"Greninja!"
"Gren!" Trainer and Pokémon exchanged a glance before nodding simultaneously. Ash gave a soft shout, while Greninja gathered its strength and let out a powerful cry in response.
Whoooosh—!
A strange power and energy field formed around Greninja's body before rapidly transforming into a flowing ring of water vapor that gently coiled around its waist.
This was Greninja's first time entering the Bond Evolution state.
Its appearance hadn't changed much. Compared to before, the only visible difference was the ring of water vapor encircling its waist.
At first glance, it looked remarkably similar to the Water-type move Aqua Ring. However, unlike Aqua Ring—which manifested as two streams of flowing water that intertwined around the user's body—the two were fundamentally different.
Aqua Ring gathers Water-type energy from the surrounding environment to replenish the user. It follows the principle of External → Internal, gradually restoring stamina, healing injuries, and replenishing expended Water-type energy.
Its greatest value is revealed in harsh environments such as deserts or drought-stricken regions where water vapor is scarce and the power of Water-type moves is greatly diminished.
In normal environments rich with moisture, Aqua Ring provides no direct enhancement to Water-type moves. However, in arid regions, its ability to gather ambient water vapor can partially compensate for the reduction in Water-type move power.
That was Aqua Ring.
The water vapor ring surrounding Greninja's waist in its Bond Evolution state might look similar, but they were entirely different in nature.
If Aqua Ring was a move that gathered the power of water from the outside world to strengthen the user—an External → Internal process—
Then Bond Evolution was precisely the opposite—an Internal → External phenomenon.
The two days of arduous training had not been in vain.
Even though Greninja had only barely satisfied the minimum requirements for Bond Evolution and had only just entered the state, its strength had still received comprehensive enhancements.
Its HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed had all been enhanced to varying degrees.
And although the water vapor ring around its waist appeared far less eye-catching than Aqua Ring, it was actually the visible manifestation of the Water-type energy overflowing from within Greninja's body after its strength had been amplified to the point of saturation.
The significance represented by this water vapor ring was something Aqua Ring could never compare to.
Likewise, the combat power of Bond-Evolved Greninja was on an entirely different level compared to its former self.
"Greninja, let's test the power you've gained through Bond Evolution. Use a full-powered Water Shuriken on that tree stump."
Ash's eyes sparkled with anticipation as he issued his command.
He wanted to witness the power of Bond Evolution for himself.
"Gren! (_)" Greninja nodded excitedly.
After enduring the pressure of watching its companions rapidly grow stronger while tirelessly devoting itself to two days of difficult training, it too was eager to see just how powerful its newfound strength truly was.
Responding to Ash, Greninja flipped its hand as a Water Shuriken instantly formed.
As it continuously poured more power into it, the rapidly spinning Water Shuriken grew larger and larger.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Very quickly, after being saturated with power, the spinning Water Shuriken expanded from the size of a palm to something as large as a washbasin.
Although Greninja could still pour more power into it, doing so would destabilize the Water Shuriken and cause it to collapse.
Thus, it stopped at precisely the optimal point.
Under the expectant gazes of Ash and its companions, Greninja raised the gigantic spinning Water Shuriken above its head before hurling it toward the enormous tree stump they had been using as their training target.
Vrrrrrrr—
The wooden fibers within the tree stump were extraordinarily dense and twisted together in complex patterns, making it significantly harder and tougher than an ordinary tree trunk.
Moreover, this particular stump had been submerged within the river for years, further enhancing its density, durability, and toughness.
Over the past two days, it had served as the target for countless shuriken thrown by both Ash and Greninja. Despite being struck thousands of times, it had only accumulated shallow marks across its surface without suffering any meaningful damage.
And yet—
Against Greninja's gigantic Water Shuriken, this incredibly hard and resilient training target was effortlessly split apart straight through the middle.
CRAAAACK!!
"Pika?! (O_O)"
"Fearow?! (*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!"
"..."
"..."
Seeing the massive tree stump violently torn apart, Pikachu, Fearow, and the others watching nearby immediately changed expressions in shock.
Water-type energy was generally regarded as gentle and moderate in nature, while Water-type moves were likewise considered relatively lacking in explosive destructive power.
Yet Greninja's gigantic Water Shuriken had completely shattered everyone's preconceived notions regarding both Water-type energy and Water-type attacks.
"Greninja, next we'll conduct a complete series of tests covering your six fundamental attributes—HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed."
"Gren! (－_－)" Greninja nodded and cooperatively began participating in the various tests alongside Ash and Rotom.
...
After a complete round of testing, while the results couldn't be considered one hundred percent precise, the margin of error was certainly no greater than two percent.
Comparing the new data with the measurements taken from Greninja's normal state, Ash discovered that after undergoing Bond Evolution, Greninja's overall combat power had effectively doubled.
"Excellent! Greninja, let's continue training and strive to reach the stage where you can completely transform as soon as possible."
"Next, we'll move on to practical combat training. Pikachu, Pidgeot, Fearow, and everyone else, I'll be counting on all of you to help us."
After completing Greninja's power assessment, Ash turned toward his other Pokémon and spoke.
"Pika~ (=.=)"
"Fearow~ (ー_ー)"
"..."
"..."
Although Pikachu and the others nodded in agreement, they couldn't help but feel an immense sense of pressure and urgency growing within their hearts.
Greninja had now reached the minimum requirements necessary to undergo Bond Evolution.
The overwhelming power displayed by its Bond-Evolved state alone was enough to leave them astonished.
And yet, Ash and Greninja intended to continue their training and unlock even greater power in the days to come.
Under such circumstances, Pikachu's first instinct was naturally to rush off and train even harder.
Unfortunately, Greninja's continued Bond Evolution training required their assistance.
Watching Greninja grow stronger with each passing day had already placed tremendous pressure upon them, but now they couldn't even devote themselves entirely to their own training in an attempt to catch up.
For Pikachu especially, the pressure felt almost overwhelming.
However, this was something every member of the team had to face amidst their healthy competitive environment.
Just two days ago, while Pikachu and the others were rapidly increasing their strength, Greninja had experienced the crushing pressure of making no progress whatsoever in its Bond Evolution training.
...
...
Their Bond Evolution training continued, and another two days quietly passed.
Unlike the simple shuriken throwing exercises from before, Ash and Greninja had now progressed to practical combat training.
And compared to before, the circumstances and situations they now faced had become vastly more complicated.