The Army of Ash! Destroy Team Rocket!
Chapter 5: Breaking Through the Three Lines
It was sometime between 11:00 P.M. and midnight, a darkened new moon in the cloudless starry sky above Team Rocket Headquarters. The towering metal building stood imposingly against the night sky, various satellite dishes and ominous radio towers emitting strange stealth focused wavelengths of energy to hide its existence from prying eyes.
Many Team Rocket Grunts marched back and forth on the outside of the complex. Some were right outside the building, others were some distance away and pacing the fences around the perimeter, and yet others were up at guard towers some distance away from the main area.
Up on the main building, on a balcony running on one side of it, one Team Rocket Grunt walked up to another and said, "Changing of the guard, bro."
The first Grunt that was on duty was looking through a pair of binoculars, and didn't seem to be paying attention to the one who had come to relieve him.
The second Grunt, taller and thinner than the first, patted his associate on the back and said, "C'mon, bro. Go get some shut eye."
The short, husky Grunt held up his binoculars to his relief and said, "What do you see out there?"
The tall Grunt grabbed the binoculars, but the strap was still around the shorter Grunt's neck.
"Ack! Hey!" he choked out.
"Sorry, bro," the second said as he unlooped the binoculars off of his short friend. He then looked through the binoculars and said, "Clouds of dust?"
"Look closer," the short Grunt said nervously, fiddling with his belt subconsciously.
The Grunt adjusted the high tech binoculars' settings in response, and was able to see through the huge dust cloud that was heading straight towards Team Rocket Headquarters. "A stampeding herd of wild Tauros?"
"They're not wild!"
"What are you-?" the tall Grunt froze in mid-sentence, and he leaned forward as he zoomed in and enhanced his view with the binoculars. His jaw dropped as he took a closer look at what exactly was headed there way. "What the. . . ?"
Buizel whooped and hollered as he held on tight to the back of the Tauros he was riding on.
"You can say that again!" Oshawott said as he held on to Buizel's back, slightly nervous as he was pitched up and down by the Tauros' galloping.
Buizel stopped his revelry to glance behind him and said, "Hard to do that with you pinching my fur!"
Oshawott just smiled sheepishly as he loosened his clenching just a little bit.
On either side of them, a Tauros galloped along, each bearing half of the Squirtle Squad.
Squirtle raised a fist, sporting his shades and said, "Water-Types represent! Woo-hoo!"
A few feet away, Snivy and Bulbasaur rode on a Tauros of their own. Snivy smirked smugly and said, "Keep dreaming! Grass-Types are where it's at!"
Loud, wheezing and snorting laughter could be heard over the pounding of Tauros hooves, and everyone turned to see Pignite riding on another Tauros and saying, "C'mon, guys! Water, grass, fire, whatever! All the types are here for one thing!"
From behind this section, Muk shouted out giddily, "Crush Team Rocket! Huh-huh-huh!"
The Tauros that Muk was riding on grimaced under the sensation of the slimy body on his back. "Ugh. . . we're a deck of 30 cards and I get the slimy Ace of Spades. . ."
Dracovish galloped past Muk on his Tauros and laughed, "Yo, you got that right, dude!"
Totodile peeked out from behind the fossil Pokemon and patted him on the back. "Ooh, I like this guy!" he said.
Krookodile adjusted his sunglasses and pointed ahead of him. He gave the sides of his Tauros a kick and shouted, "Fencing and guard towers ahead! Let's break 'em all down!"
Scraggy and Primeape shared a Tauros and were both equally fired up.
"Yo! Time to save Mimey! YEEAAAAH!" Scraggy shouted.
"More like: time to knock a sucker out!" Primeape said toughly.
Team Rocket Grunts in guard towers sent out there Pokemon against the advancing horde. Zubats and Crobats swooped down upon them, and were swiftly taken out by Razor Leaves, Water Guns, Vine Whips, and even a couple of Focus Blasts from Scraggy; and this barrage was just from Ash's Pokemon. Goh's Pokemon fired off their own attacks as well, swiftly overwhelming the initial response from Team Rocket's first line of defense. The army knew that they couldn't afford to even let the opposition attack first.
Golems and Doduos were sent out and either rolled or charged towards the group, and Palpitoad's eyes went wide as the Pokemon riding next to him took a flying leap off of her Tauros.
"Bayleaf! What're you doing!?" Palpitoad exclaimed.
Bayleaf landed with a thud in the path of a rolling Golem.
"Watch me make you proud, Ashy-poo!" Bayleaf shouted as she Body Slammed the approaching Golem, and then proceeded to suplex the Golem into another Doduo nearby.
". . . Wow. . ." Palpitoad said in awe.
"Look out!"
Palpitoad turned just in time to see a Yanma swooping down at him, only to be taken out by a Bubblebeam. Palpitoad turned to see that Corphish was his rescuer.
"Pay attention, pal!" Corphish shouted.
While a few Pokemon had jumped off of their rides, the majority of them continued to ride onward as the herd of Tauros charged right through the fencing.
"They've broken through the first line," the shorter Grunt said nervously, having taken back his binoculars to view the battle going on in the not so distant distance.
"We're under attack! I repeat! We are under attack!" the tall grunt shouted into a walkie talkie, "An army of Pokemon riding over 20 Tauros are charging from the south. All different Types. Fencing has been breached! Guard towers have been knocked down! Send back up to repel invaders on Team Rocket ground!"
"And in the sky!" the short Grunt shouted in a panic after having tilted his binoculars slightly upward.
"What!?"
High above the stampeding herd, there was another army soaring through the sky. All of Ash and Goh's Flying-types were joined by Pidgeot's entire flock. However, it wasn't the Flying-types themselves that was the most impressive, it was what, or rather who, they were carrying. The multitude of fliers held strong ropes with their feet, which were then tied to the army's main powerhouses. Donphan, Snorlax, Torterra, Boldore, and Melmetal were all upheld by these ropes, making for a sight that was both awe inspiring and vague terrifying. In addition, Goh's Golurk zoomed through the sky like their foe's namesake, with Goh's Boldore riding on top of it.
At the head of this aerial army, Ash, Pikachu, and Goh rode on Charizard's back, overlooking their target.
"Ashy-poo. . ." Ash thought in bewilderment.
"What?" Pikachu asked in confusion as Charizard snorted with laughter.
"Nothing," Ash said aloud quickly.
"What?" Goh asked.
"Look, we're almost there!" Ash said just as quickly, pointing towards the ground. The army had been flying quite high earlier, but now that they were closer to their target, they had to get down lower in order to ensure the drop would go over safely. Down below, the charging Tauros and their riders had made short work of the Team Rocket Grunts guarding the perimeter. Up ahead of them was No Mon's Land of barbed wire, electrical wiring, and trenches. Beyond this area were the main walls surrounding the large complex that was Team Rocket HQ.
Goh winced at the sight of the dangerous obstacles and said, "Aw man, that's gonna be tough for them to cross. . ."
Ash just smiled and said, "Then it's a good thing we have just the Pokemon to clear a path of them." Ash then turned to look behind them and shouted, while also communicating to them telepathically out of some kind of automatic reflex, "Alright, everyone! Here it comes! You all know what to do! Send them right to those walls so they can start knocking them down! On three!"
Pidgeot and his flock all tightened their grips on the ropes.
Talonflame nodded solemnly and said, "This is my destiny. . ."
Noivern nodded excitedly and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Time to make Papa proud!"
Noctowl tilted her head back and forth and said, "Let's do our best, team. WAKE UP, ROWLET!"
The small Pokemon, who had been riding on the Shiny Noctowl's back, awoke suddenly, then nodded and took off to join his friends on the ground.
Swellow, Unfezant, Staraptor, Heracross, and Gliscor all let out cries of readiness, Glalie just rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "Yeah, yeah, come on! Let's get this show on the road!"
Ash adjusted the brim of his hat and said with a nod, "Okay! . . . One!. . . .Two!. . . THREE!"
The Flying-types swung their legs forward in unison and let go. Ash's five massive Pokemon were released, and Goh's Boldore rode Golurk down fast alongside them. Donphan and Snorlax rolled into ball-like positions, Melmetal held his arms forward as he dived downward, while Boldore and Torterra simply braced themselves for impact. Luckily, the last two didn't need to brace for anything, as Gengar popped out of the shadows below and used Psychic to slow the Rock-type and Grass-type's fall.
"Knock'em. . .'dead'. . . ha-ha-haaaa!" Gengar laughed before disappearing into the shadows.
Meanwhile, Melmetal suddenly stretched his arms out to his sides, and he began to rapidly spin them as he shouted, "D-D-D-D-D-D-D-DOUBLE IRON BASH!" Melmetal then crashed tremendously into the wall, tearing into it with it's incredible destructive power. Meanwhile, Donphan and Snorlax hit the ground hard enough for it to be mistaken for an Earthquake attack. Donphan kept on going, rolling right into and through a section of the wall around the base. Snorlax got up and lumbered after Donphan, ready to help take down the walls.
Ash's team of powerhouses spread out and wailed on the walls surrounding the building, alternating between smashing holes through the barrier and smashing any Team Rocket Pokemon that tried to stop them. Goh's Golurk and Boldore landed, and rather than join the fight in front of them, they turned around and began attacking the No Mon's Land. Golurk used Flash Cannon and Boldore used Stone Edge, taking out the hazards and clearing a path for the Tauros riding army.
As more Venomoth, Yanma, Golbat, Koffing, Gastly, and Haunter flew in to take out the demolition team, aerial attacks from above destroyed any hope Team Rocket had to repel the invaders. Pidgeot shrieked a war cry as the entire flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto came down hard against Team Rocket.
It wasn't long before the Tauros army arrived, and the riders jumped off to enter in through the holes the demolition team had made for them.
"They're through the second line!" the short grunt exclaimed in abject terror, his hands trembling as they struggled to hold his binoculars.
"Send out the Rhydons! Send out the Rhyperiors! Don't let them through!" the tall Grunt roared into his walkie talkie.
Charizard swooped down over the chaos and landed inside the courtyard of Team Rocket HQ just as the enemy's big guns came out. The lamps and search lights illuminated the area as a pair of Rhydons charged at Charizard and his passengers berserker style.
"Wing Attack, Charizard!" Ash shouted.
"Take this, horn-heads!" Charizard roared as he flew right between the pair of enemies, slashing them with glowing wings. The Rhydon's resisted the damage, but the attack was so strong that it staggered the two of them.
"Dragon Tail!" Ash directed as he and Goh hung on for dear life.
Charizard swung his tail at the two of them, knocking them flat on their faces hard enough to cause their horns to get stuck in the ground.
"Chumps!" Charizard said smugly.
"Watch out!" Goh shouted as he pointed ahead of them.
Charizard turned to see a Rhyperior charging right at them, roaring wildly at them. Before Charizard could even prepare a Flamethrower, Gengar suddenly shot up out of the Rhyperior's shadow and uppercutted the mad Rock/Ground-Type under the chin with a super effective Ice Punch. As the Rhyperior fell onto his back, Gengar turned to Charizard and said, "This one's mine. You guys go on ahead and. . . 'haunt' Giovanni's house."
Ash smiled and said, "Awesome, Gengar! Keep it up!"
Charizard smiled as well and gave the Gengar a thumbs-up. "You're alright, Gengar. Let's have a battle after this is over."
As Charizard took off towards the base, Gengar turned back to the recovering Rhyperior and said, "Let's play 'ball'. . ." while charging a Shadow Ball in his hands.
The demolition team had done some serious damage to the wall protecting the south side of Team Rocket HQ. It was already crumbling by the time the Tauros army reached it. 30 simultaneous Take Downs later, and the walls was completely obliterated. Any Team Rocket Grunts patrolling the wall had the sense to get off long before the attacks arrived. Said Grunts then found themselves covering their heads as they ran screaming due to the pecking and scratching from Pidgeot's flock.
Ursarings came out roaring, swinging Hammer Arms and spitting Hyper Beams at the dazed Tauros.
"Those rings make good targets!" Staraptor shouted as he used Brave Bird to knock the wind out of one Ursaring.
"You can say that again!" Unfezzant shouted as she used Aerial Ace to take out another Ursaring in a similar fashion.
"Swellow! Down here!" Corphish shouted as he waved his claws up at his friend and teammate, "Remember the Battle Frontier!"
Swellow heard him and swooped down, allowing Corphish to jump onto his back. "Water-Type to us!" Swellow called out, "We'll clear a path up to to Rhydons and Rhyperiors! You'll have a super effective advantage against them!"
"SQUIRTLE SQUAAAAAAAAAD!" Squirtle shouted as he lead his group, along with the rest of the Water-types caught by Ash and Goh, deeper into the base.
Primeape went wild against a gang of Houndour, swiftly knocking them out as he vaulted over Poochyena that were frozen solid by Glalie. Snivy and Bulbasaur were quickly making their way underneath the Ursarings, and took out several Rattata and Raticate on the way. A gang of Vileplume and Stunky cut them off and would have unleashed their Poison upon them if Quilava hadn't bowled them over with a Flame Wheel.
Quilava unrolled itself and nodded seriously to the Grass-types, "Eyes up, you two."
Snivy folded her arms and said, "We had things under control. Nothing a quick Attract couldn't have fixed."
Bulbasaur just nodded back and said, "Thanks, Quilava. You'd better get back with your lab destroying squad."
"They gotta find the lab first!" Snivy shot back impatiently, "We don't even know where all the kidnapped Pokemon are being kept!"
"I've already found all that out," Quilava said with his usual stoicness, "I squeezed it out of a few Team Rocket Pokemon. Their stories all line up, and I was just about to relay the info to Ash via telepathy, who will surely relay the info back to everyone else. Team Rocket is going down today."
"THE LAST LINE HAS BEEN BREACHED!" the short Grunt practically shrieked in utter panic, his knuckles white as he gripped his binoculars tightly.
"These guys are CRAZY!" the taller Grunt exclaimed as he became as pale as a ghost, then he shouted into his walkie talkie, "In the name of Yveltal, will someone get some high level Grunts out there NOW!"
Charizard smashed through some more fencing and soared straight towards the main entrance to Team Rocket HQ.
"It's right there!" Goh shouted eagerly, "Nothing can stop us!"
There was suddenly a huge burst of smoke in between Charizard and the doors, causing the Fire/Flying-type to pull back and skid to a halt.
Pikachu sweatdropped and said, "You just had to jinx it, Goh!"
"Who's there?!" Ash shouted as he tried to see who was standing in the smoke.
"Prepare for trouble, so we meet again!" a female voice shouted.
"And make it double, this is your end!" a gravely male voice shouted.
"To infect the world with devastation!"
"To blight the people in every nation!"
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"
"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"
The smoke cleared away to reveal two familiar Team Rocket Grunts in black uniforms.
"It's Cassidy!"
"And Butch!"
"We're Team Rocket, circling the Earth all day and night!"
"Surrender to us now, or you will surely lose the fight!"
"Raticate!"
"Shuck-shuckle!"
Ash groaned and said, "Oh great, it's Cassidy and Biff."
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!? I JUST TOLD YOU WHAT MY NAME WAS AND YOU STILL GOT IT WRONG!?" Butch shouted at the top of his lungs.
Goh turned to Ash and asked confusedly, "Okay, what's up with him?"
Ash shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. But Goh, would you mind-."
"No problem, Ash," Goh said with a confident smile, "I can take care of these Jessie and James wannabes in my sleep."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL US!?" Cassidy shrieked in rage.
"Thanks, Goh," Ash said, ignoring the two Grunts as Goh jumped off of Charizard to battle them. Ash then turned to Charizard and said, "Take us in, Charizard."
Charizard flew Ash and Pikachu right over the Grunts' heads and straight through the glass doors with a crash.
Goh grinned and tossed out two Pokeballs, "Cindrace! Grookey! Let's go!"
The rabbit and monkey both appeared and cheered, clearly pumped up and ready to battle.
"Crud, the old twerp got past us!" Butch complained.
"He won't make it far," Cassidy said dismissively with a roll of her eyes, then she smirked at Goh and his Pokemon and said, "Let's just focus on mopping the floor with this little punk, first."
Goh growled and said, "Hey! Who are you calling a punk, Cassandra!"
"What!?" Cassidy shouted with wide eyes filled with disbelief.
Butch burst out laughing, only to be stopped when Cassidy smacked him on the back of the head.
"Shut-up and focus," the female grunt shouted, then she turned to her Pokemon sand said, "Take that monkey down, Raticate!"
"Show that bunny who's boss, Shuckle!" Butch said to his Pokemon.
Raticate and Shuckle both voiced their readiness, and Cinderace and Grookey stood ready for a battle as well, even as the war raged on both behind him and in the buildings and cliffs surrounding them as Ash and Goh's combined forces infiltrated the labs and cells of Team Rocket.