Greetings everyone, Mgunnels3 here, and welcome back to A Promise Kept Ash's Johto Journey. Let's get this chapter started.
Chapter 45: Pushing on through
"Human Speech"
"Pokemon Speech"
Quilava dodged the Flamethrower and was ready to smash right into Magmar. "Double Kick now, Quilava," Ash commanded, slamming her two feet into Magmar.
"Thunder Punch, Magmar," Paul commanded his Pokemon, but Quilava dodged just as Magmar was about to strike.
"Flame Wheel now," Ash commanded his Pokemon, who spun and slammed into Magmar. Paul was surprised as he realized that Ash must've known Quilava could outspeed him. Though Ash remained calm during this, he knew this wouldn't be easy, and Paul wouldn't let this go unnoticed.
"Rock tomb now," Paul commanded his Pokemon, who fired the rock attack right at Quilava, hitting her.
"Quilava," Ash said as she got up, growling at Magmar. Ash knew his regular strategies against his opponents would only work once against Paul. Ash is going to need something else to win this match.
"Use Cross Chop," Paul commanded his Pokemon, whose arms glowed and charged right at Quilava.
"Smokescreen now, Quilava," Ash commanded her, who covered the battlefield in smoke as it stopped Magmar from seeing where she went.
"Ugh, clever, but that won't work. Use Flamethrower to wipe that smokescreen away," Paul commanded his Pokemon. They launched massive amounts of fire in multiple directions. As the smoke cleared, Quilava was nowhere to be seen. "What?" Paul said, then noticed a hole in the ground. "Ugh, use Flamethrower in that tunnel," Paul commanded his Pokemon, who fired it on command.
"Flame Wheel now, Quilava," Ash commanded her, who came out of the hole behind Magmar, slamming right into Magmar.
"Thunder Punch now, Magmar," Paul commanded his Pokemon, who slammed his hand into Quilava's gut hard, sending her to the ground.
"Neither Pokemon are giving an inch, folks, and yet they don't show like they are slowing down, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said as the crowd was at the edge of their seats upon seeing this.
"Man, this kid doesn't know when to quit?" Paul thought, looking at Ash's calm but determined demeanor. "What the heck are you, Ash? Most trainers throw in the towel by now or throw their strategies out of the book, but not this battle as if he's not out to prove something but to win. But how strong is he really to beat me?" Paul thought.
"Man, not many trainers I've faced since I came here to Johto gave this much trouble, but Paul is not giving an inch? His methods may be unethical, but he does know how to raise his Pokemon. That much I'll give him," Ash thought. "I can see why Quilava wanted to fight her this much, a challenge she can handle now, but we aren't done yet," Ash thought as Ash looked into Quilava's moves to see if there was something else she could use in this match and noticed one that he saw Tyson used in the grass-type Tournament.
"Lava plume, Magmar," Paul commanded his Pokemon, who blasted a burst of flames right at Quilava. Ash was surprised to hear this move for the first time.
"Flame Wheel now," Ash commanded her and rolled out of the way of the attack dodging it as Paul was getting annoyed by this strategy again.
"This again, you're going to need to do better than that, Cross Chop," Paul commanded his Pokemon, whose arms glowed and slammed into Quilava's Flame Wheel.
"Aerial Ace Quilava," Ash commanded her, who flipped and slammed right into Magmar Paul was surprised by this sending him to the ground.
"A move that we saw in the grass-type tournament that now a fire-starter in the tournament is using, it's not illegal, ladies and gentlemen, as it is a legal move for those who haven't heard of it," the announcer said as Quilava was panting as well as Magmar. "This might be the end of this battle between these two Pokemon, but who will come up on top as the victor in this battle."
"I must admit, before I end this battle, Ash, you've impressed me more than any other trainer here, even more than Casey," Paul said to Ash, who nodded.
"You're a tough opponent as well, Paul. You may have a different method of battling and view of how to raise Pokemon, but you know what you are doing," Ash returned the sentiments to Paul.
"Time to end this, Magmar Cross Chop and Thunder Punch," Paul commanded his Pokemon, whose arms glowed using the said move.
"This is it. Use Flame Wheel and Aerial Ace," Ash commander Quilava charged at Magmar. The two Pokemon's attacks collided with each other move after move, not giving each other an inch as the two landed the final blow to each other. Causing a shockwave causing an explosion on the battlefield, which can be felt throughout the stadium that didn't settle down for a while.
"This smoke isn't clearing anytime soon, ladies and gentlemen. This is the sheer power of two strong fire-type Pokemon, but the question remains who will win when the smoke clears," the announcer said as the smoke did clear. Both Quilava and Magmar were barely standing from this, staring each other down.
Paul and Ash were both surprised upon seeing this. Quilava and Magmar weren't going down that quickly, even after all that. But they can easily see that they are drained and don't have the energy to attack. Suddenly one of the two did fall. It was Magmar. Paul was surprised by this, but not as much as Ash was.
"Magmar is unable to battle Quilava. Wins moving on to the next round is Ash," the ref announced. Ash was still in shock upon hearing this as Quilava's legs gave out on her, and she fell to the ground during this. Ash ran to her and picked Quilava up.
"You did great, girl. You earned a good rest for the time being," Ash said to Quilava, who nuzzled Ash before passing out as he returned her to her Pokeball. Paul returned his Magmar to his ball as well and took his leave. Ash also left to head back to the locker room where Growlithe and Charizard were.
"What an upset, ladies and gentlemen; Paul, who was the person who forced his way and won his battles, is now out of the competition? There will be an hour break for the next match," the announcer said as Ash arrived in the locker room where Charizard and Growlithe were. Ash let out Quilava.
"Well done, kid, you shut me up out there," Charizard said to Quilava, who smiled and nuzzled him. "No more stunts like last night, though, and that goes to you, Growlithe, a former teammate of mine before Ash or not. We can't have this type of recklessness," Charizard told them.
"And who was it that approved her being in this fight after she evolved? If I recall correctly, you agreed to do so, Charizard? So you aren't the one to lecture them there," Ash said as both Quilava and Growlithe chuckled as Charizard scratched his head back and grumbled.
"Called out by my trainer and my apprentices; shut up, Ash," Charizard said to Ash, who sighed.
"You can use your Flamethrower on me whenever you want, but you did deserve that, Charizard," Ash said, to which Charizard nodded as that was fair.
Ash and his Pokemon watched the rest of the Tournament as it was going on as Clair, Moore Sakura, Silver, and Harrison all made it to the next round. As the top 16 battles were announced, Clair vs. Moore and Ash vs. Sakura were the big highlights of the next match.
"I'll take part in this one, Ash," Growlithe said to Ash, who nodded and turned to Charizard.
"What about you, Charizard?" Ash asked Charizard, who shook his head.
"I'm not going to do that to the girl. She is strong. I've watched her battles, but Houndoom should be up and ready for another battle. On the other hand, I can handle the rest of the competition," Charizard explained. Ash nodded as he headed to the Pokemon center to heal Quilava and check on Houndoom, only to see Paul leaving.
"Huh? Leaving already, Paul?" Ash asked Paul, who turned and looked at Ash and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm off to the Whirl Islands to get stronger. Don't think that this is the last we'll meet. Next time I want a full battle without the tournament rules," Paul explained to Ash, who remained calm but agreed to the terms. "Train hard today was only the beginning, Ash. Until then, I'm gone," Paul said before leaving. Ash sighed and went inside the Pokemon center to be greeted by Houndoom pouncing on Ash, licking his face as Ash laughed at this.
"Houndoom is now fully healed and can be good to go in tomorrow's battle, Ash, but don't push Houndoom like that again; same with Quilava," Nurse Joy said before taking Quilava's ball.
"So, are you okay with battling tomorrow's match against Sakura, Houndoom? "Ash asked him, who nodded and wagged his tail.
"Yeah, I just needed today's match off to get better, and thank you for letting me have this match off. I saw Quilava's fight today. She did good, though I'm surprised that Charizard let her participate, I rather not ask," Houndoom said to Ash, who nodded.
"You know that Sakura has a Houndour and possibly her sister's Flareon, so we need to plan who will battle who?" Ash said to Houndoom.
"Well, I'm not battling my pre-evolution tomorrow unless Houndour evolved. Then I'll be happy too. Until then, Growlithe can handle Houndour," Houndoom said to Ash, who nodded. Clair noticed this in the background as he was interested in Ash, given that he was a strong trainer and looked like a strong competitor in the Tournament. Ash noticed this.
"Hey, Clair, you want something? Because I noticed that you're just staring?" Ash asked her, who nodded.
"Let's just say you are different from most challengers I've seen in my gym, and your battle style reminds me of one of my cousin's challengers," Clair said to Ash, who was curious but noticed how she dressed, reminded him of Lance.
"You must be Lance's cousin. I met him before through my Uncle, who was indeed one of the former gym leaders here in Johto and was in line to be champion," Ash said to Clair, who was surprised by this.
"Huh? You're David's nephew, huh? Well, I wasn't expecting that. Anyway, I'm hoping you will face me in this Tournament and why my Charizard is interested in your Charizard. Until then, see you around," Clair said before leaving.
"That was awkward, but if I win the next round and she does as well, it seems like I will be facing a gym leader from here early on," Ash thought and smiled at this. "I need to focus on the tournament, not a gym battle," Ash thought as he took his leave.
The next round in the Tournament came, and Clair moved on to the next round as Ash and Sakura were heading out to the battlefield with Two Pokeballs ready.
"Will both trainers let out their first Pokemon," The ref announced.
"Growlithe, let's go," Ash sends out his first Pokemon.
"Hey, Ash, don't think that we are friends. That doesn't mean I will go easy on you in today's match. Houndoom comes on out," Sakura sends out her Houndoom, a shiny that Ash wasn't expecting her Houndour to be one, let alone evolved.
Things are now getting interesting in this Tournament as evolutions and challenges await Ash. As the Fire-type Tournament continues, he now has to face Sakura, who isn't the type to be quickly taken down while only having one less badge than him.
Stay tuned.
Done and done. Man, this was a rough chapter to write, not to mention how it would end battle-wise and who will face Ash in the next round. This a reminder that Pokemon Abilities should be saved until the sequel. That said, yes, I spoiled Paul. Being in the Whirl Islands, we will see him in the Whirl Cup and "Possibly" an entire battle beforehand. Let me know what you all think, as Ash vs. Sakura is next, as the Tournament only has four more chapters left. See you next time.