Chapter 73: A Cracking Raid Battle

A week after the Gizmo incident, Goh was out along Route 10. He'd received a Trial Mission from Project Mew that morning to conduct a raid battle against Zapdos, the legendary Pokemon, with extra tokens promised to anyone who managed to catch it. At first he was unsure of where to look, but Professor Cerise had mentioned rumors that it had been spotted flying over the abandoned power plant East of Cerulean City. So with no other leads, Ash and Goh set off for Route 10.

"Alright, another day, another adventure!"

But Goh wasn't so sure.

"Yeah…adventure…"

"What's wrong, Goh?"

"It's just…I'm not that great with teamwork."

"What're you talking about? We work together all the time."

"Yeah, but that's different. These are people I'm competing with for a spot on the expedition team, and they're probably strangers too. How do I know I can trust them? And even if I can, what if I screw it up? We could all fail the trial mission because of me!"

Ash chuckled, and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure everyone's as nervous as you are. Besides, you'll do great! Remember the raid battle we had in the Colossus ruins? You totally knocked it out of the park!"

Goh smiled, his confidence now boosted.

"You're right, Ash! Time to face this head on! Right, Cinderace?"

"Cinderace!"

"That's the spirit!"

It didn't take long for them to reach the old Power Plant, its faded walls and cracked support beams making it an eerie sight.

"Man, Zapdos sure knows how to find a hangout spot."

"Goh, is that you?"

Standing outside waiting for them was Green, the girl Goh met during his entrance mission.

"Green! Long time no see! This is my friend, Ash-"

Green gasped in shock, and immediately began shaking his hand.

"Oh my gosh, you're Ash Ketchum! I saw all of your Pokemon League battles, you're amazing! You totally got cheated in Sinnoh!"

She then turned to Goh, upset.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew THE Ash Ketchum?"

Goh chuckled, and shrugged nervously.

"I didn't know he was such a big deal. I just thought he was a regular trainer."

"A regular trainer? He's the champion of Alola!"

Goh's jaw dropped.
"YOU'RE WHAT? Why didn't you tell me?"

Ash just chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously while Green kept snapping pictures of him.

"It just never came up."

"Never came up? What about when we were in Alola?!"

"Look, can we just-"

"Is this really who I have to work with?"

The third member of their team stepped out from the power plant. He was a 13 year old male with white hair and dark circles under his eyes, giving him an intimidating appearance.

"And just who are you?"

"My name's Sterling, and I'm here for the same reason you lot are."

"Great! The more the merrier."

Green held out her hand for a handshake, but Sterling just ignored her and headed back inside the building.

"Come on, the sooner we get started, the sooner we can finish."

Green just scoffed, retracting her hand.

"Rude."

Goh sighed. He could tell this was going to be a long day.

The Power Plant was dark, with only the light trickling in through the holes in the ceiling and the occasional sparks from the broken machinery to light their way. Sterling led the way, refusing to so much as glance back at his teammates. Green was right behind him, still frustrated with his lack of cooperation. Ash and Goh brought up the rear. Suddenly, Green stopped in her tracks, leaning against a support column as she began to dig around in her backpack.

"What're you doing, Green."

At last, she pulled out the object she was looking for: an insulin needle.

"My blood sugar is getting low. Just give me a second, and I'll be good."

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Goh saw a Voltorb rolling its way towards her, about to explode.

"Green, look out!"

Luckily, Green received his warning just in time, managing to duck so he could throw a Pokeball, catching Voltorb before he could do any harm. Green breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Goh."

"You alright?"

Green nodded, putting her medicine away.

"Yeah, thanks to you."

Sterling, however, was not sympathetic.

"If I didn't need a team to battle Zapdos, I would've left you behind. Pick up the slack!"

"Hey man, chill out! She has a medical condition, she can't help it."

"So? You think Mew will wait for her to take her medication? If you can't keep up, then get lost."

Before he could be confronted with his behavior, Sterling kept walking forward, leaving Green to seethe in fury.

"What a jerk."

"Don't bother Green, he's not worth it. Let's just complete the mission and hope we don't have to work with him ever again."

"Agreed. Thanks again, Goh."

"Don't mention it."

After a few more minutes of hiking, they reached the end of the building. The group glanced around, but saw no sign of Zapdos. And there was no other place for it to be hiding, although the roof was completely ripped off in this section.

"Guess it's not here right now."

"So now what?"

"Simple. We wait."

They didn't have to wait long, though, for soon a loud screech filled the air. Zapdos flew in through the open roof, glaring daggers at the intruders in his den. Suddenly, from a shadowed corner of the plant, a drone floated over to deliver its message.

"Attention, Project Mew Challengers! For this trial mission, each of you is only allowed two Pokemon! This mission has a limit of 5 minutes, and will end if any of the following conditions are met: all competing Pokemon have been rendered unable to battle, a challenger manages to catch Zapdos, or the time limit runs out. Begin!"

"Go, Cinderace!"

"Darmanitan, go!"

"Clefable, standby!"

"Kubfu, I choose you!"

Once everyone had sent out their first Pokemon, the drone started its timer.

"Clefable, use Moonblast!

"Pyro Ball, Cinderace!"

"Ice Beam, Darmanitan!"

"Zen Headbutt, Kubfu!"

The first three's attacks hit Zapdos head on, giving Kubfu the chance to rush in and headbut it. Zapdos was undeterred, however, and fought back with a Thundershock, throwing Kubfu off it and hitting its other foes with quick and impressive force.

"Don't let up, Cinderace! Use Blaze kick!"

"Clefable, use Pound!"

"Brick Break, Kubfu!"

This time their Pokemon went for close ranged attacks, punching and kicking at Zapdos. The legendary bird tried to swat them away, but they kept at it.

"Icicle Crash, Darmanitan!"

With a roar, the Galarian Darmanitan summoned large icicle shards to come raining down from the ceiling. They did manage to hit Zapdos, but they also hit his teammate's Pokemon as well, much to Green's frustration.

"Are you blind! We're on the same team!"

"All that matters is victory. Next time, don't be in my way."

Enraged, Green returned her unconscious Clefable, and took out another Pokeball.

"So that's how you want to play it? Fine! Go, Ninetales! Use Flamethrower!"

The Fire Type let loose a torrent of flames, scorching the ice type and leaving it burned. Sterling seethed in fury as his Darmanitan switched to Zen Mode.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it! Bulldoze, Darmanitan!"

Ash and Goh watched the two go at it for a minute, unsure how to handle it. Meanwhile, Zapdos went in for another attack, this time for a Drill Peck on Kubfu.

"Focus Punch, Kubfu!"

"Fire Pledge, Cinderace!"

Despite their attacks making contact, Zapdos still powered through it and delivered a Drill Peck right on Kubfu's forehead, knocking the poor fighting type out.

"Kubfu! Return."

Ash smiled, proud of his Pokemon for its valiant effort.

"Good job, Kubfu. Get some rest. Go, Lucario!"

Both Lucario and Cinderace nodded to each other as a sign of respect, before turning to face their legendary opponent once more. Zapdos screeched, and unleashed a powerful Zap Cannon, which the two Pokemon just barely managed to dodge in time.

"Vacuum Wave, Lucario!"

"Cinderace, use Ember!"

Once they were clear of the attack, Lucario and Cinderace launched their attacks, striking Zapdos head on. But still Zapdos kept attacking, even more enraged now by the intruders.

"Aura Sphere!"

"Pyro Ball!"

The two Pokemon launched their signature attacks, knocking Zapdos off its flight path momentarily. But even then, Zapdos came back even stronger than ever, using its wings to create massive Hurricane winds, nearly blowing everyone away. Ash looked at Cinderace and Lucario, and could tell they were on their last legs.

"This is getting intense! If we don't do something soon, Zapdos will tear this place apart!"

"Got any ideas?"

Ash turned towards their teammates, only to find that Darmanitan had been knocked out and Ninetales was going at it with a Runegrigus. Clearly, they weren't going to be any help.

"Wait a minute, I have an idea! What if we combine our attacks?"

"Combine them how?"

"If both Lucario and Cinderace launch them at the same time, it might just combine and do the trick."

Ash thought for a minute, before nodding.
"Alright, let's do this! Lucario, charge up an Aura Sphere!"

Fighting against the heavy winds, Lucario began charging up his attack, the ball getting larger by the second.

"Pyro Ball, Cinderace, and make it big!"

Cinderace nodded, and began kicking up a giant fireball with his feet. After a few minutes…

"Now!"

Together, the two Pokemon launched their giant spheres, the two coming together to create a massive fireball surrounded with aura. Zapdos couldn't dodge in time, the attack knocking the bird right out of the air and onto the ground.

"Yes! Way to go!"

"Now to catch it!"

But before he could, the drone buzzed loudly, distracting them long enough for Zapdos to flee.

"Attention challengers, this trial mission is now over!"

Green and Sterling glanced over, having missed all the action.

"What, already?"
"You moron! If you hadn't distracted me, I could've caught it!"

"Then next time don't get in my way!"

"The results of this battle will be reported to headquarters! Stay tuned for more information."

With that, the drone flew off, leaving the challengers and Ash alone once more.

"Now what?"

"Let's just get out of here."

"Agreed."

Later, when they had gotten back to Vermillion City, they got news back from Project Mew. Quillon was the one who called them, and he was not happy.

"I don't know what you two call cooperation, but that was pathetic. If that's how you work as a team, then don't even bother trying to earn more tokens."

Green and Sterling said nothing, but it was clear that his words hurt. Quillon then turned to Goh.

"Since you at least tried to battle Zapdos and not the other challengers, you'll receive 3 tokens for this mission. As for you two, perhaps you could learn a thing or two from him. Dismissed."

With that, Quillon cut the call off, leaving the challengers alone. Sterling scoffed, and began walking away.

"Whatever."

Goh just rolled his eyes, unable to understand how he could still behave like this. He was about to go home when he saw Green's upset expression.

"Hey, you alright?"

"No. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I failed. Again."

Goh smiled, and patted her on the back.

"Hey, practice makes perfect, right? I know you'll do better next time. Besides, that guy totally had it coming."

Green sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Thanks, Goh. I hope we have another mission together sometime."

"Me too, Green."

With that, the two challengers went their separate ways, hoping that the next time they had a mission they weren't paired with Sterling.