Greetings everyone, Mgunnels3 here, and welcome back to A Promise Kept Ash's Johto Journey. Let's get this chapter going, shall we?
Chapter 39: Misty, the Eeveelutions, and the Kamino Sisters
"Human Speech"
"Pokemon speech"
We joined our heroes as they explored the city, taking in the sites, given that today was the last day of their time in Ecruteak before hitting the road.
"I must say this city is so cultured, and you can see its history given what we learned in the original Tin Tower," Ash said while looking around and eating some Ice Cream. "Maybe we'll see the Komino theater later today for their performance," Ash suggested to Misty and Brock, who nodded though Misty was still thinking about the young girl from two days ago. Only to walk past the said young girl from yesterday, which Misty noticed.
"Huh? Sakura, hey," Misty called out to her, who turned around and recognized Misty.
"Misty, is that you? Oh my god, it's been a while. I thought that was you I saw at the gym two days ago," Sakura said to Misty as her Pokemon was beside her wagging its tail. Seeing Misty, Ash scanned and realized that it was a new evolution of Eevee.
"Yeah, it's been years, and I have taken that this is the young Eevee you had back when we last saw each other," Misty asked Sakura while petting Espeon on her ear, who was enjoying it.
"Yeah, she is. Many of my sisters Eevee's evolved the last time you saw them, Misty," Sakura said to Misty, and Ash and Brock were curious about how Misty knew her. The four of them went to have lunch as Misty was catching up with Sakura and then told how the two of them knew each other.
"I met Sakura when she and her four sisters visited Cerulean City a few years ago. This was before I left and met you guys. Like my big sisters, her family is also famous. If I recall correctly, your family runs the theater we planned to see today?" Misty asked Sakura, who nodded at this.
"Yeah, the theater has been run by my family for generations, and we started to go on tour-wise as of late," Sakura said to the group.
"I have taken that you are taking part in gym battles. Morty mentioned that after you left," Misty said. Sakura choked on her soda before finishing the coughing fit.
"Not so loud, Misty, please," Sakura asked Misty, and she was curious about this.
"What's wrong, Sakura? Your sisters don't know about this?" Misty questioned Sakura, who sighed at this as Espeon nuzzled Sakura's leg for comfort.
"No, they wouldn't let me. I made excuses saying that I was exploring the city during the visit. But I managed to win my gym battles," Sakura said to Misty and Brock.
"So, how many gym badges do you have," Ash whispered to Sakura, who pulled out a badge case and revealed three gym badges: Zephyr, Plain, and Fog badges were the ones she had won throughout her time in those cities.
"I see you just beat Morty the day after seeing you," Brock said to Sakura, who nodded.
"Yeah, he and Whitney gave my team some trouble, but we barely pulled through," Sakura told Brock.
"Aside from Espeon, what kind of Pokemon do you have on your team? You couldn't have one of those just with Espeon alone," Misty asked Sakura, who nodded at this.
"I have five Pokemon, four along with Espeon. Each one was actually in the areas we visited," Sakura said to Misty. "I have, Houndour, Chinchou, Chikorita, which was given to me for helping a trainer in Violet, and a Hoohoot," Sakura said to Ash and the others, who nodded at this.
"Fitting given that two of those represent four of the Eeveelutions of your sisters," Brock said as Ash looked up Chinchou which was both an Electric-type and a Water-type.
"I taken that you hid them from your sisters as well?" Brock asked Sakura, who shook her head at this.
"Aside from Chikorita, no, actually, they also had their Pokemon, and they were fine with it," Sakura said to Brock. Sakura heard her name called out. Her oldest sister was walking over to her with a Jolteon. "Ah, sorry, Sasaki, sorry was catching up with an old friend. Misty Waterflower and her friends," Sakura said to her sister, who was taken aback hearing that name before looking at Misty and instantly recognizing her.
"Misty, is that you? God, it's been too long. I heard from your sisters that you were on a journey but weren't aware you were in Johto," Sasaki said to Misty.
"We were catching up. We planned to see your show today before we left tomorrow," Misty said to Sasuki, who nodded at this and handed the group tickets.
"You earned these given that we know each other, Sakura. The show is in an hour, so you better head back soon," Sasuki said before leaving but noticed Sakura still had her badge case in her hands but left anyway.
"She hasn't changed. She reminds me of Daisy but is more overprotective," Misty said to Sakura, who was looking down and noticed that her badge case was in full view of her sister earlier. Misty noticed this as well. "You know, Sakura, you should tell them that you are more interested in your Journey than hiding this," Misty said to Sakura, who was shy but nodded.
"It's not just her sister's that she has to prove but mine," Espeon told the group.
"Huh? Is Sakura's sibling Eeveelutions your sibling as well, Espeon," Ash asked, and Espeon was taken aback by the fact that Ash could understand her but noticed that there was another Psychic-type and nodded, as did Sakura.
"Yeah, we grew up with them. Espeon is the youngest of her siblings, but instead of Sasuke's Jolteon, Tameo's Umbreon was her big brother," Sakura said to Ash and the others. Ash let out his Eevee, who was related to this but only one sibling.
"I have two brothers, Flareon and Umbreon, and one and two sisters, Jolteon and Vaporeon. They know about our travels but only do what Sakura's sisters want for us," Espeon said as Slowbro helped Sakura understand this. Sakura was surprised that her sister's Pokemon was behind letting them go but had to say no because of their trainers. Eevee heard this and was curious about the other members of her evolution line but felt terrible for Espeon and her trainer. Eevee walked over to Espeon and nuzzled her. Espeon was surprised by this.
"Eevee has an older brother who is very protective of her and joined the team. He's an Umbreon now helping one of my Pokemon for emotional support and another Pokemon helping him," Ash explained. Espeon nodded and nuzzled back at Eevee.
"Maybe you can bring her with us to this as she might like to see her evolutions during this dance, but I will try to tell them what I want to do after the theater show," Sakura said to Misty and the others.
The group was at the theater and was watching this. And saw how this dance was shown with the humans and the Pokemon, mainly the Eeveelultions that were part of it. Eevee was watching this and was impressed. Ash can tell just by looking at the Eeveelutions can tell what Espeon meant by her being the youngest. They were slightly taller than her, not to mention how they acted.
Sakura was focusing on two things in her mind. She lost focus on her dancing and almost messed up the show. Ash and the others were surprised, but luckily, they saw this in the crowd as the show ended.
"Thank you for coming, and we hope to see you again," Sasaki said before turning to Sakura. "Sakura, if you don't mind, you and your friends would come with us?" Ash and the others were curious and went backstage with Sakura, who looked nervous about what would happen. Aside from Sasuki, her sisters were reeling her in about Sakura's performance on stage and how she wasn't focused enough.
"That's enough, you three," Sasaki said to her younger sisters, who were taken aback by this. "Sakura, mind telling us about that badge case you have hidden in your hands that I saw earlier today," Sasaki said to her youngest sister.
"Please let me explain, big sister," Sakura pleaded with her sister, who held her hand out to calm her down, which Sakura did. "Go ahead and explain Sakura. I took that is what you were doing on your trips into town and would explain why your Espeon evolved as well," Sasuki said to her sister, who nodded.
"This is what my team wanted ever since Houndour joined. She was bored of his mind. We had been practicing our battles and suddenly did the gym in Violet, thinking that it would be one thing and done if I lost, but we didn't," Sakura said to her sisters.
"And you don't think your Pokemon wanted more, Sakura?" Her middle sister Sumono asked Sakura, who was taken aback by that but shook her head.
"No, I knew after that they did want to battle more. We earned three gym badges, two from the cities we've been in, and the other was here in Ecruteak just a few days ago. It was more fun than dancing and not having as much fun," Sakura said to her sisters, who looked at each other upon hearing this.
"Why didn't you tell us sooner? We could've seen how you've battled, and then we could've let you continue if you did well enough?" Tameo said as Sakura looked at her Espeon.
"According to what I heard from Ash's Slowbro, Espeon had told her siblings, and they supported her but had to follow what you wanted, not what they wanted," Sakura said, only to be interrupted by Sasuki.
"Because Espeon is your Pokemon and tied to what you are doing, not vice versa. Sakura, I wish you told us this sooner. As Tameo said, we could've done that. Now you've dragged your friends in on this," Sasuki said to his sister, who was taken aback by this.
"What are you saying, Sasuki?" Misty asked, and she pointed to Ash, not Misty.
"Him against us one-on-one battles," Sasuki answered. This took Ash aback. "If you manage to beat two of us, we'll let Sakura continue her Journey. I was going to have Sakura or one of your friends participate in this, but I see something different about you, young man, and we want to test it. You accept?" Sasuki said to Ash, who nodded at this.
"Ash, you don't have to do this? I should be a part of this battle, not you, given that it's my mess," Sakura said to Ash, who shook his head.
"No, it's okay, Sakura. I'll handle this," Ash said calmly as he knew there was more to this than just Sakura going on her own, and he could tell by how her older sister was acting. The group went out to the pound area outside the theater, owned by the sisters. Eevee was beside Ash, knowing she wanted to battle in this as Sumomo was first sent out her Vaporeon.
"Croconaw, come on out," Ash sent out his first Pokemon, a water type ready to battle. "Ladies, let's get this battle going, shall we?" Ash said to Sumomo, who nodded. Sakura was watching from the sidelines, worried, knowing that her sisters were much stronger than she was when it came to battles with their Pokemon.
"Vaporeon use Surf," Sumomo commanded her Pokemon, who used the move at Croconaw. " Croconaw, use Ice Beam," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who fired a beam of ice at the Surf, stopping it. "Now use Ancient Power," Ash commanded Croconaw, who fired the rocks at Vaporeon.
"Vaporeon, use Iron Tail and then Aurora Beam," Sumomo commanded her Pokemon. They used the two attacks knocking the Ancient Power right at Croconaw and a beam of light at Croconaw.
"Ice beam now," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who fired the attack at the Aurora Beam but was hit by his move. Vaporeon was hit as well. "Croconaw use a Water gun," Ash commanded him and fired the attack at Vaporeon, hitting it. Vaporeon gets up, growling at this.
"Your Croconaw is well raised, Ash, but we won't go down that easily, Hyper Beam now," Sumomo commanded her Vaporeon, who fired the Hyper Beam attack at Croconaw.
"Dodge it and then use Slash," Ash commanded him, who dodged barely and slashed right at Vaporeon hitting it hard-knocking it out. Croconaw puffed his chest at this victory. Ash chuckled at this. Sumomo returned Vaporeon to its ball.
"Sorry, sis, I thought that could win that," Sumomo said to Sazuki, who nodded at this. "It's fine, but this battle has just begun," Sasuki told her.
It was Tameo's turn that sent out her Umbreon. Ash nodded and got out his next Pokeball, but Eevee went out to the battlefield instead of Ash's next Pokemon, which Ash was surprised by.
"I want to see how strong the Pokemon that my brother became, Ash, please. I can handle this," Eevee said to Ash, who nodded.
"Umbreon, use Faint Attack," Tameo commanded him, who charged at Eevee and planned to hit her with it.
"Counter with Iron Tail," Ash commanded her, whose tail glowed and slammed right into Umbreon mid-attack as both were hit and sent sliding on the ground.
"Umbreon, use swift," Tameo commanded him, who launched many stars at Eevee.
"Double team now," Ash commanded Eevee, who made clones of herself.
Umbreon remained calm and looked around the clones to find the real one.
"Takedown now," Tameo commanded her Pokemon, who found the original and used the attack, hitting her and sending her to the ground but refusing to lose.
"Eevee stops. It's not worth it," Ash said, worried about her, who was getting up, refusing to let this get to her.
"No, Ash, I won't let this get to me. I'm not going to let my friend or my team down," Eevee said to Ash, who remembered this was what Girafarig said, not to mention her brother. The sun was shining bright that day. It hit Eevee's fur ironically when she said that to Ash as Eevee started to evolve Ash. Everyone was surprised as Eevee, now an Espeon, fired a Shadow ball right at Umbreon, hitting him.
"Eevee, you evolved just like your brother did," Ash said to Espeon, who looked at herself and noticed that she was like Sakura's Espeon as she glared at Umbreon.
"Bad time to evolve, Ash. Dark-type Pokemon like Umbreon is strong against Psychic-types, and Psychic-type attacks won't even touch Umbreon," Tameo told Ash, who wasn't phased by this but kept a mental note of that. "Use Shadow ball and Faint Attack," Tameo commanded Umbreon, who used the attacks on Espeon.
"Psybeam on the Shadow ball and then use Headbutt on Faint Attack," Ash commanded her, whose attacks hit their mark as both Umbreon and Espeon were evenly matched and exhausted. Only for both of them to faint simultaneously. Ash ran to Espeon, and Tameo was surprised by this. What does this mean now?
"I think that is enough battle for my judgment," Sasuki said to Sakura, who was worried, but Sasuki smiled. "You can continue your Journey, Sakura, this time without anyone telling you else, wise."
"This battle wasn't about that, was it, Sasuki?" Ash questioned Sasuki, who nodded at this.
"Your catching on, Ash. It was to help show her self-confidence," Sasuki said to Ash as Sakura was still confused. "The truth is, Sakura, we knew about you are taking part in gym battles after we returned from Goldenrod," Sasuki said to Sakura, surprised by this.
"If you knew about that, why didn't you say something or put Ash in this battle," Sakura questioned her sister as Misty stepped in.
"I think you are missing the point of why they suggested this battle Sakura," Misty said to Sakura, who looked at her, and her sisters nodded.
"This battle was also to show you how strong our Pokemon are because we allow them to be used on your team when you need our help. Your team is strong, but you will need more than that to help you in your Journey," Sumomo said to her little sister, who smiled at this.
"Thank you, and I'm sorry that I wasn't truthful about all this, but I think I am ready to go on my Journey," Sakura said to her sisters.
"Will you be going with Ash and the others?" Sasuki asked Sakura, who shook her head.
"No, I think I should be going alone, as I could win my battles alone and with my Pokemon's help. Sorry Misty, "Sakura said to Misty, who smiled at this.
"It's okay, Sakura, and you are also getting your wish," Misty said.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow with Ash and the others and then go our separate ways," Sakura said to her sisters, who smiled and gave her their blessings, as did Espeon's siblings.
The next day came as the group arrived at the fork in the road, one to Olivine and one to Mahagony town.
"Well, I think I will be heading back to Azalea Town to get my fourth gym badge and then double back here," Sakura said to the group.
"That's a good idea. As for us, I think we will be heading to Olivine City. A few tournaments are happening there, one being a fire-type tournament," Ash said to Sakura, who was now interested in this.
"Well, if that is the case, why don't I tag along and then head back to Azalea town afterward," Sakura suggested, which Ash and the others accepted her, joining them in the Tournament as they headed to the left of the fork to Olivine City.
With a new evolution and a new friend with the group, Ash is heading to Olivine City and the new Tournament along the way as the Journey continues.
Stay Tuned.
Done and done, man. Was this chapter fun to write but was a long time coming? Admit it, we all wanted Sakura to travel with Ash and the gang back in the original episode of the Anime. Even me when I first watched the episode. Sakura will be a rival in the league and will make a few appearances in the story after the next Tournament, and the Pokemon that I picked for her fits her not only because it represents her but her family with two of them. As for Eevee, you all knew that this evolution was coming, and Espeon is my favorite Eeveelution. And what Ash should've caught or owned so many times in the Anime. A new Tournament is next to a fire-type one. If you thought the trainers I brought in the grass-type one were prominent, I have more trainers planned. See you next time.