Ash's Greninja

This Greninja is a /-type Pokémon owned by Ash and is the first Pokémon he obtained in the Kalos region and becoming one of his strongest.

Personality
Greninja seems to be a tough Pokémon in reference to his personality. Since he hatched, he preferred being alone to train instead of socializing with the others. When he was asked to join, he politely refused, which was then met with him getting attacked by rest of the Froakie. This made him distant towards others despite doing good. This lead to him leaving many of his previous trainers as his natures didn't meet with them. He finally chose Ash after seeing his bravery and being shown love. Frogadier even has the tendency to blush when it is thanked and praised by other Pokémon and people. For example, when it used its Frubbles to tidy up Fennekin's tail, it thanked Froakie for its thoughtfulness. Frogadier is also very protective towards others and is willing to keep them safe from harm. For example, when everyone got separated after an attack from angry Pangoro, Frogadier stepped forth and protected Serena and Chespin. One of Greninja's greatest insecurities was his close bond with Ash, as failing to perfect the Ash-Greninja form took a toll on both Ash and Greninja alike. When Ash left Greninja in the Pokémon Center out of guilt for losing against Wulfric, Greninja gave chase to look for his trainer. While Greninja was recovering from the battle, he also felt responsible for making Ash lose the battle. However, after fully synchronizing their feelings to save a Spewpa from falling, Ash explained to Greninja why he chose to be a Pokémon master and he views Pokémon as friends. After that, Greninja and Ash fully came to understand each other.

Biography
Since he hatched, he preferred being alone to train instead of socializing with the others. When he was asked to join, he politely refused, which was then met with him getting attacked by rest of the Froakie. This made him distant towards others despite doing good. This lead to him leaving many of his previous trainers as his natures didn't meet with them.

Season 17: XY
Greninja first appeared as a Froakie when he observed Pikachu shocking Bonnie, Clemont and Ash outside the Lumiose Gym. It followed the group to a nearby park, where it watched the trio talking from a tree. When the group were attacked by Team Rocket, Froakie protected Pikachu from its own Electro Ball, which had been rebounded by Wobbuffet's Mirror Coat. He then used the sticky bubbles on his back, called Frubbles, to hit Wobbuffet, and helped Ash defeat Team Rocket. After Team Rocket were sent blasting off, Froakie fainted and Ash took him to Professor Sycamore's lab.

Eventually, Froakie was healed at Sycamore's lab. Froakie was present when Team Rocket tried to take control of Professor Sycamore's Garchomp and assisted Ash in his attempt to help. When Garchomp was about to fall off the Prism Tower, Froakie used his Frubbles to stick Garchomp's feet to the floor and prevent it from falling. This then allowed Pikachu to destroy the machine controlling Garchomp with Iron Tail. At the end of the episode, Froakie appeared in front of Sycamore's lab with a Poké Ball and asked Ash to catch it, which Ash did so gladly.

In A Battle of Aerial Mobility!, Froakie quickly attacks a Fletchling that made Bonnie cry and a Dedenne leave, despite Ash telling him to stand down and let Pikachu attack. Fletchling easily evades every attack and almost knocks Froakie out with a devastating Razor Wind, but Ash pushes him away to save him. Although the group is initially mad, they learn of Froakie's motives, and make a plan for him to take down Fletchling.

They lure Fletchling to an area with many rocks at many levels, which allows to use Froakie to move freely and be on even grounds with the flying type. However, Fletchling's aerial speed allows him to evade all of Froakie's attacks, although Froakie evades his just as well. Fletchling then gets a solid hit on a hidden Froakie, that was actually a fake made of Frubbles. Froakie then finally lands a hit with his newly learned Bubble, and Ash attempts to capture it, but fails. Froakie then evades the powerful Razor Wind and finishes Fletchling off with Water Pulse, allowing Ash to capture it.

Froakie is used again in Battling on Thin Ice!, using his Frubbles for Pikachu and Fletchling to dodge, in preparation for Ash's rematch against Viola. In Clemont's Got a Secret!, Froakie is sent out to battle Clemont's Magnemite and Magneton, and despite the type disadvantage, Froakie single handedly incapacitates them with his Frubbles. In An Appetite for Battle!, Froakie is used to battle Clemont's Chespin for practice since Chespin was getting lazy and obese, but Froakie overcame another type disadvantage and easily beat it with his new Pound attack.

Later, Froakie was used to battle Sanpei and his Frogadier. But because of Frogadier's intense speed and power, it lost. Froakie then tried to become super fast and strong by trying to learn Quick Attack. However, when Team Rocket attacked, it instead learned Double Team.

Froakie was then used to battle Grant's Onix in Ash's second Kalos Gym Battle, which Froakie successfully did when a newly formed strategy called the Rock Tomb Climb. Froakie then battled Grant's Tyrunt, but was easily defeat with a powerful Draco Meteor.

Froakie was later used to battle a Hawlucha Ash made friends with after settling a rivalry with a Machamp. However, the battle ended when Hawlucha's Flying Press collided with Froakie's Pound attack, knocking both Pokémon out in a draw.

Sometime later, Froakie was doing some training sessions with Ash and his Pikachu. But when a log came hurdling down from a waterfall, Froakie defended Pikachu's life and learned Cut to stop the log from falling on Pikachu. Froakie later got into a squabble with Hawlucha and began to fight each other. Their fighting didn't last long until a Trevenant kidnapped Ash and dragged him into the forest. When Froakie and Hawlucha attempted to save their trainer, they learned that the reason why Trevenant kidnapped Ash is because it needed his help in saving its companions, a Bonsly and a Sudowoodo, who were caught in an electric net set up by Team Rocket. Hawlucha and Froakie both worked together to save the two Pokémon, send Team Rocket flying, and settle their differences, becoming best friends in the process.

Froakie was later used in a first-touch battle against Ash's new rival, Tierno and his Squirtle. But was quickly overwhelmed by Squirtle's dance movements.

Season 18: XY Kalos Quest
Sooner or later, Froakie tag-teamed with Sanpei's newly evolved Greninja to battle against a ninja named Saizo and his Pokémon, Barbaracle. During the battle, it evolved into a Frogadier and learned Aerial Ace in the process.

Frogadier was later used in Ash's gym battle against Ramos and his Weepinbell. Although Weepinbell managed to defeat both Fletchinder and Hawlucha, Frogadier defeated the Flycatcher Pokémon with a single hit from Aerial Ace. He later fought against Ramos' Gogoat. During the battle, he was weakened by Gogoat's strong Grass-type moves. But, after recalling the lesson Ramos taught Ash before the battle, Ash and Frogadier managed to come up with a strategy and defeat Gogoat with a blast of Water Pulse, thus earning Ash the Plant Badge.

Frogadier was used in a double battle against Ash's second new rival, Sawyer. He teamed up with Hawlucha during the battle and somehow managed to defeat Sawyer's Treecko, despite having a type-disadvantage. But just as Frogadier and Hawlucha were about to finish the battle, it was called-off due to a fashion show being held in Laverre City, which is hosted by the gym leader, Valerie.

Frogadier was used in a three on three battle against Sawyer. It battled with Sawyer's Treecko once again, but during the battle, it evolved into Grovyle and learned Leaf Blade. Despite having a disadvantage against Grass-types, it defeated Grovyle and won the triple battle, but gained a friendly rivalry in the process.

When Ash and Frogadier met Olympia in Cloudy Fate, Bright Future!, she read his memories and along with seeing a vision of it gaining a new power, she revealed that at the Froakie breeding facility, as a Froakie, he preferred being alone to train instead of socializing with the others. When he was asked to join, he politely refused, which was then met with him getting attacked by rest of the Froakie. This made him distant towards others despite doing good, and it wasn't until Ash showed him love that made him finally connect to a trainer that understood him.

In All Eyes on the Future!, Frogadier was used to battle along aside Talonflame in a Gym Battle against Olympia and her male and female Meowstic, defeated them both and allowing Ash to win the Psychic Badge.

Season 19: XYZ
In A Festival of Decisions!, Frogadier protects Pikachu from Heidayu's Bisharp and then he evolves into Greninja, surprising everyone from the field. Along with learning Water Shuriken, he also uses a special form to defeat Bisharp before reverting back to normal.

In A Meeting of Two Journeys!, Greninja battled against Sawyer and his newly evolved Sceptile. During the battle, he used his special form and defeated Sceptile. Little did Greninja, Ash and the others know, a trainer named Alain was watching the battle and witnessed him changing form. Alain was amazed at Greninja's strength, which was a form that he has never seen before, and decided to battle Ash to test Greninja's form. In the battle, Alain Mega Evolved his Charizard while Greninja activates its special form. But even though Greninja had a huge advantage over Charizard, Greninja wasn't able to keep up with Mega Charizard X's power and was easily defeated.

Sometime later, Ash and his friends, along with Greninja, had been trying to figure out the mysterious power Greninja has been using since he evolved. In order to get it to appear, Clemont strapped one of his machines on Greninja and Ash's wrists so he could analyze each other's pulses. Clemont decided to use his Luxray in order to get Greninja to reveal its special form. However, the battle was interrupted when Alain showed up and Ash asked him for a rematch, which he agreed. Once again, Alain used his Charizard to battle Greninja. During the battle, Alain Mega-Evolved his Charizard while Greninja activated its special form. However, since Greninja pushed too hard on using its form so much, Ash collapsed to the ground and the battle was called off. When Ash regained consciousness, Ash realized that he and Greninja would have to be more careful in using that form.

Sooner or later, Ash and Greninja went through some serious training in a forest. But during their training, they met up with the Kalos League champion, Diantha, who told them about the upcoming disaster that is being caused by Team Flare and their goal of using the Legendary Pokémon, Zygarde to accomplish their evil plans. When Diantha heard about the strange power Greninja has been using, she decided to have a rematch with Ash by using her Gardevoir. During the battle, Greninja held it's own after a rough start and managed to reach its final form of its power, which took everyone including Ash by surprise. Diantha then Mega-Evolves her Gardevoir to test Greninja's form. But despite utterly overpowering Gardevoir and almost defeating it, Ash and Greninja pushed themselves too hard and passed out again, leaving Diantha and Gardevoir to fend off Team Rocket themselves. When Ash and Greninja regained consciousness, they both vowed to fully master the Ash-Greninja form.

Greninja was later used as Ash's third and final Pokémon in his three-on-three battle against Sawyer in A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!, after facing and beating a Trainer and his Scizor. Greninja was used to battle against Sawyer's Clawitzer and managed to defeat it. Greninja then battled Sawyer's Sceptile again, hoping to activate and master its form. Only this time, it failed to work because Greninja and Ash were not in complete synch with each other. And because of that, Greninja was immediately defeated. After the battle, Ash thanked Greninja and recalled him back to his Poké Ball. But despite this, both Ash and Greninja are doubtful in their ability in mastering the Ash-Greninja form.

Greninja was later used in the Gym Battle against Wulfric and his Avalugg. Despite getting damaged by the hail storm and Avalugg activating its Ice Body ability, Greninja used its speed and power to hit Avalugg and dodge the Stone Edge attacks. Greninja even managed to counter Avalugg's Gyro Ball attack with Cut, freeze Avalugg's feet to the ground with Water Shuriken, and deliver a powerful Cut to Avalugg's head. Soon, at the point where Ash gained the upper hand, Greninja activated his Ash-Greninja form and eventually overwhelmed Avalugg. But despite this, Wulfric took advantage of Greninja's speed and newfound power and had Avalugg use Avalanche on Greninja, which causes Ash to suffer intense pain. Greninja kept on attacking Avalugg, but Greninja wasn't able to keep up with Avalugg and was immediately defeated, causing Ash to suffer more pain and fall to his knees. After the battle, Wulfric explained to Ash that even though he trained Greninja very well, he doesn't have enough trust in their bond, which greatly shatters Ash's confidence. While Greninja was recovering from the battle, Ash, upon realizing how badly hurt he was from the battle, decides to leave Greninja and walked away into the Winding Woods alone and depressed. But little does Ash know, Greninja was awake at the time when Ash was talking to him and he heard everything he said before he left.

The following morning, Ash didn't came back. Greninja felt pretty angry at Ash for leaving him, but after reflecting on his losses and what Ash said before he left, he changed his mind and decided to look for him just before the blizzard started. With the help from Squishy in its 10% form, he manages to find Ash and helped him save a Spewpa from falling as well as finally perfecting the Ash-Greninja form. Soon, they spent a night in the cave where they took care of some of the lost Pokémon they found. Ash and Greninja both made amends for their past actions. Ash tells Greninja that after being alone, the promise he made with Sawyer, how he wanted to get 8 badges faster, and how he wanted to beat Wulfric so badly, he realized that he got very impatient and completely forgotten how important being a trainer really is. Ash and Greninja agreed to start things over again. As the blizzard died down, Ash and Greninja reunited with the others and made amends with them. Greninja and Ash soon learned that the Kalos League will be held in Lumiose City, which reminded them of the time they first met before their journey.

The next day, Greninja was used as Ash's third and last Pokémon in the rematch against Wulfric. This time, he battled against his Abomasnow and with his newly mastered Ash-Greninja form, Greninja was able to gain the upper hand. However, the tables were soon turned when Wulfric Mega-Evolved his Abomasnow, which took Ash, Greninja and everyone else by surprise. But despite Abomasnow increasing its power, Greninja was able to pull through with its speed and Ash's creative tactics which successfully defeated Abomasnow, thus earning Ash the Iceberg Badge and qualifying him to enter the Kalos League.

Later on, Ash entered the Lumiose Conference and used Greninja against Tomo and his Altaria. During the battle, Greninja used his Ash-Greninja form and defeated Altaria, surprising everyone in the stadium.

Greninja was used as Ash's last Pokémon during his six-on-six full battle against Sawyer in the Lumiose Conference. Once again, he went up against his long-standing rival, Sawyer's Sceptile. The two of them battled evenly until, Greninja, with complete trust in his trainer, activates his Ash-Greninja form while Sceptile mega-evolved into Mega Sceptile. Despite having minimal damage from getting hit by Leaf Storm and Frenzy Plant, Greninja was able to hold himself together and successfully defeated Sceptile, thus qualifying Ash to advance to the final round of the Kalos League.

Improvised moves

 * Frubble
 * Rock Tomb Climb
 * Super Flying Cut
 * Water Fuma Shuriken
 * Enlarged Fuma Shuriken
 * Shuriken Glide
 * Double-Team Fuma Shuriken
 * Ice Skates

Ash-Greninja
Shortly after evolving into Greninja, through his strong bond with Ash, he can call upon a unique type of Evolution similar to that of Mega Evolution that has been later called "Bond Phenomenon", where he takes on an appearance resembling his trainer while being covered in a water torrent veil. Its full capabilities and attributes were initially unknown, but it appears to give a significant boost in speed and power. They also share each other's point of view. However, little does Ash and his friends know, Greninja's new form comes with a side-effect. If Greninja gets attacked and takes damage while in this form, Ash will feel his pain. Later, discovered by one of Clemont's devices, it is revealed that Ash and Greninja share the exact same heartbeat when Greninja is in this form, so if it is pushed too hard, Ash may collapse from exhaustion.

In his second form, he has a full form that surpasses even the strongest Mega Evolved Pokémon with the Water Fuma Shuriken on his back which can deal massive damage to, if not defeat the strongest of his opponents in one hit. It's soon revealed that the reason why Ash and Greninja are having issues in mastering the Ash-Greninja form was because Ash didn't have complete faith and trust in his Greninja. While in the Winding Woods, Ash and Greninja made amends and were able to activate Ash-Greninja form at will. During the rematch against Wulfric, Ash and Greninja were able to use it without passing out, but even though they still share each other's pain, it seemed more manageable for Ash to control.

Voice actors

 * Yūji Ueda (Japanese)
 * Billy Bob Thompson (English)

Trivia

 * Greninja's capture marks the first time since catching Heracross that Ash's first capture in a region has not been of the -type.
 * Also, eventually as a Greninja, they're both dual-type Pokémon.
 * Kalos is the second region where Ash catches only one starter Pokémon. The first was Hoenn where he caught Treecko. In this case, Chespin and Fennekin were caught by Clemont and Serena respectively.
 * Greninja is the first of Ash's Pokémon to be owned by more than one trainer before its capture by Ash.
 * Besides Pikachu and Oshawott, Greninja is the only other starter Ash got from a professor.
 * Ironically, Oshawott and Froakie are the Water starters of their regions, which is what Ash wanted to start his journey with when he planned to pick Squirtle as his starter.
 * Greninja is Ash's first -type starter Pokémon to fully evolve.
 * It is the second of Ash's Water-type Pokémon to evolve out of all of them, the first being Kingler.
 * Like Dawn's Quilava, Greninja is the second starter Pokémon to hatch from an egg belonging to a main character.
 * Greninja is the first Pokémon belonging to a main character to evolve twice after hatching from a Pokémon egg.
 * Coincidentally, both of Greninja's evolutions took place in an episode that Sanpei appeared in.
 * Greninja is Ash's second dual-type Water Pokémon. The first was Palpitoad.
 * Greninja is similar to Ash's Sceptile, Buizel, and Hawlucha:
 * They have cool, calm, collected, and serious demeanors most of the time, yet are very protective of those close to them.
 * They had a bit of a rivalry with other Pokémon, even in their own parties.
 * They're always eager to face strong opponents.
 * They're among the stronger of Ash's Pokémon.
 * Ash's Greninja is the only Pokémon to possess a new evolution technique which hasn't been known yet.
 * Greninja could be considered a contrast to Charmander, who as opposed to having a trainer who left him behind to fend for himself Greninja had a habit of leaving his trainers as a Froakie due to the fact that he wasn't impressed with them.
 * This attitude is similar to Snivy.
 * When Greninja transforms into Ash-Greninja, it gains the same sort of power that matches the power of Mega Evolution (except without the Mega Stones).
 * So far, Greninja is Ash's only Pokémon to have an alternate form.
 * Ash's Greninja has been the first and only Pokémon of Ash's that battled a Champion's ace Pokémon and held its own, even overpowering it, and nearly winning.