The friendship between Greninja and Hawlucha was eternal. It wasn't rushed, it didn't happen overnight, and in the end, that's what made it last.
When they first met, Hawlucha didn't leave a very good impression on Greninja (Froakie at the time). He came across as arrogant and conceited and someone Froakie could never have imagined himself even being somewhat casual acquaintances with, much less friends.
A few weeks later, Hawlucha invited Froakie to spend some time with him, and he would have said yes had it not been for the fact that he asked him right after they had their fight over their double battle. Hawlucha attacking him for trying to be helpful made Froakie despise him, and he would find that out in time. Since they weren't particularly close at the time, Hawlucha didn't give much thought to Froakie's refusal; he went about his day, but it was then that the seed was planted.
More time passed, and soon Hawlucha and Froakie had been teammates for about three months. Nothing much changed between them, until, that is, the day Hawlucha found out that Froakie had evolved. It wasn't just his new form that impressed Hawlucha, but the personality change he seemed to undergo. As a Frogadier, he was much more vibrant and his previously cold and aloof personality had been replaced by witty comments and sarcastic, yet funny, comebacks. Hawlucha tried many times to get Frogadier to be friends with him...making him even more annoyed with him.
After Frogadier evolved again and he and Ash began to tap into the bond phenomenon, a lot began to happen. Greninja lost the friends he'd begun to make and tore apart Hawlucha's pride...all in one day. He was once again alone and friendless. Hawlucha tried to confront him several times to make his apologies, but he refused to listen...until one day, when he cornered him in the forest after a training session and refused to let him leave until he at least said something to him. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed Greninja's voice, snapping at him or not. Hawlucha had his popularity, a newfound side career as a stunt Pokemon, and a little brother to care for in Noivern, but none of that mattered if Greninja wasn't part of it.
After Ash's first match against Wulfric, Greninja finally cracked...that was his turning point, as well as Hawlucha's. Hawlucha came to visit him while he was still in the hospital, recovering from his wounds. Greninja needed someone to talk to after all that had happened, not only that day but the whole time he and Ash had been trying to figure things out, and since Hawlucha was the only one there, he figured it wouldn't hurt. At first he only talked about the bond phenomenon, but then he realized that Hawlucha was actually quite good at listening, so he began to talk about other things as well. He told him he was afraid of hurting Ash because of his past history with his other trainers and that sometimes he was torn between running away again and staying, not only because of that, but also because although he loved Ash and knew the raven-haired boy cared for him, it was hard to stay with the team when he also knew everyone else hated him. As he spoke about the pain of being hated by everyone else on the team, Hawlucha grew angrier and angrier with his friends. Once Greninja had finished talking, the former forest champion vowed that no one would ever hurt him that way again.
After that day, Greninja and Hawlucha were virtually inseparable. They had become best friends and were always on each other's side, save for the moments Hawlucha decided to tease Greninja about finally having a type disadvantage to him. When Greninja decided to leave to help Squishy and Z-2 destroy the vines left behind from the Kalos Crisis, Hawlucha was more miserable than anyone. He didn't try to convince him not to go, however, knowing that once Greninja's mind was made up, there was no changing it. They were separated for two years, and although Hawlucha made even more friends at Professor Oak's lab, they weren't Greninja and a part of him always longed for his companionship. When Greninja finally returned to the team, it was one of the best days of Hawlucha's life, second only to the day he finally agreed to be friends with him. Greninja still had trouble making friends with the other Pokemon, but Hawlucha promised to help him out as long as he promised not to leave for so long again.
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Fire and Ice
Random"I never thought that the one I wanted to get rid of the most would turn out to be the one to make me want to live again."
