Greninja with the AbilityBattle Bond are treated internally as a distinct form. Battle Bond activates upon defeating an opponent: in Generation VII, it allows Greninja to change into a special form known as Ash-Greninja; however, following the removal of Ash-Greninja in Generation IX, it was reworked to instead increase Greninja's stats.
Greninja is a bipedal, frog-like Pokémon. It is mostly dark blue with a yellow chest and abdomen, a white triangular marking over each eye, a light blue four-pointed star on each thigh, and yellow on the lower half of its face. It has red eyes with white pupils and its mouth is hidden behind a large, pink tongue that wraps around its neck and extends outward behind its head. Running down the middle of its head is a fin-like extension, and there is a similar fin on each side of its head. Light blue webbing connects its head fins. There is a large, white bubble-like bump on each elbow and knee. Its back feet have two toes, while its front feet have three toes. Each digit has a bulbous tip and yellow webbing.
Greninja's movements are swift, rapid, and graceful, akin to those of a ninja.[1] It uses this speed to confound enemies while slicing them up. It can compress water into various weapons to slice up enemies, most commonly in the form of water shurikens, and has additionally been shown creating water katana and water kunai in both the animated series and the Super Smash Bros. video game series. It can also create shuriken from the mucus it excretes from its thighs for sharp projectiles that can split through metal. As seen in the animated series, Greninja's tongue is extremely long and many times its own height, and strong enough to catch and hold an average human. However, it usually keeps its tongue wrapped around its neck like a scarf. Doing so exposes its tongue to air movements, allowing Greninja to detect enemies it otherwise could not see.
As Ash-Greninja, its appearance has changed in order to more closely resemble Ash Ketchum, specifically in his Pokémon the Series: XY outfit. Its skin is now a lighter shade of blue, and the yellow on its chest and abdomen has been reduced to a much smaller area. The fin-like extension on top of its head and the area between its eyes have turned red. The outer part of its side fins has turned black, as well as its cheeks, which now also puff out, resembling tufts of hair with a small, thunderbolt-shaped red streak. It now has a four-pointed star mark on its back as well, from where it creates large water shurikens. Unlike regular Greninja, Ash-Greninja is most commonly seen standing up and is always male.
Through an occurrence called the Bond Phenomenon, brought on by the bonds between people and Pokémon, certain Greninja, such as Ash's Greninja in Pokémon the Series, can tap into a miraculous source of power in battles where they need to break their limits, something that has only occurred once several hundred years ago in recorded history. Ash-Greninja's legs have strengthened, increasing its speed to a point where it moves so quickly that it becomes difficult to see and able to dispatch opponents in a flash.[2] As seen in the animated series, the large water shuriken on its back is the symbol of a perfect transformation; before this state is reached, Ash-Greninja is covered in a turbulent veil of water.
As Mega Greninja, its body is now mostly black, except for its lower legs, upper arms, and hands, which retain the same color, making it appear as though it is wearing a ninja outfit. The fins on either side of its head have extended outward and turned light blue, resembling shuriken with one edge much longer than the others. The four-pointed star marks it had on its thighs have been replaced by actual water shurikens. Mega Greninja clings upside down to a giant, floating, and continually spinning six-pointed water shuriken it created from a gelatinous membrane secreted from its body. The shuriken levitates due to its high spinning speed.
Mega Evolution has significantly enhanced Mega Greninja's reflexes; as a result, it has forgone stealth, showcasing the confidence it has on its capabilities. By intentionally revealing itself, it provokes opponents into attacking, and its sharp reflexes enable it to both react accordingly and strike first. The mere sight of Mega Greninja clinging to its giant water shuriken is able to distract opponents, allowing it to preemptively render them unable to attack by binding them with its long tongue. Once its opponents are immobilized, Mega Greninja charges at them to strike with its massive shuriken.[3]
It appears and vanishes with a ninja's grace. It toys with its enemies using swift movements, while slicing them with throwing stars of sharpest water.
It appears and vanishes with a ninja's grace. It toys with its enemies using swift movements, while slicing them with throwing stars of sharpest water.
In the Generation VII games, a Greninja with the Ability Battle Bond will transform into Ash-Greninja after it directly causes an opponent to faint without ending the battle. It will remain in this form until either it faints or the battle ends; in the former case, this prevents it from changing back into Ash-Greninja for the remainder of the battle. Ash-Greninja has different base stats than regular Greninja, with increased Attack, Special Attack, and Speed. Additionally, the moveWater Shuriken will be more powerful, having 20 power instead of 15, and will always hit 3 times, instead of varying between 2-5 hits. Greninja cannot transform into Ash-Greninja in the core series as of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet due to Battle Bond's effect having been changed.
Internally, standard Greninja with Battle Bond are considered to be a separate form to Greninja with Torrent or Protean. These Greninja are always male, cannot breed, and, like Special Pokémon, are banned from the Battle Spot. A Greninja with Battle Bond can be transferred to Pokémon Sun and Moon from the Special Demo Version. This is the only way to obtain it, so it is no longer obtainable for players who did not download the demo before the discontinuation of the 3DSNintendo eShop on March 27, 2023.
Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon, and the evolved form of Frogadier. Greninja's swift movements confound its opponents, and it can compress water into sharp-edged throwing stars.
Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon, and the final evolved form of Froakie. Greninja can compress water into sharp-edged throwing stars. With the grace of a ninja, it slips in and out of sight to attack from the shadows.
Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon. A Water and Dark-type. Greninja creates throwing stars from compressed water. When it sends them spinning at high speeds, they can split metal.
GOTCHA!
A Greninja briefly appeared in GOTCHA!, under the ownership of Serena.
Five Greninja appeared in POKÉMON Detective Pikachu. They were genetically modified and put in chambers. They were later used to chase after Harry Goodman, and also Tim and Lucy when they broke into Howard's facility.
Greninja is playable through obtaining a Unite License. It is a ranged attacker that starts as Froakie and evolves into Frogadier at level 5, which evolves into Greninja at level 7.
Greninja is the only fully-evolved first partner Pokémon to have a unique transformation that is not a Mega Evolution, Gigantamax form, or regional form, that being Ash-Greninja.
Greninja and its pre-evolved forms are the only Water-type first partner Pokémon line to be exclusive to the Water 1Egg Group.
Greninja shares its category with Ninjask. They are both known as the Ninja Pokémon.
Because all forms prior to Generation VII shared entries with their original appearance, and due to Greninja not being in any regional Pokédex at all, Ash-Greninja is the only Pokémon to not have a Pokédex entry in any capacity.
Greninja's overall appearance is based on a frog,[5] and it may have been inspired by horned frogs from the generaMegophrys and Ceratophrys due to the spiked protrusions above its eyes. Its color scheme and body shape is similar to that of the splendid leaf frog. The bubble-like protrusions on its body may be based on a toad's parotoid glands, possibly referencing the traditional myth of toads causing warts, though they may also be remnants of Froakie and Frogadier's frubbles.
As its species name implies, Greninja is also based on a ninja. Japanese culture associates frogs and toads with ninjas based on the folk story The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya (Japanese: 児雷也豪傑物語 Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari), about a ninja who can shapeshift into a large toad. Greninja and its pre-Evolutions may also draw inspiration from the thief or rogue character class in role-playing games, which are generally ranged combatants that often rely on speed and stealth, focusing more on dodging attacks rather than withstanding damage.
Mega Greninja's black coloring may be based on the archetypal ninja outfit. Its habit of standing underneath a large water shuriken may draw from the ninja's supposed ability to impossibly walk and hang from surfaces, such as ceilings. It is also reminiscent of a frog on a lily pad. Its large water shuriken may also be a reference to Ash-Greninja's giant Water Shuriken in the anime.
Name origin
Greninja may be a combination of grenouille (French for frog) and ninja.
Gekkouga may be a combination of げこっ geko (croak) or 月光 gekkō (moonlight, in reference to a popular conception of ninja running through the night or to Greninja's Dark type) and 甲賀流 Kōga-ryū.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
Greninja's concept art for Pokémon X and Y
Greninja throwing stars made of compressed water
Greninja extending its tongue
Master Ball (100%)
For other sprites and images, please see Greninja images on the Bulbagarden Archives.
