Disclaimer: All rights go to the Pokémon Company Inc.
Chapter 2: The Training
"This is a good spot." Clemont said as we headed towards a clearing while we were traveling along Route 18 to take a rest. I put my bag down and called upon my Pokémon except Greninja.
"Hey Clemont, how long until dinner?" I asked.
"About an hour or two." He said as he was prepping stuff for dinner. I just nodded while ignoring my hunger and headed to the opposite side of the clearing which was far away from Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie so I don't hurt them with my training. When I was walking away I heard Bonnie talking.
"What is wrong with Ash? He usually is very impatient when it comes to food." Bonnie said with a concerned voice.
"I think I know." Serena's voice said. But it was softer. She stayed put. I don't know how I was able to hear her, but I did. I just let it go. I walked out to the far end of the clearing and took a deep breath. I took out Greninja's Pokéball and looked at it for a couple of seconds and tossed him out with more force than normal. Greninja popped out with a determined look on his face.
"Gren-ninja?" He said in a questioning tone and was wondering why we were away from camp.
"I want to try and see if we can do it again. Is that okay?" I asked. Greninja nodded his head and he turned to face the big open space in front of us.
"Ok first we need to start off with a couple of moves to get our mindset into battling. Alright Greninja use Water Shuriken!" I yelled as Greninja formed shurikens of water and threw them towards the open air and it exploded with water raining down from the evening sky.
"Alright now use Aerial Ace and hit the air. Pretend there is an enemy right there!" I shouted as he did as I told him and he hit the air and I was copying his movements. We weren't even in the form and it was as though we're already synchronized. That's just how strong our bond is. Greninja landed on the ground not even the tiniest bit tired.
"Alright Greninja use Water Shuriken!" I yelled as he created more shurikens and tossed them into open air. The explosion was a little bigger than the last one. Then, just like before my heart rate sped up and my body heated up.
"Greninja we're gonna get much, much stronger!" I yelled as we began doing the movement we did before by pulling our arms back our fists pointing towards the sky.
"Greninja!" He yelled at the same time as me.
"Let's go!" I yelled. Then we let out a battle cry and the torrent of water surrounded Greninja as he changed form. Then, suddenly my vision changed. It seemed as though it was through Greninja. The torrent died down and the transformation was done. He was still surrounded by the veil of water. I'm not sure if that signals something, but at the moment I don't care.
"Here we go Greninja! Use Cut!" I yell as I put my hands behind my back copying Greninja's movements as he pulled out two blades of Cut again instead of one. He then began hitting towards the invisible enemy he created with his mind and I was seeing the same thing. A transparent Pokémon dummy standing in front of us.
Serena's POV
I hear a loud yell coming from where Ash was, but I couldn't see them. What I could see though was a large torrent of water rising into the sky and into the clouds above them. Then after a couple of seconds it died down as I know that it happened. I knew that was the reason why he wasn't complaining that he was hungry. He wanted to train with Greninja.
"What was that?" Clemont asked.
"That was Ash and Greninja practicing whatever that was that happened yesterday." I said with no emotion. I wanted him to stay here. I feel much safer when he is nearby.
"Maybe you can get him. Dinner is almost done." Clemont said.
"I think I will," I said while getting up from the table walking toward the direction of where the torrent of water was.
"See you in a bit." I said while walking faster towards that spot.
"Ok." Clemont said.
Ash's POV
"Greninja use Aerial Ace!" I shouted as I copied Greninja's movements. But just as we were about to launch the attack I no longer saw through Greninja. My heart rate slowed down and my body cooled. And I felt exhausted and I fell to the ground and was breathing a little heavy. Greninja returned to his normal form and was doing the same. I think being in that form drains our energy. We'll just build up stamina later. Right now I need to head back to camp. But just when I was about to I heard Serena yell my name.
"Ash! Are you okay?" She asked with concern in her voice running towards me.
"Yeah. Being in whatever that was tired us out. But we can figure that out later! Right Greninja?" I asked looking at him while pumping my fist.
"Gren!" He he said while doing the same. Serena helped me up and I helped Greninja up. We then decided to head back to the camp.
"Ash where were you I was beginning to worry?" Bonnie asked with a pouty face while crossing her arms. I just smiled.
"Don't worry Bonnie. I was just training with Greninja." I said. Squishy popped out when I mentioned Greninja.
"Something wrong Squishy?" I asked kneeling to it's height. I already knew though. But Squishy shook it's head no and withdrew back into Bonnie's bag. He was interested in that that thing that I have with Greninja.
"Well Ash I hope you're hungry. Homemade pizza tonight." Clemont said. My eyes light up and I drooled. Everyone just laughed.
"That sure does look good Clemont. Can't wait to try it!" I exclaimed. Everyone else agreed with me. We all eat in silence, but I was in love with Clemont's cooking. It was so good.
"Man Clemont this is very good." I said with my mouth full. Clemont chuckled.
"I'm glad you enjoy it." He said delighted with his cooking too.
"So Ash. Was there anything different this time with Greninja? I heard you guys yell and I saw the torrent of water that surrounds Greninja." Serena said.
"Yeah. This time we were able to stay in it a little longer, but we had to stop abruptly as we both became exhausted. I think we were synchronized. I felt as though I was Greninja," I said as I saw Greninja nodded as he confirmed he felt the same. "I don't know what it is, but I know we are like synchronized. I feel as though we're battling together." I said while wiping my mouth with a napkin. Greninja agreed with me again. I saw Squishy peeking out listening to everything I was saying about Greninja. We will master whatever this is soon, but right now I need some sleep. We are going to watch Serena's showcase in Couriway Town tomorrow and then the day after we'll head to Terminus Cave.
"Well we should get to bed. We have Serena's showcase to watch tomorrow in Couriway Town." I said while smiling towards Serena. I swear I thought I saw her cheeks go red, but I thought I was seeing things.
"Yeah you're right." She said heading into her tent. I headed into mine and Clemont's and changed into my night clothes. I returned all of my Pokémon expect Pikachu.
"Goodnight Clemont, Serena and Bonnie!" I said.
"Goodnight!" They all replied. And my eyes drifted off to sleep.
Unknown POV
"We have a visual of Z-1. We'll retrieve it as soon as possible." A women's voice said.
"They're with a group of kids. This will be an easy catch." Said another women's voice.
"Good. Good. Report back with your results." A man's voice said through a holo vid.
"Yes sir." They both said as the holo video message ended.
Ash's POV (Time change)
I woke up to something nudging me. It was Greninja.
"Huh? Oh hey Greninja, what's up?" I asked in a groggy tone while sitting up and rubbing my eyes.
"Gren. Gren-greninja." He said in a determined tone while pulling his arms back while fins pointing toward the sky. He wanted to try the transformation again.
"It's like 5:30 in the morning. Are you sure?" I asked. He nodded. I hesitated for a second, but I snapped out of it and smirked while pumping my fist with a determined look on my face.
"Then let's do it." I said with a determined voice. I changed into my normal attire and we headed to the opposite side of the clearing where we once were yesterday and warmed up our bodies and focused our mindset. Me and Greninja were already synchronized and we weren't in the form. But like I said our bond is the best of the best.
"You ready Greninja?" I asked smirking with determination coursing through my veins. I could feel that Greninja was the same. We were going to perfect this.
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
Serena's POV
I woke up to the sound of footsteps coming from nearby. I looked out of the tent and saw Ash and Greninja walking to the far side of the clearing.
"Why won't he give it a rest?" I asked myself while rolling my eyes. "Don't you dare roll your eyes at Ash's determination." My conscious told me. I listened because my conscious was right. Ash was doing the best he could to try to get this form perfected no matter what time it is or how long it will take. It seemed as though Greninja was the one who wanted this, but it looks like Ash accepted it since they both want to perfect this form of theirs. I put on my clothes and thought about Ash.
"Ash is so determined. That is what I like about him." I said smiling and blushing, but a little too loud for my liking. I turned to Bonnie to see if she was awake to hear that, but she was still in the same position she was when I woke up so I sighed with the feeling of relief flowing through my body. I wasn't going to bother him I was just going to sit and watch. I put on my boots and headed toward the far end of the opening where Ash was when I heard him yell "Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
Bonnie's POV
I heard rustling from inside the tent and I heard a voice speaking. It was Serena's.
"Ash is so determined. That is what I like about him." I just smirked knowing how Serena really felt about Ash. I then drifted back to sleep. I'll talk with her soon.
Ash's POV
Greninja created multiple shurikens of water and threw them into the cool night air with the tiny light of morning starting to appear. They exploded with water raining down from the sky.
"Good job Greninja!" I exclaimed. "Alright. Now use Cut on the enemy!" I said as Greninja created a blade of Cut and started running at super speed and hitting the air with it creating sharp whistling noises. That was the power of Greninja.
"Nice Greninja!" I complimented.
"Gren. Greninja-ja." He said while pumping his fist signaling he's ready.
"Alright. More and more power! Here goes!" I said determined. My arms pull back as my fists face the sky. My body warms and my heart rate speeds up again. Me and Greninja let out a yell and the massive torrent of water once again surrounds Greninja. The torrent dies down and Greninja is surrounded by the veil of water. He jumps up into the air water falling and hitting me, but I didn't care. I was Greninja. He then lands on the ground in a fighting stance. "Greninja. Let's go!" I yell and then smile as I see through Greninja's eyes. "Greninja use Aerial Ace!" I tell Greninja and his fins light up to a bright white light and he speeds off with more speed than his normal self and started hitting the air. Right jab, left jab, left uppercut. I copy all of Greninja movements from left to right.
"Alright. Now Double Team!" I exclaim as Greninja created tens of copies of himself.
"Now! Water Shuriken!" I yell as the copies disappear and Greninja makes a slightly bigger Water Shuriken and hurls it towards the open air. After a couple of seconds a massive explosion flattens out the grass and wind is created which I feel against my skin. Then a fire Pokémon appeared in front of Greninja. I thought it's because our imagination has been put to the limit, but it was just Serena's Braxien.
"Alright Braxien use Flamethrower on Greninja!" Serena commanded her Fire type as Braxien created flames with it's stick then shot it out as a beam. I smiled knowing that Serena was trying to help.
"Greninja use Water Shuriken!" I say as I put my hands behind my back and create shurikens of air and toss it to open air. All I was doing was copying Greninja's movements as Greninja created shurikens of water and threw them at the Flamethrower and the attacks came out even.
"Wow. I thought his Water Shuriken would beat her Flamethrower. Your Braxien is pretty strong." I say excitedly.
"Why thank you Ash I have been training for a while." She said with a smile. I smile back then turn toward the battle, determination taking over.
"Alright Greninja, get up close and use Aerial Ace!" I shout. Greninja jumped and ran at amazing speeds and hit Braxien, but with not as much power as I thought it would be. He was holding back. And I think I know why. Greninja likes Braxien. He doesn't want to hurt her. That makes me smile. My smile then turns into a sigh as I feel exhausted and I saw Greninja return to his normal form. Both me and Greninja sat on the ground catching our breaths. It lasted even longer than last time time which makes me happy.
"Greninja," I say as Greninja looks toward me letting me know I have his attention. "Good job this time. We were in it longer." I said getting up and walking over to pat him in the back. "You take a nice long rest okay?" I ask and he nods smiling in response as I took his Pokéball and return him to it. I look at it and smile.
"We'll get it someday." I say quietly with a smile as I look at his Pokéball as it nods signaling yes we will. My smile widens a little. I then turn towards Serena. "Hey thanks a lot for the help." I said with gracefulness in my voice. She just smiled.
"I was just doing the role of being a good friend," She said as she looks down I think a little disappointed, but it was very quick so I didn't think anything of it. "Maybe we should head back to the camp now." I say as I look up at the sky. The morning light was about 10 times brighter than it was when me and Greninja first started training. Clemont and Bonnie were up.
"Hey where were you guys?" Clemont ask.
"Ash went to train again for that transformation again and I woke up to his footsteps." I said. I then saw Bonnie smiling. Slowly I saw Serena with a bit of panic on her face, but then it disappeared.
"Alright we'll get breakfast at the Poké centre," I say as I began folding my tent. "And then Serena's showcase." I say with enthusiasm. This time I saw Serena blush, but it was clearer. And she was smiling.
"Alright let's head out." I said as I put my backpack on.
"Yeah!" Everyone else says as we continue walking along Route 18 to Couriway Town. We would finally get to see Serena's Showcase.