Ch 43. Into the Shinobi mansion

(A/N: Short chapter, since the previous one was rather big)

Cleaning up Beldum completely, a silver body was revealed. Golden claws were situated at the rear of its body. Cracks had formed all around Beldum's frame, which were not too deep, fortunately. Grabbing some super potions from his bag, Ares sprayed it over the cracks, making sure it was evenly spread before he bandaged Beldum up.

Finally, he covered his hands in a shiny oil, one that worked rather well on steel objects. Rubbing it in on the uninjured areas, Beldum was soon treated.

Returning the sleeping Beldum to its pokeball, Ares made his way up the mountain, towards the lonesome mansion. If he was right, that mansion should be the next gym, the fuchsia gym. The gym leader, Koga, was a adept user of poison type Pokemon.

As he got closer to the mansion, Lucario pulled him back.

Just on time, as a tree trunk swung from the side, passing by where he previously had been standing.

Ares "Thanks Lucario. Let's keep our eyes open."

Now that he was more aware of the hidden dangers hidding here, Ares didn't hesitate, spreading out his aura. As his aura spread, a multitudes of traps became visible to him, as were the people hidding above him in the trees.

Ares "Guess it isn't a shinobi mansion for nothing."

Now that he was aware where the traps were, he and Lucario made short work of the traps, crossing them, avoiding them or outright destroying them when they were in the way.

Arriving in front of the mansion gates, he and Lucario entered without a word. The gate was already open, as were the doors leading further inside. As they passed through the gates, the door slammed shut behind them, trapping them inside.

Looking back, Ares just shrugged, not really feeling the tension at the moment. He was here for a reason, so getting shut it wasn't such a big problem. His priority now was getting towards the gym leader. Taking the shut doors as a sign, gym leader Koga should be expecting him as of now.

Stepping further inside, they moved along empty hallways. Having learned from his experience outside of the mansion, his aura once again spread throughout the mansion, showing a multitude of hidden doors and pathways. There were traps as well, which were harder to evade with the limited space available.

One of these traps was hellish to encounter, as Electrode and Voltorbs would fall down from the ceiling, rolling down towards them as they detonated when they crashed into the walls of objects. It was only by luck and their own reaction speed that they could dodge most of them. A few unlucky explosions would hit them, leaving them with nasty bruises.

It wasn't any help either, that they would get a hearty laugh from Mew everytime they were in a predicament, as she would lounge about on his shoulders like an Ekans, putting a pink bubble around herself for protection. His shoulder and head were therfore the only part that wasn't covered in soot.

Ares "If you laugh one more time, I will return you to your pokeball."

He grumbled, giving a glare at Mew, who immediately stopped her giggling. Placing her head on his shoulder, she just gave a few warnings here and there to avoid the worst of it.

Eventually they finally arrived in a room that looked like a sparring room. The space was wide enough for a battle to be held. In the center was a man completely suited up in a shinobi uniform, the scarf, facemask and all the things usually seen worn by shinobi in movies.

Koga "Welcome, challenger. I am Koga, a poison-type ninja master. You have done well to pass through the traps in your surroundings. You have done well to face them, instead of giving up. It is a lesson for those aiming to become pokemon trainers. Know that the path of pokemon is not free from danger. If you don't have the courage or willpower to aim higher, the path of a trainer is not cut out for you."

Landing nimbly besides Koga, a teenage girl wearing similar clothes stood up. Her black hair was tied up in a single tail, swishing about as she whispered something to Koga, leaving as soon as she was done.

Koga "..."

Koga remained deep in thought, shook his head and returned to the conversation.

Koga "How many badges have you collected till this point?"

Ares " Four badges in total."

Ares replied as he showed Koga his badges.

Koga "Ah yes, then I can increase the difficulty. Let's head outside. Battling inside will damage the surroundings."

A hidden door in the wall slid open, revealing a dark pathway.

Going first, Koga led Ares through the hallway, arriving at an outdoor battlefield. There weren't any objects littering the field, showing no clear advantage to the gymleader or the trainer.

Koga "This will be a four on four pokemon battle. Only the challenger may substitute his pokemon. Are you ready?"

Ares "Yes."

Koga "Then let us commence the battle."