I Wanna Be The Very Best

Chapter 91: The Final Countdown.

The night sky rises over the Alola region, beginning the night shift for two aura wielding Pokémon.

However, tonight the atmosphere around the camp seems a little different as Lucario sits on a log in the forest, licking his wounds so to speak as he holds an ice pack over his elbow while grimacing in pain.

The young aura pokemon not only seems hurt, but his aura seems to be all over the place as he sits in denial of what just happened.

How after so much training, could he still be so weak?

How could he still not hold his own against those dam vines?

By this point he can now sense them, but fighting them alone is still a task he can't complete. He can fight them for a while for sure, but eventually the numbers game always seems to catch up to him.

After a few minutes of watching his pupil sit in denial about the situation, Greninja wanders over and leans against the tree next to him. He takes a small sigh before he exclaims "This is why I told you not to go out alone. You're strong but you're not ready to fight alone."

Lucario shakes his head as he protests "But sensei, I sensed them close and I knew I couldn't let them get out of control."

Greninja folds his arms across his chest and states in an authoritative tone "I respect your need to help others, but I need you to think straight. I've warned you before that if you sense something you communicate it with the rest of the team. You need to let us know and let us help you deal with it. Simply put this work is too dangerous for you to deal alone."

Lucario begins to feel even more frustrated by the second that Greninja isn't understanding him. It's not easy to struggle, it's not easy to be defeated and not be good enough.

The aura pokemon soon shakes his head as he exclaims "With all due respect Sensei, I've had enough of not being strong enough. You don't know what it's like, to lose, to not be good enough. You have everything so easy. You don't struggle. You have a perfect bond with master and everything is always so easy for you in a battle. Not everyone can have it so easy and be naturally perfect like you are. Struggle is not a thing you need to deal with."

Greninja hears Lucario's words and nearly lashes out at the young Pokemon for making such claims. He struggles every day, and he has been for a very long time now.

However, before he lashes out he takes a deep breath to compose himself. He sees this as an opportunity to teach his pupil, not scold him.

The ninja frog pokemon looks up into the night sky as he simply states "Then you do not know me."

Lucario's interest is peaked by Greninja's words as he questions "What do you mean by that sensei?"

Greninja reaches his hand out towards his pupil and focuses his aura as he states "Let me show you my past."

Lucario hesitates for a second before he reaches out and takes Greninja's hand while focusing his own aura. All of a sudden his vision changes as he begins to see flashes into his mentor's past.

Play the AMV for a little sneak peek at what Lucario's seeing.

The vision soon ends as Lucario stands with a face full of shock. His eyes widen a little as he questions "Sensei, that was really you?

Greninja nods as he explains "Yes, so now you know my struggles. From being an outcast by my family, to trying for years to find the right trainer for me. To losing my connection with that trainer and struggling to get it all back. My point is, we all go through struggles and I know how you feel. It's the worst feeling in the world, to not feel powerful enough. But we can still fix that. As Ash would say, it's important to get back on your feet and never give up until it's over. Just because you lost today doesn't mean you'll lose tomorrow. It's never a loss if you learn from it."