((Someone on Spark - Leader of Team Instinct's FB page said, "Someone just make an anime based on spark or a fanfic or something I can read for the adventure of the mighty spark."

Me... "Challenge: Accepted."))

Cover photo by Photo by www. xhinite. tumblr .com

SPARK'S VIDEO.

Chapter 1: FOOD FIGHT

by Windryder1

chapter 1: FOOD FIGHT

"Is this recording?" Spark's dark hazel eyes filled up two-thirds of the camera frame. He stuck his tongue out, pulled out both cheeks in a 'bleeeh' gesture, and chuckled at his image playing back to him on the small monitor secured atop the camera. Satisfied that he looked amazing, he stepped back, tugged at the ends of his black leather jacket, and shot the camera his most confident smolder.

"Hey, everybody! I'm Spark, the leader of Team Instinct! You are about to join an epic adventure of friendships, rivalry, and battles! My team, the greatest team in all the lands, knows no bounds! We are boundryless! We have no limits! We are limit-free like sky commas! We are masters of the edge of nowhere! We—!"

"'Masters of the edge of nowhere?'" Candela shifted an unamused gaze away from her laptop, eying his frozen 'finger guns' over-dramatic pose. "Are you serious?"

"Great, thanks, Candela. You ruined a perfectly good take." Spark scowled.

She paused. "That's debatable." Finished with this conversation, she crunched on a handful of chips from a bag next to her, idly swept the crumbs to the floor with her fingers, and returned her focus to creating her strategy guide for new team Valor members; 'How to Own Your Rival in Your First Gym Battle.'

"Why don't you work on that in the common room instead of the kitchen and leave me alone?"

"It's a free kitchen, and Blanche says I leave chips all over the couch." Her eyes never left the screen.

"She's not wrong."

She raised her arms over her head to crack her shoulders. "Why are you recording in here anyway?"

"Because the fridge is in here, and there's left over cold pizza in it from breakfast."

"The bathroom acoustics are better. Why don't you record in there if you're worried about ambiance?"

"Because I don't want a toilet in the background! And there's no pizza in the bathroom!" Spark's argument derailed when an idea crashed into his brain. "...Yet." He grabbed the flat delivery box from the refrigerator. He could get away with throwing a blanket over the porcelain throne, and have his Pikachu sit on it as a distraction. No one would be the wiser. It was perfect. "Zipper!"

A distant "Pika!" answered from across the house.

"Don't take pizza into the bathroom." Worried, Candela got up and snagged the box away from her friend. "That's disgusting."

Irritated, he swiped it back. "Who made you Goddess of Pie?"

"You, as soon as you mentioned taking this greasy disasterpiece in there." She tried to take it back, but he wouldn't let go. The tug of war began.

"You didn't even have any!" He pulled back.

She refused to relinquish the pie. "It's unhealthy!"

"There's pineapple on it! You love pineapple!"

"It's mostly cheese!"

"Cheese is amazing!"

"At least let me get Blanche to write your script!"

"No! She'll turn it into a novel!"

"It's called quality writing!"

"Let go of my box and let me go to the bathroom!"

"No!"

Blanche paused at the entry to the kitchen, sweaty from her workout in the gym, and holding a water bottle loosely in her right hand. Spark's Pikachu stood next to her and both watched the fight. She glanced down to the little Pokemon. "Do you want to break this up, or should I?"

"Piiiiiiika~" The little yellow Pokemon looked from his trainer to the pizza to the brunette and back repeatedly. His worry increased with each second as the real victim in this situation became obvious. He had to do something. Spark had trained him to have heart for the one in the most need. He could not let his trainer down!

With a battle cry harboring both irritation at the situation, and courage to do what's right, Pikachu launched into the battle. His cheeks sparked with just enough power to make his attack effective. "Pi...ka.. CHU!"

ZAP!

The two team leaders hit the floor in a daze, but the pizza box landed smoothly on Pikachu's upstretched little hands. A perfectly executed rescue. He stuck a victory pose, having saved the victim. Both groaned as the shock wore off and they regained control of their limbs.

The contents of box exuded small rivulets of smoke. Spark took one slice and crunched on it. "Good job, Zipper. Perfectly toasted."

The small Pikachu grinned in pride of his accomplishment.

Blanche walked up as Candela got to her feet. She noted the camera facing the kitchen corner. "Spark, are you still trying to make that recruitment introduction?"

"I have to get it right. A first impression is important. It's like a fart; you can't take it back."

"Gross."

"Which is why I offered to help you." Candela smoothed down her shirt. "You'll look like an idiot if you just say whatever rolls off your brain."

"Look," Blanche put herself between the two. Both of her friends could be passionate –Candela the more competitive of the two. If she saw this as a challenge, she would horde the entire project from Spark. "Spark, just be yourself, and if people feel like Instinct is where they want to be-"

"They'll question their life choices afterward."

"Candela." Blanche scowled.

"He called an apostrophe a 'sky comma.'"

The grammar nerd in Blanche twitched. "...Sky comma?"

"I don't need help from either of you. Just leave me alone." And with a dramatic swipe of another burnt slice of pizza and a loud proclamation of, "And they look like floating commas!" he shoved it in his mouth and stormed out.

His Pikachu sent a look of 'he didn't mean it' to the other two team leaders, and followed his trainer.

Blanche shut off the 'record' button.

Candela saved her file and closed the laptop. "I'm going after him."

"Let him go," Blanche sighed. "It's not going to do any good. He'll come home when he calms down. We can talk this out like rational leaders."

Candela removed her white jacket and draped it over the kitchen chair. "I'm going to work off my frustrations in the gym. Some of my team members could use a little hard work."

"Be kind. I just put mine through a strategy test, and they're bitter about losing to Instinct in a practice match." She waited for the Valor leader to leave before putting away the camera equipment. Spark was known for making decisions based on his emotions. His over sensitivity had lead him to making rash decisions in the past - like disturbing that nest of Beedrill to obtain an egg –-and cracking bad jokes like a little brother in the face of defeat, but that also let him be a caring researcher. Somehow, he was able to see things in people and Pokemon that she and Candela couldn't immediately detect. And that, she felt, is what made him a great leader.

That didn't explain why he gave his Pokemon names like 'Cheddarslice' for his Rattata, 'Buttflutters' for his Pigeot, and 'Zipper.' That last one made the least amount of sense for a Pikachu. At least his Jolteon, Ai, seemed normal. He'd caught that Eevee in an indigo dye house.

TBC. ((Please leave a comment. I love those so much. :) ))