Pokémon Ultra: Spark yellow

Well, after what happened in Lavender Town, I immediately left the next day, making my way down Route 8, to the next town... Honestly, I don’t even know what town or city I was trying to head off to next... But at this point? Anything was better than that town! Along the way, I battled and defeated a few more trainers, but... I was running into a problem. The route had this suspicious biker gang that was running along the route, and the further along I got through the route, I could tell that they were definitely following me and watching me... Were they trying to rob me or something?! Well, my suspicions came true when they suddenly cornered me and the end of the route...

“Hey, kid! Some nice Pokémon you got there...” One biker says, with a mischievous smirk.

“Um... Thanks?” I stuttered awkwardly in response.

“Hey, those Pokémon of yours seem like a lot of work...” Another biker says. “Why don’t we take them off your hands for you?”

“Yeah, and give us all your money too while you’re at it!” Another says.

“Aw geez, um...I...” I looked around, trying to find a safe spot to run away, where I could then see a gate over to the next town in the near distance.

“...PIKACHU, LETS RUN!! AAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

“PIKAAAAAA!!” Me and Pikachu quickly dashed behind some trees, quickly running inside of the gate before the bikers could spot us, silently standing behind the walls.

“Where are you, kid?! You can run, but you can’t hide!!” I hear the bikers calling outside... Aw geez, I gotta head to the next town, or they’ll definitely find me! I walk forward...

“Hold it.” But the guard puts a hand out, stopping me. “Can’t let you pass through the gate, kid. Not until I’ve had my coffee.”

Oh no, come on... Not the Saffron City guards again! How have these people not been fired yet?!

“What?! B-but I have to! These biker people outside are trying to rob me!” I plead.

“Oh, relax kid! They’re probably just looking for a Pokémon battle or something... Jeez, kids nowadays! Back in my day, we... Blah blah blah, blah blah blah...”

The man started rambling about something, but I couldn’t pay attention due to my worries with the bikers outside... Man, I can’t do this... 

I noticed that the guard was pretty caught up in his own rant, so I slowly started sneaking past him, as I made my way out of the gate... Into Saffron City, unnoticed.

“Aw geez, I can’t believe I just snuck back the gate like that! Does this make me a criminal now?! Agh, the police are already gonna start looking for me...”

“Pika! Pika pi!”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Pikachu?” Pikachu was worriedly pointing at something nearby, where we could see a couple of Team Rocket members harassing someone, threatening to take their Pokémon.

Pop!! Then out of nowhere, Squirtle popped out of his Pokeball, glaring furiously at the Rocket members.

“Squirtle squirt!” Squirtle then suddenly ran towards the Rocket members, angrily growling at them.

“Squirtle, wait! Come back!” I chased after Squirtle, who completely ignored me, using a Water Gun attack at the Rocket’s Pokémon. Geez, Squirtle was still pretty weak from all the battles today, there’s no way he could win this...

“Annoying little pest... Grimer, use Sludge attack!”

“Yeah, you too Koffing!” Both their Pokémon attacked Squirtle, quickly fainting him, as I thought they would. 

“Heh, stupid little kid thought he could beat us?! Hahaha! Let’s get out of here, Jerry...” The Team Rocket members quickly ran away, the person standing up and running after them. Man, I wish I could’ve helped that person out... I really need to find a Pokémon Center to heal up... Then, maybe I could still find those Rocket members, and help out? But I need to hurry...

I ran through the streets of this city, looking for a Pokémon Center, but... Man, this town was flooded with Team Rocket members! I was trying not to alert myself to their attention, so I started ducking down in some alleyways, trying to hide until I found the Pokémon Center...

...When I kept walking through the alleys, though, I started hearing a soft crying sound, coming from nearby. I eventually rounded a corner...

And saw a young girl, who looked to be about my age. She was slouched over on the side of the walls, crying, as a Pokémon next to her... An Ivysaur, was trying to comfort her. 

“Hey... What’s wrong? You alright?” I asked the girl softly, slowly approaching her.

“...Leave me alone...” The girl mumbled softly.

“Hey, it’s alright... I just wanna talk to you.” I say, sitting down next to her. “Whatever’s bothering you, you can tell me... Who knows, maybe I can help you...” 

The girl slowly looks up at me, wiping some tears off, as Pikachu also helps comfort her a bit as well, patting her on the arm.

“Well, I... Ugh, I’m honestly just feeling like a bit of a failure of a trainer at the moment...” The girl says. “This Team Rocket member... I lost a battle to her, and... She took my Nidorina. Almost took the rest of my Pokémon too...” The girl pauses, patting her Ivysaur on the head.

“Whoa... Hey, come on, that’s not your fault.” I say. “Those Team Rocket members are jerks who take a lot of people’s Pokémon... Hey, by any chance do you know where that Rocket member headed off to?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m sure she’s located somewhere in this city...” The girl responds. “Why?”

“I wanna help you get your Nidorina back!” I say, confidently standing up. “Look, my teams pretty strong... We’ve all collected three badges and have traveled through nearly half this region together... I’m sure we’ll be strong enough to defeat that Rocket Member, and get your Nidorina back!”

The girl’s eyes widened a bit, as a small smile formed on her face.

“Wow, I... I’d really appreciate that.” The girl says. “Thank you, um...”

“My names Sam! What’s yours?”

“It’s... It’s Leaf. Thank you, Sam.”

Sometime later...

Leaf helped me find the Pokémon Center, where I was finally able to heal my Pokémon, the two of us talking about the plan to get her Nidorina back. While we were waiting for my Pokémon to be healed, Leaf pointed over to a TV on the wall...

“Whoa... Look!” I looked over to the TV, showing a News report that was talking about the incident with the rock tunnel collapsing... The headline read: ‘Pokèmon rampage collapses Rock Tunnel. No casualties reported.’

“Whoa, I remember hearing about that on the News yesterday too...” Leaf says, giving a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness nobody died in that.”

“Yeah, that collapse was pretty terrifying.” I say. “Especially when I was in the tunnel when it happened...”

“Whoa, you were there when it happened?!” Leaf says, wide eyed. “That must’ve been terrifying...”

“It was, but... I feel bad, like that collapse was my fault...” I mumbled. “The reason that tunnel collapsed in the first place... Was because I accidentally angered the Onix and Gravelers in there...”

“Whoa, really? Hey, don’t blame yourself for that...” Leaf says, patting me on the shoulder. “Those Onix and Graveler have been out of control for months now... I’m sure if you didn’t anger them, whoever would’ve encountered them next definitely would have done the same.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right...”

“Hey, Sam! Your Pokémon are all healed up now!” I hear Nurse Joy calling to me, as I run over to grab Pikachu and my Pokeballs. “Thanks so much, Nurse Joy!”

“So, Sam... How exactly were you planning on getting Nidorina back again...?” Leaf asked.

“Oh, well... First off, we gotta find wherever that Rocket Grunt headed off to...” I respond. “Where do you think she’d be, or doing right now?”

“Um, I’m not sure where exactly... She pretty much goes back and forth between any spot in the city, stealing a lot of people’s Pokémon, so... She could be anywhere.” Leaf explains. “Also, you should be careful... That Rocket Grunt only has one Pokémon, a Muk, but... It’s a pretty powerful Pokémon. If you have any Pokémon that’s strong against poison types, I’d recommend using them.

Pop!! Suddenly, Squirtle pops out of his Pokeball, looking pretty determined.

“Geez, Squirtle! You gotta stop doing that! Wait a minute... You wanna fight that Team Rocket member... Don’t you?” I ask.

“Squirtle squirt!” Squirtle nodded yes.

“Alright then, Squirtle... I’m counting on you to kick some butt today!”

Sometime later...

Me and Leaf left the Pokémon Center, walking through the streets of the city... And, surprisingly, it didn’t take us that long to find the Rocket Grunt, who was trying to steal a little girl’s Pokémon.

“HEY, YOU!!” I yelled, catching the Grunt’s attention, letting the little girl run away.

“Dangit, I almost had that kid’s Pokémon!” The Grunt growled, glaring at me. “Get out of my business already, you stupid child...”

“NO!! I want you to give this girl her Nidorina back... NOW!!” I snapped, pointing to Leaf, the Grunt smirking and raising an eyebrow with amusement.

“Aww... This little girl’s not done crying about her Nidorina yet? HAHAHA!!” The Grunt cackled. “Alright then... You know what, kid? I’ll humor you a bit. If you have a one-on-one battle with me, and you win... I might just give your little girlfriend here back your Nidorina... How’s that sound?”

I gulped nervously, trying my best to stay confident, as I gave out my answer...

“...Alright. Let’s do this.”

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BATTLE... BEGIN!!

Sam: “Go, Squirtle! I know you’ve got this!!”

Grunt: “Let’s kick some butt, Muk!”

Sam: “Squirtle, use Water Gun!”

Grunt: “Acid armor, Muk!”

Sam: “Use Bite!”

Grunt: “Once again, Acid Armor!”

Sam: “Use Water Gun!” 

Grunt: “Use Poison Gas!”

Sam: “Again, Water Gun!”

Grunt: “Use Screech!”

Sam: “Squirtle, use Bite!”

Grunt: “Sludge attack, Muk!”

Geez, this wasn’t good... Muk was already so strong, especially with its now raised defense... Muk’s Sludge attack did more damage in one shot then Squirtle did with multiple... Not to mention how he was poisoned too...

Grunt: “Again, use Sludge!”

Sam: “Squirtle, dodge it!”

Squirtle failed to dodge, the Sludge slamming him to the ground, weakened as he struggled to stand up. No, I can’t lose this. Can’t lose another important battle again...

Sam: “Squirtle, stand up and fight! I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS!!”

Squirtle slowly stood up, letting out a loud yell... Then, his body started to glow, and shift...

...As he evolved. Into a Wartortle!

Grunt: “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Sam: “Yes, this is amazing! Wartortle, use Bite!”

Grunt: “Muk, dodge it!”

Muk was too slow, failing to dodge Wartortle’s attack, which landed a critical hit.

Sam: “Yeah! Now, finish em off with a Water Gun!”

Grunt: “Crap... Muk, use Sludge!”

Wartortle was too fast... Knocking out Muk before it could even attack.

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“WHAT?! I LOST?!” The Grunt screamed, mouth wide in disbelief.

“Yeah! You finally evolved Wartortle, that was amazing! I’m so proud of you!” I say, running up to Wartortle and giving him a hug.

“Wow, amazing job you two!” Leaf says, joining in on the hug.

“No... NO!! I refuse to lose like this...” The Grunt growls, holding up another Poke ball.

“Huh? Hey, we had a deal here! You can’t send out another Pokémon!” I say.

“You really think I play by the rules, kid? Let’s go, Nidorina!” The Grunt sends out another Pokémon...

“Go on, Nidorina! Attack these kids!” The Grunt commanded.

“Oh, no... Nidorina!” Leaf gasped at the sight of her Pokémon, her Nidorina not attacking, only staring as us with a horrified look.

“GIVE US BACK THAT NIDORINA NOW!!” I screeched.

“Pfft. Or what?!” The Grunt scoffed.

“WARRR!!” Wartortle suddenly blasted out a Water Gun attack nearby the Grunt, causing her to go off balance, dropping Nidorina’s Pokeball. Then, Pikachu ran forward, smacking the ball with his tail, causing it to go flying to Leaf... Who caught the ball midair.

“Yes! Nidorina, come here!”

“Nidoooo!” Nidorina happily ran over to Leaf, tackling her in a hug, the Grunt staring at us all wide eyed.

“You better get out of here now, if you know what’s good for you...” I threatened the Rocket Grunt, who growled in frustration.

“Ugh... Whatever! I have more important plans anyways...” The Grunt hissed, walking away out of sight.

“Yeah... We did it!” Me and Leaf both cheered, high-fiving as Leaf suddenly hugged me. “Thanks so much, Sam. I don’t know how much I can thank you...”

“Hey, it’s no problem Leaf... It’s what friends do for each other!” We smiled at each other, putting our Pokémon back in our balls, as we looked around.

“Sam, I don’t wanna say bye to you just yet...” Leaf says. “Wanna head over to Celadon City together? There’s a gym over there if you haven’t been there already!”

“Yeah... I’d love to go with you!” I happily oblige. Alright then... Next stop...

...CELADON CITY!!