Deceitful: A Pokemon Transformation

Chapter 26: Greninja's Promise

Once I finished the the last berry, I walked over to the no longer meditating Greninja, who was looking directly at me.

"Sorry I took so long. I was talking to Azelf and the others. So... What is it Sir Greninja?" I asked.

He stood with his arms folded, a scowl worn across his face.

"Damian, I want you to be clear of something. As I was gathering food, I spoke with Gallade regarding your situation. I do not prefer the short version of your troubles, but I'm guessing you have nearly told many others your life story. With that thought, I would like to give you advice. I may seem like a hard ass, excuse the language, but I do care. So, here is my advice. Well... There are many pieces of advice actually."

"To begin, although all of this may be troubling to you, you cannot allow your emotions to get between you and your goals. I have noticed a lot of anger, and from what Gallade tells me, even more sorrow. How that sorrow turned into pure anger is a mystery to me, but I digress. Emotions are natural, but they limit your thinking. For example, when you are angry, all you feel that you can do is attack someone or destroy something. If you were joyful, you would not do this."

"Anger makes us lose all rationality. Sorrow creates a similar effect. Sorrow can make you want to give up, and you just feel as though the end is near. Both of these emotions you are feeling are unhealthy, for if you were to give up, then everyone you love would suffer. As for anger, you cannot attack a Team Plasma camp simply out of an anger outburst. It is unnecessary."

"So from now on, whenever you feel angry you will battle me. And I hope this will rid you of some of this anger. And for your sorrow, you can talk to me. I am wise and have the knowledge to help you in any way possible. Now, for my next piece of advice..."

"Do not seek vengeance against Team Plasma, as this will only lead to problems you do not need at this moment. Remember this phrase. I want you to repeat after me. Forget the past, focus on the present, and set goals for the future."

"Forget the past, focus on the present, and set goals for the future," I echoed.

"Perfect. Team Plasma's day of reckoning will come, but you must be patient for that to arrive. Your present focus should be training, and only training."

In my head, I actually remembered that it was the same exact phrase Absol had used.

"I wish to continue this talk later, for we have training to complete. Although I sympathize your situation, that does not mean my training will be any easier. I have high expectations for you, Damian, and I want those expectations to be met. So with that all said... Dodge."

Instantly as Greninja finished his sentence, he ducked down to my level and swung his right fist against my cheek. I fell to the ground, rubbing my face as I held myself up with one arm.

"I've decided that because time is of the essence, I will train you in actual combat, rather than have you playing games of discipline. The last two exercises were tests of your discipline, not training. This is where your training begins. I am going to perform a series of attacks against you, and your task is to evade each attack. I will repeat the same moves over and over and over again until you have learned all of my movements and can dodge each attack accordingly. There will be many steps, and there will be no preview. I will simply keep attacking you until you are unconscious. It sounds extreme, but I see it as a powerful method of training."

I grinned as I stood to my feet and wiped dirt from my fur.

"I'm ready Sir Greninja."

"Very well..."

Greninja's attacks were too fast to keep track of, as his first strike made evident.

He kicked me in the gut, followed the attack by grabbing my shoulder with one of his webbed hands, and pushing me to the ground. He let me stand, but as I stood, he lunged and punched me with a forward thrust of his fist. Barely keeping my balance as I skid across the ground, I bared my fangs. I was already getting worn out. I may have been an idiot for this, but my technique was to let him attack me to see his every move, then try and dodge my next round.

Greninja swiftly appeared behind me and I felt a heavy torrent of water push me down into the ground. Soaking wet and ready to pass out, I feebly stood to my feet, but only to be struck by an attack I was unfamiliar with. Greninja threw multiple stars made of water, which surprisingly hurt as they struck. He moved just slightly closer to me, closed his eyes, then released a dark pulse attack, which made every part of my body feel numb.

I only hoped he was done at that point, but he wasn't. In a blur of movement he was I front of me, and slashed me across the chest with a shadow claw, he then extended his left arm out and fired a shadow ball directly at me torso at point blank range. I was gasping from exhaustion at this point, barely keeping consciousness.

His final two moves, which I was more than happy to know he was finished, were a blast of sand in my face, which I quickly closed my eyes to use my aura vision, but only to find myself roundhouse kicked to the ground. I tried to stand but it was too difficult.

"Don't tell me you're done already? That was only the first part of my maneuvers. Do not worry though, we will focus solely on part one. Now get up."

My arms shook violently as I tried to stand, but my body didn't want me to get up. Greninja definitely showed no mercy when he attacked me.

"I... I... Need... Help. I... I can't... Man..." I groaned between deep breaths.

"Hmm... Here..." Greninja gracefully stood me on my two feet, however I nearly collapsed as he did so.

"I told you this would not be easy," he remarked.

"Good... I... Hate... Easy..." I said, grinning past the pain.

Greninja smiled at my comment, "You have one minute to recover. From that moment on, I will not stop my attacks until you have either succeeded evading all of them or I have rendered you unconscious."

I nodded, sat down then took slow, heavy breaths as I tried to recuperate. Counting down the seconds to only find that time was moving faster and faster. A minute nearly became a second and I had to force myself to stand once again. It wasn't much of a recovery, but I had more of a chance than if he kept attacking me.

I took one last breath, and prepared myself as I counted the last three seconds down in my head.

3... Greninja leered at me.

2... He unfolded his arms and squatted to my height.

1... I closed my eyes and relied on my aura vision.

Greninja started his maneuver the same as before, and in the minute I had, I spent time remembering his moves. Greninja attempted to kick me in the gut, which I dodged in the knick of time as I hopped over his leg. He reached to grab my shoulder, in which I responded by stepping backwards. Already forgetting his next attack, he punched me with a forward strike. I could feel defeat already. Still trying to remember his next move after that, I could not think fast enough to react. He appeared behind me and performed his next attack.

The blast of water knocked me me to the ground, but is used any strength I had left to recover only to be struck by the water stars again, knocked down by the dark pulse, scratched by the shadow claw, launched back by the shadow ball, sand in my eyes, and he finished his rushing river of attacks with his roundhouse.

I lay on the ground, my eyes closed and I had absolutely no strength left to go on. As I tried to speak, my words only came out as undistinguishable mumbles.

"Buh... Mo... N... No..." I croaked.

"Speak clearly," Greninja ordered.

"Ca... Can... Can't... Can't..." I struggled to speak.

I muttered my final word before I was rendered unconscious.

"Stand..."

The world faded to black and all I could feel was relief that I had some sort of break from his training.