Ash's Greninja

**Ash's Greninja** (Japanese: **サトシのゲッコウガ** *Satoshi's Gekkouga*) was the first Template:OBP that Template:Ash Template:Pkmn2 in the Kalos region, and his ?? overall.

## In the anime

### Personality and characteristics

As a Froakie, it was a stubborn, picky Pokémon, displayed by the fact that it had several other Trainers that it refused to listen to, either forcing them to return it to Professor Sycamore or abandoning them and returning to the lab itself. It is also extremely similar to Ash personality wise, as it is not afraid to leap into danger regardless of its own safety and doesn't back down from a fight. It is clear that it recognizes these traits in Ash, hence why it was finally willing to accept being taken into Ash's wing. It also has a sense of honor, as demonstrated when it attacked Fletchling just because it made Bonnie cry. In *Pursuit In The Bamboo Forest! Pancham And Pangoro!!*, it is shown to have a good judgment of character, as it became suspicious of Meowth when he pretended to side with it, Pikachu, and Chespin under a temporary truce. Froakie is prone to blushing when praised, as shown when being thanked by Bonnie in *Froakie VS Fletchling! Aerial Battle Maneuvers!!* and Fennekin in *Pursuit In The Bamboo Forest! Pancham And Pangoro!!*. As shown in *Sylveon VS Froakie! Big Commontion At The Kindergarten!!*, Greninja as a Froakie gets embarrassed when losing in a bad way, such as when it lost because of Attract.

Since evolving into a Frogadier, its personality remained largely the same. It is still shown to be loyal to Ash, as shown when it hugged him after its victory in the Coumarine City Gym battle. Greninja is a responsible Pokémon that can take initiative to protect its friends and allies, as shown in ????, it volunteered to scout ahead to protect the others. Greninja also appears to be good with younger Pokémon and children. As a Froakie, in addition to challenging Fletchling for making Bonnie cry, it was able to befriend the timid Randall during one of Team Rocket's schemes. As a Frogadier, it can be seen looking after Template:TP in *Under the Pledging Tree!* while Ash and his friends were preparing gifts for their Pokémon.

Greninja cares deeply for its friends and would go to great lengths to keep them safe from danger, as seen when it took an attack for Talonflame in the Anistar City Gym battle against Olympia in *All Eyes on the Future!*. Greninja has even shown to be the peace maker of the group and is usually the voices of reason whenever there is conflict.

Greninja seems to appreciate and respect bravery and selflessness, and as such, aims to be so itself. This is first shown when it took a hit for Pikachu during Team Rocket's attack despite not knowing Pikachu or his Trainer, and then proceeded to help them both in combat. It respects those with these traits, as it does Ash. Greninja was impressed and surprised by Ash's willingness to put himself in danger to help a Garchomp that wasn't his Pokémon and barely knew, and admired this show of self-sacrifice and selflessness to the point Greninja as a Froakie went alongside Ash to face Garchomp. It also showed genuine concern for Ash's safety when Ash jumped off the Prism Tower. A lack of these traits in its previous Trainers may be what caused Greninja to leave them.

Greninja has been shown to enjoy battling, and seems to enjoy the opportunity to fight a strong opponent. Once recognizing Sawyer's Grovyle's strength, it developed a rivalry with it. It also seems to relish at both the thought and the action of defeating a strong opponent, as seen when it grinned before fighting Sawyer's Grovyle, and defeating Grant's Onix.

Greninja's close bond with Ash was also one of his greatest insecurities, as their repeated failure to master the Ash-Greninja form started to weigh heavily on Trainer and Pokémon alike. When Ash left Greninja in the Pokémon center after the loss to Wulfric, out of a sense of guilt for Greninja's injuries, a saddened Greninja gave chase as soon as he recovered. It was revealed Greninja also felt responsible for their loss. After fully synchronizing their feelings to save a Spewpa, however, Ash explained to Greninja why he wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer, and that he saw his Pokémon as his closest friends. After that, Greninja and Ash came to fully understand each other.

### Ash-Greninja

Shortly after evolving into Greninja, through its strong bond with Ash, it can call upon a transformation similar to Mega Evolution, where it takes on an appearance resembling its Trainer while being covered in a water veil. In its final form, the water veil moves from around its body to its back and forms an "X" shape, which resemble wings, then the wings form into a small sphere shape of water on the middle of its back with a light blue ring in the middle of it and it then grows in size until it forms into a giant shuriken made of water. Its full capabilities were unknown, but it appears to give a significant boost in speed and power. In its completed form, it can rival the power of Mega Evolved Pokémon.

This form comes with a side-effect: whenever Greninja takes damage, the pain is shared with Ash in the same location where Greninja was hurt. Ash is also shown to be able to see from Greninja's point of view and will occasionally mimic Greninja's movements. Ash describes it as feeling like he "became" Greninja. It is revealed by Clemont's device that Ash and Greninja share exactly the same heartbeat while Greninja is in the form and that the form can be accessed when Ash and Greninja's feelings synchronize. If the form is pushed too hard, it is possible for Ash to pass out from the resulting exhaustion and pain.

The term **Ash-Greninja** (Japanese: **サトシゲッコウガ** *Satoshi-Gekkouga*) was officially coined by Bonnie in {PLACEHOLDER}. During the {PLACEHOLDER}, Ash and Greninja made amends and were able to trigger the transformation at will. {PLACEHOLDER}, Ash and Greninja were able to use the form without passing out, and although they still shared each other's pain, it seemed to be more manageable for Ash to handle. During the Lumiose Conference, it is soon revealed by Professor Sycamore that the transformation Greninja had been going through is known as Bond Phenomenon.

## Trivia

* Greninja is Ash's only Pokémon to be owned by more than one Trainer before him.
* Greninja is the first fully evolved Water-type starter Pokémon owned by a main character.
	+ Greninja is also Ash's only Water-type to have evolved twice.
* Greninja is the first of Ash's starter Pokémon to have its Egg revealed on-screen.
* Greninja is the first Pokémon belonging to a main character to change form.
* When Greninja evolved from Frogadier in *Decisive Battle In The Ninja Village! Greninja VS Bisharp!!*, it evolved in a similar situation to when it evolved from Froakie in *Ninja Arts Showdown! Frogadier VS Barbaracle!!*, with Ash's Pikachu and Sanpei's Greninja already hurt by the enemy and laying down in defeat.
	+ The episode in which Frogadier evolved into Greninja aired in Japan almost exactly a year after the episode in which it evolved from Froakie to Frogadier, with only one day shy of being a full year.
* In the dub of *Sylveon VS Froakie! Big Commontion At The Kindergarten!!* (PLACEHOLDER), Ash implied that Greninja is male by calling it a "he".
* Greninja, in its Ash-Greninja form, was featured in a 3DS theme.

## References

Template:Reflist

Template:Ash's Pokémon

de:Ashs Quajutsu
es:Greninja de Ash
fr:Amphinobi de Sacha
it:Greninja di Ash
ja:サトシのゲッコウガ
zh:小智的甲贺忍蛙