- —Tagline
Goro VS Machamp is the 125th episode of Death Battle, featuring Goro from the Mortal Kombat series and Machamp from the Pokémon series in a battle between four-armed martial artists. Goro was voiced by Lucas Schuneman and Machamp was voiced by Kestin Howard.
Interlude
 |
Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates  
|
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: Bruce Lee once said, "I don't believe in different ways of fighting. We all have two arms and two legs, so that is why I believe there should be only ONE way of fighting."
Boomstick: Clearly, he never met these four-armed fighters with four forearms.
Wiz: Goro, the half-dragon prince of Mortal Kombat.
Boomstick: And Machamp, the Fighting-type Pokémon from the Kanto region. He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Goro
|
Invasion by Christopher Ashmore & Benjamin Marks 
|
Boomstick: MORTAL KOMBAT!
Boomstick sings the Mortal Kombat theme.
Boomstick: Ah, a fighting tournament as killer as its iconic theme song. With a reputation like that, you better believe the first boss in the game would be a champion who's won nine times in a row. He won't just kick your ass, he'll rip your arms off, too.
Wiz: This is Goro, prince of the Shokan people and one of their strongest warriors. He's eight feet, two inches tall, weighs 550 pounds, and clocks in at 2,000 years old, with no signs of slowing down.
Boomstick: He's been through a hell of a lot during his run, but here are the highlights. He fought in a civil war, crushed some 500 dollar sunglasses, and uh, oh yeah! He's a half-humanoid, half-dragon person! Who would be stupid enough to fight a half-dragon with four arms?
Wiz: Not many. Most of the Mortal Kombat roster refuses to fight Goro because they're terrified of losing to him. And getting torn in two.
Boomstick: After living for as long as he has, you better believe he's picked up some skills. He's got 500 years of experience in Mortal Kombat tournaments, and has mastered a ton of different fighting styles.
Wiz: He's obviously familiar with the Shokan style, which uses his extra appendages to lethal effect. He's also a master of an adapted version of the Kuatan style, which is much more elaborate and relies on the strengths of a more traditional humanoid body.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: Like kicks and stuff.
Wiz: Uh... right.
Boomstick: On top of that, Goro's got a ton of fun tricks up his four sleeves. Like fireballs, dragon breath, high flying stomps, quadruple grabs, and his favorite: crushin' skulls. But if those don't work, he's got bladed weapons called Dragon Fangs. They're like Shredder's claws, but there's four of 'em, one for each hand. Oh my god...
The music stops
Wiz: Are you okay, Boomstick?
Boomstick: Well... is it weird that Goro kinda reminds me of the guy that my ex-wife ran off with?
Wiz: Why, because he's so buff?
Boomstick: Yeah, but mostly the four arms. I mean, how am I supposed to keep up with that? He's got two more hands than me!
Wiz: Huh. Sorry.
Wiz puts a hand on his shoulder.
Wiz: Anyway...
We cut back to the analysis.
|
Extremity by Barrie Gledden & Kes Loy
|
Wiz: With all those tournament titles, it's pretty clear Goro stands above most other Mortal Kombat combatants, with a "K". Characters like Kabal, Johnny Cage, or even Kotal Kahn, who once destroyed this ship, which is clearly inspired by Spanish conquistadors. Based on historical references to similar ships, the power needed to destroy one like this would require over three billion joules of energy.
Boomstick: We also saw Raiden destroy this temple with almost 270 tons of TNT[Note 1], which is... a lot. On top of that, Kabal can move fast enough to parry machine gun fire. To pull that off, you'd have to be moving almost three times as fast as sound.[Note 2]
Wiz: Goro's not the only impressive Shokan. The tiger-striped Kintaro survived this massive explosion. Using the average height for a Shokan, and comparing it to the blast radius, we can posit that this explosion yielded a force equivalent over 25 tons of TNT.
Boomstick: The Shokan are a tough people, that's for sure, and super proud. After a disappointing loss to the Shaolin monk Liu Kang, Goro was unable to secure a tenth MK title in a row. And while it seriously hurt his warrior pride, he didn't stop beatin' the shit out of people.
Wiz: Not only did he eventually try to win that title again, but he also fought in multiple wars, including one with the similarly powerful Centaurians.
Boomstick: But he never stayed in one place for too long, like when he pissed off Kotal Kahn and got his arms ripped off.
Wiz: But even without his primary weapons at his side, Goro would not give up. He even managed to defeat the ninja Kenshi.
Boomstick: Without any frickin' arms! God damn! Also, a limbless guy versus a blind guy? Throw Professor X in there, and you have yourself the ultimate, and definitely most offensive, cripple threat match. Oh, what? I've got one leg!
Wiz: Ahem, with or without his many titles, Goro always has the make of a champion. His determination and will to fight is only matched by his strength, power, and frankly, bloodlust. Even with his failures, he truly is the greatest of the Shokan.
Goro: I will give you a warrior's death.
Announcer: Round 1... FIGHT!
Machamp
|
Reaching The Summit by John Ashton Thomas
|
Wiz: The Superpower Pokémon, Machamp, is a Fighting-type that originated in the Kanto region. They begin their lives as the youthful Machop, which train tirelessly to learn, and eventually master, every form of martial arts.
Boomstick: It's a lethal combo of adorable and kickass. And they're jacked!
Wiz: The Machop possesses muscles more dense than humans that allow them to train for long periods of time without fatigue. Eventually, the young Machop will reach a new level, leaving behind the days of its youth, and evolving into a Machoke.
Boomstick: The Machoke is strong enough to lift dump trucks with ease. And once he's moved on from the teenage days of angst and rebellion, Machoke evolves into the Rock-spirit Pokémon, Machamp!
|
Black Lights by Gareth Johnson
|
Boomstick: This four-armed fighter stands five feet tall, and weighs an average of 280 pounds.
Wiz: Even after realizing its final evolution, most Machamps continue to train and pursue peak levels of physical fitness.
Boomstick: When they're not firin' off sets at the gym, they're most likely helping humans as movers, construction workers, and bodyguards. Or, you know, they're just beatin' other Pokémon senseless in the dogfighting ring that is the Pokémon world.
Wiz: Questionable pet and owner relationships aside, Machamp seems to simply enjoy helping people, whether in the Pokémon arena or in the outside world.
Boomstick: And Machamps are well equipped for both. They have a ton of great moves, like Bulk Up, which increases physical power, Knock Off, which can knock anything off of an opponent's hands, and Seismic Toss.
Machamp uses Seismic Toss on an Alolan Raticate.
Boomstick: Whoa! Holy shit! Did he just launch that rat into orbit?!
Wiz: Fighting-type Pokémon like Machamp make for fearsome predators against Normal, Ice, Rock, and Dark-types. Even Steel-type Pokémon turn brittle under Machamp's brute strength. On the other end of the spectrum, Machamp can fall prey to agile Flying Pokémon, cerebral Psychic-types, and mystical Fairies.
Boomstick: Man, Pokémon's f*ckin' weird.
Wiz: However, the Machamp can always fall back on their natural abilities. The most common of which is named "Guts". Whenever a Machamp is burned, poisoned, or paralyzed, its adrenaline spikes, increasing its physical power.
Boomstick: Including his physical moves, w-which is like, all of them. According to the Pokédex, Machamp can punch 1,000 times in two seconds, and can move mountains with one hand!
Wiz: Now, the Pokédex isn't always the most reliable source. However, we have seen proof of Machamp's thousand punches in Pokkén Tournament. To do this in two seconds, Machamp must be punching at speeds faster than sound.
Boomstick: Damn! If havin' two extra arms is like shootin' fish in a barrel, then this is like bakin' perfectly good cookie dough. I-It's like, totally unnecessary.
Wiz: In order to move a mountain, Machamp would need to exert anywhere from eight to 30 kilotons of TNT. And pulling off their signature move, Seismic Toss, would require even more energy. Considering an average weight of 200 kilograms for any given Pokémon, and the speed at which they travel when thrown, a typical Machamp's throwing power would need to be equivalent to over 130 kilotons of TNT.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: Machamps can also take a lot of damage. They live and fight together, after all.
Wiz: As we can see, Machops and Machokes in particular are raised in herds of their own kind. It's natural that they would fight all the time, exhausting an insane amount of power on each other. And according to some people, they look great while doing it. There's even a fan club of people who find themselves unexplainably attracted to them. This is real.
Boomstick: Probably run by my ex-wife.
The music stops.
Boomstick: We didn't even make it halfway through the reception. I guess my signature move is signing divorce papers.
We cut back to the analysis.
|
Up Yours by Ceiri Torjussen
|
Wiz: The Machamp is so strong, the species have become a favorite amongst Gym Leaders, such as Giovanni and Bea.
Boomstick: Makes sense. They can go head-to-head with a ton of crazy strong Pocket Monsters.
Wiz: The Machamp is an extremely tough Pokémon that rounds out any roster. After all, they literally live to fight.
Machamp: CHAMP!
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, we'll tell ya about Hims.
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for Hims.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!(The transcript below is exclusive to the YouTube version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, we'll tell ya about Hims.
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for Hims.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
(The transcript below is exclusive to the Rooster Teeth version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!Death Battle
Goro is walking through a rocky, underground area to polish one of his trophies. Suddenly, a wild Machamp crashes through the ceiling a few feet behind him.
Machamp: Machamp.
Embarrassed, Goro quickly shuts his trophy collection from sight and turns to face the intruder with his palm on his face. Once he removes it, he is immediately taken back when he realizes this creature is not one of his kind.
Goro: What? You're no Shokan. Begone from my lair!
|
Four Fist Death Punch by Therewolf Media
|
Machamp does not listen and flexes an arm to signal its desire to challenge Goro.
Machamp: Machamp!
Believing Machamp to be a small deformed Shokan, Goro is infuriated.
Goro: Disgusting. A pathetic runt like you wastes our dragon blood!
Goro steps forward before going into a dash. His new opponent follows up with a dash of its own. The two are locked in a four-armed hand to hand struggle. Goro pushes Machamo back until it takes advantage of its smaller size and uses its two upper hands to flip Goro's own upper arms and deliver a powerful judo throw that sends him crashing across the cavern floor.
Machamp: Cha... Machamp!
Goro does not get a chance to recover as he is tackled into a slam.
Machamp: Ma!
He pelts at Machamp's head with two punches and an axe handle before forcefully throwing him off and getting to his feet and reaching out for a rocky weapons cache.
Machamp: Cha.
The Machamp lands successfully on its feet, only to notice Goro sporting his Dragon Fangs hand blades on each wrist. Goro wastes no time and charges in with a slash. Machamp dodges it and another one but Goro leaps into the air and strikes a downward slash finally drawing blood.
Machamp: Cha?! MACHAMP!
Machamp, now taken by surprise, intensifies its glare. It charges forwards, using Knock Off to remove Goro's Dragon Fangs and thrusts with all four arms, knocking Goro back. Growling, Goro recovers and charges at Machamp, throwing two right hooks at the same time, both hitting it in the face. Machamp is knocked away, landing on its back.
Machamp: Ma!
As Goro leaps up to land on it, Machamp recovers and leaps up as well, grabbing Goro tightly as both continue going up into the sky. As they slow to a halt, they fall back down down to the ground. Goro crashes into the ground face first, creating a small crater. Machamp lands in front of him, striking a pose after performing Seismic Toss.
Machamp: Champ! Champ Champ.
Walking over to the unconscious Goro, Machamp picks him up, holding him in a powerful hug, squeezing tightly. However, Goro wakes up and headbutts Machamp, freeing himself. Taking advantage of the opening, Goro attacks relentlessly, landing a four-fisted slam and two dual hooks.
Machamp: Ma! Champ!
Goro uses his lower arms to hold his opponent in place while using his upper arms to land a barrage of punches.
Machamp: Champ!
Machamp retaliates with an axe handle and lands a few blows, before it and Goro are locked in another struggle to overpower each other.
Goro: Face death... like a warrior!
Machamp: Ma... CHAMP!
Goro: Stop saying that!
Machamp: Champ.
Goro: You're no champ! I am! The Champion of Mortal Kombat!
Machamp wins the struggle, pushing Goro back. Rushing forwards, it attacks Goro. He dodges the first attack, but is struck from behind when Machamp spins behind him and throws a backhanded punch. As a result, Machamp is able to land more blows, before Goro recovers and knocks it away. Machamp recovers instantly and attacks once more, forcing Goro into a defensive position.
Machamp: MA! CHAMP! MA! CHAMP! MACHAMP! MACHAMP! MACHAMP! MACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAMACHAAA!
Pushed back by the barrage of punches and forced against the wall, Goro lashes out and grabs Machamp's head, squeezing tightly, which causes an x-ray shot of Machamp's skull being crushed. Stunned, Machamp is thrown back and lands on the ground, motionless. Walking over to the fallen Machamp, Goro chuckles as he picks it up, ready to perform a Fatality. However, Machamp recovers in time.
Machamp: MA... CHAMP!
Swinging back, it strikes Goro, who swings it around and throws it into a wall, and subsequently, out of the area. Scoffing, Goro turns his back and walks away, believing the battle to be over. Hearing a noise, he flinches and turns around in time to see Machamp burst back in through the door.
Machamp: Machamp!
Goro unleashes his Dragon Breath, coating Machamp in flames. He advances, forcing it back, however, Machamp's Guts ability allows it to power through the flames, making Goro leap back. Coated in a red aura, Machamp winks as it flexes. Goro roars in fury as his hands are coated in green flames. The two trade blows and Machamp is able to land several blows in succession, before Goro knocks Machamp back with one blow. Machamp digs its hands into the ground, picking up two large rocks.
Machamp: Machamp.
Leaping forwards, it strikes Goro with Cross Chop then follows up by smashing the two rocks against him.
Machamp: Champ!
Goro uses all four arms to punch Machamp, but all four hands are caught. Machamp spins and shoves Goro away while still holding on to Goro's lower right arm, ripping it off.
Machamp: Macha!
Goro realizes his arm is missing as he looks down at his new stump, before rushing back quickly into battle and getting in close. He grabs Machamp with his three remaining arms, and returns the favor. However, he takes it a step further and strikes Machamp twice with its own removed lower left arm. Realizing what happened, Machamp finally loses its temper and shouts in anger.
Machamp: Machamp!
Rushing in, Machamp rips off the rest of Goro's arms as Goro makes an attempt to fight back, but to no avail. Stumbling back, Goro growls in pain as he is left armless.
Machamp: Cha...
Machamp runs towards Goro, unleashing a flurry of blows with its three arms, while Goro roars in pain.
Machamp: MACHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMP!
Suddenly, Machamp stops and grins, giving a thumbs up. It then lashes out with a Dynamic Punch with both right arms in the form of an uppercut.
Machamp: MA! CHAMP!
Goro's body is blasted apart, and his head, torso, and legs fly off into the night sky. Meanwhile, Machamp strikes a pose, celebrating its victory.
Machamp: Machamp!
A text box in the style of Pokémon Red and Blue saying MACHAMP hurt by the burn! appears before Machamp falls over, finally registering the injury caused by Goro's Dragon Breath.
Machamp: Ma... Champ...
Results
|
Four Fist Death Punch by Therewolf Media
|
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: Daw, he forgot to say he's "blasting off again." Do it over! We gotta get that joke right at least once.
Wiz: This was certainly a... uh... unique battle to experience.
Boomstick: While Machamp's resilience came in handy, Goro's fighting styles continued to put Machamp to the test again and again. Plus, Goro's huge!
We cut to the post-analysis.
Boomstick: At eight feet tall, Goro towers a full three feet over the average Machamp. Obviously, not including the Dynamax and Gigantamax forms found exclusively in the Galar region.
Wiz: Also, while Machamp could punch at Mach 1 speeds, Goro could technically match Kabal, who would need to move at nearly Mach 3 to parry machine gun fire.
Boomstick: So as far as punchin' speed was concerned, it looks like Goro actually had the advantage.
Wiz: Except it hardly mattered. Machamp's power output outdid Goro's and then some. Even scaling Goro to Kotal Kahn's ship feat and comparing it to the Seismic Toss, Machamp is almost 170,000 times more powerful.
Boomstick: This karate duck man is on a whole other level. Plus, he had a ton of ways to counter everything Goro threw at him. Knock Off prevented Goro from using weapons, and Guts meant he could take Goro's fire breath and use it for himself.
Wiz: The Dragon Fangs and Fire Breath hardly would make much of a difference, considering how durable the Machamp species is. After all, their primary trait is learning how to fight. So they'd naturally be fighting each other quite frequently.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: Ah, the majestic Machamp, roaming the fields of the Kanto region, gently Seismic-Tossing each other into orbit. Just imagine walkin' past that on your Sunday stroll.
Wiz: You were right. The Pokémon world is wild.
Boomstick: This grabby match turned bloody brawl was intense, and made me realize that we're all strong and beautiful just the way we are, no matter how many arms you have or... whose wife you stole.
Wiz: Good for you. While Goro put up an excellent battle that would've made his people proud, he didn't have enough to overpower the Superpower Pokémon.
Boomstick: Unfortunately, this foe was forced to forfeit his four fists. Fitting that his final fate would be so freakin' Gor-y.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is...
Machamp: Machamp!
Original Track
|
Four Fist Death Punch by Therewolf Media
|
Composition
The track for this fight is "Four Fist Death Punch" by Therewolf Media. It is an upbeat, fast-paced techno track featuring riffs of various Pokémon themes from Pokémon Red and Blue, as well as the Mortal Kombat theme song.
Title
The title is likely a reference to the real-life metal band Five Finger Death Punch, with "Five Finger" replaced with "Four Fist" to reference both combatants having four arms. "Death" could also refer to the fatal nature of both Mortal Kombat and Death Battle, and the name as a whole could be a reference to various names of Pokémon moves Machamp can learn (e.g. Dynamic Punch, Mega Punch, etc.).
Cover Art
The cover art depicts two fists flying towards each other, the left one white and the right one black, with each of them being backed up by three smaller red fists, although the top two fists are obscured by the Death Battle logo. The design of the fists themselves are directly taken from the icon for fighting-types in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. In the background is a yin-yang (a symbol seen on Goro's belt in many pieces of Mortal Kombat media) obscured by a large black flash, an electric ball forming in between the two fists, and the Death Battle logo.
Trivia
Production
- The connections between Goro and Machamp are that they are both large, muscular, four-armed video game martial artists who are naturals at fighting. Both are also servants to others (Shao Kahn and various important Trainers, respectively) and have fought for them in fighting tournaments. Both were also introduced in the first game of their series in the 1990s (Mortal Kombat and Pokémon Red and Green, respectively).
- This fight briefly uses hand drawn animation to show Machamp's skull being crushed by Goro in reference to the X-Ray mechanic seen in recent Mortal Kombat games.
- The clip of a Machamp being paralyzed as Wiz talks about its Guts ability comes from this video by WeedleTwineedle.
Easter Eggs
- During Machamp's analysis, the Machop that was defeated by a Ribombee was given the nickname "Kachopsky".
- The busts of past combatants Dragonzord and All Might can be seen in the background when Machamp tackles Goro.
- It is interesting to note that this breaks (and subsequently ends, as this episode is not referenced in the next 3D episode) the trend of referencing the previous 3D fight's winner that started in Thanos VS Darkseid, as not only does this reference two losers rather than winners, it also references more than just one previous 3D episode.
- Strangely enough, the busts are not present in any subsequent shots that feature the shelves they were placed in.
- At the beginning of the post-analysis, Boomstick states that Goro forgot to say he was "blasting off again" and says he and Wiz have got to get the joke done right at least once. Not only is it a reference to Team Rocket’s phrase "Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off agaaaiiiiin!" from the Pokémon anime, but it's also a call-back to Black Canary VS Sindel, where Boomstick tried to make the same joke for Sindel's death but failed to do it properly.
- Boomstick would eventually do the joke properly for the ending pun of Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon.
Errors
- In Machamp's "Feats" slide, "Magneton" is misspelled as "Megneton".
- Strangely, although Machamp's lower left arm is the one torn off, Goro is seen grabbing the upper left arm instead.
Other
- This is the second Warner VS Nintendo-themed episode, after Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon.
- This is the ninth Fighting Game VS non-Fighting Game-themed episode, after Haggar VS Zangief, Yoshi VS Riptor, Thor VS Raiden, Pikachu VS Blanka, Guts VS Nightmare, Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon, and Black Canary VS Sindel.
- This is the second time that a Fighting Game Character fights an RPG character, after Pikachu VS Blanka.
- This the first Fighting Game VS non-Fighting Game-themed episode to be animated in 3D.
- This is the fourth episode where someone besides Wiz says the winner's name, after Deadpool VS Deathstroke, Deadpool VS Mask, and Miles Morales VS Static, and with the next two being Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man and Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon.
- This is the third episode where that someone is the winning combatant themselves, after Deadpool VS Deathstroke and Deadpool VS Mask, and with the next one being Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon.
- This is the fourth episode to get age-restricted, after Zoro VS Erza, Sub-Zero VS Glacius, and Carnage VS Lucy, with the next two being Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers and Iron Man VS Lex Luthor.
- The reason for this was likely because of the heavy use of gore in Goro's analysis.
- This is the first episode to have its age-restriction lifted.
- This is the second episode to open with a quotation from Bruce Lee, after Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki.
Notes
- ↑ As determined in Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon.
- ↑ As determined in Black Canary VS Sindel.