Return (2)

"Well, he's not the only one here, Sakura-chan," Okami said as he appeared right before them. "Good afternoon, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun."

"You!" Sakura shouted as she clutched her chest. "Stop scaring me like that, Okami-kun!"

"Where have you been?" Sasuke walked towards him and asked, "Anyway, when will you turn me into a Pokemon Trainer? Remember, you promised to give me an Abra as my starter pokemon."

Okami chuckled. "Don't worry. I will let you become a Pokemon Trainer today, Sasuke-kun. As part of my apology, I will give you a free Pokeball to catch one inside the Pokemon Safari. In fact, I can let you have a grand tour inside the Pokemon Safari today if you want to."

Sasuke tilted his head. "What's a Pokemon Safari?"

"It's the sanctuary of the pokemon that is being protected by our clan's powers. Think of it as an untamed land where ninjas could not reach easily unless allowed by me."

Sasuke snorted. "Really? Even the Jounins can't enter them at all?"

Okami nodded. "Are you going to train with Kakashi-sensei this afternoon?"

Naruto was the one who answered this time and sarcastically said, "I don't know how many black cats he had to avoid to arrive here safely."

Sasuke ignored Naruto's grumbling and interrupted their chat. "I assume that I can get my second pokemon inside the Pokemon Safari as well?"

"For now, I will allow it." Okami was about to show them where the Pokemon Safari's entrance was when he heard some footsteps from the main entrance and saw Kakashi's surprised face, who was headed towards his direction.

"Hello, guys," Kakashi greeted casually as he waved his free hand.

Naruto pouted. "What's the reason this time?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, the black cat I've seen yesterday brought some more black cats with him. I had to take many detours to avoid bad luck."

"Then tell me where they are so I can butcher them all," Naruto suggested as he folded his arms on his chest. "This way, you will never be late."

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "They're too nimble. I can't catch them."

"A Jounin can't catch a pesky cat?!" Naruto bellowed as he pointed his fingers at him. "Then I should just become a Jounin since I became faster thanks to my new pokemon."

Kakashi noticed Pidgey who was with Sakura. "You were successful in your eleventh attempt."

"Ugh! What matters is that I have finally caught my second pokemon."

Kakashi smiled and gave him a thumbs-up as he hid his perverted back to his jacket. He then shifted his attention towards Okami and asked, "When did you return?"

"Today. Don't worry, the barrier's stable enough so we will expect no berserk pokemon attacking us at any time," Okami explained.

Kakashi nodded. "That's good news. Will you go to Hokage-sama's office to report?"

Okami shook his head. "I still have many things I needed to do before I will report to him. Anyway, I am inviting your team to join with me as I visit the Pokemon Safari for the first time."

Sakura looked at Kakashi. "Sensei, let us visit the Safari, please."

"Yes, Sensei. Come on! We should rest from time to time. Pokemon sight-seeing is good in my case," Naruto stated his stance as he returned Pidgey to the Pokeball, which annoyed Sakura.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke and asked, "What's your opinion about this?"

"I say we accept Okami-kun's invitation. Besides, I still have to catch a pokemon inside the Safari as well."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I guess we could spare some time to do some leisurely activities. After all, we restocked some supplies with the intention of staying inside a forest."

Naruto jumped with joy. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei! What are we waiting for?! Hurry up!"

Okami chuckled when he saw his friend going outside the shop. "I guess we really have to comply with his wish. Should we go now?"

Kakashi slightly nodded his head. "Sure. Everyone, better prepare yourselves."

Okami led them to the backyard and saw Naruto who was waiting for them. Naruto was about to enter when something hard prevented him from moving forward. "Ouch!"

"Oops. I did tell you that no one can enter inside unless I allow it, Naruto. I still have to open it up for you."

Okami moved forward and was able to pass through the invisible barrier, which surprised them. He then allowed the four of them to enter the Pokemon Safari inside his mind. To lessen their doubts, he did several random hand seals and slammed his hand against the ground and shouted, "Open!"

As soon as he was done, Okami turned around and said, "You can now pass the barrier."

Naruto walked cautiously as he walked step by step towards the entrance. When he was sure that everything was okay, he rushed towards Okami and patted his shoulders. "That was remarkable!"

Kakashi and the rest followed after Naruto and soon, all of them were standing at the entrance of the Pokemon Safari.

"Before I proceed, let me tell you the rules when inside the Pokemon Safari. First, you may feed the pokemon that approaches you. You can also put some Pokeblocks inside the Feeders posted throughout the Safari but this feature is not yet available as of this time. Second, you may catch them using a special Pokeball called Safari ball, which can be bought at the PokeMart. It's not yet available but today, I can make an exemption and let you catch one using an ordinary Pokeball if you have one right now.

Third, no fighting allowed inside Safari. It means no Taijutsu, Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. If the guardian inside the forest detects you doing it, then by Palkia's Authority, you will then be immediately teleported outside the Safari before you can even hurt someone. Fourth, avoid shouting as much as possible to prevent frightening them. Fifth, you can't summon your own pokemon inside. And lastly, you may pet the pokemon if you want to. After all, these pokemon are not that aggressive."

Kakashi and the rest memorized every rule that Okami enumerated. When they were done, they informed him that they were ready to go.

"Good. Follow me."

Okami led them through a narrow passage and appeared right at a grassland filled with pokemon. There was a signpost at the end of the passage, with a message that said 'Area 1'. At the eastmost part of the grassland was a simple house painted with brown and green. At the middle of the field was a small shed.

There were a few Caterpies and Rattatas strolling by. Pidgeys flew from one tree to the other while several Butterfrees were seen hovering through the grasses. A few Metapods were standing still beside the grass patches. Even a few Bulbasaurs were seen playing with each other as they waved their vines. At the leftmost area, there were two Jigglypuffs sharing a fruit.

Sakura felt a warmth inside her heart as she saw the cuteness of the pokemon. She looked at Okami and asked, "Can I pet them?"

Okami nodded. "Just walk casually towards them. As long as you don't threaten them in any way, they will act friendly with you."

Sakura headed towards the two Jigglypuffs and stooped down. As soon as the Jigglypuffs saw her, they offered her a fruit to eat. "Thank you."

"Jigglypuff!" One of the pokemon squeaked as they continued eating.

"Hey, Okami. I wanna catch one," Naruto whispered.

Okami chuckled and remembered that Naruto was naturally loud. "You have another Pokeball with you?"

Naruto shook his head. "I have no money."

Sasuke snorted. "Even if you have money, you still can't buy one. The shop is out of stock. They only sell 10 Pokeball every day."

"Aw...well, I can still enjoy pokemon's company."

Okami smiled. "Since I am your guide, I will tell you the names of the pokemon and their basic Pokedex entry. Follow me."

"You've already known about Caterpie and Rattata. The round pokemon with Sakura-chan is a Jigglypuff, which has a very strong Sleeping Ninjutsu. They can lull their enemies to sleep by singing. The cocoon one is called a Metapod. Caterpie will turn into one before evolving to Butterfree, its final form. I believe that it's your first time seeing the pokemon with vines. They are called Bulbasaur, a grass/poison type that can call upon the power of the sun to unleash strong light attacks."

Kakashi scanned the pokemon Okami was referring to and stared at Bulbasaur for a long time. "Will they evolve as well?"

Okami nodded. "Their final form is called Venusaur. An average Venusaur will grow 2 meters tall and 100 kilograms in weight."

Naruto almost shouted but timely covered his mouth with his hands. After controlling himself, he whispered, "That tall?!"

"As I've said, pokemon are very strong especially when they are in their final forms. Some are even bigger than Venusaur. For instance, an average Wailord will grow 14.5 meters and weighs at least 398 kilograms."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "That's gigantic!"

"So do not underestimate any pokemon just because you feel that they are weak in their basic form. You'd be pretty surprised."

Okami then led them towards the middle area where a small shed was posted. "This is the Pokemon Feeder. There are some pokemon that are very shy towards any humans and opts to hide from their view. If you place a PokeBlock inside and wait, a rare pokemon might even appear to eat these candy blocks. Different types of PokeBlocks will attract different types of pokemon."

Okami pointed at the house and said, "That is called the Waiting Shed. Remember that your stay within the Safari is limited. If you want to rest but you don't want your time to be consumed, you may choose to go inside that house. But at the end of the day, you will still be teleported by the guardian of the forest if you insist on staying inside the whole time."

Okami then ushered them to a narrow passageway located at the edge of the grassland. "This will lead to the next area, which houses different sets of pokemon. As logic applies, the next place is called Area 2 since this place is called Area 1."

Okami then turned around and smiled. "That's it for the tutorial in using the Pokemon Safari services. I'll set your time for an hour so you may have ample time to visit anywhere you want. I will not join with you so feel free to go to any part of the Pokemon Safari. Don't worry if you get lost for you will be automatically teleported back at the Safari's entrance when the time is up. Any questions?"

Naruto looked at him with puppy eyes. "Did you bring any Pokeball with you? Will you sell it for us? I wanna catch my third pokemon."

Okami sighed. "Just this once. Just pay 2,000 Ryo and I can give you four Pokeball so that everyone can experience how to catch one."

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura stared at Kakashi with pleading looks. When Kakashi noticed that he was put on the spot, he gave a deep sigh. "Fine."

Naruto and Sakura clapped their hands while Sasuke smiled for the first time today.

"Should I pay it now?" Kakashi asked.

Okami nodded. "Money makes business."

Kakashi took out the exact paper bills and gave it to the boy.

Okami received the money and placed it inside his pocket while summoning the Pokemon App and pressed the PokeMart Tab. He exchanged the money with four Pokeballs and they appeared right before him as it floated.

They got their own Pokeball, each having their own thoughts toward the round device.

Okami remembered something and called Sasuke's attention. "Where's the Pokeball you won back then?"

"I'll reserve it for my third pokemon," Sasuke said with a hint of cunningness in his voice.

Okami laughed. "Anyway, enjoy your stay inside the Safari. I'll be leaving you then."