#ash's greninja

[ashgreninjaplayzgamesforfun]

Manga Spoilers

There's one thing that I like about the Pokémon Journeys manga: Acknowledging Ash-Greninja.

Yes, Pokemon Journeys has a manga.

P.S. Unfortunately, I can't find the website for the whole manga to read for free :(. I only have found this manga panel in Reddit.

[scraftyisthebest]

Thinking about Liko’s Sprigatito, and the fact that it’s a Grass-type starter getting the major spotlight for the first time in ages, as it’s Liko’s starter and the one who will likely evolve all the way to Meowscarada. Which is unique because Ash’s Pikachu is an Electric-type, but historically his other aces, namely Infernape and Greninja, were Fire- and Water-type respectively. 

But what I find most interesting is how this ties into the theme of the four magical elements of fantasy: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, the common elemental quartet in fantasy worlds, especially RPG ones, which Pokemon is innately rooted in. In Pokemon’s case, while the Fire- and Water-types’ respective representation of the Fire and Water elements is obvious, the Grass-type can be seen as the rough equivalent of the Earth element, as Earth magic often embodies dominion over plant life and plants come and derive energy from the earth, which is embodied well in the original Grass-type starter, Venusaur, who possesses the power to manipulate nature, release vines from its back, and other powers over the earth. Air meanwhile can roughly be represented by the Electric-type, as it embodies lightning, which comes from the air, and in many cases when lightning isn’t a separate element in a given fictional world it is tied to Air.

Ash’s Pikachu, being his starter and universal ace, is an Electric-type, and as such can roughly represent Air. In fiction, the Air element in terms of character often represents a carefree, energetic, and free spirit, which is what Ash is at his core. Ash’s Pikachu mirrors Ash himself in this aspect of his character, being playful, energetic, and friendly: everyone’s friend, just like Ash himself. Combat wise, the Air element is often associated with lack of raw strength and power, but what it lacks in this front it makes up for with speed and skillful offensive/defensive maneuvers: as a combatant, Pikachu is a small Pokemon that isn’t powerful in a vacuum, but is a skilled and fast Pokemon capable of using its speed and skill to its advantage.

Ash’s Fire-type starters, most of all Infernape who got a starring role as Ash’s ace in Sinnoh and is now the leader of Ash’s Fire-types at Oak’s lab, but to a lesser extent can be applied to Charizard and Incineroar as well, naturally represent the element of Fire. Fire is often the most common element for a Shonen hero to be associated with, and while Anipoke isn’t strictly a shonen, Ash has always been more or less a stock shonen hero in terms of his personality and goals. But more importantly, Fire is driven by passion. Oftentimes, this can be represented in being hotheaded and brash, which Ash is in many cases, especially when it comes to protecting Pokemon, but is more than anything an embodiment of willpower, determination, and spirit, as Fire is a high energy element innately. Ash is passionate, and determined to achieve his goals, most reflected in Infernape and how said willpower combined with Ash’s kindness to it drove Infernape’s mighty Blaze, which was driven by a sheer passion and determination to win, especially against Paul at the Sinnoh League.

Ash’s Greninja is another one of Ash’s most iconic Pokemon and his ace in Kalos, and as a Water-type, it naturally represents the element of Water. The Water element is a mix of strength and fluidity, and doesn’t have the sheer energy of Fire or Air, but has a distinct gracefulness and refinement to its strength. One who is associated with the element of Water is often represented as calm, profoundly wise, and one who goes with the flow. Greninja represents this best as it is very much graceful and skilled in battle, akin to a ninja, yet powerful with its Water Shuriken, and is more calm compared to Ash’s other Pokemon, yet carries an air of wisdom to it at the same time. Its power is made manifest as Ash and Greninja become one and it unleashes its true form as Ash-Greninja, and they master their power as heroic figures. This can in turn represent Ash as a capable role model to other who can inspire others with his passion and strength: he is one whose passion, experience, and life is one others can learn from both in battle and in terms of life principles.

Horizons is only just getting started, and Liko’s story has just begin, but her partner being Sprigatito, a Grass-type, and one who will likely evolve all the way based on Meowscarada’s popularity, can also be reflective of her character thus far from what we’ve seen, and Meowscarada seems to be setting up to be the first fully evolved Grass starter to receive star treatment in a long time, after Fire and Water-types like Infernape, Greninja, and Incineroar have carried that mantle. As I have said, the Grass-type best aligns with the Earth element of the Elemental Power quartet. In terms of characteristics, Earth is often associated with one who is strong, dependable, and protective of others: in many cases this also further is reinforced by a warm and motherly energy. Liko has a ways to go before her Sprigatito becomes a great Meowscarada, and the two have much development to go through thus far, but we can already see much of the Earth element in Liko’s character and how she has developed thus far: Liko has already stated that she wants to become a strong Trainer so she can protect the people and Pokemon she cares about, which is very much a characteristic of Earth characters. And we have also seen that she is very compassionate and empathetic: she can sense how others are feeling and her world thus far is centered around her relationships with people and Pokemon around her that she meets along the way, aligning with her personal growth of becoming someone who can protect others. Thus, we could see this further along the way as her Sprigatito will very likely evolve and become Meowscarada, and Meowscarada’s characteristics and battle style will likely very much align with these characteristics.

A long ass rant from my crazy neurodivergent brain but just compiled a bunch of interesting thoughts I had about Anipoke as of late here.

[xxtc-96xx]

What does mewtwo or anyone think of ash's greninja from Pokemon xyz

[pokemonprideflags]

the progress flag color picked from Ash Ketchum (Pokémon the Series: XYZ)

[pokemon-cards-hourly]

[victamined]

hi! could you draw a Greninja? please

ninja frog!!!!

[featherflyyyyyyyy]

[ask-pokemonfatefuljourneys]

Disclaimer: in my Pokéverse, Alola happens before Kalos (and follows more of the game plot than the anime); Kalos happens when Sacha/Satoshi is in his early 20’s. He gets pretty shaken up by what happened with Lysandre.

Greninja stays with him after.

Sorry for my English skills!

[pokemon-ash-aus]

gets on knees bows down i beg i need more content of the magical girl au im starving and im chewing on the scraps that drop into my jail cell im currently gnawing at the bars like a rabies infected caged animal and the only way to sedate me is with magical girl au lore and shit hurry before i break free and wreck havoc upon this merciless world /hj

I can only offer a little bit atm, but i do have some ideas on Ash’s pokemon disguises!

(None of them are seen all at once except Pikachu and Greninja)

Goodra and Noibat are used less frequently in disguise cause they don’t often encounter things where they are needed (the duo understand) but when they help, they help!

It’s easier to hide them around when people try copying Ash’s pokemon team as Ameka, so Ameka doesn’t have to worry about compromising his identity

[skyarly]

ash greninja is such a banger concept. there's the sheer absurdity of ash saying he will become the frog but also if you read into it there's some sick ass psychological horror to be found. are they like a hivemind? do they share memories? if one of ash's friends unknowingly stumbled across The Greninja post xy (not the ones who know about it) would they be able to sense ash in it? and vice versa does ash have an entirely unfamiliar vibe to them despite being the same? do you think greninja would ever command the local pokemon like a trainer would? does ash look at his hands and get startled because they aren't greninja's hands? do they share dreams

[pokeficdaily]

[ashgreninjaplayzgamesforfun]

What if Nira possessed Ash instead?

(Please don't repost or use my art)

(Sorry for the inaccurate historical hair)

Decided to make the Kimono resembling Ash Greninja. I was gonna give a big shuriken on Ash's back but chose not to.

[teehee-vibes]

Became obsessed with Ash Ketchum’s Greninja x Hawlucha out of absolutely nowhere

Rivals to lovers? No. Rivals AND lovers. This frog and hawk kissck the shit out of each other

[illustrationbyryan]

Greninja using gouache paint and acrylic markers

Check out my Etsy

Instagram

[wonartarts]

Here's how Battle Bond Delphox and Chesnaught can still win!

[ethanexion]

Ash-Greninja

Ash-Greninja has been completely retconned from the series in a way. He doesn't appear in Ash's flashbacks in Pokemon Journeys, Battle Bond was changed to remove the transformation in Scarlet and Violet, and there is no Ash-Greninja plush in the new Kalos Sitting Cuties line. Hopefully we see Ash-Greninja again sometime!