This one's Sanpei versus Nihei, so let's see if this little brother has what it takes to beat his elder!
~
"It would be great if you would show us all how you've grown, Sanpei," Ippei told his brother.
"And you can do that by having a battle with me!" Nihei added.
Sanpei agreed, he and his Greninja facing off against his brother. Serena glanced between the two, confused. "I don't get it. What's the big deal?"
"Nihei's the second strongest ninja in the entire village, duh," Shadow told her. "It's in the name, just like how Ippei's the strongest of them all. Anyways, if he can defeat his older brother, he'll prove he's worthy of that spot."
"Let's do it, Venusaur!" Nihei called and he released the Grass-Type. Shadow smirked, having received Bulbasaur when she traveled to Kanto for one of the Professor's assignments and since evolved it. Serena looked confused again so she scanned it with her Pokedex, listening to the entry read aloud but still not understanding how it battled.
"Alright, Sanpei, I won't go easy on you!"
"I hope you wouldn't!" The boy shot back.
Zenith, with Star on her shoulder, looked across the makeshift battlefield, and began analyzing the battle under her breath. "Sanpei's at a big disadvantage from the start because of his type matchup. Since Grass-Types are more powerful against Water-Types, even if he and Nihei are evenly matched, he'll likely end up on the losing side. He'll need a lot of strategy and power on his side if he wants to pull ahead. I wonder if, like Ash's Frogadier, his Greninja knows a coverage move like Aerial Ace that could help deal with Venusaur..."
"Okay Greninja, use Double Team!" Sanpei called. Dozens of copies appeared, all charging Venusaur.
"Use Vine Whip! Aim for the legs!" All the copies were destroyed by the vines, revealing the real Greninja who managed to jump over the whip coming toward it. "Venusaur, use Razor Leaf!"
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Just as the flurry of leaves were about to hit the falling Water-Type, it formed a huge shuriken that protected itself from the attack, though it created an explosion in the process. "Greninja, us Night Slash!" As the smoke was still clearing, it broke through the clouds and managed to catch Venusaur and Nihei off guard, slashing at the Grass-Type with blades of dark energy that blew it back. However, because Venusaur brought its vines up to protect it, it barely took damage.
It was still standing, obviously, but Ash and the others cheered for Sanpei. "Had he been weaker, Sanpei and Greninja couldn't have gotten out of that situation so easily. They've definitely improved, but is it enough to best the second best ninja around? Especially one whose Pokemon's reaction time is so quick that it can block such powerful attacks with ease?"
"I see Greninja's speed and power are on a whole different level now. You've become strong, Greninja!" Nihei complimented, essentially regurgitating what Zenith had just commenting without even hearing what she had said. Sanpei only laughed, oblivious to the others from the village watching with caution.
"Now let's go on the offense! Greninja, use Night Slash!"
"Conceal yourself with Petal Blizzard, now!"
When Greninja went to hit Venusaur inside the swirling pink vortex, it dissipated to reveal Venusaur was gone, which surprised most of the audience. Pine was beaming- she had always been a fan of Grass-Types anyway, and seeing as the ninjas utilized their skills in battling pumped her up.
"Alright use Razor Leaf, now!" Behind Greninja, Venusaur tunneled up from the ground and went flying into the air, spreading its front legs to the side and sending a barrage of glowing leaves to hit its opponent. They made an impact before Greninja could react, creating another explosion.
"You've got to get up, Greninja!" Sanpei called as the Water-Type fell to one knee. It was shaking from exhaustion but didn't fall, slowly climbing to its feet as Nihei called for his Venusaur to start charging up a Solar Beam.
"Venusaur only knows Grass-Type moves," Zenith murmured. "Usually that would put Nihei at a disadvantage, but given his opponent is weak to Grass, it really doesn't matter in this situation. Still, makes you think how easily, say, a Pokemon like Talonflame or Volcarona could beat it since they'd take so little from its attacks.
Still, before Greninja could fully recover enough to move away, the Solar Beam sent it flying, fainted in the dirt. Sanpei ran up to it, begging for it to stay strong, but Ippei called the match, and Greninja was clearly out cold. Zenith sighed as she stepped forward to where Sanpei and now Ash, Frogadier, and Pikachu were, and pulled out a revive and some potions for it.
It began to come to after a little while, but Sanpei looked down guiltily. "I didn't stand a chance against him. Not a chance."
"Indeed. You left far too many openings to beat him. Against anyone else, you should have been able to claim victory with your very first Night Slash," Chief Hanzo cut in.
That last part's certainly true, Sanpei's reactions and Greninja's speed and strength are approaching top-tier, which could overpower most beginner and intermediate trainers. The main thing that held him back is that his brother has the perfect counter to him, something bulky and powerful that could block his best moves, along with a resistance to his other same-type moves as well as firing back four super-effective ones of its own! It's hard to beat an opponent when they've got all power over you; that's why having a team with multiple different types and coverage moves, along with being trained with good reflexes and commanded by a stronger trainer, is important!
"Chief, I guess we don't understand," Sanpei said slowly.
"I guess you must not have noticed," Ippei explained. "Venusaur skillfully blocked your Night Slash mere moments before it made contact."
"That's why it went sliding backwards on the ground instead of getting flung across it or into the air," she added.
Sanpei gasped. "It blocked it that fast?"
"We took the least amount of damage and waited for an opportunity to counterattack," Nihei said.
"I guess I should've expected that from the number two ninja," said Ash.
"Or maybe pay more attention," Pine teased. She didn't mean it in a mean way, but given she was a battle instructor and had a good eye for anything Pokemon attack related, especially counters and deception, she just had to poke a little fun at the dense-as-a-brick boy.
"That said, you still battled we;; against Venusaur, who has a type advantage over Greninja," Chief Hanzo finally bringing up what Zenith had been thinking THE ENTIRE TIME. He held up a paper fan. "Quite commendable! You've grown!"
"Thank you!"
"It's easy to see that you've trained very hard with Greninja, and I hope that you'll keep up the great work," Ippei told his youngest brother.
"Right."
"Gren."
Zenith felt a stray breeze drift past her, chills causing her to shiver. She wasn't in her mage form, so she couldn't ask the winds what was the matter, or even decipher their messages, but it still felt... strange. An uneasy feeling began sinking into her gut, and though the battle had ended with Sanpei more determined that ever to get stronger, she felt that it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.
~
I wonder what could be coming up that Zenith is anticipating, whether she knows it or not... 🤔
Goodbye for now,
Zenith