>>58028763The higher ups didn't like him and were filled with rage at the thought of Greninja becoming as popular as it is, and till this day they stay seething. They didn't want Greninja, let alone Ash-Greninja, becoming the top mascot of the Pokemon franchise. For years, Greninja won the popularity polls consistently just for being straight up cool, and to this day still ranks well despite not getting any real exposure and being overshadowed by other mons and fan favorites in TPCi's marketing machine.
