I Wanna Be The Very Best

Chapter 86: Time For A Rest And A Date

It's the middle of the night in the Alola region, with the stars above shining bright amongst the clear night sky.

Two familiar figures in blue walk down the path through the forest, both taking a break from hunting down negative energy to do some training. Not really a break as such, but as much of a break as Greninja ever seems to get.

As they walk, Greninja almost smiles as he exclaims "Ash and Charizard did well in their battle. I hope you learned something from watching his movements."

Lucario nods his head yes as he replies "I certainly did sensei, but not as much as I learned so far from training with you. No offence to Charizard because he is super powerful, but I think you'd have taken down Blaziken in a few minutes."

Greninja shakes his head a little at Lucario's over confidence as he exclaims in a serious tone "You can never think like that going into a battle. Every opponent must be given the respect they deserve. Even for someone as strong and as experienced as me, there's no guarantees when a battle starts. That's what makes it so thrilling when you get announced the winner. That's one of the feelings I miss the most."

Lucario sighs a little at Greninja's words before he replies "It must be tough for you sensei, the life you live away from everyone else. It's been so long since you last had an official battle. Tell me, how do you do it?"

Greninja looks straight ahead as he explains in a pretty emotionless voice "You don't get too attached that's how. The bond phenomenon helps that's for sure. I still speak with Ash every few days so I don't feel alone ever. But the rest of it, the battles, the family and the glory. You let that go and forget about it. I can only focus on this job and this job only. Once it's done, I can think about what I want to think about."

Lucario can't help but feel sorry for Greninja, but also respect him so much for the sacrifices he makes. The sacrifices are tough, but they need to happen to protect the world, to protect his family. To allow Ash to live a happier life, to keep pushing forward towards his dream. If Greninja wasn't the one fighting this negative energy, then it would be Ash tied down to the Alola region. He'd be the one constantly fighting it and not living the life he does. He wouldn't be able to travel with his friends and family, making all kinds of new memories. His dream would be stagnant instead of moving closer to reality.

Lucario keeps that thought to himself as the two of them continue to walk through the forest, with rain now hammering down from above them. Lucario shivers a little from the rain, while Greninja just continues to walk completely unaffected.

Soon the two of them reach their destination as a bunch of the local forest pokemon stand waiting for them. Over the last few months, Greninja has sort of become the protector of the forest. A lot of these Pokémon have looked to him for protection from these wild vines, and Greninja has been perfect in providing that.

As such, they are pretty friendly with him and are willing to do him a favour now and again. Realistically they don't really have a choice to get on with him, considering he's probably the strongest wild Pokémon you will ever see. But despite his usual serious appearance, he's probably the most friendly wild Pokémon you'll ever see too.

As the wild Pokémon approach, Lucario raises an eyebrow as he questions "What is all this about sensei? I thought we were going to train."

Greninja nods and explains with a serious look on his face "We are, and everyone here is going to help us with that. You Lucario are about to run the gauntlet."

Lucario shakes his head a little as he sighs and remarks "Why do I feel like this is going to be a painful one."

Greninja keeps a serious look on his face and folds his arms over as he exclaims "It will be if you get hit. The objective is simple. Run from one end of the trees to the other without getting hit by our attacks. I'll go first to demonstrate."