The Incredible Rush!

The Incredible Rush, known as The Good Dog Rush! (良い犬ラッシュ!, The Good Dog Rush!) in Japan, is the 41st episode of the MegaMan NT Warrior anime. This episode marks the first appearance of Rush in the human world.

Synopsis

All of the NetNavis in DenTech City are turning into cats! A freak electrical storm released a Cat Virus that's causing the transformations. To add to the confusion, Rush has somehow materialized in the human world. Dr. Hikari shows up to lend his help, and he reveals that if the Cat Virus isn't stopped soon, MegaMan and the others will remain cats forever! After sixty-foot-tall versions of Rush and the Cat Virus face off in the human world, MegaMan and the others are able to defeat the Cat Virus and give Dr. Hikari the data he needs to write a vaccine program. Everything goes back to normal--except that Rush can still appear in the human world. Will the vaccine work? And why is Rush now suddenly able to appear in the human world whenever he wants? What is going on?

Summary

During a stormy night over DenTech City, a bolt of lightning strikes the SciLab mainframe, awaking a cat program inside. The SciLab personnel panic due to the absence of the program, until a member spots it outside.

Later, in the morning, a mysterious person is walking down the street, getting a lot of attention. He notices Lan's house and decides to go in. Inside, Lan is having breakfast, and a news report goes live. Ribbita is discussing the UFO (Unidentified Feline Object) that people reported to have seen a giant cat-like object in the sky. Even with footage, no one is able to figure out what it is. Someone helps themselves to Lan's tea, which Lan notices to be Rush! He tests if Rush is a hologram, but is completely solid. The phone then rings, Lan answers it to find a panicked Maylu having just realised that Rush is gone. Lan tells her that Rush is actually at his house, then decides to ask MegaMan if he knows anything. He rushes up to his room, finding out that MegaMan is a cat! Meanwhile, Maylu finds out the same problem with Roll. They ask the NetNavis what happened, but both reply that they just woke up like this. Then, Dex, Tory and Yai all call Lan, having noticed the same problem with their NetNavi's. In the Net, the NetNavi's are trying to make sense of what's happening, except IceMan, who seems to be enjoying it. Across DenTech City, major problems are occurring, NetNavi's, programs, and even viruses have turned into cats. (Aki wasn't affected, but tricked everyone into thinking she was.) At Lan's house, Rush is busy watching a baseball program, with Lan's group trying to figure out what happened, then Lan's dad shows up. Yuichiro Hikari explains about the cat virus causing all the trouble, starting with the lightning strike last night. It works by rewriting the victim's data, eventually passing the point when the original data cannot be recovered. The SciLab officials are trying to write a vaccine, but it takes a long time. He then suggests having spaghetti for dinner. Meanwhile, the Net Agents attempt to solve the problem, but SkullMan and WoodMan prefer chasing SharkMan after noticing he looks a lot like a fish. While making spaghetti, Rush is very talented at cooking and skillfully throws the dishes onto the table, including a large steak he made for himself. In the Net, IceMan suddenly turns partly into a cat! Due to the complex procedures and virtually no knowledge of the code within the cat virus, Lan's father needs a sample of the virus in order to write the vaccine faster.

In NetCity, the NetNavi's are trying to find the virus, and search inside a shop that sells balls. Suddenly, they see a ball that rolled off the display, heavily distressing them due to their cat instincts wanting them to play with it. Glyde suggests using the transformation to their advantage, with MegaMan realising that the cat would be at the park. They find the cat napping on a structure, and decide to pounce on it, accidentally waking it up. Lan sends a MiniBoomer Battle Chip to MegaMan, who plays with the round bomb and explodes it in his face. Lan then tries a CyberSword chip, but it smashes upon appearing. The cat then escapes the cyberworld. Meanwhile, Yai finds the cat virus, outside and now a giant.

Taking a closer look outside, Lan's father realises that it used a technique allowing it to project itself as a physical hologram, apparently the same technique used by Rush, but is still puzzled on how it grew so big. Lan then decides to aggravate the cat and cause it to chase him through a building complex. The cat then accidentally damages its arms, revealing the code inside and hurting it. Now in pain, the cat recovers and smashes the buildings, sending a large piece of debris towards Lan, but is saved by Rush. Lan's father sends a signal to a cloud, forcing a bolt of lightning to strike Rush, which causes him to grow as big as the cat.

Now fighting the cat, Rush attempts to punch the cat, but fails and is comically punched in the face by the cat. Rush recovers and opens up a portal to the cyberworld, summoning a pair of bonechucks. He shows off with them, and eats it. Now infuriated, the cat repeatedly punches Rush, who quickly opens up another portal to the cyberworld under the cat, sending it back, he then faints due to exhaustion. Lan warns MegaMan that the cat is coming, however, when the cat arrives, the NetNavis are distracted playing with balls, (along with GutsMan and Glyde turning into cats) and the cat quickly starts to leave. Lan looks at his now-useless Battle Chips, except one, the Ratty Chip. He uses it and sure enough, the NetNavis mistake it for a toy and chase it around, which unknown to them, lands under the cat virus and explodes harmlessly. Lan tricks the NetNavis into thinking the cat took the Ratty virus, which they proceed to scratch at. The cat eventually faints from the scratching, then Lan activates the ElecTeam Style Change, MegaMan uses the RollBlast given by Roll, then uses a cat-shaped electric projectile at the cat, effectively stunning it.

Later, the SciLab officials have recaptured the cat virus and wrote a vaccine which cures the NetNavis. Lan's father goes back on his travels, asking Lan to never ask for a pet cat for his birthday. Everything is back to normal, except one thing, Rush still retains his ability to travel between worlds, and visits the human world now and again.