Hello everyone, this is Mgunnels3, and welcome back to A Promise Kept Ash's Johto Journey. Before we start, I want to mention that although someone suggested two more trainers for this tournament, I have already selected other trainers. It wouldn't be fair for the new trainers to show up only to be knocked out off-screen or not have Ash battle them. I apologize to Assunta and Corey. They may appear in the third story. Now, let's begin with this chapter!
Chapter 29: Ash vs. Rudy rematch.
"Human Speech"
"Pokemon Speech"
The grass-type tournament's first match was about to start. Bayleef and Exeggutor were facing each other, eager to begin the fight.
"Bayleef vs. Exeggutor, let the battle begin," The ref said as Ash and Rudy were ready to fight.
"Alright, Bayleef, use razor leaf," Ash commanded Bayleef, who launched a flurry of leaves toward Exeggutor.
"Use Egg bomb and then sludge bomb Exeggutor," Rudy commanded his Pokemon as the two attacks hit the Razor Leaf attack. "Now, use Psychic attack," Rudy commanded his Pokemon, who hit Bayleef and sent her back to the wall.
"Bayleef, you okay?" Ash asked Bayleef, who nodded at this. She was stubborn as a Tauros.
"Humph, I must admit, Ash, she's like you, stubborn and very arrogant when I met you," Rudy said to Ash as Bayleef, while seeing that as a compliment got mad at this. "Use Barrage," Rudy commanded his Pokemon, who sent out a flurry of small balls at Bayleef.
"Use Ancient Power Bayleef," Ash commanded her, who launched rocks right at the Barrage and hit Exeggutor. "Use Body Slam before it can fight back," Ash commanded Bayleef, who slammed her body right at Exeggutor, which hit him but didn't end the fight.
"Use Sludge Bomb now," Rudy commanded his Exeggutor, who used it as Bayleef was on top of him before she could get off him. Bayleef was sent back to Ash. She was mad as she was stomping on the ground. As it started to shake, Ash noticed this.
"Alright, use Earthquake Bayleef," Ash commanded her, who slammed her legs on the ground as it shook Exeggutor, which caused Rudy to be shocked that she could use that.
"Exeggutor, use Egg Bomb," Rudy commanded his Pokemon, who launched the attack at Bayleef.
"Use Ancient Power Bayleef and then use Vine Whip," Ash commanded her as the Ancient Power canceled the Egg Bomb as Bayleef held Exeggutor.
"Sludge bomb now," Rudy commanded Exeggutor, who fired the attack toward Bayleef.
"Slam him to the group before he can do that, Bayleef," Ash commanded her, who did so as Exeggutor was slammed by her Vine Whip hard. "End this with a Bodyslam," Ash commanded Bayleef, who made such a move hitting Exeggutor and knocking him out.
"Exeggutor, no," Rudy said as he wasn't expecting this.
"Exeggutor is unable to battle Bayleef wins. Moving on to the next round is Ash Ketchem from Pallet Town," the ref said. Ash cheered at this as Bayleef sighed. Ash walked over to Bayleef, who smiled at Ash.
"You did great, girl, but man, that was a close battle," Ash said to Bayleef, who agreed.
"Ash, you were right that he was a formidable opponent. However, he upset me by making comparisons between us." Bayleef complained about that. Rudy walked over to Ash.
"You two did well, not going to lie, Ash. Sadly, this will probably be the last time we will see each other, given that I was invited here as a guest and not taking part in the league," Rudy said to Ash and Bayleef and offered a handshake. Ash accepted.
"Thanks, Rudy, and when you get back to Trovita, tell your little sister that Misty and I said hi, and if you talked to the other members of the Orange crew, same as well," Ash said Rudy, who nodded at this.
"Well, Sissy is here in Johto for the Whirl Cup. I can say that I haven't seen the others since you won the league," Rudy said as they walked back to the waiting room for the trainers. However, Ash and Bayleef were watched by a weird-looking group and a Bayleef beside them.
"So, my little sister had evolved as well, it seems," Bayleef said as he turned to his trainers, who nodded. "I can't wait to put her in her place to betray me like that, especially with my new growth in power courtesy of your power growth and Technician."
"Remember, Bayleef, it's still in production, and you are a test subject for this, and we can't use too much of it," James said, who was in disguise as the trainer in this tournament. "And our next opponent is Jeannette. Her Victribel gave the twerps Pokemon trouble back in the league. We'll make an excellent example of how pathetically easy she is and why your sister's trainer is weak."
"Two birds with one stone, perfect. You command I follow. Time to show my baby sister what a real trainer looks like," Bayleef said, bowing. He's much taller and looks like he's gone through a lot more brainwashing, including ones through Noctowl, even though he joined willingly.
Meanwhile, Ash returned to the waiting room as he was scoping out more of the competition of his block in this tournament again. He recognizes only a few of them, aside from Erika and Jeannette, as he sees Jeannette heading to the battlefield just as Misty and Brock walk into, congratulating Ash for his win in the match.
"Thanks, you guys, but man, Rudy didn't make that match easy for me," Ash said to the two, who sighed at this.
"Even without music, he's still strong as a trainer. No wonder he is a member of the Orange crew," Misty said to Ash as Bayleef groaned at the thought of the sound of music during battles.
"Ugh, I wouldn't like hearing any music when battling. It's a distraction. How does anyone think that is a good thing," Bayleef said as Bulbasaur nodded in agreement.
"Given that I had battled against that said Exeggutor and won barely, I can relate," Bulbasaur said to Bayleef as the two laughed.
"By the way, was that Jeannette Fisher we just saw walkout? Man, you got some good competition for this tournament, Ash?" Misty said to Ash, who nodded in agreement.
"Her, Casey, and Erika, yeah, that'll be a fun competition, and given that she is the next opponent, I feel that we'll be battling each other in the next round," Ash said as right on cue, the announcer said.
"Jeannette is out of the competition, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer finished. That shocked Ash and the others when the camera panned to her, comforting a badly hurt Victribel and a Bayleef, who looked like he hadn't taken any damage.
"Woah, I wasn't expecting that would happen. That was the Bellsprout that gave me trouble back in the Indigo League," Ash said as Bulbasaur was surprised. On the other hand, Bayleef was wide-eyed.
"B-brother, is that you?" Bayleef said aloud, seeing that Bayleef caught Ash and the others off guard as Ash ran to the Pokemon center where Jeannette was. Casey noticed this and followed Ash as her match was later in the tournament.
Ash arrived at the Pokemon Center to see Victribel in intensive care. "Jeannette, you okay?" Ash asked Jeannette, who shook her head at this.
"No, Ash, that Bayleef personally injured my Victribel and that she's out for a while," Jeannette said as Casey came in at the tail end of this. "I could barely get an attack in. With one attack, Victribel could not do anything against him," Jeannette said.
"I saw the match as well, Ash? I never saw a Bayleef that strong before, let alone take on someone known to be tough to take down," Casey said to Ash and Jeannette.
"I do," Ash said quietly, and both Jeannette and Casey were surprised to hear Ash say that. Ash explained everything about both the situation that led to Bayleef joining Ash. And Bayleef recognized her brother in the competition.
"If that is the case, then we should be able to overturn the win, shouldn't we?" Casey questioned but was interrupted by someone who was listening to this.
"And, what would you be able to do with that?" A young man with green hair, blue pants, and a purple shirt that Ash recognized instantly.
"D-Drew, what are you doing here?" Ash said, and he smiled at this.
"Fancy seeing here. Ash, it's been a long time. But I'm not here to catch up right now; it doesn't matter if you told them about the cheating. It wouldn't matter for Jeannette's case Pokemon-wise," Drew said to Ash as Casey wondered what Drew meant.
"Cause Victribel is my only grass-type on my team. That is what he means, Casey?" Jeannette said to Casey as Drew nodded at this. "According to Nurse Joy, Victribel won't be able to battle until the competition ends."
"In other words, even if we get the trainer disqualified, that wouldn't change the outcome because Jeannette is ineligible to continue. That and we don't have proof of wrongdoings? Team Rocket or not," Drew said as Ash and Jeannette nodded. "I may sound mean, don't get me wrong, you two, but you should be more focused on your upcoming matches," Drew said before turning around. "We can catch up on the day off of the competition when the top 32 happens. Until then, see you two around," Drew said before leaving. As Drew left, he heard a familiar voice talking to him.
"You may have been right about that ruling, but you could've handled it better, Drew," A young man with black hair, a green and yellow jacket, and a redshirt talked to Drew with a Grovyle by his side.
"You're here to Tyson. I thought you were in Kanto taking part in the league," Drew said to Tyson.
"And, if I recall correctly, you are also taking part in the Johto contests here and not a battler," Tyson said to Drew, who shrugged at this.
"Battles, contests, tournaments, leagues. They're all the same to me. That and contest battles do have Pokemon battles remember," Drew said before looking at him. "As for what I said? I am not taking it back, just pointing it out, and like them, I suggest you also focus on your next match because we will face each other at some point, Tyson," Drew said before leaving.
"He hasn't changed as arrogant as always but knows how to speak the truth," Tyson said before heading into the Pokemon center to check on how everyone was doing.
"Man, I know what he said is true, but I felt there should be some re-precautions for this?" Casey said to Ash, who sighed as the group could hear someone call out upon Casey saying that.
"As he said, there isn't much we can do other than try to beat the trainer," Tyson said to the group, who turned around. "Don't mind, me. I'm here worried about what happened earlier and am surprised that you two knew Drew, given that he's from Hoenn like myself," Tyson said to the group.
"Thanks for coming, Tyson, and I'll manage. You all should do as Drew said and focus on your battles," Jeannette said to Ash and the others.
"Come on. We should be heading back to the tournament. We can talk on the way there. See you around, Jeannette," Tyson said to her, who nodded.
The three of them headed back to the stadium as they talked and introduced themselves, and Ash got to meet Grovyle, who sounded like a girl. Then again, he had never met one before. Ash asked Tyson how he knew Drew.
"Well, we started as trainers simultaneously, along with another fellow Hoenn trainer doing gym badges here in Johto. His name is Harrison. We are technically rivals even though Drew was more interested in Pokemon contests than battling in the league," Tyson said to Casey and Ash. "So, how do you know him? I mean, he's not the type to stick around for long after he's done with things and rarely made friends with those he battles," Tyson asked Ash.
"I met Drew back when we were in trainers school, but it was before he moved to Hoenn," Ash told the three of them. "While his personality hadn't changed back then, we saw each other as friends, but he only was at the school for about a year before moving," Ash said to the group. "I wonder what brought him away from Hoenn?" Ash asked.
"I can answer that similar to Harrison; we wanted to start at different regions and me," Tyson said to Ash and Casey, who were now curious. "He's participating in the contests here in Johto, and the Grand festival is coming soon after this. As for me? I was invited to participate as I will participate in the Indigo league soon and couldn't say no," Tyson explained as the group arrived back at the stadium just in time for Tyson's match to happen.
The first rounds of the tournament have concluded, and the top 64 players have been selected. Ash, James, Erika, Drew, Tyson, and Casey are among them. Ash is set to face James in the next match, causing him some nerves. He needs to devise a strategy to defeat the Pokemon that had previously harmed Jeannette's Victribel and Bayleef. The next battle is scheduled for the following day.
With the grass Pokemon tournament now in full swing, and already having trouble. Ash must now face Team Rocket to progress to the next round. What do they have in store for Ash? As the grass Pokemon Tournament continues.
Stay Tuned.
Done and done, man; that chapter took a while to finish. Yes, I added two more rivals to the tournament. Don't worry for those wondering if Jackson will make his appearance. He will appear in the next chapter. As for Drew, he should be introduced in this chapter and part of this tournament, given that he has a Rosellia and Drew's the right fit for a rival for this tournament. The same goes for Tyson. Introducing him this early would benefit him later down the road. As for backstories for why Drew knew Ash, let's say that he isn't the only rival introduced in this story aside from that. It's Ash against James in the next chapter. See you all next time.