csrdevil
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Hello, hello! A million salutes to all those loyal Pokefans out there today. Invisible handshakes all around with those who witnessed the birth of Ash’s Greninja recently, which generated tantamount confusion as to whether or not we also saw a glimpse of “Mega Greninja”, or palpable tension in some cases as to whether it was actually Greninja-EX or not. Either way, it just looks absolutely terrific and incredible. I am loving it!
I am back again however, this time with part 2 of exclusive build up to next year’s landmark event in Pokemon, the one we’ve all been waiting for. Hold your breaths ladies and gentleman, for the Kalos League approaches.
But first, not to deter you from getting excited or to deflate your mood, I will get to my exclusive piece on the Kalos league in due time of course. Today however is all about the Johto Journeys. That’s right they couldn’t have named it better in the English dub. That is why I stole it.
Pokeball go!
The Johto Region
To all those who have been kind enough read my previous article and gracious enough to actually leave me “likes” and a few words of encouragement, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For the benefit of those who did not read it, I’d left off after I’d discussed Ash’s Kanto region exploits culminating in his stellar debut appearance in an official Pokemon League, vis-à-vis at the Indigo Plateau. Although our hero enjoyed an excellent first campaign as a novice trainer after a somewhat static showing at the gym battles, his performance still left a lot to be desired with. Especially since we realized that he has the potential to achieve even bigger and better things. A lot of us of course complained about his training regimen throughout Kanto and in particular of his handling of Charizard, which admittedly was poor and ultimately proved to be a dilemma which cost him dearly at the Indigo Plateau. But then again ladies and gentleman, he was only just a novice and a lot of his shortcomings can be overlooked for he has time on his side to hone and polish them.
And the opportunity came of course in the form of the Orange League, not a mainstream Pokemon Battle tournament, but one where there were further chances for Ash to develop as a trainer. That of course was before his excursions in Johto, which is our primary focus today. We all know what happened; Ash claimed his first major scalp as a trainer. He acquired four badges to enter the Orange Island League, this time mind you with a bit more consistency and fluency to his game and of course an absolutely rejuvenated Charizard by his side, who was starting to show everyone what it’s capable of. Having acquired the badges, he safely made it to Pumello Island to eventually set up a final meeting with Drake the Gym leader there, in a full 6v6 battle. The battle itself proved to be as topsy-turvy as you’d expect it to be, fitting perhaps to one of the most enthralling matches till date in the anime. Ash eventually prevailed of course thanks to a certain Pokemon called Pikachu. If I remember correctly, Pikachu bounced off Dragonite’s tail as it was just about to end the match with Hyperbeam, landed on its head and hung onto it for dear life. And then with all the strength it could muster unleashed one last Thunder attack, enough to finally down Drake’s robust and resilient Dragonite, who tried but was too exhausted to shake Pikachu off.
My apologies but I have to break you away from the tangles of nostalgia right now, in order to fast forward onto Ash’s imminent arrival at his hometown Pallet. Our hero no doubt was in a buoyant mood, from his impressive win at the Orange Islands and looking forward to his next adventure.
But Gary Oak had a present of his own lined up in honor of our hero’s victorious homecoming. The two resorted to battle each other (to check who has become a better trainer), not wasting a second after Gary had successfully foiled Team Rocket’s plans to steal the lab’s Pokemon. The match began with undignified comments from Ash, rubbing his Orange League Glory at Gary’s nose like a 5 year old. Gary Oak unsurprisingly came up with a nice rebuttal and sent out by far the most impressive Eevee I’d seen up to date in the anime. Ash chose Pikachu to battle and a heated exchange issued. Both Pokemon looked well matched, but Gary’s sly and foxy little Eevee proved that there was more to it than meets the eye. Tiring Pikachu out by “letting” it lay a barrage of electric and physical attacks on it, Gary’s Eevee lodged a firm counterattack which included “Reflect” to destabilise Pikachu’s all-out-attack strategy and finishing it off with a well-timed Skull Bash before Pikachu could land a telling Thunder attack.
The loss left our hero dejected but Gary Oak, surprisingly gracious as opposed to his usual smug-self consoled Ash, and told him he did “a great job”. The following morning Ash discovered that Gary had decided to continue his development as a trainer in a new region called Johto. Having already vowed to Gary that “next time it will be different”, Ash decided to follow him there as well. Tagging along for the journey were Brock and Misty as Ash set his sights on conquering Johto.
The Gym Battles
Having had a whole host of Pokemon either depart or left to breed at Proffesor Oak’s, Ash headed out with Pikachu and Charizard in his primary contingent of six. I don’t know about you guys but I was really excited, more in hope rather than anticipation, for I believed that this time he will put his Indigo Plateau demons to rest, especially now that he had regained the trust of his powerful friend. So New Bark town, the ominous (not in a bad way) sighting of the legendary Suicune and registration for the Silver Conference passed in a blur, culminating in poor Team Rocket blasting off again for stealing a Totodile from Professor Elm’s lab.
The first gym battle arrived in the form of the Violet City gym without too much commotion thankfully and Falkner, mind you, provided a very stout challenge. Nevertheless our hero managed to nick it in the end, but Charizard almost blemished its impeccable record, by nearly losing to an overgrown but nonetheless expertly trained Pidgeott. A polished and well groomed move in fire spin saw Pidgeott trapped in a vortex of flames as Charizard then used the opportunity to deliver seismic toss, ending the contest in favour of Ash, earning him his first significant victory in Johto. Now gym battle number two saw a fairly cagy affair end in favour of Ash who collected 3-2 victory. The culprit this time was Ash’s lively Cyndaquil, which had big boots to fill after Charizard and Ash had parted ways at the Charicific valley.
A typically slow starter, Cyndaquil’s lackadaisical approach to the match nearly ended up costing Ash a Bug Badge, but eventually it psyched up enough to conquered Bugsy’s lethal Scyther after Pikachu thankfully, had done the brunt of the work. The third gym battle oversaw a first stumble on the road for our hero as he lost to Whitney’s frankly awesome Miltank at the Goldenrod Gym. But eventually a bizarre rematch issued, where the Gym Leader herself proposed that Ash pit three of his Pokemon against only her Miltank. After some clever thinking, Ash eventually managed to outfox Whitney’s rollout manoeuvre by impeding Miltank’s momentum thanks to the trenches Totodile dug. Pikachu then settled the score by lodging itself underneath the trenches and a confused Miltank and launching a swift but bone crushing Thunderbolt attack which earned him the Plain Badge.
Morty of Ecruteak City followed, and despite Ghost pokemon being a type against which Ash has always traditionally struggled with, he passed with flying colours. A tense match ensued, but it there ever a gym match where one Pokemon simply seized the limelight, it was this one. After Cyndaquil brought Ash the breakthrough he needed, Noctowl came out and for all intents and purposes, stole the show. A composed performance against Haunter set up a deciding showdown with Morty’s sinister Gengar, but Noctowl was unfazed. Utilizing its newly learned move “confusion” to devastating effect, Noctowl helped Ash squeeze past Morty at the Ecruteak Gym earning him the Fog badge, a milestone which meant only one thing. Ash was halfway through on his way to the Silver Conference.
No. 5 followed, and another straightforward and less dramatic victory over Chuck of the Cianwood City Gym followed where it was Bayleef this time who impressed. Olivine City came next, but not before Ash and friends competed in the Whirl Cup.
Granted it was a water Pokemon only competition, but it was the perfect platform for someone who wishes to announce himself to the fray. Unsurprisingly our “heroes” this time, entered the tournament in high spirits. But instead of it being a springboard for Ash to mount a title challenge at the Silver conference, it proved to be the swan song for our very own Misty. It may well have been fate and perhaps a bit of luck which led to her encounter and consequent defeat of in round two. But hand in hand with arguably one of the the Pokemon of the tournament, her Corsola (which sport an incredible well refined Spike Cannon attack I must say) Misty’s pedigree was there for the world to see. Really it was like watching Andre Agassi beat Pete Sampras one last time in his prime, as Misty finally gained the better of Ash in a fiery 2v2 round of 16 battle (having lost in her previous 2 attempts). The match ended if I recall correctly, when Misty’s Psyduck having being zonked on the head, went on to unleash Confusion on Kingler and sending it flying all over the arena to deliver a knockout blow. Misty reached the quarterfinals before being eventually knocked out by a trainer named Trinity and her Chinchou.
At last it was time for our heroes to turn their attentions again to Olivine City again and quite frankly I was delighted with the debut of (Jasmine the Gym Leader’s) Steelix. It had a sense of undeterred purpose about it and was a perfect match with Jasmine’s unusual defensive strategies. A “steely” battle to say the least but again Ash showed flashes of what he is renowned for, the uncanny ability to manoeuvre tight situations with unorthodox thinking. It still wasn’t all last minute brilliance. But a switch from offensive to defensive tactics followed and a good spell for Cyndaquil, which saw it giving Steelix a taste of its own medicine. A bizarre game of “hammer the hamster” ensued as Cyndaquil dived into the very holes dug by Steelix and kept frustrating Steelix by sudedenly popping out of the ground landing quick and precise flamethrowers at is body, no doubt causing incremental damage in the process. Steelix though still held its nerve and was probably one critical hit away from victory, before Ash’s Cyndaquil turned Steelix’s own move against it. A flamethrower which managed to turn a defensive sandstorm into a blazing inferno, eventually proved one too many for brave Steelix as it collapsed finally defeated. The Mineral badge now belonged to Ash.
Now, “Icy Pryce” didn’t exactly provide anything juicy to write home about. In truth Ash collected the Glacier badge in somewhat dubious circumstances, where the gym leader threw in towel to protect his beloved and recently returned Piloswine. Pikachu was accredited with the win and in all honesty, no matter how misleading the anime might have been, it was dictating the match after a while. As such onwards and upwards toward Blackthrone city!
One final gym left to visit and my word, it proved to be worth the wait. Readers may remember we were perplexed and frankly outraged at Ash’s decision to leave Charizard with Liza at the Charicific Valley, with some thinking that it is going to be limited to sporadic appearances, while some even feared that it has left Ash’s team for good. Thus imagine my delight when it emerged from the shadows in “Great Bowls Of Fire” and was included in the line up to face Blackthorne Gym leader Clair and her Dragonair, who was a menacing and devilishly difficult opponent to negotiate despite all its outward cuteness. But no matter, our hero and in particular the now increasingly potent and lithely destructive Charizard relished these meetings. And they were given the contest they were hoping it would be. At one stage Clair looked as if she was going to force him into a second retry (the first battle was cancelled due to interference from Team Rocket, where frankly Clair and her Kingdra dictated the proceedings). But Ash Ketchum chose the perfect moment to turn on the style. Charizard managed to nullify Dragonair’s Iron tail with seismic toss no less and then before Dragonair could land a critical attack in Hyperbeam, Charizard used Fire Spin, the very attack which had evaporated all the water in the battle field moments before. Scoring a bulls-eye with that attack Charizard then locked Dragonair in a powerful bear hug and tossed it into the ground almost effortlessly. The eighth and final gym badge (Rising badge) was now Ash’s, at the expense of Dragonair who was grossly outmuscled in the end.
That ladies and gentlemen concludes my short summary of all the Gym battles. Readers, our hero was on song at that point, his earlier excursion with Gary in Pallet town was still fresh in his mind and an entry onto the Silver conference beckoned, and with hopes of Charizard’s participation in the tournament, the stage looked all set. But has it been all smooth sailing?
Let’s get one thing out of the way. It was a vastly improved performance from Satoshi when compared to his exploits in the Kanto gyms, where he rode his luck at times. Although there were a few stumbles along the way, the gym battles indeed (in my opinion anyway) seemed to leave a substantial effect on our hero’s morale. More importantly though, the level of consistency demonstrated, silenced a few of his doubters. Now whether that morale will have a profusive effect when it finally comes down to place where it matters most, still remained to be seen. But the Silver Conference nonetheless was a time for our hero to re-invent himself and shift gears again, as he looked to the horizon in belief.
The Silver Conference
It wasn’t nerves that haunted me when our hero finally made it to Mt. Silver, but it was perhaps the fear of being complacent as Gary made him out to be or falling short when it mattered. The build-up obviously circled around the Gary Oak –Ash Ketchum rivalry, and it was at breaking point when the two re-discovered each other at the Silver Conference. With little time to ponder over the finer details, Ash nevertheless entered the tournament in high spirits. Pitted against Salvador from Cherrygrove City and his Furret in a one on one qualifier (which I’ve stated vehemently is an unfair format), Ash found his work cut out for him when Salvador began demonstrating how clever and well trained his Furret is. But even he jolted in surprise when Pikachu, ever growing in stature now, unleashed an almighty thunderbolt which made him exclaim and say,
“Wow that was a thunderbolt!?”
You can probably guess what happened to poor Furret then, stopped dead in its hide and seek game in the battlefield, its resistance finally broken by a deft Quick Attack by Pikachu. Phanpy and Cyndaquil ensured Ash had no further troubles in the preliminary screening process. Thus Ash qualified for the “group stages”. There is a very good reason I have put quotation marks on the words “group stages”. Well firstly, because that was the only time this system was implemented in an official Pokemon League and quite frankly that is the way all the other tournaments should have been conceived (I have argued this in detail in my previous articles).
Moving on though, he was seeded in an interesting group which featured the duo of Macy, who favoured fire type Pokemon (and had a crush on Ash) and Jackson from Twinleaf Town who trained a feisty looking Meganium. His first match was against Macy, who dominated him at the early stages of the match with her Slugma and Quilava in tandem. But who would’ve predicted this. Fresh from its exploits with the Squirtle Squad, Ash’s Squirtle came down and instigated a comeback, which even good old Kingler would have been proud of. Entering the match as Ash’s last resort and faced with a clear disadvantage in the form of Macy’s Electabuzz, Squirtle delivered a performance to remember. Squirtle tabled perhaps everything it had ever learned in its life uptil that point in one of the performances of the tournament. Squirtle frustrated Electabuzz first with its evasive tactics to eventually bash it and trash it with Skull Bash. And then it stole the match from right underneath Macy’s nose, by stopping Quilava in its tracks with a “spinning” hydropump attack, something I still cannot forget till today. Thus it earned Ash his first win at the group stages and put three precious points at the table.
Macy however did win her second match, ousting everything Jackson threw at her, who in the end was no match for her fiery spirit. The final must win group game against Ash followed and surprise surprise, his Magneton turned the heat on for Ash. Why? Because a victory for Jackson meant that the group will extend into an extra round, and that might prove to be tricky for our hero to circumvent. Nonetheless 2-1 down and nowhere to go, Ash sent out Bulbasaur who like Squirtle was absolutely determined to prove whoever doubted its pedigree at the Kanto region. Taking the match by the scruff of its neck Bulbasaur dispatched Jackson’s Magneton with finesse, sapping its energy out first with a well-aimed leech seed before hooking it onto its vines and sending it flying all around the stadium. That victory consequently set up a tie breaker with Meganium. We all know the heated exchange Bulbasaur had with Meganium prior to their battle and it indeed seemed they were battling it out as Brock succinctly put it “for the pride of being grass Pokemon”. And none of them gave each other an inch exchanging blow after blow, attack after attack, eventually tiring and cancelling each other out as the match ended in a draw. But our hero couldn’t care less. Bulbasaur’s heroic rescue meant that he’d qualified for the knockout stages. In parallel but significantly so, Gary Oak had also progressed comfortably from his group at the Silver Conference. The developers now simply couldn’t wait any longer. Ash was drawn against Gary Oak in his round of sixteen.
In time the round of 16 approached, and memories of Ash’s desperate and in the end hapless display Ritchie came rushing back and his opponent this time didn’t make matters any easier. Even Professor Oak seemed torn between support for both his grandson and his protégée, but nonetheless was also enthralled and intrigued by the prospect of what the matchup between the two brings. The night before the match established a sort of peace treaty between the two trainers as nostalgia and past promises succeeded in making a breakthrough in their strenuous relationship. All in all it made for a mouth-watering prelude to what lay ahead. And by God, it did not disappoint.
The very ground shook and my feet turned ice cold as I propped up on the sofa to watch this titanic clash between two of the most defining characters in the anime series. Gary Oak though drew first blood, sending out his Nidoqueen who quite simply bullied Taurus and Hyperbeamed it into submission. Ash’s strategy for the match was to select a robust team of Pokemon who preferred power and precision rather than speed and agility. But it all looked set to go downhill after Nidoqueen had initially put Ash’s carefully devised plan to the sword. And things took a turn for the worse when Ash unwittingly sent out his bug-type Heracross next to battle Gary’s Magmar who wasted no time in engulfing it in flames, at which point I was tearing my hair out. But what happened next will forever be etched in Pokemon folk lore.
Rising from the inferno and dissipating the flames with one powerful swipe of its buzzing wings, Heracross instigated a comeback which was soon to make it the stuff of legends. Unfazed by another direct flamethrower and driving straight at the now dazed Magmar and to an extent a shocked Gary, Heracross absolutely pulverized it with an almighty mega horn attack, prompting wild cheers and a fist pump from our hero (and me). Ha, you really didn’t think he is gonna go down that easy did ya?
Shaken but undeterred Gary sent his ace in the hole his Blastoise out this time who unfortunately simply outclassed Heracross, landing a hydropump attack which actually crushed a full sized boulder before it dealt a fatal blow to Heracross. Best hydropump I’d ever see to date. And it made short work of Ash’s Bayleef as well who was drafted into the battle after Muk had failed to even lay a dent onBlastoise. Poor thing got tossed about by Blastoise after it had foolishly tried to land a body slam attack on an opponent twice its size.
Outplayed and now down by three Pokémon to Gary’s one, the referee’s call for a 5-minute intermission which came as a welcome relief for Ash. Our hero gathered his troops and contemplated on how best to launch a counterattack. And it was some response he came up with.
After a brief respite Ash came out to face the music again and this time sent out Snorlax to get him a breakthrough in the match, while Gary resumed with Arcanine to preserve his seemingly unstoppable Blastoise for last. Arcanine began proceedings using take down as an excuse to charge straight at Snorlax, who responded with a “you miss buddy and I hit” body slam. Arcanine predictably evaded the attack being more mobile than its counterpart and proceeded to engulf Snorlax in flames with a Fire Spin. But if there was one thing Snorlax is renowned for (apart from its incredibly potent stomach), is its endurance. Seemingly untroubled and unblemished from the flames Snorlax suddenly unleashed a powerful Hyperbeam at Arcanine who took it square in the chest and never got up.
Nidoqueen was sent back out, but there was absolutely no stopping Ash’s Snorlax at that point. In one of the more defining performances in its career, Snorlax took the brunt of a powerful double kick attack by Nidoqueen and then ducked (yes ducked) a hyperbeam aimed at it with laser-like precision and KO-ed Nidoqueen by slamming an Ice Punch on its jaws. Its contributions restored some much needed parity between Ash and Gary.
Gary's though responded by sending his Scizor out to face Snorlax at a appoint in the battle where the pendulum can swing in anyone’s favour. And with Scizor boasting lightning quick pace compared to Ash’s somewhat lethargic Snorlax, finally managed to gain the upper hand when it landed a metal claw on Snorlax’s face just as it was about to let loose another Hyper Beam. With an agile opponent like Scizor in the fray, Ash had his work cut out with the muscle heavy team he had favored. As such Muk’s re-entry into the battle was probably a foregone conclusion, with Ash doing the smart thing by saving his last undamaged Pokemon for a final push. Credit to Muk though it did give Scizor a run for its money, as its unique physique seems to render almost all physical attacks obsolete. Scizor though kept at it and used Metal Claw again, this time decisively, as an impervious Muk who thought that it had gorged out Scizor’s attack again again, found itself being launched into the air. A precise and powerful swift attack later, Muk was history.
Now down to one Pokémon against three, Ash finally played his trump card. Charizard emerged gleaming from the depths of its Pokeball and even Gary acknowledged that here at last is a Pokemon, that can’t be trifled with.
With a bid to unsettle Charizard immediately, Gary ordered Scizor to lunge at it with Steel Wing. Charizard though filled its capacious lungs with air and countered with rasping flamethrower which Scizor just about managed to evade. However this time Ash refused to lend Scizor a moment of respite. He ordered Charizard to take to the air and hound it down. Thus before Scizor and indeed a shocked Gary could react to Charizard’s surprising speed, it’d landed a super-effective flamethrower on Scizor’s face announcing that him and Ash, were not quite done yet.
Undaunted though, Gary sent his out next to try its luck against Charizard but to no avail. If I remember correctly, Charizard sent Golem’s rollout out attack back where it came from with a colossal Dragon Rage, which poor Golem found a bit too hot to handle.
Down now to the breadcrumbs but never for a second wishing it to end, the end game will determine restitution for one and for the other, it will restore pride and stoke the desire of being Pokemon Master to burn ever brighter. With only one outcome left Gary’s sent his Blastoise oput for one last battle with Ash’s Charizard.
Charizard's opening Flamethrower was literally laced with the passion that burned within Ash’s heart. But sporting a much more deflated ego and a now galvanized psyche, Gary deflected the flames with another nifty Rapid Spin and countered with a super-effective Hydro Pump which would have proved decisive, if it were any other fire Pokemon. Consequently though, Blastoise began dictating the match repelling Charizard’s long range fire type moves with ease, which lacked any conviction to begin with given the type disadvantage. As frustrations grew our hero attempted one final throw of the dice in a desperate attempt to dethrone Blastoise. And again, it was that ingenious bit of thinking that had cut tight corners for him before.
Ordering Charizard to “attack the battlefield” instead of Blastoise Ash’s set the whole arena ablaze, converting it into an overheated sauna which threatened to evaporate even a resilient water Pokemon like Blastoise. Although Blastoise used hydropump to cool things down again, the steam that issued from the flaming rocks provided the very opening that Ash and Charizard needed. Once the steam cleared and we saw Charizard locked in close combat with Blastoise and then after an unsuccessful dragon rage, Chariozard gripped it into an unbreakable bear hug and took to the skies. Despite its futile attempts to escape using bite, Blastoise was no match for Charizard’s upper body strength (credit goes to Liza here). And then with a finality that reverberated around the stadium Charizard delivered one last iconic seismic toss attack.
When the smoke and dust had cleared a bit of drama ensued when we found Blastoise still standing. But a few tense heartbeats later it collapsed, surrendering to an opponent who was simply more determined and slightly more skilful than it was, on the day. Our hero stood there in awe for a few moments before realizing what that meant and literally jumped in delight as he progressed to the quarterfinals of the Johto league.
Dear readers, his hard work had finally come to fruition as Ash entered the quarter-final stages of a major Pokemon League tournament, for the first time in his career, a step closer now to realize his dream of becoming Pokemon Master. But sadly his joy was short lived, for one Harrison from Littleroot town abruptly ended our hero’s excellent campaign. A yet to be fully discovered entity (sporting Pokemon from “Hoenn”), Harrison just about edged Ash in a battle which was on a knife’s edge for most of its duration. Although Ash’s capitulation generated bouts of disappointment among his loyal supporters, a sense of content was also felt many ways and not to mention the great memories that came along with it. The Silver Conference did finally seem like the springboard everybody had hoped it would be. At it promised us this much.
Ash’s MVP For The Johto Region
Many baulked and cried rivers of tears when Charizard simply refused to acknowledge Ash’s existence as its trainer in the Indigo League. Many may have been unconvinced when Charizard chose to remain behind in Charicific Valley, even though it looked set to form a fruitful partnership with him having sorted out their differences. Many might have even thought it was good riddance, as such Ash can concentrate on developing those who are much more loyal to him. How very wrong they were.
With one quarter of the gym battles in Johto under its belt and a stellar Johto League campaign which silenced its critics, Charizard proved to be a nightmare for both Gary and Harrison (whose Blaziken even though it just shaded Charizard that day was rendered obsolete for Harrison’s next match, which he lost). It was after that very tournament, in fact after that victory against Poliwhirl (which still seems like it happened yesterday), Charizard slowly began accumulating a reputation for itself which today will undoubtedly strike fear into the hearts of any opponent it faces. Now rested and galvanised thanks to time spent wisely with Liza not to mention Mega Evolution as a possibility (something I’m still strongly opposed to), the Kalos League cannot come sooner for Charizard.
Conclusion
Hey guys, thank you for reading, part two of my build up to the Kalos League. Be sure to check in regularly, as I breakdown the Hoenn region next for part 3 of my project.
Until next time. Take care and keep watching the greatest anime show on earth.
I am back again however, this time with part 2 of exclusive build up to next year’s landmark event in Pokemon, the one we’ve all been waiting for. Hold your breaths ladies and gentleman, for the Kalos League approaches.
But first, not to deter you from getting excited or to deflate your mood, I will get to my exclusive piece on the Kalos league in due time of course. Today however is all about the Johto Journeys. That’s right they couldn’t have named it better in the English dub. That is why I stole it.
Pokeball go!
The Johto Region
To all those who have been kind enough read my previous article and gracious enough to actually leave me “likes” and a few words of encouragement, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For the benefit of those who did not read it, I’d left off after I’d discussed Ash’s Kanto region exploits culminating in his stellar debut appearance in an official Pokemon League, vis-à-vis at the Indigo Plateau. Although our hero enjoyed an excellent first campaign as a novice trainer after a somewhat static showing at the gym battles, his performance still left a lot to be desired with. Especially since we realized that he has the potential to achieve even bigger and better things. A lot of us of course complained about his training regimen throughout Kanto and in particular of his handling of Charizard, which admittedly was poor and ultimately proved to be a dilemma which cost him dearly at the Indigo Plateau. But then again ladies and gentleman, he was only just a novice and a lot of his shortcomings can be overlooked for he has time on his side to hone and polish them.
And the opportunity came of course in the form of the Orange League, not a mainstream Pokemon Battle tournament, but one where there were further chances for Ash to develop as a trainer. That of course was before his excursions in Johto, which is our primary focus today. We all know what happened; Ash claimed his first major scalp as a trainer. He acquired four badges to enter the Orange Island League, this time mind you with a bit more consistency and fluency to his game and of course an absolutely rejuvenated Charizard by his side, who was starting to show everyone what it’s capable of. Having acquired the badges, he safely made it to Pumello Island to eventually set up a final meeting with Drake the Gym leader there, in a full 6v6 battle. The battle itself proved to be as topsy-turvy as you’d expect it to be, fitting perhaps to one of the most enthralling matches till date in the anime. Ash eventually prevailed of course thanks to a certain Pokemon called Pikachu. If I remember correctly, Pikachu bounced off Dragonite’s tail as it was just about to end the match with Hyperbeam, landed on its head and hung onto it for dear life. And then with all the strength it could muster unleashed one last Thunder attack, enough to finally down Drake’s robust and resilient Dragonite, who tried but was too exhausted to shake Pikachu off.
My apologies but I have to break you away from the tangles of nostalgia right now, in order to fast forward onto Ash’s imminent arrival at his hometown Pallet. Our hero no doubt was in a buoyant mood, from his impressive win at the Orange Islands and looking forward to his next adventure.
But Gary Oak had a present of his own lined up in honor of our hero’s victorious homecoming. The two resorted to battle each other (to check who has become a better trainer), not wasting a second after Gary had successfully foiled Team Rocket’s plans to steal the lab’s Pokemon. The match began with undignified comments from Ash, rubbing his Orange League Glory at Gary’s nose like a 5 year old. Gary Oak unsurprisingly came up with a nice rebuttal and sent out by far the most impressive Eevee I’d seen up to date in the anime. Ash chose Pikachu to battle and a heated exchange issued. Both Pokemon looked well matched, but Gary’s sly and foxy little Eevee proved that there was more to it than meets the eye. Tiring Pikachu out by “letting” it lay a barrage of electric and physical attacks on it, Gary’s Eevee lodged a firm counterattack which included “Reflect” to destabilise Pikachu’s all-out-attack strategy and finishing it off with a well-timed Skull Bash before Pikachu could land a telling Thunder attack.
The loss left our hero dejected but Gary Oak, surprisingly gracious as opposed to his usual smug-self consoled Ash, and told him he did “a great job”. The following morning Ash discovered that Gary had decided to continue his development as a trainer in a new region called Johto. Having already vowed to Gary that “next time it will be different”, Ash decided to follow him there as well. Tagging along for the journey were Brock and Misty as Ash set his sights on conquering Johto.
The Gym Battles
Having had a whole host of Pokemon either depart or left to breed at Proffesor Oak’s, Ash headed out with Pikachu and Charizard in his primary contingent of six. I don’t know about you guys but I was really excited, more in hope rather than anticipation, for I believed that this time he will put his Indigo Plateau demons to rest, especially now that he had regained the trust of his powerful friend. So New Bark town, the ominous (not in a bad way) sighting of the legendary Suicune and registration for the Silver Conference passed in a blur, culminating in poor Team Rocket blasting off again for stealing a Totodile from Professor Elm’s lab.
The first gym battle arrived in the form of the Violet City gym without too much commotion thankfully and Falkner, mind you, provided a very stout challenge. Nevertheless our hero managed to nick it in the end, but Charizard almost blemished its impeccable record, by nearly losing to an overgrown but nonetheless expertly trained Pidgeott. A polished and well groomed move in fire spin saw Pidgeott trapped in a vortex of flames as Charizard then used the opportunity to deliver seismic toss, ending the contest in favour of Ash, earning him his first significant victory in Johto. Now gym battle number two saw a fairly cagy affair end in favour of Ash who collected 3-2 victory. The culprit this time was Ash’s lively Cyndaquil, which had big boots to fill after Charizard and Ash had parted ways at the Charicific valley.
A typically slow starter, Cyndaquil’s lackadaisical approach to the match nearly ended up costing Ash a Bug Badge, but eventually it psyched up enough to conquered Bugsy’s lethal Scyther after Pikachu thankfully, had done the brunt of the work. The third gym battle oversaw a first stumble on the road for our hero as he lost to Whitney’s frankly awesome Miltank at the Goldenrod Gym. But eventually a bizarre rematch issued, where the Gym Leader herself proposed that Ash pit three of his Pokemon against only her Miltank. After some clever thinking, Ash eventually managed to outfox Whitney’s rollout manoeuvre by impeding Miltank’s momentum thanks to the trenches Totodile dug. Pikachu then settled the score by lodging itself underneath the trenches and a confused Miltank and launching a swift but bone crushing Thunderbolt attack which earned him the Plain Badge.
Morty of Ecruteak City followed, and despite Ghost pokemon being a type against which Ash has always traditionally struggled with, he passed with flying colours. A tense match ensued, but it there ever a gym match where one Pokemon simply seized the limelight, it was this one. After Cyndaquil brought Ash the breakthrough he needed, Noctowl came out and for all intents and purposes, stole the show. A composed performance against Haunter set up a deciding showdown with Morty’s sinister Gengar, but Noctowl was unfazed. Utilizing its newly learned move “confusion” to devastating effect, Noctowl helped Ash squeeze past Morty at the Ecruteak Gym earning him the Fog badge, a milestone which meant only one thing. Ash was halfway through on his way to the Silver Conference.
No. 5 followed, and another straightforward and less dramatic victory over Chuck of the Cianwood City Gym followed where it was Bayleef this time who impressed. Olivine City came next, but not before Ash and friends competed in the Whirl Cup.
Granted it was a water Pokemon only competition, but it was the perfect platform for someone who wishes to announce himself to the fray. Unsurprisingly our “heroes” this time, entered the tournament in high spirits. But instead of it being a springboard for Ash to mount a title challenge at the Silver conference, it proved to be the swan song for our very own Misty. It may well have been fate and perhaps a bit of luck which led to her encounter and consequent defeat of in round two. But hand in hand with arguably one of the the Pokemon of the tournament, her Corsola (which sport an incredible well refined Spike Cannon attack I must say) Misty’s pedigree was there for the world to see. Really it was like watching Andre Agassi beat Pete Sampras one last time in his prime, as Misty finally gained the better of Ash in a fiery 2v2 round of 16 battle (having lost in her previous 2 attempts). The match ended if I recall correctly, when Misty’s Psyduck having being zonked on the head, went on to unleash Confusion on Kingler and sending it flying all over the arena to deliver a knockout blow. Misty reached the quarterfinals before being eventually knocked out by a trainer named Trinity and her Chinchou.
At last it was time for our heroes to turn their attentions again to Olivine City again and quite frankly I was delighted with the debut of (Jasmine the Gym Leader’s) Steelix. It had a sense of undeterred purpose about it and was a perfect match with Jasmine’s unusual defensive strategies. A “steely” battle to say the least but again Ash showed flashes of what he is renowned for, the uncanny ability to manoeuvre tight situations with unorthodox thinking. It still wasn’t all last minute brilliance. But a switch from offensive to defensive tactics followed and a good spell for Cyndaquil, which saw it giving Steelix a taste of its own medicine. A bizarre game of “hammer the hamster” ensued as Cyndaquil dived into the very holes dug by Steelix and kept frustrating Steelix by sudedenly popping out of the ground landing quick and precise flamethrowers at is body, no doubt causing incremental damage in the process. Steelix though still held its nerve and was probably one critical hit away from victory, before Ash’s Cyndaquil turned Steelix’s own move against it. A flamethrower which managed to turn a defensive sandstorm into a blazing inferno, eventually proved one too many for brave Steelix as it collapsed finally defeated. The Mineral badge now belonged to Ash.
Now, “Icy Pryce” didn’t exactly provide anything juicy to write home about. In truth Ash collected the Glacier badge in somewhat dubious circumstances, where the gym leader threw in towel to protect his beloved and recently returned Piloswine. Pikachu was accredited with the win and in all honesty, no matter how misleading the anime might have been, it was dictating the match after a while. As such onwards and upwards toward Blackthrone city!
One final gym left to visit and my word, it proved to be worth the wait. Readers may remember we were perplexed and frankly outraged at Ash’s decision to leave Charizard with Liza at the Charicific Valley, with some thinking that it is going to be limited to sporadic appearances, while some even feared that it has left Ash’s team for good. Thus imagine my delight when it emerged from the shadows in “Great Bowls Of Fire” and was included in the line up to face Blackthorne Gym leader Clair and her Dragonair, who was a menacing and devilishly difficult opponent to negotiate despite all its outward cuteness. But no matter, our hero and in particular the now increasingly potent and lithely destructive Charizard relished these meetings. And they were given the contest they were hoping it would be. At one stage Clair looked as if she was going to force him into a second retry (the first battle was cancelled due to interference from Team Rocket, where frankly Clair and her Kingdra dictated the proceedings). But Ash Ketchum chose the perfect moment to turn on the style. Charizard managed to nullify Dragonair’s Iron tail with seismic toss no less and then before Dragonair could land a critical attack in Hyperbeam, Charizard used Fire Spin, the very attack which had evaporated all the water in the battle field moments before. Scoring a bulls-eye with that attack Charizard then locked Dragonair in a powerful bear hug and tossed it into the ground almost effortlessly. The eighth and final gym badge (Rising badge) was now Ash’s, at the expense of Dragonair who was grossly outmuscled in the end.
That ladies and gentlemen concludes my short summary of all the Gym battles. Readers, our hero was on song at that point, his earlier excursion with Gary in Pallet town was still fresh in his mind and an entry onto the Silver conference beckoned, and with hopes of Charizard’s participation in the tournament, the stage looked all set. But has it been all smooth sailing?
Let’s get one thing out of the way. It was a vastly improved performance from Satoshi when compared to his exploits in the Kanto gyms, where he rode his luck at times. Although there were a few stumbles along the way, the gym battles indeed (in my opinion anyway) seemed to leave a substantial effect on our hero’s morale. More importantly though, the level of consistency demonstrated, silenced a few of his doubters. Now whether that morale will have a profusive effect when it finally comes down to place where it matters most, still remained to be seen. But the Silver Conference nonetheless was a time for our hero to re-invent himself and shift gears again, as he looked to the horizon in belief.
The Silver Conference
It wasn’t nerves that haunted me when our hero finally made it to Mt. Silver, but it was perhaps the fear of being complacent as Gary made him out to be or falling short when it mattered. The build-up obviously circled around the Gary Oak –Ash Ketchum rivalry, and it was at breaking point when the two re-discovered each other at the Silver Conference. With little time to ponder over the finer details, Ash nevertheless entered the tournament in high spirits. Pitted against Salvador from Cherrygrove City and his Furret in a one on one qualifier (which I’ve stated vehemently is an unfair format), Ash found his work cut out for him when Salvador began demonstrating how clever and well trained his Furret is. But even he jolted in surprise when Pikachu, ever growing in stature now, unleashed an almighty thunderbolt which made him exclaim and say,
“Wow that was a thunderbolt!?”
You can probably guess what happened to poor Furret then, stopped dead in its hide and seek game in the battlefield, its resistance finally broken by a deft Quick Attack by Pikachu. Phanpy and Cyndaquil ensured Ash had no further troubles in the preliminary screening process. Thus Ash qualified for the “group stages”. There is a very good reason I have put quotation marks on the words “group stages”. Well firstly, because that was the only time this system was implemented in an official Pokemon League and quite frankly that is the way all the other tournaments should have been conceived (I have argued this in detail in my previous articles).
Moving on though, he was seeded in an interesting group which featured the duo of Macy, who favoured fire type Pokemon (and had a crush on Ash) and Jackson from Twinleaf Town who trained a feisty looking Meganium. His first match was against Macy, who dominated him at the early stages of the match with her Slugma and Quilava in tandem. But who would’ve predicted this. Fresh from its exploits with the Squirtle Squad, Ash’s Squirtle came down and instigated a comeback, which even good old Kingler would have been proud of. Entering the match as Ash’s last resort and faced with a clear disadvantage in the form of Macy’s Electabuzz, Squirtle delivered a performance to remember. Squirtle tabled perhaps everything it had ever learned in its life uptil that point in one of the performances of the tournament. Squirtle frustrated Electabuzz first with its evasive tactics to eventually bash it and trash it with Skull Bash. And then it stole the match from right underneath Macy’s nose, by stopping Quilava in its tracks with a “spinning” hydropump attack, something I still cannot forget till today. Thus it earned Ash his first win at the group stages and put three precious points at the table.
Macy however did win her second match, ousting everything Jackson threw at her, who in the end was no match for her fiery spirit. The final must win group game against Ash followed and surprise surprise, his Magneton turned the heat on for Ash. Why? Because a victory for Jackson meant that the group will extend into an extra round, and that might prove to be tricky for our hero to circumvent. Nonetheless 2-1 down and nowhere to go, Ash sent out Bulbasaur who like Squirtle was absolutely determined to prove whoever doubted its pedigree at the Kanto region. Taking the match by the scruff of its neck Bulbasaur dispatched Jackson’s Magneton with finesse, sapping its energy out first with a well-aimed leech seed before hooking it onto its vines and sending it flying all around the stadium. That victory consequently set up a tie breaker with Meganium. We all know the heated exchange Bulbasaur had with Meganium prior to their battle and it indeed seemed they were battling it out as Brock succinctly put it “for the pride of being grass Pokemon”. And none of them gave each other an inch exchanging blow after blow, attack after attack, eventually tiring and cancelling each other out as the match ended in a draw. But our hero couldn’t care less. Bulbasaur’s heroic rescue meant that he’d qualified for the knockout stages. In parallel but significantly so, Gary Oak had also progressed comfortably from his group at the Silver Conference. The developers now simply couldn’t wait any longer. Ash was drawn against Gary Oak in his round of sixteen.
In time the round of 16 approached, and memories of Ash’s desperate and in the end hapless display Ritchie came rushing back and his opponent this time didn’t make matters any easier. Even Professor Oak seemed torn between support for both his grandson and his protégée, but nonetheless was also enthralled and intrigued by the prospect of what the matchup between the two brings. The night before the match established a sort of peace treaty between the two trainers as nostalgia and past promises succeeded in making a breakthrough in their strenuous relationship. All in all it made for a mouth-watering prelude to what lay ahead. And by God, it did not disappoint.
The very ground shook and my feet turned ice cold as I propped up on the sofa to watch this titanic clash between two of the most defining characters in the anime series. Gary Oak though drew first blood, sending out his Nidoqueen who quite simply bullied Taurus and Hyperbeamed it into submission. Ash’s strategy for the match was to select a robust team of Pokemon who preferred power and precision rather than speed and agility. But it all looked set to go downhill after Nidoqueen had initially put Ash’s carefully devised plan to the sword. And things took a turn for the worse when Ash unwittingly sent out his bug-type Heracross next to battle Gary’s Magmar who wasted no time in engulfing it in flames, at which point I was tearing my hair out. But what happened next will forever be etched in Pokemon folk lore.
Rising from the inferno and dissipating the flames with one powerful swipe of its buzzing wings, Heracross instigated a comeback which was soon to make it the stuff of legends. Unfazed by another direct flamethrower and driving straight at the now dazed Magmar and to an extent a shocked Gary, Heracross absolutely pulverized it with an almighty mega horn attack, prompting wild cheers and a fist pump from our hero (and me). Ha, you really didn’t think he is gonna go down that easy did ya?
Shaken but undeterred Gary sent his ace in the hole his Blastoise out this time who unfortunately simply outclassed Heracross, landing a hydropump attack which actually crushed a full sized boulder before it dealt a fatal blow to Heracross. Best hydropump I’d ever see to date. And it made short work of Ash’s Bayleef as well who was drafted into the battle after Muk had failed to even lay a dent onBlastoise. Poor thing got tossed about by Blastoise after it had foolishly tried to land a body slam attack on an opponent twice its size.
Outplayed and now down by three Pokémon to Gary’s one, the referee’s call for a 5-minute intermission which came as a welcome relief for Ash. Our hero gathered his troops and contemplated on how best to launch a counterattack. And it was some response he came up with.
After a brief respite Ash came out to face the music again and this time sent out Snorlax to get him a breakthrough in the match, while Gary resumed with Arcanine to preserve his seemingly unstoppable Blastoise for last. Arcanine began proceedings using take down as an excuse to charge straight at Snorlax, who responded with a “you miss buddy and I hit” body slam. Arcanine predictably evaded the attack being more mobile than its counterpart and proceeded to engulf Snorlax in flames with a Fire Spin. But if there was one thing Snorlax is renowned for (apart from its incredibly potent stomach), is its endurance. Seemingly untroubled and unblemished from the flames Snorlax suddenly unleashed a powerful Hyperbeam at Arcanine who took it square in the chest and never got up.
Nidoqueen was sent back out, but there was absolutely no stopping Ash’s Snorlax at that point. In one of the more defining performances in its career, Snorlax took the brunt of a powerful double kick attack by Nidoqueen and then ducked (yes ducked) a hyperbeam aimed at it with laser-like precision and KO-ed Nidoqueen by slamming an Ice Punch on its jaws. Its contributions restored some much needed parity between Ash and Gary.
Gary's though responded by sending his Scizor out to face Snorlax at a appoint in the battle where the pendulum can swing in anyone’s favour. And with Scizor boasting lightning quick pace compared to Ash’s somewhat lethargic Snorlax, finally managed to gain the upper hand when it landed a metal claw on Snorlax’s face just as it was about to let loose another Hyper Beam. With an agile opponent like Scizor in the fray, Ash had his work cut out with the muscle heavy team he had favored. As such Muk’s re-entry into the battle was probably a foregone conclusion, with Ash doing the smart thing by saving his last undamaged Pokemon for a final push. Credit to Muk though it did give Scizor a run for its money, as its unique physique seems to render almost all physical attacks obsolete. Scizor though kept at it and used Metal Claw again, this time decisively, as an impervious Muk who thought that it had gorged out Scizor’s attack again again, found itself being launched into the air. A precise and powerful swift attack later, Muk was history.
Now down to one Pokémon against three, Ash finally played his trump card. Charizard emerged gleaming from the depths of its Pokeball and even Gary acknowledged that here at last is a Pokemon, that can’t be trifled with.
With a bid to unsettle Charizard immediately, Gary ordered Scizor to lunge at it with Steel Wing. Charizard though filled its capacious lungs with air and countered with rasping flamethrower which Scizor just about managed to evade. However this time Ash refused to lend Scizor a moment of respite. He ordered Charizard to take to the air and hound it down. Thus before Scizor and indeed a shocked Gary could react to Charizard’s surprising speed, it’d landed a super-effective flamethrower on Scizor’s face announcing that him and Ash, were not quite done yet.
Undaunted though, Gary sent his out next to try its luck against Charizard but to no avail. If I remember correctly, Charizard sent Golem’s rollout out attack back where it came from with a colossal Dragon Rage, which poor Golem found a bit too hot to handle.
Down now to the breadcrumbs but never for a second wishing it to end, the end game will determine restitution for one and for the other, it will restore pride and stoke the desire of being Pokemon Master to burn ever brighter. With only one outcome left Gary’s sent his Blastoise oput for one last battle with Ash’s Charizard.
Charizard's opening Flamethrower was literally laced with the passion that burned within Ash’s heart. But sporting a much more deflated ego and a now galvanized psyche, Gary deflected the flames with another nifty Rapid Spin and countered with a super-effective Hydro Pump which would have proved decisive, if it were any other fire Pokemon. Consequently though, Blastoise began dictating the match repelling Charizard’s long range fire type moves with ease, which lacked any conviction to begin with given the type disadvantage. As frustrations grew our hero attempted one final throw of the dice in a desperate attempt to dethrone Blastoise. And again, it was that ingenious bit of thinking that had cut tight corners for him before.
Ordering Charizard to “attack the battlefield” instead of Blastoise Ash’s set the whole arena ablaze, converting it into an overheated sauna which threatened to evaporate even a resilient water Pokemon like Blastoise. Although Blastoise used hydropump to cool things down again, the steam that issued from the flaming rocks provided the very opening that Ash and Charizard needed. Once the steam cleared and we saw Charizard locked in close combat with Blastoise and then after an unsuccessful dragon rage, Chariozard gripped it into an unbreakable bear hug and took to the skies. Despite its futile attempts to escape using bite, Blastoise was no match for Charizard’s upper body strength (credit goes to Liza here). And then with a finality that reverberated around the stadium Charizard delivered one last iconic seismic toss attack.
When the smoke and dust had cleared a bit of drama ensued when we found Blastoise still standing. But a few tense heartbeats later it collapsed, surrendering to an opponent who was simply more determined and slightly more skilful than it was, on the day. Our hero stood there in awe for a few moments before realizing what that meant and literally jumped in delight as he progressed to the quarterfinals of the Johto league.
Dear readers, his hard work had finally come to fruition as Ash entered the quarter-final stages of a major Pokemon League tournament, for the first time in his career, a step closer now to realize his dream of becoming Pokemon Master. But sadly his joy was short lived, for one Harrison from Littleroot town abruptly ended our hero’s excellent campaign. A yet to be fully discovered entity (sporting Pokemon from “Hoenn”), Harrison just about edged Ash in a battle which was on a knife’s edge for most of its duration. Although Ash’s capitulation generated bouts of disappointment among his loyal supporters, a sense of content was also felt many ways and not to mention the great memories that came along with it. The Silver Conference did finally seem like the springboard everybody had hoped it would be. At it promised us this much.
Ash’s MVP For The Johto Region
Many baulked and cried rivers of tears when Charizard simply refused to acknowledge Ash’s existence as its trainer in the Indigo League. Many may have been unconvinced when Charizard chose to remain behind in Charicific Valley, even though it looked set to form a fruitful partnership with him having sorted out their differences. Many might have even thought it was good riddance, as such Ash can concentrate on developing those who are much more loyal to him. How very wrong they were.
With one quarter of the gym battles in Johto under its belt and a stellar Johto League campaign which silenced its critics, Charizard proved to be a nightmare for both Gary and Harrison (whose Blaziken even though it just shaded Charizard that day was rendered obsolete for Harrison’s next match, which he lost). It was after that very tournament, in fact after that victory against Poliwhirl (which still seems like it happened yesterday), Charizard slowly began accumulating a reputation for itself which today will undoubtedly strike fear into the hearts of any opponent it faces. Now rested and galvanised thanks to time spent wisely with Liza not to mention Mega Evolution as a possibility (something I’m still strongly opposed to), the Kalos League cannot come sooner for Charizard.
Conclusion
Hey guys, thank you for reading, part two of my build up to the Kalos League. Be sure to check in regularly, as I breakdown the Hoenn region next for part 3 of my project.
Until next time. Take care and keep watching the greatest anime show on earth.
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