Part CLXV: Thawing Out
It was the morning after Ash's loss to Wulfric and Ash was nowhere to be seen. Misty, Dawn, May, and Serena were all sitting in the quant common area of the Snowbelle City Pokémon center with two of them each on two of the four benches that made a square around the burning firepit in the room. The glass windows in wooden frames and the wood paneled floor really added to the atmosphere in the room but none of the girls were really feeling it at the moment.
That was because the day before Ash had lost his first gym battle of the year to the Snowbelle Gym Leader Wulfric in a tough, back and forth battle for Ash's 8th and final Kalos League gym badge. In the end, Ash had been too rigid in the final battle against Wulfric's Avalugg and even after triggering the Battle Bond phenomenon with Greninja he wasn't able to win, nor was he able to unlock the final stage of the phenomenon and Greninja's full power.
After his loss Wulfric had had some blunt but honest words for him and Ash had been thinking on them ever since. He'd been quiet all the way back to the Pokémon Center where Nurse Joy took care of his Pokémon, noting that Greninja was badly hurt but would be fine by the morning, and they all just sat around the fire while they waited for news on Greninja and the others from the battle.
Shortly after Nurse Joy had informed them of Greninja's situation, Ash had gone to see his Pokémon and apologized to him for losing, for not being strong enough to win it, but he would get them there in the end and unlock Greninja's true power again. Greninja himself had been asleep on his side with his back to Ash so Ash just spoke to him before grabbing his coat and heading out and into the cold Snowbelle night.
The girls had tried to stop him, it was late and cold out after all, but Ash wanted to be alone to think about it all. Not even Pikachu was allowed to come with him, but the girls understood, with the exception of Serene they'd all been there for at least one of Ash's gym losses or other significant losses in the past, several in Dawn's case, so they let him leave hoping that he'd return soon. They were even able to have a chat with Emily about girl things before retiring for the night expecting Ash to be back soon.
However, he had not returned to the Pokémon Center that night. He'd stayed out all night in the cold, sitting on a log thinking about the loss, about how rigid he'd been at the end of the battle, how he'd tried to force things in the end, and how he was on a bit of a losing streak at the moment. It all affected him, and he needed to think, to figure out what to do but he couldn't do so with the others around hence the need to be on his own.
This Battle Bond phenomenon, it was new to him and rare to boot as he and Greninja were the first to share it in a century or so. Sure, Ash understood the nature of Pokémon friendship and trust to some extent, his Swadloon and Riolu had both evolved due to that factor as had Brock's Golbat and Happiny, but the Battle Bond was something else, something more than merely a high level of trust and friendship.
It was in a sense the purest form of Mega Evolution, something Ash also didn't fully understand, when he and Greninja's wavelengths were perfectly in synch and their hearts truly one that forced the change, one so complete that Ash felt Greninja's pain and could even see through his Pokémon's eyes at times. They still needed that final step, the one that they'd accomplished against Diantha, but for the moment Ash didn't know how to reach it. All he could do was sit on a cold log and think, lost so deep in thoughts that he didn't realize he'd been there all night.
Misty of course did realize as Ash hadn't returned that night, so she was extra worried as she made her way down that morning to the common area to find the other girls in their group also there but no Ash. Clearly they'd all had the same idea to come down early in hopes he'd returned but alas he hadn't.
That also meant that he couldn't say goodbye to Emily and Adam as they had to head out, though they did so saying goodbye to the girls with Adam wishing Ash luck with his rematch with a hope to see him in the Kalos League that they promised to pass on. Then they left as they had their own things to do leaving the girls to sit around, Pikachu taking a place on May's lap as Misty and Dawn's were occupied by their respective Pokémon.
"So, he didn't come back last night?" Dawn asked, worry in her voice as Misty settled herself next to May.
"No and clearly he hasn't returned this morning either which means that he's skipped breakfast, so we know it's bad." Misty said just as worried. "Last time I saw Ash like this was after his full battle loss to Paul, but I was able to cheer him up and he got stronger because of it. This, this feels different."
"I've never really seen Ash like this." May admitted. "Sure, he lost to Brawly when he was in Hoenn, but he did rush that battle a bit and learned quickly from it. I've never seen him lose this deep into a gym run. He did lose late when he was on the Battle Frontier, again his loss to Anabel was a rushed one, as was his first to Brandon though that was compounded by being possessed and his second to Brandon was more just skill, but he won in the end. This isn't like that."
"Ash lost plenty of times in his first few years as a trainer." Dawn said. "He effectively drew or had battles interrupted to the point of earning the badges other ways against me, Brock and Erica while his battles against Sabrina were a little different but, well, even she'd acknowledge that her mental state wasn't good at the time. His losses to Blaine and Surge had their own problems but he bounced back to defeat them in rematches, and Ash was a rookie then so losing wasn't as hard. He drastically improved in Johto with only one official gym loss to Whitney there, though he lost an unofficial one to Pryce, a streak he's continued since I think."
"He lost once in Hoenn to Brawly, his second battle." May confirmed. "At least in an official gym battle, he lost a training battle to my dad at the start of his journey there but as he didn't have 3 Pokémon as required by the Petalburg Gym rules it wasn't official."
"Whitney was third in Johto so first half at least." Dawn said. "His rematch was a little less than official, but she gave him the badge anyway thus making it so."
"He lost once in Sinnoh, his first to Roark." Misty said. "Though he tied in his third to Maylene and he did lose an exhibition battle to Fantina but that doesn't count as it wasn't official."
"What about Unova?" Serena asked. "All this is new to me about Ash, he's not lost here until yesterday, so I've never seen this aspect of him."
"From what I understand he lost his second gym battle there." Misty said. "So, this one is his first late loss since Johto, right?"
"Yup and first after getting more than 75% of the badges he needs since Kanto." Dawn said. "He tried so hard as well, he always does so these losses hurt."
"Well that just means that we have to help him." Misty said seriously. "We all know how he is and what he's like. If he's not back then something is up, and we need to sort it out. We all love him; we have to show that now."
"You're not wrong." Dawn said as Dawn and Serena nodded, they all did though Misty was the one who'd won him in the end but that didn't mean that they all couldn't help Ash. "This is when he needs us the most."
"Sorry to bother you girls." A new voice said, and the girls turned to see a slightly worried Nurse Joy approaching them. "But has Ash recalled his Greninja? It's just, he's gone from the recovery room. He's fully healed up so it's not much of an issue, just a bit of a surprise to see him gone when I went to check so I was wondering if you lot knew what was going on."
The girls looked at each other and knew at once the issue. Greninja had gone and there was no doubt that he'd gone to either find Ash or do his own thinking on the loss the way Ash was doing. Whatever the case, he was out there, and they needed to find him and Ash now.
"That settles it." Misty said standing up. "Get your coats ladies, we're going to find Ash and snap him out of this."
The other three nodded and they all headed up to change, Pikachu joining Misty as he intended to get the rest of the team out so that they could all begin to train as well. It wasn't just Ash and Greninja who should bear the weight of the loss, they all should so they all needed to get stronger together so that it didn't happen again.
Soon they were all back, dressed, and outside the Pokémon Center. They were on the outdoor patio thing that was just in front of the door and protected from the snow but the covering jutting out from the upper level of the Center. All the girls were dressed for the cold, and Misty carried Ash's belt with 4 Poke Balls on it, the four others currently on Ash's rotation at the moment.
"Pika, pi." Pikachu said leaping onto Misty's should and knocking the balls off the belt so that they burst open in the snow in front of the Pokémon center to reveal Talonflame, Conkeldurr, Noivern, and Lucario to the girls. "Pi, Pikachu."
Pikachu quickly explained the situation to them. Both Ash and Greninja were missing somewhere in the woods around the Pokémon Center but that they shouldn't worry, they were on their own journey to get stronger and so they should as well so that they were ready for when Ash and Greninja returned to them.
Lucario was the first to get this, nodding and running to a tree where he began to practice his martial arts around it, never striking it, but showing his speed and precision, aspect that earned him his belt in that tournament and the title of strongest fighting type in Kalos that year. With Lucario as a template, the others set to work with their own training.
Talonflame and Noivern took to the skies to practice their flying, Noivern needed it with his bigger size and greater strength after his evolution, while Conkeldurr found his own spot to work on his core by spinning around and holding his pillars out. Pikachu grinned and hopped off Misty's shoulder to go do his own training, mainly strengthening his Iron Tail by smashing some boulders nearby.
"Right." Misty said a little surprised by what Ash's Pokémon were doing but, well, they were Ash's so it kinda made sense. "You lot do that, get stronger for Ash because he'll get stronger for you. We'll go and find him, don't worry."
"We need to be careful though." Dawn said. "It's cold and there's always a chance of a blizzard. Ash, Brock and I once dealt with that in Kanto during our first year and Ash got separated so we have to plan this sensibly just in case the snows begin to fall."
"Dawn's right." Serena said. "Snowbelle is known for its weather and how it can worsen quickly."
"Then we need to plan this accordingly." May said. "Dawn, you'd best stay here while Misty, Serena, and myself go off in various directions to check but all three of us shouldn't go too far."
"Why do I have to stay?" Dawn asked. "I love Ash as much as you lot and want to help."
"We know but we need someone to stay back in case he returns to lecture him." May said. "Which, let's be honest, you are best at when it comes to Ash. Plus, as Serena noted, the weather can worsen so if a blizzard hits before we can return the best type to have on hand is fire which you don't have. I have Blaziken, Serena has Delphox, and Misty has Pyroar, so we're set."
"I could just be accompanied by Talonflame." Dawn pointed out.
"Talonflame." Talonflame said with a shake of his head as he avoided Noivern and they continued to dance in the air, training their speed and agility together.
"Um…" Dawn said.
"Talonflame is training, best to leave him be." Misty said. "He'll be here though so don't worry and if need be he can head out to find Ash from the sky."
"True and having the aerial view will help if it comes to that." May said. "Best to let Ash's Pokémon be Ash's Pokémon, we both know how they can be."
"Very well." Dawn grumbled. "But if it starts to snow come back, don't get trapped out."
"Agreed." Serena said with a nod. "We won't go too far and come back to report in in a bit."
"Alright, let's go find Ash." Misty said before hurrying off in what she felt was the most likely direction that Ash would have gone in, Piplup clutching her head and squawking at the speed.
"Um Misty…" May began but it was too late, she was already gone. "Right well that failed, guess we should go our own ways."
"I guess." Serena said deciding to head in a different direction to Misty while May went another way so that all of them had an area to search in.
That just left Dawn to clutch Azurill to her chest and look out hoping that they found Ash while his Pokémon trained before her and helped remind her why she fell in love with him in the first place. The best she could do now was let her love for Ash flow through her and trust that he would be safe and that the others would find him, snap him out of this funk, and bring him back to the Pokémon Center because all of them were wondering where Ash and Greninja were and hoping that they were ok.
All this time Greninja was just up a tree deep in thought on the whole situation. He was in as much a rut as Ash was with his loss, his first with Ash but that wasn't it. Sure, the loss stung and there had been a slight out of synch feeling between them in that battle, not enough to prevent the Battle Bond from triggering but enough to ensure they didn't reach the max like they had against Diantha and Gardevoir. They should have managed that, but they'd failed against Avalugg and Greninja knew why, trust.
To achieve the phenomenon, trust was necessary between the Greninja with the ability and his trainer. Ever since hatching, Greninja had known he was the generational Froakie to have this potential and trained hard to get stronger so that he could be ready should it come to pass, but he needed the right trainer for it.
Many new trainers chose him, but none fit what he needed so he left them to return to the lab or the trainer returned him due to his disloyalty. In the end he was left to his own devices which suited him as he waited for that right trainer.
Finally, he found that right trainer in a caring, experience, boy from another region who'd helped him despite not knowing him. Greninja had known that day that this was the human he resonated with, that this was the one who had the potential to achieve the ultimate bond between human and Pokémon and so he chose Ash to be his human.
From that day onwards they fought together to work their way through Kalos be it his help against Clemont, his evolution against Grant, his victory against Ramos's Weepinbell, his assistance in persuading Hawlucha to join the team, or the many other training battles and moments they'd had together. All those moments had all added up to that final moment, the tag battle in that mansion.
There the fates had decided that Ash would be one of the combatants and that the person that Greninja, as a Frogadier at the time, was accompanying her Pokémon to the event was selected as Ash's partner. It had been destiny and Greninja hadn't shied away from it.
The battle was intense and against two fully evolved fire type starters in Blaziken and Delphox so even with his type advantage Greninja had to be careful. Still, he fought hard and felt the moment come, he had the experience to evolve to Greninja, so he did. Then his bond with Ash was already so strong that he was already at the threshold needed and the Battle Bond triggered its first stage thus allowing him to win that fight. He was there at last, but the Battle Bond required work to maintain, and trust had to be complete to maximize its potential.
As such they continued to train together and trigger it in training whenever possible. Then came that great battle, the battle with the strongest Pokémon in all of Kalos, the Gardevoir of the Champion and this time they were in perfect synch and reached that final stage. It only lasted a moment and only because they were in the heat of an intense battle, but they'd done it and forced Gardevoir to be Mega Evolved in the process to match their strength. It showed what they could achieve if they perfected that bond, if they found complete trust.
Alas they'd come to that setback now. It had been the Wallace Cup that had done it. The rules dictated that Mega Evolution was banned and while Greninja's change didn't use Mega Energy, it was similar enough, maybe even the purest form of Mega Evolution albeit one unique to Greninja himself, that Ash probably couldn't use him in it. Sure, there was the appeals and if it had been water then Ash might have done so but with ice Pikachu was best so that left Greninja as the only one looking in while the others in the rotation at the time battled to reach the final.
He understood why he wasn't selected but still, the lack of use had hurt him a bit and that had probably caused the slight lack of complete trust between them as he was doubting his place in the team following the Wallace Cup. That and Ash losing in the final had caused some more doubts for all of them even if the loss was because of everything going right for Serena and nothing to do with Ash's own skills but still it was a lot to handle.
Greninja knew Ash well, he was connected to his human on a deep level because of the Battle Bond phenomenon and being able to trigger it. While Greninja wasn't arrogant enough to say he knew Ash the best, that went to Pikachu, he did feel like he was one of the closest to Ash, right up there with the likes of Charizard and Lucario, he didn't know enough about the others back in Kanto to make an assessment regarding them, so he knew when something was up with Ash.
It had all combined to come to a head in their battle with Avalugg when Ash had trusted Greninja to be the one to bring home the final badge, to defeat the last Pokémon in their path who'd bested Talonflame but was hurt in the process. It was down to Greninja to win it, but their lack of complete trust had prevented it and caused this internal doubt to both trainer and Pokémon.
As such, Greninja had gone out to think on it for himself when he'd recovered, as well as Ash's words to him as he was recovering, and knew that Ash was out as well. Neither knew what was needed to push past this obstacle in their path so for the moment Greninja just sat in the tree thinking.
Misty didn't know why she headed in the direction she did, but she knew at once that it was the right one. She knew that Ash would find a quiet place to sit on his own and think, it was what he'd done after that full battle loss to Paul, so she went to a quiet part of the woods to see if he was there and that he was ok given how long he'd been out in this temperature despite wearing winter gear.
She let out a sigh of relief and a thank you to Arceus when she suddenly saw a speck of red in the distance and made her way to it. It was Ash's hat, and it was still on his head as he sat quietly on a random log in the woods clearly lost in thought. He was breathing and didn't look sick, a miracle given that he'd been out in the cold all night though that might also be because he'd already gotten sick once this year, but Misty ignored that as she pushed on to reach him, causing Ash to look up at her approach as she ran to her boyfriend.
"There you are." Misty said as she ran towards him letting him know how he'd made her feel with her tone of voice. "Do you have any idea how worried we were, how worried I was when you didn't come back last night."
"I'm sorry Misty." Ash said as she approached him. "I know I should have returned; I was just lost in thought, that's all. I didn't mean to make any of you worry."
"Yeah well when you spend the whole night out in cold and don't return of course we'll worry about you." Misty said as she caught her breath from the jog to reach him. "And you know we're always here for you if you need us."
"Well, I just wanted to be alone alright." Ash said looking down on the ground and not up at her, he meant it so he figured not looking at her would help drive home the point that he needed to be alone at the moment. "This was my failure; I wasn't strong enough to win then so I needed to be alone."
"I get that but that doesn't mean that you have to deal with it on your own." Misty said. "You're a man and sometimes a man should be alone to sort out this rather than be nagged or whatever, I understand that, but that won't fly forever. If you need to talk about it, we're here to listen."
"You wouldn't understand." Ash said getting up. "This is something I have to do on my own."
"Really, we wouldn't?" Misty asked folding her arms her worry quickly turning to anger and frustration at Ash's current attitude. "I almost quit Contests when we were in Sinnoh because of my failures to get past appeals despite already having one ribbon but it was your drive that motivated me to continue, to find some sort of peace which I did through battling Maylene. I had my doubts still but meeting May and having her, Zoey, you, and Brock there for me during that Wallace Cup ensured that I could do it. So do the others in their own way. May and Dawn have seen you like, so have I when you lost to Paul so talk about it."
"It's none of your business Misty." Ash said turning from her, her own anger bringing out a bit of his in return. "This isn't like the past times; this one is different so leave me alone."
Misty just growled at that as she glared at him. This was frustrating but she was sure she could snap some sense into him. He just needed a little bit of clarity and then he'd learn, that was why she bent down and made a snowball that she proceeded to throw at the back of his head.
The snowball hit Ash as his back was turned causing him to stumble forward a step. That was a shock, he hadn't expected anything like that from Misty and turn to she her glaring at him with two more snowballs already in her hands.
"If that's what you want then fine, I'll give you until the end of the day, but you had better sort this shit of yours out and return to us as the Ash we know and love, the Ash I fell for, who Dawn fell for, who May fell for, and so on because this isn't you Ash, we want the real Ash back." Misty said as she tossed the snowballs for emphasis, one hitting his arm and the other taking him full in the face and causing him to fall over the log and land in the snow looking up at the sky. "That should knock some sense into you."
Misty then walked up to loom over Ash as he lay in the snow just looking blankly upwards. He needed a little more bluntness, something Dawn was better at, but this was Misty's moment, and she was going to give it to him.
"This moping Ash will only fly for a moment so find whatever it is you usually find after situations like this and come back to us." Misty said. "And do it quick like I know you can. You did it in Sinnoh after Paul beat you, you did it last year after Brendan beat you, do it now after Wulfric has beaten you. I get that the whole Ash-Greninja thing is different than usual but that doesn't stop Ash Ketchum from bouncing back and taking charge once again like the Ash we all love. I'll be waiting, we all will, so find that usual Ash magic, get up and go on your soul-searching journey, and come back to us stronger than ever before."
With that Misty turned and headed back to the Pokémon Center to vent off some of her anger. She was sure the others would still be out searching, other than Dawn, so she intended to wait with her friend and rival, tell her what happened, and hope that she got through Ash's thick skull, and he did his usual because they all needed Ash to be back to the guy they'd all fallen for.
Ash just lay there after Misty left as he thought on her words while staring up at the sky. Misty was right, he wasn't dealing with this the way he usually did simply because this was a new situation but really weren't all the others new in their own right? His full battle loss to Paul had been unique, his losses in the various Conferences had been unique in their own ways, as had his past gym losses or those at the end of his time on the Battle Frontier. What made this loss any different? The Battle Bond phenomenon? Maybe but he still lost regardless.
The more he thought, the more Ash's head hurt, and he realized that he was definitely overthinking this. It which wasn't something he did often, hence the headache, he just had to go back to his usual attitude and with that he let out a yell that startled some wild Pokémon that had come to see what was going on with the odd human lying in the snow.
With a groan, Ash sat up in the snow and reset himself so that he could figure it out. He had to just be himself, the fun loving, charge headfirst, Pokémon trainer that he was and keep running until he found the answers he was seeking.
That was the resolve that Ash needed to get up, stretch, and put his hat back on. Misty had given him the start he needed to charge ahead and find his own answers the way he always did. He couldn't let her, Dawn, May, or Serena down, they were all here for him and he had to prove that this was just a blip on his road to becoming a Pokémon Master.
As soon as he was limbered up Ash began to run into the woods, deeper than before and up a slope, not really thinking where he was running just that he was running forward to find his answers. He wasn't sure why he was going this way, but he knew that if he just plowed on ahead then those answers would come.
Well, either that or he'd reach the apex of the hill without realizing it, cause some lose snow to crumble away under his feet, and he'd then fall rolling down the hill, off a small cliff, bounce headfirst off a sleeping Snorlax, and then land hard on his ass as the Snorlax just slept unaware that Ash had bounced off it. In this case it was the latter.
Ash groaned in pain, his ass really hurt from that, and looked up to see a wild Bidoof approaching him with confusion. Given that the Bidoof only had three tufts on its backside and not five it was a female though Ash was unaware that this was a clear gender difference in Bidoof.
He just smiled at it, Ash always had a way with Pokémon and reached out to pet the Sinnoh native Pokémon that was approaching him but before he could she started panicking and Ash heard a loud groan. He had a Snorlax, he knew what that sound meant and without thinking he leapt forward and grabbed the Bidoof in his arms, pulling her to safety as the Snorlax rolled over and continued to sleep.
With a sigh Ash sat up with the Bidoof in his lap but she was having none of this. She'd come to see what this strange human was up to and almost gotten squished by the resident Snorlax, so she squirmed and ran away leaving Ash to stand and get his bearings and realize that he was almost certainly now lost in the snowy woods around Snowbelle city. That was of course the moment when the snow decide to start falling heralding the impending arrival of a blizzard.
Misty had barely made it back to find Ash's Pokémon still training hard and the others all back as well having not found him in their respective directions and turning back when the clouds began to darken the first flakes of snow began to fall. Misty was still pissed at Ash for his attitude but knew that her words would have reached him, so he'd be fine in the end and told the other girls as much as the snow began to fall.
They all agreed that it was for the best to let him use Misty's words to bounce back the way he always did. Unfortunately, things quickly changed because the snow began to really fall and Nurse Joy quickly came out to tell them to get inside because it was about to become a full-scale blizzard.
They knew they should but none of the girls could leave Ash out in this so they, along with his Pokémon, began to head out to where Misty had confronted him to drag his ass back to the Pokémon Center before the snow got worse. He could have his special Ash journey of discovery when the weather cleared.
What the girls didn't know was that the snow falling was just what Ash would need to find himself, what he and Greninja would need. They were too concerned with finding Ash to realize it.
As the snow fell, Greninja himself was still in his tree now thinking hard on the words that Ash had said to him the night before. He'd been awake and heard them, heard the desire, the regret, and the remorse for the recent loss in Ash's voice, it had been what he was thinking about as he sat.
It wasn't just Ash who'd failed, he too had failed to have that final level of trust in his trainer when they needed it the most against Avalugg, but it was clear now that Ash wanted that as well. It would take training, but they would get to that final stage and draw out Greninja's true power.
With his resolve back, Greninja let out a grunt, punched the tree, and rose to hop from tree to tree as the snow fall turned into a full-on blizzard. He didn't doubt that Ash would be out in this, it was the kind of thing his human would do, so he was determined to go and find him so that they could repair the broken trust and reach their true potential as trainer and Pokémon.
Meanwhile Ash was hurrying through the blizzard to safety. He'd been in situations like this before, so he knew what he had to do. He had to find someplace dry to wait out the snows and preferably a place that wouldn't be too cold. In the past he'd been trapped in an ice cave and he and his Pokémon at the time huddled for warmth when Charmander's flame wasn't enough, but he didn't have that this time, this time he had seen something a bit better even without his Pokémon.
That something was a natural cave set into the rock face he'd fallen down earlier. Ash still wasn't sure where in the woods he was, the Pokémon Center like the Snowbelle Gym had been on the outskirts of the city and in the mountains around it so he was completely lost. Still, the cave was dry and not cold so he could wait out the storm there but what a storm it was becoming.
He just hoped the others were back in the Pokémon Center staying warm and dry while they waited for him to bounce back after his loss and Misty's words to him. He had no idea that they were also out in this blizzard having come to where Misty had seen him to find him not there and were searching for him but thanks to the blizzard his tracks were now long gone.
Thankfully, the girls weren't stupid and trusted him as much as he trusted them, so they too had found a cave in the same mountain as him just a different side and holed up there until the storm passed. They knew that Ash would be ok, his past was enough, and they had to get out of this blizzard so they did with Blaziken and Delphox bringing some branches in so that they could make a fire. They were worried for him but had to leave this to him and let their trust and love carry them through it.
Ash just needed to wait out the storm and then he could find the girls and resume his attempts to find himself again. As he was waiting he looked out and saw a few wild Pokémon looking at him from the blizzard clearly wanting to go to the cave but too nervous to because he was there. He recognized three of them as an Oddish, a Sentret and a Budew but the last one, a bug type with a gray face, three hair or antennas on its head and a white collar, he didn't so he scanned it.
"Scatterbug, the Scatterdust Pokémon and the first stage of Vivillon." The Pokedex chimed helpfully as Ash scanned it. "The powder that covers its body regulates its temperature, so it can live in any region or climate."
"Huh so you're what Serena and Viola's Vivillons came from, the classic regional bug type like my Caterpie was." Ash said closing the Pokedex and smiling at them. "Come on in and join me, I won't hurt you. It's best to get out of this weather if you ask me. See, it's ok, you'll be warmer if we're all together."
Ash opened his arms and suddenly had a flashback. This was just like back in Kanto when he was a kid, he'd gotten lost in the woods on one of his many adventures to see wild Pokémon when a heavy rain began to fall, and he'd taken shelter in a gnarled-out tree trunk when he'd been approached by several wild Pokémon looking for shelter. He'd said the same thing back then, well over a decade ago now, and they'd joined him just as these Pokémon did now with a normal Zigzagoon he'd not seen before leading the charge.
The reminder of his past, of how his love for Pokémon had driven him to become a trainer and overcome all the obstacles in his was to becoming a Pokémon Master, something he was closing in on with each passing year and he knew it, was just what he needed. Ash smiled as the Pokémon mobbed him to get warm and he held them, Pokémon and humans should be friends and he needed to always remember that.
It was as Ash was with the Pokémon that the Scatterbug let out a start and looked out of the cave. Ash was confused so he put the Pokémon down to look himself and as he reached the mouth of the cave he heard a high-pitched sound coming from a nearby tree. Narrowing his eyes, Ash looked up at the tree and gasped at what he saw there. In the tree, high on a branch and getting covered in snow were 6 Pokémon of the same species.
They were all like Scatterbug in that they had a gray head though they had gold markings on it and a white rough around their bodies with what looked like flecks or likely large insectoid scales on it. They had to be Scatterbug's evolved form and Ash pulled out his Pokedex to confirm, just going to the entry after Scatterbug as he was too far to scan them from here.
"Spewpa, the Scatterdust Pokémon and the evolved form of Scatterbug." The Pokedex chimed, the image the same as the Pokémon that Ash had glanced in the tree. "The beaks of bird Pokémon can't begin to scratch its stalwart body. To defend itself, it spews powder."
"Ok, you guys stay here." Ash said to the other Pokémon in the cave as he put his Pokedex away and headed out of the cave. "I'll get your friends and bring them back here."
The other Pokémon were clearly concerned for them, so Ash hurried over to the tree and began climbing it. He had no intention of leaving any of them out in the cold.
As Ash was doing this, Greninja was jumping through the trees trying to find him but couldn't. He knew that Ash was out here, and that he needed to find his human, this wasn't the weather for him, so he had to work hard to find him.
Reaching the end of the trees, Greninja leapt out and landed on the ground to take his bearings. He had to trust that Ash was safe, that he was out there, and rely on their deep bond, a bond deep enough to trigger his unique ability, to find him. Trust, friendship, faith, that was what was needed to activate it, complete and implicit trust was needed to reach the final stage, and Greninja leaned into this trust as he closed his eyes and paused for a moment taking deep measured breaths.
He didn't fully understand his ability, there wasn't a Greninja alive with it other than him so few would understand it, but he knew that at its core it was about the trust and friendship between him and the trainer who shared his heart. This was what Greninja had to reach into and rely on to find Ash. Through their bond he was certain that he could find his trainer even in weather like this.
Greninja wasn't sure what it was, maybe it was the bond, maybe it was intuition, or maybe his own natural senses but as Greninja focused on their bond in the blizzard he got a sense of where Ash was. His human was out in this blizzard, though near shelter, risking his health and probably his life to save 6 Spewpas currently up in a tree while other wild Pokémon looked on with worry.
This was just the kind of thing Ash would do, though. It was this kind of love and care for Pokémon that weren't his that was what had drawn Greninja to Ash in the first place and now he was going to use it to find and help Ash because know his trainer something bad was about to happen.
With a croak, Greninja opened his eyes and hurried off to find his human. He had to be quick, Ash wasn't the brightest human out there, so Greninja would need to be there to back him up. Until then, he had to trust that Ash could manage on his own.
Ash was indeed managing well on his own. He'd gotten 5 of the Spewpas out of the tree so far, getting them down one by one by climbing the tree to the branch they were on and then carrying them back to the ground. He was almost there, he had just one more to grab, the last one at the end of the branch.
In order to do so, Ash had to actually straddle the branch and reach out to the last Spewpa remaining in the tree. With a smile, Ash reached out encouragingly to the Pokémon, imploring it to come to him so that he could take it down to its friends. The branch was over a large cliff, so large that Ash couldn't see the bottom of it, though that might be because of the weather. Regardless, he didn't care, he had to rescue the final Spewpa.
With a chitter, the Spewpa turned to him and hopped into Ash's waiting arms trusting him after he'd rescued all of its friends. Ash grinned but as he got ready to take the Spewpa back to its friends the branch gave way under his weight. All Ash could do was let out a wail as he and Spewpa, along with the branch, plunged forward and over the edge as the other Spewpas wailed in concern.
Ash knew that he was done for and did his best to protect the Spewpa as they fell over the edge of the cliff when suddenly something long and pink shot down and grabbed Ash around the waist. One minute he was falling, the next he was being hauled up into the air and turned around though Ash already knew what was waiting for him on the edge of the cliff. As expected, Greninja was there smiling, tongue out and holding Ash aloft with it.
"Greninja!" Ash said happily. "You're ok."
"Greninja." Greninja replied with a nod.
He'd hurried here and arrived just in time to see the branch break. He'd not hesitated for a second to save his trainer and now he was safe, they all were, he just had to bring Ash back which he was doing, and Ash was clearly trusting him to do so without complaint. Alas as Ash was about to be brought to safety, a sudden gust of wind blew and tore Spewpa from Ash's arms as he was being hauled in causing the small bug type to fall away with a wail.
Instantly Greninja brought Ash back and placed him next to himself on the cliff's edge so that he was safe, and they could both look over at the falling Spewpa. Both knew they had to save Spewpa and the only one who could was Greninja, but he needed a boost to do it.
Without even thinking about it, they triggered the Battle Bond phenomenon as their hearts became one despite it not being a battle, something that Clemont hadn't theorized could happen though he also hadn't predicted such a need for it. Regardless, they were at last in synch, and it took the danger to a wild Pokémon, and Greninja already saving Ash's life, to do it. Still, there was one more thing to do and as the water veil shot up and around Greninja he did it without hesitation.
That this was to leap off the cliff and plunge towards the Spewpa without an order in what was in a sense a literal leap of faith on his part. However, he knew that Ash would trust him, and Ash did, their trust was implicit now, together they could do it and save Spewpa and with that moment they finally hit the last level of the Battle Bond phenomenon as they reached complete, implicit, unbreakable trust between Greninja and trainer.
Neither knew it but this was the last hurdle, to do this in a situation that was not in battle but to use it to protect people or Pokémon and to show that they trusted each other completely was what was needed to fully become one. They'd been able to force it in the heat of battle once, but this was different, this was the completion to ensure that they'd be able to do it in battle from now on without a fear of Ash's stamina giving out the way it had against Diantha.
"We can do this Greninja." Ash yelled as the water veil burst and formed loose wings of water on Ash-Greninja's back, the water rushing into the ball there before forming a massive water shuriken as for the second time they achieved perfect unity. "Together we can save Spewpa!"
Ash could see through Ash-Greninja's eyes like he'd managed a few times in the past as he fell down the much larger than expected cliff face, showing just how Ash-Greninja had saved Ash's life, and towards the falling Spewpa. Ash-Greninja's focus was on the other Pokémon, Ash was above him, connected to him, and together they could do it, he put his full faith in Ash to do so as they fell, and Ash didn't let him down.
The moment Ash-Greninja had Spewpa, Ash, looking through Ash-Greninja's eyes, took control and guided him down as there were several branches and other hazards sticking out of the mountain. Only together could they successfully do this, and it was a testament to their new level of trust that they managed it.
Ash simply directed Ash-Greninja down, telling him which way to go and where to swing with his tongue, Ash-Greninja's hands were full, so he had to use that, as he deftly avoided the obstacles or used then to swing around as he fell to the ground. Finally, Ash saw the perfect branch on a tree at the base of the mountain for Ash-Greninja to swing on, arrest his momentum and then land safely in a crouch on the ground still holding the now safely rescued Spewpa.
"Alright, we did it!" Ash said as he leapt up with a fist raised.
"Greninja!" Ash-Greninja said just as happily and mirroring Ash's moves down below.
They'd done it, they'd given into complete trust and friendship and reached the final stage of the Battle Bond phenomenon, the descent proving that beyond a shadow of a doubt to both of them. At least they were here, through trials and hardships, success and doubt, victory and defeat, they were finally at the apex of the phenomenon. Their true potential had been achieved but there was still a little more to do and Ash-Greninja began to make his way up the cliff with Spewpa to return it to its friends and to return to Ash.
It took a while, though Greninja remained as Ash-Greninja the entire time, but eventually Ash-Greninja was back and handed Spewpa to Ash. Ash in turn gave Spewpa over to its friends who all excitedly greeted it as the transformation fell behind him thus returning Greninja to normal, for the first time no adverse effects being felt by either of them.
This was the last benefit of the transformation, true they'd feel each other's pain and what not, and Greninja fainting while transformed would have drawbacks, but no longer would Ash be exhausted if all went well. At least he hoped that that was the case after not feeling exhausted this time compared to all the other times Greninja had transformed.
"Greninja, thank you for everything." Ash said as he turned and smiled at his Pokémon. "I couldn't have done that without you."
"Greninja." Greninja said with a nod, he couldn't have done this without Ash either. "Gren, Greninja."
"I'm sorry that I worried you." Ash said raising his hand. "But you showed me I shouldn't have, that we are in this together so let's do this, we can win now."
"Greninja." Greninja said with a smile as he grasped Ash's hand in his own webbed forepaw, and they renewed their vow to each other. "Greninja, gren, Greninja."
"Now let's get this Spewpa to the cave and wait this storm out." Ash said as they broke apart. "Then let's find the girls and the others, I think we owe them an apology."
"Greninja." Greninja said in agreement as they gathered up the Spewpa and brought them to the cave though at least he wasn't the one who had to deal with 4 angry females of his species who all wanted to mate with him though only one apparently did, that was something that his trainer would have to deal with on his own. "Greninja."
They made their way to the cave and holed up there as the storm raged around them for what felt like hours before it finally abated. As they waited, Ash told Greninja of the time before that this had happened in the woods back in Kanto where he was from, a place he hoped to one day show Greninja and the other new Pokémon from his time in Kalos, and how he'd gotten through it in a similar fashion to today. He knew that a team got stronger together with all their friends and he told Greninja as much, they would all get strong and this time they wouldn't fail.
They were together, they'd saved Spewpa because of it and now they could start again with a fresh start and Greninja agreed. They needed this in a way to overcome their final hurdle and together, with the others as well, they'd show Kalos what they were truly made off.
Of course, they had to get back to the others first and they would be able to as soon the storm ended, the clouds parted, and the full moon was on display showing how long they'd been out for. As the moon shone, they headed out of the cave with the Pokémon they'd been with. It was clear so all the Pokémon could return to the woods but as Ash and Greninja turned to them first 3 then all 6 of the Spewpa began to glow white.
Both of them watched in amazement as all 6 Spewpa evolved into 6 Vivillons with pink wings and took off with a cry to fly in unison towards the moon. It was almost a sign to them to keep going with their own fresh start and they began to make their way back to the Pokémon Center and the others.
The girls had been holed up in a cave on the other side of the mountain and nearer the Pokémon Center with Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokémon to wait out the storm while tending to the fire that Blaziken and Delphox had made to keep warm. When the storm ended, they all left, the others recalling their Pokémon except for Piplup and Azurill, and began to look for Ash again. The weather was clear so hopefully he'd found some shelter and would return to them soon.
It didn't take long for Pikachu to sense someone approaching, and he knew who it was at once, rushing forward and alerting the others with his actions. The girls all looked out, over a fine mist that had been caused by the storm but at first couldn't see anything. Then, two humanoid figures began to form walking side by side towards them. One was clearly human while the other was a Pokémon with a silhouette they all recognized, even Dawn despite only seeing that Pokémon a few times since coming to see Ash in Snowbelle.
It was of course Ash and Greninja walking tall and proud out of the mists towards them determined looks on their faces and radiating a new confidence that all the girls felt. This was Ash, this was him in his truest sense. Whatever had happened, whatever crazy, almost certainly near fatal knowing him, shit that he'd been through he'd overcome it with Greninja, and they'd come out stronger. This was the bounce back Ash always had, and they knew that the man all of them loved was once again his usual self.
"Hey guys." Ash said as Pikachu cheered and ran towards his human while Ash and Greninja jogged to met them to. "Sorry to make you and everyone else worry."
"Greninja." Greninja said as he and Ash offered them all a low bow to show how sorry they were.
"Misty, what you said, it was just what I needed." Ash said raising from the bow and smiling at his girlfriend. "It took that, a storm, and falling out of a tree and off a cliff with a wild Spewpa but I got it. Greninja saved me and we're back, stronger than ever and ready for Wulfric again."
"Greninja." Greninja said with a nod.
"Good." Misty said before she crossed her arms not at all liking yet another near-death experience that Ash had been through even if those seemed to be required at times for him to grown stronger. "Now let's talk about this, you really made us all worry. Ladies, shall we."
"Yup, you deserve this." Dawn said in agreement. "Been a while since I had to pound some sense into your thick skull, but I still remember the old days fondly, even these moments."
"Ash, don't do this again." May said as the girls began approaching. "It's a lot for our hearts to take when you do this, please."
"Don't worry us, we're glad you're back to the Ash we know but still it was hard to deal with." Serena said as Greninja not so subtly slid to the side and away from Ash, he was connected with his trainer, but this was a human mating matter, he could deal with it on his own, and with Pikachu went to the rest of the team to tell his story and how he was back and stronger than before so they wouldn't lose again. "We all care for you; we can't be put through this. How the others dealt with you in the past is beyond me."
"It wasn't easy but follow my lead." Dawn said as they encircled a now worried Ash. "He pulled this most in the early years. Time for a lecture Ketchum so stand there and take it like a good boy. Misty, want to start?"
"I've said my piece already." Misty said as Ash gulped at the tone of her voice, and that of the others. "Besides, you are the master at this Dawn, show us how it's done and give us some tips for the future, I'm sure this isn't the last time that this happens."
"With pleasure." Dawn said as she glared at Ash. "First off…"
All Ash could do was stand there and take it, apologizing as best he could, to the girls as they let him have it for his stupidity and how much he made all of them worry about him. He knew he deserved it and took it as they needed to let it out before they could all just come together and return to normal before heading back to the Pokémon Center for the night.
Still, he was back, he and Greninja had renewed their pledge, and now he was ready to show everyone what he'd learned while rediscovering himself. Tomorrow morning he'd challenge Wulfric again and this time he wouldn't lose, he just first had to survive the lecture four pissed off girls were giving him while his Pokémon looked on all knowing that it was best to never anger a female of your species.
