Pokemon: The Queen of Kalos

Former Champion Lends a Hand!

*Checks when I last updated* TWO MONTHS??? Goodness, I can't believe it's been that long. Happy belated holidays and new year, everyone, and I'm terribly sorry for the delay! I meant to have this out ages ago but once again I'm busy with way too much. At least a few snow days off school gave me time to finally push this out for you all!

~

In a grassy clearing, Ash and Greninja began to stretch. They were about to race, and Ash was just as determined as the previous days to conquer his and his partner Pokemon's unique form by combining minds and remaining in control.

Both of them had one foot forward and the other back. "Ready? Let's go!" Ash and his Pokemon charged forward, about keeping pace with each other at first, but it was an impressive speed nearing their max. "It's pretty hard to dodge anything when you're moving this fast!"

"Ja!"

They disappeared into the forest and kept going, leaving the rest of our heroes to wait for the inevitable sound of one of them- likely Ash- crashing into a tree.

Zenith's face was already prepared with a wince when she heard the sound of impact, though when she went to investigate, she found out he hadn't actually run into the tree; rather, he had fallen off of one attempting to mimic Greninja's parkour skills, maneuvering across the branches.

"You okay, Ash?" She asked, leaning down. He was groaning and rubbing his injured skin, revealing a few scrapes and what would quickly become the sight of bruises. Greninja reached out a hand to help him up, and together the two managed to get Ash standing on his own again.

"Hey, thanks, you two! But even if I fall down every now and then, I need more of this, so I can learn to control that power. Right, Greninja?"

"Nn, ninja," the Pokemon agreed after a moment.

Zenith gave each of them a pat on the back. "Alright, just be careful. Don't overdo it, you two!"

"Let's go!" As Ash and Greninja took off again, Zenith made her way back to the clearing, reporting to the rest of our heroes Ash's progress and minor injury, and a few minutes later, the training two arrived.

Bonnie held up her hand. "Greninja wins!" The Eevee at her side let out a cheer, while Dedenne joined our heroes in chanting for Ash to encourage him to make the last stretch, which he did... right before collapsing on the ground, exhausted. "And Ash comes in second."

Pikachu raced over to see if his trainer was okay, with Ash rolling onto his back. "Ugh... I'm fine, buddy, but oh man! Greninja's just too fast..."

Crystal handed him a bottle of water, while Pine gave him a towel to wipe off the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. He graciously accepted both and took a bit of time to cool off. Clemont started asking him how his progress was, and even though there weren't many solid results yet, he claimed he felt like he was getting closer to Greninja, a little bit at a time.

Just there, there was a strange sound in the air, and our heroes looked up to see a helicopter.

Zenith's eyes widened. "Hey, I recognize that... That's one of the Champion choppers! And if it's not me, it must be...!"

A rope was tossed down and a white-clothed figure hopped out, swiftly descending and landing on her feet in the grass before our heroes.

"Diantha!"

The woman turned around and greeting the Sawyer sisters with a warm smile. "Ah, what a coincidence to find my successor and her dear sisters here! Olympia told me she spotted you traveling with these fine folks, as well!"