Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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The lingering aftereffects of taking another's life continued to haunt Li Xiang like a shadow.

Though seemingly insignificant, they subtly altered his temperament.

Even with an adult's soul, his adolescent body was still subject to the influence of its naturally secreted hormones.

Puberty already made him prone to irritability, and the act of killing two people in what was nearly a brutal execution only amplified his inner turmoil...

People are always changing. The person you are a year from now may be entirely different from who you are today due to accumulated experiences—even adults aren't exempt from this.

If Li Xiang had to blame anything, it was his misfortune of transmigrating into a child's body.

Fortunately, the extraordinary people around him quickly noticed his unusual behavior.

His sparring sessions with Jiang Shangrong, though mostly consisting of him getting beaten with few chances to land a hit, did wonders for his mood.

Especially when, after enduring a long beating, he finally managed to land a punch in return. Even if it didn't deal much damage, the sensation of his fist connecting with flesh sent a thrill from head to toe.

It felt like some pent-up tension had been released, leaving him physically and mentally refreshed.

Of course, this came with the inevitable bruises—his face swollen like a pig's head every few days, his body covered in dark marks.

His third senior sister truly fought with the mentality of "as long as it doesn't kill you, beat them to death."

But after this emotional release...

His Pokémon gradually stopped watching over him so closely, no longer rushing to his side at the slightest sign of trouble.

It was as if he had returned to being the reliable leader of their group, rather than the little brother they needed to constantly look after.

Had they sensed something off about him all along?

Li Xiang, puzzled, asked Rotom for confirmation. Though the answer was somewhat roundabout, it aligned with his suspicions.

Before, they had all felt that if they took their eyes off him for even a moment, something bad would happen. They simply couldn't relax.

How to put it... reckless! Yes, reckless!

He hadn't been steady at all.

But now, he had finally returned to normal.

Relieved, his Pokémon redoubled their efforts to improve themselves.

And then, two days before the new semester began, Frogadier evolved at an astonishing rate, having leveled up every half-month.

There were no earth-shattering phenomena, nor did it immediately enter a Bond Phenomenon form like Ash's Greninja.

But the sight of its body suddenly enveloped in blue light during battle sent Li Xiang's excitement skyrocketing.

Upon evolving into Greninja, it retained its Protean ability, but its once-soft aqua-blue skin darkened into a profound, inky black.

Viewed from above, its head resembled the rear wing of a racing car, its pink eyes exuding calm indifference.

With three fingers on each hand and two on each foot, its long crimson tongue wrapped around its neck like a scarf—vibrant enough to be almost blinding.

The white bubbles at its elbows and knees appeared softer against its dark skin, while shuriken markings adorned its legs, symbolizing its ninja-inspired design.

Standing roughly 1.6 meters tall, it was slightly short but still had room to grow.

—Water/Dark-type, shiny Greninja, answering its trainer's expectations, had arrived.

"Greninja!"

Greninja struck a firm hand-seal pose, letting out a sharp cry!

Li Xiang snapped photos furiously, his face flushed with excitement.

"Amazing! Incredible! So cool! Little Frog, strike a few more poses! You look absolutely badass!"

Obliging, Greninja silently cycled through several edgy poses it would've been too embarrassed to attempt before.

Torracat and the others watched from the sidelines with expressions of utter disdain, as if they were subway passengers judging a cringeworthy scene.

But once the photoshoot was over, they still approached to congratulate it—their joy and well-wishes genuine.

Flipping through the photos on his camera, Li Xiang sighed in satisfaction.

Finally.

One of his starter Pokémon had reached its final evolution—three levels ahead of schedule, no less. He was confident Greninja's strength would now grow exponentially.

Even better, another one of his team wasn't far behind—possibly evolving within a week if luck was on their side.

The grueling transitional phase was over. From now on, they would soar to new heights!

As he watched the black ninja frog grinning goofily amidst its teammates, Li Xiang felt an odd sense of peace.

In the distance, Greninja turned its gaze to meet his, clenched a fist, and flashed a look of absolute confidence.

Clearly, it too could sense the immense power within its new form.

Evolution was a Pokémon's unique miracle—its changes far beyond what mere stat increases or expanded move pools could describe.

Post-evolution, the first order of business was adapting to its new body and testing its newly acquired moves.

—The once-exclusive Water Shuriken, now changed from a physical to a special attack.

And the mid-power Dark-type physical move, Night Slash.

Two new moves from a single evolution—quite the bargain.

The inky-black Greninja stood tall, its gaze locked onto a distant target as if sizing up prey.

"Water Shuriken!"

"Ninja!"

At its trainer's command, Greninja's eyes flashed. Water materialized from thin air, swirling into its palms and forming two glowing blue four-pointed shuriken in the blink of an eye.

Then—

With a flick of its wrist, the shuriken shot forward, spinning so fast they seemed to vanish from sight, leaving only the sound of rushing water in their wake before thunk-thunk-thunking into the target.

Almost as if they had teleported.

'That speed!'

Li Xiang glanced at Riolu and Corviknight—the two with the keenest dynamic vision on the team—only to find them staring blankly, clearly having missed the shuriken's trajectory as well.

Seriously?

Was +1 priority that overpowered? Or was Greninja just built different?

…Probably both.

Inspecting the target, he found the shuriken embedded deep, only their edges still visible before dissolving back into water moments later.

"The power's no joke either."

Li Xiang traced the cracks in the target. While damage was partly determined by pressure concentration, the sheer depth proved Water Shuriken's might.

Slicing through thin steel wouldn't be an issue.

"Little Frog, how fast can you form a shuriken now?"

He turned to Greninja, standing about fifteen meters away.

In response, Greninja raised a hand—two shuriken materialized in its palm within a single breath, spinning audibly.

After tossing those into the air, it formed two more, repeating the process. By the fifth and sixth shuriken, however, its movements noticeably slowed.

Clearly, dual-shuriken formation was swift, but mass production remained out of reach.

Whether this was due to Greninja's proficiency or an inherent limitation of Water Shuriken was unclear.

But neither would be resolved overnight.

Li Xiang set the matter aside for now. Next, he wanted to test something interesting—

Giant Water Shuriken.

Whether non-Bond Phenomenon Greninja had ever used one in the anime escaped his memory, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Since its Ability was locked to Protean, Bond Phenomenon was off the table—but plagiarism was still fair game.

Li Xiang approached his edgy, pose-striking frog and explained his idea.

Water Shuriken's formation relied on Greninja's mucus, gathered water, and energy—compressed into shape.

If the mucus, energy, and water were increased, could the shuriken grow larger?

Li Xiang suspected it was possible. Though he found no records online—whether due to secrecy or lack of attempts—if a bell could absorb fire, why not a giant shuriken?

Greninja's eyes lit up with excitement, immediately eager to experiment.

Li Xiang hastily backed away, not wanting to be collateral damage. Freshly evolved and still adjusting, forcing Greninja to attempt this might be rushing things—

But what if it worked?

From a safe distance, he watched with anticipation.

Greninja closed its eyes, hands overlapping—left above, right below—focusing entirely on gathering water and secreting mucus.

Droplets materialized midair, swirling toward its palms, forming a massive orb within seconds.

Then, Greninja attempted to compress it.

The orb's glow intensified, its shape rapidly approaching that of a giant shuriken—

Li Xiang held his breath—

Pop!

Just before success, the shuriken burst like a water balloon, drenching Greninja in its own creation.

The frog blinked, stunned.

Failure?

"It's fine! Let's try again! This time, make it a little smaller—we'll take it step by step!"

Li Xiang's encouraging claps snapped Greninja out of its daze.

Nodding, it reset.

A little smaller… Just slightly bigger than the original, then.

Taking a deep breath, Greninja resumed its stance. This time, it poured 120% focus into the task.

And—

Li Xiang's hypothesis proved correct.

With careful energy management and practice, Greninja could form a giant Water Shuriken.

This time, the result was visibly larger than before.

The trade-off? A longer wind-up and intense concentration made it impractical for battle—for now.

But with a starting point, combat viability wasn't far off.

Next—

Testing Night Slash.

Greninja's execution of the move showcased how differently Pokémon could wield the same technique.

In its grasp, Night Slash manifested as two blood-red kozuka (short blades), perfectly matching its dark aesthetic.

Utterly badass.

'If only Water Shuriken could turn black too—it'd complete the look.'

After running through its usual moves several times, Li Xiang noticed Greninja's exhaustion beneath its cool facade.

Patting its shoulder, he smiled. "Good work. Rest now."

Greninja's aloof demeanor instantly crumbled, shoulders slumping as it sighed.

"Ninja…"

So tired…