The Army of Ash! Destroy Team Rocket!
Chapter 7: Goh, Let's Go!
Goh stood with Cinderace and Grookey in front of him. Their opponents were Butch's Shuckle and and Cassidy's Raticate.
"Use Rollout on that rabbit!" Butch ordered.
"Attack that monkey with Skull Bash," Cassidy shouted.
Shuckle ended up moving the fastest, and swiftly rolled towards Cinderace.
Goh smirked confidently and said, "Big mistake, Butch! Use Blaze Kick, Cinderace!"
Cinderace's grin was as a cocky as Goh's as he brought his right foot back, set it ablaze, and then swung it right into the approaching Shuckle. The rabbit sent the Shuckle flying like a soccer ball, blasting it right into the wall of the building behind the two grunts with a tremendous crash, coupled with a fiery explosion.
"WHAT!?" Butch shouted as he beheld his knocked out Shuckle, now stuck in an indentation in the wall.
Cinderace raised his arms in celebration as he cheered victoriously. Meanwhile, Grookey had denied Raticate's Skull Bash with a swift Branch Poke to his forehead, and followed up with several more Branch Pokes in rapid succession.
Goh laughed at Grookey's antics and said, "Nice moves, Grookey. Now try Screech, and then Scratch!"
Grookey let out a shrill Screech, which hurt the Raticate's sensitive ears. Then a swipe of Grookey's claws sent him down for the count.
Cassidy was seething with rage as she watched Grookey laugh and prance around happily. "Grr. . . who does that little runt think he is?"
Goh smiled proudly and said, "I guess he's just happy that he gets to help take Team Rocket down now that he no longer works for you guys."
Butch stared at the monkey in surprise and said, "That Grookey was once a Team Rocket Pokemon?"
"That's fine," Cassidy said with a villainous smirk, "It'll make it all the more satisfying when we recapture it and put it through a little bit of. . .reeducating."
Goh's skin scrawled when he heard this, and clenched his fists and said, "That's never gonna happen, Cassie!"
"It's Cassidy you nimrod!" Cassidy shouted as she recalled Raticate and tossed out another Pokeball, "Come out, Houndoom!"
Butch recalled Shuckle and threw another Pokeball of his own, "Mightyena, get out here!"
The two canine Pokemon appeared before Goh's Pokemon and growled.
"Burn that monkey with Flamethrower, Houndoom!"
"Bite that bunny, Mightyena!"
Grookey's eyes widened as a blast of flame shot towards him. He shut his eyes fearfully, only for no searing pain to touch him. He opened his eyes and saw that Cinderace had dashed in front of him, taking the Flamethrower head on as Mightyena hung on to the bunny's arm with its jaws.
"Groo-grookey!" the monkey cried out in concern.
Cinderace turned back to his friend and smiled through his pain, nodding to show that he was okay.
"Don't worry, Grookey!" Goh shouted, "You guys can do it! Keep fighting! Give 'em some payback!"
Grookey looked between Goh and Cinderace, then nodded determinedly and jumped up into the air. As he did this, he exploded in blue light as his body got bigger. Even his stick stuck in his leafy hair increased in size. With a final flash, a Thwackey hooted triumphantly as he gripped both ends of his stick and snapped it in two. He then came down hard on Mightyena and dealt a powerful Double Hit, knocking him off of Cinderace arm.
Goh's eyes were wide as he beheld the scene, then he gained the biggest grin as he said, "You evolved! And you learned Double Hit! Awesome!"
Cassidy pointed and shouted, "Quick, Houndoom! Flamethrower!"
"Dodge it, then run in and use Double Hit!" Goh called out.
The nimble monkey dodged the fire, rolling underneath it closing in on Houndoom. He struck the demonic dog with it's sticks, sending it high up into the air.
"Great! Now grab Houndoom's tail and throw him into Cinderace's Double Kick!" Goh said.
"WHAT!?" Cassidy exclaimed.
Thwackey laughed as he jumped up, grabbed the Dark/Fire-type by its tail, and threw over to the waiting Cinderace. The rabbit backflipped and kicked Houndoom with both feet, sending it flying into the wall, much like Shuckle. Houndoom slid down the wall, swiftly knocked out. Cinderace and Thwackey both cheered and jumped for joy.
"Hyperbeam, Mightyena!"
Thwackey turned just in time to see the massive laser score a direct hit on him. The explosion knocked the monkey flat, sending him skidding across the ground several yards.
"DERACE!" the rabbit shouted in concern for his friend.
"No!" Goh shouted in shock, then, he glared at Butch and the panting Mightyena and said, "You'll pay for that! Quick Attack, then Double Kick, Cinderace!"
With vengeance in his eyes, Cinderace dashed into Mightyena, kicked him in the chest and sent him up into the air, then jumped up and kicked him again. Mightyena was knocked out before he even hit the ground.
Everyone recalled their knocked out Pokemon, then the Grunts send out their next Pokemon.
"Primeape, time to fight!" Butch shouted.
"Granbull, attack!" Cassidy shouted.
Goh tossed out a Pokeball and said, "Your turn, Scizor!"
Scizor appeared and stood next to Cinderace.
"Granbull, use Fire Fang on Scizor!"
"Attack Cinderace with Dynamic Punch, Primeape!"
Goh nodded and said, "Cinderace, get ready for Blaze Kick. Scizor, ready a Metal Claw!"
Cinderace pulled his foot back, and Scizor brought his right claw back. Meanwhile, Granbull and Primeape charged forward with their attacks.
"SWITCH PLACES!" Goh shouted.
Cinderace and Scizor crossed each other's past, running forward as they attacked each other's attacker. Cinderace's foot slammed right into Granbull's flaming mouth, and Scizor's metal coated claw slammed into Primeape's fist. Grandbull cried out as he was sent blasting off into the air, while Primeape was sent flat on his back from the strong blow.
"Great job, you two!" Goh cheered.
Cinderace turned and nodded, but Scizor simply stood in place, rocking back and forth. He then began to stumble around, holding his claws ahead of him as if he was blind.
"Oh no, Scizor's Confused!" Goh shouted out in alarm.
Scizor then turned to Cinderace, and snarled as he saw the rabbit as an enemy.
"Uh oh," Goh said as he saw that Scizor's claws were glowing green, "Uh, uh, get behind Primeape, Cinderace!"
The bunny obeyed, and as Scizor charged forward with an X-Scissor, Cinderace used the angry monkey as a makeshift shield.
"No!" Butch shouted angrily, "Use Thrash, quick!"
There was then a chaotic tangle to flailing limbs as the three Pokemon were caught in a ball of Thrashin violence courtesy of Primeape. Then, Granbull finally fell out of the sky, howling before he crashed into the ball of violence from above. There was a huge cloud of dust, and when it settled, both Granbull and Primeape were knocked out, and Scizor and Cinderace were still standing.
"Are you kidding me!?" Butch shouted, then he turned to Cassidy and said, "Look what your Granbull did!"
Cassidy glared back at Butch and said, "You're blaming me for this! It's your fault! That stupid Dynamic Punch and Thrash backfired big time, you moron!"
Cinderace chuckled at the arguing Grunts, then turned to Scizor. His partner was still wobbling in Confusion, and he raised a Metal Claw to slash at the bunny. Luckily, Goh saw this and quickly recalled him. Goh smiled sadly at the Pokeball and said, "You did a good job, Scizor. Sorry I let you get Confused." He then put the Pokeball away and threw out another one, "Darmanitan, let's go!"
The Grunts recalled their Pokemon and sent out replacements.
"Crush them, Sableye!" Cassidy commanded.
"Take them down, Hitmontop!" Butch ordered.
Goh pointed and said, "Darmanitan, use Hammer Arm on Sableye! Cinderace, Double Kick that Hitmontop!"
"Focus Blast, Sableye!"
"Triple Kick, Hitmontop!"
Sableye's Focus Blast stuck Darmanitan before he could close enough with his Hammer Arm, and Hitmontop blocked Cinderace's two kicks, and then struck him right in the face with his third kick.
"Yikes!" Goh shouted as both his Pokemon were knocked back.
Cassidy smirked and said, "Ha! My Sableye will never yet you get close enough to attack!"
Butch looked confident as well as he taunted, "That's right! And my Hitmontop can outkick your silly rabbit any day of the week!"
"Oh yeah!?" Goh challenged, "Well guess what, there's one thing my Pokemon have that your Pokemon don't have! Teamwork!" Goh then posed heroically while pumping a fist and said, "Darmanitan! Cinderace! Combine Overheat and Pyro Ball!"
Cinderace got back up onto his feet and began to kick a pebble back and forth, quickly creating a ball of fire. Meanwhile, Darmanitan beat his chest, shouting wildly before jumping up into the air. Cinderace created a large Pyro Ball and kicked it upwards, right in the path of the Overheat attack at the Darmanitan had unleashed while airborne. Darmanitan's flames crashed into the Pyro Ball, exponentially increasing it's size, not to mention its speed as the massive mini-sun blazed right towards a horrified Sableye and Hitmontop.
There was a massive explosion, and the two Pokemon lay knocked out on a patch of scorched Earth.
"WHY!? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING! HOW IS THIS KID BEATING US!? WHY ARE WE LOSING!?" Butch shouted to the sky.
Cassidy slapped him across the face and said, "Keep it together, you idiot! It's not over yet!" She then recalled Sableye and tossed out her last Pokemon, "Don't fail me, Tentacruel."
Butch recalled Hitmontop and sent out his final Pokemon as well, "It's up to you, Cloyster."
As the two Pokemon stood in front of their Trainers, Cassidy forced a smile and said, "Alright! Your Fire-types won't stand a chance against our "Water-types!"
Goh thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Darmanitan, return!" Goh recalled his second Fire-type and put his Pokeball away. He then took out another Pokeball and said with a smile, "Time to wrap this up! Raichu, I choose you!"
Goh threw the Pokeball, and Raichu appeared on the scene, cheeks sparking and ready to battle with a smile on her face.
Butch and Cassidy appeared to be stuck somewhere in between horror and despair.
"Oh. . ." Butch muttered.
". . .No," Cassidy moaned.
"Raichu, use Thunderbolt!" Goh commanded.
Raichu unleashed her attack upon not only Cloyster and Tentacruel, but on Butch and Cassidy as well. The four of them all screamed as they were electrocuted, and the resulting explosion launched all of them up into the sky.
"You were right, Butch! We're never gonna amount to anything!" Cassidy wailed.
"Not as long as we're with Team Rocket! You can do whatever you want, but I quit!" Butch shouted.
"I quit too! I can't take this anymore! Let's see how Giovanni likes getting blown up by Twerps for a change!" Cassidy shouted back as she swung her fists furiously.
"I on board with that. How about we both say it one last time for old times sake, in the hopes that we'll never have to say it again," Butch suggested.
"Alright, alright, sounds like a plan," Cassidy said with a huff.
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
"Cloyster!"
"Tenta-tentacruel!"
*Ding!*
Goh smiled and said, "Great job, Raichu!"
Cinderace voiced his congratulations as well and gave Raichu a thumb's up. Raichu just laughed shyly as she rubbed the back of her head bashfully.
However, this moment was interrupted by the sound of clapping. Everyone turned to see two more Team Rocket members approaching them. These two were clearly high ranking officers, from the way they were dressed to the way they carried themselves. The one clapping was the blonde spikey haired, sunglasses wearing male, who had an arrogant smirk on his face. The woman next to him had long light blue hair and piercing eyes, and rather than smiling, she had a look of condescending on her face.
The man stopped slow-clapping and said, "Well, well, well. Great job, Twerp. You defeated two idiots. Congratulations."
The woman had her arms folded as she said, "Coming here and trying to disrupt Team Rocket's work was a fatal mistake, boy. I'm afraid you're just going to have to die so that your Pokemon may serve the true purpose of all Pokemon: serving Team Rocket."
Goh was unimpressed by the pair and said, "Okay, does everyone in Team Rocket go around in pairs? Or are Jessie and James so popular that all of you guys want to be like them?"
The man growled and said, "I am Attila! And my partner's name is Hun. Were are not like anyone else. We do not need to be like anyone else! We are Team Rocket's most elite, and you are nothing compared to us. NOTHING!"
"Calm yourself, Attila," Hun remarked, "This boy is inconsequential. He'll die rather quickly I'm sure, then we can focus on stopping this invasion and processing Team Rocket's new batch of slaves."
Goh glared at Hun in disgust and said, "How can you say such horrible stuff with a straight face?"
"Because it's the truth. Pokemon exist only for the glory of Team Rocket," Hun said without missing a beat, and she tossed out a Pokeball, releasing a sadistic looking Steelix.
Atilla smirked as he tossed out two Pokeballs, releasing a Muk and a Skarmony into the fray.
"Incapacitate the Pokemon. Kill the boy," Hun ordered plainly.
A panicked expression crossed Goh's face, and he quickly tossed out Darmanitan's Pokeball and called out, "Come back out, Darmanitan! We need you!"
Goh's team of Cinderace, Raichu, and Darmanitan stood up against Attila and Hun's team of Steelix, Skarmony, and Muk.
Hun had a small thin smile on her face as she said, "Let's make this quick and efficient. Steelix, use Dig."
"Skarmony, Steel Wing on Raichu! Muk, Sludge Bomb on Darmanitan!" Attila ordered as Steelix burrowed into the ground.
Goh thrust his fist forward and said, "Strike back with Thunder Punch, Raichu! Dodge it, Darmanitan!"
Raichu's right forepaw crackled with electricity as she ran forward and explosively punched Skarmony in the head. Meanwhile, Darmanitan leaped over the Sludge Bomb and landed closer to Muk.
"Incinerate, Darmanitan!" Goh commanded.
Darmanitan breathed a beam of fire into Muk, causing the sludgy form to deform against the heat. However, the massive Poison-type withstood the fire.
"Help him out, Cinderace!" Goh said.
Cinderace nodded, and he ran forward to assist his fellow fire type. However, the ground underneath his feet suddenly erupted, tossing him up into the air as Steelix burst out of the ground.
"Crunch!" Hun ordered.
"Blaze Kick, quick!" Goh cried out.
Cinderace flipped over in mid air, and swung a flaming foot into Steelix's gaping mouth, even as the Crunch came down hard onto his leg. Steelix's eyes widened as fire leaked out the corners of its mouth and nostrils. Cinderace cried out as he hung by one leg from Steelix's mouth.
Atilla laughed and said, "Ah-ha-ha! Pathetic! Skarmony, Fury Attack on Raichu. Muk, Sludge Wave!"
"Grr," Goh said as he beheld Cinderace's precarious situation, "I gotta think fast. Darmanitan, use Flare Blitz! Raichu, Double Team!"
As Muk sent a wave of toxic sludge forward, Darmanitan was wreathed in light blue flames and shot forward, burning through the sludge and striking Muk with a big explosion. Meanwhile, Raichu split into several clones as Skarmony used Fury Attack on all of them, inevitably finding the real one and harshly pecking her.
"Use Fire Punch on Muk! Don't let up!" Goh shouted.
"Mud-Slap and Harden! Put that Darmanitan in its place!" Atilla ordered duriously.
As Muk and Darmanitan went at it, Cinderace was still crying out as Steelix swung the poor rabbit around, its jaws still clamped tightly around Cinderace's ankle. Smug laughter could be heard coming from between Steelix's jaws.
Hun was still smiling as she said, "Yes, Steelix. Make your prey suffer. Make it angry."
Goh angrily looked at Steelix. "This is bad. Cinderace is helpless! I gotta help him! But how? Darmanitan is busy with Muk, and Cinderace is so high up- WAIT A MINUTE!"
"Raichu! Wrap your tail around Skarmony neck!" Goh shouted.
As Skarmony's head shot forward in a Fury Attack, Raichu's tail snaked out and tightly got a grip around the bird's steel neck.
"What do you think you're doing?" Attila asked.
"Never mind that, he doesn't know what he's doing," Hun said dismissively, "Now Steelix, toss that rabbit and use Rock Throw!"
As Steelix threw Cinderace up into the air, Goh cried out, "Raichu, pull Skarmony in, climb on, and Thunder Punch his wings to take control."
"What!?" Attila shouted.
With a swift tug of her tail, Raichu pulled Skarmony down to the ground and jumped on its back. Raichu slammed her electrically charged fists onto Skarmony's back and wings. The metal bird shrieked in agony as it took the air with it's electrifying passenger still on board. Meanwhile, Steelix plunged its tail into the ground and pulled out a large boulder.
"Throw that rock, now!" Hun shouted.
"Save Cinderace, Raichu!" Goh shouted.
As Raichu saw Steelix prepare to throw the massive boulder, she cried out desperately and Thunderbolted Skarmony hard. She uncoiled her tail and lept off, giving Skarmony a swift kick with both her feet for good measure. In a stroke of luck, Skarmony was sent right in the path of Steelix's Rock Throw, and the boulder shattered into many shards as Skarmony flailed about wildly in mid air.
"No! NO!" Atilla shouted, his eyes widened behind his shades, "How the heck did that happen?!"
"Calm down, Atilla," Hun said, angered but calm, "I'll just have Steelix crush that rodent with Iron Tail."
Goh grinned and said, "I don't think so. Cinderace! You've got rocks! Pyro Ball all you want!"
Atilla and Hun's heads shot up to look at Cinderace, who was still falling downwards after being tossed upwards by Steelix. Cinderace feet were on fire, and he had a big, toothy grin on his face as he beheld the many small bits of rock that came from the shattered Rock Throw. Cinderace laughed as he kicked the rocks around, coating them in flames and raining down Pyro Balls at both Skarmony and Steelix. Fiery explosions lit up the area in front of Team Rocket HQ, and when the smoke cleared, both Steel-types were knocked out. Cinderace made a superhero style landing, the flames on his feet slightly breaking his fall enough for him to withstand the impact. Cinderace stood up straight and smiled and nodded as Raichu ran up beside him. The two rodents turned to each other and shared a quick fist bump.
Meanwhile, both Muk and Darmanitan lay knocked out as well.
Atilla flew into a fit of rage, "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH! YOU LITTLE TWERP! YOU BRAAAAAAAAT!"
Goh just smiled as he recalled Darmanitan and said to his Pokeball, "You did amazing, Darmanitan. Thank you so much."
Hun's eyes were twitching, and she was shaking with rage. "You will taste my vengeance for this."
Goh kept grinning and said, "Yeah, I don't think so. You guys lost. Team Rocket's going down."
"You and your army never stood a chance," a new, calm, measured, evenly toned voice said.
Goh rolled his eyes and said with groan, "Great. Here comes someone else. Now what?"
Goh turned to see a dark haired man with a parted bowl cut, a goatee, and a small pair of rectangular glasses on the end of his nose.
"Professor Sebastian," Hun remarked, nodding to the Team Rocket Scientist.
Sebastian nodded back, then looked at Goh and said in that same, even, near emotionless tone, "I was astounded to learn than an army of Pokemon had come to disrupt Team Rocket's work. They have all been deluded into thinking they have any value or purpose other than to serve humanity as slaves and test subjects. We shall surely correct that delusion for those that survive."
Goh took a step back from the scientist and chuckled nervously, "Okay. . .you're really creepy. But like I was saying, you guys already lost. Team Rocket doesn't have anything that can stop us."
Sebastian smiled and said in his monotone, "That is incorrect, young man. It is a fact that in a matter of minutes, your entire army will be subdued, and you will die. For you see, Team Rocket possesses power beyond your comprehension. Allow me to show you an example of that power."
Sebastian then took out a black Pokeball with a red "R" on it.
Atilla's eyes widened and he said, "Professor. . .is that. . .?"
Sebastian nodded, and he tossed the Pokeball up and said without the slightest bit of passion or inflection, "Destroy our enemies. . . .Rayquaza."