Author's note: Tired as fuck and life's being shitty but here I am finally with the next chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to get this out =_=

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

Warnings: Nothing in particular

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 52

"You look surprised," Kakashi remarked amused. "Didn't expect to hear that? Don't I give off a Gym Leader aura?"

"Well, it's more that I thought this facility would take up too much of your time to be a fulltime Gym Leader on top of that," Naruto managed to bring out after a moment of being stunned.

It wasn't as if he had a particular vision of what a Gym Leader should look like in his mind, but somehow Kakashi didn't give off the impression that he was the Leader of one of the toughest Gyms in this challenge. Where did he even get the time to be both a Gym Leader and manager of this facility? Surely there was no way he had any free time left with both these positions?

"I'm a fulltime Leader, yes, but that doesn't mean I face a lot of challengers," Kakashi replied lazily. "This being the eighth Gym, not many Trainers actually get far enough into the challenge to show up at my Gym. Most give up after the fifth or sixth one; Deidara-san and I see the least amount of opponents."

The words sounded quite arrogant, but they were spoken in a calm tone; the tone somehow lending more weight to what Kakashi was explaining. Naruto had never really thought about it, but yeah, he supposed not a lot of Trainers actually finished the Gym Challenge. Some might get stuck with one particular Gym, because their team couldn't measure up to the Type inhabiting that Gym. Others might decide after a while that the challenge wasn't to their liking anyways. Still others might just give up when the battles became too tough. After all if the challenge was so easy, there would be a new Champion every five days or so.

"So congratulations, you're one of the very few making it all the way here," Kakashi continued and dipped his head at Naruto before stuffing his hands in his pockets. "If you're still feeling up to it, I will see you tomorrow at the Gym."

"You bet you will!" Naruto said determined, balling his hands into fists.

They had already defeated seven Gyms – no way were they giving up at the eighth one! They would defeat Kakashi tomorrow and the last Badge would be theirs! Naruto was certain of it!

"Like the enthusiasm," Kakashi said amused. "But save that for tomorrow." His dark eyes glinted. "You're going to need it."

With that almost ominous sounding comment, he turned around and walked back into the building. "Now if you don't mind, it's starting to become a bit late and I need to start giving out medicine."

"Right, I'm going!" Naruto announced, figuring he shouldn't test these unfamiliar Pokémon's patience too much by lingering here. "I will see you tomorrow at the Gym!"

The corners of Kakashi's eyes crinkled slightly when he smiled. "Looking forward to it."

After a quick, but very tasty dinner at a small cozy restaurant, Naruto decided to try his luck at the hotel he had spotted earlier today. With evening settling in, the wind was starting to pick up. It hadn't reached howling levels yet, but it was definitely working its way up there. As Naruto made his way through the winding, cobbled roads, it started drizzling; a prelude to the storm predicted by the weather report. He really hoped the hotel was cheap enough to stay at; otherwise he would have to return to the Pokécentre and pray the sky wouldn't burst before he was back inside.

A soft chime sounded somewhere in the back when Naruto pushed open the heavy wooden door of the hotel. Cautiously he walked inside, looking around curiously. The entrance hall was done up in warm shades of gold and deep brown, giving off a very cozy feeling. The reception desk was a massive wooden one; the computer on top of it looking somehow out of place on the antique looking furniture. A small pile of flyers depicting some local tourist spots were placed on the right corner of the desk, available to anyone wanting to take on. Petite figurines of Spinda of all Pokémon were peeking out from amongst the stationary: some hung on a plastic mug filled with pencils, while others seemed to act like some paperweights. They were rather fun to look at.

One large painting hung behind the desk, depicting a majestic looking Fire Type Rapidash trotting towards an elegant looking Fairy Type Rapidash. The focus was on the two Rapidash; they had been painted in sharp contrast to the almost blurry looking background, made up out of rolling hills and a stormy sky; a hint of a lake glittered in the far left of the painting.

Small, unobtrusive lamps in the form of candles spread a gentle, dim glow, creating just enough light to see well without them being glaringly bright. Comfortable looking armchairs dotted the spacious room with one large cozy couch dominating the centre in front of a fireplace. A fire was merrily crackling away in it; a Numel was dozing in front of it, cracking open one eye when Naruto walked over to the desk. Numel sighed a bit before tucking its head into its front paws, returning to its slumber.

"Good evening, dear." An elderly woman shuffled through a door in the back, approached the desk from the other side. Her pure white hair was done up in a tight bun, bound together with a blue ribbon. She walked a bit hunched, but her light brown eyes were sharp when she looked at him. "In need of a room?"

"Yes, if you still have a room free?" Naruto inquired, glancing at Numel when the Pokémon released a puff of smoke.

"Don't mind him, dear; he turns a bit grumpy around this time of the evening, but he wouldn't even hurt a Ribombee," she reassured him and started typing something on her computer. "And of course we have rooms still available. This time of the year doesn't really have a lot of tourists showing up. You a Trainer? Here for the Gym?"

"Yes, I am," he confirmed smiling. "We're planning on challenging the Gym tomorrow."

She bobbed her head, focusing on the screen. "Keep your wits about you, boy. Kakashi might behave far too nonchalant, but he is most definitely not. There's a reason why the success rate of his Gym is so low."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Gyms have an actual success rate?" he asked puzzled.

"Hm? Oh yes, their success rate indicates how tough they are," she muttered, still typing away. "If the rate is too low, they will be admonished for that. The admonishment goes the opposite way too, though: if a Gym is too easy, they can expect a visit as well. You can't make it impossible to beat, but you can't make it a free for all either."

"You know a lot about it," he commented lightly.

"I worked for a Gym for several years," she replied and smiled, turning away from the screen to look at him again. "Not this Gym, though, but yes, I know a thing or two of how they work. So it's best you don't let your guard down around the Gym Leader here. Too many become too hasty, too overconfident and believe he's an easy challenge. He's far from it. Oh look here, I can give you the room C2 on the first floor? It looks out on the west so you won't immediately get hit with sunlight in the morning."

At that moment the drizzle turned into rain actually pelting down, tip-tapping audibly on the roof and the windows. The elderly woman glanced up at the ceiling and tutted her lips before shaking her head.

"Well, if the weather keeps up like this, I suppose you won't have to worry about sun hitting you either way," she smiled wryly. "How many nights are you planning on staying, dear?"

"Two? At least, not sure yet how long I'll be staying here," he said, biting down on his lower lip.

He would definitely be staying tonight; it would probably be for the best if he stayed the following night as well because he wanted to be well-rested before making the trip back home. Of course the length of his stay was entirely dependent on how long it would take him and his team to beat the last Gym.

He was never the type to underestimate his opponent, but … "How low is the success rate of this Gym?"

"I'll put you down for two nights then, not a problem. If you want to stay longer, just let me know," she answered before tilting her head to the left. "The success rate? Oh, in the past five years I do believe only one Trainer actually won from Kakashi. Now, do you want to pay upfront, dear, or do you want to wait until you end your stay?"

Only one Trainer in five years.

The words kept bouncing around in his mind as he went through the motions of paying the lady upfront before he went through a door on the left, up the gleaming, dark wooden staircase, following the dark blue carpet to a door bearing a golden C2. He walked inside, closing the door behind him. The entire floor was quiet; if there were other hotel guests, they were being remarkably silent.

One Trainer. In five years.

How was this success rate not ridiculously low? Only one Trainer in five years had to count as near impossible to beat, no?

"Ah, dear, the success rate is also based on how many Trainers challenge a Gym. The further into the challenge, the less Trainers remain," she had answered lightly. "Kakashi's Gym barely sees any challengers and when they do show up, well, they have a difficult time beating him, let's keep it at that. Enjoy the rest of your evening, dear, and good luck tomorrow!"

One Trainer in five years was basically nothing. Was Kakashi's team simply too strong? Was the challenge before the Gym Battle impossible to do? How come in five years only one person ever managed to win from Kakashi? Even if one took into account that Kakashi's Gym saw less challengers, only one Trainer winning in five years was just ridiculous!

"We can do it," Naruto muttered to himself as he took a shower before brushing his teeth.

They already had survived worse situations than simply a Gym Battle; if they could hold their own against an enraged Tyranitar, if they had been able to keep up with the most dangerous Pokémon in that mountain, if they had managed to defeat the Ghost Gym without becoming a casualty themselves, they could beat this Gym. It didn't matter how many times they had to train, which strategy they had to use, they could do this.

It was only one more Badge. One more Badge and then they could visit home again before they would attempt the biggest challenge of them all: the Elite Four.

Just the thought of the Elite Four sent a shiver down Naruto's back when he even just tried to imagine how strong they must be. If Kakashi barely saw any challengers, the Elite Four must rarely battle! If he thought of how close he was to battling them …

No, focus. The eighth Gym first.

They could do this.

Who cared that only one Trainer had managed to win from Kakashi in five years? Naruto and his team would just have to become the second one then!

The next morning Naruto left the hotel after having a quick breakfast. In spite of the fact that they had already beaten seven Gyms before, his stomach was knotted; he had barely managed to finish his breakfast. He trusted his team was strong enough to take on Kakashi, but he had to admit that the Gym's low success rate still left him reeling somewhat.

But, he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of fresh rain, that all didn't matter. So what if only one Trainer had been successful in the last five years? Today he and his team would become the second person to beat Kakashi, you'd see!

He actually had to ask people for some directions a couple of times before he managed to find his way to the Gym. The building itself was so unremarkable with its grey slabs of stone and the matted glass door that Naruto would have walked straight past it if not for some helpful people's directions – and one small plaque next to the door declaring this was the Gym.

As he stood there staring at the plaque, he absurdly wondered if the low success rate had less to do with Kakashi being incredibly powerful and more with how unobtrusive the Gym appeared. Perhaps most Trainers simply never managed to find the Gym in the first place!

A bit amused at his own joke, Naruto pushed open the door and entered, glancing around. The interior was just as bland as the exterior. Three doors were the only things breaking up the monotony of light grey tiled walls. One door was to Naruto's left, the other was right across from him and the third one was slightly hidden behind a wall jutting out, on his right. There were no decorations, no chairs, no desk. Simply a wooden floor, grey walls and lights that sprang to life when he walked further.

The door on his right suddenly opened and out of it, Kakashi stepped, offering him a lazy wave. He was yet again wearing a mask that covered his lower face; his eyes were half-lidded as if he was still semi asleep.

"Good morning, I see you managed to find the Gym," he greeted laconically.

"You might consider making it a bit more obvious that this is a Gym; that small plaque at the front doesn't really do it," Naruto advised him.

The older man shrugged. "You managed to find it, didn't you? If others can't be bothered to actually use their eyes, they were never fit to challenge my Gym anyways."

With those rather callous words, he clasped his hands together. "All right, maybe other Leaders love chitchatting, but I don't see the point in that," he said bluntly, staring at Naruto. "We both know you're only here for one thing: challenging me. So how about it? You ready to take on my Gym?"

"More than ready," Naruto replied, jutting out his chin.

Kakashi seemed to smile faintly before he walked to the door on the left, gesturing for Naruto to follow him. Naruto did, entering the room behind him. This room was just as plain as the entrance had been; Naruto was starting to sense a pattern here. As plain as the room was, it wasn't as bare as the entrance hall. One large, odd, metal like ball hung suspended from the ceiling; if Naruto curled up, he could probably fit four of himself inside the ball. It wasn't completely opaque; it was faintly see-through and within it, Naruto thought he could see the shapes of a couple of objects. What could be in that giant ball? And what did he have to do with this ball?

"I can already tell you that my challenge isn't overly complicated," Kakashi started and went over to the large ball in question, staring up at it. "No other Trainers for you to battle, no mysteries to solve; none of that. My challenge is very simple: in this ball three bells have been put." He put up three fingers before lightly rapping his knuckles against the ball.

Within it, a faint ringing noise sounded and something seemed to roll back and forth.

"Your task is to get a hold on all three of the bells," Kakashi continued and patted the ball. "Destroy the ball and get the bells, that's all you got to do. But! The bells can't be damaged in the course of retrieving them and you are not allowed in any way to open up the ball. The only ones that can attempt to open the ball are your Pokémon."

"That's fine," Naruto reassured him, eyeing the ball intently.

It appeared to be made of some sort of metal: he could have Ninetales go crazy with the ball. Maybe even Lucario as a backup. Really, this challenge wasn't that impossible. It sounded pretty doable even! All he had to make sure of was that Ninetales wouldn't be too excited and accidentally burn the bells as well.

Kakashi waggled his finger, pulling Naruto's attention away from the suspended ball. "I said that the only ones who can open the ball are your Pokémon – but I only want to see one red beam at any given time."

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that if you have one Pokémon out, you can't have a second one out either," Kakashi answered patiently. "You can try for how long you want, you can have as many Pokémon attempt to break the balls as you want – but I want to only see one red beam at the time. You can't call up one Pokémon and then five minutes later add another one. That's not how it works. Switching them out yes, but the second I count a second red beam that doesn't have anything to do with you calling back one Pokémon, the challenge is over. Understood?"

"Yep, all we need to do is break that ball and grab the bells, right?" Naruto asked for confirmation.

"That's all," Kakashi confirmed.

"All right, that should be doable," Naruto nodded to himself.

They had managed just fine with the challenges of the seven previous Gyms. They could do this as well!

"Good luck," Kakashi offered before disappearing out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Naruto walked over to the ball in question and paused in front of it, studying it while resting his hands on his hips. All right, this was the last Gym – they could do this! This was just a metal ball and metal was truly no match for fire; this might be over quicker than Kakashi might expect.

Grinning, Naruto grabbed Ninetales' Pokéball and threw it in the air. "Come on, Ninetales, it's time to play!"

This was just impossible.

Completely dumbfounded, Naruto could only stand there and watch as Toxtricity grew agitated, his Overdrive barely making the ball wiggle. His tail wagged back and forth in ever growing irritation as he stalked around the ball; his eyes fixated upon it.

Literally everybody in their team had had their turn with the ball. Ninetales' Inferno didn't even melt the outer layer of the ball; Mimikyu's Slash didn't create a dent. Neither Vaporeon's Aurora Beam or Water Pulse did any sort of damage. Pidgeot nearly damaged his claws in his fury to leave even the slightest scratch behind. Lucario had unleashed a barrage of Auror Spheres, Force palms and even Bone Rush.

Nothing.

No matter who Naruto called out of their Pokéball, no matter how furious their attack, no matter how ferocious they threw themselves at the ball … The ball remained completely unscathed, taunting them with its silvery, polished gleam.

As Toxtricity fell back, panting harshly, Naruto started to wonder if perhaps …

This Gym Challenge might be impossible after all.

AN2: Any ideas how they could solve this? I'll do my best to update this story sooner next time! Hopefully I still have readers left *winces*

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.