Matchmaking

Abandoned Again

After the strange encounter with Sylveon, Greninja decided to go get some training in. He found Ash and Hawlucha training by the river, working on the forest champions Karate Chop. Something seemed to be strange about it, though. Instead of its normal white glow, the aura around move seemed to be tinged with pink.
"Hey, Hawlucha. Is that Brick Break?" Greninja greeted his friend. Hawlucha paused and turned to look at him.
"Yeah, what do you think?" he replied proudly. "Pretty awesome, isn't it?"
"Oh, Greninja. Did you need something?" Ash asked.
Greninja nodded. "I wanted to do some training," he said, using his hands to try to translate what he was saying. Fortunately, Ash got the message.
"All right, let's do this. Hawlucha, you can go take a break now. Good job today," the raven-haired boy said. Hawlucha saluted his trainer and took off back to where Braixen and the others were relaxing.
"Right, now use Water Shuriken on that tree over there," Ash ordered, pointing to a large oak across the river. Greninja obediently formed a small shuriken with his hands and threw it at the tree, knocking off a branch. "Awesome! That's some power, Greninja. But let's see you crank it up a little. Water Shuriken, again!"
"Oh, I'll show you power,"  Greninja chuckled. Water Shuriken was his favorite move. He formed another Water Shuriken and hurled it at the same tree. This time, the impact was so great it broke off five branches all at once.
"Awesome! Now that's what I like to see!" Ash cheered. Greninja grinned at his trainer and gave a little fist pump.
"Wow, you two are looking great. You'll be ready for the Kalos league for sure," came Serena's voice from behind them. Greninja also noticed, with a little spark of happiness, that Braixen was with her. The fiery fox Pokemon waved at Greninja when she saw him, causing him to avert his eyes to hide his blush. Because of this, he didn't see the knowing smirks Ash and Serena gave each other.
"Yeah, you look great, Greninja. I can't wait to see you in the league," Braixen complimented her friend.
"T-thanks, Braixen," the frog-ninja Pokemon stammered. "Are you and Serena here for training too?"
Braixen nodded. "Yes, we only have a few days until the Master Class, so we need to get in as much training as possible," she answered, looking a bit nervous. "Especially if we want to have any chance at beating Aria."
"Remind me, who's Aria again?" Greninja asked sheepishly. He thought he had heard her name before, but couldn't recall who she was at the moment.
"She's the Kalos queen," Braixen reminded him. "Her partner is a Delphox-a really pretty one."
"Oh, I remember now," Greninja said, recalling seeing the current Kalos queen on television not too long ago. There was no doubt she was a great performer, but he was confident that Braixen-and Serena, Pancham, and Sylveon-could win. "Don't worry, you can beat her. You're just as beautiful as her Delphox and you've all been training really hard."
"Thank you, Greninja," Braixen said, blushing a little. Greninja wondered what she was blushing about before he realized that he had just called her beautiful.
Well....it wasn't like it wasn't true.
"So have you been working on any new routines?" he asked, trying to cover up his embarrassment.
"Actually, yes. Tell me what you think of this," Braixen said, stepping back slightly. She ignited the tip of her branch and started twirling it around, creating a tornado of flames. However, Braixen was still visible within the tornado, spinning in time with the fire. Greninja was impressed; it looked a bit like a move Ash had mentioned a few times before, the Counter-Shield.
"That looks a bit like Counter-Shield," he remarked once Braixen had finished her routine.
"Well, that is where I got the idea," Braixen admitted. "But you'll notice I didn't send my Flamethrower in all directions like Ash's Counter-Shield. I just created a small tornado, but made sure to keep myself visible."
"Well, I think it looks amazing," Greninja said honestly. Braixen blushed again and looked down at her feet.
"I'm glad you like it," she said softly.
"Yeah. Hold on a minute, I'll see if Ash will let me watch more of your routines. Hey Ash, I-" Greninja broke off as he turned around to find both their trainers gone. "I don't believe it. They've ditched us again."