Day 38: Greninja

(BGM: Lumiose City from X & Y)

Okay, it's time we talk about my favorite Pokemon from the Kalos Region. As I said before, Kalos has the smallest number of new Pokemon out of any generation, clocking in at a total of 72. But, you know what they say, 'quality over quantity', and the Pokemon that are good in this generation are really good. And the Kalos Pokemon that makes a good first impression on players, both veterans and newcomers alike, is the water starter's final form…

Greninja!

(Insert Greninja cry here)

(BGM: Battle! Lysandre from X & Y)

Oh man, now we're getting into the really good stuff!

Much like Lucario before him, Greninja was the Kalos Region's own 'breakout' Pokemon. He may not have had a movie, but he did become a playable character in Super Smash Bros. and he did get a more powerful form that might as well be a Mega Evolution, but more on that later.

It's been theorized that each starter trio has a certain theme between each of them. In the Kalos starters' case, they seem to be based on classes in traditional RPGS. Chesnaught is the brawler, Delphox is the mage, and that leaves out good froggy boi Greninja as the rogue, and as the rogue, Greninja's typing is the combination of Water and Dark. And what design did Game Freak go for when making Greninja a rogue…well, as his name implies, they made in a freaking ninja!

Everything about Greninja screams, well, ninja. From his name, to his lean, slender, and mysterious appearance, to having his long tongue act as a scarf, to his signature move being Water Shuriken, a special Water type move that involves Greninja throwing shurikens made out of water anywhere from 2-5 times, making the damage range anywhere from 30-75 with 100 accuracy to boot.

Greninja is easily one of my favorite pokemon based on design and easily the best looking Pokemon in the Kalos Pokedex.

Going into Greninja's stats, he's another one with pretty lackluster defenses, darn shame too considering he has five weaknesses to Grass, Bug, Fighting, Fairy, and Fighting. But, to make up for that, Greninja has an impressive 122 speed stat, a pretty good 95 Physical Attack stat, and a better 103 Special Attack stat, making Greninja another Pokemon that can likely take out opponents before they have a chance to lay a finger on him.

And those stats get even better thanks to a phenomenon that causes Greninja to become Ash-Greninja!

In this form, Greninja takes on a form similar to Ash Ketchum from the X & Y anime, all thanks to his ability, Battle Bond, where upon defeating a Pokemon, Greninja can turn into this sexy beast! His HP and defenses stay the same in this mode, but Ash-Greninja's speed goes from 122 to 132, his Physical Attack goes from a measly 95 to 145, and his Special Attack goes from 103 to 153.

Even better, Greninja's signature move Water Shuriken gets a small boost to. Normally a single Water Shuriken is 15 power, but by becoming Ash-Greninja, a single Water Shuriken is now 20 power. Meaning that if Ash-Greninja gets all five Water Shruikens off, then the move's power maxes out at 100…Damn!

Ash-Greninja is so awesome that I genuinely wish he was available in more games…and unfortunately the one game he was available in, that being Sun and Moon, involved playing the game's demo which I did not, meaning I missed out on getting an Ash-Greninja of my own, and with the shutdown of the 3DS E-Shop, it is now impossible to get one…

…Chalk that up in Top 3 Biggest Regrets in my life.

But, whatever, Vanilla Greninja is still pretty good too, and aside from the traditional Torrent ability which raises his water moves when he's low on health, Greninja's hidden ability is Protean, which changes Greninja's type to that of a move it just used. So, for example, if Greninja uses Extrasensory, he is now a Psychic type. Protean is basically an even better version of Kecleon's Color Change, and I'm all for it!

And at long last, we come to Greninja's movepool. So, other than Water Shuriken and Extrasensory, what else can this magnificent bastard learn? Well, to answer that question…ahem…Aerial Ace, Night Slash, Shadow Sneak, Spikes, Surf, Waterfall, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Acrobatics, Brick Break, U-Turn, Ice Punch, Dark Pulse, Rock Slide, Toxic Spikes, Poision Jab, Grass Knot, and Dig!

Very impressive movepool, Greninja.

Lyra: But what about his other signature move Mat Block?

Me: What, you mean that watered down version of Protect that's so bad that Greninja doesn't even learn it in Scarlet & Violet? Get out of here with that nonsense, girl! Come back when you think of some good moves for Greninja.

Lyra: You'll regret making fun of Mat Block, my friend. I'll be back (Leaves).

Anyway, Greninja is just the perfect Kalos starter. He has a badass concept and design, I love his stats, his alternate form is amazing, and his hidden ability is one of the best in any Pokemon game.

I look forward to using this majestic frog ninja in future installments, Game Freak…just make sure you make his Ash-Greninja form easily accessible, please.

Me: Well, that's another entry down. I wonder what I'm going to to ne-

(Before I finish my sentence, a Mat Block flips me high into the air causing a random Greninja to jump up and perform his Final Smash on me, slamming me on the ground when I'm done. The Greninja then leaves me on the floor in pain as Lyra comes up and looks down upon me with a satisfied grin)

Lyra: Told you you'd regret making fun of Mat Block.