Pokémon Ultra: Spark yellow

It’s Friday! And you know what that means? It’s now the day of the Splash Festival! WOO!! I still didn’t know exactly much about the festival, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be excited for it! It does sound like a lot of fun... I could definitely tell by Leaf’s enthusiasm too, the too of us making our way over to Vermilion City this morning, where the festival was being held.

“Man, this festival is gonna rock!” Leaf says. “I can’t wait to enter that battle competition and kick some butt!”

“Hey, why were you so excited to enter the battle competition? Is there some kind of prize if you win?” I ask.

“Yeah, actually... The first place winner gets to win a water stone, and a bunch of money! I really want that water stone, so I can finally evolve Poliwhirl with it...” She responds. I remember that the battle competition only allows water type Pokémon to enter, so I’m definitely gonna enter too, with Wartortle.

“It does sound like a lot of fun... But hey, if we end up battling, don’t think I’m gonna go easy on you!” I say, jokingly.

“Hey, I’d be mad if you did...” Leaf chuckles. “Battle’s aren’t fun if they ain’t challenging!”

“Woah... We’re here!” We finally arrived in Vermilion City, admiring the beautiful festival setup. There was booths everywhere, decorated with these pretty blue banners and such, and also a bunch of little pools everywhere. The area was also pretty crowded, filled with tons of people, and almost any water type Pokémon you could think of.

“Whoa, amazing...” Leaf looks over at a faraway banner, with text on it that read: ‘Splash competition sign-ups here: Will open up in one hour!’

“Hm, guess we gotta wait a bit before we sign up...” Leaf says.

“Hey, that’s ok!” I respond. “That gives us time to check out everything else then!”

One hour later...

Me and Leaf spent the next hour doing everything we could to pass the time... Checking out all the booths, getting something to eat, talking to other trainers and checking out everyone’s Pokémon... Until finally, the registrations opened up, me and Leaf promptly waiting in a big line, until it was our turn to sign up, Leaf entering with Poliwhirl, and me with Wartortle.

“Hey, Sam!” After getting out of line, I hear a familiar voice calling to me, seeing Officer Jenny run up to me. “Officer Jenny, hey! It’s nice to see you again...”

“Yeah, it sure is! Hey, how’s Squirtle doing?” She asks.

“Pretty good! Look, he evolved into a Wartortle now...” I pointed down to Wartortle, who was standing by my feet, Officer Jenny smiling down at him.

“Whoa, that’s amazing, Sam! Looks like you’ve been training him pretty well, then... I’m glad...”

“Hey, wait a minute...” Some random guy nearby approaches us, pointing to Wartortle. “Isn’t that the Squirtle that used to harass everyone in this town?!” The guy’s shouting gets a few people’s attention, Wartortle looking down at the ground with embarrassment.

“Hey, leave Wartortle alone!” I snapped. “He’s become a much more behaved and better Pokémon now, he doesn’t act like that anymore!” After I shouted at everyone, the people all backed off, leaving us alone.

“...I’ll show all of you how much stronger he’s gotten.”

Sometime later...

After some more waiting for the registrations to finish filling up, the battle competition was finally ready to start! Me and Leaf watched a few of the matches, until eventually, it was my turn to fight. I stepped out on the battlefield, against a random girl, as the announcer shouted... “Now, let the match between trainer Sam, and trainer Claire... BEGIN!!”

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Sam: “I choose you, Wartortle!!”

Claire: “Let’s go, Vaporeon!!”

Sam: “Wartortle, use Water Gun!”

Claire: “Counter it with Bubblebeam, Vaporeon!”

Sam: “Now, use Bite!”

Claire: “Use Quick Attack!!”

Sam: “Use Tackle!”

Claire: “Bubblebeam again, Vaporeon!”

Man, this match was already getting pretty close... Vaporeon was pretty powerful, and both Pokémon looked pretty exhausted... Gotta play this one carefully now...

Sam: “Use Bite, Wartortle!”

Claire: “Use Quick Attack!”

Sam: “Dodge it, Wartortle! Then finish em off with a Water Gun! Full power!!”

Wartortle striked, landing a critical hit... That fainted Vaporeon.

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“And it looks like Sam is the winner! Him and Wartortle will be making it to round two!!” The announcer shouted, as I high fived Wartortle.

“Yeah, we did it Wartortle! Good job!” Me and Wartortle made our way back to the crowd, high-fiving Leaf and Pikachu as well.

“Nice job out there, Sam!” Leaf says.

“And, the next round will be between Leaf, and Reggie! Trainers, come on up here!” The announcer shouts.

“Oh snap, I’m up next!” Leaf hurries out of her seat, running out onto the battlefield, ready to fight against this random guy...

“Now, let the match between trainer Leaf, and trainer Reggie... BEGIN!!”

“YOU’VE GOT THIS, LEAF!!” I shouted. “GOOD LUCK!!”

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Leaf: “Let’s go, Poliwhirl!!”

Reggie: “We’ve got this, Kingler!!”

Leaf: “Poliwhirl, use Hypnosis!”

Reggie: “Dodge it, Kingler! Then use Bubble!”

Leaf: “Use Doubleslap!”

Reggie: “Use Leer!”

Leaf: “Use Water Gun!”

Reggie: “Now, use Vice Grip!”

Leaf: “Doubleslap again, Poliwhirl!”

Reggie: “Vice Grip again!”

Leaf: “Dodge it, Poliwhirl! Then use Hypnosis!”

And with that, Kingler feel asleep. Leaf should be able to win this now...

Reggie: “Oh no... Kingler, please wake up!”

Leaf: “Use Water Gun, Poliwhirl! Then a bunch of Doubleslaps!”

Poliwhirl attacked rapidly, Kingler not waking up... And fainting.

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“...And it looks like Leaf is the winner! Her and Poliwhirl will also be making it to round two!!” The announcer shouted, Leaf hugging Poliwhirl as I cheered loudly for her.

“YEAH!! GO LEAF!! WOO!!”

Man, I got a bit worried for her for a second there... Kingler’s Vice Grip attack did a lot of damage, but that Hypnosis manage to save her there... Well, one things for sure... This tournament isn’t gonna be easy.

Sometime later...

Me and Leaf continued winning each of our battles in the next few rounds, the both of us making it to the semifinals... Man, I’m still surprised the two of us haven’t fought yet! Cool thing is though, if we both win our next battles, we’re gonna be facing each other in the final round! Man, this is really exciting... But first, I gotta battle this other guy, named Clarence I think... He has a Tentacruel, and I’ve been watching a bunch of his fights. His Tentacruel is pretty powerful, so I’m gonna have to strategize hard to win this next fight...

“Now, let the semifinal match between trainer Sam, and trainer Clarence... BEGIN!!”

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Sam: “Let’s go, Wartortle!!”

Clarence: “Let’s win this, Tentacruel!”

Sam: “Use Bite, Wartortle!”

Clarence: “Supersonic, Tentacruel!”

Sam: “Quick Wartortle, dodge it!”

Clarence: “Hmph! Not a bad dodge, but that won’t be good enough to take out my Tentacruel... No way that punk Wartortle of yours can take out the beauty that is my Tentacruel...”

Sam: “What... What are you trying to say here?”

Clarence: “I’ve heard about all the things your Wartortle used to do in this town. All the trouble he caused... That Wartortle of yours should be in a jail cell, not on this battlefield here! What a filthy excuse for a Pokémon...”

Sam: “SHUT UP!! DON’T YOU DARE SPEAK TO MY POKÉMON LIKE THAT!!”

Hearing Clarence speak about my Pokémon like this... I couldn’t stand it. I could tell Wartortle hated this just as much, as he glared fiercely at Tentacruel and Clarence, fist shaking with anger...

Sam: “Wartortle, use-“

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Pssssssshhh!! Before I could do anything, a dark smoke suddenly filled the area, preventing any of us from seeing anything.

“Wh-what’s going on here?!” I heard Clarence shout from the other side of the area. I could hear the crowd around us yelling and panicking, as I looked around, the smoke finally clearing up...

...And I saw them. It was Team Rocket. A bunch of Team Rocket members, who had their Pokémon out, also carrying a ton of big bags that were filled to the brim with stolen Pokeballs.

“Team Rocket?! What the heck are you criminal filth doing here?!” Clarence shouts.

“What do you think, pipsqueak?!” One Rocket member sassily remarks. “Your Pokémon are all ours now!”

“Team Rocket... Give these Pokémon back NOW!!” I shouted.

“Pfft. Or what?” Another Rocket member remarks. Everyone in the crowd was shouting angrily, standing up as they readied to fight... But most of them had all their Pokeballs taken, only feeling empty pockets. Luckily my Pokeballs were still with me, and it looked like a few others got lucky too, including Leaf and Clarence...

“Oh... YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!!” Leaf screamed, Poliwhirl attacking and fighting one of the Team Rocket Pokémon. With that, the few trainers that had their Pokémon left all attacked Team Rocket, the area turning into an explosion of chaos as everyone fought to get their Pokémon back. Some people were even attacking the Rocket members themselves, wrestling some of the Pokeballs from their grasp. While all this chaos was going down, one of the Rocket members had also snatched some of the money and the water stone prize, trying to sneak away undetected.

“HEY!! You’re not getting away with those!” Leaf screamed, quickly running after the Rocket member.

WHAM!! Suddenly a Weezing comes out of nowhere, tackling Wartortle, as a Team Rocket grunt approaches me. “Your Pokémon are mine, kid... Weezing, use Sludge attack!” Before I could do anything, Wartortle was attacked with a barrage of Sludge attacks, struggling to stand up. “Heheh... You better give up now, kid!”

“No... Wartortle, come on, get up! I know you can do this!!” 

Wartortle grumbled, forcing himself to stand up slowly... “Wartortle... WARRRR!!” Wartortle suddenly then let our a roar, his body shining with the light of evolution...

...As he evolved. Into a Blastoise!

“Whoa... You evolved?! Woah, this is amazing... Blastoise, use Water Gun! And don’t stop!” 

Giving the Rocket grunt and Weezing both a taste of their own medicine, Blastoise blasted a barrage of incredibly powerful Water Gun attacks, quickly knocking out the Weezing.

“Wha-what the heck?! Ugh, you’ve gotta be kidding me... I’ll get my revenge on you someday, kid!” The Rocket grunt growls, returning Weezing to his Pokeball as he runs away.

“Blastoise, that was amazing, great job!” I looked around at all the chaos still going down. “Now we gotta find Pikachu and Leaf... PIKACHU, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“PIKA PI!!” I heard Pikachu immediately calling back to me, seeing that he was hding under some chairs. Me and Blastoise immediately ran up to Pikachu, who quickly leapt up into my arms. “Pikachu! Oh Arceus, I’m so glad you’re alright... Pikachu, did you see where Leaf ran off to?”

“Pika!” Pikachu pointed off in another direction, where I could see Leaf battling the Rocket grunt that stole the water stone, Poliwhirl fighting a Golbat.

“Urgh... That’s it, I’ve had enough of this!!” Leaf angrily shouted. “Poliwhirl, use Water Gun on the Team Rocket grunt!!”

“Wh-what?! You freaking psycho!” The Rocket grunt shouted, as Poliwhirl blasted a Water Gun attack at him, causing the water stone to fly out of his pocket, getting launched into the air...

“Poliwhirl, quick! Grab it!!” Leaf commanded, Poliwhirl leaping up and gracefully catching it. And the second he grabbed the stone, his body shined with the light of evolution...

...As he evolved. Into a Poliwrath!

“Oh my gosh... You evolved!! Eeek, this is so amazing!!” Leaf squealed happily, the Rocket grunt’s mouth agape with shock. “...WHAT?! Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!!”

“Poliwrath, quick, use Water Gun! Then use Doubleslap!!” Poliwrath let out a barrage of attacks, promptly fainting the Golbat.

“Urgh... I can’t believe I just got defeated by a little girl!!” The grunt grumbled, facepalming as he runs away. “The boss is gonna kill me for this one...”

“Leaf! Are you alright?” I asked, quickly running up to her.

“Yeah, I am now... I’m just lucky Team Rocket didn’t take any of my Pokeballs...” Leaf says. Me and Leaf looked around the area, and now it seemed that all the Rocket members we’re finally gone, completely chased away. This didn’t mean everything was still good, though. Team Rocket made off with a lot of Pokeballs, lost partners that their trainers may never get back. I could hear the sobs of the many people around us, heartbroken at the failure to get their partners back. Oh Arceus, I’m sorry to all of you. If I could save all your partners, and get them back to you... I definitely would have in a heartbeat.

“Hey... Are you kids ok?” The announcer walks up to us.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Thank you...” Leaf answers, pausing as she looks down at Poliwrath. “Uh, sorry for accidentally using that water stone...”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” The announcer smiles reassuringly. “You deserve it for stepping up and fighting for us! Besides, I’d rather have you use it then those criminal scum...”

I had so many thoughts racing around in my head, feeling so many emotions. I took a few steps forward, staring up at the sky...

“Hey, Sam? Are you alright?” Leaf asks. I sighed, silent for a bit before I turned back to face her...

“I can’t take this anymore! Team Rocket always has to ruin EVERYTHING!!” I snapped. “All I wanted to do was have a nice day, and even then I still can’t avoid these people!!”

“Sam... We had no idea this was gonna happen!” Leaf says. “Besides, remember we still told the cops about them?”

“That’s still not enough... I gotta go something about them myself, or this’ll never end.” I grumbled, sighing as I looked down at the ground. “Leaf... I’m sorry, but maybe we should stop traveling together for now. I need to go out and train on my own for a bit. I need to make sure I’m ready to stop Team Rocket once and for all...”

“Oh... Alright then. I understand.” Leaf mumbled weakly, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. “Well... You know where to find me if you wanna see me again.”

“Hey... Sam?” I hear Clarence’s voice, turning around to see him and his Tentacruel. “I just wanted to say... I’m sorry for being so rude to you and your Pokémon.” He apologizes. “Your Blastoise is pretty powerful. He sure proved me wrong! You must be a really good trainer to make him so powerful.”

“Thanks, Clarence. I appreciate it.” I respond, giving a weak smile.

“You said you we’re gonna go off and train on your own, right?” Clarence asks. “Well, good luck with that. Kick Team Rocket’s butts for all of us!”

“Yeah... I will.”