(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. The few dents were slowly but surely healing as Beldum slept, the psychic power in its body trying to repair the damage it could. Grabbing some super potions from his bag, Ares sprayed it over the cracks, making sure it was evenly spread before he bandaged Beldum up. If he had some metal coat, he would have used some to speed up the process, yet he didn't have any on hand. Another item to add to his shopping list for later.
Finally, he covered his hands in a shiny oil, one that worked rather well on steel objects, which would have to do for now. Once he had some better supplies he would surely use them to improve this little fellow. 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. It swung back and forth, as the trap slowly came to a halt.
"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. When looking around he didn't see them, yet his aura highlighted their positions clearly. They were very adept at camouflage and hidding.
"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. Even their shadows stood by perplexed, as they hesitated more and more to move as Ares got closer to the mansion.
Ultimately, they didn't move, as all their presences faded once they saw the big mansion gate.
Arriving in front of the mansion gate, he and Lucario entered without a word. The gate was already open, as were the doors leading further inside. As they passed through the gate, 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 in 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 amount of space available to him.
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 therefore the only part that wasn't covered in soot.
"If you laugh one more time, I will return you to your pokeball."
He grumbled as he wiped the soot from his hands, giving a glare at Mew, who immediately stopped her giggling, her shoulders occasionally trembling as she kept it in. 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. It had the same appearance as the dojo's that martial artists used. The space was wide enough for a pokemon battle to be held in. 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. His eyes stared sharply at Ares and Lucario.
"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 remained deep in thought, shook his head and returned to the conversation.
"How many badges have you collected till this point?"
" Four badges in total."
Ares replied as he showed Koga his badges. They were all in the order he had gotten them, sparkling in the light.
"Ah yes, then I can increase the difficulty. Let's head outside. Battling inside will damage the surroundings. The dojo inside is for honing the arts of humans, and young pokemon. It is unsuited for prolonged battles against stronger opponents."
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. A basic battlefield used by a lot of league battles.
"This will be a four on four pokemon battle. Only the challenger may substitute his pokemon. Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Then let us commence the battle. Prepare yourself."