Gova the Greninja's Story

The scene was cleared pretty quickly. The Umibozu took their evasive and effective tactics and ran off, probably to reconvene at a soon to be set destination. Gardenia and company were racing back to civilization, attempting to save the fallen gal. And all that was left on the scene was a bunch of flames that refused to spread around the wet forest.

Oh, and the Greninja that had been watching all this go down.

Slightly annoyed that she'd been awoken by a commotion, Gova was a little shocked to see that this was how things had played out. She had watched the attempted defusing of the situation and the cold, calculated response of the masked team. Even though she was a water-type, she knew better than to intervene. For one, they were actually moving pretty fast, so she wasn't sure whether a response from her would come in time. For another, she had always been privy to learning from the shadows.

Know thy enemy...

There was still the ever present threat of the Master Blaster, of course. Gova wasn't forgetting that. Nor was she forgetting that Crimson didn't want his guild to be involved with the human affairs. But if these guys carried this kind of technology, worked that efficiently, and were willing to go to the place of murder to obtain what they wanted...they didn't want good things.

With a deep sigh, the Greninja put forth her best spurt of water, but found she couldn't put out the fire. Curiously and carefully, she inched closer and closer to the continuing flames. One of her talents was her attention to detail and she soon noticed the strange goop that almost seemed to sprout the fire. There was a pungent smell...one that seemed to intoxicate the air around her. Yet if it had been poisonous, she would've realized it by now.

"Hmm..." she muttered, looking at her position and then up towards the sky. In one swift motion, she leaped onto the nearest unlit tree, then scaled it in no more than two seconds. She kept her gaze on the night sky, examining through the stars, searching for someone...anyone...

It didn't take long. A minute later and a Pelliper was perching itself onto the tree next to her. Pellipers weren't uncommon in Sinnoh, but they were in this part of the forest.

Then again, so was a Greninja.

"What message can I send forth for you today?" the Pelliper asked.

"I need to relay a message to the Crimson Guild. Talk to their leader and tell him Gova wants to cash in her favor. Tell him I need him specifically."

"Can do! Anything else?"

"No."

The curtness of her reply jarred the Pelliper a bit, "Y-You sure? I mean, that message seems kind of vague-"

"Listen to me," Gova suddenly grabbed the top of the Pelliper's head, jerking it towards the lit flames beneath the canopy, "Ya see that?"

"Yes," the Pelliper gulped.

"That is gonna be a problem if we can't put it out. The people who created it is going to be a bigger problem if we can't find them. This is a really urgent message. Can. You. Send. It?"

"O-Of course! On my way!" the unnerved Pelliper took off.

"Faster!" she called after him.

A moment later and he was gone. Gova sighed again and stared at the flames, watching them dance in front of her eyes.

Hurry, she pleaded in her mind, something she rarely ever did.

"Gambit! GAAAAAAMMMBIIIIIT!"

The Shaymin was flying above the Crimson Guild Headquarters, looking for any signs of a Togetic meandering below. But among the numerous Pokemon below, Siena couldn't find any trace of the one it was looking for.

"Dangit Gambit," the Shaymin muttered to itself, "Where'd you run off to?"

Fly was probably the grammatically correct term in that sentence, but Siena wasn't worried about that as it swooped down next to one of the markets lining up the pathway and began to address the Keckleon behind the counter, "Hey, have either of you two seen Gambit stop in?"

They turned to look at each other and simultaneously shook their heads. Siena nodded it's head at them in understanding, "Good to know. Thanks anyway!"

"Siena!"

Right before it took to the skies again, the Shaymin heard the sound of her name being called by someone it recognized. Looking down, Siena's eyes lit up and it practically leaped in the air as it noticed one of it's team members bounding towards it.

"Dee! Hey!" it called out, a wide grin spreading across her face.

The Dedenne, usually a professional and systematic rationalist, couldn't hide her own pleasure in seeing her teammate as she embraced the Shaymin in a hug, "Siena. Always good to see your bright, smiling face."

Siena stepped back, an expression of elation and a bit of confusion on it's face, "Isn't it a little early for you weekly report?"

Dee gave Siena the thumbs up, "We're good now. The Power Plant is fixed."

The Shaymin's eyes widened, "It is? That's fantastic! Eight months ahead of schedule."

Dee nodded in agreement, "Yep. Their Gym Leader was evidently prepared for such a catastrophe and had a plan to rebuild the Power Plant from metal scraps. That or he's just able to work really well on the fly. I dunno. But, needless to say, the rest of the Electric-Types are on their way back now."

Siena snorted, "How did you get here so quickly?"

"I know the fastest route."

"Of course you do..." the Shaymin glanced towards the woods to their right before continuing, "So you're going to report to Crimson now?"

"Affirmative," Dee said, "I'll let him know he's getting a lot of Guild Members back."

"Oh, am I?" the Chimchar casually sauntered up, a warm smile on his face as he stared at the Dedenne, "That'll be good to hear."

Dee stood up straighter, "Good afternoon, sir! I have come to let you know-"

"I know," Crimson replied, amused, "I've been listening in on your conversation. Not to mention you wouldn't be here right now unless they were in trouble or they were done."

Dee snorted, "A little rude to be eavesdropping, isn't it?"

"Tactical is a better description. But-"

"Crimson!"

The Chimchar turned with a frown as he heard the urgency behind Tag's tone, "What's up?" he called back.

The Turtwig closed the distance in a matter of a second, "There's been another Master Blaster sighting. Just outside Fuchsia City. Just reached word of it through the grape vine."

Crimson turned towards Dee and Siena, "Then we need to hurry before the trail grows cold. Dee, Siena, you both head to Fuchsia City to check it out. Use Unix if ya have to."

"Team Vitality's on it!" Siena nodded, a twinkle in it's eye, "We just need to find Gambit."

"Do what you have to," Crimson stated and started to walk away, "But the longer we wait, the less likely we're going to find anyone lingering around. So do your best to find him quick."

"Right!" Dee faced Siena, "I'll get Unix. You find Gambit and meet me in the clearing."

"Okay," the Shaymin took to the skies once more, continuing it's search for their Togetic.

Crimson and Tag continued to walk towards the entrance of the Crimson Guild HQ.

"It's good we're getting a good lot of our members back," the Chimchar was relaying, "That means we can spend more time focusing on the Psychic Rebellion."

"Yes," Tag agreed, "And finding Radegast."

"Still no word from Team Slowpoke? Or Team Skull?"

"Not yet. They're not in trouble or anything, but they're having a hard time understanding exactly who they're looking for. Like finding a needle in a haystack, only they don't know what needles look like."

"It's a bit hard to give descriptions when the source doesn't give me much to go off of," Crimson took to griping for once, "I mean, I knew what he looked like before, but telling Sarik that he changed? It doesn't make things any clearer. Especially when they don't say how or why."

"Hey," Tag reassured him, "We'll find a way. We always have. They only said Radegast changed. His team is probably the same."

Crimson thought for a second before nodding, "I suppose so."

"Crimson..."

The Chimchar sucked in his breath to avoid spilling his frustration over his name being called again before turning to the sound of the voice. Only instead of a practiced greeting coming out, a small flourish of his eyebrows revealed that he did, in fact, know this Greninja approaching. His smile was warmer after that, "Hey, Gova. Ya pop in for a visit?"

"We need to talk," her words were cool and straight to the point, "Now."

"Absolutely not," Crimson stated curtly, "Out of the question."

Gova's jaw hit the ground, "Are you serious?"

"Yes," the Chimchar's eyes darted away from the Greninja's, not wanting to stare at her accusing gaze.

But she moved in front of him, stopping him from walking further, "Trust me when I say these guys are about as deadly as they come. They brought a human to the point of death and had enough firepower to seriously injure a Torterra."

"Torterras are naturally weak to fire."

"But this isn't standard fire," she countered, "It's fueled by something. Something that water can't beat. Trust me, I've tried. They've also got these portable explosives that shoot metal everywhere."

"Sounds like technology those Orks used against us," Crimson recalled.

"And you know how that turned out," Gova crossed her arms, "A Power Plant was destroyed along with a few human casualties."

"But no Pokemon casualties. And that's what I care about."

Crimson moved past Gova to continue down the path they were walking. It was a simple path with not much scenery other than the forest around them. But it was a well worn path, as Crimson took it pretty often. She could even see the treads that the Chimchar had made previously imprinted in the dirt. Gova knew he had to stop it somehow.

"It could be, though," she called out to him, prompting him to stop once more, "Maybe you don't believe you should interfere with the humans, but you've got to have the foresight to see this one coming. Those foreigners want something. Something that we or they or this planet has. Something that they are willing to lie and murder to get. And they are skilled enough to do so if they aren't stopped."

Crimson heaved a sigh before turning around, "Okay. Listen. I can't go after everybody. You know that. Priorities have to be taken since we're stretched out as thin as we are. I'm not responsible for whatever outlying threats disrupt the peace of this planet. I'm not. I know little about them. I am responsible for Zane and Sonya and the Psychic Rebellion and their Master Blaster. That is who I have to go after. The human side of things...that's their own fight. They've got to have some level of experience in dealing with threats like these."

"But there were people being slaughtered-"

"Let me ask you this. What kind of firepower were they packing? Fire that can't be put out by water, right? Explosives that shoot metal shards around. And guns with bullets. All of which can deal damage to Torterra capable of knocking it out and nearly kill a human. But you and I both carry those kind of capabilities as well. From what I can gather, they don't have enough technology that can truly disrupt the way things are around here. And if they do, then I will handle the situation. But they haven't shown us that capability yet."

"So what? You're just gonna ignore them?"

"Exactly," Crimson nodded, "I'm not going to just pop in and deal with every human crisis they get. It's not my place. Even if I did, then they would expect me to do it all the time and I can't afford that. It's too much work and we're supposed to be keeping a low profile as it is. I can't do that if I'm showing my face around every major town and city as a challenger to best. It's their problem and they can deal with it. They have to deal with it."

"In all my days, I never expected you to be the one to turn your back on humanity," Gova said coldly.

"I'm not!" Crimson shot back hotly, "The situation isn't dire enough yet for my intervention to be needed."

"Oh, so the situation has to be dire enough for you to step in and lend your hand?" the Greninja shook her head, "Things would've turned out much worse on Mohka if you carried that mentality back when Neeko led the Psychic Rebellion."

"I wasn't strong enough then," Crimson stated, "I am now."

"Really?!" Gova exploded with hot rage, "Now you're saying you're too strong to even bother helping out the humans?! Well then, Mr. Arceus! I guess you're too high and mighty to even consider us peon creatures worthy of your attention!"

"No! That's not-"

"Y'know what? Spare me the argument!" she whipped around and ran into the forest, "If you won't even bother doing what you vowed to do as a member of the Isle Defenders, then I will!"

She was quick enough and stealthy enough to be invisible to Crimson a second after her final remark, leaving the Chimchar on the path by himself. He sighed. That didn't go as he wanted it to.

You just don't understand...he thought before continuing down the path, more troubled in thought than ever before.

Seamus would feel surprisingly warmer under the water than on land. For one, the biting wind couldn't reach him here. For another, his training in the waters and streams in the area was something he was used to, given the training underwater. It would feel like a warm blanket. And finally, it was naturally warmer the deeper the Mudkip got to the lake floor. He could take his time, catch his breath, and relax for a spell...

Sploosh!

Something dove into the water. And as Seamus would likely turn to face the source of the sound, he would see the figure that followed him. Slender and sleek, it had dove into the water feet first and straight as a pencil. The dark blue colored skin was hard to make out in the submerged water but certain shapes were barely visible, like the webbed feet or the pointed head or the strange off-colored thing wrapped around it's neck and floating dead weight behind it. It's eyes shone through the water, an intrusive pink that flashed brilliantly against the reflection of the water above them. They were fixated on the Mudkip.

"What are you hiding from?" it spoke through the water, it's voice clearly female. The tone was serious and intense, but it held no malice.