A/N: Sooooooooooooo, the ship for this story is the lovable Greninja and Chestnaught pairing, for which I've only really seen one fic give it some good attention.
A bit of background on the story - I wanted to set it up just a little like Beauty and the Beast, except Chestnaught is still so cute I'd hardly call him that ;) . He unfortunately does not appear in this first chapter, as I'm just setting the scene - Sorry! But we get to know the background of a lot of characters which is good too.
I don't know, when I saw Greninja with his tongue covering half his face for the first time, I just thought of him as this shy sort of character. Anyone else think the same?
But yeah, please enjoy, and review about literally anything at all - Reviews are my motivation :)
I was shocked by the late prince's desire to leave the kingdom so suddenly, but not saddened. I had hardly known the man, and what I did know of him did not impress me in the slightest.
Currently at the ceremony, I stood side by side with Milotic, the Queen of Water. Beautiful, kind and smart, she was in many ways someone that I looked up to, besides the whole having no legs to walk thing. She was to my eyes, however, merely used by the King as eye candy, a supposed representative of the beauty and delicacy that is the Water type. Reading out the rules and regulations that the Water Empire set upon the people of Kalos, but taking no part in making those rules. Some kind of a sports team mascot, if you'd like.
To the other side of the sea blue presentation, stood the King himself, Slowking. I couldn't say much about him, for he is hardly ever seen out of his own private chambers. If first impressions are anything to go by, his lazy eyes and wonky crown would suggest some sort of a slob. He was the sort of king that was traditional to a tee, fair but unwilling to negotiate past the norm. It was thanks to him that all Water types living within our castle were to be treated as royalty, first class citizens. Being even a small part of the Water Empire would assure you a place in all the best schools, the best treatment from any other type. Being born here was almost like being born into a separate world, one of endless possibilities and prospects for the future. Others, well, their lives were simpler, more plain. Most of the others kept to their respective fields or family businesses.
"Feraligatr was an ally of many, and a friend of even more." Slowking stood up at the centre stage to speak. His voice was slow, as you'd expect, and not loud either, but it was powerful. People listened when he talked, and whether that was because of his character or his power, I would never know.
"He was a diligent asset to the Water Empire." He continued, heads nodding in agreement and hushed whispers here and there from the mixed crowd. Everyone was expected to gather here in the town, regardless of type for once, and mourn over their 'friend'. In truth, Feraligatr had tormented many, and pushed on the fact royalty like us should be as high regarded as possible. A self-entitled tyrant who had left in order to pursue numerous wild fantasies that did not leave a good impression on the kingdom, and so had been left unsaid as to why he had departed.
"He will be remembered for his courageous pursuit in keeping the Water Empire strong, and his loyal sense of justice that has guided us to such success we see today." Some heads turned at this, but no one dared to interrupt or dispute the King's words. 'Justice' was one way to describe his actions.
"I believe that some of his closest friends have prepared a few words of their own to say about him, of their fondest memories. Milotic, if you would." The aqua snake bowed lightly, and made her way onto the podium. She began to talk about their experiences together, what she knew of him and such. All rehearsed, of course, for she had previously told me of her thorough dislike for the young man. Yet even I seemed convinced of the words she was saying somehow.
I had spaced out and was now staring blearily at the photo of him, placed on a small table at the front. I could see him clearly; Brawn and bulk where I was brittle and slender, angry where I was calm, brash where I was timid. We seemed like polar opposites from each other. How someone could be so opinionated and outspoken, perhaps I did admire somewhat. But the obnoxiousness, the cruelty, I could never appreciate. I could only hope that his replacement was more fitting for the job.
"And now, to pass on to Greninja, who would also like to say a few words about our dear friend." Milotic finished, and despite her smooth voice I jumped slightly at the mentioning of my name, completely forgetting I also had to speak. With a meek nod, I walked past her, wrapped my tongue somewhat tighter around myself for protection, and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper which Slowking had already prepared for me.
"Feraligatr was a close friend of mine, a-although I had only known him a short, uh, while." I stammered rather pathetically, raising a few eyebrows in the crowd. Scanning the rest of the short speech, I found I really didn't agree with much of it, and would prefer not to speak it at all. I glanced at Slowking quickly, but he looked straight ahead over catching my eye.
"He was a noble prince who… Who always looked to better the world in any way he could." I tried to forget the amount of people standing before me who would remember these words as much as possible, but it wasn't made very easy when they whispered rather loudly to each other. No doubt confused by the clear lies that I was telling.
Not that I was any wiser as to what I was doing either.
I sped along the remaining lines, sighing in relief when I could leave and take my usual spot standing off to the side again, out of the limelight. It was wishful thinking to pretend no one in the whole ceremony would still be eyeing me, but I at least tried to convince myself. Public speaking was just the worst.
"Thank you very much for that, Greninja, your words would be greatly valued by the prince himself, I'm sure." I opened my mouth to thank him, but no words came out. I settled for nodding again, which seemed to be good enough for Slowking as he carried on talking about how this was a message for all of us to be thankful for the time he served with us, before we were all dismissed. I stared after some of the residents of town, wondering what they might be getting up to in their much more interesting lives. I almost envied them for their freedom, despite not being Water types; I had never even left the castle before…
"Oh, Greninja! Wouldn't you come and join us for just a minute?" I heard Milotic's soft voice call me over to where a group of Water types had gathered whilst I was lost in my own thoughts. Suicune and Poliwrath had also joined them, two of the King's chief advisors and bodyguards into one. Walking over, I pretended to ignore the way that Poliwrath seemed to be angry with me about something in particular. Of course, he usually glared at everyone, but now even more intensely so.
"I still think this is a terrible idea." I heard a not so hushed whisper from Poliwrath as I approached slowly.
"Oh hush now, you'll scare the poor thing!" Suicune argued back. "It's not even your place to argue, Poli, old pal. The King has decided it so that's that."
"Greninja, how good of you to join us." Slowking said in that usual calm tone of his, though it didn't put me at ease. Not really like I had a choice to be here, anyhow.
"We have a big surprise for you, sweetie." Milotic cooed me in an almost overbearingly affectionate way.
"Surprise…?" Was all I could say. Of all my years I could recall being brought up in the castle, I could never remember anything remotely surprising happening to me. The way they all seemed to circle around and practically trap me did not look promising.
"Well, what it is, is that me and Slowking were just discussing who should take the place of the next prince." Milotic continued.
"You're… thinking up replacements already?" I asked. Even for someone as… even for such a character as Feraligatr, I thought it more than a little disrespectful to look for a new royal candidate so soon.
"Well, life goes on, after all." Suicune explained to me. "A prince has big responsibilities, you know. And training doesn't happen overnight, old chum." Everyone whole heartedly agreed, so I left the point where it was. There would be no public announcement for a while, at the least.
"But what does this have to do with me?" I asked again.
"That is exactly my point, what does this have to do with him?" Poliwrath glared, as if I had started this whole… Whatever was even going on here.
"So very jealous you are." Suicune noted with a hint of amusement. "Sorry, but as I recall, the age limit for candidates is a little low for you, isn't it?"
"He's a child! He won't have a clue what he's-"
"My, what a rude pair you two are." Milotic chimed in, smiling sadly at me though she was talking to the others. "This is meant to be a celebration for our darling here and you're all taking the spotlight away from him."
"A c-celebration just for me?"
"Yes." Slowking beamed at me. "Well, as we were thinking of a new candidate to be the newest prince of the Water Empire, a certain name came up more than anyone else's." Everyone looked at me expectantly, as if I should already know what they were talking about.
"And?" I asked. "Who was it"?
"Oh my word…" Suicune breathed.
"It's you, you big dolt!" Poliwrath stamped in anger. "What, did you not get all the hints? Need a little sign with an arrow to point you in the right direction? This is exactly why he shouldn't be-"
"This is exactly why we need to out and buy a zip for that loud, obnoxious mouth of yours." Milotic snapped at him, rendering the fighter completely speechless.
As was I.
"B-b-b-b-but I couldn't possibly – I mean, t-this is – That's crazy!" I almost shouted at them, forgetting status and class for a moment. Me, a prince? Me, a prince! What… Why?
"It is by no means 'crazy', as you would put it." Slowking told me like this were a perfectly normal thing that was happening. "You are obedient, a good fighter, and already very in touch with our way of life and many people in the castle. In fact, you are the only one of us who has no formal title yet." He tried to reason with me.
"Listen, lad, you always trust the King's judgment, don't you?" Suicune asked me, stepping closer than I would like.
"Of course, but that… That's a separate issue, isn't it?"
"Aye, it's not so different. The King is certain that you will do well, so if you don't even trust in yourself, trust in the potential he sees in you."
"But I mean, I could barely even talk in front of all those people back there… How on earth do I even like… You know?"
"I have assigned Milotic to be your personal tutor throughout the next couple of months, so she can teach you everything you need to know." Slowking explained to me. "Public speaking, mannerisms, as well as the various jobs and visits you will need to attend, of course. If she can whip someone like me into shape, I'm sure you're in safe hands." Milotic smiled, though it was weird how she looked at me over the King as she did so.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to. Good luck, I'm sure you will be fine." Slowking marched off without another word, Poliwrath giving me one last glare before following off after him. We watched them go for a small while, staring after them, not really knowing what to say to each other.
"Right." Milotic chirped, clasping her red fins together in excitement. "Let's start our learning, shall we? You are welcome to join us too, Suicune. Anyone but that angry little tadpole." Her brows furrowed towards the end of her sentence, as she started to move off and out of the castle.
"He is just a little uptight, is all. Wants to be closer to the king and the like, you can hardly blame him." Suicune reasoned, jogging to catch up. For someone with no legs, she could really give me a run for my money in the speed department.
"Well he should learn to keep it to himself, like the rest of us do. He was so mean to poor Greninja here, wasn't he?"
"I'm fine, really." I tried to tell her. "I'm used to this sort of thing, so you don't have to worry."
"But that's the point, honey." Her voice softened as she met my gaze. "You shouldn't have to be used to that sort of treatment. You're my favourite out of everyone in the castle, you know that?"
"I am?" I said, trying not to sound too pleased. I think Suicune may have caught on though, as he gave me a slight wink.
"Why of course, sweetie. Why do you think I specifically asked for Slowking to pick you?" Before I could even utter a response, I was suddenly taken aback by my surroundings. The town was nothing like I ever imagined it to be; small, and yet not cramped, but cosy. Small shops and stalls were dotted around the area, set up on cream coloured paving slabs that were easy on the feet. It was sunny, but the shelter from surrounding trees meant it wasn't too bright, and the sunlight brought just the right amount of warmth. It was so busy, too – the castle was normally very spacious and sparsely inhabited, but the streets were filled with people going about their day to day tasks.
I tried to take in as much of the atmosphere as I possibly could, but Milotic seemed eager on us hurrying along to wherever she wanted to take me, so after a few seconds of ogling the view I ran to catch up.
"Where exactly is it we're going?" I huffed as tried my best to keep up and stop my tongue from flailing at the same time.
"Oh, to see a friend of mine." Milotic answered me. Without meaning to, I gave her a rather unimpressed look, and the water snake immediately picked up on it.
"What?"
"Not to be rude", I began carefully, "But how is this going to help me become prince of the Water Empire?" She thought hard for a moment, making a few 'umm' and 'ahh' noises before deciding on a fitting excuse.
"Well, I suppose I did say I would give you a lesson, so I shall. Lesson one: a prince should be friendly with all the locals, and know his surroundings – it would do you well to make some more friends outside of our little circle you know."
"Oh…" I said rather weakly, but unfortunately she picked up on it.
"Problem, Greninja?" She cooed me again. I couldn't decide if that was her way of offering affection or showing her amusement at something. Or even both.
"I struggle in the friend making department." I told her rather lamely. A prince that could not even make friends on a grade school level; perhaps they would realise this was all a big mistake.
"That is why we are here, is it not?" Suicune added, tapping on a solid green door with his forepaw. "These are lessons for you to learn how to do these things. If you already knew how to do it, we'd be wasting time." Before I could offer a response that I didn't want to do any of this in the first place, the door swung open to reveal an old but nice looking lady, whose eyes widened when she glanced up at Milotic.
"Oh Milotic, my darling, how good it is to see you." The Pokémon was green, with white hair and two roses for hands. The way the two looked at each other made me smile inside, for two of different types they sure looked very close. "You haven't aged a bit, have you dear?"
"Well, I try to keep myself looking appealing." She smiled back. "I've actually brought some company today."
"A friend of yours is a friend of mine, of course." Roserade grinned, beckoning with her left hand, or rose, for us to all file inside. "Suicune, I believe we have had the pleasure of meeting before, have we not?"
"If you can't remember, I'm not sure I must have made a good first impression." Suicune chuckled, but didn't seem at all offended."
"Nonsense, nonsense! Milotic just has so many friends is all, the busy little queen that she is. And… Oh, who might this be?" She asked, looking directly at me now with those striking yellow eyes. I looked to Milotic to introduce me, but she mouthed the words 'remember your lesson', and I figured out that I should introduce myself from now on.
"Hi." I blurted out a little loudly.
"It's very nice to meet you, Hi." She grinned at me, probably amused with my discomfort.
"This is Greninja." Milotic eventually took some pity on me, not before laughing to my extent with Roserade for a good while. "He's actually next in line to be the following prince of the Water Empire, but keep it a secret, will you?"
"Is he really?" The grass type raised an eyebrow, her look becoming more calculating as she glazed over me up and down. "Well, may I say what an honour it is to meet you, sir?"
"You don't need to call me sir." I mumbled from behind my tongue, and she nodded understandingly.
"Very humble of you, unlike some other members of the Water Empire I know." She flashed a look at Suicune, who did his best to ignore it. I even found myself grinning somewhat at her antics.
"Right then, are you here just for a chat, or maybe you're looking to do business?" The grass type asked.
"Business?" I asked before I could stop myself. There seemed to be nothing here of real value, only some dusty old books in one corner, and a wooden table in the centre of her small home. There was a neatly stacked arrangement of flowers there though, and from all the colours I guessed it could have taken any number of hours to assemble something so beautiful.
"Why yes dear, I sell clothes, you see." She smiled at me. I looked harder, but I couldn't see any clothes around here.
"Roserade has a very specific clientele, since few Pokémon wear clothes these days, so she doesn't need to advertise." Milotic informed me. "But if you need to buy anything of the sort, she's exactly the person to go to, anyone with a pair of working eyes could tell you that."
"Oh, you do always flatter me, Milotic. Why, someday I might just move out of this small place and start a real chain, but… What can I say? I've grown attached to the few fans I have." She sighed as she moved a rather heavy looking box out to a door in the back I'd neglected before.
"What can I do you three for, then?" She called from the next room, before coming out to meet us, arms folded casually over the counter.
"Well, we need something for Greninja here, our new little addition to the family. Make it smart too, for all occasions."
"I need clothes?" I frowned at Milotic. I'd never really been a fan of the things, from what I'd seen of them. Unnecessary, dainty little bits of fabric that they were, I suppose they could sometimes be warm on a cold winter's night.
"Sorry, honey, some of the places you'll be going need 'formal wear'." Milotic told me. She noticed my look, and continued, "A little tedious, I know, but once you've seen what Roserade makes you, you'll wonder how you survived without them in the first place."
"Got a favourite colour?" Roserade asked me. I thought about getting something blue, but then I would just look exactly the same as if I weren't wearing clothes anyway.
"Black, I suppose..." She gives me a raised eyebrow, to which I reply, "The dirt doesn't show very well, so… I don't know, make whatever you think would look good."
"I would choose black too, you can't go wrong with it." She trailed off as she walked back into the back room. "Good for formal wear, casual occasions…" She listed over some clatter and what sounded like the work of scissors.
"Doesn't she need to like, take measurements or something?" I whispered to Suicune beside me, in case either of the girls got offended by my comment.
"If she were an amateur, perhaps." He explained. "However, for someone in the business for years and years, one look at you is all she needs." I nodded, somewhat in awe at how anyone could possess such skill.
"Here it is!" She cried, hurling a lump of black fabric at me which I barely caught in my dazed train of thought. I ran my hands over it quickly, deciding how exactly one would wear this. "Well don't just stand there." She pouted, tapping her foot loudly on the wooden floor, "Give it a try, won't you?"
After struggling with the whole concept of sleeves, I slipped on the soft fabric and gave it a closer look. The material was wonderfully soft, and it felt so light I could pretend I was wearing nothing at all. I caught the glance of Roserade again, who seemed stunned by her own work. Milotic and Suicune also seemed to hold high praise too, if their facial expressions were anything to go by. The clothing ran up both my arms and then down to my thighs from there, the collar turned up slightly to cover my neck.
"I must apologise though, my dear." She said, as I wondered what someone with such a good eye could have to apologise for. "I was going to give you a hood too, but it might get in the way of that unique 'scarf' you have on. Plus… It would hide that pretty young face of yours, now, wouldn't it?" Too stunned to do anything else, I briskly walked to hide behind Milotic, and looked down pretending my blush wasn't quite so obvious as it felt.
"A little old for him, aren't you?" Milotic mused, whilst Roserade brushed her off, giggling to herself about something.
"I know, I know, dear. Sometimes I just like to have my bit of fun, don't you know? If you need anything else made, you know where to find me!" Milotic nodded and Suicune bowed his head as we all turned to leave.
"Oh, and Greninja dear?" She called out, and as much as I didn't want to, I poked my head out from behind the door. She gave a small, soft smile as she spoke "You really do look nice, I mean it. And believe me, Milotic knows I don't hand out compliments often."
"I, uh – thank you." I mumbled to her, before slipping out the store, listening to the small chime of bells as the door closed on them. Milotic squealed a few non intelligible things about how nice I looked, to which I just blushed quietly, thanking the stars the clothes also allowed me to hide my embarrassment.
"Well then, What should we do next?"
"It sounds infuriating to say the least, but I have no idea why you've come to me to listen to your problems."
After a long and unwarranted discussion with Slowking on the promise of the new so called 'prince' of the Water Empire, Poliwrath had decided enough was enough, and that there was no need to wait any longer to set the child back in his place. Unfortunately, there were only so many people that would tolerate such a brash personality, and the fighter had been rather reluctant to ask said person for help – this person being as self-serving as himself, that the two rarely seemed to agree on anything. Simipour, after listening to his various woes, sat across Poliwrath with a rather unimpressed look plastered across her face. They were in a classy restaurant, though neither of them were particularly hungry. It wasn't that kind of meeting, but Simipour always liked to poke fun, especially with Poliwrath – he was just so very easy to annoy.
"You know, when you invite a girl out to a restaurant like this, you are supposed to have something a little more romantic in mind." She added, flicking her blue hair to one side and staring disdainfully out of a window, but really giggling to herself inside.
"But I just don't understand it!" Poliwrath shouted, earning some curious stares from around their table. "Slowking is normally so good at picking the right man for the job, so how is it possible that for the most important position in the entire kingdom, he comes across this child nobody who has done nothing but sit around and read books his entire life?"
"You're talking about the frog, I assume? Weird tongue wrapped across his face?" Poliwrath nodded, angrily stabbing a forkful of oran berries into his mouth. Simipour watched the sharp object with some curiosity, deciding it would be unwise to wind the old time up too far. For now, at least.
"Well, not that this helps your case at all, but he doesn't have a bad face. Maybe Slowking is just looking for a piece of eye candy to appoint more than anything else?"
"You dare to insult our Lord Grace like this behind his back?" Poliwrath's eyes narrowed. Simipour sighed and slumped in her seat. What was the point of kissing someone's boots so relentlessly if they didn't even reward you with a pat on the back?
"Look, you're a big boy now. I'm sure there's some way you can win back Slowking's favour, but that doesn't include whining to me about it."
"I came here for you to help me, actually." He smiled at her, which Simipour found unnerving – the old fart never smiled. "I was thinking we could come up with some sort of plan to… shall we say, place this little ninja back where he belongs, up in his room with his nose stuck in a cosy little book, whilst I serve at the king's side. Win for everyone, wouldn't you agree?"
"I told you I don't do that kind of stuff anymore, Poli." The monkey pursed her lips at him, not quite meeting his gaze. "I'm trying to make an honest living now, I've got a little sister who really looks up to me…"
"Surely she would think so very highly of her big sister if she were only able to buy the things they both wanted?"
"…"
"If you'd just help me out on a little something", he murmured, voice becoming almost soft as he leaned in that bit closer, "Then I'm sure I could find a suitable reward for you. Perhaps a little financial support might be what you're looking for?"
"I… Oh, I don't know Poliwrath. " Simipour sighed, thinking it over in her head.
"Come now; try to think of it as two friends helping each other out?"
"When you put it that way… I suppose I could help you out, just this once." She smiled slightly, and was somewhat shocked to find the fighter smile back.
"I knew you would see things my way. Now listen, here's what we're gonna to do."