Fire and Ice

Final Farewell

Hawlucha limped through the Pokemon Center, observing and greeting his fellow teammates. They had just finished battling Team Flare in order to protect Kalos, a fierce battle that had raged for several hours. In the end, the battle had ended with Ash and Greninja finally beating Lysandre and the deranged man committing suicide in response. Definitely shocking to be sure, but Hawlucha wasn't going to waste time grieving over him. 

"Hey," he greeted Greninja as he passed him, but the water-type only nodded dully. 

Hawlucha paused for a moment. "Are you all right?" he asked. 

"Fine." Greninja's voice was taut. 

Hawlucha reached out to help him up, but before his talon could even touch him, Greninja suddenly let out a groan and slumped over onto his side. His abdomen, which had previously been shielded, was exposed now, revealing a long, deep gash. Blood poured from the wound onto the floor, forming a puddle around Hawlucha's feet. 

"Greninja!" Hawlucha cried out in horror. 

His cry alerted the other Pokemon, who raced over to them immediately. Pikachu and Noivern were the first to arrive, their eyes widening at the sight of Greninja slowly bleeding out on the floor of the Pokemon Center. 

"Why hasn't this been seen to?" Hawlucha demanded, rounding on the electric-type. 

"I don't know," Pikachu said, biting his lip. "I didn't even realize this had happened. He was beside me the whole time, but I only saw him go down for a second." 

"It's all right," Greninja grunted weakly, clearly straining from the effort of trying to speak. "I-I'm fine. Really." 

Hawlucha ran a talon over the frog Pokemon's head. "Shh, don't try to talk. You're going to be fine, I promise," he whispered soothingly. "We'll get you help. Just try to stay awake for me." 

Greninja nodded and relaxed slightly, allowing the fighting-type to wrap his wings around him. One was used in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood while the other was cast around Greninja's shoulders. He murmured words of comfort into Greninja's ear, words that made absolutely no sense to the frog-ninja Pokemon, but the pure terror and love in them were more than enough to get the point across. 

A few hours later, Hawlucha was still waiting anxiously for any news of Greninja. Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff had taken him back three hours ago, and they still hadn't come back out yet. Hawlucha wanted to believe that was a good sign, telling himself that if there hadn't been any chance, they would have come back by now. But no matter what he tried, the pit of dread in his stomach wouldn't dissipate. 

Finally, after nearly four hours, Hawlucha finally spotted Wigglytuff emerging from around the corner. He jumped to his feet, only to freeze in fear when he saw the look in the nurse Pokemon's eyes. They were dull and lifeless, much like Greninja's had been. She looked up sadly and just shook her head, that one gesture telling more than a thousand words ever could. 

"No..." Hawlucha whispered, not wanting to believe it. 

"I'm sorry," Wigglytuff said softly. "We tried as hard as we could, but we couldn't save him. I'm sorry." 

Hawlucha kept on shaking his head, believing that if he kept doing so, then some way, somehow, it would mean this nightmare would end, because there was no way that his quarrelsome, fun-loving best friend could be dead. He refused to believe it. Ignoring Pikachu's call for him to stay back, he bolted past Wigglytuff and into the back of the Pokemon Center, towards the intensive care unit. What he saw inside the small room nearly made him pass out. 

Greninja was lying on an operation table, completely still. His eyes were closed and there was a peaceful look about him, almost as though he were merely sleeping. But there was no movement of his chest that would have indicated at least some respiration. Instead of the sound of his all-too-familiar snores, the room was filled with silence. 

Hawlucha shut his eyes and turned away, doing all he could to bite back a scream of anguish. It wouldn't do him much good if he was caught in the room now. But why, why did it have to be Greninja? Why him, out of everyone? He didn't deserve this-no one did-but Greninja least of all. 

He and Ash had spent so long working on that form. Hawlucha hadn't understood why Greninja was so fixated on perfecting it-after all, it wasn't as thoug he needed the power boost it seemed to provide. He was already strong enough as it was. But the frog Pokemon had refused to listen to his pleas to give it a rest, insisting that it would be worth it in the end. 

And now, thanks to the bond phenomenon, Kalos was safe. But Greninja was dead, struck down because of Lysandre's obsession with his power. Hawlucha had lost his best friend, the only friend he had ever trusted enough to show the side of him he kept hidden from the rest of the world, the side that was often unsure and unconfident. 

"No, it wasn't," Hawlucha whispered. "Nothing was worth the price of your life, Greninja. Nothing."