Greetings, Mgunnels3 here, and welcome back to A Promise Kept Ash's Johto Journey. Let's get this chapter going, shall we?
Chapter 43: Houndoom vs. Arcanine
"Human Speech"
"Pokemon Speech"
It's the day of the top 64. Ash and Drew were ready to face each other as they headed to the battlefield. Gary and Silver watched this from the trainer's locker room and knew that that'd be a good battle.
The audience knew that Drew only had one fire type on his team so did Ash. "Now, trainers, let out your first Pokemon," The ref announced as Ash and Drew pulled out their first Pokeballs.
"Arcanine, come on out," Drew sent out his fire-type Pokemon.
"Houndoom, come on out," Ash sent out his Pokemon. Both Fire-type canines were looking at each other, growling, ready to throw down and win for their trainers no matter what.
"Hounddom vs. Arcanine. The winner of this battle will make it to the top 32 of the Tournament. Let the battle begin," the ref announced.
"Houndoom uses Sludge Bomb," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who fired gunk of sludge at Arcanine.
"Arcanine, use Flamethrower," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who fired its attack right at the Sludge Bomb, destroying it. "Now Extreme Speed," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who charged right in at Houndoom, hitting him. Ash was surprised by this as he had never seen that attack before and thought he could teach it to Pikachu or maybe Growlithe.
"We are seeing why most consider Arcanine a legendary Pokemon, ladies and gentlemen, the speed and power of that attack, and it's not a move that any Pokemon can learn, nor is it an easy-to-master move," the announcer said.
"Dragon Rage now," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who fired it from his mouth at Houndoom.
"Faint attack now," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who dodged it and slammed right into Arcanine's side, sending him to the ground.
"Houndoom Shadow ball now," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who fired a ball of ghostly energy right at Arcanine.
"Use Crunch," Drew commanded his Pokemon, whose muzzle slammed right into the Shadow ball like it was nothing doing minimal damage to it.
"Drew wants to win this battle, I can tell. No wonder Tyson had trouble with him. I have to get around that speed and figure out how to win," Ash thought. "Houndoom, use Flamethrower," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who fired a burst of flame right at Arcanine.
"Use Dragons Rage, Arcanine," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who fired the attack at the flamethrower. The two moves clashed as Houndoom's attack was stronger and hit Arcanine. "Extreme Speed now," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who charged at Houndoom.
"Reversal now," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who slammed head-on at Arcanine's Extreme Speed, sending both of them to the ground hard.
Houndoom and Arcanine struggle to get up, growling at each other, refusing to go down for their trainers. Ash and Drew glared at each other, knowing their Pokemon were being pushed to their limits.
"Ash, you've done well so far, but I'm not going down without a fight here," Drew said to Ash, who nodded.
"I wouldn't expect less coming from you, Drew," Ash said to Drew.
"Hyper Beam now, Arcanine," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who charged up and fired right at Houndoom.
"Flamethrower now," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who fired right at the Hyper beam ending with another tie in power, causing an explosion.
"Extreme speed," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who charged at Houndoom.
"Reversal now," Ash commanded his Pokemon. They collided, sending both of them hard as both canine Pokemon struggled to get up. Once they got up, they let out a howl before panting in exhaustion from all of this. Ash groaned upon seeing this, as he wouldn't push Houndoom past the brink of exhaustion. Houndoom looked at Ash and smirked, showing he was fine and not to worry as Houndoom's horn was absorbing sunlight, as he noticed this.
"Fire Solar beam now," Ash commanded his Houndoom. This surprised Drew as Houndoom fired the solar beam right at Arcanine.
"Extreme Speed, dodge it," Drew commanded his Pokemon, who tried to dodge the attack only to be struck by the Solar Beam attack knocking it out. "Arcanine!" Drew said.
"Arcanine is unable to battle Houndoom wins moving onto the top 32 is Ash Ketchem," the ref announced as Ash ran over to Houndoom and hugged the young canine Pokemon.
"You did great, Houndoom. You earned a good rest for the Tournament, and let the others handle this for now," Ash said to Houndoom, who nodded and licked Ash, who made a chuckle.
"Thanks, Ash. Charizard and the others deserve more time in the Tournament than me," Houndoom said to Ash, who nodded. Drew returned Arcanine to his ball and walked over to Ash and Houndoom.
"Well, Ash. I must say that you impressed me in today's battle since I will be watching the rest of the Tournament to see how the rest of you will do," Drew said to Ash, holding a hand for a handshake which Ash accepted as the two returned to the stadium.
Ash was grooming Houndoom's coat from all that as Charizard, Growlithe, and Cyndaquil watched the Tournament. "You did great, kid. We'll take care of the rest of the Tournament," Charizard said to Houndoom, enjoying brushing his fur, and nodded.
"Easy, Charizard. We might need Houndoom just as much as you," Ash said to Charizard, who snorted at Ash from now on.
"Cut the kid a break, Ash. He won this for you the cause of his loyalty to you. Besides, Cyndaquil and Growlithe wanted time in the Tournament," Charizard said, grossing his claws.
"I suggest that you listen to Charizard Ash," A voice called out to Ash, a young male with red hair and a purple and black coat.
"Silver, it's been a while, and sorry, Houndoom, you earned your rest," Ash said to both Silver and Houndoom, which Houndoom sighed and nodded.
"Nice battle out there, Ash. I must say you are stronger than I thought you would be, but you'll need to be even stronger if you want to beat Damian," Silver said to Ash, who was taken aback by this as Growlithe shivered upon hearing his name, and Charizard growled at this. "Now calm down, you two; I'm also after him and a member of the Pokemon G-men and for Typhlosion," Silver said to Ash, who was taken aback by this.
"So that's what you've been doing since the day we started our Journey Silver and when you picked Bulbasaur," Ash said to Silver.
"I'm here to stop Damian, not just participate in the Johto League, Ash. Typhlosion was his first victim here in Johto as a Cyndaquil and is out to beat him. I hoped to see him here in the Tournament, but he's been hiding," Silver said, crossing his arms. "But seeing you, Drew, and Gary in the tournament makes things more interesting." Ash looked down at this. "I'll leave you be, for now, Ash. We can catch up later on. Until then, I'll leave you be," Silver said before leaving.
"What a stuck-up. What does he know about Damian and how strong he is? Do you know the guy, Ash?" Growlithe asked Ash, who nodded.
"He started his Journey the same day as Gary, Damian, and myself. He may sound rude, but he's been through a lot given that at the time I've known the guy, he's always been taking care of his mother, and to my knowledge, his father isn't around," Ash said. Charizard was about to say something, only to hear the following.
"And Ritchie is out of the competition, ladies and gentlemen," Ash and Charizard were surprised as they hoped to face Ritchie and Zippo again. "Moving on to the next round is Harrison from Littleroot Town from Hoenn," the announcer said. Ash noticed a young male with a red and purple shirt with a new fire-type Pokemon that looked like a large Chicken Ash scanned to see that it was a Pokemon called Blaziken. Charizard glared at the Pokemon.
"Caught your attention, Charizard? Given that he is the fire-starter of the Hoenn region," Drew said to Ash, and Charizard Ash was taken aback by this, as did Charizard and Cyndaquil. "So he was the guy you and Tyson talked about, and that being the fire starter of your home region now," Ash asked Drew, who nodded.
"Yeah, that is the guy I was talking about, alright, who started his Journey with Tyson and me. He's pretty good in strategies and planning out ahead in battle," Drew said to Ash, who noticed that Charizard was growling at him.
"If we face him, Ash, I want in on battling the mon who took down a fellow Charizard," Charizard said to Ash, who nodded at this.
The Tournament moved on as Blaine lost to Moore and moved on to the next round, and Daniel lost to Clair. Now was the time for the final battle of the top 64 tournaments. Paul vs. Gary.
"Now for the last match of the day, folks," the announcer said. "First is the grandson of the infamous Professor Oak and has shown why he's as strong as his ego. From Pallet Town, give it up for Gary Oak," the announcer said as the crowd cheered.
"Now for the other contestant. A man who's fierce in his battles and shows no mercy. A guy who is more than talk and shows it. From Veilstone City in Sinnoh, give it up for Paul," the announcer said as the crowd had cheers and boos from the trainers who lost to him though Paul wasn't phased. Paul held out one finger, indicating that this was a one-on-one battle. "Now let out your Pokemon, you two," the ref announced. Paul and Gary held out their Pokeballs.
"Arcanine comes on out," Gary sends out his Pokemon.
"Magmar, standby for battle," Paul sent out his Pokemon as the two fire types were out on the battlefield.
"Let's see how tough you are, Paul," Gary said to Paul, confident that he would win, who humphed at this.
"Let's see if you are worth my time and not as pathetic as your ego," Paul said as Gary growled at Paul.
With the fire-type Tournament in its final match of the top 64, the battle between Paul and Gary is about to begin. Who will come on top? As the Tournament continues.
Stay Tuned.
Done and done. This was a fun chapter to write, and leading up to Gary and Paul battling next will be fun to write. Before anyone asks? Silver and Harrisson will be a part of the Silver Conference. It's Paul vs. Gary next. See you next time.