Sensing the strange disturbances within the forest, Towa and Diana arrived aboard Mr. White's blimp.
Ash, his eyes bloodshot with fury, glanced back. Their timing was perfect. "Molly, go to Diana. Your big brother has a monster to take down!"
Molly wasn't frightened by Ash's crimson-tinged eyes. The little girl nodded obediently. "Good luck, big brother Ash!"
"Raikou, I'm counting on you! Get Molly up there and then come back to me!"
Ash summoned Raikou, letting Molly climb onto its back. With a powerful lunge, Raikou leaped several times through the trees, eventually landing on the hovering blimp.
"Is that... Raikou?"
Towa was nearly startled out of her wits, but luckily Molly scrambled down from the beast's back just in time.
"Don't be afraid, Towa! This is Uncle Raikou. He's one of big brother Ash's Pokémon!" Molly turned back and gave Raikou one last hug. "Uncle Raikou, hurry back to him!"
Raikou nodded, leaped off the blimp, and returned to Ash's side.
"Towa, we can leave things to big brother Ash. He will definitely save Celebi!" Molly spoke with absolute confidence.
Towa nodded slowly, looking down at the monstrosity Celebi had become. "To use the Voice of the Forest to destroy the forest... this is too much!"
"Exactly! Big brother Ash will give that bad man a lesson he'll never forget!"
While Molly comforted the others, Ash sat astride Raikou. Together with Typhlosion, they stood once more before the Iron Mask Marauder.
Seeing Raikou, Vicious grew even more excited. "Excellent! I didn't expect you to deliver Raikou right to my doorstep!"
"Celebi, destroy him! Tear him to shreds!"
At that moment, Celebi was controlling the surrounding plant life, transforming it into a gargantuan beast with a gaping maw, thick wooden arms, and tattered wings. It had no legs, instead hovering and drifting through the air. Vicious stood arrogantly upon one of the monster's massive arms.
Celebi was buried deep within the monster's throat, controlling its every movement. All of its special attacks were launched from there. Under the corruption of the Dark Ball, its Psyshock had turned an eerie, sinister purple.
"Scatter!"
At Ash's command, Typhlosion and Raikou dodged the horrifyingly powerful blast. However, the attack struck the Lake of Life directly. The once-clear water erupted in pillars several meters high, churning up the silt at the bottom. Evil energy flooded the waters, and the lake's color began to warp.
"Dammit!"
Ash's rage had already turned his vision red. Typhlosion had completed its Bond Evolution, and their hearts were as one. Feeling Ash's towering fury, the flames on Typhlosion's back intensified, the temperature skyrocketing. According to the Pokédex, when Typhlosion's anger reaches its peak, it becomes so hot that anything it touches instantly ignites!
"Raikou, summon the thunderclouds!"
"Typhlosion, Eruption!"
"Pikachu, Thunder!"
In an instant, the sky above the forest turned dark, though no rain fell. Instead, countless snakes of lightning slithered through the clouds. At Ash's command, two bolts of lightning arced toward Vicious's head.
Pikachu, empowered by his Light Ball, added his own Thunder to the barrage! Combined with the towering flames of Typhlosion's Eruption, the dark forest was momentarily illuminated as if by a second sun.
However, the wooden monster shielded Vicious with its hand. He seized the chance to jump onto a thick, sturdy branch nearby. Ash's three "sure-kill" attacks had only managed to destroy a section of the wooden monster's arm, which Celebi regenerated almost instantly.
"Haha!" Vicious laughed wildly. "I have obtained the strongest Pokémon! Team Rocket... I no longer need to follow your orders. Giovanni, I am the man who will conquer the world!"
He looked at Ash with a venomous glare. "Kid, you are indeed a genius, but today is the day you fall!"
Celebi's next attack came, more overwhelming than the last.
"Ash!" Misty screamed in terror. If that attack hit head-on, even a divine beast like Raikou wouldn't survive!
"Quick Attack!"
Raikou and Typhlosion used Quick Attack simultaneously, narrowly evading the blast. The attack landed on the lakeshore, throwing up clouds of dust and dark energy that drifted into the Lake of Life.
"Suicune!"
After dodging, Ash roared toward the heavens! He knew Suicune was here. It didn't need the summons of a Clear Bell; it had to be on its way! Ash had already sensed its presence.
Sure enough, as soon as Ash finished his call, the majestic figure of Suicune appeared beside Raikou. The Divine Beasts of Water and Thunder locked eyes and shared a silent nod.
Ash looked toward Sam, who was standing beside Misty. "Sam!"
Sam hurried over. "Ash, I'm here!"
"Sam, we have to wake Celebi up. You need to ride Suicune and get close to Celebi's physical body. You have to wake it up!" Ash's bloodshot eyes fixed on Sam. He was placing everything in Sam's hands.
This was the future Professor Oak! Sam understood the gravity of the situation and immediately nodded, climbing onto Suicune. "Suicune, please!"
"Charge straight ahead! I'll provide cover!" Ash shouted.
Suicune and Sam nodded and dashed toward the plant monster. Seeing Suicune join the fray, Vicious sneered and pulled out another Dark Ball. This Suicune was still "unclaimed."
"Then I'll make that Suicune mine as well!"
The Dark Ball was thrown, and the heavily injured Tyranitar appeared once more before Ash. It blocked Suicune's path, charging up a Hyper Beam.
Suddenly, an Onix slammed into it, knocking it aside. It was Brock's Onix, with Misty's ace Starmie standing on its head!
"Ash, Sam, leave this Tyranitar to us!"
It wasn't just Misty and Brock. Meganium also stood beside Onix. With its current strength, defeating the weakened Tyranitar was no impossible feat.
Ash nodded. "Eruption!"
Typhlosion, in its Bond Evolution state, unleashed another torrent of flames, providing Sam and Suicune the opening they needed to scale the wooden monster's shoulder. Just as expected, Celebi was deep inside the throat, protected by thick vines.
"Celebi!"
Sam called out, but the monster twisted violently. Suicune lost its footing and had to leap back down, nearly being crushed by the falling Onix. The Tyranitar was indeed powerful; even while injured, it managed to flip Onix.
However, it was no match for Meganium. Meganium blasted it back with a Solar Beam, finally knocking it out. It tumbled into the Lake of Life, losing consciousness.
Had it been commanded by a proper trainer, that Tyranitar could have been the ace of an Elite Four member. It was a pity it had been captured by a coward like Vicious using a Dark Ball.
The man was still screaming, "Celebi, crush that kid into dust!"
Celebi's attacks focused on Ash and the others again. This played right into Ash's hands. He needed to keep Celebi occupied to give Sam the chance to wake it. They had to stop the monster's movements!
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