Author's note: Promised a longer chapter this time, so here it is!

Thanks to the following reviewers: Pen-Woman; swordsmanwielder; leighd1314; PinkiePieParty122894; JaiJayce

Warnings: 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 it!

Chapter 43

"Shit!" Naruto yelped when something came hurtling straight at him. What was his damn luck even?!

Right as he ducked away, covering his head with his hands, he saw Vaporeon jumping up and releasing a strong jet of water. It collided with whatever had been about to hit Naruto and smashed it apart, sending fragments flying through the air.

Once he was certain nothing would hit him, Naruto lowered his hands and blinked, staring bemused at the tiny shards of a rock spread out messily across the forest floor.

"A rock?" he muttered confused and picked up a small piece of it.

Rocks didn't exactly fly through the air themselves, so it had to have been thrown – by whoever had been howling in pain before.

Right on cue, another pained yowl cut through the air, making Naruto flinch and his Pokémon tense up even further. The ground started vibrating once more as if whatever it was, was heavily stomping around. Naruto looked in the direction of the noise and frowned. It had to be a Pokémon making all that ruckus, but which one? And had it thrown that rock on purpose or accidentally?

He stuffed his Pokédex back in his bag and stood up after placing Mimikyu gently on the ground. The Pokéball he ended up grabbing first turned out to be Pidgeot's. "Let's get you all back in your Pokéballs. I'm going to check out who's making that noise," he decided.

"Mimi!" Mimikyu worried. Too dangerous!

Naruto shook his head. "I'll be really careful. If it looks like the Pokémon is dangerous, I'll call one of you, okay? But I need to check what's happening."

Neither of his Pokémon looked particularly happy about being called back into their Pokéball, but they didn't fight against the red beam either, letting it swallow them up one by one. Once the Pokéballs were back on his belt and his backpack on his back, he carefully made his way into the direction where the ruckus was still happening. The pained yowls had been replaced by pathetic whimpering by now and even though he had no idea yet what – or better who – was awaiting him, his heart tugged at the pitiful sounds. Whoever it was, it was clearly in a lot of pain and that made Naruto only more determined to get to the bottom of this.

His trousers got nearly stuck on a particularly thorny bush, but he pulled away his leg impatiently, forcing the thorns to loosen their grip. The ground trembled once more, harder than before, making him almost lose his balance. He circled around a rather thick tree and inaudibly gasped when he laid eyes on what had been making all that noise before.

It was a Snorlax.

The large Pokémon was pitifully whimpering, slumped against a tree which was groaning underneath its massive weight. It had its paws raised in front of its face and Naruto didn't understand why until he caught a glimpse of Snorlax' right leg. He pressed his lips together, anger instantly replacing his initial bout of surprise. A metal looking contraption was tightly clamped around Snorlax' ankle, keeping him anchored to this field. Just out of his reach there were a couple of trees bearing berries and it didn't take a genius to understand what had happened here.

Snorlax must have seen the berries and had wanted to eat them. Before it could reach the trees, however, a trap had been sprung and the metal contraption had tightened around its ankle, keeping the large Pokémon trapped and away from the berry trees. This kind of trap was actually forbidden, precisely because it prevented Pokémon from ever escaping. Traps that chased Pokémon away with loud noises were allowed, but ones that physically prevented them from escaping had been outlawed more than two decades ago.

Of course that didn't stop people – often farmers – from using them anyways, counting on the fact that people weren't likely to help raging Pokémon when they got trapped in such a contraption. Very few people were willing to risk their lives and most Pokémon tended to become quite aggressive the longer they remained trapped.

It was disgusting how some people thought they were above the law and thought they could hurt Pokémon like that, but unfortunately seeing such a vile act with his own eyes didn't surprise him anymore. Not after he had experienced that people were even willing to steal Pokémon from other Trainers.

Snorlax started crying now, looking so miserable that Naruto couldn't help but step forwards, revealing his presence.

"Poor Snorlax," he said softly, feeling horrible for the Pokémon.

Even though Snorlax was known to eat everything in sight, often ruining crops that way, that still didn't justify trapping him like this. No Pokémon deserved to be hurt like this, not when they just wanted to eat something.

Upon hearing his voice, Snorlax' head shot up quickly and its large body quivered as it tried to curl up but was left unable to do so when the chain connecting the contraption to wherever it was tied to tugged harshly at its ankle. Snorlax whimpered in fear, trying to make itself as small as possible – an impossible task given its size – and Naruto's heart sank when he realised that Snorlax probably assumed he was the angry farmer who had trapped it.

"It's okay, I don't want to hurt you, okay?" Naruto called out softly and raised his hands in the air, showing he wasn't holding anything. "I heard you calling out and I decided to see what was happening. Can I take a look at your ankle and see if I can get you free?"

Snorlax peered at him uncertainly, still quivering, but slowly, achingly slow, it extended its trapped leg towards Naruto.

He breathed out, keeping his motions slow and precise as he cautiously bridged the distance between him and Snorlax. The last thing he needed was to accidentally spook Snorlax when he was in reach and get attacked.

Once he was close enough, he squatted down and studied the metal contraption. It gleamed in the light and was close to actually digging into Snorlax' skin, causing Naruto to frown heavily. This had to be one of the older traps then, the ones that had been truly meant to maim Pokémon for the rest of their lives.

"Do you mind if I touch the contraption and see if I can find a clasp that would free you?" he asked, peering up at Snorlax.

Snorlax was still crying, sniffling every couple of seconds, but it nodded before pressing its eyes shut.

"All right, I'm going to be really careful," Naruto promised and reached out with both hands, feeling around the metal collar.

Considering the size of it, he thought it was pretty fair to assume that whoever had left this trap had intended on catching Snorlax specifically. Not many Pokémon native to this area were around Snorlax' size after all and it was likely that Snorlax had visited these trees before. Perhaps it was indeed a farmer who had grown annoyed by Snorlax taking the berries and had decided to punish it in a horrible manner.

No matter how many times he felt around the metal contraption, careful not to aggravate the skin trapped underneath it, he couldn't find any sort of clasp that would allow him to free Snorlax. Dread started pooling in the pit of his stomach when he realised that this situation wouldn't be easily solved. This contraption had truly been meant to hurt Snorlax and most likely keep him trapped forever. He supposed he could wait until the owner of the trap would show up and convince them to release Snorlax if they weren't willing to do so in the first place, but that idea hinged on the owner actually showing up and not leaving as soon as they caught sight of Naruto. Not to mention how long would it be before the owner would even show up? It could be just a couple of hours, but it could also be days – or even weeks.

Snorlax didn't have that time. Sure, his stored fat would ensure that he could survive several days – perhaps some weeks – without eating anything, but it wasn't fair to put him through that misery.

What to do now?

Snorlax uttered an inquiring noise; the first sound it had made that wasn't solely one of pain.

Naruto grimaced and stood up. "I won't be able to take the contraption off you like this."

Immediately Snorlax started crying again, rubbing its paws in its face. The hiccups and sniffles it uttered were miserable and pitiful and they only reinforced Naruto's belief that Snorlax couldn't be left behind like this. No matter how many berries it had stolen, it didn't deserve this fate at all.

"Snorlax, Snorlax, Snorlax!" Snorlax sorry, Snorlax sorry, Snorlax sorry!

"Hey, hey, I know you didn't mean to steal those berries," Naruto hastily said, waving his hands. "You just wanted to eat, I get that. Whoever did this to you was really mean."

He bit down on his lip and look at the chain. It led straight into the ground and he bent down again, digging into the earth. The dark earth was soft and wet underneath his fingers and easily gave away, letting him dig deeper, but he quickly realised this would be a futile effort. Whoever had placed this trap was obviously skilled at it and had buried the chain deep underneath the ground. With no idea how deep he had to dig or even how long the chain was, it would be stupid to keep wasting time like this. He stood up again and hastily brushed his hands clean against his trousers, worrying his lower lip between his teeth.

The only way to get Snorlax free would be with the help of his Pokémon, but would Snorlax react well to strange Pokémon? So far it hadn't made any attempt to attack him, but that might be because Snorlax didn't feel threatened by him. Compared to its size, Naruto was nothing more than a scrawny human after all. Snorlax could easily crush him, even trapped like this, whenever it wanted so letting Naruto help it wouldn't be considered a threat. Naruto's Pokémon helping Snorlax, though … That might be a whole different manner.

It wasn't like they had any other choice, however. If he wanted to free Snorlax, he would need his Pokémon's help; no other way around it.

"All right, Snorlax, I've got an idea," he spoke up, attracting Snorlax' attention immediately. "I alone won't be able to help you get free, but some of my Pokémon might be able to help us. Would you mind if I call some of them out of their Pokéball?"

Snorlax' eyes were definitely wary as it looked at the Pokéballs attached to Naruto's belt and for a long moment it didn't react. Naruto held his breath, ready to jump away the second it looked like Snorlax would grow aggravated.

Eventually, though, Snorlax nodded again; its paws clumsily folding around each other as it watched Naruto grab two of his Pokéballs.

"Ninetales, Lucario, I choose you!"

Ninetales appeared gracefully; her tails spreading out beautifully around her as she landed right in front of Naruto. Lucario joined her quickly, taking in Snorlax warily.

"Ninetales, Ninetales, Ninetales?" Snorlax one making noise?

"Yes, as you can see, Snorlax got trapped and I can't get the contraption to open on my own," Naruto explained.

Ninetales' eyes flicked towards the metal collar before she looked at Snorlax. "Ninetales, Ninetales?" Also one throwing rock?

Snorlax bent its head, looking ashamed. "Snorlax, Snorlax." Scared, sorry.

"Snorlax didn't mean to hit me. I don't think Snorlax knew I was there," Naruto said contemplatively.

Instantly Snorlax shook his head wildly. "Snorlax, Snorlax!" Didn't know!

'Plan?' Lucario regarded Naruto questioningly.

"Well, I hope to be able to do this with just the two of you, but if not, we'll have to call in Toxtricity's help I guess," Naruto said and scratched the back of his head. "Okay, hear me out. Snorlax, I need you to stay as calm as possible, all right? Maybe it's best if you close your eyes so that you don't get surprised. Ninetales, I need you to melt this chain," he bent down and picked up the chain in question, rattling it slightly, "so that Snorlax can at least move again. Lucario, once Ninetales is done, try and see if you can break that contraption with your strength."

It wasn't exactly a foolproof plan, but it was the best one Naruto could come up with at the moment.

"Everyone ready?" Naruto looked at each of them.

Both Ninetales and Lucario nodded, getting into position, and Snorlax hid its face behind its paws, which was fine. It couldn't grow aggravated or scared if it didn't see what was happening.

"Okay, Ninetales, you're up first."

Ninetales braced her paws and opened her jaw, releasing a steady stream of fire at the chain. The metal released a crackling noise before it gave away easily underneath the flames, melting completely until nothing but a puddle remained. To be sure, Naruto grabbed the end attached to Snorlax' leg and pulled at it, watching it slide away from the puddle of molten steel.

"All right, the chain's broken!" he announced. "Lucario, it's your turn now."

Lucario nodded and with a look of intense concentration he grabbed the metal contraception with both hands and started to pull. He gritted his teeth, bracing himself against the ground, as he used all his strength to tear the trap apart. For several long seconds the metal refused to budge and Naruto bit down hard on his lip. If this wouldn't work, he had no idea what else to do except to try and convince Snorlax to go to a Pokécentre. But would Nurse Joy be able to help the poor Pokémon? He didn't think she had anything in the centre that could force a trap like this to open quickly. It hardly seemed fair to let Snorlax drag this along with it for the rest of its life, though.

Maybe Ninetales could give it a try, but even if she managed to melt the steel, wouldn't that molten steel just stick to Snorlax, harming it even more?

Right as he was about to grab Toxtricity's Pokéball and see if his help could make a difference, there was a dry 'crack' noise and they all froze. Naruto looked at the contraception and for the first time since encountering Snorlax, he grew excited.

The metal was giving away.

Lucario must have found the part where the steel had originally been melted together and it was losing the fight against the sheer power he was exerting to pull it apart. It was definitely going to give!

"Keep going, Lucario, it's working!" Naruto said excitedly.

Lucario grunted in affirmation and started pulling even harder while Ninetales' tails swished back and forth rapidly, stirring up dust and leaves.

Slowly, oh so slowly, the metal started to bend underneath Lucario's crushing grip, giving away until –

The trap broke into two halves, leaving Lucario to hold them up until he threw them to the ground in disgust.

"Thanks, Lucario, Ninetales, you two were amazing!" Naruto grinned and called them back in their Pokéball.

He watched Snorlax stretch its leg in wonder, even going as far as touching its ankle as if it couldn't believe it was actually free.

"You're free now, Snorlax," Naruto smiled and adjusted the strap of his bag a bit. "Be careful in the future, okay? Bye!"

He turned around and started walking away; his feeling of happiness slowly starting to fade away as he realised that with Snorlax' issue being solved, he still hadn't solved his own Gym problem. He would have to open his Pokédex again and hope that at least one of his Pokémon could learn something that would help in the next Gym. He had no idea yet what kind of move that could be or who would be able to learn it, but –

Heavy footsteps followed him, making the hairs in his neck rise up.

He turned his head and watched Snorlax come to a halt. The Pokémon tilted its head to the right, staring at him.

"You're going in the same direction as me, Snorlax?" Naruto asked lightly. He supposed the big Pokémon didn't want to risk setting off another trap and wanted to try its luck with berries elsewhere. He couldn't blame it for that.

"Snorlax?" With you?

"Well, I'm going that way," Naruto pointed in the direction of what he suspected was the road, "so I don't know if that's where you're going as well?"

Snorlax shook its head and took a step closer. "Snorlax, Snorlax." With you in team.

Oh.

Ah.

Hm.

"You know you don't have to join my team simply because we helped you, right?" Naruto said cautiously, not wanting Snorlax to feel obligated to join him purely because Naruto had helped it out.

"Snorlax, Snorlax, Snorlax! Snorlax, Snorlax." Want to go with Trainer! Don't want lonely. Snorlax bent its head bashfully.

Oh, well … Snorlax wasn't exactly a weak Pokémon, but Naruto supposed that not many Trainers could keep up with its ginormous appetite. It wasn't as if he would be able to keep up with the amount of food Snorlax could eat every day, but … Well, there was the Professor. She would not only have the space, but also the amount of food available to keep up with even the giant appetite of a Snorlax.

Before he could reconsider Naruto grabbed an empty Pokéball from his bag and threw it towards Snorlax. A part of him expected Snorlax to change its mind and run away, but instead the large Pokémon kept standing there peacefully, allowing the red light to envelop it completely. The Pokéball closed, fell on the ground with just one wiggle and then stopped moving.

Snorlax had been captured.

Both happy and bewildered – he was starting to sense a pattern when it came to capturing Pokémon and he wasn't sure whether he should laugh at that or cry – he walked over to the Pokéball and picked it up. So now he was Snorlax' Trainer. Well, more Pokémon was always nice he supposed, even though eventually he would have to send Snorlax to the Professor if only because he wouldn't be able to feed it properly.

As he stared at the newest addition to his team, he was suddenly struck by an idea. It was an unbelievably risky idea but …

You could only ever have a maximum of six filled Pokéballs with you at any time when battling – but nobody ever checked to see which Pokéball belonged to which Pokémon.

His grip tightened around the Pokéball as the idea fully unfolded in his mind. It was risky as hell but –

This might just work.

AN2: Naruto finding loopholes since starting his journey :P

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.