which was a selfie with Kankurou but now that I examine the background I notice that there’s this woman sitting rather close to Gaara.
And then it just starts pouring in–other fans are like, oh hey she’s in here, too! And then someone, probably an undergrad student in one of the classes she TAs for, is like. Hey, I think I know who this is–it’s Shikako Nara, etc. etc.
And THAT’S when the tabloids swoop in. And obviously they play on the whole “WHICH OF THE SAND TRIO IS SHE DATING? IS SHE DATING ALL OF THEM?” Because tabloids are awful.
And then people show up to her university. Non-students are trying to sit in on her lectures/discussion sections/labs and campus security has to basically assign her a bodyguard (her classes end up having perfect attendance without the threat of pop quizzes, though, so that’s nice. It’s less nice that most of the questions she’s fielding are about the Sand Trio and not, you know, curricula related).
Her friends are pretty good at helping her dodge paparazzi–swapping outfits with her or just getting in the way or giving her an escape route. At one point, Naruto takes all of his clothes off as a distraction. Sasuke just breaks their cameras. Kakashi, being somehow more and less subtle, just slouches around her strategically so any shot of her is obscured by his lanky body. Seriously, every shot he’s just there… somehow.
Shikamaru really does not appreciate these hordes of paparazzi harassing his sister while she does something simple like take a breather from all the research and rumors and get a fucking cup of coffee with him. He punches a paparazzo in the face.
The Yamanaka clan–along with being very PR savvy and already spreading word to stop stories about Shikako–has many members that are lawyers. Which is good for keeping one Nara twin out of jail and protecting the other with an entire MOUNTAIN of restraining orders. The Akimichi, consummate businesspeople, begin smothering the life out of the more venomous/less classy tabloids by getting advertisers to retract their deals and messing with their finances.
The Nara take care of their own, of course, and while I’m pretty sure they’re more into pharmaceuticals than private security, no doubt they have a decent amount of pull in certain areas, too.
And despite being musicians, the Sand Trio are very highly connected. They don’t like the way some of the tabloids have been talking about their muse.
The problem, anon, is that although I do also love Pride and Prejudice I’m really bad at imagining things in the Regency setting? Like… I love historical fiction, and I’m all for when authors write time periods accurately, but I myself cannot do it. I’m more of an “ambiguously olden times” or “non-specific modern times” or, as I’m about to go into “historical influenced by magic.”
I once read–and to this day, even if it’s quite short, it’s my favorite–a Pride and Prejudice fic that was an AU fusion with the Temeraire series. And it’s so brilliant because it is set during Regency period but it also has DRAGONS. It still has the flavor of historical fiction, but the existence of dragons means some details can be hand waved away, some deliberate changes are grounded in magical world-building, and you can play around with how characters might translate differently. For example, in that fic, Elizabeth is part of the Air Force (because, get this, dragons prefer women as their riders so a majority of the Air Force are women but this is kept a secret from the general public) and it’s fantastic because it fits her so perfectly.
Because, okay, the human relationships and romantic dramedy that is Pride and Prejudice is still one of my favorites without magic, but I don’t think I’d ever be able to do a fic entirely around human relationship and romantic dramedy without itching to throw in some action or magic/scifi. Also, I’m not sure what the Regency era (or the equivalent thereof… mid/late Tokugawa Period?) was like in Japan. Also also, it’d be easier to translate the Naruto universe into a universe that has magic as well? Actually, I think I did a three sentence fic of Team Seven as dragon riders here, but I didn’t specify it was a Temeraire!AU.
Hm… the thing is, even if I were to lean into the Regency-like aspect, the respective clans would have to come into play. They’d haaaaaaave to. Shikako is the only daughter of the head of the Nara clan, yeah, but the Nara clan are subordinate to the Noble Akimichi clan so she’s not really that high up.
Compare to Sasuke who is the only living/legitimate member of the Noble Uchiha clan which makes him THE most eligible bachelor. And then there’s Naruto who is also the last of his (most likely Noble as well) clan but the Uzumaki clan has long since been devastated which means he has no wealth to his name. On top of that his parents were probably not married or they eloped or–and is this fanon or headcanon or actual canon–even though Minato was well-liked he was still civilian stock orphan, so Naruto’s existence is no doubt scandalous not even including whatever the equivalent of the Kyuubi is in this world.
How would they even meet each other? Their class levels are all over the place. Their lifestyles are all over the place. Unless there’s dragons as the great equalizer. Yeah? 😀
Honestly? I didn’t really think of that universe beyond the most basic to fill the three sentence fic prompt. But now that I consider it, how did they even meet? How did they fall in love? How does their relationship work? DO THEY OWN ANY PETS? (The answer to this one, unfortunately, is probably no. Gaara is on the road too often, and Shikako sometimes doesn’t come home for days if she’s in the middle of a project.)
Let’s see… how did they meet? I know for sure this is before the Sand Trio made it big–because in order for Shikako to be Gaara’s muse, she has to be the one to inspire him–so that means they were probably doing small gigs, like at bars and stuff, or maaaybe a Battle of the Bands type situation, but I like imaging the Sand Trio doing small time gigs in bars. The kinds of bars that graduate students might frequent because it’s one in the morning and nowhere else is serving food. And sure it’s bar food, but at least it’s not ramen or an entire bag of chips or the iffy three day old take out that’s in the fridge of the shared kitchen.
So, probably, their very first meeting, Shikako is at the bar run/owned by… Anko? Who she knows because the kunoichi group is still something that exists–maybe as a sorority or some other club–and also Anko works in the psych department during the day? So she has an entire corner of the bar to herself just absolutely covered in research notes and she is mainlining bar food and coffee unlike, probably, everyone else in the bar who is there to, you know, drink. Maybe dance, there are some live bands playing, after all.
And the thing is, Gaara is in the band for the music. He doesn’t (and will never, really) be in it for the audience or the scene–Kankurou and Temari are performers, Gaara not so much–so when he’s not on stage with a guitar in his hand he kind of just wallflowers it up. And Shikako’s corner has been strategically chosen for it’s lighting/minimal noise/proximity to air conditioning, etc. So he wanders over and sits and is like… this woman beside me has been consuming nothing but coffee and chicken wings and he is absolutely baffled. And a little concerned?
Because Shikako’s starting to approach that weird point of maximum caffeine intake/sleep deprivation and she’s about ready to vibrate out of her skin, I swear to god, if this formula does not make sense in the next three seconds I will set everything on fire! And Gaara’s just like–do you need help? And then they talk, Shikako starts off ranting about her current project and how she’s been brought up to the ethics board because one of her friends talked about it in front of the wrong person and it’s not that she’s mad at Sakura, really, but it’s still frustrating and now she needs to jump through all sorts of hoops and redundancies in order to keep her thesis on track and then it turns into a proper conversation about, I dunno, those late night thoughts about how you ended up where you are now and about the people in your life and how you do what you can to keep the people you love because loneliness is worse than frustration or anger and Gaara goes home and writes a song called “Wound of the Heart.”
It’s not the Sand Trio’s most popular song, but years from now music historians will consider this the beginning of the Sand Trio’s rise.
How did they fall in love? Well, probably much the same as how they’d fall in love in canon. With Shikako being absolutely oblivious until the last second and Gaara patiently seeking her out and spending time with her and being absolutely inspired by her. At one point someone–probably Ino–has to point out to Shikako that literally all of Sand Trio’s songs are, in some way shape or form, about her.
Temari’s a little sick of all the blatant emotions, and while she can’t completely understand the songs she can get them enough to perform them. Kankurou, frankly, has never seen his baby brother pining after someone before and while he’s never been in love he does like how the fans think he’s a huge romantic.
They both write a few songs, too–not nearly as prolific as their little brother, though–and somehow those are still also about Shikako: “Quality of Mercy,” “Brothers, Sisters, Brutality,” “Spark Boom Pow,” and “Always You.” (That last one, oddly enough, is not a love song. It was written by Kankurou and mostly referenced how, every time something really bizarre happened at one of their performances Shikako was always nearby if not the direct cause of it).
As to how their relationship works. The same way a lot of relationships work: negotiation and effort and knowing that–no matter how different they may be, no matter how infrequently they may see each other–they still love each other and want to make it work.
Ooh, yeah. Aura powers! I know Lucario is the Aura Pokemon and that humans can have it too? (Or, at the very least, Ash has some) and it’s game canon that some people have psychic abilities which might be based on aura…
I like your idea, anon! From now on, the equivalent of natural chakra is aura! 😀
So obviously, Orochimaru is someone trying to experiment on people/Pokemon for aura. Which–and, I might be wrong on this, but is Ash supposedly the reincarnation of mythical aura user of the past?–kind of works with his original reason of wanting immortality to meet his parents’ reincarnations? Like, aura is linked with reincarnation somehow?
I don’t think Akatsuki have many natural chakra users, but the whole Kaguya/Zetsu thing definitely did. Ooh, maybe aura abilities was more common in the past but something sealed it away. Psychics now are kind of like the mutated version of aura that managed to sneak out of the seal–so Akatsuki is trying to break the seal but so as to keep all of the aura to themselves??
Shikako probably has the closest thing to real aura powers of any human alive now, whereas Naruto and Sasuke’s abilities are both activated because of Kyuubi or whatever Orochimaru’s Curse Seal equivalent is in this world.
Obviously, Team Seven is like the Ash of this world. Just split up that boy’s luck three ways. And, hey, you know what? A lot of Legendaries come in sets of three.
I was considering linking the Nara clan to Xerneas somehow, but that seems almost too grand for them? I mean maybe a looooooooooooong time ago to the point where it’s just a “oh, probably it was just a particularly powerful Sawsbuck and the story has been exaggerated over time” (lol, nope).
So maybe Shikako gets to meet or temporarily partner up with Xerneas, but no way does she actually ever catch it. And probably same thing with Sasuke and Yveltal. OR, maybe there’s a bit of a switch around where somehow Shikako ends up with Yveltal, Sasuke ends up with Zygarde, and Naruto ends up with Xerneas? Temporarily, of course.
Okay, let’s see, I don’t particularly want to assign different Elemental Nations to different regions, so let’s pull Pokemon from all generations, if that’s okay?
First off, single type teams just do not work because if Kakashi is any single type he would be Electric and there aren’t enough Electric-type dogs to make a full team. And I feel like him having dogs is more important than him having Electric type so he’s one of the Elite Four, but here that’s not a type thing:
Pakkun is most likely a Herdier/Stoutland–he was Kakashi’s starter, given to him by his father (a former Elite Four member himself) and, even though he doesn’t usually fight, his experience and knowledge is valuable.
Other members of Kakashi’s team includes Granbull, Mightyena, Furfrou, Lycanroc, and Houndoom. (Supposedly, Kakashi also has the Legendary Raikou, but surely that’s just a rumor.) Heck yeah, it’s an all dog team!
The Nara clan are known for their herds of Sawsbuck, and all Nara children’s starters are Deerling. Shikako’s second Pokemon was a Growlithe which has evolved into a massive Arcanine that likes cuddling. The rest of her team includes: Sableye (who can now turn into Mega Sableye due to the Sablenite found in the Gelel Shrine?) and maaaaaaybe Onix, Staryu, and Voltorb?
The Uchiha clans, likewise, used to give their children Fletchlings–even though there was no longer a clan to formally do so when Sasuke became of age, the Talonflame flocks stuck around and one Fletchling joined him on his journey. Other members of Sasuke’s team are possibly: Lunatone, Hawlucha, Cubone, Luxio, and Bisharp?
It’s said that, if one should be powerful enough to live for over one thousand years, that a Ninetails can rival even a Legendary Pokemon and develop psychic powers. Of course, that’s just a story. There’s been no sighting of such a mythical creature in generations, and how would a human possibly control such a powerful Pokemon before the creation of Master Balls? Naruto’s team includes: Politoed, Scrafty, Solrock, Mimikyu, Sudowoodo, and Emolga.
Probably the shinobi of this world are more like the Pokemon Ranger trainer class or police officers in that the Leagues/Villages of each respective area are in charge of making sure wild Pokemon and people are safe. The ones that end up on elite jounin-led teams are Ace Trainers.
Akatsuki are the bad guys, with some Oto and Ame sprinkled in for grunts, and the Kages are the Champions? And the other jounin sensei are the other Elite Four. So the coming of age for the Konoha Twelve is the first time that all of the Elite Four have training teams. And, like in canon, Team Seven’s missions are incredibly weird–it’s almost like they see Legendary Pokemon every other time they leave the village.
There’s no real plot, though, just fusing canon into a Pokemon world and replacing jutsu with Pokemon.
(Sorry this is so messy, anon, I’m having trouble organizing my thoughts for this. But if you’re curious about my choice in Pokemon for I can totally explain if you’d like?)
I think, if I were to write this, it would be more of a Naruto-style society except where Pokemon replaces chakra. Like, the shinobi are the full out teams of six battlers while the civilian are the same as people in Pokemon games who aren’t trainers but do own one or two Pokemon as pets. Then nobility is probably more about the pedigrees and possibly participate in the pageant-like competitions.
So there are still clans and such, and like in canon, being part of a clan is a head start–clan kids grow up around Pokemon their whole lives, while civilian kids don’t get their starter until after they graduate from the Academy? Hm… that’s a pretty big disparity. Maybe it’s something like… you’re legally only allowed to own two Pokemon unless you’re a League certified Trainer then you can get up to six.
So they’re not just thrown together with a strange Pokemon and two other kids on a team with an Elite Four and expected to roll with it. So students of the Academy do have one or two Pokemon, but they have to graduate to get more. Which makes more sense?
Okay, Pokemon team breakdowns:
Kakashi’s is fairly obvious, I think. There were some other dogs that I was considering, such as Manectric and Smeargle and Arcanine, but Arcanine went to Shikako because it fit super perfectly and I feel like Manectric and Smeargle are both too… cartoony. Also, I’m pretty sure if anyone owns a Smeargle it’s Sai.
The Nara with the Deerling and Sawsbuck herds were a must. And their medicine would no doubt be even more elevated by harvesting from a Grass type deers that also change every season. Arcanine, I’ll admit, is mostly because of the fantastic art by kristinaxx0 but the more I thought about it, the more it just kind of fit? Growlithe must be very common in Land of Fire, and no doubt Shikako stumbled on a lost Growlith puppy that just followed her everywhere.
Sableye as Dark/Ghost works pretty well for Shikako even before the Gelel arc leading to the stone and Shikako’s first in-world death. Reincarnated Nara, anyone? I’m less sure about the following three, but given her Earth nature and penchant for GIANT PILLARS OF STONE, I figured Onix would work quite well. And, well, as @to-someplace-else said, Voltorb? ~Self Destruct~
Staryu, I admit, is more to match up with the boys’ Solrock and Lunatone. DoS is Shikako’s story but there’s always going to be this back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke. So her star isn’t really part of the sun and moon of her teammates, but it still fits a little and I quite like that.
The Uchiha’s crest is a fan and their family jutsu are Fire natured and then the whole hawk contract, so even though it’s not as one to one as the Nara and the Sawsbuck, I think Talonflame works best. Lunatone I’ve already explained above. Hawlucha I think he gets later on, if not the last one he gets, because I kind of wanted to represent his time skip changes in DoS–hawk contract and ANBU and to reflect the fact that he is the taijutsu specialist among Team Seven.
Cubone is just, I mean, pretty obvious right? A reflection of his past as the last (loyal) Uchiha. Luxio is a bit of a mix to show–hm, how do I say this–what he inherited from the living. That is, the Chidori from Kakashi and coming to terms with the Itachi of the past and present via the Neko-baa and pawprint mission. Bisharp is… the way I’d express it, he would have had a Pawniard in canon or DoS but in DoS it evolves into Bisharp during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc and in canon it doesn’t until post time-skip. It’s a representation of Sasuke’s life choices, basically.
Politoed and all of it’s line, besides being the same as Naruto’s summoning contract, also has the Uzumaki swirl which *clenches fist* doesn’t drown me in Uzushio feels at all, nope, none here. Scrafty I think emulates Naruto pre-graduation, all mischief and anger and brawling. Solrock explained above.
I honestly think Naruto would empathize quite a bit with Mimikyu. Lonely but trying to make friends, disguising itself to be more approachable. Yeah, I think Naruto would love Mimikyu and vice versa. Sudowoodo kind of is a more light-hearted side of the trickster and disguise expert that Naruto was way in the beginning before canon just dropped that idea. But something that looks like a tree but isn’t? And look at how happy it is! And ~Konoha~
Emolga I’m least sure about, but I wanted a small non-bird Flying type and I also just like the idea of Emolga just chilling on Naruto’s head one second and then being all up in someone’s grill the next.
A huge list of Pokemon that I was considering but didn’t make the cut or didn’t fit one team member in particular under the cut:
Ahaha, yeah, the Absol as a herald of disaster just feels right for Team Seven as a whole. 🙂
I don’t know if Lee would have an Eevee, but I do like the idea of Team Gai each having one of the Tyrogue line. Not as their starter, but probably a gift Gai gave them when they became his team? So Hitmonlee for Lee, Hitmonchan for TenTen, and Hitmontop for Neji.
Lee’s team would be only Normal and Fighting type to reflect his taijutsu-only ways, whereas TenTen probably has some Steel types and Neji has some Psychic. Which also kind of goes with the whole “Neji always wins against Lee even though Lee is faster than god” given the type weaknesses.
Okay, let’s see, I don’t particularly want to assign different Elemental Nations to different regions, so let’s pull Pokemon from all generations, if that’s okay?
First off, single type teams just do not work because if Kakashi is any single type he would be Electric and there aren’t enough Electric-type dogs to make a full team. And I feel like him having dogs is more important than him having Electric type so he’s one of the Elite Four, but here that’s not a type thing:
Pakkun is most likely a Herdier/Stoutland–he was Kakashi’s starter, given to him by his father (a former Elite Four member himself) and, even though he doesn’t usually fight, his experience and knowledge is valuable.
Other members of Kakashi’s team includes Granbull, Mightyena, Furfrou, Lycanroc, and Houndoom. (Supposedly, Kakashi also has the Legendary Raikou, but surely that’s just a rumor.) Heck yeah, it’s an all dog team!
The Nara clan are known for their herds of Sawsbuck, and all Nara children’s starters are Deerling. Shikako’s second Pokemon was a Growlithe which has evolved into a massive Arcanine that likes cuddling. The rest of her team includes: Sableye (who can now turn into Mega Sableye due to the Sablenite found in the Gelel Shrine?) and maaaaaaybe Onix, Staryu, and Voltorb?
The Uchiha clans, likewise, used to give their children Fletchlings–even though there was no longer a clan to formally do so when Sasuke became of age, the Talonflame flocks stuck around and one Fletchling joined him on his journey. Other members of Sasuke’s team are possibly: Lunatone, Hawlucha, Cubone, Luxio, and Bisharp?
It’s said that, if one should be powerful enough to live for over one thousand years, that a Ninetails can rival even a Legendary Pokemon and develop psychic powers. Of course, that’s just a story. There’s been no sighting of such a mythical creature in generations, and how would a human possibly control such a powerful Pokemon before the creation of Master Balls? Naruto’s team includes: Politoed, Scrafty, Solrock, Mimikyu, Sudowoodo, and Emolga.
Probably the shinobi of this world are more like the Pokemon Ranger trainer class or police officers in that the Leagues/Villages of each respective area are in charge of making sure wild Pokemon and people are safe. The ones that end up on elite jounin-led teams are Ace Trainers.
Akatsuki are the bad guys, with some Oto and Ame sprinkled in for grunts, and the Kages are the Champions? And the other jounin sensei are the other Elite Four. So the coming of age for the Konoha Twelve is the first time that all of the Elite Four have training teams. And, like in canon, Team Seven’s missions are incredibly weird–it’s almost like they see Legendary Pokemon every other time they leave the village.
There’s no real plot, though, just fusing canon into a Pokemon world and replacing jutsu with Pokemon.
(Sorry this is so messy, anon, I’m having trouble organizing my thoughts for this. But if you’re curious about my choice in Pokemon for I can totally explain if you’d like?)
I think, if I were to write this, it would be more of a Naruto-style society except where Pokemon replaces chakra. Like, the shinobi are the full out teams of six battlers while the civilian are the same as people in Pokemon games who aren’t trainers but do own one or two Pokemon as pets. Then nobility is probably more about the pedigrees and possibly participate in the pageant-like competitions.
So there are still clans and such, and like in canon, being part of a clan is a head start–clan kids grow up around Pokemon their whole lives, while civilian kids don’t get their starter until after they graduate from the Academy? Hm… that’s a pretty big disparity. Maybe it’s something like… you’re legally only allowed to own two Pokemon unless you’re a League certified Trainer then you can get up to six.
So they’re not just thrown together with a strange Pokemon and two other kids on a team with an Elite Four and expected to roll with it. So students of the Academy do have one or two Pokemon, but they have to graduate to get more. Which makes more sense?
Okay, Pokemon team breakdowns:
Kakashi’s is fairly obvious, I think. There were some other dogs that I was considering, such as Manectric and Smeargle and Arcanine, but Arcanine went to Shikako because it fit super perfectly and I feel like Manectric and Smeargle are both too… cartoony. Also, I’m pretty sure if anyone owns a Smeargle it’s Sai.
The Nara with the Deerling and Sawsbuck herds were a must. And their medicine would no doubt be even more elevated by harvesting from a Grass type deers that also change every season. Arcanine, I’ll admit, is mostly because of the fantastic art by kristinaxx0 but the more I thought about it, the more it just kind of fit? Growlithe must be very common in Land of Fire, and no doubt Shikako stumbled on a lost Growlith puppy that just followed her everywhere.
Sableye as Dark/Ghost works pretty well for Shikako even before the Gelel arc leading to the stone and Shikako’s first in-world death. Reincarnated Nara, anyone? I’m less sure about the following three, but given her Earth nature and penchant for GIANT PILLARS OF STONE, I figured Onix would work quite well. And, well, as @to-someplace-else said, Voltorb? ~Self Destruct~
Staryu, I admit, is more to match up with the boys’ Solrock and Lunatone. DoS is Shikako’s story but there’s always going to be this back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke. So her star isn’t really part of the sun and moon of her teammates, but it still fits a little and I quite like that.
The Uchiha’s crest is a fan and their family jutsu are Fire natured and then the whole hawk contract, so even though it’s not as one to one as the Nara and the Sawsbuck, I think Talonflame works best. Lunatone I’ve already explained above. Hawlucha I think he gets later on, if not the last one he gets, because I kind of wanted to represent his time skip changes in DoS–hawk contract and ANBU and to reflect the fact that he is the taijutsu specialist among Team Seven.
Cubone is just, I mean, pretty obvious right? A reflection of his past as the last (loyal) Uchiha. Luxio is a bit of a mix to show–hm, how do I say this–what he inherited from the living. That is, the Chidori from Kakashi and coming to terms with the Itachi of the past and present via the Neko-baa and pawprint mission. Bisharp is… the way I’d express it, he would have had a Pawniard in canon or DoS but in DoS it evolves into Bisharp during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc and in canon it doesn’t until post time-skip. It’s a representation of Sasuke’s life choices, basically.
Politoed and all of it’s line, besides being the same as Naruto’s summoning contract, also has the Uzumaki swirl which *clenches fist* doesn’t drown me in Uzushio feels at all, nope, none here. Scrafty I think emulates Naruto pre-graduation, all mischief and anger and brawling. Solrock explained above.
I honestly think Naruto would empathize quite a bit with Mimikyu. Lonely but trying to make friends, disguising itself to be more approachable. Yeah, I think Naruto would love Mimikyu and vice versa. Sudowoodo kind of is a more light-hearted side of the trickster and disguise expert that Naruto was way in the beginning before canon just dropped that idea. But something that looks like a tree but isn’t? And look at how happy it is! And ~Konoha~
Emolga I’m least sure about, but I wanted a small non-bird Flying type and I also just like the idea of Emolga just chilling on Naruto’s head one second and then being all up in someone’s grill the next.
A huge list of Pokemon that I was considering but didn’t make the cut or didn’t fit one team member in particular under the cut:
Absol–the “Disaster Pokemon”–I figured Absol would frequently show up around the Lucky Sevens but wouldn’t ever actually become one of their Pokemon. Zangoose–basically a mongoose that hates snakes. They’re all anti-Orochimaru, but no one more than the others in particular, and probably it’d be Anko or one of Anko’s team. Chingling–for Kakashi, because the Bell Test. Though I wonder if there’s just this ancient Chingling that the League has as a mascot and if any team of new trainers can last more than five minutes against it, they get to be students of an Elite Four member? Lucario–for Kakashi, but I like the idea of it was more a temporary partnership? Or Lucario was Sakumo’s Pokemon and disappeared after Sakumo’s suicide. So there’s some connection, but its not really Kakashi’s. Musharna–for Shikako, because ~dreaming~… That was it, really. Nidoqueen–for Shikako, because ~queen~… and also since Nidoqueen is also a Ground type that could double for her Earth nature. Swellow–for Sasuke, it had the Uchiha colors and the Flying type-fan crest but it didn’t emulate it as well as Talonflame. Staraptor–for Sasuke, for the same reason as above. Gallade–for Sasuke, I wanted to capture the ability to copy taijutsu with Sharingan thing, but for Fighting type I ended up preferring Hawlucha for more plot based reasons. Pyroar–for Sasuke, as an alternative to Luxio, but I didn’t want too much Fire-type for his team. Ditto–for Naruto, more in line with his penchant for henge early on. Toxicroak–for Naruto, because ~toads~ but I don’t think a Poison-type really works for Naruto’s personality. Greninja–for Naruto, because, again, more toads (though I know technically its a frog and that’s different) and also because ninja is literally in the name. But then I realized if anyone is going to own Greninja it wouldn’t be Naruto, it would be Konohamaru. Ledian–for Naruto, because ladybugs are good luck?
And because I’m a sucker for Eeveelutions, but didn’t include one on any team, I think it’d be: Kakashi has Jolteon, Shikako has Umbreon, Sasuke has Flareon, and Naruto has… hm… either Leafeon or Sylveon. Or! An un-evolved Eevee.
Okay, let’s see, I don’t particularly want to assign different Elemental Nations to different regions, so let’s pull Pokemon from all generations, if that’s okay?
First off, single type teams just do not work because if Kakashi is any single type he would be Electric and there aren’t enough Electric-type dogs to make a full team. And I feel like him having dogs is more important than him having Electric type so he’s one of the Elite Four, but here that’s not a type thing:
Pakkun is most likely a Herdier/Stoutland–he was Kakashi’s starter, given to him by his father (a former Elite Four member himself) and, even though he doesn’t usually fight, his experience and knowledge is valuable.
Other members of Kakashi’s team includes Granbull, Mightyena, Furfrou, Lycanroc, and Houndoom. (Supposedly, Kakashi also has the Legendary Raikou, but surely that’s just a rumor.) Heck yeah, it’s an all dog team!
The Nara clan are known for their herds of Sawsbuck, and all Nara children’s starters are Deerling. Shikako’s second Pokemon was a Growlithe which has evolved into a massive Arcanine that likes cuddling. The rest of her team includes: Sableye (who can now turn into Mega Sableye due to the Sablenite found in the Gelel Shrine?) and maaaaaaybe Onix, Staryu, and Voltorb?
The Uchiha clans, likewise, used to give their children Fletchlings–even though there was no longer a clan to formally do so when Sasuke became of age, the Talonflame flocks stuck around and one Fletchling joined him on his journey. Other members of Sasuke’s team are possibly: Lunatone, Hawlucha, Cubone, Luxio, and Bisharp?
It’s said that, if one should be powerful enough to live for over one thousand years, that a Ninetails can rival even a Legendary Pokemon and develop psychic powers. Of course, that’s just a story. There’s been no sighting of such a mythical creature in generations, and how would a human possibly control such a powerful Pokemon before the creation of Master Balls? Naruto’s team includes: Politoed, Scrafty, Solrock, Mimikyu, Sudowoodo, and Emolga.
Probably the shinobi of this world are more like the Pokemon Ranger trainer class or police officers in that the Leagues/Villages of each respective area are in charge of making sure wild Pokemon and people are safe. The ones that end up on elite jounin-led teams are Ace Trainers.
Akatsuki are the bad guys, with some Oto and Ame sprinkled in for grunts, and the Kages are the Champions? And the other jounin sensei are the other Elite Four. So the coming of age for the Konoha Twelve is the first time that all of the Elite Four have training teams. And, like in canon, Team Seven’s missions are incredibly weird–it’s almost like they see Legendary Pokemon every other time they leave the village.
There’s no real plot, though, just fusing canon into a Pokemon world and replacing jutsu with Pokemon.
(Sorry this is so messy, anon, I’m having trouble organizing my thoughts for this. But if you’re curious about my choice in Pokemon for I can totally explain if you’d like?)
Gambling Away The Past was one of my earliest DoS recursive fic, so I hadn’t really thought it completely through because… well… no one had asked then, I guess.
I think, in comparison to Semi-Phenomenal Nearly Cosmic–wherein Tobirama summons Shikako and it turns out that she was meant to time travel because there’s ultimately only one timeline–Gambling Away The Past is definitely a different timeline. Is it an alternate dimension? I’m not sure…
Because having Shikako think about paradoxes at some point is kind of cool. By saving Obito, did she completely rewrite her timeline and thus there is no future for her to return to? Or does the universe self-correct and anyone who is fated to die will die even if it’s not in the same set of circumstances?
Or by acting, did she create a new branch/dimension–and, if so, is it even possible to travel between dimensions? Like… maybe going back was just a time thing, but if she tries to go forward she’s stuck in this particular branch. Whereas to get back to her version of Konoha she’ll have to go forward and diagonal somehow.
Like a train on a track, lever switching rails, once she’s passed the intersection, is it possible to jump across?
But, poetry aside, I have no idea what I’m doing with Gambling Away The Past.
To that end, I’m not if anyone can get her. Either they don’t know she’s gone, or if they do know they don’t have the skill/ability to get her. She probably only accidentally did the time travel, so for someone else to figure out time travel and dimension travel on purpose seems… unlikely?
She’s never been one to sit back and let things happen. Not when acting meant hope and the alternate meant nothing but regret and despair. She may fail, but she may also succeed, and isn’t that chance worth it?
Oddly enough, for this situation, the best choice of action might be to actually not.
Or, rather, she’s already acted and now she just needs to monitor the consequences.
Obito’s grin falters for a moment, turns into an expression of confusion not unlike Naruto’s until she explains something and it clicks.
And perhaps that’s the strategy she should take here: supporting doesn’t mean interfering, and it’s a far step better than just passively watching.
He’s as much a blank slate as she is, he just doesn’t know it.
“Sorry,” she says, for the silence gone taught and long, frantically trying to think of something else to say, “… what’s something you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t?”
Obito’s smile returns, bright and blinding.
—
Kakashi and Rin, following the sounds of laughter and cheering, find their teammates holding an impromptu play.
Shikako’s voice threads through the noise, “And then the princess turned into…”
“… a bear!” Obito chimes in, “Who wandered the lands, searching for…”
“… the famous magician of the forest.” it switches back to Shikako, and as they approach the see what’s happening. Obito creating a steady flame in his hand, casting a large shadow against the side of a huge tent which Shikako manipulates from her seat. At the moment, the silhouette of a bear lumbers between trees, approaching a tower.
“The magician was rumored to perform any magic in exchange for…”
“… meat!” One of the audience members yells out, the rest begin to laugh. Shikako obligingly makes the shape of a cow which comically keels over.
“How fun!” Rin cheers, winding her way to sit beside Shikako, the chuunin already there scooting over to make room.
Kakashi, unsurprisingly, hangs back, turning to the spectator next to him and asking, “They’re not being a nuisance, are they?” He is team leader, responsible for any trouble the rest might make.
“Hardly,” the man says, “There’s not much to do here when you’re off-duty. This is the most entertaining thing that’s happened in weeks.” He turns to look at him about to continue before a familiar something shutters in his eyes and he goes silent once more.
Kakashi considers leaving–there aren’t any more free bunks inside the outpost, but the jounin in charge offered a tent big enough for four, and it is late–but then he hears,
“Kakashi!” “Kakashi-kun!” “Bakashi!”
His team waves him over, even Obito, which makes the flames flicker wildly.
Some of the audience look tense, recognizing him, but for the most part they remain congenial, parting so he can get to his team.
A/N1: As part of the ask box advent calendar event, I am self-obligated to fill all asks for this month to the best of my ability, whether that means as actual writing fills or brainstorms of how I would fill it or rants about why I am unable to.
This one is pretty generic enough to be fillable, anon, so I appreciate that… If anything, it might be too generic? So I’m going to fill it as a ANBU partners!AU aka:
Further Down Road Three, (2016-12-10)
Sheep and Weasel are part of the newest batch of ANBU recruits, small and young and inexperienced. But no less powerful for the lack.
Even with hoods and masks and codenames, it’s an open secret within The Org who Sheep and Weasel are street side. And who their sensei is. Wolf has given his students fangs, and the closest to a security blanket ANBU can provide.
Supposedly, Raccoon was planning to retire–from The Org, at least–and return to general forces. But Wolf had asked him to stay a little longer–the Hokage seconded it–and so Sheep and Weasel never go on missions unless Raccoon is captain.
Their first mission is guard duty, hiding in the rafters of the Hokage’s office under the cover of a genjutsu.
Sasuke thinks this is no better than constant border patrol. Sheep is well trained not to complain out loud.
Weasel wouldn’t complain even if she were less trained, because Shikako knows what Tsunade-sama is playing at:
During a meeting with Councilman Danzo, Raccoon-taicho tenses minutely. So does Crow, their fourth, who has a familiar chakra signature and a second seal on his tongue.
—
Somehow, despite all the silence–maybe because of it–the two of them learn to communicate better.
On their third mission, this one outside of Konoha, Weasel purposefully turns her back on an enemy. Sheep will defeat his foe in time, will reach her in time, will protect her.
In return, she seals up the contents of one of Orochimaru’s auxiliary labs and razes the entire compound to the ground.
Soot-covered, sweaty, exhausted, Shikako smiles at Sheep from behind her mask and extends a hand.
Sasuke reaches back.
—
During kenjutsu training–sparring more than training, at this point, given the skill levels of both his students–Kakashi calls for a break.
One moment, his two students have swords drawn, each trying to score first blood on the other, banter exchanged nearly as quick as their blows. The next moment, they have sheathed their weapons, wordlessly in sync, shoulders pressed together and for all intents and purposes… cuddling.
He understands, though it’s odd to see from the outside: increased physical intimacy is a common side affect of being part of The Org. There are a number of cuddle sessions that he had with Gai that he certainly wouldn’t own up to if asked now.
Not that he would be asked. Anyone who would know enough to ask, knows better than to do so.
Still, seeing his students press their foreheads together–the only way for ANBU teammates to see each other’s eyes while masked–he feels…
Hm, maybe he’ll let Gai challenge him to a race today.
—
It’s honestly a little hilarious that, as Shikako her security clearance isn’t high enough to know what she, as Weasel, collects on missions.
And by hilarious, she means frustrating and annoying as hell.
It nags at her, over the week, while she’s on an Intel mission with Aoba-senpai. It’s to maintain cover, which means for the next week Sasuke is on patrol duty.
It’s not ideal for either of them, the two of them now trained as a pair, as a set, best together.
Shikako returns to Konoha with another scar; at the gate, Sasuke meets her with tired bags under his eyes.
—
Weasel takes a sword to the back and falls to the ground, still. Sheep doesn’t falter, goes after their enemies with the same, clear-headed assault as before.
If his enemies stumble over shadows, well, who are they going to tell? They’re dead.
Raccoon-taichou circles back around, his own nukenin corpse slung over his shoulder. He glances at Weasel’s skewered body, turns to Sheep and nods.
Sasuke pulls the sword out of Shikako’s back and helps her to her feet. They say nothing, but his grip around her hand is firm.
Crow returns, intentionally belated. After a pause, he says-confirms-vows, “I saw nothing.”
Danzo is not allowed to have any of this–secret abilities or otherwise.
A/N2: … this might not be what you’re looking for, anon, but I hoped you enjoyed it 🙂
… unsure where I’m going here…
JackSGreyson Says 