A Journey's Link

Chapter 46 - Potential

Nurse Joy furrowed her eyebrows and said, "We got a call from a Pokemon Center in the Hoenn region regarding an Ash Ketchum." Ash's heart leaped as he realized what that could probably mean. "More specifically, Rustboro City," Nurse Joy added, confirming what Ash already knew.

"It's about Lucario, isn't it?" Ash asked, nervous about what Nurse Joy was going to say next. Is he okay? Is he not okay? Did something happen? These all are things Ash wanted to ask but decided not to as Nurse Joy began telling Ash what the other Nurse Joy had said.

"It was the strangest thing," Nurse Joy began. "I remember that I had managed to wake Greninja up and treat his wounds when I got a phone call from my cousin. She said that a Lucario had woken up that belonged to Ash Ketchum, and that it had some weird stripes on it. I'm sure she's just tired and was seeing things, but still..." She scratched her head. "At the same time that Greninja woke up?"

"Woah. Weird," Ash responded simply. "She said Lucario had stripes?" Nurse Joy nodded and said, "Right. Something along the lines of it looking almost like an evolution." Ash looked back at Sycamore, whose eyebrows were practically raised right off of his head. "Interesting," Sycamore said. "Did anything happen to Greninja? Any change to appearance there?"

Nurse Joy shrugged and responded, "I was out of the room answering the phone call, so I'm not entirely sure if Greninja also went through a similar process." She turned back to Ash and said, "Greninja's vitals seem fine, so it's your decision if you want to have him back or leave him here with us for a little while."

Ash's mind flashed back to when he was told that Lucario had to stay temporarily at the other Pokemon Center and how disappointed he was. "I think he'll be fine with me," he answered, confident that he didn't want to leave Greninja any longer if the threat was going to be affecting them anytime soon.

Nurse Joy smiled and nodded, saying, "Of course. I'll have Chansey bring him out." She turned around and walked away, leaving Ash and the others to discuss what they just heard. "Professor, do you think that had something to do with me and Greninja?" Ash asked Sycamore, who was already theorizing many different things.

"It's very possible," he stated, thinking about the fact that Lucario had managed to look like Greninja for a moment. "Just as you and Greninja can bond together to become much more powerful, perhaps Greninja and Lucario can bond through their mutual respect for you, their trainer."

"That seems plausible," Clemont blurted in response to Sycamore's theory. "I don't know when Ash caught this Lucario of his, but if it's close to him, then it might be connected to his Aura on a deep level."

"Ah! You may be right, Clemont!" Sycamore exclaimed, patting the bashful Clemont on the back. "What does my Aura have to do with Greninja, though?" Ash asked the Professor. Sycamore began pacing as he explained the reasoning to Ash.

"If your Aura is connected to Lucario, then surely Lucario must be connected to Greninja," Sycamore began, looking at Ash who was still as clueless as before. "Ah. Let me give you an example so you'll better understand it," Sycamore said. "Thank you," Ash said exasperatingly.

"Imagine you catch a Pokemon, and you travel with it everywhere since it is your Pokemon, right?" Sycamore said, eyeing Ash who said, "Right," in return. Sycamore continued by saying, "Let's say that Pokemon produces an egg and out hatches a baby Pokemon. Who would the trainer be?"

"It would be me, right?" Ash answered with uncertainty, earning a smile from Sycamore. "Precisely!" he exclaimed. "So, imagine that same situation in your current one." Ash nodded and said, "Ok, so I'm bonded with Greninja, and since I'm also bonded with Lucario, they're both bonded as well?"

Sycamore clapped his hands once and said, "There you go! That's our theory for what might be happening." Bonnie suddenly piped up, "This is so confusing! Why do so many Pokemon bond with Ash?" Sycamore laughed and said, "Because Ash is a very talented and respectable trainer. Many Pokemon gravitate towards that type of behavior."

"Ok, that's great that Lucario and Greninja have a similar thing to the Bond Phenomenon, but how does it help against Zygarde?" Ash spoke up. Sycamore looked at Ash and said, "I know you may not like what I'm about to say since it's coming from me, but we need to make the three of you stronger using this newfound ability."

Ash sighed and said, "You just tried to make Greninja stronger this morning, and look how that turned out. How can I even trust you?" Sycamore shrugged and said, "You can't. But this morning I tried forcing it onto you. I think if the three of you work together to train and bond, then we have a sizable chance at stopping this threat of ours."

"I think that could work, Ash," Clemont blurted. "If we get the three of you to use your Aura connection, then maybe we could create a powerful opponent to the Zygarde Core." Ash felt overwhelmed by this new prospect and instinctively wanted to turn to Serena to ask her for help, but realized quickly she wasn't there.

She won't be there if you don't do this, he thought to himself. This scared him even more, so he immediately exclaimed, "Ok! I'm in. Let's try training alongside Greninja and Lucario to fight against the Core." He turned to Pikachu, who was being petted by Bonnie on the table. "What do you think, Pikachu?" He asked his lifelong partner.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, happily agreeing to the conditions. Smiling, Ash turned back to the Professor and said, "You heard him. We're in." Sycamore smiled and said, "Alright! I think I know just the person who can train with you."

"Who is specially trained to deal with something like this, Professor?" Clemont asked, turning to Sycamore. "It's not every day you need to train someone who can potentially bond with two Pokemon in the way Ash and Greninja can."

Sycamore smirked and responded, "You underestimate the power and patience of a ninja. Especially the older brother of your good friend, Sanpei." Ash's eyes widened. "Sanpei has a Greninja, too, so maybe he can help with our problem," he remarked. Sycamore chuckled and exclaimed, "Right! Which means we should go to Ninja Village."

[-]

"How was it? Did you find the information we needed to carry out our plan?" The mysterious figure asked, gesturing towards the clone that was before them.

Serena's clone, who was known as S, kneeled before her master and said, "I have. The target is still entering the planet at a slow rate." She looked up, revealing her green left eye, as her right eye was constantly covered by her honey-blonde hair. "What if the opponents get in our way? Shouldn't we dispose of them now?"

"No. Their existence is crucial. We need to make sure Ash and the others survive to make sure the Core is utilized fully," Her master explained, causing S to look slightly shocked. She tilted her head and asked, "Why don't we just tap into its potential? Don't we have some device or something that can just activate its powers?"

The master was about to speak over S and correct her when another figure walked into the room. It was Ash's clone, who was known as A, naturally, and had just finished scouting areas in Kalos. "We obviously can't because according to some stupid cosmic rules, the Zygarde Core only responds to those worthy of battling its true power."

"That's dumb," S said in a disgusted tone. "So, why is Ash worthy and not you, master? You're powerful enough to crush him in one move." She was met with a disappointed sigh from her master, filling her with sorrow. "Because Ash is the only one who can help us right now," he said smoothly. "Without him, we can't do anything."

"Ash is worthy of Zygarde because he is an imbecile who plays by the rules. Rather than getting ahead through any means, he finds ways to help people even if it means hurting him," the figure explained to S, who regained her posture.

"Yes, master. I understand," S said in a monotonous tone. A had already kneeled beside her after his explanation for why Zygarde wouldn't unlock its potential. "Now," The master began. "Go out and discover the true nature of Ash's power. He is on the brink of unlocking his strength."

Upon this command, A and S both stood up and said in unison, "Yes master. We will do anything for our salvation. Thank you for saving us through Zygarde's power." Both clones turned around and left the presence of their master, who sat and pondered on the certainty of his plan.