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As one of the first Pokèmon on the Kalos team, Greninja often finds himself being the one the others turn to. He’s extremely experienced, battle-hardened in ways the others may never reach. But it often leads to him having to solve situations he does not cause.
Pancham and Chespin are the worst offenders to that crime. Even when he was a Froakie they’d hide behind him, letting him use elegant words to calm down whatever victim they’d angered. There were times he would let them handle their own problems, walking back towards his own trainer as they begged him to help. Actions had consequences, and they needed to learn that. And then there were times where he had to stop them from committing questionable acts, in order to save himself a headache later.
Unfortunately for the two smaller Pokèmon, it was very easy to determine whenever they were up to no good. Pancham and Chespin both had a look that meant chaos was bound to appear, and Greninja had gotten very good at determining even the smallest hint of that expression. They also had a bad habit of trying to sneak away when the trainers were eating, which meant that was when Greninja kept an eye on them the most. They were predictable as always as they attempted to sneak away during dinner one night, darting towards the trees at the end of the clearing. So Greninja did what he does best: wrangle in Pancham and Chespin.
“I would advise returning to the group. Both of you are well aware what happens when you sneak off.” Greninja croaked, standing between the duo and their goal.
The two jumped, not expecting the ninja’s sudden appearance. Pancham grinned once the shock wore off, putting on his innocent grin that was never really innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Greninja! Chespin and I are just going for berries!”
“There’s a Pecha berry tree right next to the trainers, as well as an Oran berry bush near Goodra. Now, either turn around and go back or I will drag you back.” Greninja stares the two down.
“You’d have to fight us to drag us back!” Chespin blurts out, crossing his arms as Pancham slaps his face.
“Just because you have a type advantage does not mean you will win. And if you’re thinking of doubling up on me, then I don’t think I need to remind Pancham that he is a fighting type and I have a flying type move. Now, turn around and forget whatever fool’s errand you two have decided to take up.”
The duo pale, very quickly turning back around and running to their respective trainers. Whatever comfort they were expecting quickly disappears as soon as Clemont and Serena see Greninja leaving the trees, because it doesn’t take a genius to realize that Greninja is almost always the Designated Chaos Duo Wrangler. Ash laughs as he puts the situation together, much to the very obvious chagrin of the small Pokèmon.
Goodra sighs as Greninja sits back down next to her. “You would think they’d have learned their lesson by now.”
“You would think.” Greninja nods, taking one of the Oran berries Goodra offers.
“Well, at least they have their big brother looking after them.” Talonflame smirks, poking Greninja’s leg.
“Please. They are nuisances at best.”
“And yet you sill protect them when they fuck up. Sounds like brothers to me!”
“So next time I should just leave you to face the consequences of your actions next time you flirt with a taken bird?”
“That was once!”
“Or three times.” Hawlucha butts in.
“I hate all of you.”
“If you hate us, you wouldn’t be sitting with us.” Goodra offered another berry to Talonflame, who accepted it.
“Arceus dammit.”
—
Greninja sighed at the scene in the valley. “So, let me get this straight. Pikachu challenged you to a race to see if your flying or his running was faster, you lost , proceeded to challenge him to a second race, didn’t focus on where you were going, and now you’re stuck in a tree?”
“Yep, pretty much.” Pikachu shrugged, knocking on the hollow tree trunk that had Talonflame pinned. Both the mouse and Noivern had attempted to pull Talonflame out of the tree, but neither had much luck.
“So now, instead of going to get one of the trainers, you want me to cut you out?”
“I’ve heard enough from Bunnelby lately about being more careful.” Talonflame cawed from inside the trunk. He was kicking his small legs forcefully, but it was getting him nowhere.
“A lesson that should have been heeded, given the present circumstances. Fine. But you have to be very still, otherwise I will not hesitate to cut your feathers off.” Greninja summoned his blade, kneeling down next to the stuck bird.
“I’m never living this down, am I?” Talonflame asked. The wood crackled as the blade entered, carving a path around the bird.
“Absolutely not. And you can believe I’m telling Braixen as soon as we get back.” Pikachu grinned, chuckling at the indignant squawk that came out of the red bird
“Hey! I don’t go telling everyone about your fuck-ups!”
“That’s because Pikachu has no shame. Now hold on, I’m almost done.” Greninja rolled his eyes.
“Wait, do you tell everyone about what we do?” Noivern asked.
Pikachu shook his head. “No. But Talonflame is great to poke fun at. He messed up a lot.”
“But I mess up a lot.”
“That’s because you’re less than a year old. You don’t have a lot of life experiences. But Talonflame spent…what was it, five years in the wild? He has no excuse.”
“You spent twenty years in a lab! And you do some of the same things!” Talonflame protested, finally breaking free of the tree.
“Again, in a lab. I was also separated from my mother and my pack at an extremely early age and tested on for years, so I didn’t have a lot of time to learn social customs like you. I’m basically like Noivern here, still learning the culture.”
“You’ve been to six regions now!”
“You’ve only been to one, and you still can’t grasp ahold of common sense, so I’m doing better than you are, really.”
“For your payment, you can just give me one of your Pokèpuffs.” Greninja turned to head back towards the group, the sound of another insulted squawk and two pairs of laughter following him.
“Hey! Can’t we at least bargain? Half a puff!”
“Nope. You were dumb, these are the consequences.”
Well, if he’s going to be a savior, he might as well reap some rewards from it.
—
“Greninja, save me!” The call comes from Bunnelby, who is hopping faster than Greninja thinks he’s ever seen the rabbit move. There’s also a horde of five Combusken following him, hot on his heels.
“What did you do?” Greninja asked as he pulled out several Water Shuriken.
“I don’t know! I was just hopping around, and then they started chasing me. I’m super weak to these guys!” Bunnelby hopped up on Greninja’s back, hiding himself between the frog’s fins.
The horde comes to a stop in front of Greninja, clearly eager for an unfair battle. They’re clearly surprised by Greninja though, skidding to a stop and running into each other. It’s enough to know that he’s a water type and they’re all fire types, but Greninja having Aerial Ace up his sleeve is an unknown danger they’re not aware of. Yet, anyway.
One of the Combusken spots Bunnelby on Greninja, pointing it out to the group. “There it is! I told you guys it went this way!”
“It is not a toy, Bunnelby is a friend. Now, if the only reason you are chasing him is to an unfair five against one battle with a type advantage in your favor, I suggest you reevaluate your decisions.”
“Come on, man, we’re just having a little fun. Besides, it’s like you said, five to one. You don’t stand much of a chance either.” one of the others grin, the cocky little shit.
“Let me put it this way: leave now with your dignity, or we can fight and you will leave with significantly less teeth than you started with.”
“Oh, please.” Another Combusken scoffs, immediately moving towards Greninja with a High Jump Kick. It’s incredibly easy to roll out of the way, and Greninja throws the Shuriken at two of the others. One goes down, and the other just barely manages to hang on. The last two decide to join in now, aiming for Greninja’s limbs and for the little rabbit that’s just barely hanging onto his neck. Aerial Ace makes quick work of them, knocking all three of them back. Two slam into trees, and the last lands on the Combusken that had managed to hang on. Despite their big words, they had all fallen very easily.
“Thanks. I guess they saw me as an easy target.” Bunnelby huffed, leaping down onto the ground.
“They are young, and rash. However powerful they believed themselves to be, they could not uphold that standard. Perhaps they will evaluate their future actions further.”
“Perhaps they’ll think twice when facing a water-type again.” Bunnelby laughs.
—
“Come on you stupid thing, budge!” Bonnie grunts, trying fruitlessly to brush the knot out of her hair. They are at a Pokèmon Center this time, and the three older trainers had all gone down to get a map of the nearby area and maybe some breakfast. Bonnie had elected to stay upstairs in the room, and none of the others had argues at the time. But it had been a long night of tossing and turning for the young girl, which is now evident in the birds nest of her hair. She does not have quite as much strength in her arms as the others do, and she does not have a good angle to get the knot towards the back. Dedenne is sitting on the vanity desk, shouting encouragements at his trainer.
Greninja carefully grabs hold of the brush, gently working it out of the position it was in. He did not have any hair of his own, and Serena did most of the brushing for the group, but he had watched her enough times to know the basics. Start at the bottom, don’t yank, and be patient. Bonnie had been tangling with her hair for quite a while, so she was most definitely be frustrated now. “Huh? Oh, thanks Greninja! My hair does not want to cooperate today.” Bonnie grinned as she sat back in the chair, letting Greninja work out all the knots.
It’s hard to describe how Greninja feels about hair. On one hand, he’s seen many people and Pokèmon do creative things with theirs. It keeps them warm, and can offer a barrier of protection from the sun. But hair also gets in the way, and it gets tangled easily. Plus, Greninja is able to swim much better without any hair to slow him down. It would also be rather unfortunate to end up with hair that doesn’t match the rest of your body. He appreciates what it can do for others, but it would not help him in the slightest.
It takes quite a while, but they finally work through all the knots in Bonnie’s hair. Greninja has a newfound respect for anyone dealing with long hair, especially those that wear it down past their hips. There should be a national day honoring everyone with long hair. Bonnie smiles at it, grabbing her hair tie and pulling it all up into her signature side ponytail. “Thank you so much, Greninja! I don’t know what I would have done without you.” She stands up in the chair, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug.
…Okay, fine, Greninja doesn’t always mind being a big brother figure.
—
“One of these days I will strangle them.” Hawlucha sighs, laying down in the shade of a large tree. Greninja had found a comfortable perch in the trees, sitting and enjoying the occasional breeze.
“There are many people that could apply to, but I believe you are referring to Pancham and Chespin?” Greninja asks, not even bothering to open his eyes.
“Obviously. If it were not for my morals and the trainers being there, they would be long gone.”
“Were it not for the trainers, those two would have been eaten long ago. Their survival instincts are lacking.”
Hawlucha is silent for a moment. “Do you ever miss where you came from?”
“What do you mean?”
“Before you went to the lab. Before you chose Ash. Where did you live?”
“I was bred on a farm. It was a Froakie farm, designed to ensure that new trainers would always have options. A child in Kanto once had to get a non-League issues starter from the professor there, and the League here decided to ensure that would not happen.”
“The question still remains. Do you miss it?”
“I can’t say I do. The pond was beautiful, but it was small, and I did not get along with the colony. I take it you miss the forest?”
Hawlucha nodded. “It was my home. I grew strong there, protected the ones that could not protect themselves. I am very glad that Ash has chosen me, and I am very happy to be raising myself to new heights, but sometimes I wish I could return. Long enough for a visit, just to see how everyone is doing.”
“I’m sure if you ask Ash, we’d find the time to make the stop.”
“No, I will not distract him when we are so close to our goal now. I just…I wish I could be in two places at once.”
“I can understand that. If I were in two places at once, I’d have one of me for both Pancham and Chespin.”
"What will you do when we are finished? Ash has already confirmed he will allow me to live in the forest again, and Goodra will stay in the Wetlands. Talonflame and Noivern have chosen to roam the region. Pikachu stays with Ash constantly. What of you?”
“If he wishes, I will stay by his side and fight until my last breath. Ash is my home. He has shown me many great things, and has cherished me even with all my flaws. I cannot imagine a life without him now.”
Hawlucha nodded again. “...Do you wish to go spar?”
“I have literally been waiting for you to ask me that this entire conversation.”
—
It is very rare for Greninja to feel scared. He may feel apprehension or shock, but fear is not an emotion he is accustomed to feeling.
But seeing his very first trainer brings a spike of fear to his heart. It’s clear the boy doesn’t recognize him from across the street, but Greninja doesn’t think he’ll ever forget that face. When it came to the lottery of trainers, Froakie had gone bankrupt. That first trainer had been an awful human being, and it had been very easy to lose track of which bruises were from battle or from the trainer. He’d been the very first Froakie had run away from, which had started a viscous cycle.
Greninja’s body freezes. The boy is walking on, paying no attention to the starter he traumatized years ago. It’s like he’s been thrown in ice, thrust back into that situation where he was small and helpless and alone . It’s hard enough to move, nevermind breathe as everything seems to be crumbling down around him. He can’t do this again. Not again, never again. He thinks there are voices around him, some are probably trying to talk to him, but it’s like his brain has shut off. He’s never experienced this before. What was happening to him?
Hands carefully wrap around his shoulders, guiding his body to sit down. He’s not in the street anymore, but…an alley, maybe? Somewhere more private. The hands are human hands, but they wear gloves. That boy had never worn gloves before. He preferred to feel the damage he inflicted. These hands are rougher as well, but they hold Greninja more carefully. The skin is rough, but the soul is kind. He knows the hands, knows they belong to the person who saved him from himself. He’s safe with these hands.
One of the hands moves to his head, gently rubbing the joint between his fins. He likes that spot. These hands had discovered it long ago, when he was still a Froakie, rewarding him for a job well done. The other boy didn’t know that. He never pet Froakie. He didn’t care about rewards, just punishment. It was never enough. He was never enough.
“Easy, Gekkouga. It’s alright, you’re okay. Just take a deep breath for me, buddy.” His trainer’s voice breaks through the wall, soft and comforting instead of screaming. There’s…something small and warm in his lap, soft against his shaking skin. It’s nice, and grounding. He needs to get ahold of his fear. He needs to get ahold of his brain. The past is in the past, and he needs to be in the present.
The overwhelming feeling subsides, allowing Greninja to sit in his body once more. It was Pikachu in his lap, using its naturally high body heat to force Greninja to relax. Ash is in front of him, still petting softly. He’s also smiling, a smile that is clearly meant more for Greninja than it is for himself. “There we go, that’s it. Just take your time, buddy. We’re right here for you. The others are making sure nobody else comes this way, so it’s just us.” He explains, and the sheer idea of it makes Greninja want to cry. Ash is too good for him. He’s too good for anybody. Nobody deserves the amazing person that is Ash, and yet he offers himself willingly to everyone else.
The last of the fear eventually leaves Greninja’s body, leaving him shaking and exhausted. He croaks softly, just enough to let Ash know that he is present. “There you are. You okay, bud? You had us scared for a moment.”
Greninja reaches through the bond, just enough that he knows Ash will understand. “I saw…a past trainer. One I would rather forget.”
“Can you tell me what happened? Or would you rather not think about it right now.”
“I…do not wish to talk about it. Maybe one day, I will be ready. But now is not that day.”
“Alright then, we won’t talk about it. How about we go ahead and have an early night, head back to the Pokèmon Center? I think we can all use it.”
And Greninja is incredibly thankful. There is nothing he can say to ever truly show how much he appreciates Ash, how grateful he is for the trainer giving him a chance. There will never be the words to describe it, so Greninja will have to show it. All day, every day, whenever he can. Ash is his trainer, and he is Ash’s Pokèmon, and they are brothers down to the core.