Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!

Ash, Dawn Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie are on their way towards Ash's next gym battle in Snowbelle City. While on their way, they encountered a Pokemon Center and decided to explore it.

"You know…" started Clemont. "I am really curious to find out what has been happening with Ash and Greninja" The inventor then raised his hand in the air. "The future is now thanks to science! Clemontic Gear, On!" Then he revealed a miniature version of one of his more infamous inventions Clembot.

"Wow!" said Dawn.

"It's like a mini Clembot!" exclaimed Serena.

Clemont smiled. "This is my new analysis machine, Clembot Mini!"

Serena giggled that she was able to figure out the name so easily.

Clemont then asked the machine to show the results of the analysis it has taken from all the times Ash and Greninja have combined to become one. Videos of when the strange phenomenon took place where shown. Dawn was watching these videos very closely as she had never seen the transformation for her own eyes. She was hoping to see it soon with her own eyes.

Clemont continued. "This has only taken place during a battle and Greninja appears to resemble Ash. Therefore, I believe there is a psychological element that takes place between them. Ash and Greninja have the same responses and their moves start to look alike"

Serena turned to Ash "This is just like what Olympia predicted!"

Ash remembered what Olympia had told him about his fate with his Greninja, but he also remembered what Olympia showed Dawn's fate would be.

Dawn knew that Ash would start to think about what her fate would be. She put her hand on Ash's shoulder and said "No need to worry."

Ash smiled, remembering the words that Dawn said right before she left them.

Clemont quickly realized he needed to change the subject. "That's right! Olympia said that Greninja was yearning for your love, which could mean, like Sawyer said, Pokemon and trainers with deep bonds do start to look alike"

Clemont then chuckled. "It's time to prove my hypothesis!" He then gave Ash and Greninja bracelets with had a device attached to them.

"What is this?" asked Ash as he and Greninja put the gadget on.

"I'll show you! Clemontic Gear on! Their called Battle Pulse Meters and they collect and display brain waves, heart rate, and other data while you're in battle"

They then turned to the monitor which displayed both Ash's and Greninja's data. "It can show us how Greninja's actions affect Ash and vice versa!"

"Wow! Science is so amazing!" exclaimed Ash.

"Clemont this is incredible!" said Dawn.

"Yay Big Brother!"

Serena couldn't help but be impressed. She could tell how hard he worked on this invention. "Yeah Clemont, this is amazing"

Clemont blushed. "Thanks everyone!"

"Now let's go try it out! What do you say Greninja? asked Ash.

Greninja nodded in agreement.

…

Ash and Greninja headed towards one side of the battlefield while Clemont and his Luxray stood at the other.

Dawn, Serena, and Bonnie sat on a nearby bench and watched the two battle it out.

"Alright, Greninja use cut!"

"Thunder fang!"

The two Pokemon dashed towards one and other. With each attack colliding with the other. Greninja flew backward but was easily able to land.

"Now, Luxray use wild charge!" commanded Clemont.

"Use double team!"

Then, as Luxray was charging up its attack, faux-Greninja appeared all over the battlefield.

"Wow! Greninja's double team has improved so much since I last saw it!" yelled Dawn.

Luxray quickly proceeded to knock out each Greninja using its wild charge until it made contact with the real Greninja.

"Greninja use Aerial Ace!"

Greninja quickly jumped into the air and charged towards the Gleam Eyes Pokemon. Luxray was sent backward but was able to stand its ground.

"That was a great move" Clemont said as he pulled up his glasses.

"Look at this! Ash and Greninja are really started to sync up with one and another!" said Serena as she pointed to the analysis graph. The graph showed both Ash's and Greninja's waves moving together in unison.

…

Peaked with interest, a familiar face walked into the Pokemon Center and looked out the window where he saw Ash on the battlefield.

…

"Time out!" Yelled Clemont. "Why isn't anything happening?"

Ash shrugged. "Neither one of us has any idea what makes it happen. It kind of just happens. Right, Greninja?"

Greninja nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Squishy jumped into Bonnie's bag and the door opened.

"Whenever we meet up, it seems like you're always in the middle of a battle!"

Everyone turned to see who it was.

"Hey, Alain!" said Ash.

Alain looked around and realized there was an unfamiliar face with the group. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself, my name is Alain."

Dawn smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Alain, my name is Dawn and this is Piplup!" Dawn said motioning towards her trusty partner.

"Piplup!"

Alain looked at the Penguin Pokemon "A Piplup?" He then looked back at Dawn. "You're not from around here are you?"

Dawn nodded. "Nope, I'm a coordinator from the Sinnoh Region"

"She's a top coordinator!" Said Bonnie.

Dawn blushed.

"Well it's very nice to meet you" Alain said. Truth be told, he didn't know much about coordinating. Alain then turned to Ash. "So that's an interesting device you're wearing"

"Yeah, this is so we can figure out what is up with Greninja's power!"

Clemont sighed. "But there must be something we are missing!"

Ash looked up, then an idea came to his head. "That's it! How about you and I have a battle, Alain?"

Alain smiled. "That would be great! I was hoping to battle Greninja again!"

Dawn whispered to Serena. "Again?"

Serena giggled. "We met Alain not too long before you rejoined us. I don't want to spoil anything, but he's really strong!"

Dawn was very interested in this trainer, especially after what Serena said.

Clemont and Ash returned each of their Pokemon respectively. The group then headed inside so that Luxray and Greninja could be healed by Nurse Joy.

Once they gave their Pokemon to Nurse Joy and thanked her. They had to decide what to do while Greninja was getting treated.

An idea popped into Dawn's head. "While we wait, how about Ash and Alain's battle using other Pokemon?" Dawn really wanted to see Alain in action.

Everyone smiled, signaling that they were in favor of this.

"That sounds like a great idea Dawn!" said Ash. He then turned to Alain. "Are you up for it?"

Alain nodded and they proceeded to head back out towards the battlefield.

…

At the battlefield, Ash and Alain stood at opposing sides of the battlefield.

"Alright, Noivern, I choose you!" said the Pallet Town native. The Sound Wave Pokemon came out of the Pokeball and flew around until it finally landed in front of its trainer.

Dawn jumped up. "Wow, Ash's Novibat evolved! It looks strong! Good luck Noivern!"

Alain smiled. "Let's go Metang!"

The Iron Claw Pokemon was an unknown Pokemon to Bonnie, needless to say, she was really excited to watch this battle.

The Pokemon fought hard during their battle, not letting each one getting an advantage at all. The trainers had to use lots of skills and strategies as they were facing a formidable opens. When each of the attacks collided, there was a powerful explosion. Noivern was able to use it's quick to dodge many of Metang's attacks and Metang was able to use all its brainpower to calculate precise attacks. In the end, it was revealed that Metang's strength was too much for Noivern to handle and Metang and Alain won the match.

Ash quickly ran to Noivern's side to make sure his Pokemon was okay.

"What a great battle! It was sure fun to watch!" said Serena.

"For sure! I bet Ash and Noivern learned a lot from it too!" exclaimed Dawn.

There was an announcement over the loudspeaker telling Ash and Clemont that Greninja and Luxray were back to full health.

…

Ash placed Clemont's device back on Greninja.

"So what's that going to do?" Asked Alain.

"I think what is happening between Ash and Greninja is some sort of psychological phenomenon. So that means I think the changes occur when Ash and Greninja's mental and emotional states are one" explained Clemont.

…

Ash and Alain took their places once again. Alain released his trusty Charizard and the battle could finally begin. Beforehand, Dawn used her Poketch to determine who would have the first move. Ash won so he began.

"Let's do this! Use Water Shuriken!"

Greninja released multiple Water Shurikens towards the Flame Pokemon which was able to fly around and dodge them. Charizard used Dragon Claw which made direct contact with Greninja, causing it to be pushed into the air.

"Use double team!"

Copies of Greninja filled the battlefield. Alain the commanded his Pokemon to use flamethrower which was able to knock out all the copies without hitting the real one. As Charizard was looking to find the real one, Ash instructed Greninja to use cut. Greninja appeared from behind and hit Charizard.

Alain then smiled, he knew it was time. He then lifted his wrist and tapped on the bracelet which had a mega stone.

"Respond to my heart, keystone! Beyond Evolution! Mega Evolve!"

The stone on Charizard flashed and then, Charizard's appearance completely changed. His orange skin turned black, spikes emerged and the once red and orange flamed turned a bright blue.

…

Dawn just watched in awe, she had never seen a Charizard mega evolve and it looked even stronger than before.

…

"Yeah!" said Ash, he loved facing strong opponents.

"Use Thunder Punch!"

"Aerial Ace!"

The two attacks collided and the Pokemon were sent backward. Ash instructed Greninja to use cut and then Charizard grabbed the attack and then sent a close-range flamethrower right at Greninja.

"Use Thunder Punch!" Charizard sped towards Greninja.

"Water Shuriken!" Greninja then used the move but was too slow and was unable to avoid Charizard's powerful Thunder Punch.

Greninja had taken multiple hard hits and clearly had taken lots of damage. Ash asked if the Ninja Pokemon was okay to which it stood up but was in pain.

…

Suddenly, the machine began to make a noise. The two waves that were not matching at all suddenly began to sync with one and other.

Clemont gasped. "It's starting, the two waves are starting to overlap!"

…

On the battlefield, Ash and Greninja were feeling their synchronization. Suddenly, a water tornado formed around Greninja, indicating that the transformation was complete.

…

Dawn was speechless. She had never seen anything like this before.

Ash is so incredible. He just keeps on doing amazing things

Everyone else who was watching the battle but cheered. It was always exciting to see Ash and Greninja merged.

Clemont was especially excited. "That means my hypothesis was correct! In order for the transformation to take place, Ash and Greninja's emotions must be in sync!"

…

"Alright! Let's go! Use Cut!" Commanded Ash.

Greninja unleashed the attack.

Alain smiled, this was the battle he was waiting for. He instructed Charizard to dodge then use Flamethrower. Charizard followed these commands. The powerful attack hit Greninja but it was being blocked by Greninja's cut.

"Use Aerial Ace!"

"Intercept it with Thunder Punch!"

Charizard charged towards Greninja but Greninja was able to dodge the attack.

"Go!"

Greninja hit Charizard with all its might and collided with the Flame Pokemon head-on.

Alain was really feeling the energy coming off of the battle.

"Use Dragon Claw!"

Ash was feeling the same way, he loved these intense battles.

"Use cut!"

The two attacks collided with one and another and neither Pokemon was letting the other Pokemon finish their follow-through. Though due to all the damage Greninja had taken up to that point, Charizard was able to overpower Greninja.

"Use cut once more!" This was able to strike Charizard. After that attack, it was clear that Charizard had taken lots of damage.

…

"Wow! This is just like Olympia said! It's crazy how she was able to predict this!" said Serena.

…

When he heard Serena's comment, he thought back to his encounter with Olympia and how she said that Greninja would reach new heights. Then, he remembered the vision she had of Dawn.

…

"The graphs! It looks like Ash and Greninja are separating!" Said Clemont.

Everyone looked at Ash, it didn't appear as though he could move at all. He was struggling to breathe and his pupils shrank. Suddenly, Ash fell to his knees.

"ASH!" Those were the last words Ash heard before he fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

"Pika-pi!" Dawn and Pikachu quickly ran to his side but didn't make it in time before Ash hit the ground. Serena followed right behind them.

Then, Greninja fell to his knees like just Ash did before. Clemont and Bonnie ran to Greninja to make sure it was okay.

Alain gasped then quickly came to Ash's side to make sure that he wasn't hurt.

…

Ash was in complete darkness, he then turned around and saw Greninja and a bruised Dawn appeared in front of Ash.

"Dawn? What happened to you? Are you okay? Greninja? Help her! Do you know where we are?"

Then, Greninja turned around and started to walk away from Ash.

"Wait! Greninja, don't go! Greninja!" yelled Ash.

By then, Greninja had faded away without even looking back, leaving Ash and a hurt Dawn alone in the darkness.

Ash was heartbroken. "Where am I Dawn?"

"You couldn't save me…" said the coordinator.

"What do you mean?"

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE TO PROTECT ME!" yelled Dawn. Then, the bruised Dawn fell down into a hole that was being lit by a green light.

Ash tried to run into the hole to save her but it was too late. The hole had closed up.

"DAWN!"

…

Suddenly, Ash woke up. He was laying down with his hat removed and a wet cloth on his forehead. Ash looked around and saw that everyone was around him, everyone except Dawn and Greninja.

Ash instantly shot up. "Where's Dawn and Greninja?" He panicked but then felt his head hurt and grunted indicating that he was in pain.

"Deep breaths Ash. Dawn and Greninja are okay" said Clemont.

This calmed Ash down a lot.

"Take it easy Ash. Nurse Joy just asked Dawn to help her take care of Greninja" said Serena.

"I can go get her if you like," said Clemont

Ash nodded and Clemont stood up and headed towards the back. Pikachu jumped into his trainer's arms relieved that he was okay. Ash patted his partner's head.

Dawn turned the corner. "Thank goodness you're okay, I was so worried!"

Ash stood up and quickly ran to the girl to give her a hug. Dawn didn't have enough time to react.

"You're here"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm here. Why would I leave?"

Ash didn't respond

"Come on, Ash, you need to sit down." Said Dawn as she released the hug. Ash grabbed her hand and gave her a look of plea. Dawn noticed this and didn't let go of Ash's hand. She instead sat down right next to him.

Seeing this act broke Serena's heart a bit, but clearly Ash was distraught over something and if holding Dawn's hand would help then she wasn't going to stop him.

"What happened to you Ash?" asked Bonnie.

Ash looked down. "I don't know. I couldn't move, no matter what I did"

He then looked up.

"Synchronizing to that degree has to have its consequences" said Clemont.

"That doesn't surprise me at all…" said Alain. "I've never seen that much raw power before"

Ash laughed but then he frowned and looked back down.

But why couldn't I move? And what did my nightmare mean?

Dawn squeezed Ash's hand a little tighter, signaling a kind of mental 'no need to worry'

That got Ash to calm down and refocus. He then looked to Alain.

"Once I master this, can we please battle?"

Alain smiled. "Truth be told, the fate of our battle has yet to be decided"

"I'm going to train hard to get strong enough to beat you!" Then Ash started to go on a tangent. "Then, I'll win the Kalos League and I'll become a Pokemon Master someday!"

Dawn smiled, she was glad to see the Ash she knew and loved back.

"Kalos League?" asked Alain.

Bonnie turned to him. "You're going to enter too right Alain?"

Alain responded saying that he wasn't planning on doing so.

Ash was surprised by this "Why not? There are going to be so many strong and powerful Pokemon and trainers there! I'm so excited!"

Alain sighed. "It sounds like fun…"

…

After that, Alain parted ways with Ash and his friends.

At his campfire, Alain called Team Flare to report his progress. Then, he was showed a video of his close friend Marian. She was super excited because her Pokemon Chespin was sleeping but it's spines moved. It was clear to see how happy this made the girl feel.

Alain smiled. Marian was always so positive.

He then turned to his partner. "How did you like the battle with Ash?"

Charizard smiled, showing how much fun he had.

"I'm going to get stronger too, that way… we can protect the ones we love"

…

Back at the Pokemon Center, Ash looked out and saw the beautiful sunset that was taking place. Everyone was getting started on dinner but they insisted that Ash get some more rest.

He couldn't help but think of what he experienced a couple of hours earlier. How he couldn't move, and most importantly his dream.

"What's wrong Ash?"

Ash looked and saw Serena walking up towards him. She sat down next to him. Ash then glared back at the sunset.

There were a few moments of silence before Ash spoke.

"I had a nightmare"

Serena just looked at him while he looked at the sunset.

"I was in a dark room and the only things I could see were Greninja and…" Ash paused. "and Dawn who had bruises and blood marks all over her"

Ash's hands started to form a fist.

"First, Greninja just walked away from me. Without even saying anything. Then, Dawn.. she…"

Ash's hands clenched so hard that he was shaking.

"She was yelling at me about how I couldn't save her, how I was supposed to protect her"

"Oh Ash…"

Ash continued. "I haven't been sleeping as well at night. I just can't sleep knowing that Dawn is going to be really badly hurt and there's nothing I can do about it"

Serena looked down. "You really love her, don't you?

Ash looked down. He didn't know what to say.

"It's okay, I know you do. You'll do anything to protect her" Serena paused and took a deep breath. She knew she had to be careful with her words. She then turned to face the boy she loved again. "I know you want to protect her, but Dawn is amazing. She can take care of herself"

Ash sighed. "I know, but seeing her like that and knowing that there is nothing I can do to protect her, hurts. It hurts a lot"

Even though he hadn't said it directly, Ash just told her that he loved Dawn. Even though she already knew it, hearing hurt a lot. She was happy that Ash, for once realized that love was a thing, and that if Ash was going to love someone else, she was glad it was Dawn. Serena stood up. "Who says we can't change the future? Let's work hard and get stronger to protect them!"

Ash looked at her.

Serena smiled. "I know Dawn wouldn't want you to worry so much about her. She's a Top Coordinator! She'll be okay especially since you are always with her.

Ash smiled. "You're right!"

"Ash! Serena! Dinner's ready!" yelled Bonnie.

Serena motioned towards where Dawn, Clemont, and Bonnie were. "Come on, I bet you're hungry!"

Ash laughed because he was always hungry.

…

When Ash and Serena returned, they all sat down at the table and began to eat. Everyone was laughing and having fun. Dawn was telling them a story about how Piplup learned ice beam. Everyone was super interested in the story.

Ash looked at her.

I'm going to get strong for you

…

In the morning, the group was standing outside the Pokemon Center, getting ready to travel towards Ash's final gym battle.

Ash turned his hat around. "I'm going to become Greninja!" He declared.

Everyone was confused as to what Ash was referring to.

Ash noticed this and said, "I mean I'm going to get really strong. Until this point, I had only thought about my Pokemon getting strong. But I realized that I need to get strong too" He turned to face Dawn. "And I'm going to do it! No doubt!"

"That's what I like to hear Ash!"

The two high-fived.

Ash then threw his Pokeballs into the air, releasing all his Pokemon.

"And we're going to do it together!"

Everyone cheered in agreement.

"Okay everyone, let's go!" Then Ash ran off. Dawn, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie quickly ran behind him.

Ash smiled as he saw all his Pokemon were running alongside him.

I need to get stronger to protect the ones I love

The weather has been so nice where I live! I hope everyone has had the chance to go outside! I told you there was going to be more Pearlshipping! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and stay safe!