A Thin Line (by Ash-GreninjaGirl)

The Accident

The rest of the team didn't say a word to Hawlucha as they made their way back to camp. Pikachu and Talonflame were talking quietly amongst themselves, pointedly ignoring their teammate. Goodra, although he didn't make it quite as obvious, also refused to engage in any sort of interaction with Hawlucha. Even Noivern didn't want anything to do with his surrogate brother. 

Hawlucha felt guilty about what he'd said to Greninja, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. He'd said it, it was done with, and there was no way to take it back. Did he wish he could? Of course he did, but it was too late for that. Greninja had chosen to walk away from the team, so he would just have to learn to live with what he'd said to him. 

Besides, Greninja was far from weak, so surely he would be just fine. Living alone in the wild might take a bit of an adjustment period, but he would get used to it eventually. Everyone did, after all, or at least every Pokemon that was released by their trainers did. His rival would be no exception. 

I guess he isn't really a rival anymore though, not since he's gone, the bird of prey mused to himself. 

It was well into the afternoon now, and Hawlucha was surprised that they hadn't started moving yet. Normally, they were searching for a place to sleep for the night by now, but for some reason they were still loitering around in the same area. He was curious to know what the holdup was, but knew he would never get a response, what with his teammates being determined to give him the cold shoulder. 

Fortunately, Talonflame asked his question for him. "Hey Pikachu, why aren't we going anywhere yet?" the fire bird asked curiously. "Aren't we supposed to be looking for shelter right now?" 

"We still have to wait for Greninja, Talonflame," the electric-type reminded him. 

What? But...didn't he say he was leaving for good?  He made it pretty clear he didn't want to be here...or rather, be around me, which amounts to the same thing. 

"Why? I thought Greninja made it clear he didn't want to be here?" Talonflame asked in confusion, unknowingly echoing Hawlucha's thoughts again. 

"Look, Greninja might be mad right now, thanks to someone," Pikachu began, pausing for a moment to shoot daggers with his eyes towards Hawlucha, "but he's not going to just up and leave for good over an argument. He'll calm down eventually, and then he'll come back. Once he does, then we'll go find somewhere to sleep." 

"Well, he'd better hurry. It's getting dark quickly." 

"I know. We'll give him another ten minutes, and then we'll go look for him. If we don't find him within the hour, then we'll just have to accept that he's gone." 

Ten minutes soon passed, however, and Greninja still hadn't returned to camp. With a sigh, Pikachu stood up from the small log he'd been resting on and rallied the rest of the group. 

"Okay, Goodra, Noivern, you two stay here and wait in case Greninja comes back," the yellow mouse ordered. "Talonflame, Hawlucha, you two come with me and we'll see if we can find him." 

"Me? Really?" Hawlucha asked, surprised. 

"Yes, you," Pikachu replied sternly, narrowing his eyes at him. "Don't forget, this is technically your fault. The least you could do is help search." 

There was nothing Hawlucha could say to that, so he reluctantly agreed and followed Pikachu and Talonflame deeper into the woods. Personally, he felt that searching for Greninja would be a waste of time. The forest was massive, and Greninja could have been anywhere; there was no way they'd be able to cover the entire forest in an hour's time. 

They were still scouring the woods when a sharp scent filled Hawlucha's nostrils. He paused for a moment, furrowing his brow as he sniffed at the air. It was a familiar smell, but it had been so long, he couldn't quite recall what it was. 

"Do you smell that?" he asked Pikachu, who paused and sniffed the air for himself. 

"Yeah. I can't tell what it is, though," the electric mouse murmured. It was the most cordial tone he'd used since the fight with Greninja. "I think it's coming from somewhere to the right, though." 

Hawlucha made a right turn and started walking again, the scent growing stronger by the second. It was positively nauseating, and he was sure that he would vomit everything he'd ever eaten at any given moment now. When he finally did, however, it wasn't for the reason he'd imagined. 

Greninja was lying in the middle of a small clearing, a pool of blood rapidly forming around him. At first glance, he didn't appear to have any significant injuries on him, so it was hard to see where the blood was coming from. A closer look, however, revealed a small hole in Greninja's chest. 

Who did this to him? 

"Greninja!" Hawlucha turned around to see Pikachu and Talonflame staring in horror at the lifeless frog Pokemon. "Oh no..." 

The electric mouse raced over to Greninja's side and felt his wrist for a pulse, breathing out a sigh of relief a moment later. "He's still alive," he announced to the group. "But we need to get him help. Talonflame, you get Noivern and he can fly Greninja to the Pokemon Center." 

Talonflame nodded and took off in the direction of their temporary base. Once he was gone, Pikachu turned and started attempting to staunch the blood flowing from Greninja's chest. His paws were soon stained red, but he didn't appear to notice. 

"Pikachu..." Hawlucha began quietly. He didn't know what to say, but he felt as though he should say something. It would be better than standing around in silence, after all. 

Pikachu turned to look at him, and the expression in his eyes sent a chill down Hawlucha's spine. It was exactly what he'd been fearing the moment they found Greninja bleeding to death in the middle of the forest: pure, unadulterated hatred. He didn't even need to hear Pikachu's words of condemnation–that expression said it all for him. 

With a sigh of defeat, Hawlucha sat down on a rock, wondering where everything had gone so wrong.