"Inner peace...Inner peace…" A frog-looking creature said to itself as he meditated on a rock in the middle of a lake, several small columns of water forming around him. Truly, his life was a simple, but good one nonetheless. a few seconds later, He heard the sound of flapping wings and could make out a large silhouette through the mist.
"INTRUDER!" He shouted, jumping several feet into the air to meet his supposed attacker.
"Nononononono-" Charizard said in shock before Greninja brought his foot down on him, sending both into the lake. Greninja, having realized his mistake, dragged Charizard through the water to the shore, where he laid exhausted and gasping for breath.
"Ah, Charizard," Greninja began, "What brings you here today? I see you are not with the boy in red". Charizard coughed up a small amount of water before opening his mouth to speak.
"That's actually kinda why I'm here. A...let's call him a friend of mine directed me here. Said you could teach me some stuff about fighting, you know, on my own."
"Ah, I see," Greninja replied, "You seek independence because you do not know how to fight without someone giving you orders."
"That's one way to put it." Charizard said, standing up. Greninja smiled and made a 'come here' gesture.
"Follow me, there's an area I know where we can practice." without hesitation, Greninja darted through the nearby forest with Charizard flying by overhead until they reached A large clearing, landing in the middle of it.
"Now," Greninja said after a short period of silence, "attack me.". Charizard hesitated at first, but swung a clawed hand at Greninja, who jumped over it and kicked him in the head.
"Oh, you're going to have to do much better than that."
Charizard let out a snarl and shot forth a stream of flame at Greninja, who ducked under it and did a sliding kick into Charizard, sending him back a few feet.
Charizard rushed forward at Greninja, his body covered in flame. Greninja was sent flying to the far end of the clearing, with the recoil sending Charizard back to the other end.
He followed this up by flying high into the sky and diving down at Greninja, who seemingly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Charizard looked down at his target and saw what looked to be a plushie.
Before he had any more time to think about it Greninja attacked from behind, wielding two water swords in each hand.
"You're doing well," Greninja said, "But in battle, you must prepare for the unpredictable, expect the unexpected, anything can ha-" Before he could finish, large pieces of rock came crashing down on him, knocking him to the ground.
"I mean, as long as we're being unpredictable," Charizard grinned. The two continued like this for hours, fire being spewed, water being shot forward, and cryptic advice being said, half of which Charizard wasn't convinced Greninja even understood, and so on and so on. As the sun went down, the two retired to a nearby cave, exhausted from the training.
"Thought I might find you two here." A voice called out from the entrance.
"Show yourself," Greninja called out.
"Very well," The voice called out. A tall, humanoid creature walked into the cave and up to Greninja.
"Never thought I'd see you around these parts," Greninja said, "What brings you here, Lucario?"
"I'm here with a message," he said, "The people behind the Smash Brothers tournament are offering you and Charizard part in the new tournament."
Greninja rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Smash Brothers…" he said to himself. "I shall consider it. There truly is no better way to show the world my skill in combat other than dueling the world's greatest warriors," he looked to Charizard, who was half asleep, "However, I cannot speak for my apprentice."
"Tell em' to stuff it, I'm not interested." Charizard mumbled, half asleep.
"Okay," Lucario said, rolling his eyes, "I'll just let them know you aren't coming, I'll just let Pikachu know that you refus-"
"Hold on, hold on, hold on." Charizard interrupted, "That little rat is still in the tournaments? Like hell I'm gonna pass up a chance to show I'm better than that little punk!".
"Excellent, so I can assure them you're coming?"
"Bet on it, blue boy!"
Lucario left the cave smiling to himself, with Greninja following behind.
"Lucario, wait." He called after him. Lucario turned to face the ninja frog. "Charizard's only just learning to fight on his own, I'm not sure if he's ready for a tournament."
"That's why it's important that you're there. You can mentor him further there. Besides, it's not like we're throwing you into the tournament straight away, you're gonna have time to train."
"Very well," Greninja sighed, "Put me down as a definite yes."
Lucario nodded, "See you in a week then."
"See you in a week."