Monster Rancher Episode 11: Pixie's Defeat

Last time on Monster Rancher, the Searchers were all enslaved, and Pixie nearly killed Genki and Mocchi! Let's see how Genki and the others recover from certain defeat!

Genki and Mocchi are still climbing the cliff Pixie zapped them off of... and then a handhold gives way!

Genki survives by barely clinging to a giant rock. "Be careful, Genki," Mocchi cries. Genki promises he will.

It takes time and effort, but Genki climbs back up the cliff. They're safe!

And then Genki sees someone else. It's Mickey! Either he escaped, or Pixie kept her promise after all. But he doesn't look too good!

Genki offers him water, and Mickey thanks him. "Lucky for me you came along!" Genki says that they're just glad to be here after that climb. Mickey nods. "And what about the rest of your group? Are they around here somewhere too?"

Genki frowns, eyes sullen. "No. Pixie..."

"If you want my help, I'll come with you, Genki. Pixie's the worst there is." But he refuses. "I'm the one who got us into this mess."

Genki, Mocchi, and Mickey reach the end of the canyon, and Mickey wishes the pair good luck. "You and your Monsters have some good attacks, but just be careful. She's dangerous. Go north! She'll have them at North Town!"

Genki thanks him. "We'll send help back for you!" He blades off, Mocchi barely hanging on to his back.

The next day, at North Town, the Searchers are working alongside the enslaved men. "What is it with these guys? Pick up the rocks, put down the rocks. Pick up the rocks, put down the rocks. It never ends," Suezo complains.

But Hare reminds him that it'll end when Moo himself arrives, so they should enjoy it while they can. Golem proposes they escape soon, before he arrives. "Moo turns all Monsters into baddies so they can do his nasty work for him. I will not."

Tiger agrees with Golem. "I'm ready to break loose from these restraints any time now!"

But Holly silences him. "No, don't! Tiger, you can't forget that we aren't just acting on our own here! You know that if we escape, they'll just take it out on the others!"

"And we don't have Genki or Mocchi here to help, either," Suezo laments. "No more Cherry Blossom Blizzards! No more 'kiss the sky'!"

Holly turns to the sky in thought. "Maybe they're okay..."

That night, Pixie contemplates the moon and Genki's words to her.

"Doesn't a promise mean anything anymore?"

She rubs her cheek where Genki had hit her.

Back at the camp, one of the Usabas (Plant/Suezo) barks orders. "Work detail is over! Return to your cells now! Keep moving! Do as I say!"

But Genki and Mocchi are watching him, and retreat to come up with a plan.

"Only one of us can go, so you wait here, Mocchi!" Mocchi wants to go, but Genki refuses. "Can't happen! If we both go and we both get caught, then who'll be left to find the Phoenix?"

Mocchi doesn't care and whines that he doesn't want to stay, but Genki silences him. "Mocchi, this is important. Listen. If I or the others don't return, someone has to find the Phoenix. Please..."

Mocchi blinks... and nods. Genki bids him goodbye. "Our hearts will always be together!" "Mocchi wait right here! Mocchi!~"

Then a Clay stomps up behind him. Mocchi slowly turns, and gasps...

Genki watches two Usabas patrol. "They must be guards!"

He tosses a stone to get their attention, and when only one goes, he sneaks behind the other Usaba. Running, Genki sees a literal light at the end of a tunnel!

He's about to celebrate--until he sees there are so many cells, each packed with men. "This is... terrible..."

Then Holly sees him and calls him over! He asks if everyone's alright, and Holly nods. 'We thought it would take you forever and a day to climb out of that canyon!"

Tiger tells them to keep it down, as he's trying to sleep, but Hare teases him. "It's no good pretending you don't care, Tiger! You've been worried more than anybody!" Tiger blushes and tries to deny it, to no avail.

Golem stops the pair from fighting by picking them up, and Tiger and Hare squabble about what to do. Tiger prefers a Torpedo attack or two, while Hare reminds the group that Pixie has a habit of taking hostages, which served them quite well in the past.

But it's Holly that comes up with the plan! "We can use a Torpedo attack and make sure all of the slaves leave so Pixie can't take any hostages!"

One of the men in a neighboring cell hears their plan and calls them over. "I'm Rocco, and it sounds like you're plannin' to blow this pop stand!"

Genki says he is, and tells the men that Pixie and Big Blue tried to get the best of him, but it didn't work. When Rocco asks if the Monsters have good attacks, Genki responds that they do!

Rocco turns to the other men. "I say we throw in with these kids and their Monster pals! Objections?"

"How about Pixie's revenge if we fail?" "And don't forget about Big Blue!"

But one of the men thinks about it. "But the alternative is to be slaves in here for the rest of our lives... Not much of a life!"

"I'm against pain, myself..." "I miss the scent of a nice rose..." "What about a butterfly on a summer morning?"

"That's right," one of them yells. "While we're slaving away in here mining disks, there's a whole world out there that's going by, and we're gonna miss it altogether if we don't act! Let's go for it!"

Everyone cheers and agrees to escape, and Genki and Rocco are proud.

Meanwhile, the two Usabas regroup. "Took you long enough! What was the noise?" "Beats me!"

Then Genki shows up and gets them to chase him! "Come and get me, onion Monsters!"

They follow him into the cell area... where Tiger is waiting to zap them through the cell bars!

Genki gets the keys, and soon everyone is freed. "Is everybody ready?" "Yeah!"

They make it out and to the cave entrance... and stop when Genki sees a badly hurt Mocchi!

"Mocchi! Pixie's gotta be the meanest Monster ever! Talk to me!" "Gen...ki..."

We see Pixie's lips twisted in a smirk...

And she and her group were waiting at the entrance! The Searchers and escapees are surrounded.

Genki tries reasoning with her. "Pixie, listen! I know it wasn't right of me to hit you, but you didn't have to take it out on poor Mocchi!"

Pixie responds, pain in her voice. "You humans have been punishing us Monsters for years, and now you know what it feels like! You don't have a clue how it feels to be born into bondage! Greedy humans once ruled this land!"

Genki's anger subsides as he looks around at the city, its prison, and its walls.

"Rocco, did the humans here used to imprison the Monsters?" "Yes. There was a despicable ruler who captured many Monsters to excavate the ruins, looking for anything that was worth money." "It's terrible!"

"And we revolted," Pixie finishes.

Holly tries to reason with her. "But Pixie, don't you see that now you've done to the humans what you despise so much yourselves?"

"But this time, it's for a purpose--Master Moo's purpose! Master Moo made us a part of his family, and for the first time, Monsters belonged! We were baddies... we had value!"

Golem nods. "Family fills a hole that Golem understands."

"You do?"

"You have sad eyes, Pixie. You were lonesome, so you jojned Moo."

Genki chimes in that even he understands about loneliness, with Mocchi nodding as well. "So... why don't we all just be friends?"

"Foolishness!" "Pixie, we don't have to be enemies!"

But Pixie orders her troops to attack.

Tiger zaps the Usabas with lightning, and Rocco and his men charge forward with shovels and picks.

Golem defends Holly from an Usaba with a well-placed palm strike, and Genki punches one into the sky!

Seeing her men be defeated so easily, Pixie orders Big Blue to fall back. Genki asks where she's going, and she tells the Searchers to follow her. "We've got too much entourage!"

The Searchers give chase, stopping at the ancient ruins. Are you guys ready for six and a half full minutes of awesome? I am!

"So here we are, Pixie," Genki says. "Just listen. Think for a second! We don't have to fight if we choose not to. No one's making us! Do you get it?"

Tiger ignores both of them and charges. "Forget it. This one is mine!"

He leaps at her, but she dodges very quickly--so fast that for a few frames she's invisible and unshaded as she moves from one location to the next!

She appears next to Tiger and lashes out with a lightning attack, knocking him to the ground.

Tiger tries again with a Blizzard attack, but Pixie dodges, and Big Blue blocks it with a fist!

Pixie then zaps at Tiger with torpedoes, knocking him back.

Genki and Mocchi charge at Pixie. "You've got a heart! I know you do!"

They aim a kick at Big Blue... but Pixie intercepts their attack with lightning.

Hare tries a punch, but Big Blue swats him away--and when Suezo tries a last-ditch tail attack, Pixie zaps him with a torpedo. "They don't seem to know when to quit, do they," Big Blue comments.

With everyone down, Holly tries to step in. "Pixie, please make peace with the humans! Rocco and the other slaves aren't like the humans that did you harm!" Golem nods. "Grudges are never good. They only give birth to other grudges!"

But Pixie remains stubborn. "Be quiet!" She then orders Big Blue to drive his chariot straight at Holly and Golem!

Golem tells Holly to take cover. "Holly, this one is mine." Holly's confused, since Golem doesn't fight, but he tells her to hurry. She nods and runs behind him.

Golem faces down their chariot...

And he splits apart! "Tornado!"

"Should we be worried," Big Blue asks as Pixie springs off him. "Nah!"

She chuckles even as Golem's pieces spin around, forming a cyclone...

Golem crashes into their chariot, destroying it and scattering the riders!

Big Blue lands safely, and Golem pieces himself back together. "I do not like fighting. It tears me apart. Big Blue, why don't we discuss this like civilized Golems?"

Before he can answer, Pixie zaps at Golem. "Because!"

Her blast is powerful enough to knock Golem into the side of a cliff, but he stands. "Fighting hurts," he adds, charging at Big Blue. Pixie orders they go hand-to-hand, and the Golems grapple with each other.

Pixie watches them--and turns to see everyone charging her at once.

"A group effort? How moving," she says, charging at them herself.

"All attack formation," Genki orders. The Searchers line up and leap as one.

She unleashes a torpedo, but they use its momentum to catapult forward.

Hare attacks first, and is zapped.

Suezo launches a tail attack, but Pixie zaps him too.

Tiger charges at Pixie with a Blizzard--she barely dodges.

And with Genki serving as a further distraction (less so in the uncut version, where he headbutted Pixie here)...

Mocchi is able to hit Pixie with the Cherry Blossom Blizzard.

She spins around wildly, trapped in its vortex...

And crashes wings-first into the ancient ruins where she so long enslaved humans.

"Nice try," she groans, out of breath. "Let's quit while we're all ahead," Genki offers.

Pixie refuses. "I'm not finished yet!"

"You can't defeat us because we're a team, Pixie. If one of us is down, the others will step in. You've gotta see that."

"Nnn... Team this," she shouts, preparing a torpedo attack.

Tiger pounces on her, and her shot goes wild--and into the ceiling. Immediately, the ruins start to collapse.

Golem and Big Blue turn at the noise. "Oh no," Holly yells, running for her friends. "The ruins!"

The Searchers panic and run, but Genki turns and sees Pixie hasn't moved a muscle. "hey, Pixie! It's collapsing! Hurry up and escape!"

"What's the point? Moo will never forgive me for this!"

Yelling that she shouldn't care about Moo at a time like this, Genki charges forward, into the ruins--and so does Big Blue. "Master Pixie! No!"

Holly screams Genki's name as the ruins collapse completely...

But help is on the way. Rocco and the escaped men arrive and help the Searchers dig.

"Genki! Can you hear me?"

Golem lifts up a large rock and signals everyone over. "I found them! Here! Come!"

Pixie slowly opens her eyes and sees Genki, smiling. He'd sheltered her with his body the whole night, and Big Blue has done the same for both of them.

"Well? Did you win," she croaks. "Sort of! Actually, it was a tie, Pixie."

Confused, she looks up and sees that everyone she oppressed helped dig them out--and she and Big Blue survived too.

Genki thanks Big Blue. "I was only protecting Master Pixie. I was not trying to save you, Genki." "Well, too bad! You did anyway!" Pixie looks on, clearly thinking about what just happened.

That morning, Genki asks Pixie what they're going to do next. "I dunno! Not much call for defeated baddies, and Master Moo will be after us soon."

Genki smiles. "If Moo is after you, then you must be a goodie and not a baddie anymore. Why don't you come with us?"

Pixie stares. "Genki... I thank you for risking your life to save mine, but..."

They turn. "Don't get any ideas," Big Blue warns. "Next time, we'll beat you for sure."

Genki's fine with that. "The both of you can always join up with us later if you want. Take care of yourselves! Good luck against Moo!"

Golem watches them leave. "They have to be silent. They only know how to wave goodbye in their hearts."

"Rocco, shouldn't we go after them," one of the freed men asks. Rocco shakes his head. "Listen. If we take revenge on Pixie, we'll only be repeating the same mistake that's gone on for generation after generation."

"Maybe we can break the cycle."

"Good bye! I sure hope you find whatever it is you're looking for!" "Goodbye, chi!"

And so, the Searchers defeated powerful enemies and made powerful allies. In time, they'll become powerful friends.