The Greninja would steal glances at the white-haired human—surely the other was thinking of something else. There had to be a very good reason why they were out here all over again.

The loud noise of… of something taking off in the distance would catch the amphibian Pokémon’s attention, before he looked over again to where the white-haired, elfin was staring at.

‘Don’t tell me it’s that one you’re after.’

“What, the one that sliced Hydra in half? No, oh no, Hanzo. No. There. There is a very specific reason why we’re out here today.”

Another loud noise, much like a jet taking off way too close to where the two stood, would echo around the immediate area.

“We’re here to fly to the moon.”

what are we doing here again

The two—one ‘not’ quite a human, and a Pokémon—would remain there, silent observers in a circle, listening to the loud roaring of rockets taking off both near and far. After the strange, cuboidal ‘thing’ had taken off as well, the two would continue observing the landscape.

Maybe it was bliss, to stand out here; watch and wait—for the one they were looking for.

With time, one would eventually either approach them or come in, exhaust ‘hands’ screaming and ready to swat them down where they stood.

But for now, they stood by quietly; watching… and waiting.

Waiting, waiting, waiting—

Until it was the opportune time to strike.

what are we doing here again

‘Why are you specifically looking for the rocket?’

“Well, you see…”

This was where his literature major would come in handy.

“This is supposedly the oldest folktale from Japan, known as the Taketori Monogatari if we want to get technical here. Seeing as you’re named Hanzo, and you share a name with a certain legendary shinobi, might as well tell you the story, right?”

‘That’s fair,’ the Greninja would concede, before giving him the floor.

“Okay, so the story goes as such that there was a poor family harvesting bamboo. One of the bamboo stalks cut open actually revealed a very small, thumb-sized human within it.”

‘Wait, what?’

“Japanese folk tales are all strange. Now do you want me to continue narrating the tale?”

‘Oh, alright, sorry about that.’

“So this couple, having no children of their own, would adopt the ‘child’ from the stalk and name her… give me a minute. Her given name is very long.”

‘What is it?’

“Nayotake no Kaguya-hime.”

‘What does that mean?’

“Shining princess of the young bamboo, if my memory is recalling this right.”

‘Such an unusual name, but I digress. Go on.’

what are we doing here again

‘Wow, I know some humans are annoying, but these take the cake!’

“They do. Anyway, they pressured—more like heavily persuaded, depends on your take—to allow them to attempt and court Kaguya-hime. But she could see through all of them, so in order for her to accept their proposal, she would set upon them an individual task that was deemed to be impossible.”

‘Clearly she said that she’s not interested and they continued to bother her?’

“Yeah… that’s why she thought up of these challenges so that they would leave her alone.”

‘What did she ask them to do for her, anyway?’ and now the Greninja was curious.

“If any single one of them could bring at least one item of their choice out of the five, then she would agree to marry whoever accomplished the task. But mind you—these items were impossible to acquire by their standards.”

‘What did she ask for?’

“Either one of the following—the stone begging bowl of the Buddha; a jeweled branch from a mystical place known as… Horai, I know I fucked up the pronunciation, but it was that place—a robe made of fire rat skins, disgusting as it sounds, that was a thing—a colored jewel from a dragon’s neck; or a cowry shell borne from a swallow.”

‘Those… what even are those?!’ the amphibian would exclaim; releasing a cloud of Smokescreen to obscure the flight pattern of the approaching rocket ship that looked ready to cut a bitch.

“See, even you can’t comprehend the impossibility of it all. Anyway, she would send them out to retrieve at least one of these items, and whoever got back with the real thing, she would agree to marry.”

‘But, let me guess… nobody was able to get a single one of these items?’

oh there she is!

‘Damn, that’s harsh. The fifth suitor died?’

“Yes. That was the extent of how much Kaguya did not want to form any kind of attachment to other humans outside of her adoptive family,” he would sigh quietly once he’d returned; and this time the Greninja had shot a Hydro Pump towards the screaming, screeching rocket ship that wanted to take them out.

‘Did anyone else try after that?’ the Greninja would ask; even though he had an inkling that he could guess what the answer was.

“As a matter of fact, yes. Someone else did try, and I am not shitting you when I say this, but it’s the emperor of Japan.”

‘What?’

“A very important person. Of course he falls head over heels in love with her, and eventually asks for her hand in marriage.”

‘Did she—’ the amphibious Pokémon asked despite himself.

“She turned him down. He asked her why, and she mentioned that she is not of the same country as he is, and that she cannot join her. Though he found this strange, they went through this weird, ritualistic kind of ‘friendship’, if you could call it that, exchanging letters for three whole years. And every single time he asked for her hand, she turned him down.”

‘She’s a tough one to please.’

“One night, when Kaguya-hime herself is enjoying the view of the full moon, something changes within her. Of course her adoptive parents are quick to notice this, and ask her if she’s alright. But she doesn’t want to worry them, so of course she doesn’t say anything.”

oh there she is!

‘That’s… an odd way of putting things,’ the Greninja observed; to which the white-haired elfin would chuckle.

“Yes, rather strange, don’t you think? Anyway. Kaguya-hime has her intention known, that despite enjoying her time down with everyone on Earth, she eventually has to return back to the Moon where she really belongs. To prepare for the separation, she writes two letters—one for her adoptive parents, and another for the Emperor. She then gives her own ‘robe’—sources differ, but most variants of the tale agree it’s a robe—to her adoptive parents, and prepares to send her other letter to the Emperor.”

‘Did she really have to go back so soon?’

“You have to understand, Hanzo, that her time of return drew near. So, before she sent the letter off, she took a little sip of this certain elixir she had with her—the supposed elixir of immortality—and hands this off with the Emperor’s letter to be delivered.”

‘Wait, she drank the—what?!’

“Fantastical, I know. But the moment she hands these off, she then ascends with the heavenly guard waiting for her, and she goes back to the Moon, where she lives for the rest of eternity.”

‘That… was anticlimactic.’

oh there she is!

Eventually, the loud whirring rocket noise would settle down; and the Celesteela that had been blindly trying to take out the Greninja would come crashing to the ground with a rumbling noise.

“Oh, will you look at that? One decided to join us!” he would chirp, pulling out the golden Pokéball and bidding to get ready to throw it at the gigantic Pokémon.

‘Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?’ the Greninja confirmed with him; but he was already set.

“Yes… in fact this one already has a name.”

‘What?! So soon!’

“Yes! Why do you think I told you the tale of Kaguya-hime…”

Then the belated realization hit the Greninja like a ton of bricks.

‘Oh. Oh, don’t tell me you’re going to name them—’

All the amphibian Pokémon would get from him was this mysterious smile as he tapped the golden Pokéball at the very tip of the Celesteela’s head, watching as it was sucked into the beam of red light.

---

catch attempt on Kaguya, the Celesteela!

oh there she is!