Author's note: I know this one is shorter than the previous one, for which I apologise, but I'm pretty tired and my brain doesn't really want to cooperate much. I still wanted to give you guys something, though, so here you have the new chapter! I hope to have the next one be longer again!

Thanks to the following reviewers: leighd1314; jessicachitwood95; swordsmanwielder; StraightShips . DontKnowHer ; Pen-Woman

Warnings: Nothing major, just a new Gym challenge

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 it!

Chapter 31

"First of all, very important, this, but do you have at least four Pokémon?" Rock Lee asked, rather intensely for such a simple, if odd question.

"I have six Pokémon," Naruto replied and blinked a bit bemused. "Why?"

"Well, before you can meet our amazing Gym Leader, you have to complete our challenge first!" Rock Lee answered enthusiastically. "Technically they're actually four challenges, I guess, but they do count as one! That's why you have to have caught at least four Pokémon already. Each part of the challenge requires one Pokémon and every Pokémon can only help you out once! So when your first Pokémon has helped you, they can't help you again until you meet our Gym Leader! Does that make sense?" He beamed, clasping his hands together. Something akin to chalk dust coated his hands and a quick glance at his ankles showed he had – weights attached to them?

"I suppose," Naruto said slowly. "So I can use each Pokémon only once?"

"Yes, one per challenge until you reach our Gym Leader!" Rock Lee confirmed. "Then you're free to get help from your entire team, of course! Any questions?"

"Erm, what kind of challenge is this?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Oh, it is the most amazing challenge! Of course it is, because our Gym Leader came up with it on his own!" Rock Lee basically crowed. "It is meant to test the bond between you and your Pokémon! They have to guide you through each part of the challenge; if you succeed, then you're ready to challenge our Gym Leader! But be aware, our Leader is very strong! So are you and your team ready to take on our Gym?"

"Yes, we are," Naruto said, because really what other answer could he give? Even if he decided to skip this Gym for now, he would have to battle it eventually if he wanted to complete his Gym Challenge as a whole.

"Wonderful!" Rock Lee beamed at him and clapped once with his hands. "Then all you need to do is - "

"Did you actually tell him everything or did you forget crucial information again?" a female voice asked exasperatedly.

When Naruto turned his head, a bit startled by the unexpected presence, he saw a young woman with brown hair done up in two buns walking towards them. She wore dark red trousers and a loose fitting white top. A Hitmontop bounded right after her.

"I told him everything!" Rock Lee reassured her.

"Did you also tell him he should read the instructions for each part of the challenge carefully?" She raised an eyebrow and came to a stop in front of them, resting her hands on her hips. "Because if he doesn't, he risks having to start all over again?"

Rock Lee immediately hung his head and actually sounded a bit distraught when he replied, "No, I'd completely forgotten about that part! I am so sorry, it is completely unyouthfully of me to have forgotten such a crucial part of our challenge!"

"It's fine," the woman sighed and waved him off. "Gai-sensei's looking for you, by the way. I'll handle the rest here, go on."

"Our Leader requests my presence?" Rock Lee grew serious at once and after bowing to Naruto, he rushed away, calling out, "Good luck with your challenge!"

"Sorry about that; sometimes he tends to forget an important rule of the challenge in his enthusiasm," the woman said dryly. "I'm Tenten, another employee of this Gym. I'll be the one keeping an eye out, just in case you need help or want to give up. Make sure you read the instructions in every room carefully, because otherwise you might have to start all over again, understood?"

"Understood," Naruto said, still a bit dazed from watching Rock Lee go through so many emotions at once. "Is there a time limit attached to this challenge?"

She beckoned him to follow her to the door right across from the entrance. "No, there isn't," she replied. "Just do try not to take up the rest of the day if you can. If we happen to get another challenger, that might make things more complicated."

"I'll do my best," he promised. He was all for finishing the challenge quickly: the faster they completed it, the faster they could challenge the Gym Leader and hopefully win the next Badge!

Tenten paused in front of the door and gestured at it. "All right, once you step into this room, your challenge will start. I think the first part of the challenge will be pretty straightforward. Good luck."

"Thanks," he muttered and pushed open the door while she returned to the other door, which presumably led to a back office or so.

He halted abruptly when he stepped into the first room and saw what was awaiting him. A gigantic pool connected one wall to the equally large windows looking out on the field next to the Gym. The pool was so large and so wide there was no way to cross the room without getting in it. Aside from the ridiculously large pool, the room was completely empty, even devoid of any Pokémon.

Naruto, who had actually expected to battle some Pokémon, was taken off guard and it took him a moment before he noticed something sticking to one of the lower windows. It looked like some kind of note and he walked over to it, figuring this was the instruction Tenten had referred to.

A good way to test the strength of your bond with your Pokémon! Choose one of your team who will safely guide you to the other side! But beware: you have to show full trust in them! Trust them to guide you safely across and the first challenge will be a success!

Well, that wasn't that terribly difficult. If he needed one of his Pokémon to carry him across a pool, then naturally Vaporeon would be his choice. As a Water Type, there was no better element than a pool for him. He was a bit iffy about seemingly not being allowed to swim himself? Was that what the last warning was about? Did he have to show full trust by letting Vaporeon do all the work? That didn't really seem like a fair thing to do, but this was the challenge and he couldn't exactly protest it. He supposed he was lucky to have a Water Type in his team; he had no idea what Trainers had to do if their entire team was made up out of Pokémon with a weakness to water. Come back later with a whole new team?

Ah, whatever, that wasn't his concern. He had a pool to cross with Vaporeon's help, but …

He walked over to the edge of the pool and estimated the width of it. Even if the warning of having to let Vaporeon help him hadn't been in place, there was no way for him to simply jump across. At best he would reach the middle of the pool before he would be submerged; it was still a doable distance with a Pokémon, but certainly not when doing it alone.

He unlatched Vaporeon's Pokéball from his belt before removing it entirely and putting the belt with the other Pokéballs into his bag. He couldn't jump across the pool, but he could swing his backpack to the other side at least. No way was he going to test the durability of a Pokéball under water at a Gym of all places, especially when he had no idea how long it would take Vaporeon to swim to the other side with him; this wasn't exactly something they had trained for after all.

Vaporeon uttered an inquisitive mewl when Naruto called him out of his Pokéball. His tail slowly swished back and forth as his black eyes took in the glistening pool with growing intrigue.

"We've arrived at the fifth Gym," Naruto began, attracting Vaporeon's attention. "Apparently this Gym's challenge revolves entirely around showing the bond between us. I can only use one of you once for each challenge, so after this you won't be called again unless perhaps during the match itself. Do you think you can bring me across the pool, to the other side, Vaporeon?"

Vaporeon chittered instantly. 'Of course!'

Naruto had to smile at that; while still wont to being a bit shy at times, Vaporeon had clearly grown in confidence in the time he had spent with Naruto and the rest of his team. It was wonderful to see him so excited about a challenge now.

"All right, just going to get rid of my jacket, my shoes and my socks as well first," Naruto muttered and hastily stuffed his gloves and his hat into the pockets of his jacket before he shoved that one into his bag, followed by his socks and shoes.

After making sure his bag was zipped tightly, he straightened up and picked up his bag, walking to the very edge of the pool. If he had swimming shorts, he might have actually considered changing into those, but he hadn't, so he would just have to deal with wet trousers and a wet sweater for a while he guessed. At least his shoes and his jacket would remain dry this way.

Grabbing the bag by its straps, he started swinging it back and forth, gradually building up momentum until he threw it away as forcefully as he could. His bag sailed through the air in a high arch and he held his breath, tracking it whilst silently hoping that it wouldn't splash into the water after all.

It didn't. When it landed, it fell down right on the other edge of the pool, balancing precariously on it. One strap slipped down and landed in the water, but as long as it was only that strap being dunked into the water, that wasn't too bad. At least it wasn't the entire bag.

He turned back to Vaporeon as soon as he was sure his bag wouldn't slip into the pool. "Are you ready?"

Vaporeon mewled his agreement and instantly jumped gracefully into the pool. For a moment he appeared to assimilate perfectly with the water, becoming one with it, until Naruto spotted his form doing a quick spin before a pair of black eyes peeked out above the waterline.

"Okay, let's do this!" Naruto decided to slip into the water instead of jumping into it, wanting to test how deep it was.

He had to start treading water immediately, kicking his legs back and forth before he latched onto the edge of the pool. Yep, pretty deep, all right. This Gym Leader was really intent on testing their bond, huh? Fine, they would show this Leader just how great their bond was!

Vaporeon mewled questioningly, butting his head carefully against Naruto's shoulder. Already his clothes started to feel quite heavy and he had to slow down the movement of his legs before he would grow too tired. In theory this challenge should be easy with Vaporeon, but in practice …

"How do you want to do this?" he questioned, still clutching the edge of the pool.

If he had had a Lapras, the answer would have been simple: just climb onto the back and onwards they would go. But Vaporeon was a smaller than a Lapras and definitely was not big enough for Naruto to sit on his back. So how would Vaporeon bring him across the pool without Naruto himself doing any kind of swimming?

Vaporeon swam a couple of circles, appearing lost in thought, before he returned to Naruto and presented him with his back. He made an awkward manoeuvre with his neck, raising his tail high up in the air until one of the fins touched the back of his neck briefly.

"You want me to hold on to your neck?" Naruto asked hesitatingly.

He received a very enthusiastic nod in response, which okay, he supposed that was their best bet in completing this part of the challenge. If Vaporeon himself suggested it, it should work out, right?

Naruto reached out with one hand first, still holding onto the edge of the pool with the other one, and curled his arm around Vaporeon's neck. Vaporeon chirped softly, the sound echoing in the open space, and swam even closer to Naruto, keeping as still as possible. Naruto took a deep breath, quickly released the edge of the pool and curled his remaining arm around Vaporeon's neck, feeling the slippery smooth skin underneath his hands. Holding Vaporeon around his neck felt … a bit strange? He was bobbing up and down in the water, his only anchor being Vaporeon himself who seemed somewhat bigger in the water now. Maybe it was just his imagination, though.

Spluttering out some water when their movements caused a small wave, Naruto said, "Okay, let's go!"

He had to keep reminding himself that he couldn't swim as well; all he could do was hold on to Vaporeon's neck as firmly as possible without restricting the Pokémon's movements in any way. He could feel Vaporeon's body undulating underneath him before growing firm again as the Water Pokémon started swimming, using his tail as a … propellor? Naruto had no idea what else to think of the way he felt Vaporeon's tail furiously move somewhere underneath him, stirring up the water around them violently and sending it splashing everywhere.

Naruto did his best to keep his mouth and his eyes closed, but he still ended up coughing up water by the time Vaporeon slowed down, announcing with a cheerful chirp that they had reached the other side.

When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw that yes, they had managed to reach the other side of the pool! He released Vaporeon and hauled himself up onto the floor of the Gym, reaching out to pat Vaporeon's head enthusiastically.

"You did an amazing job, Vaporeon!" he grinned. "And so quickly too!"

Vaporeon grew bashful at once again, but he still butted his head against Naruto's hand, enjoying the petting before Naruto called him back into his Pokéball. He stood up then and wrinkled his nose when he looked down at himself. He looked like a drowned Meowth, no doubt about that. His clothes were heavily waterlogged and he made an attempt at wringing out his shirt and his trousers, but it didn't do much.

Resigning himself to walking around as if he had just taken a shower with his clothes on, he unzipped his bag and put his belt back on, clicking Vaporeon's Pokéball onto it again. He also retrieved his shoes, but left his jacket and his socks in the bag for now. No point in pulling on those when they would just become wet as well.

Ignoring the way his shoes made an awful squeaking sound when he walked, he made his way over to the next door, swinging his bag over his shoulders. He hoped the next room wouldn't contain another pool; he had seen enough water to last him for a week at minimum.

The door swung open soundlessly once he pushed down the handle and he stepped through to find –

A ginormous block of wood towering above him.

AN2: Again, sorry for the shorter length; the next one should be longer again! Also, next chapter something interesting is going to happen; any guess what?

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.