Author's note: I'm sorry for the huge delay; life's been rather shitty for several months so focusing on this story was a bit more difficult, but I finally managed to kick my butt into gear. I think this is the longest chapter yet so far, so I hope it makes up somewhat for the delay *winces*
Thanks to the following reviewers: swordsmanwielder; PinkiePieParty122894; Hardpointz; Tangiblerukipoker; Elsyra; Sebby-chan3000; rntobi; JaiJoyce; babyvfan; Pen-Woman; Nellana
Warnings: Second Gym Battle; some drama
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto owns it. I also don't own Pokémon, that belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and The Pokémon Company.
I hope you'll like this chapter!
Chapter 9
"How many times do I have to tell you it's not your job to greet the challengers?"
Naruto stared as an irritated looking red haired woman came through a door on his left, scowling at the gym leader. She wore a black bikini top and black shorts which ended mid-thigh. A Marill walked next to her, seemingly glaring at Suigetsu as well.
"But I get bored waiting at the gym," Suigetsu complained. "There's nothing to do there."
"Oh?" The woman smiled dangerously. "Then how about you start coming up with a new challenge then, hm? Weren't you complaining last week that you wanted to hire Trainers for the gym?"
"Well, yeah, but I can't really do that now when I have a challenger here." Suigetsu pointed at Naruto, grinning.
"Suigetsu, get back into the gym before I make you."
Even though she spoke calmly and even Marill wasn't looking threatening in the slightest, Suigetsu still looked a bit apprehensively before clearing his throat and crossing his arms behind his head. "Fine, fine, don't get your knickers in a twist," he snickered and nodded at Naruto. "See you soon, I guess. If you're not too dumb, that is."
He'd disappeared behind the door before Naruto could snap a retort for that insult.
"Don't pay him any mind; he's an idiot," the woman said dismissively, attracting Naruto's attention. "I honestly don't know how he ended up being a Gym Leader."
"Erm." He had no clue what to say to that.
She clapped her hands together and smiled at him. "So, as you might have guessed from our attire, this is a Water type Gym. You won't have to battle any trainers aside from the Gym Leader, because the Gym Leader is an idiot who can't get a move on with actually hiring Trainers."
"Okay," he said slowly, because well, what could he possibly say to that?
"Instead there is a short puzzle you will be required to solve before you'll reach the Gym Leader," she continued while Marill started bouncing up and down. "There are multiple waterfalls inside this Gym. While not large, the water pours down with such a force that it will hurt immensely if you try to step through it. So I recommend you don't be that stupid and you solve the puzzle like you're meant to. If you succeed, a path will open up."
She regarded him inquiringly. "Any questions?"
"No, I don't think so," he mumbled and scratched the bridge of his nose. Solving a puzzle, huh? The good thing was that his Pokémon wouldn't be tired from battles by the time he reached the Gym Leader, but he wasn't exactly confident about his puzzle solving skills either.
Well, he would just have to figure it out; he had no other choice unless he wanted to give up on the Gym Challenge. And that was something he definitely was not planning on doing.
"All right, in that case, I wish you good luck and if possible, take that idiot down a notch or two," she smirked and waved him through the doors behind which Suigetsu had just disappeared.
Naruto wondered what her position was if she wasn't a Trainer in the Gym, but then decided it didn't matter. He had a puzzle to solve, a Gym Leader to beat and a Badge to win. Right.
Steeling himself, he pushed open the doors and officially set foot into the second Gym.
Everywhere he looked he saw nothing but waterfalls and heard nothing but the deafening sound of water pouring down into the basins below the floor. In front of him were three paths, each of them having a pedestal with a blue button in front. The paths themselves had waterfalls pouring into the middle, hiding the rest of the path behind the curtains of water. Considering the 'puzzle' comment, he assumed he would need to press the buttons in the right order so that the correct path to Suigetsu would be cleared. Depending on the amount of paths and buttons present, that task was either going to be quite easy or quite complicated.
There was no point in lingering in front of the doors, so he stepped forwards, approaching the button in front of the second path slowly. Looking down, he noticed that the floor was entirely transparent and there were Magikarp, some Goldeen and even a Barboach idly swimming underneath him. One Goldeen looked up and blew bubbles at him, blinking surprised when they simply burst apart against the glass tile.
If these Pokémon were any indication of the ones the Gym Leader would have, he thought he would have a decent chance of winning. Magikarp especially wasn't exactly a strong fighter. Only his evolution, Gyarados, would actually be a force to be reckoned with, but would the second Gym already have such a ferocious Pokémon? Only one way to find out and that wasn't by dillydallying around.
He reached out and pressed the blue button, jumping in surprise when the waterfalls on both sides instantly died out, revealing the remainder of the two paths. On his right, the path split into two more paths with a pedestal standing in the intersection of both. The left path cut off immediately, yet had another pedestal waiting at the end of it. Hm. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, glancing between the two paths. Was one of the two new buttons going to act as a switch for the second path? Did he even want to take the second path? Nothing said this one would be the right way to the Gym Leader. Only one way to find out.
He took the path to the right, hoping that the intersection of two more paths meant that this was the right one. As soon as he pushed the button, however, the waterfall at the start of the path began pouring down once more, but the ones behind the pedestal didn't disappear, leaving him trapped between the waterfalls. Well, damn. There was no way they would actually have him be stuck between waterfalls, right? He hesitated, but pushed the button again and this time the waterfall at the start disappeared once more, freeing up the path again.
Right, okay, so this button wasn't going to help him now.
"The left path, it is," he muttered, striding over to the furthest path to the left as quickly as the smooth tiles would allow.
A couple of Magikarp followed him along beneath the tiles, but he paid them no mind, honing in straight to the button. Pushing that one down did lead to the waterfall on the second path abruptly stopping, revealing yet another button in front of another intersection. Naturally both sides were also hidden behind a curtain of water, because why not?
"How many paths does this Gym even have?" he muttered, glancing at the roof.
It was similar to a dome, showing a view of the sky, which at this moment was still rather dreary looking; grey clouds drifting slowly across the town. The ceiling was very high and Naruto spared a short moment wondering whether every Gym was this large or whether some Gym Leaders were just compensating for something. He shook his head briskly and retraced his steps to the second path. He was here to get their second Badge, not to wonder about the architecture of the building.
He was half expecting the two waterfalls on his right to stop working once he pushed the third button, but instead the ones at the intersection in front of him abruptly halted, clearing the paths – and revealing a straight path and yet another intersection on his left, because of course, why not?
He groaned a bit in exasperation and regarded the two paths in front of him carefully. Going by the first row of buttons, he thought it was safe to assume that one of the buttons probably wouldn't work to his advantage either, but the question was: was there some sort of order to them? The right button hadn't done anything at all; did that mean that the button on his right also wouldn't do anything this time? He hesitated for a couple of seconds longer, but then shrugged and strode over to the intersection on his left. If he was wrong then he simply would go back and push the button on the right; no harm done.
A Staryu peeked at him from behind a rock underneath the floor, spinning slowly when he reached out to touch the button. At least a wrong button didn't mean he would be attacked by the Pokémon here, which was a small mercy. While he had three Pokémon now for this Gym he was basically down to two, unwilling as he was to risk Vulpix. The longer he could conserve Mimikyu's and Pidgeotto's energy, the better.
His guess turned out to be correct and he couldn't stop himself from whooping when the waterfall on his right disappeared the second he pressed the button. Hurrying back to the path, catching himself just in time before he would fall on the slippery wet floor, he clenched his hands in excitement when he saw that the path led straight to Suigetsu. The older man was waiting for him on a raised platform, a small pool putting distance between him and Naruto. He smirked when the blond Trainer set foot on his own platform, which was a very light shade of blue. "I've got to hand it to you: I didn't expect you to figure it out so quickly. Usually it takes Challengers over an hour to work out the order of the buttons. They keep rushing back and forth, trying all kinds of combinations," he snickered. "Quite amusing actually."
"So the whole mechanics is just you amusing yourself?" Naruto questioned dryly.
Suigetsu shrugged and spread his arms. "Man, when you're stuck in a Gym, you have to find some amusement somewhere, all right? Thinking about changing it up in here, but for now it'll do. Now get ready for the battle of your life, because your might be smarter than the rest of them, but that doesn't mean I'm going easy on you!"
Immediately he sent out his first Pokémon; the red light forming into a Chewtle who snapped his teeth at Naruto mid-air before it fell into the water. There was room around the pool for non-Water type Pokémon to move about and Naruto threw his own Pokéball in the air; nervous butterflies rampaging through his stomach once more.
"Mimikyu, I choose you!"
A Ghost/Fairy type wasn't exactly the best match-up for a Water type match either, but Naruto spotted three Pokéballs in total clicking onto the belt around Suigetsu's waist and he knew that the chances of Pidgeotto being able to defeat all three Pokémon were not that high. At least not without heavily exhausting himself and that was something Naruto wanted to avoid if possible. Things would be much easier if he had an Electric type to take on this Gym, but this was fine. They were going to be fine; Mimikyu and Pidgeotto had this.
Mimikyu's shadowy tendrils instantly came to life the second he spotted Chewtle rushing towards him from the water, aiming the horn on his head straight at Mimikyu.
"Mimikyu, watch out!"
"Mimi!" Mimikyu deftly jumped out of the way; chittering when Chewtle couldn't stop on time and smashed his head straight against the edge of the pool.
Chewtle shook his head, appearing dazed for just a few seconds before he growled and jumped out of the water, charging straight at Mimikyu again.
"Chewtle, Bite," Suigetsu called out; the corners of his mouth curling up in a small smirk.
"Mimikyu, use Shadow Sneak!" Naruto ordered urgently, hoping the darkness of the shadow would be enough to disorient Chewtle. He didn't know much about that Pokémon, but those teeth looked like it could do some serious damage and Chewtle didn't look like he would let go any time soon once he got his jaw around something.
"Kyu!" Almost quicker than the eye could see, a long shadow stretched out across the floor, reared up behind the Water Pokémon before he could turn around, and smacked down forcefully over Chewtle.
Chewtle stumbled, blinking rapidly. "Ch-Chewtle."
"Again!"
The shadowy arm slammed down even harder now, completely engulfing the small Pokémon and Mimikyu jumped from side to side, keeping the attack going as Chewtle trashed about. Gearing up, Mimikyu seemed to gather all his strength before he suddenly used his Shadow Sneak to slam Chewtle against one of the rocks nearby the pool.
"Ch-Chewtle," was all Chewtle managed to bring out before he slumped down, out for the count.
Naruto brought a hand up to his chest, where his heart was hammering wildly. Okay, one down, two more to go, they could do this. Mimikyu hadn't given Chewtle the chance to hurt him, so could he risk keeping him in for the second battle?
He glanced at Mimikyu, who turned to look at him as soon as he felt his gaze. Shadowy arms danced from underneath his cloth and rose up in the air, wiggling back and forth as if to say he was feeling fine. Naruto smiled, still nervous as hell, but slightly more reassured now.
After returning Chewtle to his Pokéball, Suigetsu appraised him thoughtfully. "You know, I thought you were crazy for putting in a Ghost Pokémon of all types, but hell if you don't surprise me. You're interesting, kid, what's your name?"
Naruto bristled a bit at the derogatory tone, but answered, "I'm Naruto."
"Well, Naruto, you managed to defeat my first Pokémon, but can you defeat this one?" Suigetsu grinned; his eyes glittering brightly with amusement.
Naruto didn't understand why until his second Pokémon appeared, floating gracefully on top of the water. Clamperl. A Pokémon with very high defence, damn. This was going to be very tricky and he honestly wasn't sure whether he should keep Mimikyu in or switch him out for Pidgeotto already. Would Flying be more effective than Ghost/Fairy? Would it even matter with how strong Clamperl's shell was?
"Mimikyu, what do you think?" Naruto asked, switching his gaze from Clamperl to Mimikyu.
"Mimi!" Can do it.
"All right, Mimikyu, if you're sure." Naruto took a deep breath. There was no other way around it; they were going to have to bring out the big guns now. Scratch and Shadow Sneak wouldn't do much; Scratch probably would barely feel like someone tickling Clamperl to be honest.
So Shadow Ball it was.
"Mimikyu, keep aiming Shadow Balls at Clamperl," Naruto instructed. "Doesn't matter from which direction. If Clamperl closes up, keep aiming at one point to weaken him. Aim at the inside when he's open."
"Mimi!"
Mimikyu hadn't even fully turned around yet or Water Gun hit him right in his chest, slamming him against the very same rock he'd slammed Chewtle into.
"Mimikyu!" Naruto called out alarmed, his hand already dipping down to grab the Pokéball in case Mimikyu was hurt too badly.
The loud snarl escaping Mimikyu informed Naruto that no, he wasn't hurt too badly yet or more precisely: he was too pissed off to care about any possible pain. Before Clamperl could dive below the water or close its shell, a Shadow Ball was launched at him, hitting Clamperl straight into its head.
"Clamperl, Iron Defence!"
As Naruto had anticipated, Clamperl immediately closed its shell, protecting its vulnerable insides. He covered a sigh, grasping the back of his neck. This was going to be a long fight, but with Clamperl closed up, the chances of it using any kind of Water move had now lessened, which would give Mimikyu ample opportunity to keep launching attacks.
Which he did. Time and time again Mimikyu launched Shadow Balls, aiming straight for the middle of the shell. The explosions as the Shadow Balls impacted against the shell were quite big, water splashing up around Clamperl, drenching Mimikyu at times. His cloth had to be quite heavy by now and he was visibly growing more and more exhausted as Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball hit the shell.
"Mimikyu," Naruto started, wanting to call him back before he could push himself too far, but just then, a small crack appeared in Clamperl's shell.
The crack was hardly audible, just a small chip, but the second it appeared, a deadly silence fell over the Gym. Suigetsu's eyes widened in surprise and Naruto's lips parted, equally surprised. The small chip, barely bigger than a marble, invigorated Mimikyu and he started launching more and more Shadow Balls, crying out loudly; the Balls following each other so rapidly they almost seemed to form one big giant blob.
"Clamperl, use Whirlpool!" Suigetsu called out, seeing the danger at the same moment Naruto did.
"Mimikyu, one more!" Naruto called out excitedly, jumping up and down. "Wait for the right moment!"
"Mimi!"
The very second Clamperl opened its shell, ready to start a Whirlpool and drag Mimikyu inside of it, Mimikyu struck. Launching himself high up in the air, he created the biggest Shadow Ball so far and launched it straight into Clamperl's shell, hitting it right into its face.
Suigetsu called Clamperl back before it had even sunk to the bottom of the pool, fully unconscious.
"Man, that Mimikyu of yours is something else," Suigetsu laughed, resting his hands on his hips. "Never thought I'd see the day a Mimikyu of all Pokémon would trash mine so badly, damn!"
"Mimikyu is very special," Naruto agreed, smiling when Mimikyu jumped up and down, cheering.
He could only do a couple of jumps, however, before exhaustion fully took over and he slumped nearly sideways, catching himself just in time.
"Come back, Mimikyu, you did really great!" Naruto said warmly and Mimikyu garbled a weak reply before he let the Pokéball swallow him up. Naruto smiled down at it. "Don't worry, Pidgeotto's going to take care of the last one. You can rest now."
He clicked the Pokéball onto his belt, selecting the one of Pidgeotto this time. Suigetsu was down to his last Pokémon and Naruto almost dared to taste the victory. Only one more Pokémon stood between them and their second Badge; this should be doable. Had to be doable. They hadn't trained this much for nothing!
"Pidgeotto, I choose you!"
Pidgeotto came out of his Pokéball with a loud screech; the noise rebounding against the glass walls. He hovered in the air, his wings moving up and down slowly, as he stared down Suigetsu menacingly.
Not cowered by the glare at all, the Gym Leader merely smirked, thoroughly amused this time as he almost lazily threw his last Pokéball into the air.
"You got two down – but do you think you have what it takes to take this one down?"
"Shit," was all Naruto could mutter when the red beam broadened and grew instead of growing smaller and when it took shape, his heart got nearly stuck in his throat when Gyarados of all Pokémon threw its head back and roared loudly, almost shattering a nearby window.
There was a Gyarados close by his house, who had made his home in the lake. That Gyarados was relatively mild tempered and had even acquiesced to helping out Naruto that one time when he'd gone and defended Mimikyu from those awful bullies. Even then, however, Naruto had realised just how rare that occasion had been for wild Gyarados usually weren't very much inclined to help strangers.
As a matter of fact they were more likely to go out and scorch down entire villages if they got into a particularly nasty mood and this Gyarados looked to be no different; his small, red eyes fixated on Pidgeotto as he rocked back and forth, his mouth remaining open in a threatening way.
"Yeah, bet you didn't expect him, huh?" Suigetsu smirked, crossing his arms behind his head. "Think your Pidgeotto can take on my Gyarados?"
Naruto took a deep breath. "We'll find out, won't we?"
He and Pidgeotto shared a look and the Bird Pokémon inclined his head, chittering quietly. Naruto breathed out slowly; no, Gyarados wasn't exactly the best opponent for his team, but they would just have to push through this. Even Gyarados wasn't unbeatable; they just to find the right opening and strike then.
But how? Naruto looked around quickly, stilling when he caught sight of the patches of grass near the walls. It wasn't much, barely anything, but it would make do as a start.
"Pidgeotto, Sand Attack!"
"How are you going to do that when there's no - "
With a screech Pidgeotto launched himself at the grass, ripping through it to get to the earth underneath it. As soon as he got some earth free, he whipped it up in the air, launching it straight at Gyarados, who was so surprised by the unexpected move that he was too late to duck away and the sand hit him right in the eyes, making him snarl in anger and pain. His huge tail came up and slammed down onto Pidgeotto, who barely escaped the attack by twisting to the right; the edge of the tail clipping his wing slightly. Pidgeotto winced, but flew higher into the air, screeching once more.
"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!" Naruto called out. They had to use every bit of advantage they could get, including fast moves.
Pidgeotto got the hit, but squawked when Gyarados shot Brine at him; steam immediately rising up when it hit Pidgeotto's right leg.
"Pidgeotto!" Naruto called out worriedly.
"You sure you want to waste time worrying?" Suigetsu remarked lightly. "Gyarados, again."
The second Brine hit Pidgeotto straight into his belly, the force of the attack knocking him out of the air and flat on his back.
"Pidgeotto, are you okay?" Naruto asked, stepping forwards, ready to jump and grab Pidgeotto out of harm's way.
Pidgeotto coughed and hopped up, but while he still stared up defiantly at Gyarados, whose red eyes were gleaming almost hungrily by now, it was also clear that he wouldn't last that much longer. Two Brine attacks straight after each other wouldn't do anyone favours and when those came from a Gyarados …
Naruto would have to end the battle soon. Mimikyu was too exhausted to switch and there was no way Vulpix would be able to handle Gyarados on her own. A bit desperate, he looked around, trying to figure out what else he could do to turn the match into his favour again. If only Pidgeotto had some attack that could confuse Gyarados, that would have been very handy, but he didn't, so …
He looked up as if the sky could provide him any answers and watched how the glass ceiling gleamed softly in the grey light. An idea formed in his mind and he snapped his head back down, catching Pidgeotto's eyes.
"Pidgeotto, if you can, keep flying up to the ceiling. Do it with intervals but keep out of Gyarados' reach," he urged.
Pidgeotto looked up doubtfully, but then seemed to understand what Naruto wanted to do. He chirped, braced himself and then shot himself back into the air, flying a circle around Gyarados' head, who snarled annoyed. Up, Pidgeotto went, higher and higher, this time dancing out of the way of Gyarados' attacks, infuriating the large Pokémon more and more.
"You're only delaying the inevitable, you know," Suigetsu drawled, crossing his arms. "Trying to tire out Gyarados won't work if that's your genius plan."
Naruto said nothing, keeping his gaze steadily on Pidgeotto instead. "Pidgeotto, up!"
By now Gyarados was floating above the water, his long serpentine body wriggling through the air as he launched Brine after Brine, trying to snap at Pidgeotto with Ice Fang. He was getting closer and closer to Pidgeotto, becoming more and more enraged at the way the Bird Pokémon kept flying out of his reach with chittering laughs.
It was risky, pissing of a Gyarados when they were already foul tempered to begin with, but it was also their only shot at actually being able to win this. This was going to come down on the right timing now and his nails dug painfully into his skin as he watched Pidgeotto ascend higher and higher, flying circles above Gyarados' head.
At Naruto's order, Pidgeotto glanced down once before he shot up forcefully, aiming straight for the ceiling. Gyarados followed immediately, just as Naruto had hoped he would. His huge mouth opened, ready to clamp down onto Pidgeotto with an Ice Fang as he chased after the Bird Pokémon quickly, rapidly gaining on him; all his focus and ire aimed on Pidgeotto.
"Wait, Gyarados, don't!" Suigetsu called out sharply, finally realising what Naruto was planning.
It was too late. At the very last second, right before Pidgeotto would smack against the glass pane, he turned away sharply, diving straight down. Gyarados couldn't twist away on time however and he smacked full force against the glass pane, shattering it into million pieces. The impact was so big, he lost control over his flight and slammed down next to the pool; his head landing on several rocks, which burst apart underneath the blow.
Naruto covered his head just in time before bits of rocks and glass could hit him, but before the pieces could cut his skin, Pidgeotto screeched once more and created a Whirlwind, flinging the rock and glass away from Naruto. As soon as he was certain his Trainer was unharmed, Pidgeotto stumbled onto the floor and fell down, unconscious, being called back into his Pokéball before his head could hit the ground completely. Out for the count, just like Gyarados.
But unlike Suigetsu, Naruto technically still had two Pokémon he could use, which meant …
"Well, I'll be damned," Suigetsu breathed out, purple eyes wide with utter disbelief. "Naruto, man, you're going to make one hell of a challenge for the Elite Four if you keep up this strategy." He laughed, shaking his head. "Fair's fair, I guess. Here, man, you definitely proved yourself worthy of this Badge!"
The sight of a single blue droplet shape had never been so sweet and Naruto's knees gave out. He landed heavily on the floor, pain flaring up instantly, but he didn't care, because damn it, they had won! They had won their second Badge!
Second Gym Challenge complete!
"How's Vaporeon?" Naruto asked concerned after Nurse Joy finished healing his Pokémon. His legs had been as weak as jelly the whole way back to the Pokécentre; their latest victory feeling like a dream almost. They had taken on a Gyarados and had actually won, how amazing was that? Even more, Mimikyu had proven just how strong he really was by taking out two opponents on his own!
Two Badges was still far from the eight in total he needed to collect, but he was extremely proud of his team nonetheless. Bit by bit they were getting there.
"Doing better," Nurse Joy replied, but her smile wavered slightly. "Chansey talked to Vaporeon, but …"
"But what?" He frowned, wondering what could be wrong.
She pursed her lips together. "I normally wouldn't tell you this, but you were the one who brought him here yesterday, so … Vaporeon told us his Trainer had left him behind to get help."
"But why not simply put him in a Pokéball?" His frown deepened. It didn't make any sense to leave a Pokémon behind when you could easily carry them to safety and care in their own Pokéball. Why leave Vaporeon behind when he'd been so badly hurt? Why risk having him hurting him even more? And where was his Trainer now then?
She hesitated and bit down on her lip; a shadow crossing over her eyes. "From what Vaporeon told Chansey, he … Apparently his Trainer isn't all too happy with Vaporeon. Thinks Vaporeon is too weak and they're trying to toughen him up more," she said stiffly; her normally so soft features hardening now. "I don't want to even consider this notion, but I fear that … I fear that Vaporeon was left behind on purpose and the Trainer lied about getting help for him."
Naruto's heart squeezed with pain at that thought. How could anyone leave a Pokémon behind? Especially when they were hurt? And what was this nonsense about Vaporeon being too weak? That was what training was for, no? So Pokémon could grow stronger. No Pokémon was inherently that weak or useless. They all had their strengths and weaknesses just like people did. Had Vaporeon's Trainer really abandoned him for something this stupid?
"Can I see him?" he asked softly.
She sighed and nodded; a weak smile appearing on her face as she waved him through the door. "Yes, he's still in the same room. Maybe you can cheer him up."
He nodded, hoping that was the case and slipped through the door, following the same path he'd taken yesterday, past a couple of doors.
"Hey, Vaporeon, I heard you're – "
He'd followed the same path as yesterday, but unlike the day before, the room was empty; the sheets crumpled at the foot end of the bed. Naruto's breathing hitched.
Where was Vaporeon?
He rushed through the streets; his heartbeat loud in his ears as he hastily looked around, trying to catch sight of a blue green tail or a spiny back. Vaporeon couldn't have gone that far yet, surely? He was still recovering, there was no way he could have left the village already.
At seeing the empty bed, for one short moment Naruto had entertained the thought that perhaps Vaporeon's Trainer had shown up after all, and had taken him with them. Nurse Joy had immediately dashed that hope, because no Trainer had shown up to inquire after Vaporeon save for Naruto.
Which led to Naruto now searching throughout the entire village, worry for the Water Pokémon pushing him on. Vaporeon had been so badly hurt, he still needed more time to recover, time he wouldn't get if he was somewhere out there. Where could he be now? If he was a hurt Vaporeon, desperate to find their Trainer, where would he go to? Back to the lake?
Right as he was about to turn around and sprint to the lake, the distance be damned, an impatient female voice attracted his attention.
"Look, I don't know how you managed to get here, but I'm not taking you with me!"
Something in him made him run towards the voice, right around the corner and he gasped when he spotted Vaporeon standing in the middle of the road. His happiness at having found him quickly faded when he took in the hunched form, the way Vaporeon was trying to creep closer to the pink haired woman a bit further away from him. With every unsteady step Vaporeon took, the woman took one backwards until Vaporeon halted.
The hurt, confused chirp escaping him broke Naruto's heart.
Before he could think twice, he stepped forwards, attracting both their attention. "Are you Vaporeon's Trainer?"
The woman pulled up her nose at him and crossed her arms. She wore a dark red top and a black skirt; a satchel resting on her right hip. "Not anymore," she snapped. "I don't have time to waste with Pokémon that don't improve."
"Ever thought about actually training him?" Naruto smiled thinly. "Vaporeon, are you okay?"
The Pokémon glanced at him before his gaze switched back to the woman, trying once more to get closer. Again the woman took a step back, her glare so frosty this time that Vaporeon whimpered, cowering underneath her stare.
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" she demanded angrily. "You think you can tell me how to treat my Pokémon?"
"When you treat them this badly, yeah, I think I can," he said stubbornly. "Vaporeon was waiting for you the entire time at the lake! He was so badly hurt, why didn't you take him to a Pokécentre?"
"Like I already told him," she said icily, "I don't have time to deal with weak Pokémon. If he can't make the cut, he doesn't make the team, simple as that. He's lost way too many matches for me to still put effort into him."
"Well, then you're obviously not fit for the team either, huh?" Naruto snapped, balling his fists.
"Excuse me? How dare you - "
"No, how dare you? If Vaporeon was losing so much, that's on you, not on him!" he barked. "You as the Trainer are supposed to guide your Pokémon, you're supposed to train with them and help them get stronger! If Vaporeon couldn't win any matches, that's because you're a piss poor Trainer!"
"That's rich coming from someone who doesn't even have a full team!" she sneered, gesturing at the three Pokéballs at his belt. "You think you can train the weakness out of him? Be my damn guest! Pathetic losers like you and him fit together perfectly!"
He gritted his teeth, for the first time in his life actually having to restrain himself from punching someone else. "Vaporeon," he called out softly, making sure no hint of anger was audible in his voice.
Vaporeon turned towards him slowly; his black eyes dulled with so much misery and pain, Naruto wanted nothing more than to gather him in his arms and hug him tightly, let him know just how appreciated he actually was.
"Do you want to join my team instead? You don't have to," he hurried to say, not wanting to pressure the Pokémon. "But you can if you want to. We'll be happy to have you on our team."
The woman snorted derisively. "Yeah, like you'll be able to do much better than me. You couldn't even handle me in a battle now," she sneered.
"Want to bet?" he snapped and glared at her. "Come on, I'll battle you! I'm more than willing to show you what an actual Trainer looks like!"
"You've got a lot of nerve!" she hissed, stamping forwards. "If you think I'm just going to let you stand there and talk crap about me when you don't have any clue - "
The rest of her sentence was drowned in sputtering as she coughed up water, wiping her pink hair perplexed out of her face. She whirled around, her face contorting in anger when she spotted Vaporeon who was standing on all fours now; clearly the cause of the water attack.
"Why you damn -!"
Naruto shot between them before she could do anything to hurt Vaporeon, spreading his arms wide. "You take one more step to him and I will show you how much of a bad Trainer you really are," he warned her. He could almost feel his Pokémon vibrating in their Pokéballs, ready to take on the challenge.
She stared at him, heaving, and for a couple of long seconds it looked like she was going to reach for a Pokéball, sneering, but something in his face made her falter and she scoffed instead, turning around.
"Whatever, you want to waste your time with that good for nothing Pokémon, be my guest," she drawled. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"
She left without glancing back even once, which only served to further make Naruto mad. She had just left her Pokémon behind, just like that. How damn evil could one be to do something as horrible like that?
"You know, you took a huge risk, baiting her like that."
Naruto whirled around startled, watching a dark haired man coming up to him. He was rather handsome with his blue black spiky hair, the sideswept bang covering his eye; his sharp cheekbones and full lips. He strolled towards them, practically oozing confidence and Naruto didn't know what to make of him.
"I have to admit," the man smirked. "You've got a lot of guts, trying to take her on with your level."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded annoyed. "And who are you?"
The man's smile widened just a smidgen. "Someone thoroughly entertained."
Which was absolutely no answer at all.
AN2: Any guesses who the newest arrival could be? I'm off to bed now because it's way too late here. Or too early depending on how you look at it. More updates for other stories coming soon, I promise.
Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!
Cuddles
Melissa
P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.