Author's note: Took me a bit longer to finish this update, sorry, guys. I was feeling a bit off this weekend, but I managed to finish this update. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Thanks to the following reviewers: Pen-Woman; PinkiePieParty122894

Warnings: Minor trauma; Gym Battle finally!

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 33

He was back in the cave. One of the many he had already traipsed through in his desperate search to find an exit, one steeped in the type of deep darkness that he had come to loathe. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but pure darkness. The silence pressed down on him, making the sound of his uneven breathing too loud, too noisy. He had to be quiet, because if he was too loud, any of the wild Pokémon could track him down and attack him. In this darkness he wouldn't even see them coming until it was too late and he would –

"Congratulations on reaching the final challenge!"

The friendly female voice cut through the silence brutally and Naruto jumped, clamping a hand over his mouth just in time to muffle his yell. His heart was doing overtime and he had to lock his knees together to stop the stupid shaky feeling threatening to make him buckle through them.

"Just one more room separates you from a battle with our Gym Leader! So far you and your Pokémon have shown in a splendid manner just how strong the bond is between you all, but will you rise to the challenge one last time?"

Naruto shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the loudspeaker. Right, the challenge. He just had to get through this room and then they could finally battle the Gym Leader.

"As you can see, this room is completely dark. You will not find any light switches, no matter how long you search. The goal in this room is for your Pokémon to guide you personally to the other door. The darkness will not be your only hindrance: spread out across this room there are several Sudowoodo. They will not attack you and they will not move around unless you walk into them. However, the second you bump into one of them, you will lose the challenge and will have to start all over again. Choose your Pokémon partner carefully. Good luck!"

The loudspeaker crackled for a couple of seconds before it fell completely silent.

Naruto released his breath slowly. So one of his Pokémon had to guide him through this pitch black room all while avoiding bumping into the Sudowoodo positioned randomly around them. This was going to be … interesting, he supposed. Ninetales, Vaporeon and Lucario were out for this challenge, leaving only Mimikyu, Pidgeot and Toxtricity to choose from. Mimikyu and Pidgeot would be his best choice against the Gym Leader's Fighting Type Pokémon, which left Toxtricity. That should be fine, he assumed. Yes, Toxtricity was one of his largest Pokémon, but didn't the frill around his neck sort of glow? He was pretty certain that Toxtricity had been glowing around his neck when he had first encountered in that old house.

Even a soft glow might be enough to guide them through the room without bumping into any of the Sudowoodo here. At the very least it would give him a source of light to focus on, leaving the darkness less oppressive.

The red beam of the Pokéball opening cut through the dark, briefly lightening up a shape near the right, just a couple of steps away from Naruto. That had to be a Sudowoodo then, but even though the beam ran briefly across it, the Pokémon didn't move at all. So they really wouldn't move unless he or Toxtricity bumped into them.

Toxtricity's frill did indeed faintly glow, which had Naruto concealing a relieved sigh. He hadn't misremembered it then, that was good. This made Toxtricity the best option for this room.

'Why dark?' Toxtricity hissed, sounding suspicious.

"We're here for the last challenge before we can battle the Gym Leader," Naruto explained, hooking the Pokéball back onto his belt. "You have to guide me to the exit, but we can't walk into any of the Sudowoodo here. If we bump into them, we lose and have to start all the challenges over again."

Toxtricity seemed to be looking around, because his frill moved slightly. 'Guide Master to exit?'

"Yeah, we have to cross his room in complete darkness and can't walk into any of the Sudowoodo here," Naruto confirmed.

'Fine', Toxtricity hissed, calmer now.

Naruto felt something large and cool touch his own hand and it took him a moment before he realised it was Toxtricity holding out his hand for Naruto to grab. He wrapped his fingers around one of Toxtricity's digits and followed him when Toxtricity started to move.

'Careful, Sudowoodo on the left,' Toxtricity warned.

Naruto heeded the warning and kept his arms pressed against his sides. From the corner of his eye he did spot a vague shape in the glow of Toxtricity's frill when they walked past it. As they continued their way through the room, Naruto tried to stay as closely to Toxtricity as possible without hindering him. He didn't want to accidentally bump into any of the Sudowoodo stationed around the room after all. They were this close to finally reaching the Gym Leader, he didn't want to lose the challenge now.

Toxtricity kept up a stream of directions, making sure that Naruto would never walk into a Sudowoodo. Both the directions and Toxtricity's hissing voice helped Naruto stay focused, making him able to ignore just how dark the room was. It was stupid to be reminded of the caverns when he clearly wasn't there anymore, but the discomfort still lingered. The back of his neck pricked as if dozens of eyes were staring at him, even though he knew full well that wasn't the case. There were only some Sudowoodo here and the couple they passed, didn't even turn to look at them. If the female voice hadn't mentioned they were Sudowoodo, it would be easy to assume that they were merely statues.

Even knowing nothing was wrong, he couldn't help but feel greatly relieved when Toxtricity stopped walking and tugged his hand forwards, nudging Naruto until his fingers closed around cold metal instead.

'At door,' Toxtricity hissed, surprising Naruto.

He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't even realised they had crossed the entire room already! Either the room had been smaller than the previous ones or Toxtricity had simply navigated them around quickly. Whichever it was, their challenge was finally over! Now they could start the actual Gym battle!

"Thank you so much for your help, Toxtricity," Naruto praised him. Was it his imagination or did the frill around Toxtricity's neck actually glow a bit brighter?

After Toxtricity was back into his Pokéball, Naruto pushed down on the doorhandle, closing his eyes momentarily when a beam of bright light instantly poured through the gap. He gave himself a couple of seconds to get used to the bright light before he pushed the door fully open. When he stepped through it, he was instantly met with the sight of a large battlefield. The ground itself was sandy, white chalk outlining the actual field. For some reason there was also a lot of gym equipment stationed near every wall and Naruto stared at a collection of punching bags for a moment, bemused at the sight of it.

Yes, this Gym was specialised in Fighting Types, but did they actually work out on the battlefield? Who even used all that equipment? There seemed to be enough for a whole town to use!

A door practically flew open on the other side of the field and Naruto jumped startled, his eyes widening when he saw who was marching straight over to him. It was a large, muscled man and he basically looked like an older copy of that Rock Lee guy earlier! Same black hair in a bowl cut type of hairstyle, same large grin, same bushy eyebrows, same energetic aura blasting off him, even the green spandex suit was the same! What on earth? Where those two related?

"IT IS ALWAYS A JOYFUL OCCASION TO SEE THE YOUTH IN THEIR TIME OF SPRING!" the man practically bellowed; the sound amplified by the high ceiling. "Congratulations on winning all the challenges! You and your team are simply marvellous!"

"Erm, thank you," Naruto said, a bit dazed. He still wasn't completely over the sight of that green spandex and the man's loud voice didn't really help matters.

"If it was up to me, that showing of trust would be enough to earn you the badge, but alas, according to the rules we need to have a battle now," the man – the Gym Leader, Naruto supposed – continued sadly before he perked up again almost instantly, pumping his fist into the air. "But that's no reason to feel dour, because it is in the heat of the battle that we feel most alive!"

"Right," Naruto said slowly, because what else could he say to that?

"I'm Might Guy, this Gym's leader," he introduced himself, grinning widely as he came to a halt on his side of the field. "I specialise in the most wonderful Type of them all: Fighting! Because we're all full of youth and what better way to show that than through Fighting Types?!"

"Absolutely," Naruto agreed, nodding. To each their own after all. He loved his team, Guy clearly loved his team; everybody had their own taste.

Guy raised four fingers in the air. "If you can beat all four of my Pokémon, then you have earnt the honour of receiving the Fighting Badge!" His dark eyes practically glistened. "But don't think for a second that you will have an easy time! My Pokémon are in the prime of their life!"

Naruto smiled and walked over to his own spot. "I'm Naruto and I'll gladly accept the challenge."

"That's the spirit!" Guy crowed and fist pumped the air again before he threw a Pokéball lightning fast into the air. "Hitmonlee, you're up first!"

Hitmonlee left his Pokéball with a round of kicks, landing squarely onto the field. His almond-shaped eyes instantly focused on Naruto and he started jumping from one leg to the other. This Pokémon was nicknamed the Kick Master because of his amazing kicking strength, but Naruto didn't allow himself to feel intimidated by him. Yes, Hitmonlee was a strong Pokémon and his kicks were no laughing matter, but his kicks could also be considered his weakest point: they had a maximum range. There was only so far his kicks could reach and this Gym happened to have a high ceiling.

Naruto's choice of Pokémon was instantly made. "Pidgeot, I choose you!"

Pidgeot shot out of his Pokéball with a loud screech, instantly flying up into the air. He flew a couple of circles before he hovered right above Naruto, staring down at Hitmonlee with sharp dark eyes.

"I love this matchup!" Guy declared, looking very excited. "But don't think for one second that you have the ultimate upper hand just because of your Type! My team and I wouldn't lead this Gym if we were defeated this easily by a Flying Type!"

Naruto knew not to underestimate Guy and his Pokémon, but at the same time his own team was not to be underestimated either. They had survived that awful mountain and won against a couple of Zweilous – his team could handle this!

"Hitmonlee, we're going to start off with a Mega Kick!" Guy announced.

Naruto barely had time to blink before Hitmonlee suddenly shot off from the ground, launching an extremely powerful kick in Pidgeot's direction.

"Pidgeot, watch out!" Naruto called out in warning.

Pidgeot screeched and flew sideways, nary avoiding getting his wing clipped by the kick. Naruto quickly realised that Pidgeot's massive size might actually become an issue here. Yes, the ceiling was high, but it wasn't as high as it had been in the Water Gym and Hitmonlee could jump a lot higher than he had anticipated. Pidgeot would have to be both on the offense and the defence if they wanted to win this fight.

"Don't let your guard down, Pidgeot," Naruto warned. "Hitmonlee might be ground bound, but he can still jump up high."

"Yes, he can!" Guy boosted instantly. "Hitmonlee is amongst the best of my Pokémon, don't think you can easily get the jump on him!"

Before Naruto could wonder whether that had been an intentional pun, Hitmonlee launched another attack, a Blaze Kick this time. Pidgeot avoided this one as well, but the immense force behind it burnt his right wing. He shrieked in surprise and started flapping his wings fast, desperate to put out the fire.

"Pidgeot, are you okay?" Naruto called out alarmed, not having expected Hitmonlee to attack again so soon.

Pidgeot's wing still smoked a bit, but the fire appeared to be out and Pidgeot squawked outraged, sending a Wing Attack straight at Hitmonlee. Hitmonlee jumped aside, but was knocked off balance by the Whirlwind Pidgeot quickly sent afterwards, making the Flying Pokémon chitter in satisfaction.

"Pidgeot, keep up the Wing Attacks," Naruto instructed, hoping to latch onto the opening Hitmonlee had unconsciously created when he had jumped to the side.

"Don't think it will be this easy," Guy said cheerfully. "Hitmonlee, Mega Kick!"

Right as Pidgeot launched another Wing Attack, Hitmonlee jumped up, took the attack head on and shouldered through, smashing his foot straight into Pidgeot's chest. The pained wail escaping Pidgeot made Naruto's chest tighten and he was helpless to watch Pidgeot stumble down onto the ground, trying to catch his breath.

"Pidgeot, can you keep fighting?" Naruto asked worriedly, ready to call him back the second he gave any sign that he couldn't keep up anymore.

Pidgeot turned his head to him but before he could reply, Guy called out, "Hitmonlee, High Jump Kick."

"Pidgeot, watch out!"

Hitmonlee was too fast for Naruto's eyes to follow. One second he was still on the ground, the next he was high up in the air, stretching out his right leg before he came crashing down hard, intending on driving Pidgeot completely into the ground. His volatile kick sent the sand spraying, making Naruto cover his eyes in reflex. Some of the sand somehow landed in his mouth and he coughed, spitting it out.

"Well, that didn't work," Guy sighed unexpectedly.

Naruto whipped his head around and his mouth dropped open in shock when he saw what had happened. Hitmonlee had indeed come crashing down with all his might – but Pidgeot had jumped out of the way just in time, leaving the Fighting Pokémon to smash straight into the ground, creating an actual crater. Hitmonlee rose up on shaky legs, but he appeared quite dazed as if the crash had taken a lot out of him.

This was their chance.

"Pidgeot, Wing Attack and don't let up for a second until Hitmonlee is down again!" Naruto ordered immediately, wanting to take advantage before Hitmonlee could recover.

Pidgeot screeched in agreement and shot up in the air, launching one Wing Attack after the other straight at Hitmonlee. The other Pokémon managed to avoid the first two, but the third one hit him straight in the back and the fourth one sent him spinning to the side. A fifth and a sixth followed quickly before the seventh one smacked him straight into his chest, sending him crashing into the ground again. This attack was apparently one too many, because Hitmonlee's arms twitched a couple of times but he didn't get up again.

"Come back, Hitmonlee," Guy said and aimed the Pokéball at him. "You did great. It's my fault for underestimating Pidgeot."

Naruto released a sigh, briefly resting a hand on his chest. For a couple of seconds there he had really thought Pidgeot would be completely done for. He had seen another Hitmonlee from a Trainer in his hometown use a High Jump Kick successfully and the result really hadn't been pretty for his opponent. That poor Bastiodon had needed a week to recover fully from what Naruto had heard. High Jump Kick was an incredibly powerful move, but it also acted as a double edged sword: if the kick hit the opponent, then the damage was incredible, but if it missed, it actually damaged the user extensively. It was a rather risky move to use unless the Trainer was absolutely certain that his Pokémon couldn't miss the attack.

Naruto counted himself lucky that Pidgeot had managed to react on time. Speaking of Pidgeot –

"Pidgeot, how are you feeling?" he asked, seeing Guy ready his next Pokémon.

"Pidgeot, Pidgeot!" Pidgeot replied resolutely and hovered in the air. Can do it.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, watching the way Pidgeot kept the beat of his wings slow. He could still fly and was definitely stubborn enough to continue the fight, but Naruto decided that this battle would be Pidgeot's last one. After this one it would be Mimikyu's turn, so that Pidgeot could get his much needed rest.

"Grapploct, your time to shine, buddy!" Guy grinned and threw his second Pokéball into the air.

Naruto barely managed to cover up his groan. Of course it would be a Grapploct. It couldn't have been an easier Pokémon, no, it had to be a Grapploct. The blue, octopus-like Pokémon came out of its Pokéball with four of its tentacles already raised in the air. It growled threateningly upon spotting Pidgeot in the air. The tentacles practically bulged with its muscles when it raised them into the air.

"Grapploct, Pidgeot has already been tired out by Hitmonlee, your turn to finish it," Guy announced. "Bulk Up first."

"Pidgeot, try to take him down before he can launch an attack after that," Naruto urged and Pidgeot screeched in agreement.

Sadly it quickly became clear that this really would be Pidgeot's last match in this Gym. Grapploct used two Bulk Ups before it started off with using Brick Break. Pidgeot managed to avoid the first couple of attacks, successfully launching a Whirlwind and a Wing Attack of his own. All his attacks did hit Grapploct, succeeding in pissing off the Pokémon big time. But Naruto could see him growing weaker; Pidgeot wasn't capable of hovering high up in the air for too long and his reaction time started to go down, making it easier for Grapploct to hit him with an Octazooka. The Water attack hit Pidgeot straight into his belly and made him lose his balance, falling onto the ground.

Before Naruto could call him back, Grapploct shot forwards and wrapped its tentacles completely around Pidgeot.

"Good, keep him in your Octolock until he gives up!" Guy said approvingly.

"Pidgeot," Naruto called out resigned, knowing this was the end, "Come b-"

Pidgeot, however, let out the loudest screech Naruto had heard so far and actually drove his beak straight into one of Grapploct's tentacles. That shocked Grapploct so much it actually released Pidgeot, curling its wounded tentacle closer to its chest. Pidgeot pushed himself off the ground instantly and spun into the air, releasing another vicious screech before he sent one Wing Attack after the other at Grapploct. They all hit the Fighting Pokémon straight into its head, never letting up even though it did a valiant attempt at trying to block the attacks.

Pidgeot flew right behind Grapploct and launched a powerful Wing Attack straight into the Pokémon's back. Grapploct snarled, its tentacles spasming, lashing out around it, but it was too late. The barrage of Wing Attacks proved to be too much and it fainted, thudding down onto the ground.

As if Pidgeot had been waiting for Grapploct's cue, he released a weak chirp that sounded vaguely victorious and landed onto the ground – before falling over as well, down for the count completely this time.

Naruto called him back. "You did really great," he reassured. "Get some well deserved rest now, okay? I'll bring you to a Pokécentre really soon, I promise."

When he looked up, he was baffled to see Guy actually shedding some tears. "Erm, are you okay?" he asked bewildered.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Guy waved off his concern and sniffled loudly. "Just touched by how far your Pokémon was willing to go! Grapploct's Octolock is no joke at all yet Pidgeot broke free for you! Oh, the strength of your bond is just amazing!"

At once it was as if a switch was turned on and Guy looked determined again; his jaw set. "But don't think this is all we have! Gurdurr, it's your turn now!"

"Mimikyu," Naruto murmured and selected the orange Pokéball. "Your time to shine. Mimikyu, I choose you!"

Mimikyu's cry rebounded through the room, strengthening Naruto's resolve. They were going to win this. Pidgeot had already taken care of two Pokémon, now they only had two more to go. It was Mimikyu's time to shine!

AN2: You'd think after four Gyms, writing these battle scenes gets easier, but nope. Not at all. I hope it wasn't too awful!

Also was I the only one who got confused by Grapploct's typing at first? He should be at the very least dual Water/Fighting!

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.