Ash and Greninja's movements had fallen perfectly in sync.
Lucario's eyes went wide, staring in disbelief at what he was seeing. It wasn't just that their motions matched. The very energy radiating from Ash and from Greninja felt completely identical.
As Ash's shout faded, a rising column of water surged up around Greninja, not unlike the swirling torrent of an Empoleon's Brave All-Out. The water wrapped around Greninja's body, hiding his new form after Bond Evolution, though the glowing red mark on his face matched the one on Ash's.
Steven's mouth curved into a smile. This was exactly the feeling he'd hoped for. All that was missing was a fitting piece of music playing somewhere in the background.
Ash threw one arm out, fingers spread wide, and shouted, "Cut!"
A white kunai formed in each of Greninja's hands, and he gripped them tightly. Kicking off the ground, he burst forward, water trailing in his wake. It made sense, in a way. A Pokémon built for cutting through anything would naturally have Cut in its arsenal.
"Bone Club!" Steven's smile tightened as he watched Greninja close the distance, and he called out the command at once.
Lucario snatched a blue Bone Club from the air, gripping it firmly. With one clean swing, he settled it against his shoulder before charging straight at Greninja.
Clang!
The blue Bone Club met the white kunai in a shower of sparks, and Lucario threw himself into close-quarters combat with Greninja.
Steven's gaze drifted past Greninja, toward Ash. From here, it looked almost like Ash was acting out an invisible performance, a child lost in his own imagination, striking one dramatic pose after another. Look closer, though, and every one of those poses lined up exactly with Greninja's movements.
Lucario swung his Bone Club hard, knocking aside a horizontal sweep from Greninja's kunai. The force of the block sent Greninja's arms up and tipped him off balance. Lucario pulled his weapon back in, dropped low, and swept a kick at Greninja's legs.
Caught off guard, Greninja was knocked clean off his feet and into the air. But his reflexes held. He tossed both kunai upward, planted his palms on the ground, and kicked out hard at Lucario just as the Fighting-type was straightening back up. Lucario barely got an arm up in time to block, and even then, he was pushed back several steps.
Steven kept watching Ash closely. This time, Ash hadn't mirrored Greninja's chain of movements. So there was a limit to how far the synchronization could go.
Greninja flipped back onto his feet, arms outstretched, palms open to the air. He caught both falling kunai without even looking and charged straight at Lucario.
"Force Palm!"
Lucario planted his feet wide and thrust his left palm out to the side. An unseen wave of force rippled from his hand, knocking the kunai off course and sending Greninja tumbling backward, putting distance between them.
Ash spread his arms wide, then drew them in with a sharp throwing motion. "Water Shuriken!"
Greninja flipped backward and released the kunai from his grip. Threads of blue energy wrapped around the blades as they spun, twisting and reshaping themselves in midair. By the time Greninja landed, a fully formed shuriken spun in each palm. He crossed his arms and hurled both at once.
Lucario answered by throwing his own Bone Club, sending it spinning straight into the path of the shuriken.
Bang!
All three weapons burst apart into scattering points of light and vanished.
"Aerial Ace!"
"Drain Punch!"
Greninja and Lucario charged at each other at the same moment, Greninja's hand glowing white, Lucario's fist burning red. The two blurred past one another in the air.
Bang!
Two dull impacts landed almost together. Both attacks found their mark, and a jolt of force ran through each Pokémon in turn.
"Ah—" Ash clutched his chest and stumbled back a step, dropping to one knee, breathing hard.
Aerial Ace was a Flying-type move, and against Lucario's Steel and Fighting typing, the two type matchups canceled each other out, leaving it only ordinarily effective. Drain Punch, though, was a different story. As a Fighting-type move, it struck Greninja's Water and Dark typing for double damage.
Steven watched Ash absorb that damage alongside his Pokémon. Was this why it had to be Ash? In Steven's experience, even Mega Evolution demanded real physical stamina, and pushing through that exhaustion could leave someone drained afterward. Bond Evolution, it seemed, went further still, sharing the damage between Trainer and Pokémon.
Ash sucked in a few sharp breaths and was back on his feet almost immediately. Drain Punch, meanwhile, had let Lucario recover some of his own strength by drawing off Greninja's, so he was holding up noticeably better than his opponent.
Steven found himself thinking that if Ash and Greninja kept growing like this, they wouldn't back down even against a Champion's strongest Pokémon. Not even Leon's Charizard. Pikachu had needed every ounce of its bond with Ash to overcome that Charizard, but for Pokémon in general, that kind of spiritual connection wasn't out of the ordinary at all. Steven even found himself wondering whether Ash's championship run might have felt more earned with the Pokémon from his earlier journeys at his side, rather than newer additions. Not that there was anything wrong with the lineup Ash had used. It was simply a passing thought.
"Ash!"
"Huh?" Ash looked up and met Steven's eyes.
Even at this distance, Ash could feel the excitement radiating from Steven.
"I believe you and Greninja can reach the very peak!" Steven thrust a finger toward the sky, calling out with open delight. "You, and Pikachu, and every Pokémon from your journey; all of you will reach the far, unending end of the path to becoming a Pokémon Master, together!"
"But..."
"Right now, I want you and Greninja to show me everything you've got! Let me see the real strength between you!"
Ash lowered his head at those words. The brim of his cap fell just low enough to shadow his eyes. His hands curled into fists, a small smile tugging at his mouth. Then he lifted his chin again, revealing eyes burning with resolve.
"Of course!"
Steven couldn't quite make out the fire in Ash's gaze from where he stood. But he could feel it all the same.
"Then let's enjoy this battle, fully!"
"Ash!"
A soft breeze drifted past. Ash's collar stirred, and his short black hair lifted with it. He caught the brim of his cap between two fingers, tipping it up, while his other hand reached behind his back, fingers curling as though closing around something unseen.
A shuriken?
No. It was more than that.
It was his and his Pokémon's dreams, and everything they were reaching for.
The water veiling Greninja finally fell away, revealing his true form after Bond Evolution, features now carrying traces of Ash himself. In their hearts, the two of them were already one and the same.
Water gathered along his back, taking shape as a blue shuriken like a pair of wings. Greninja reached up and closed his hand around one edge of it.
"Go, Greninja!" Ash's voice rang out, firm and clear. "Let's reach that peak together, wherever it may be!"
"Gren!"
Greninja leapt, launching himself into the air. From the ground, Lucario met his gaze, and in both their eyes burned the same hunger for victory.
Ash threw the shuriken he held, though nothing was there to see.
"Greninja, Water Shuriken!"
"Gren—!"
In perfect time with him, Greninja hurled the shining blue shuriken from his back.
Like a shot ringing out, the Water Shuriken swelled several times its original size as it flew, tearing through the air with a sharp whooshing sound.
It struck Lucario head-on!
...