Iron-Masked Marauder: Difference between revisions

The '''Iron-Masked Marauder''' (Japanese: '''ビシャス''' ''Vicious'') is the main antagonist in the fourth [[Pokémon movie]], ''[[M04|Celebi: Voice of the Forest]]''. He is an Elite Officer of [[Team Rocket]].

The Iron-Masked Marauder was introduced accosting an old {{pkmn|poacher|Pokémon hunter}} for information about a {{OBP|Celebi|M04}} he had pursued years ago. When the hunter refused to talk, he decided to show him the power of his [[Dark Ball]]s by using it on a captured {{p|Tyranitar}}. When the corrupted Tyranitar began destroying the hunter's camp, he showed the Iron-Masked Marauder where he found the Celebi.

Using the hunter's information, the Iron-Masked Marauder set out for the forest in a large, spider-like mecha. He eventually came upon {{Ash}}, {{an|Misty}}, {{an|Brock}}, [[Sam]], and an injured Celebi. His attempt to capture the Pokémon failed when the [[Team Rocket trio]] intervened, but they quickly offered to join him after they recognized him.

In an attempt to slow his quarry, the Iron-Masked Marauder sent out his {{p|Sneasel}} and {{p|Scizor}} to pursue the heroes while he followed in his mecha. Eventually, he discovered his Pokémon tied to a rock, at which point he laughed and noted that "those kids" were tougher than they looked. Declaring that the situation had become "interesting", the Marauder and his allies carried on, leaving his Pokémon behind.

Despite searching for the rest of the day, the Marauder failed to find Celebi. However, he quickly formulated a new plan, ambushing the group as they attempted to return to [[Arborville]], with [[Jessie]], [[James]], and {{MTR}} blocking their escape route. Destroying a few trees to distract the group, the Marauder finally managed to grab Celebi with his mecha's claws, brutally electrocuting it before capturing it in a Dark Ball. Before the villain could properly relish his victory, Ash attempted to retrieve Celebi with the help of a flock of wild {{p|Pidgey}}. Although the resulting struggle toppled the Marauder's mecha, he quickly reclaimed his Dark Ball by stepping on Ash's hands until the boy passed out.

Surrounded by angry [[wild Pokémon]], the Iron-Masked Marauder decided to demonstrate the corrupted Celebi's power on them, sending it to attack the wild Pokémon and devastate the forest. Impressed by the resulting display, the Marauder ordered Celebi to absorb the surrounding debris, creating a spiked sphere that he proceeded to ride deeper into the forest. Along the way, he discovered that Jessie had been accidentally sucked into the construct, but welcomed her presence, stating that he needed her to witness Celebi's power and relay the information to {{an|Giovanni|their boss}}. With that, the Marauder had Celebi transform its construct into a nightmarish monster that began laying waste to the forest and the [[Lake of Life]], revealing his intentions to usurp Giovanni as leader of Team Rocket and conquer the {{pkmn|world}}.

When Ash and {{ashfr}} arrived to try and save Celebi, the Iron-Masked Marauder directed the corrupted Pokémon's attacks against them. Ash, {{AP|Pikachu}}, and Sam were narrowly saved from one blast by the arrival of {{OBP|Suicune|M04}}, prompting the Marauder to send out his Tyranitar to try and defeat it. Although the corrupted Armor Pokémon was beaten by Suicune and [[Brock's Onix]], the Marauder remained confident as he sent Celebi to destroy them. He watched Celebi trap and torture Suicune with dark energy, but consequently missed Ash, Pikachu, and Sam's infiltration of the construct. When the electric torture paused due to Celebi fighting the Dark Ball's control, the Marauder attempted to keep Celebi on his side, reminding it that the heroes were its enemies. Ultimately, Ash and Sam's pleas won out and Celebi snapped out of its trance, destroying the Marauder's Dark Ball and knocking him into the lake when the construct collapsed.

The Iron-Masked Marauder made one final attempt to capture Celebi after its recovery, bursting out of the Lake of Life when the Pokémon flew over his hiding place. He attempted to escape with his jetpack, but Ash and Pikachu managed to grab onto his leg. While trying to kick Ash off, the Marauder was electrocuted by Pikachu's {{m|Thunderbolt}}, destroying his jetpack and sending all three of them plummeting. Celebi saved Ash and Pikachu with its {{m|Psychic|powers}}, but the Marauder was left to fall into the forest. Although he survived his fall, his mask was knocked off and his remaining Dark Balls were destroyed.

The Iron-Masked Marauder is a villain with absolutely no redeeming qualities. He is shown to be a malicious psychopath and also a megalomaniac, dishonest, ruthless, cruel, and egocentric person. He values his own life above that of others, whether out of cowardice or selfishness, and has no qualms about harming others, be it [[human]]s or {{OBP|Pokémon|species}}, for the sake of reaching his own goals.

He is also shown to be ambitious — although he makes pretense of capturing the {{pkmn2|Legendary|Mythical Pokémon}} {{OBP|Celebi|M04}} to present it to {{an|Giovanni}}, his true intentions are to use its power to overthrow his boss and rule [[Team Rocket]] himself. To achieve his aims, he will gladly sacrifice everything and anything, including his allies and his own Pokémon. This would prove his undoing, as abandoning his Pokémon left him helpless against the angry Pokémon of the forest when he was finally defeated at the end of the movie.

The Iron-Masked Marauder is skilled at hand-to-hand combat, but does not have the best balance. His primary advantages are his [[Dark Ball]]s. He also uses a jetpack concealed under his cloak, and a large, four-legged mecha for transport. The mecha can generate a dark barrier to protect it from attacks, and is armed with a pair of strong tentacles tipped with jagged claws which can electrify themselves.

Not much is known about his origins. However, he has quite a reputation within Team Rocket, as [[Jessie]], [[James]], and {{MTR}} were all able to recognize him and immediately started kowtowing shamelessly. He seems to have a great deal of dislike for his boss, but will gladly use the help of other Team Rocket members to achieve his goals, as shown when he sided with the [[Team Rocket trio]] for the purpose of helping him carry out his plans and spreading the word about his newfound power.

|desc=The Iron-Masked Marauder sent his {{p|Scizor}} after Ash and company. It also battled against [[Ash's Bayleef]]. Like all of Marauder's Pokémon, Scizor was caught with a Dark Ball, having its power charged to the highest level. Despite this, {{p|Bayleef}} was able to defeat Scizor with a {{m|Razor Leaf}}-{{m|Vine Whip}} combo. Later, after the Marauder was unmasked, Scizor was seen disappearing into the [[Ilex Forest]] along with Sneasel, freed from the Marauder's control.

|desc=The Marauder's {{p|Sneasel}} was first seen during his interrogation of the old [[Pokémon poacher|Pokémon Hunter]], where it freed a Tyranitar for the Marauder to capture with a Dark Ball. It was later deployed to go after Ash and company, battling [[Sam]]'s {{p|Charmeleon}}. Despite its Dark Ball-enhanced power, it was defeated by Charmeleon's {{m|Headbutt}}. After the Marauder's final defeat, Sneasel was apparently freed from his control - it was last seen disappearing into the Ilex Forest along with Scizor.

|desc=The Marauder caught a {{p|Tyranitar}} at the Pokémon Hunter's camp in order to demonstrate the powers of his Dark Ball and force the Hunter to reveal the place where he had seen Celebi. It was originally rather timid - possibly due to its captivity - but the Dark Ball's influence transformed it into a violent monstrosity that lay waste to whatever its new master commanded it to.

The Marauder sent his new Tyranitar to attack Ash and friends, who were carrying Celebi, but they got away when [[James's Weezing]] used its {{m|SmokeScreen}} to distract the Marauder. It was later sent against {{OBP|Suicune|M04}} in order to weaken it so the Marauder could capture it. Brock used his {{TP|Brock|Onix}} to battle Tyranitar, but the powered-up Armor Pokémon was too strong for Brock's Rock Snake Pokémon. {{p|Suicune}}, however, was able to defeat Tyranitar with a powerful {{m|BubbleBeam}}, and Onix used the last of its strength to slam it into the [[Lake of Life]]. Later, after the Marauder was defeated, the freed Tyranitar was seen swimming through the lake and disappearing into the mist, sinking Team Rocket's raft on the way.

|desc=The Marauder's ultimate goal was to capture and corrupt a {{p|Celebi}} to use for his schemes. After searching for a long time and gaining the assistance of the Team Rocket trio, he finally managed to capture it with his Dark Ball, turning it into a mindless engine of destruction. The Marauder used Celebi to create a huge monster out of debris in the forest, planning to destroy {{an|Giovanni}} and take over [[Team Rocket]], eventually achieving conquest of the entire world by using Celebi's powers.

However, Ash and Sammy managed to infiltrate the construct and negate Celebi's brainwashing by reminding it of their shared memories. This destroyed Celebi's Dark Ball, freeing it, and causing the huge "twig-monster", as [[James]] called it, to collapse into the lake. After the Celebi from the future and the past had saved this Celebi from dying, the Marauder comes out of the lake, grabs Celebi and attempts to fly away with his rocket pack, but Ash grabbed his feet and had his Pikachu to use {{m|Thunderbolt}}, destroying the rocket pack and freeing Celebi from Marauder's grip.}}