The Army of Ash! Destroy Team Rocket!

Chapter 10: Charizard's Challenge

Sometime earlier. . . .

Ash and Pikachu held on tight as they rode on Charizard's back. The Flame Pokemon crashed through the glass doors of Team Rocket HQ and zoomed into the main lobby. Whoever had the job of manning the front desk had ditched their post to hide a while ago, which was a shame considering how nice the lobby was. On one wall was a map of the entire world with the organization's trademark "R" emblazoned on the center, signifying team Rocket's desire for world domination. The opposite wall showed an electronic map of the Kanto region, with various spots either circled with red rings or stamped with the red "R."

Several large video screens were suspended above the front desk, all of them flashing urgent warning messages regarding the invasion. Instead of status reports on their various projects and experiments, or constant reminders and slogans every member of Team Rocket was required to commit to memory one way or the other; the screens now displayed words such as "EMERGENCY!", "SECURITY BREACH!", and "DISPOSE OF ANY AND ALL INTRUDERS!"

"Giovanni's probably all the way at the top," Ash said.

"Then let's go get him!" Charizard said as he continued his flight straight across the lobby and towards the staircase. Charizard landed solidly and began running up the stairs, taking two or three steps at a time as Ash and Pikachu continued to ride along.

"Charizard, you don't have to carry us anymore!" Ash said, concerned as he glanced upwards at the many floors above them.

"Relax, Ash. I got this! I can use the cardio, anyway!" Charizard relayed back to Ash telepathically as he focused on his breathing.

It wasn't long before Charizard had reached the top floor, and ran down a short hallway to a single black door. After Charizard came to a stop, Ash jumped off with Pikachu at the ready on his shoulder.

Ash nodded towards the door and said, "Well, this is it."

Pikachu narrowed his eyes and said with his cheeks sparking, "I can't wait to show that Perisan what a REAL battle against me is like."

Charizard smiled eagerly and said, "Ash, can I help you make a big entrance?"

Ash turned to Charizard and nodded. "Go ahead, Charizard," he said with smile.

CRASH!

Charizard unceremoniously kicked the door down.

Ash strode into the room; and Charizard wedged himself through the door as well, breaking the door frame in the process. The room was quite large and very well designed, with a crimson carpet on a dark floor. Off to the right hand side was a small grey desk with a laptop. Seated at that desk was a woman with violet hair, wearing a pair glasses and a purple dress. Lounging atop the desk also an Alolan Meowth, who looked rather uninterested and unimpressed with Ash's entrance. The woman, however, looked upon the boy with utter disdain.

"Matori!" Ash said as he glared at the woman.

The accomplished secretary and leader of the Matori Matrix gave Ash and icy glare in return and said, "This intrusion is unacceptable, boy. Mark my words, you will pay."

Ash just frowned at the woman and said, "I thought you would have learned your lesson after Darkrai defeated you and your gang back in Sinnoh."

Matori shut her eyes as a shudder ran through her body. However, she quickly regained her composure and said, "I'm not going to waste my breath trading insults with you. That's what that idiot Jessie is for. Besides, I don't believe it's me that you came here for."

Matori glanced down the center of the room, and Ash and his Pokemon did the same. A larger maroon desk stood front and center, with a Team Rocket banner behind it, a framed portrait of a Parisan hanging on the back wall on the left, and a portrait of an Aggron on the right. The back of a black chair could be seen at the desk, and the chair swivelled around to reveal a maliciously grinning, pale skinned man with short dark hair, dressed in a fine purple suit.

There was a moment of complete silence as the heroes stared at the man in the chair.

Then the silence was shattered as the man began laughing maniacally.

"Muhahaha! We've been waiting for you!" the man declared boldly, then he smiled as he leaned forward a bit, "So, you are Ash Ketchum . . ."

Ash blinked, and then sweat dropped. "Uhh. . .?" was all he could say.

The man kept smiling almost amicably as he said, "What's wrong? You don't know who I am? It is me, Giovanni. The majestic Giovanni himself! Wahahaha!"

As the man laughed, Pikachu turned to Ash and said, "Okay, I know a thing or two about mimicking, so I can say that this guys stinks!"

Ash nodded and said, "Yeah. He doesn't sound anything like Giovanni."

The man blinked in confusion, "Huh? I don't? How come? I've worked so hard to mimic him!"

"Who are you!?" Ash demanded.

The man smiled once again, got up out of the chair, and spun around fast, tearing off his disguise in the process. When he stopped spinning, he was revealed to be a thin man with purple hair style into a mohawk. He wore an elite Team Rocket uniform with a white belt, gloves, and boots.

"I am Team Rocket Admin Petrel!" the man declared, "You came here looking for Giovanni, didn't you? Well, that's not gonna happen! In order to get to where Giovanni is now, you'd need a special Key Card! It's impossible to reach him without it!"

Ash clenched his fists and growled. "Grr. No way. We've come too far to give up now!"

Petrel kept smiling as he said, "Oh, but don't worry. I'm a nice guy, you see. Much, much, much nicer than the other Admins! So, I'll tell you what I'll do. That Charizard you've got, he seems pretty strong. If it can defeat ALL six of my Pokemon by itself, then I'll give you my Key Card and tell you how to use it to get to Giovanni. If it can't, then I'm afraid your little adventure ends here, child."

"Petrel! What in Darkrai's name are you doing!?" Matori demanded furiously.

Pretrel looked at the woman and shrugged, "Relax. I doubt a Pokemon raised a by a child like him can do much against my Pokemon."

"Hey! Charizard's one of the strongest Pokemon in the world!" Ash shouted indignantly, "He's more than a match for your Pokemon, because he worked hard and trained for so long to get to where he is now! Plus, I believe in him!"

Ash then turned to Charizard and said, "I really do believe in you, Charizard. I know that you can beat him. Will you do it?"

Charizard gave Ash and thumb's up and said, "Burning Team Rocket down is what I came here for! This guy is toast!"

Ash returned the gesture and said, "Thanks. Let's get fired up!"

As Charizard stepped forward, Pretel walked out from behind the desk and said, "Very well. But be warned, I will not let anyone disturb Giovanni!" Pretel then tossed out a Pokeball and called out, "Go, now, Golbat!"

Golbat appeared and shrieked at Charizard.

"Use, Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge and use Confuse Ray!" Petrel ordered.

Golbat flew out of the way of the flames and fired the beam at Charizard. The attack struck home, causing Charizard to wobble on his feet and his eyes to spin in Confusion.

Petrel smirked and said, "This will be quite easy! Use Bite, Golbat!"

Golbat flew in close and bit Charizard's neck. Charizard snarled out in pain at this, but Ash didn't let the events dissuade him and shouted, "Use Flamethrower again!"

"Your Pokemon is still Confused! He'll probably attack himself!" Petrel pointed out.

"Exactly!" Ash said with a smile.

Petrel's eyes widened when he saw Charizard use Flamethrower on himself due to his Confusion. However, as Golbat was still biting into him, he got caught in the Flamethrower attack as well. The flames did little to the Fire/Flying-type, but the Poison/Flying-type took damage from the searing flames.

"No! Use Astonish to get away!" Petrel shouted.

Golbat shrieked loudly while in the flames, his eyes glowing and shadows leaking out of its mouth as a blast of ghostly power allowed him to fly out of the flames. Charizard shook his head, then gave a confident smile.

Ash grinned and said, "Great. It looks Charizard snapped out of being Confused!"

"Use Air Cutter!" Petrel shouted.

"Counter it with Slash!" Ash shouted.

Charizard's claws grew and glowed white, and he roared as he swung his claws at the Air Cutter attacks. Charizard rejected every one of Golbat's attacks, much to Petrel's amazement.

"Wing Attack, quick!" Ash shouted.

Charizard quickly closed the distance and caught Golbat hard right in his gaping mouth with a glowing wing. Golbat was slammed into the wall and fell down unconscious.

"Hey, you're good!" Petrel said, sounding truly impressed as he recalled Golbat, "Guess I better end things now. Go, Koffing!"

Petrel send out Koffing, and before Ash or Charizard could say or do anything, Petrel immediately, shouted, "Use Self-Destruct!"

As Koffing flew towards Charizard, Ash thought quickly and blurted out, "Hide behind Wing Attack!"

Charizard's wings glowed, and he quickly folded them so that they were in between him and the approaching Koffing. The Poison-type blew up, but Charizard was able to withstand the blast.

Petrel recalled the fainted Koffing, then tossed out another Pokeball and shouted, "Koffing number 2! Self-Destruct!"

Another Koffing flew at Charizard and blew up too, causing his knees to buckle slightly as he continued to shield himself with his wings.

"Koffing number 3! Self-Destruct!"

Another blast, and this one caused Charizard to stumble backwards.

Furious with the Admin, Ash shouted at Petrel, "So that's it? You're just throwing your Pokemon at us like they're weapons? Don't you care about your Pokemon at all?"

"As long as they serve Team Rocket and Giovanni, that's all that matters! That's their reason for existing!" Petrel said as he recalled his third Koffing, "End this, Weezing!"

The two headed Poison-type appeared and glowered at Charizard.

"Use Explosion!" Petrel shouted.

Weezing erupted in a massive blast and threw Charizard down onto his back. As the smoke cleared, Charizard lay flat for a moment, catching his breath, then snarled as he shakily got up onto his feet and said, "That was just so cheap!"

"Wow! Strong!" Petrel said with pleasure, then his eyes widened in horror and said, "Wait, no, no, no! It's still standing? It can still fight? That can't be! I hit it with three Self-Destructs and an Explosion! It should be unable to battle! How is it doing this?!"

Ash smiled proudly and said, "Because he's trained and battled and worked hard, gaining experience from Pokemon all over the world. Not just in Kanto, but also in the Orange Islands, in Johto, in the Hoenn Battle Frontier, and in Unova too. He proved that everyone who had ever called him weak was wrong. And not only that, I believe in Charizard. I always have. Things might have started out a bit rocky at first, we didn't always agree or understand each other completely at first, but now I know that I can always count on Charizard, and he can always count on me."

Charizard nodded and turned his head to look at his Trainer. "You got that right, Ash. Nothing can stop us, especially a guy like him!"

Petrel recalled Weezing and said, "Alright then. Fine. I'm not holding back! Give me all you got! Finish that Charizard off, Raticate!"

Petrel sent out Raticate, who quickly went down on all fours, clearly ready to run in and do some damage.

"Let's wrap this up, Charizard! Use Flamethrower!" Ash called out.

"Sucker Punch!" Pretel ordered.

Raticate speedily rushed right up to Charizard just as he was tilting his head back to unleash his Flamethrower. Raticate then jumped straight up and nailed Charizard right under his chin, causing him to fall backwards.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Ash watched Charizard fall back. As he took in Raticate dropping back down towards the floor and Charizard falling backwards, the answer suddenly hit Ash and he shouted as time resumed it's normal speed, "Backflip and use Dragon Tail!"

"Are you serious!?" Pretel shouted in disbelief.

Charizard heard Ash's command, and he quickly moved his arms back to reach behind him and threw his enter body into his fall. He even did a quick hop so that he could fully commit to the backflip, and he swung his glowing tail up and into the falling Raticate.

The attack launched Raticate straight up into the ceiling with a crash. The rodent seemed to hang there for a moment, then he fell back down.

"Crunch! Hyper Fang! Anything!" Pretel shouted.

"Flamethrower!" Ash called out, and from his upside-down position, Charizard managed to send the flames right into Raticate's path. As a result, Raticate ended up falling out of the ceiling and into the fire.

"Flip back over and bring down another Dragon Tail!" Ash said with a confident smile.

SLAM!

The attack was actually strong enough to crack the floor tiles, as well as knock out the Raticate.

Pretel looked at his fainted Pokemon in despair and said, "I… I couldn't do a thing… Giovanni, please forgive me…"

Ash ran over to Charizard's side and pulled out two Hyper Potions from his backpack. He quickly began spraying where Golbat and Raticate had hit him. "I knew you'd win, Charizard," Ash said as he tended to his Pokemon friend, "I always knew how strong you were inside, since the day I met you. I'm so glad I was able to help you achieve that strength."

"That was amazing!" Pikachu cheered excitedly, "Taking all those Self-Destructs and then an Explosion? You are the toughest!"

Charizard smiled back at his Trainer and said, "C'mon Ash, I just had to win. I wasn't gonna let you down. . .never again."

"Don't worry about it," Ash said with a smile as he finished spraying Charizard's chin and neck, and then gave his wings a few sprays as well. Satisfied that Charizard was in good shape, Ash turned to Petrel and said, "You never stood a chance, Petrel. Maybe you would've had a small chance if you actually respected and care about your Pokemon, but you don't. So you could never have beaten Charizard with that kind of strategy."

Petrel frowned sourly, then chuckled and shook his head. "Fine, fine, fine. As I said, I am a nice guy. A deal is a deal. Here, take it with gratitude," Petrel then reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a black card with the Team Rocket insignia on it. He flung the card towards Ash, and as Ash caught the it, Petrel explained, "Go into the elevator, wait for the doors to close, and instead of pressing any buttons, hold that Key Card against alarm button for ten seconds. Then the inner door will seal, and you'll be taken straight down to Giovanni's underground bunker."

Ash nodded and said, "Right. C'mon, Charizard. This time, it really is it."

After the heroes left the room, Petrel stared after them for a moment and then chuckled to himself, "That poor foolish boy. I may not know the whereabouts of Ariana and Proton at the moment, but I do know for a fact that there is one Team Rocket Admin standing in between him and Giovanni, and he is most certainly not a nice guy. Aren't I right, Matori?"

Petrel turned to the side, and saw, much to his surprise, that both Matori and her Alolan Meowth had vanished.

After the elevator doors opened, Ash turned to Charizard and said, "Alright, once Pikachu and I are in and are down where Giovanni is, I need you to use Flamethrower to melt all the elevator doors shut, except for the one on the first floor. You're gonna be standing guard at that door so no one tries to interrupt my battle with Giovanni, and once I've beaten him, I can bring him out easily. Then we'll fly straight to the nearest city and hand him over to Officer Jenny."

Charizard nodded, but had a look of concerned uncertainty on his face. "Are you sure I can't come down with you?"

Ash smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry. I've got Pikachu and the rest of my team with me, and I know I can trust you to keep anyone from trying to help Giovanni escape, and is strong enough to do it by himself. Oh! And here! Take these in case you start to run out of energy."

Ash reached into his backpack and handed over an armful of Sitrus berries and Leppa berries.

Charizard smiled as he accepted the berries. "Thanks Ash. I won't let you down. Now, go take Giovanni down!"

Ash nodded and he turned and entered the elevator.

"Good luck, Pikachu!" Charizard said as he gave one final thumbs up as the elevator doors closed.

Pikachu nodded and turned to Ash excitedly and said, "Let's do this!"

Ash held out the Key Card and held it against the alarm button for ten seconds. There was a loud beep, and an electronic voice said, "Team Rocket Admin Key Card activated. Security Access permitted. Descent to Solid Engine Bunker commencing."

There was a loud popping noise intermingled with the sound of a vacuum. Then, the elevator car quickly descended down the many floors, and then below the first floor. The elevator car moved quite fast, so it was in less than a minute that the car reached its final destination, deep below Team Rocket HQ. Then, the doors slid open, revealing a long, stainless steel hallway lit only by intermittent fluorescent lights on the walls.

Pikachu shuddered a bit, and clung a bit more tightly to Ash's shoulder. Ash himself simply took a deep breath, adjusted his hat slightly, and then ran off down the hall.