Team Sparks Chronicles
Book 3, chapter 1: “A Heartfelt Butt Puppy Story”
This story begins on what may be the least joyful time of the year: a mildly cold early January day. The lights from the festivities had been taken down, the holidays about a week behind. It was cloudy, but just warm enough that the snow had mostly melted, which would re-freeze into black ice every night. Nothing remained of what made winter tolerable.
“And stay out!” The Watchog who owned the bakery literally punted Sparks out the door. His first day on the job and the little sweet-tooth got caught sneaking food. Now he was out of a job and most likely barred from returning.
Sparks picked himself up, wiped the dirt and cake icing off his face, and headed home downtrodden. It’s clear Sparks wasn’t feeling any joy this time of year either, but not all of it is self-inflicted.
On the way home he passed by a quaint little family-owned toy store. An Audino plushie in the window had fallen over on its face. Sparks stopped for a second to admire the detail; it reminded him of Nise’s love for plushies like it. Of course Sparks was particularly fixated on the tail. It looked really cottony.
Sparks didn’t notice the two Pokémon coming out from the alley beside the store. It was the Shock Twins, Pico and Nano, a shiny Plusle-Minun pair of pranksters who have taken to bullying poor Sparks whenever he’s alone. This time, Nano blew Sparks a Sweet Kiss. It bounced off the window and hit Sparks in the forehead, and he went dizzy. Pico then pulled the Scarf up over Sparks’s eyes and tightened it. The pair giggled and ran away.
Blindfolded and confused, Sparks tottered into the alley and fell into a pile of wet snow.
Sparks’s confusion broke when he felt something cold and wet brushing against his tail and foot. He rolled off the pile and pulled his scarf off to untie it. As he did, the “emergency cookie” he keeps in his scarf fell out and rolled up by a cardboard box. Sparks had no time to react before he saw the thing in the box reach out and eat it.
Sparks was about to cry in a fit of rage at the cookie thief before he saw the pitiful sight.
It was a Yamper, about Sparks’s height. It was filthy and not as pudgy as they’re known for being. It munched away with enthusiasm and swallowed.
“That… that was miiine!” Sparks got up to its face to protest, but the Yamper responded with a long slobbery lick up his face. Sparks shook it off, then pointed at it, rather upset. “Listen you—” and the Yamper interrupted him with another lick.
Sparks took a step back to stop being slobbered. He knew nothing he did would get his cookie back, and he resigned himself to that, so he quietly tiptoed away.
He couldn’t look away. The Yamper was giving him such needy eyes. It was alone and probably very hungry, and it felt like bad karma to him to just abandon the dog to the streets like so many probably have.
“Okay, boy, er… girl… puppy. Whatever. I can’t take you, but I can help. Just wait there. Stay.”
“Wampa!” The Yamper sat there, panting.
“Good puppy. I’ll be back, I promise.” Sparks turned and ran with a Quick Attack, nearly knocking over a passerby on the sidewalk.
After he left, the Yamper licked his lips and sniffed at the ground.
--
The clouds overhead were getting darker. The meteorologist this morning was uncertain of what sort of precipitation could fall this afternoon.
Sparks had to go all the way home, a kilo and a half away from that alley downtown. He never got paid before getting fired, so he had no money on hand at the time. So he either needed to get money or food from home.
Sparks’s little brother Jolts and his girlfriend Mincy were not home. For once that was actually UNfortunate because they lock the fridge and pantry before leaving. They always treated Sparks like the age he acted like around them. It’s not too hard to predict Jolts, though. Sparks figured out the fridge combination in three tries, and he grabbed the microwaveable tub of leftover home-cooked burger.
At this point, Sparks briefly thought he might be in over his head, running out when the weather could turn at any moment to help a stray. But for all of Sparks’s bad behavior he was willing to do the right thing when he put his mind to it.
So he grabbed a coat, opened the door, and…
“Wampa!”
The Yamper was standing right outside the fence gate, happily wagging its tail. It had followed Sparks home. Sparks threw the coat aside, ran to it and opened the gate. Yamper immediately tackled him and licked his face some more.
“OK, OK, down. Down…” Sparks patted its face, trying to push the Yamper off, which it eventually complied. “Good puppy. Here, like I promised.” Sparks opened the tub and set it down.
Yamper ate with voracity, but as it did two things happened. First, the rain. Sparks hurriedly picked up the coat and covered both of them best as he could with it. Second, a certain Pikachu with a slight rasp in his voice and a lightning-bolt-patterned umbrella.
“Sparks, what’re you doing!?”
Sparks looked up. “Oh, Jolts. Just, uh…”
“Feeding our dinner to a dog, I see that. He don’t look like one of the neighbors’ neither.” Jolts lowered his head to inspect closer as Yamper finished eating. “Where you from, big guy?” The Yamper responded by burping directly in Jolts’s face, causing him to reel back from the puppy’s breath. Sparks laughed.
“Ugh, frickin’ gross. Just… just get him outta here.”
“Eeeeh? Already?”
“Yes, and now!” Jolts stared down at Sparks refusing to break eye contact. “What are you doing, bringing home some wild dog? Imagine how bad Mincy’d flip!”
Sparks’s ears drooped along with his whole expression. The rain pelting his face had turned to sleet, and the wind was picking up.
Jolts then turned to the Yamper, pointing to the gate. “And you, boy. Get! We got nowhere for you to stay!” His voice had an air of aggression to it. The Yamper gave the saddest whimper, then slowly turned to leave.
How did Sparks not notice it this whole time? Sure he thought its face was cute. He could even get used to the face-licking. But something else caught his eye right there…
Yamper’s lightning-bolt tail ended just below the top point of a green-bordered yellow heart, all of which perfectly framing a round, chubby (could be chubbier) rear end. It swayed just so slightly as the sad pup walked away. Sparks had never seen a fur pattern so perfectly capture the rump shape, and his mind was swimming with thoughts of it.
“WAAAIIIIT!” Sparks practically pounced on Yamper, clinging to its butt, which caused Yamper to let out a minor yip. “Please, Jolts. Let him stay!”
“Spaaarks—“
“It’s ice-cold and wet out here, and my friend has nowhere to go! How could you be so heartless?”
Jolts flinched. He’s never been as good at disciplining his little-big brother as Mincy.
And speaking of… “Hey darling.” Mincy approached wearing a heavy sweater and carrying an umbrella.
“Oh thank the gods,” Jolts said in relief. Mincy gave him a peck on the cheek. “Hey, dearie. Can you talk sense into Sparks again?”
Mincy sighed. “What’s he doing now?” She only now noticed the Chu cuddling up to the south end of one of the cutest pups she’d ever seen. Both of them were giving her pleading gazes. Mincy hid her blush under her paws and mumbled something.
Jolts got in closer. “What was that, dearie?”
Louder mumbling. Jolts put an ear right to her face.
Mincy finally uncovered her face. “It’s too cute and I feel bad for it! Let it in!” Jolts’s ears ringed and he reeled back.
Sparks climbed off the Yamper. “YES!”, and leaned into Jolts “YOU LOSE!” Jolts reeled back further. Sparks then patted the Yamper’s butt “Come on, let’s go in.”
“Wampa!” the Yamper yapped back happily. He and Sparks ran in the house, followed by Mincy, oddly giddy.
“Eee, it’s so cute…”
--
“IT’S NOT CUTE!”
Immediately after coming in out of the rain, Yamper shook himself dry, throwing cold water everywhere and briefly returning Mincy to her senses. Sparks got on all fours and did the same, which isn’t like him.
“C’mon, let’s get your butt nice and dry.”
“Wampa!”
The duo ran into the bathroom. Mincy put her face in her paws again, only to peek and see the muddy tracks Yamper left behind. Jolts got a rag for Mincy, who soaked it with her tears and started wiping the tracks up.
In the bathroom, Sparks took his time drying Yamper, making sure his butt in particular was its softest, fluffiest self when the towel brushed in a certain place, which made the pup blush.
“Hm?” Sparks lowered his head to the pup’s underside. “Huh… Jolts was right; you’re a boy!”
“Wan!” Yamper happily replied.
“Well, boy… Hmm, wait, you need a name.” Sparks finished drying his hair with his own towel and put his goggles back on. But no matter what names came to mind, he didn’t think any of them fit.
“Oh whatever. You’re only my precious butt puppy for tonight. Let’s eat!”
“Wampa!” A bulb lit up in Sparks’s mind.
--
“Wh-what are you doing!?” Jolts took his head out of the fridge to shout at Sparks.
Sparks had taken a can opener, canned food, and a plate from various cupboards. “Well, I gotta feed B.P., right? He’s a hungry boy.”
“Wampa!”
“You named him? …Wait, ‘B.P.?’”
“Yeah, cuz he’s a cute ‘Butt Puppy’ with the cute butt, and he’s hungry, and we don’t have any dog Poké-chow so what else can I do?”
Jolts facepalmed. “You remember he’s only here for the night because the weather’s awful and you and Mincy made me look really bad out there... Why the hell did you give him a name?”
“Whatever lil’ bro. A Butt Puppy’s gotta eat.”
Jolts groaned and grabbed a drink, then shut the fridge door only to be met with B.P.’s face and bad breath inches from his own. B.P. licked him, then followed Sparks to his bedroom.
Mincy followed then, carrying today’s newspaper that Jolts hadn’t yet read. “Ah, one of the downsides to cute puppies.”
Jolts’s ears drooped. “At least save me the lottery numbers. Mincy?”
That night, Mincy peeked in on Sparks. The room smelled of urine (At least B.P. went on the paper, which she quietly took out). Sparks was sound asleep, predictably using B.P.’s butt as his pillow while B.P. laid on his actual pillow.
Sparks and that pup have gotten really close in such a short time, she thought. It’s almost a shame to see the cutie go but we can’t keep him.
The next morning Sparks woke to more face-licking. But even with the extra encouragement to get out of bed, Sparks isn’t the type to wake quickly. B.P. must have slobbered his face for at least five straight minutes before it became apparent that he wasn’t going to stop.
Sparks rolled out of bed with a thud. B.P. ran to the door, and was scratching at it and whimpering. Sparks grabbed a heavier scarf. It was already setting up for a cold and possibly upsetting day…
--
The scenery was very different from yesterday. The skies were clear in the west. Yesterday’s storm had left a dusting of snow atop a layer of pure ice on any solid surface. “It’s a wonder the power didn’t totally go out”, Sparks thought out loud. “Then again, Jolts was called out to work extra early this morning…”
As soon as Sparks and B.P. were past their fence, B.P. fell on his belly and slid on the sidewalk. Sparks helped him up.
“C’mon, boy. Let’s take it slow.” For it might be the last time…, Sparks added in his head. He really didn’t feel good about bringing him back to that iced-over alley but it’s what was expected of him
On the way they passed by a park where some Darumaka were rolling around on the sidewalks to melt the ice. B.P. immediately took off to chase one of them
“B.P.! Here boy!” Sparks tried to whistle but it was too cold. Yamper continued to chase the Darumaka who was now going any which way it could to get the pup off its trail.
Sparks grabbed an icy stick off the ground and hurled it in the air as hard as he could. “Fetch!”
B.P. stopped chasing the Darumaka to leap in the air at the stick, but Sparks threw it too high. It flew over B.P.’s head and dropped onto the head of another Darumaka who had gone over to check, leaving a comical lump.
Every Darumaka in the vicinity furiously charged at Sparks and B.P. The duo regrouped and took off in a panic, but as soon as they were across the street and back on icy sidewalk B.P. slipped again. Sparks turned to help him up and both got their butts torched by two Darumaka’s Ember attacks.
B.P. got back to his feet and turned around. He growled and his neck fluff flared with electricity. Sparks got between them, facing away and with arms outstretched.
“No, boy. Don’t fight. Heel. B.P., heeeel!”
The two Darumaka’s fists caught on fire and they tried throwing Fire Punches at Sparks. He zigzagged around them with Quick Attack, running circles until they passed out dizzy. Another three lunged at them firing Incinerate from their mouths. Sparks blew them up with Thunder Shocks. In the smokescreen, Sparks pushed B.P. down the icy hill and clung to his face while they escaped.
--
“I’m sorry, boy…”
“Wampa!” B.P. licked Sparks’s face.
They arrived at the alley where they first met. Between the Embers and sliding down a few blocks of icy hill which would make anyone’s belly red, B.P. was looking pretty roughed up but it seemed like he didn’t blame Sparks for any of it. He was still being his happy self.
“Here you go, boy. You’re home again…” Sparks took off his heavy scarf and knocked out some candied Oran slices, then re-wrapped it. “I left you a good-bye snack…”
Sparks turned around and waved good-bye. He was trying to hide it, but he really wanted to cry. Even if it was only one day, he had made a great friend.
“I promise, I’ll visit you a lot.”
B.P. looked down and sniffed at the candy Sparks left him. But before he could eat it, his ears perked up at the sound of two extra set of feet coming down the ladders. He looked up just in time for something to land on his head…
Shortly after Sparks turned out of the alley, he felt a snowball hit him in the back of the head. He quickly turned around. Pico and Nano were there, each holding a snowball and pulling their eyelids down with the other paw.
“You guys again?!”
“We ain’t through with you!” Pico said.
“We’re gonna make our boss proud!” Nano added.
They threw their snowballs. Sparks dodged one while the other grazed his ear. Sparks could hardly contain his anger.
Sparks’s cheeks filled with electricity. “You know…” Sparks said through gritted teeth, “it’s like 10:00 a.m. but I’ve had a pretty bad day already. The last thing I need is you!”
“Oh, you mean that puppy you dropped off at our doorstep?” Nano said mockingly.
“Yeah, but we took care of him too.” Pico pulled out a piece of blue candy and popped it in his mouth.
Sparks realized that was some of the candied Oran he left for B.P. His emotions multiplied. Fearing the worst, tears welled up in his eyes and his electricity crackled chaotically around them.
Sparks leapt up in the air, spinning with Iron Tail. Pico did the same with Copycat. Their tails clashed, but Sparks’s had more force and he sent Pico to the ground. Sparks landed right in front of him and readied a Thunderbolt, but Pico held up his hands and started sobbing, looking visibly hurt.
“Please… no more… I’m sorry,” he said between sobs.
Sparks let up on his Thunderbolt. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. In this moment of vulnerability, Nano ran up and kissed him, and Sparks went dizzy with confusion again.
Nano helped Pico up, and they fist bumped.
“Way to play up the Tearful Look, P!” (Tearful Look lowers Attack and Special Attack.)
“Of course. Now…” They turned to Sparks. “Number 14?” Nano nodded back in response.
Each pulled a marker out of their diapers and giggled to each other. But Pico’s marker was knocked out of his hands when he was blindsided by someone else tackling him.
“Wampa! Grrrr…”
“Oh, that dumb dog again!” Nano shouted.
“Huh, B.P.?” Sparks sat up. His confusion had faded. Indeed, he saw a Yamper growling at the antagonistic duo.
“Go away, stupid.” Nano threw the marker at B.P. He caught it in his mouth, then spat it out.
“He’s not stupid!” Sparks ran up to B.P. “He’s my precious Butt Puppy.”
“What a fitting name. You’re both buttheads,” Nano retorted
“Yeah, you caught me off guard,” Pico added. “But head on, 2v2, it makes no difference.”
The two joined hands and let yellow and blue electricity intermingle between them. “We’re the Shock Twins!” They said in unison.
“We’re about to demonstrate to you…“
“…why King Rex is so proud of us.”
They jumped up on a traffic light together and held their free hands up. An Electro Ball formed above them, growing to enormous size.
Yamper got in front of Sparks and laid down. “Wam.”
“Really?” Sparks said. B.P. nodded back. Sparks climbed on B.P.’s back, clinging tightly to his neck fur. Both of them surrounded themselves with a lot of combined electricity
“GO!” The duo shouted and launched the Electro Ball.
B.P. leapt up using Spark and Sparks using Volt Tackle. Sparks stood up and caught the Electro Ball, but their combined might was not enough to bounce it back. Realizing they were both going down if they kept trying to hold it back, Sparks decided to throw himself from B.P., volleying the shot aside and into a window while he himself made a hole in the sidewalk below.
B.P. flew fast into Pico and Nano with his powered-up Spark, knocking them both off their perch. Nano smashed into the hood of a stopped car. Pico landed on his butt on the opposite side of the street. B.P. landed feet-first by Nano, ran back to Sparks and put the woozy Pichu on his back again.
Pico and Nano came back together and approached the two, then another enemy lunged in and chomped down on Nano with Hyper Fang.
It was the Watchog, brandishing a rolling pin. He spat Nano out into the air and bashed him with the pin with an audible crack, knocking him into the same broken window. Pico ran in after him.
“Destroy MY street and store, will ya’s? You damn kids are in MAJOR trouble now!” Then he took a few steps closer to Sparks and B.P. “Wait. Ya look familiar…”
Sparks was still coming to his senses. The dopey look turned the Watchog’s rage up to 11. “Of course it’s you and…” his ears perked and he gazed up past them. “Wait, who’s that?”
Sparks finally shook off the concussion, and he and B.P. turned. The Darumaka from before were fast approaching, rolling down the street. The one in front still had a lump on his head.
Pico came out of the bakery with Nano on his shoulder. “Well, this all went to Muk. Better get gettin’ before we’re really got.” And they slipped away while Watchog wasn’t looking.
“Not a bad idea coming from them. Let’s go boy.” But before Sparks and B.P. could run, Watchog gave them the meanest Mean Look he’d ever given in his life.
“No you don’t! I’m dealing with you now!” Watchog approached holding the rolling pin over his head.
Sparks was frozen in fear. “It wasn’t… It was… I… I’ll…” Sparks then just screamed, “HELP!”
“WAAAAMPAAA!!” B.P. stood his ground and Roared with enough volume to rattle windows. That roar broke Watchog’s concentration and triggered his flight response, and he ran away crying. The Darumaka approaching from behind also got terrified and tottered away.
Sparks climbed off B.P. and hugged him, trying not to cry. “You saved me from a dreaded bonking and torched tail… I can’t thank you enough…”
Yamper licked the tears from his face
—Later that day—
Yarn knocked at Sparks’s door. Sparks answered.
“Sparksie. I heard you got in a fight downtown. How aaAAARE YOU!!” Yarn’s question turned into panic when she saw what else pushed itself outside. She flew up to the tree in the yard while B.P. looked up and barked at her.
Sparks followed B.P. out. “I’m more than all right, Yarn. I made a new friend. Come boy!” B.P. obediently turned to Sparks and went in for a hug, happily panting. Sparks continued, “Yarn, meet the newest member of the Team. His name is Butt Puppy!”
“Wampa,” B.P. yapped.
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Yarn shouted back from the tree. “Do NOT bring him to our get-togethers!”
Sparks and B.P.’s ears both drooped. “You… You don’t like B.P.?”
“Of course not!” Yarn immediately snapped back.
Sparks had only seen Yarn this visibly shaken once before. About a year ago, a pair of mean Maschiff broke through their fence and sent her up a tree just like what’s happened now until Sparks shooed them away.
Remembering this, Sparks turned to B.P. and patted his bum. “Go on inside. We’ll play later.”
Once B.P. was back in the house and Sparks shut the door, Yarn came down.
“I’m sorry, Yarn. I had no idea you were so afraid of dogs.”
“Always have been. It’s like they all want an Emolga snack or something.”
“Well he’s my mess now…”
Sparks told the story about yesterday and today.
“Twin Sparks Wanbo-Combo?” Yarn raised an eyebrow.
“Still working out the name. Anyway, he doesn’t have to be your friend, or Nise’s though I hope he’ll be warmer to him. But he’s mine while we’re home.”
Yarn scratched the back of her head. “Can’t be helped. Suppose you’ll need a doghouse, but you can’t seem to hold a job.” Then she put a paw to her chin “Actually, will you be able to handle THIS responsibility?”
“Yeah I asked myself that too,” said another voice that made them turn their heads. Mincy walked in through the fence gate carrying a doghouse that looked dirt-free. “I had a suspicion you couldn’t let him go, so I picked up a hand-me-down from a friend’s shed and cleaned it up.” She set the doghouse down under the tree. “Jolts will be coming by soon with the rest.”
“So you’ll let him stay?” Sparks asked.
Mincy nodded. “I think it’ll be fine, but get ready to get schooled hard on pet grooming. There’s only so much static I can handle, even considering you and Jolts.”
Sparks’s eyes beamed and he jumped for joy. Yarn let out a sigh of resignation, and left to let them have fun with B.P.
