Author's note: Day has been rather shitty, so if that in any way seeps through in this chapter, I apologise.
Thanks to the following reviewers: leighd1314; JaiJayce; Pen-Woman
Warnings: More Gym challenges!
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 32
How much budget do these Gyms have?!, was the absurd thought shooting through Naruto's mind at the sight of the giant block of wood blocking him.
First a gigantic pool, now a colossal slab of wood? How big was this Gym even? Was every challenge going to contain something ridiculously large? What was he even supposed to do here?
He looked around and saw a paper dangling in the air from a thin string. That must contain the instructions for this challenge then. He walked over to it and pulled at the paper, expecting to tear it away from the string. Instead, the string was tugged down as well, allowing him to pull the paper down low enough to read what was written on it.
Behind the block of wood you will find the path to the next challenge. To reach it, your Pokémon will have to help you get rid of the wooden block. Smash it, cut it to pieces, burn it, split it in two; it doesn't matter. Everything goes! Show the strength of your bond by defeating this block of wood!
Well, this seemed rather easy then. If all they had to do was destroy this wooden block, then his choice of partner was easily made. Who better to destroy wood than Vulpix herself? It was a good thing he hadn't decided to arrange his team around one Type only as he had seen other Trainers do before. Having only one Type would really put you at a disadvantage in this Gym for sure. Although he supposed even with a mixture of Types you could still be unlucky depending on who was in your team.
Vulpix looked a tad sleepy when Naruto summoned her out of her Pokéball, but her eyes instantly cleared up when she caught sight of the giant wooden structure in front of them.
"So as you can see, this wood is blocking us from reaching the next room," Naruto started to explain and poked the wooden slab experimentally. It felt quite smooth underneath his touch and he spent a couple of seconds wondering whether the employees of this Gym spent hours smoothing out wooden block after wooden block just for this particular challenge.
"Our challenge is to get rid of this wood in any way we can think of as long as it allows us to reach the door," he continued. "I'm not allowed to help you, I guess, because they want to test the strength of our bond or something like that."
Vulpix butted his leg, humming in understanding.
He grinned down at her and patted her soft head. "I figured, who else would be a better fit to get rid of wood than you, hm? You ready to burn a hole into this?"
"Vulpix!" Definitely!
"All right!" He took a step back and watched Vulpix trod over so she stood right in front of the wooden slab. "We're not working with a time limit here, so don't worry about that. Just give it your best shot!"
Vulpix did so immediately, shooting off an Ember attack first. The flame licked the surface of the slab, but it barely did any real damage. Vulpix didn't grow discouraged by this and instead switched over to a quick succession of Incinerates. These attacks did manage to blacken the wood somewhat, scorching a layer of it, but it became clear pretty quickly that Incinerate wasn't going to do much either.
Naruto wondered whether he was allowed to give his Pokémon suggestions, but before he could risk it and tell Vulpix to use Flamethrower instead, she braced herself, opened her mouth once again and a fierce stream of fire escaped her, hitting the wood right in the middle.
The flames were bright and hot to the point that even Naruto could feel the heat in spite of the distance he kept between himself and Vulpix. The wood groaned underneath the onslaught of the flames and the centre of it started blackening even further. The slab groaned when the first layer was eaten away by the flames and Naruto grew a bit excited. With a Flamethrower attack, Vulpix could probably create a large hole in the wood and that way they could reach the other door!
To get an idea of how wide the slab actually was, Naruto left Vulpix to torch down the wood and walked along the side of it. The wooden structure was already tall to begin with, but also quite wide, spanning the entire length of the room – and this one wasn't small either. Upon reaching the other wall, he spotted a small gap where the wood didn't touch the wall and curiously he leant closer. If he turned his head to the side and closed one eye, he could squint just enough to see that the gap showed a glimpse of a door. That had to be the exit of this room then. Obviously the Gym Leader was serious with the note stating that the wooden block had to be damaged in order to find the other door. The gap was so small Naruto thought only Mimikyu had a chance of wriggling through it and only if he was willing to ditch his costume.
Still even with how massive this wooden block was – and it truly was, where had they even found a wooden block this size to begin with? – it was still weak to fire, so he and Vulpix should have an easy time getting out of this place.
Except when he walked back, he found Vulpix panting heavily, her fire attack having been put on halt for the moment. Naruto checked the wooden slab and winced; even with a fierce attack like the Flamethrower, Vulpix had only managed to burn away a small part from the structure. The wood was either incredibly dense or had been treated with some kind of material that made it more difficult to burn down. At this rate it would take at least an hour if not longer before Vulpix would even reach the middle of the slab; there was no way Vulpix would be able to keep up the attacks for so long. Especially not a powerful attack like Flamethrower.
Vulpix seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because she was glaring at the wooden slab and her tails started to swish back and forth, showing off how upset she was.
"Vulpix, Vulpix, Vulpix!" Wood impossible to burn through!
"It is really big," Naruto said and pursed his lips. "And I suspect they put something on it that makes burning it more difficult. I guess otherwise Fire Types like you would have it too easy."
"Vulpix, Vulpix," she muttered darkly. Not easy at all.
Naruto grimaced. No, he supposed it wasn't easy at all. Vulpix did have the Type advantage, but with how dense the block was and with the possible treatment done to it to make fire attacks do less damage, even a Fire Pokémon like Vulpix wasn't having an easy time here.
"I can't call you back to have someone else help out, though," he sighed. "The rules say I can only use one Pokémon per challenge."
"Vulpix!" Can do it!
Naruto didn't doubt her persistence, but he had to be realistic here. "I don't doubt you, but I don't want you to tire yourself out either," he said and crouched down next to her, absently patting her back. "You already tired yourself out immensely; I don't want you to overwork yourself."
There was no point in beating this challenge if it left Vulpix beyond the point of exhaustion. He had no idea how difficult the actual Gym match would be, so he would like his entire team to be in full health as much as possible. Having Vulpix completely exhaust herself to the point she might actually faint was not part of the plan.
"Vulpix, Vulpix?" What do then? She looked at him petulantly.
Naruto bit down on lip and stared at the wooden block. To be honest, there wasn't much they could do here. Vulpix was determined enough to keep launching attacks, but who knew how long it would take before the wood was completely burnt through this way? He didn't want her to faint from exhaustion! He couldn't substitute Vulpix for someone else in his team either; the rules wouldn't allow that. If he couldn't replace her with someone else and she was at risk of exhausting herself … There wasn't any real choice left then, was there?
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't risk you tiring yourself out. I think it might be better if we give up here and train until you - "
"VULPIX!" NO!
Her unexpected outburst nearly sent Naruto tumbling over. He caught himself just in time with his hand behind his back and he gaped at her.
"Vulpix, there is nothing wrong with temporarily giving up here," he reassured her. "We're not giving up on this Gym completely; we'll just train a bit longer before we return h-"
"Vulpix! Vulpix, Vulpix, Vulpix!" No! Can do it!
She jumped up and scowled fiercely at him.
He admired her determination, but, "I'm not going to let you tire yourself out," he stated, equally as determined. "We'll go back and we'll train until your fire attacks - "
Again Vulpix interrupted him, but this time she didn't do so verbally. Instead, she walked around him and started pressing her head against his backpack. She put enough pressure behind it that even if he hadn't seen what she was doing, he could actually feel her move the bag with the force of her pushing.
"What are you doing?" he questioned curiously.
"Vulpix," was all she said before bumping her head against the bag again. Stone.
"Stone?" he repeated bewildered. "What kind of stone are you – you mean the Fire Stone?" he suddenly realised.
"Vulpix!" she replied brightly. Yes!
He turned around and furrowed his eyebrows. "You know I said this has to be your choice, right?" he reminded her. "Just because we're a bit stuck in this challenge, that doesn't mean you have to evolve now. You can choose to do it later if you really want to."
"Vulpix! Vulpix, Vulpix!" No! Now evolve!
He really just had to have the most stubborn Pokémon in his team, didn't he? Did the other Trainers have such stubborn Pokémon too or was he just the lucky one?
"Vulpix," he sighed. "You really shouldn't make this decision when you're upset. I'm not mad or disappointed. This can happen. We'll come back after some more training."
"Vulpix! Vulpix, Vulpix, Vulpix, Vulpix!" Vulpix shot back; her eyes gleaming. No! Said my choice, so want evolve!
They were locked in a staring match until Naruto uttered a soft sigh and rubbed his forehead. "You're absolutely sure you want to evolve now?"
"Vulpix!" Yes!
Well, he had said it was her decision. If she really was so insistent on evolving now, there was no reason for him to keep refusing it.
"All right, if you're sure." He removed his backpack and pulled it to the front, unzipping it.
He had to push aside some Potions, but then his fingers bumped against the cold, smooth surface of the stone. He carefully grabbed it, making sure he wouldn't cut himself on any of the rough edges, and pulled it out.
The orange red colour made it gleam a bit in the artificial light above them when he held it out in the palm of his hand. Vulpix approached him; her tails high up in the air and her eyes brimming with excitement.
"You ready?" he asked one last time.
At her enthusiastic nod, he inclined his head in return and placed the Fire Stone on the floor in front of her. She sniffed at it curiously first, but then reached out with her left paw and touched the stone firmly. The Fire Stone started to glow at once and Naruto had to shield his eyes when the glow brightened even further, filling the room completely. Vulpix uttered a soft chirp and Naruto covered his eyes with both arms when the glow became unbearably bright.
Silence fell then until something carefully nudged his knee. He lowered his arms and blinked, feeling oddly disorientated now that the bright glow was gone. Then he looked around and his mouth dropped open.
Where just a few seconds before Vulpix had stood, was now a majestic looking Ninetales. Her thick, golden-white coat shone brilliantly and the six tails of Vulpix had made way for nine long, white tails with pale orange tips. They swished gently back and forth in a hypnotising manner. Red eyes peered at him with caution and Ninetales took a couple of steps forwards, gently butting her head against his chest. She was definitely a lot bigger than she had been as a Vulpix and the difference in height took Naruto aback for a moment.
Then it fully registered in his mind that Vulpix had evolved into a Ninetales and he started grinning, patting her back and marvelling at how luxurious her coat felt.
"You look amazing!" he exclaimed, grinning even wider when she started to purr. "How do you feel now?"
"Ninetales, Ninetales, Ninetales!" Like I can burn down anything!
The shine in her eyes when she said that was potentially a bit concerning, but then again they were here to burn down a wooden structure. She was also a Fire Type, someone whose strength had just increased by evolving, so that comment made sense.
Naruto zipped his bag shut again and stood up, swinging his backpack over his shoulder. "All right, let's how that wooden slab who's boss then, huh?" he grinned and started to become excited again.
With Vulpix now being a Ninetales, they might actually have a shot at destroying this wood after all!
Ninetales spun around and went to stand right in front of the wooden block again. Her red eyes glittered almost viciously when she opened her mouth and let loose the biggest Flamethrower Naruto had seen so far! It was easily three times the size of what it had been when Vulpix had used the attack and a lot more intense as well, forcing Naruto to step back a bit.
As he watched in astonishment, Ninetales kept firing one Flamethrower after the other. This time it did more than simply scorch the outer layer: it burnt a hole straight through the middle; a gap which only widened when she started rotating her head in a circle, allowing her flames to devour the wood even further. As the wood was steadily burnt away, Ninetales began walking forwards and Naruto realised somewhat amused that she was basically creating a corridor. He followed her at a short distance, making sure that he wouldn't accidentally brush against the walls which were still burning. He definitely did not want to burn to a crisp here!
For a little while nothing but the sound of flames and the crispy noise of wood eaten away by fire was heard. Naruto kept following Ninetales, until she stopped. She closed her mouth and sat down; her nine tails curling daintily around her.
"We're at the door?" Naruto asked surprised. He had been so focused on making certain that he wouldn't catch on fire that he hadn't even realised they would be close to the door.
"Ninetales." Yes, door.
Naruto looked behind him and was amazed again at how much difference an evolution had caused. Vulpix had only been able to scorch the slab of wood at best, but as Ninetales she had created a whole corridor in it!
"You did amazing!" he praised her and she preened visibly, straightening her back even. "Thank you so much! Get some deserved rest, okay? I'll see you soon again."
The red light enveloped her easily and he smiled down at her Pokéball before clicking it back on his belt. Well, he hadn't exactly expected to have Vulpix evolve during a challenge, but this was great nonetheless!
On towards the third challenge!
The third room really had Naruto questioning just how much damn budget these Gyms received. He was standing on an actual platform! Only his side of the door and the door across the room had a floor attached to them. The rest of the room had been dug out to such a depth that it made Naruto a bit queasy when he chanced a look over the edge. The only way to cross the room was over several broad planks which had been placed in even intervals next to each other. What were these Gym people thinking?! What were Trainers supposed to do if they didn't have any Pokémon that could bring them across?
Naruto stood there speechless for a moment before he shook his head and started to look around, certain there had to be yet another note present. There was, sticking on the wall right next to the door.
Show that your bond with your team is even deeper than the pit holding you back from the finish line! Whoever you will choose, they are certain to carry you to victory!
"Are you serious?" Naruto muttered exasperatedly and threw his hands up in the air. "Really, what are Trainers supposed to do if they don't have a suitable partner?"
There was no reply, of course, which he hadn't expected, but really! Did they want Trainers to get hurt?
He turned around and faced the pit – death trap, whatever – again. He could call up Pidgeot, he supposed. After evolving he was certainly big enough to carry Naruto this time and flying might be the easiest and least troublesome way of crossing the room. They hadn't practiced flying together yet, however, and Naruto wasn't feeling very inclined to try it out for the first time across a pit of which he couldn't even see the bottom. Vaporeon and Ninetales were out as well, both because he had already used them as help before and because they couldn't do much in this case.
That left Mimikyu, who was too small, Toxtricity and Lucario.
Both Toxtricity and Lucario had at least their height going for them and they might perhaps be strong enough to carry him over the planks? Pondering about it, he studied the plank closest to him. It was definitely broad enough for a Pokémon to walk across, so that wouldn't be an issue. Who should he choose then? He supposed Toxtricity's body with its bumps would make it awkward for the both of them if he had to carry Naruto, so that left Lucario then?
Not entirely certain about it, but not having a real choice either, Naruto called Lucario out of his Pokéball. As soon as Lucario was out, he looked around curiously.
'Only planks to get across?'
"Yes," Naruto confirmed and tightened the straps of his backpack just to be on the safe side. "This is one of the challenges in the Gym. We have to get across in order to reach that door and go through to the next challenge, but you have to help me with it. I can't do anything to help you, because then the challenge is over. I'm not entirely sure how we should do this, but do you think you can carry me, perhaps?" He winced, eyeing the planks in front of them dubiously.
It wasn't as if he was extremely tall or weighed that much, but he thought it was still asking a lot of Lucario to carry him all the way to the other side of the room.
"I would ask Pidgeot, but we haven't practiced flying together yet and I don't really want to risk falling off and into the pit," he continued. He would rather not find out just how deep they had dug this particular pit.
Seriously, just how much damn budget did they have?! Who even came up with this kind of stuff?!
'I can do it,' Lucario assured him through their mental link. 'Master can climb on my back. It will work.'
"You're sure?" Naruto hesitated.
'I'm strong enough,' Lucario declared and came to stand in front of him, waiting patiently.
Well, okay then, it wasn't as if he had much choice, really. Taking a deep breath, he carefully climbed on Lucario's back and linked his arms around Lucario's shoulders. It felt quite strange, sitting on Lucario's back, but if his Pokémon was in any way bothered by his weight, he didn't show it.
In fact when looking at how easily Lucario started walking across the nearest plank, keeping a perfect balance, you'd think that Naruto weighed nothing more than a feather! The plank underneath them did groan a couple of times, but in no time at all both Lucario and Naruto made it across to the other platform.
"This went a lot easier than I thought it would," Naruto wondered aloud as he got off Lucario's back, making sure not to stand too close to the edge.
Lucario smiled faintly. 'Told Master I was strong enough.'
"That you definitely were," Naruto laughed and held his Pokéball in front of him. "Thanks for helping me out, Lucario. You can rest now; you definitely earnt that!"
As soon as the Pokéball containing Lucario was back on his belt, Naruto glanced back one more time at the collection of planks scattered across the pit and shuddered. This reminded him a bit too much of when he had fallen into that cavern in the mountain and he hunched his shoulders, turning away from the pit.
"On to the last challenge," he muttered, more so to distract himself.
He opened the door, stepped inside and –
Was met with nothing but darkness.
AN2: One more challenge to go before we finally have the next Gym battle! I hope this wasn't too boring ^^;
On another note, maybe it's just me but I feel like my team in Violet just tries to outdo each other in viciousness when I call them out to battle Pokémon in the wild. With every new member I call up, it's like each of them thinks "I need to defeat more Pokémon than the others!" It's like, chill dude, give me a chance to check whether there's a shiny amongst them, damn! Do any of your teams act the same or is my team just weird?
For the ones interested, I'll be posting Halloween oneshots this Tuesday :)
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.