Akira was quite shocked to see how fast both of these Pokémon moved, especially the large eared rodent who was currently slashing its claws across Growlithe's side.
Before Growlithe had even collapsed to the ground, Akira knew that the creature would not be able to continue to battle. Growlithe's Master must have saw this as well since a red beam of light shot out to bring Growlithe back into it's Pokéball the moment it was about to hit the ground.
Similar to how the other Tamer acted another Pokéball was sent spiraling through the air within seconds. Once the red mass of energy that Akira had become accustomed to seeing cleared, it revealed to everyone what Pokémon was held within it. This Pokémon was an equine one with cream-colored fur as well as both it's tail and mane being made out of flames.
Akira was thrilled that he was able to see two new Pokémon within this match and from the looks of this new fire type Pokémon, he started to root for this Tamer even more. "Once this tournament is over, I'm definitely going to introduce myself to this Tamer!" Akira promised himself as he watched the battle start once more.
Both Pokémon started to charge at one another though as the small rodent Pokémon moved towards it's opponent it started to shoot purple needles from the horn at the top of it's head. Thankfully for the equine Pokémon as well as it's Master, it was much faster than the needles that were being sent after it. After dodging the needles with little effort the equine creature sent out an Ember attack.
Four fireballs peppered the ground around the rodent which caused Akira to think that the equine Pokémon was trying to force the rodent to stay in one place.
This was only confirmed when the equine Pokémon shot another blast of fire around the rodent. Though before the fire was able to die out the fire type Pokémon charged through it and smashed into the rodent that was trapped within the flames. This surprise attack did heavy damage to the smaller rodent Pokémon which was only enhanced when the creature came crashing down to the ground.
Everyone within the Arena knew who had won this battle including both Tamers that were battling. The Tamer who owned the rodent Pokémon was the first to recall her Pokémon which was followed by the announcer's voice. "Everyone please congratulate Lara Laramie on her victory in the first round!"
This resulted in the crowd breaking out into a cheer that was loud enough to vibrate the Arena though thankfully for Akira it didn't last very long.
Once the cheering had died down, the announcer spoke once more. "Both combatants may step out of the Arena and Ash Ketchum and his opponent Fletcher Blake may step into the Arena."
The name of Ash's opponent didn't sound familiar to Akira though when the other boy stepped into the Arena, Akira recognized him as one of the boys he had given a Pokémon to at the beginning of his contract.
Ash was dominating the battlefield as he and Zeus took out Fletcher's monkey Pokémon. Now with Fletcher only having one Pokémon left while Ash still had another one besides his Pikachu which told Akira that Ash would be the clear winner of this battle.
After recalling his downed Pokémon, Fletcher sent out his last Pokémon and once the energy that went with the release of his Pokémon it revealed that Fletcher had called out a Squirtle.
Though Akira was still new to the world of Pokémon he could tell that Fletcher's Squirtle was clearly outmatched. Even with knowing this Akira could tell that Fletcher wasn't going to go down without a fight which was clear from the way that he sent his Pokémon on the attack.
Dozens of bubbles went soaring through the Arena and though they moved slower than Zeus was, the sheer quantity of them meant that at least a few of them should make contact with Zeus and as the minutes ticked by a few of the bubbles collided with the electric Pokémon. This attack on Zeus did little damage though it did cause an opening that could be used for both Ash and Zeus's advantage if the Tamer decided to take it.
Thanks to the bubbles, there were many small little puddles that had formed on the Arena ground and it just happened that many of them were surrounding Fletcher's Squirtle. "Come on Ash...take the opening." Akira muttered to himself and thanks to the noise that surrounded him, his voice was lost in the crowd of others.
Whether Ash saw the opening or not he chose not to use it right away which was evident to Akira since Zeus went charging towards his opponent. Akira thought that Ash must have ordered his Pikachu to use Quick Attack though as Zeus grew closer to the Squirtle, his tail started to glow a bright white. This move was one that Akira had not seen and as such he leaned in closer in hopes of getting a better view point on the outcome of the attack.
Just as Zeus would have collided with Squirtle, he jumped into the air and as he went soaring above Fletcher's Pokémon Zeus smashed his tail into the Squirtle's head which sent the water type Pokémon falling back into the puddle of water that surrounded it. For a moment Akira thought that Ash had finished his attack on Squirtle but just as Zeus landed on the ground, twin bolts of lightning shot out from the red patches that were on his face and collided with the downed Squirtle.
This attack was one that Akira knew that Fletcher's Squirtle would not be able to get back up from and that the victory was clearly Ash's. Akira wasn't the only one that saw this since Fletcher himself already had his Pokéball in his hand to recall his downed Pokémon.
Once Fletcher had his Squirtle safely back inside it's Pokéball, the voice of the announcer once again echoed throughout the Arena. "Everyone please congratulate Ash Ketchum for winning the battle." After a quick applause from the crowd the announcer spoke once more. "Ash and Fletcher you may leave the Arena and Cyrus Fain and Ralph Morgan may enter the Arena."
Once again Akira didn't know the names of either of the next two Tamers that were called out though when they walked into the Arena, Akira saw that one of the boys were one of the ones that he had given a Pokémon too.
"Well at least they have found their place among us!" Akira concluded as he watched the two males get ready to start their battle.
Similar to how the last match went, Akira could already tell who the clear winner of this match was going to be and it surely wasn't going to be Cyrus. Akira had already watched the Tamer known as Ralph take out Cyrus's Charmander while only still using his first Pokémon which happened to be a Vulpix.
Like everyone else that was watching this battle, Akira watched on quite stunned at the speed that Ralph's Vulpix was going especially compared to the avian Pokémon that Cyrus was using. Akira had already watched this Vulpix deal heavy damage to this Pokémon though somehow Cyrus's Pokémon was still able to keep going though for how much longer was still unknown to Akira.
This tournament was bringing much more of a thrill to Akira than he thought possible especially since he was able to see multiple Pokémon that he hasn't seen before. Though as Akira was thinking about all the new Pokémon he had seen, he was also watching the battle that was going on within the Arena which allowed him to see that Ralph's Vulpix had shot Cyrus's avian creature out of the sky.
As the avian Pokémon laid on the ground, it was clear to all that were watching that Cyrus's Pokémon was unable to continue to battle. Cyrus saw this as well and was quick in his recalling of his Pokémon.
Authors notes: Thank you to everyone who read the latest chapter. I know that I have rushed through some of the battles but it was so I could get to Akira's battle as well as so I didn't spend another twenty chapters just on this part of the story. As always please review and comment with your thoughts on the story. Until next time!