After that heartfelt last chapter, things for our heroes get a little lighter! Enjoy!~
~
Zenith returned to find her fellow quadruplets off looking for her, quickly informing them of her meeting with their other siblings. Despite feeling the same worry as Zenith herself, she made them promise not to tell the others, brushing it off as following what appeared to be a rare wild Pokemon and getting distracted. Clemont waved her off with the meal he had prepared with the help of the other Sawyers, which our heroes enjoyed before making camp and going to bed.
The next day, while traveling through the grasslands, our heroes ran into a pride of Pyroars, who sent off a young Litleo to live on its own. At first, Ash wanted to save it from having to leave, but Shadow explained that it was necessary for Litleos to become stronger and eventually evolve, and then form their own prides.
(He was in complete awe of their determination and strength to do so, but then he realized it was almost like how children go off with their Pokemon partners when they're old enough and make their way in the world without their parents, to which he bid Litleo a passionate farewell and good luck.)
After that, they watched a meteor shower, but then something strange happened: their Pokemon friends were able to talk and their human friends could only speak Pokemon! They could even evolve and devolve at will! However, when everyone woke up the next morning, they noticed Shadow and a strange Pokemon both laughing, and she admit it was all a prank she and her Darkrai played, having given them all the same dream/nightmare after Shadow had snuck off and taken Darkrai's Pokeball out from the PC. (She had caught the mythical on a trip to the Sinnoh region a few years back.)
Now, our heroes were making lunch after Ash just finished training with Frogadier. The Water-type was getting very strong, so much so that Zenith was sure it would evolve soon. However, as she looked over from the table to the Pokemon, she noticed both it and Squishy focusing on something in the distance, turning and squinting as she noticed faint but swift movement.
I wonder who or what that could be... After another minute, the others noticed Frogadier's focus elsewhere. "Something wrong, Frogadier?" Ash asked the Kalos starter.
Narrowing its eyes, Frogadier pulled two frubbles from its scarf and launched them at a tree nearby, hitting something.,. something that looked like an incoming attack! There was an explosion before a Greninja and a boy dressed in a dark blue ninja costume jumped down beside it.
"Well done!" The boy, maybe a bit older than Ash, congratulated, and the others all smiled.
"It's Sanpei! And Greninja!" Ash exclaimed. At Zenith and some of the other sisters' confused looks, he elaborated. "We met him a while back when Frogadier was still a Froakie and Greninja still a Frogadier. They battled, and Froakie learned Quick Attack!"
Crystal hopped off the bench and skipped over to them, her own Greninja released itself from her Pokeball. "Well I'll be! Zenith, girls, you've got to remember him! It was years ago by now, when we started on our own journeys! We visited their village- his older brother Ippei also had a Greninja who helped me and my Frogadier train!"
A blurry memory resurfaced in Zenith's mind, a much younger boy with his older brothers playing with the Water-Types. As she looked back at Sanpei, she connected the two. "I can't believe I forgot... Look at you, a fine trainer and ninja now!"
"That's right! When we saw you here, we thought we'd sneak up on you, but I didn't think you'd notice us first," he told Ash. "You're improving, Frogadier!" Then, he turned to the Sawyers and bowed. "Long time no see, sisters. I've heard you've all made quite the names for yourselves in battling, performances, and research."
Crystal gave him a pat on the shoulder. "That we have. A lot can happen in a few short years."
Ash reached out to shake his hand. "It sure has been a while. Great to see you!"
Sanpei returned it. "And you, too!" However, his stomach started grumbling. Crystal jumped up again, running over to where she'd been making lunch with Bonnie. She quickly put all the sandwiches on plates, sliced them, and brought them over on a plate.
"We just finished making lunch! Help yourself, s'il vous plaît!"
He scratched the back of his head with embarrassment. "Uh, thank you..."
As they all sat down to eat, Sanpei began telling our heroes about Ninja Village, his home. He was on his way back to be a part of the village festival.
"What's it like!? Are there lots of ninjas in ninja village?" Bonnie asked.
"Sure! The place is filled with ninja villagers and Pokemon who are busy training hard every single day."
Bonnie gasped. "So are there any girl ninjas!?"
"Of course. They're pretty, too."
"Wow, I really wanna go!" She cheered.
She seems to be a big fan of ninjas... That's got me thinking...
"It sounds great! I'd like to see it, as well," Clemont added.
"When we last visited, it was certainly a beautiful place," Pine remembered. "Full of strong trainers."
"I'll bet it's an awesome time!" Said Ash, Pikachu agreeing as he tried to bite Ash's sandwich.
"Well, we'd be happy to invite all of you! Right, Greninja?" Sanpei turned to his Pokemon, who nodded, though its arms were crossed and its posture remained stiff, like a bodyguard on alert.
While the others kept eating, Zenith slipped away and pulled out some things from her bag, quickly finding the outfit she was looking for and adding to it with spare scraps of fabric. After only a few minutes, it was ready, and she put it in a container and brought it back over.
Holding it up at Bonnie's side, she smiled. "Now, who's ready to see the prettiest, fastest ninja of all time!?" Then, she handed it to the blonde girl.
Bonnie opened it up to find pink pajamas styled like a ninja costume, gasping and putting them on over her clothes. "I'm ninja Bonnie!"
~
Goodbye for now,
Zenith