Chapter Text
Chapter 45
"I've got better things to do," the man said dismissively and went to close the door again.
Naruto slammed his hand against the door, keeping the red haired man from closing it further. "Like what?" he challenged him. "You're the Move Tutor, aren't you? This is your job."
"Who says I'm in the mood to do my job today?" The man raised an eyebrow, sneering lightly.
Wow, he really wasn't pleasant, huh? Nurse Joy hadn't been lying, clearly.
"You either help teach my Pokémon new moves or I keep bothering you until you do," Naruto stated warningly. "I've got all the time in the world – do you?"
The man narrowed his eyes. "You are damn annoying, kid," he muttered and braced his shoulder against the doorframe, no longer trying to keep the door shut.
"I can become a whole lot more annoying if you want," Naruto smiled sweetly.
Mimikyu tightened his shadowy tendrils around Naruto's wrists, staring up at the red haired man.
"I'm not just going to waste my time here," the main said abruptly. "You want my help, fine, prove that you earn it."
This time it was Naruto who narrowed his eyes, growing wary. "And how would I prove that?"
Really, were all Move Tutors this difficult? He could try searching for another one, but who knew how long that would take? Especially because the Gym was in this city. If he had to go out of his way to look for a Move Tutor just for this one Gym … No, he was going to make do with this one, even if he acted like a douche at the moment.
The Move Tutor smirked and stepped outside, beckoning Naruto to follow him. Frankly, Naruto wasn't sure whether he wanted to follow him, but what other choice did he have? He was here so that Lucario and Snorlax could learn some new Ground moves. He wasn't about to leave without them having learnt new attacks, so he stifled a sigh and walked with the red haired man to the fenced off area.
The older man opened the fence, closing it behind Naruto immediately. A Charizard nearby looked up, its sharp eyes landing on Naruto immediately, but the sight of its Trainer had the Fire Pokémon simply huffing out a puff of smoke before it turned away. A Rhyhorn rushed straight past them, a Rhydon acting as its shadow; their heavy footsteps making the ground shake. A Fearow screeched, chasing after a Talonflame. The sight of the Talonflame had Mimikyu stiffening up slightly and another shadowy tendril sneaked from underneath his costume, curling tightly around Naruto's wrist. The sound of keys clacking together had Naruto turning his head, watching a Klefki floating together with a Comfey.
As much as Naruto had the impression that the red haired man was a douchebag, it was clear that he took care of his Pokémon very well. They all acknowledged his presence one way or the other, with some of them like a Rapidash even trotting over to greet him personally.
"You see that pipe over there?" the man spoke up for the first time since leaving his home.
They had made their way far into the field; the area a lot bigger than Naruto had expected it to be. Even here they were surrounded by all sorts of Pokémon, though Naruto had spotted a row of wooden stable like buildings and he presumed those were meant for the Pokémon to rest in whenever they were out of their Pokéballs.
The pipe in question had one opening simply resting on the ground before it curled into an U form with the other end leading straight up into a tree. When Naruto stepped closer and squinted up, he saw that the other end of the pipe was hidden within a small box. The pipe itself was barely bigger than the span of Naruto's hand and the box itself wasn't that much bigger either. Truthfully he had no idea what he was looking at. What was the purpose of that odd pipe and why had the man brought him here?
"There's a small ruby hidden in that box," the man started in a conversational tone. "If you can get it out of the box and bring it to me, I'll teach your Pokémon the moves you want."
"Is that all?" Naruto shrugged and his hand already dipped to his belt, ready to call Lucario so that he could break the pipe, when the red haired man started to smirk, crossing his arms. "What?"
"If it would be as easy as smashing the pipe apart, then it wouldn't be an actual challenge, would it?" the man said; his smirk deepening. "You need to retrieve that ruby without breaking the pipe or the box in any way. You can't go around shaking the box either. Your best hope is to have a Pokémon small enough to go into that pipe, because if you don't, well, this challenge is going to be quite the pickle then." He whistled and turned around, walking away. "Good luck!"
Oh yeah, he was a real bastard for sure.
Staring up at the pipe connecting to the box, Naruto quickly realised he was in trouble. None of his Pokémon were actually small enough to fit through the pipe. He didn't have an Ekans that could squeeze its way through the pipe, nor a Flabébé, a Cutiefly or a Comfey – Pokémon small enough to fit in the pipe. He couldn't smash it to pieces, he couldn't burn it down; he couldn't even climb into the tree itself and shake the box long enough for the ruby to fall into the pipe.
How on earth was he going to get that ruby stone when none of his Pokémon were small enough to fit through the pipe? He could perhaps try to find an Ekans or so, catch one and have that one go into the pipe, but were Ekans even native to this area? Not to mention, was he even allowed to leave the area? Or would the man come up with the excuse that he had failed the challenge by leaving the fenced field in order to catch a new Pokémon? He definitely appeared difficult enough to use such an excuse.
"Why does he have to be such a bastard?" Naruto muttered sourly, biting down on his lip as he considered his options –
Which were exactly none.
No matter how he looked at it, this challenge was just impossible with the Pokémon he had in his team. They were all far too large to fit through the pipe. Perhaps Vaporeon could have assimilated himself with water and climb up the pipe in that way if the tail end of the pipe had ended in water, but of course that wasn't the case.
"Mimi, Kyu, Mimi?"Who get ruby?Mimikyu peered up at him; his stuffed head falling back against Naruto's chest.
Naruto heaved a huge sigh, shifting Mimikyu's weight to his other arm so that he could run his free hand through his hair, tugging at the strands. "No idea, Mimikyu. Everyone is too big to fit through the pipe and I don't know if I'm allowed to leave this place and try to catch a Pokémon small enough."
Not to mention, were such small Pokémon even available near the city? He hadn't come across any of them on his way here and they had spent plenty of time in the forest while travelling.
"Kyu, Mimikyu."Can do it.
"Maybe there's some kind of loophole that we can ex-what?" Naruto looked down at Mimikyu, completely taken off guard by his suggestion. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"Kyu, Mimikyu," Mimikyu repeated, sounding a bit less confident but still making the offer.Can do it.
"I appreciate the offer, but your costume is too big to fit through, Mimikyu," Naruto said, smiling faintly. He patted the stuffed head. "I don't want you to ruin your costume by trying to push through. This pipe is really small."
"Mimikyu, Mimi, Kyu," Mimikyu suggested and while a shudder ran through his small body, he looked up at Naruto with determination.Take off costume, go in.
Naruto was completely dumbfounded this time and he automatically tightened his embrace around Mimikyu. "But – you don't like taking off your costume," was all he could think of to say, too stupefied to think of something else.
Even after all the time they had spent together, Naruto had yet to see what was exactly underneath Mimikyu's costume. It was a shapeless form, that he knew from the times he had carried Mimikyu, and he was quite light; his costume probably adding most of the weight. He used shadowy tendrils in lieu of limbs and they always felt rather cold against Naruto's skin. He had envisioned that Mimikyu's true form might be some kind of mixture between Gastly's gas form and shadows. Mimikyu's true form wasn't big at all and quite fluid and so in theory, he should be able to fit in the pipe – but only if he removed his costume.
Mimikyu never removed his costume. With as much as he trusted Naruto, he preferred to not show his true form at all, no matter how many times Naruto reassured him that he loved him, not caring about how he looked.
Mimikyu's shadows tightened around Naruto's wrists. "Mimi, Mimikyu. Kyu, Mimi, Mimi," he muttered, releasing a shuddery breath.Don't like it. But necessary for moves.
"I don't want you to push yourself, Mimikyu," Naruto said firmly. "We'll figure out something else. You don't need to take off your costume if it makes you feel uncomfortable."
"Mimikyu!"Want do it!
Before Naruto could stop him, Mimikyu had already wriggled out of his hold and jumped down onto the ground, shuffling over to the pipe. He studied it intently; one of his shadowy tendrils poking at the busted metal. He nodded; his fake head wobbling back and forth.
"Mimikyu."Can do it.
Mimikyu regarded him with such a stubborn look that Naruto couldn't do anything else but sigh quietly and nod, resting his hands on his hips.
"If you're really sure, you can do it," he gave in and Mimikyu jumped a bit up and down. "Do you want me to turn around while you take off your costume?"
Shadowy limbs wavered, dancing across the earth, before Mimikyu answered in a small voice, "Mimi."Yes, please.
"You know it doesn't matter to me how you look like," Naruto told him once more, but respecting the small Pokémon's decision, he turned around, keeping his eyes fixed on the back of the Move Tutor's house.
Behind him there was some rustling cloth noises when Mimikyu divested himself from his costume and Naruto twitched as burning curiosity nearly made him turn his head, wanting to catch a glimpse. He held himself back, however, not wanting to lose Mimikyu's trust, and soon he heard the pipe move slightly behind him as Mimikyu climbed up within it.
Naruto waited for a bit until he was relatively sure that Mimikyu had made his way into the box and called out, "Mimikyu, do you see the ruby?"
For a brief moment it remained quiet and Naruto frowned, crossing his arms as he started to consider whether this wasn't just some prank of the red haired man. Maybe there wasn't a ruby at all in the box? Maybe he had just lied about that, so that –
"Mimi!"Found it!
Not even two seconds after Mimikyu's announcement, something clattered loudly down the pipe. Naruto waited until he heard the rustling noises again, indicating that Mimikyu was pulling on his costume.
"Do you have your costume back on?" he asked, still keeping his back turned. A Butterfree flew a bit closer, curiosity shining through those multifaceted eyes, but when Mimikyu chirped a confirmation, the Pokémon flew away again, scattering some dust on the ground.
Naruto turned around and he couldn't help but grin satisfied at the sight of a small, red stone greeting him. He picked up Mimikyu first, settling him in the crook of his elbow, before snatching up the ruby, holding it up in the air.
"Looks like we beat his challenge," he said lightly. "You did an amazing job, Mimikyu. I know how much you don't like taking off your costume, so thank you."
"Mimi," Mimikyu answered bashfully, curling one shadow around Naruto's wrist again.Is fine.
It was more than fine even. Naruto hugged him a bit tighter, unable to contain the pride he felt for Mimikyu who had overcome one of his biggest fears in order to help out the team.
"You did great, I'm proud of you, Mimikyu," Naruto murmured.
He thought the shadowy tendril around his wrist felt a lot warmer suddenly.
The Move Tutor's wide-eyed look of surprise when Naruto presented him the ruby had Naruto smiling smugly in response.
"We completed your challenge and the pipe is still whole," he said airily, throwing the ruby up in the air and catching it again. "So about those new moves."
"You're interesting, kid," the red haired man said amused, shaking off his shock quickly.
"I've heard that before," Naruto said dismissively. "So, can you help teach my Pokémon some new moves, Mister …"
The red haired man ran his tongue quickly over his teeth and grinned wildly. "Call me Kurama. And sure, let's see if your Pokémon can handle my training."
