Crisis with Ninja's
Ash's POV
It had been almost two weeks since they found Squishy. In that time, they had called Professor Sycamore to see if he had any idea on what it was, but he had no idea, so they were still at square one. Ash couldn't help but wonder if Alec might have an idea, but since he wasn't around it wasn't happening. He still wasn't sure how he should feel about it. He understood that Alec felt like he had to leave to stop whatever Olympia told him, but he wished Alec had at least told them in person and not by a letter. Never in Ash's journey had a companion ever left him without saying goodbye, so this was a new experience.
Currently, he was training with Frogadier hoping to unlock the power Olympia told him Frogadier would use. Frogadier threw his frubbles at a tree that Ash had marked as a target and he put three of them in the center with ease. "Nice work Frogadier," Ash complimented.
"Pika," Pikachu added.
"Frog," Frogadier stated.
"Hey, Ash! Lunch is ready!" Serena called out with Arco standing not too far away. Seeing the Lucario was reassuring to Ash. To him, it was Alec's promise of his return since he'd never leave a Pokémon behind. That's one of the reasons Ash was willing to forgive his champion friend for this.
Arco's POV
As the humans were about to eat lunch, Arco stood watch in case something decided to sneak up on them. He then felt two aura signatures heading their way and he also noticed Squishy flinch its head up. Arco focused on the signatures and apparently, Frogadier realized something was wrong too.
[Something's close,] Arco warned.
"Arco, Frogadier, what is it?" Ash asked. Arco didn't reply but shot an Aura Sphere at the top of a nearby tree while Frogadier threw a few frubbles in the same direction.
A Water Shuriken then came from the target area and struck both moves, canceling them out. A boy wearing a ninja outfit and a Greninja then jumped out from the area and landed in front of them.
"Wow. Well done," the boy commented.
"It's Sampei and Greninja!" Ash shouted excitedly.
[Who are you people,] Arco demanding, prepping another Aura Sphere. He didn't trust these two, even if Ash seemed happy to see them. He didn't like people who snuck around him or sneak attacks, so these two immediately rubbed him the wrong way.
"Arco, don't worry. These two are friends," Aunt Serena told him.
"When we saw you we thought we'd sneak up on you, but I didn't think you two would notice us first," Sampei told them. "You're improving Frogadier," he told him.
[Thank you,] Frogadier responded.
Sampei then turned to Aunt Serena. "So Serena, is this Lucario yours?" he asked her.
"Actually it's Alec's. He had something to take care of but he had Arco stay with us," she answered.
"Well it's certainly skilled," Sampei complemented. Arco merely glared at him.
"It's been a while, but it's great to see you," Ash said as he and Sampei shook hands.
"And you too," Sampei said before his stomach started growling.
"Well that works out since we just finished making lunch," Aunt Serena said, holding some food.
"Why don't you join us?" Bonnie offered.
"Thank you," Sampei replied gratefully. Squishy visibly relaxed, but Arco was still unsure of how to treat these two.
"So where are you two heading?" Clemont asked Sampei.
"Back home to Ninja Village so we can be a part of tomorrow's festival," he answered.
"What's it like? Are there lots of ninja in Ninja Village?" Bonnie asked.
"Yep. The place is filled with ninja's who are training hard," Sampei answered.
"So, are there any girl ninjas?" she then asked with a devious smile. Arco rolled his eyes and tuned out Sampei's answer. He found Bonnie's attempts to give her brother a mate amusing and a tad bit annoying. Although, she did have Arco's respect. She'd been good on her word on taking care of Squishy, and Serena modified her bag so Squishy and Dedenne could both be in it without squishing each other.
"We'd be happy to invite you all if you want," Sampei told the group and Greninja nodded.
"Hey Serena, do you have a ninja outfit I could wear?" Bonnie asked her with a spark in her eye.
"Sure thing Bonnie," Aunt Serena answered.
After Bonnie had her outfit, the group followed Sampei to a small mountain where they entered a cave. "This reminds me of the Speaker Valley cave," Ash commented.
"Yeah. And we're finding a hidden society as well. Talk about deja vu," Aunt Serena added.
They eventually reached a dead-end before Sampei tapped on the wall. "Mountain," a voice said.
"River," Sampei replied. The wall moved aside to reveal a passage and two ninjas were standing on the other side.
"Sampei, it's good to see you again," one of them greeted.
"It's good to be back," Sampei greeted.
"Are these your friends?" the ninja asked, looking at the group.
"Yeah. They're cool," Sampei told him.
"Well then, go see everyone. They'll be happy you're back," the ninja said. The group walked on with Arco giving the two ninjas suspicious looks.
"You'll be amazed when you see the village," Sampei told them as they continued down the cave.
They exited the cave and Arco had to admit the village did look impressive. Unlike Speaker Valley, which he only heard about from Ethan, the homes were embedded into the rocks with a large courtyard in the center. It was also smaller than the Valley, which was probably why the homes were in the rock so they had more room.
"Welcome to Ninja Village!" Sampei said proudly at the sight.
As the group made their way towards what appeared to be a courtyard, some of the people noticed them. "Sampei's back! Ippei, Nihei, Sampei's back!" one of the villagers shouted.
Arco wondered who those two were, but was answered when two men similar in appearance to Sampei walked up to him, one of them older than the other, but both older than Sampei. The younger one brought out his hand to shake and Sampei accepted. "Sampei, it's good to see you again brother," he greeted.
"It makes me happy to see both my brothers doing so well," Sampei replied.
"So, Frogadier evolved into Greninja," the younger man noted.
"Yeah. It's gotten really strong now," Sampei stated and Greninja nodded in agreement.
"So who are they?" the older brother asked, giving the group a curious look.
"These are my friends," Sampei answered and the group introduced themselves, but Arco remained silent even when Aunt Serena introduced him.
"It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Ippei, Sampei's oldest brother," the elder of the two greeted.
"And I'm his other brother, Nihei," the younger one added.
"Friends of Sampei are friends of ours too," an old man said as he came up with a woman that looked similar to Jessie of Team Rocket. "My name's Hanzo and this is my assistant Shinobu. I bid you all welcome," he said.
"Greetings chief, I've just got back home," Sampei told the old man.
"Welcome back. Saizo has just finished telling me just how hard you've been training, and about your friends," Hanzo replied. He then looked at the group. "Hold on. Wasn't there another one? A boy named Alec?" he asked.
"He had something else he had to take care of," Serena answered.
"Well, that's a shame. So, why is this Lucario glaring at us?" Hanzo asked him, finally noticing the suspicious look Arco was giving the woman.
[I simply don't trust you,] Arco replied coldly.
"Arco, I know Alec said you should protect us, but these people are friends," Aunt Serena told him. Arco slightly dropped his guard, but only slightly and that was because of the Speaker Influence, as Alec called it.
Hanzo then looked at Aunt Serena. "Excuse me, miss, but would you by chance be a Speaker?" he asked.
Aunt Serena looked surprised as did everyone else. "You know about the Speakers?" Ash asked in surprise.
"Yes, I am," Aunt Serena answered the chief.
He then put one fist to his palm and did a slight bow as the other ninja did the same. "Then it's an honor to have you here for our festival," he told her.
"What's this about?" Clemont asked.
"I suppose I should explain. I'm sure you're all aware of the Great Kalos War?" Hanzo asked and the group nodded. "Well, when both sides started hunting down Speakers, it was the ninja before us that protected and hid them in Speaker Valley. We were the second group in Kalos that started living with Pokémon, and the Speakers were our guides to doing so. We felt obligated to help them. However, despite our best efforts, we never found all the Speakers who were taken, and some ended up blending into society. To this day every ninja has standing orders to guide any Speakers that don't know their history they encounter to the Valley. Even so, our debt can never truly be repaid," Hanzo finished.
"Wow! You're famous Serena," Bonnie said happily.
Arco felt conflicted. These people did help father and aunt Serena's ancestors, but they were still ninja. He then got an idea. He'd test them in combat. [I'd like to challenge the strongest ninja here,] he said, getting into a fighting stance. Aunt Serena translated to the village.
"Well then, I'd be happy to accept your challenge," Ippei responded and Arco nodded to his opponent.
"You want me to battle with you Arco?" aunt Serena asked.
[No. I want to do this myself,] Arco answered. She gave him a nod before she stood by the others on the sidelines.
"Alright. Greninja, let's go!" Ippei shouted, letting out his Pokémon.
[You ready to battle?] Greninja asked.
[I'm always ready,] Arco replied, taking his stance.
He then ran towards Greninja with Ice Punch prepared. "Greninja, Double Team!" Ippei called out. Arco didn't let himself be fooled as he focused his aura on the copies, and found the real one beneath the ground. Seems that this Greninja could use Dig without making a large hole.
Arco swapped moves and used Earthquake, taking out all the fakes and throwing Greninja out of the ground. As he fell, Arco used Aura Sphere and landed a hit. "Are you alright Greninja?" Ippei asked. Greninja stood up and nodded. "Use Water Shuriken!"
Greninja threw his stars and Arco managed to dodge several before he was hit by two right in the face. Arco then used Flash Cannon at Greninja, forcing him to jump, but Arco was suddenly in front of him with an Ice Punch ready. "Night Slash!" Ippei called out. Greninja formed the black blade and blocked Arco's punch. The two went back and forth, fists and blades colliding as each of them tried to find and exploit any opening to no avail.
Arco couldn't help but smirk. This Greninja was proving quite a challenge. If father was here he'd Mega Evolve since he was worthy of facing him with that power. [You're good. This is proving to be a good battle,] he told Greninja.
[Yes it is. Let's keep going,] Greninja answered, getting two Water Shurikens in his hands. Arco made an Aura Sphere in both hands.
The two were about to resume their battle when- "This battles over!" Hanzo called out, surprising everyone. The old man walked up and looked at Arco. "You challenged Ippei because you wanted to see our power, but there's no need in fighting till one of you is knocked out. Judging by your smile, I'd say we earned your respect," he told Arco.
[I guess you have,] Arco admitted. He then looked at Greninja and Ippei. [It was an honor to battle you two,] he said with a bow.
[The honor was mine,] Greninja said, putting his fist in his hand and bowing.
Once things had calmed down, Sampei led the group to his home which was underneath some of the rocks. "I must admit, I'm surprised that both you and Alec are Speakers. Had I known I would have trusted him sooner," Sampei admitted.
"I'm not surprised you didn't notice. Alec didn't tell us till we caught him talking to one of his Pokémon," Clemont told him.
They eventually reached a door and Sampei opened it. "Here it is, my room," he said.
"It looks… normal," Bonnie noted as they went inside.
Sampei ignored her as he opened the window and breathed in the air. "There's nothing like being home," he said and his Greninja nodded in agreement.
[What's this?] Frogadier asked, looking at a photo. It showed Sampei and his two brothers with a Greninja, Venasaur, and Froakie.
"Was this you before you left on your journey?" Ash asked Sampei, also looking at the photo.
"Yes. To remember things as they were then," Sampei answered, picking up the photo. "My goal is to become the best trainer in the village, but if the battle between Ippei and Arco is any indicator, I still have a ways to go," he added.
"So what are your plans now?" Clemont asked.
"I'm going to stay here and train hard and help my brothers out as well. Ippei has been chosen to be the next chief since Hanzo is retiring after tomorrow's village festival. From now on, my brothers and I will be combining forces to protect the village," Sampei answered.
Arco then turned his attention to Squishy and Dedenne, the latter of whom was playing around the room with the former watched with interest. Dedenne then jumped up and down, causing a piece of the floor to shake a bit. Before Arco could stop him, Dedenne jumped again, this time causing a trap door to open underneath the two and Arco who just so happened to be standing on it.
The three slid down the passage that was beneath the door and Dedenne and Squishy ended up rolling with each other. When the passage ended, they were in the air so Arco adjusted himself and landed on his feet. When he looked around, he saw Ippei and Nihei, the latter holding Squishy and Dedenne. There was then more screaming heard and Bonnie came from the tunnel, but Ippei caught her. The screaming continued when Clemont came out of the tunnel and hit the ground. Ash and Frogadier came out and landed on their feet before Clemont was used as a cushion for Aunt Serena.
Sampei and Greninja then landed in front of them. "I thought they'd be here, I'm so glad we found you," Sampei said to the three Pokémon.
"So they came from your room then," Nihei noted.
[His fault,] Arco said, looking at Dedenne.
[Sorry about that,] Dedenne apologized.
"I was so worried," Bonnie said after Ippei put her down and she took Squishy and Dedenne off Nihei.
"Excuse me, but that's my line," Clemont told his sister.
"What a beautiful place," Aunt Serena said in awe as she looked around. Arco did so as well and the cave looked like an important place, based on how well it was taken care of. Nearby was an old, but well-kept building.
"This is a monument dedicated to the hero of the village," Nihei told them.
"Hero? Were they a Speaker?" Aunt Serena asked.
"No. But it's said that he had a bond with his Pokémon that rivaled those of Speakers," Ippei answered. "Let me show you," he continued, opening the door to the building.
Inside were three paintings, the one on the right was a Staraptor, the left one was a Heatmor, and the center one was a Greninja, but it had a large shuriken on its back and tufts on the side of its head and a center horn.
"Those are Pokémon," Aunt Serena noted.
"But where's the trainer?" Ash asked.
"No visual records of the hero exist, but the leader of his Pokémon was that Greninja. Legend states that a fierce battle broke out between the ninjas. We don't know why they fought, but the hero with his Pokémon defended the village and emerged victorious," Ippei explained. "Honestly, I chose Froakie because I admire the village hero and his Pokémon," he added.
"Same story for me too," Sampei added.
"But that Greninja looks different from the others," Bonnie pointed out.
"Arco, have you or Alec seen something like that on your travels?" Aunt Serena asked him.
[No. It's new to me as well,] Arco lied. He knew exactly what that was, but he had been ordered to never share that with anyone.
Some rattling was then heard and the three ninjas looked worried. "The outside alarm? Sampei, take your friends to Hanzo's place. Me and Nihei will see what's going on," Ippei told him.
"Alright. Come on," Sampei told them and they followed him to another part of the cave network. "Chief, it's me Sampei! My brothers told us to come to your place and wait," he told the chief.
Arco then felt aura signatures nearby. [Something's coming behind us!] he warned just before an Icy Wind was used into the room.
When the attack cleared, a man was standing at the door wearing a Haxorus mask with a Weaville by his side and two other masked people.
"Who are you? State your names. Now!" Shinobu demanded.
"Now then Hanzo, chief of Ninja Village, you'll be coming with us," the man in the Haxorus mask said. The two other men jumped into the room and threw smoke bombs. Arco tried to use his aura to see where they were, but there was something in the smoke that prevented him from seeing much with it.
When it started to clear, Arco noticed the three ninjas jumping out of the house with Hanzo. "Bring back our chief!" Sampei demanded before he, Ash, and their Pokémon jumped out the window.
[Aunt Serena. I'm going with them,] Arco told her as he jumped out the window as well. The outside was in chaos. A group of Skarmory, likely with the group that took the chief, were causing a huge distraction as the other ninja attempted to fight them off.
The small was then intercepted by another ninja, this one wearing a Lairon mask. "This is the end of the line for you," he said before letting out a Bisharp.
[Not if we can help it!] Arco shouted as he, Pikachu, Frogadier, and Greninja got into combat stances. Arco ran in with Ice Punch prepared.
"Bisharp, Guillotine!" the ninja commanded. Arco still kept running. Guillotine was only a one-hit knockout if the opponent had a lower level than the user, and Arco's level was quite high.
Bisharp and Arco clashed, but his opponent overwhelmed him and he was struck by the move and sent Arco flying. That meant one thing. Bisharp had a higher level. Unable to do anything. Arco fell to the ground as his world went black.
Ash's POV
Ash was in shock when Arco was knocked out by Guillotine. Arco was so strong so to be knocked out in a single attack, even one that was a one-hit knockout, was surprising. He wasn't the only one shocked. "No way. He took down Arco in a single hit?!" Sampei asked in shock.
"This is going to be tough then," Ash said determinedly.
"Doesn't matter, because he's not stopping us!" Sampei added.
"Frogadier, Water Pulse! Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash commanded.
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Sampei called out.
The three Pokémon jumped up and used their attacks at Bisharp, but it dodged them all. "Shadow Claw!" their opponent shouted. Bisharp hit all three Pokémon with the Ghost-type move. It didn't do a lot against Greninja, but Pikachu and Frogadier took the worst of it. "Is that the best you've got? Bisharp, Shadow Claw!"
Bisharp charged in again, but Ash had an idea to deal with its speed. "Frogadier, use your frubbles to stop it!" Ash called out. Frogadier threw the sticky substance and one of them was able to attach itself to Bisharp.
Sampei then moved to exploit that. "Night Slash, go!" he shouted. Greninja formed the blade and charged towards Bisharp.
"X-Scissor!" the man shouted. Bisharp used the move to break free of Frogadier's Frubbles before hitting Greninja with it, doing a lot of damage.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
"Snarl!" Bisharp sent a black-purple ball across the ground towards the other Pokémon before Pikachu could unleash his attack.
Before the ball hit though, a Barbaricale jumped in the way and took the hit. Saizo then jumped in front of Ash and Sampei. "Saizo, you're here!" Sampei said excited and happily.
"Sorry I'm late. Razor Shell!" Saizo called out. Barbaricale charged in with the water blade and sent Bisharp flying.
"It seems that I'm really outnumbered now. No matter, I've bought enough time anyway. Bisharp, return!" the man said before jumping onto one of the Skarmorys and flying away.
Ash and Sampei were about to pursue when Saizo stopped them. "Going after them won't help. The chief has fallen into enemy hands and if we act carelessly, we may lose our opportunity to save him. We'll need a plan," Saizo stated.
Later, the group reconvened and Arco was looking irritated from being taken out so quickly. Serena was trying to make him feel better, but nothing was working. "I'm afraid Kagetomo and his henchmen are the ones that took the chief," Saizo told the other ninja.
"Who's that?" Ash asked.
"Kagetomo was a former ninja, and a powerful one at that. He was expected to become the next chief, but he and Hanzo had differing opinions on the role of the ninja, so he and several followers left," Saizo explained.
"If that's who we're fighting, then this will be difficult," Nihei said.
"I had learned that Kagetomo was planning something with ninja village, so I came to warn the chief ahead of time, but it seems I was too late," Saizo added.
"We've gotta do something. So let's go get the chief back," Sampei said determinedly.
"Yeah. I'll go with you," Ash added.
"Now wait just a minute. We don't know where they've taken the chief so think before you run off," Clemont protested.
"I've sent scouts to track them down, so hopefully we'll know soon. In the meantime, we wait," Ippei told them.
They didn't wait long when someone entered the home. "I've found the chief. He and those other ninja were on Hetori Mountain, not far from the summit," he explained.
"Then let's go rescue him. Now," Ippei ordered.
About 15 minutes later, most of the village was heading up the mountain towards the chief. But they were intercepted not long after they started the climb, and were led by the man that had the Lairon mask, but it was off.
Suddenly, more ninja appeared, surrounding some of the others. "Don't let them go any further," the leader shouted as they all let out their Pokémon.
"Saizo, Ippei, you two go on ahead. We'll take care of this," Nihei told them.
"Bisharp, stop them with X-Scissor!" the leader shouted. Bisharp's attack was intercepted by Water Shuriken from Sampei's Greninja.
"You'll have to beat us first," Sampei told him.
"Let's beat him this time," Ash said determinedly as Pikachu, Frogadier, Greninja, and Arco faced his Bisharp.
"Right. Time for payback. Greninja, Night Slash!" Sampei shouted.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail. Frogadier, use Cut!" Ash called out.
The three Pokémon charged with Arco running in as well with an Ice Punch.
"Shadow Claw!" Bisharp jumped up and scored a hit on Arco, sending him into Greninja before hitting Frogadier and sending him into Pikachu.
The four then stood back up and faced their opponent. "Courageous, I'll admire that before I stop you all in your tracks," their opponent said.
"Pikachu, Frogadier, run and confuse them now!" Ash ordered.
"Greninja, get up close and personal then attack!" Sampei called out. Arco joined them on the charge.
"Bisharp, Snarl!" Bisharp unleashed the wave and sent them all back. It had to be strong if it was knocking back a Pokémon with the type advantage. "Don't let up. Use Shadow Claw on Pikachu!" he ordered.
Bisharp charged in again with the claws ready. "Hurry Pikachu, get up!" Ash called out.
Jumped in and tried to use a close-range Aura Sphere, but Bisharp hit him in the head before Arco could fire and knocked him into the ground before continuing to Pikachu. However, it wasn't in vain, as it gave Frogadier the time to get up and intercept Bisharp's attack, forcing it back when Frogadier's body was surrounded by a familiar blue light.
The fighting briefly stopped as everyone looked to see what was happening. When the light cleared, Frogadier had evolved into Greninja. "Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash called out.
"Deflect it back with X-Scissor!" Bisharp knocked Electro Ball back, but that gave Ash an opening.
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!" he called out. His Greninja combined two water stars and flung it towards Bisharp while Arco fired an Aura Sphere at the same time, both attacks hitting and doing damage.
"You're not going to win! Kagetomo will become the chief! X-Scissor!" the man shouted.
"Well, we're going to be stronger! Let's go!" Ash shouted as he felt something spark inside him. His Greninja was surrounded by a massive waterspout and changed. He had a long red diamond on his head with black tuffs with red lightning bolts in them. "Use Cut!" Ash shouted. Greninja ran forward and after a few quick strikes, knocked out Bisharp. The water then disappeared and Greninja returned to normal. Ash couldn't help but wonder what that was, and the others had stunned looks.
Arco then said something and Ash looked to Serena for a translation. "He says that we should stop standing around and go help Ippei," she told everyone. Everyone agreed and they continued up the mountain.
When they reached the peak, they found Saizo watching something, which was Ippei and his Greninja fighting Kagetomo's Weavile. "How's it going?" Sampei asked.
"No need to worry. Ippei and Greninja will prevail. Watch," Saizo told them.
The group turned to look as Kagetomo said, "I think it's time to wrap this up. I will return to ninja village as its leader. Alright Weavile, Giga Impact!" he called out.
"Double Team!" Ippei called out. Greninja multiplied and Weavile took down the copies with its move before Greninja burst from the ground with Dig and hit Weavile into the ground.
"Water Shuriken!" Ippei then called out. Greninja through the stars and Weavile was knocked out.
"Get up Weavile! What do you think you're doing?! Why won't you fight?!" Kagetomo shouted.
"That's enough. The battle is over," Saizo said.
"Over?" Kagetomo questioned, then noticed the rest of his followers had been defeated. His fighting spirit fell apart. "I lost? How?" he questioned.
Ippei's Greninja then freed the chief. "Ippei has something. Something that you do not have. And that is devotion. He battles for the dreams of the people. He gives everything for each and every Pokémon. Everything for the people, Pokémon, and the world. That's something the Speakers taught us when we first integrated Pokémon into our ways. The way of the ninja. And it is why you were defeated," Hanzo answered.
"Your Weavile battled well, Hagetomo. It deserves your praise and respect," Ippei told him.
Weavile struggled to get up, but Hagetomo caught him as it was about to fall. "You battled well. Thanks, Weavile," Hagetomo told it.
"You are a great ninja, Hagetomo. I hope you use your abilities for the good of all from now on," Ippei added.
Later, the group went down the mountain and the festival went off without any problems. "Looks like your Frogadier evolved as well, Ash," Ippei noted.
"I'm so excited. All our Frogadiers have evolved into Greninja," Sampei said excitedly.
"Well, we're going to get stronger and stronger. Just you wait. We'll be even stronger than the two of you," Ash said confidently.
"I look forward to seeing your progress," Ippei said.
Ash nodded then noticed Arco looking at him and Greninja with something Ash didn't know and looked away before Ash could ask him about it. The festival ended with Ippei becoming chief, of which Ash and the others celebrated with the other ninjas.
Arco's POV
When morning came around after the festival, the group said goodbye to the ninja. "Thank you so much for everything," Aunt Serena told them.
"It was so much fun!" Bonnie added.
"I hope you stop by whenever you're nearby. You're always welcome," Hanzo told them.
[I hope we get the chance to battle again,] Ippei's Greninja told Arco.
[I look forward to it,] Arco replied.
"Good luck on your eight gym badge Ash," Sampei said.
"Good luck to you too Sampei," Ash replied.
The group then left continuing down the path and Arco couldn't help but look at Ash's Greninja. [He has the same power. Hopefully father gets back soon. He needs to know what happened,] he thought.