Pokémon Ultra: Spark yellow

After rescuing Leaf’s Nidorina, me and her immediately made our way out of Saffron City, making our way through the gate... Right to Celadon City! And thankfully, I didn’t see any Team Rocket members causing trouble here.

“Ooh, look over there! It’s the Celadon Department store...” Leaf says, a smile on her face as she points over to a tall building in the distance. “Eek, I’ve always wanted to go shopping there!”

I looked around the city, where I could finally spot the gym farther away. “Hey Leaf, I know you must wanna do some shopping, but um... Would you mind if I went over to the gym instead?” I asked. “I know you wanted us to hang out together, but...”

“Hey, it’s no worry! I know you really wanna battle, so... How about we just meet up later?” Leaf says. “We can meet up at that restaurant over there when we’re both done...” She says, pointing to a nearby building.

“Alright, sounds good!” I say, waving goodbye to Leaf. “I’ll see you later then!”

“Great! Go kick some butt in that gym, Sam!” I separated from Leaf, as I made my way over to the gym, ready as I’ll ever be... When I arrived, I did the same as always, giving the register my name, getting escorted into the gym... The battlefield was very gorgeous, being covered in a soft grass, sprinkled with trees, flowers and bushes everywhere... And of course, I saw the Gym leader on the other side.

“Hey, you’re Sam, right? It’s lovely to meet you, I’m Erica...” Erica speaks with a soft voice, smiling.

“Yeah, you too! And I’m here to win my fourth gym badge!” I say, confidently.

“Wow, what lovely confidence you have!” Erica says. “I know this’ll be a fun battle...”

“Then let the battle between challenger Sam, and Gym Leader Erica... BEGIN!!”

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Erica: “Let’s shine, Weepinbell!”

Alright... If Erica’s a grass type leader, I should avoid using Wartortle and Ivysaur... And save Charmeleon for last...

Sam: “Let’s go, Jigglypuff! Use Mega Punch!”

Erica: “Use Stun Spore, Weepinbell!”

Sam: “Mega Punch again, Jigglypuff!”

Jigglypuff tried attacking, but quickly froze up from the paralysis.

Erica: “Use Wrap, Weepinbell!”

Sam: “Jigglypuff, use Flash to get out of there!”

Jigglypuff’s flash hit Weepinbell directly in the eyes, making it release its grip on Jigglypuff, struggling to see a bit.

Sam: “Now, use Sing!”

Erica: “Quick, use Sleep Powder!”

Jigglypuff’s Sing struck first, Weepinbell quickly falling asleep.

Sam: “Yeah, now keep using Mega Punch!!”

Erica: “Oh no... Weepinbell, please wake up!”

Jigglypuff unleashed a barrage of Mega Punches, quickly fainting Weepinbell before it could wake up.

Erica: “Alright... Let’s go, Tangela!”

Sam: “Jigglypuff, use Mega Punch!”

Erica: “Vine whip, Tangela!”

Tangela’s Vine Whip grabbed and slammed Jigglypuff to the ground multiple times, now struggling to stand up.

Erica: “Finish Jigglypuff off with Bind!

Sam: “Dodge it, Jigglypuff!”

Jigglypuff couldn’t dodge in time, getting squeezed pretty tightly from the attack... Until she was knocked out.

Sam: “Alright... Let’s go, Nidorino! Use Horn Attack!”

Erica: “Vine Whip, Tangela! Then use Bind again!”

Sam: “Quick Nidorino, dodge it! Then use one last Horn Attack!!”

Nidorino’s Horn Attack landed a critical hit, fainting Tangela.

Erica: “Alright... You’re my last Pokémon, but I got hope in you. Go, Gloom! Use Sleep Powder!”

Gloom’s Sleep Powder quickly hit, Nidorino falling asleep.

Erica: “Now, use Petal Dance!”

Sam: “Come on, Nidorino! Wake up!!”

A barrage of Petal Dances hit Nidorino, Nidorino finally waking up after it, but now struggling to stand up... But was hit by one last Petal Dance, before he could even do anything else... But now Gloom was confused, so... I think I can do this...

Sam: “You’ve got this, Charmeleon! Use Ember!”

Erica: “Use Acid, Gloom!”

Sam: “Now, use Rage!”

Erica: “Use Stun Spore!”

Sam: “Ember again, Charmeleon!”

Erica: “Use Petal Dance!”

Sam: “Quick, use Dig to dodge it!”

Gloom was still confused, and pretty weak, now just one more attack should do it...

Sam: “Finish em off, use Ember!”

And of course... Gloom fainted.

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“YEAH!! Amazing job, Charmeleon! You did it!” Me and Pikachu happily ran up to Charmeleon, giving him a big group hug. Honestly, after losing that fight to Blue that one day, I was a bit worried about this battle, but... My team did it! I’m honestly just so relieved...

“Goodness, you all are such an amazing team, good job!” Erica happily congratulated me, walking over and handing me a badge and a TM. “Here you go... It’s the Rainbow badge!”

The Rainbow badge, woah...

...THIS IS AWESOME!! WOO!!

Sometime later...

Immediately after healing up my Pokémon, I ran over to the restaurant Leaf wanted us to meet up at, excited to show her my new badge. Of course when I entered the restaurant, I immediately spotted Leaf, who waved over to me as I approached her, sitting down next to her.

“Hey, Sam! How’d your battle go?” Leaf asks.

“It went amazing! Look, I won the badge!” I happily show off my badge, Leaf giving me a high-five. 

“That’s awesome, Sam! Here, eat with me... Pikachu can have some too!” Leaf scooted a plate of nachos she ordered closer to me, as me and Pikachu started chowing down happily.

“Hey, Sam! After we’re done eating, you wanna head over to the Game Corner together?” Leaf asks. “We could win some pretty cool prizes there!” 

I remember passing by the Game Corner earlier, and I remember seeing a sign that said you needed a coin case to play there...

“Um, I wish I could, but... I don’t exactly have a coin case...” I mumble.

“AW, BLAST IT!! Gosh darn coin games...” A man yelling to himself at another table cuts us off, angrily standing up as he held a coin case. “All I do is LOSE!! I GIVE UP!!” The man angrily throws his coin case to the floor, earning a few awkward glances as he quickly exits the restaurant. 

“Well... Guess you have one now.” Leaf says, smirking, as I walk over and grab the coin case. “Yeah, heh... Guess I can’t argue with this.”

Sometime later...

Leaf and I immediately headed over to the Game Corner, playing the slot games for a while, and... Man, these slot games were pretty difficult! I bought a pretty small amount of coins, only won once, and... Ran out of coins pretty quickly. Shoot, I can’t afford to buy much more coins right now...

“Hey, Leaf? You got a few spare coins I can borrow?” I ask.

“Hold on... Uh, sorry Sam, I gotta save up my coins...” Leaf says. She was pretty focused on her game, barely looking at me. “A lot of people around here drop their coins, though... If you look around hard enough, you should be able to find enough for a few more games.”

“Ooh, alright then... Pikachu, let’s split up and look for coins!”

“Pika pi!” Me and Pikachu split up, and man... Leaf was right! After a few minutes, I already found some coins...

“PIKA PIIII!!” But as I was searching, I randomly heard Pikachu squealing like crazy, as I ran over to the back of the building, seeing a Team Rocket member grabbing ahold of Pikachu, who was trying to wriggle from his grasp.

“HEY!! Let my Pikachu go now!!” I snapped.

“What’s going on here?!” Leaf quickly runs up to us. “Oh no... Pikachu!”

“I-I’m not trying to steal this Pikachu or anything!” The Rocket Grunt says, looking a bit nervous as he looks at a poster behind him. “I-I’m just trying to protect this poster! Nobody’s allowed to go near it!”

“Um... What reasons do you have to protect a poster?” Leaf asks, looking confused.

“Pika... CHUUUUU!!” Pikachu suddenly shocked the Rocket Grunt with a powerful Thunderbolt, causing him to release his grip on Pikachu, who ran back towards me.

“Dangit... This isn’t over!” The Grunt hisses, running away, before quickly shouting something. “D-don’t touch that poster! THERE’S NOTHING BEHIND IT!!”

Me and Leaf exchange a glance, walking over to the poster, as I lifted up a corner of it... Where there was a switch behind the poster. I activated the switch, as suddenly, a secret door open up behind a shelf.

“Whoa... It’s like a secret hideout of some sort!” I say, surprised.

“Ooh, let’s go in! But be careful...” Leaf says. Me and Leaf carefully walk through the door, down some stairs... And into the secret hideout. The area had a lot of different rooms, stairs, and hallways, despite being pretty cramped in here...

“HEY!! INTRUDERS!!” Some more Rocket Grunts immediately spot us, running up to us as they ready their Pokeballs. 

“Leaf... Let’s battle them together.” I say, Leaf nodding in agreement with me... As we readied to battle.

Sometime later...

Me and Leaf battled and defeated a bunch of Rocket Grunts, but I could tell that Leaf’s Pokémon in particular were starting to get a bit tired, so... After battling as many as we could, we ducked down in this room a few floors down. It was pretty secretive in there so no one would find us, so I helped heal up her Pokémon a bit, as we started looking around the room... The room looked like an office of some sort, with a desk, and shelves that were stacked with all sorts of documents and books, with various plans on them... Me and Leaf sorted through the documents, until we found one that looked pretty important...

“Sam, look at this!” Leaf was holding the document, which read: ‘Operation: Capture the legendary birds.’

“Legendary birds...?”

“Yeah, you know who they are?” Leaf says. “That’s Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.” 

Leaf keeps flipping through the document, which show more detailed descriptions on capturing the birds, but on Zapdos’ page, big, red letters are written over it, which read: ‘CAPTURE IS COMPLETE.’ 

Oh no, wait a minute... I remember that day, before I entered the Rock Tunnel... That’s what those two Rocket Grunt’s were doing out there! They were capturing Zapdos! No no, this isn’t good...

Leaf kept flipping through the documents, until she reached the last page, which read: ‘Once all the legendary birds are contained, the final project will be underway.’

“Oh no... What exactly are they planning on doing with the legendary birds?!” Leaf says.

“We gotta find and rescue Zapdos. Before it’s too late.” I say. I look around, seeing a key on the desk, which was labeled: ‘Lift key.’ I remember me and Leaf had ran into an elevator earlier, that required a key to use it... This must be what’s its for. 

“Let’s go.” Me and Leaf exited the room, slowly making our way back to the elevator... Surprisingly though, we barely ran into any Team Rocket members, only battling a few that were left... I’m guessing we must’ve scared away most of them. Anyways, we finally arrived at the elevator, using the key to go down to the way bottom floor, and... The second the elevator door opened, we were greeted by a few faces that were too familiar with me...

“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light...”

“...Surrender now, or prepare to fight!!”

...Aw, great. It’s Jessie and James. And their talking Meowth too, which still freaked me out a bit...

“Aw, great. It’s the little kid with the Pikachu...” James says, rolling his eyes.

“Urgh you! I remember when you humiliated us, and wrecked our plans at Mt. Moon!” Jessie hisses.

“Wait a minute... Sam, you know these two?” Leaf asks.

“You’re not ruining our plans this time, you brat!” Jessie growls, holding up a Pokeball. “It’s time for payback!!”

“Leaf, let’s team up and have a double battle!” I say, Leaf nodding in response.

“Alright, Sam... Let’s do this!”

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BATTLE... BEGIN!!

Sam: “Let’s go, Pikachu!”

Leaf: “I choose you, Poliwhirl!”

Jessie: “Let’s go, Arbok!”

James: “Let’s do this, Weezing!”

Sam: “Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Weezing!”

Leaf: “Poliwhirl, use Water Gun! Also on Weezing!”

Jessie: “Arbok, use Wrap on Poliwhirl!”

James: “Weezing, use Smog on Poliwhirl!”

Oh no... Pikachu can’t use Thunderbolt on Arbok now, or it’ll hit Poliwhirl... What do I do...

Sam: “Pikachu, use Slam on Arbok!”

Pikachu’s attack landed a critical hit, allowing Poliwhirl to slip free from Arbok’s grip.

Leaf: “Quick Poliwhirl, use Hypnosis on Arbok!”

Jessie: “Come on Arbok, wake up already!!”

James: “Use Sludge, on Pikachu!”

Sam: “Pikachu, dodge it, and use Thunderbolt on Arbok!”

Leaf: “Poliwhirl, finish Arbok off with a Water Gun!”

Pikachu and Poliwhirl combine their attacks... Knocking out Arbok.

James: “Oh no... Weezing, use Sludge on Poliwhirl!”

Sam: “Slam, Pikachu!”

Leaf: “Water Gun, Poliwhirl! Finish em off!”

Once again, the combination of their attacks landed a critical hit... Knocking out Weezing.

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“NO... NOT AGAIN!! URGH!!” Jessie yelled in frustration, the two Rocket members returning their Pokémon back to their balls.

“Woah... We did great together, Sam!” Leaf says, me and Leaf high-fiving one another, Pikachu and Poliwhirl doing the same.

“Ugh... You may have won against us, but just you wait until you fight the boss!” James says.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us... TEAM ROCKET’S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!!” The two both yell, as they all quickly run out of the room.

“Wow... Those two are weirdos.” Leaf says. “But... Did they say something about their... Boss?” Me and Leaf look towards an entrance to a room, at the end of the hallway... The last room we haven’t checked.

“Leaf... You should stay out here, and keep watch. I’ll go in by myself.” I say, my voice low and serious.

“Alright...” Leaf says, nodding. “Just... Be careful in there.” Me and Pikachu slowly make our way down the hallway... Slowly opening the door, to the small room, where I could see the boss of Team Rocket... He was sitting down on a big chair, eyebrows raised as he sits up to look at me.

“Ah, it’s nice to see you... Your name’s Sam, right?” He asks.

“Uh, yeah... Wait, how do you know my name?” I ask, feeling a bit nervous. The boss didn’t answer me though, only smirking as he stood up, slowly approaching me.

“The names Giovanni, and... I gotta say, kid... I’m pretty impressed with your skills. You and that girl were able to take down every single one of my grunts like it was nothing! I gotta see these skills in action for myself...” Giovanni smirks, holding up a few Pokeballs, as I gulped nervously, giving him my answer.

“...Alright. Let’s fight.”

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BATTLE... BEGIN!!

Giovanni: “Go, Onix.”

Sam: “Let’s go, Nidorino! Use Double Kick!”

Giovanni: “Use Rage!”

Sam: “Once again, Double Kick!”

With only a couple attacks... Nidorino already knocked out Onix.

Giovanni: “Go, Rhyhorn!”

Sam: “Double Kick again, Nidorino!”

Giovanni: “Dodge it, and use Stomp.”

Sam: “Again, Double Kick! Full power!!”

Nidorino landed a critical hit... Fainting Rhyhorn.

Giovanni: “Go, Persian!”

Sam: “Nidorino, use Poison Sting!”

Giovanni: “Persian, dodge it. Use Pay Day!”

Sam: “Double Kick, Nidorino!”

Giovanni: “Dodge it again. And use Bite!”

Sam: “Nidorino, use Poison Sting! Keep going until you hit!”

Nidorino landed a Poison Sting, which luckily poisoned Persian.

Giovanni: “Use Screech, Persian!”

Sam: “Double Kick, Nidorino!”

Nidorino’s attack did a lot of damage, and combined with the poison... Fainted Persian.

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“Hmm... Not bad.” Giovanni says, nodding. “You’ve raised your Pokémon with utmost care.”

Man, this was weird... I really thought defeating the boss of Team Rocket would be a lot harder then that... And Giovanni wasn’t mad about it either... Was he just trying to test me here... I don’t know, but I need to remember the main reason I came down here...

“Giovanni... WHERE’S ZAPDOS?!” I suddenly snapped at him. “I know Team Rocket has Zapdos captured... And what are you planning to do with all the legendary birds?!”

“Tsk tsk... Like I’d ever tell you where Zapdos is, or what my master plans are...” Giovanni casually responds. “A child like you could never understand what I hope to achieve.” Giovanni opens up a desk, putting an odd item on the table in front of me, slowly leaving the room, before saying one last thing to me...

“I hope we meet up again.”

I picked up the item, inspecting it as I read a label on the side of it, which read: ‘Silph Scope.’

Hey... Wasn’t this the item I could use to reveal the ghost Pokémon in Lavender Town? But why was Giovanni giving this to me? Hmm...

Sometime later...

Me and Leaf left the now abandoned hideout, now confused as we wondered what to do next...

“HEY, SAM!!” I heard a familiar voice suddenly then calling to me, as I looked over to see Meredith running over to us, who had a pretty panicked look on her face.

“Meredith? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“My boss, Mr. Fuji... He left for Lavender Tower a few days ago, and he hasn’t come back since!” Meredith says. “He was with these strange people, who had big red R’s on their shirts...”

“Ugh, of course it had to be Team Rocket once more...” Leaf grumbles, rolling her eyes.

“Meredith, don’t worry...” I say, nodding with a serious tone. 

“...We’ll save Mr. Fuji.”