One day in the Almia Region, a young brunette girl known as Takara was currently playing the recorder. Unfortunately, she wasn't very good. Actually, she was horrible. It sounded like a Pokémon dying. Her playing was interrupted by the sound of her doorbell. She got up, the recorder still in her hand, and walked toward the door. When she opened it, she saw that it was Nurse Joy with two Chansey by her side.
"Hello, we're with the Pokémon Center nearby, and we understand you have a dying Pokémon on the premises."
Takara slammed the door shut after that. Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She picked it up and said, "Hello. You've reached the house of unrecognized talent. Please leave a message after the…" She blew her recorder into her cell phone.
"Sounds like you've got a dying Pokémon to attend to, am I right?" the voice from the phone asked. Takara's eyes went wide.
"Gordor?"
Said villain on the other end of the phone smirked, "I've heard you're writing fanfiction stories, now."
"Uh, yeah, sometimes," Takara replied nervously, "How are the Go Rock Quads?"
"Bigger and better than ever. In fact, they're supposed to play at the Author Bowl next week."
"The Auth, Auth, Auth… the Auth, Auth, Auth… the Auth, Auth, Auth…" Takara stuttered, shocked.
"That's right, Takara. My children are living your dreams," Gordor smirked, "But they're all taking a vacation this month and can't play. So I was hoping you and your band could cover for us." Takara bit her lip. She knew where this was going.
"Oh, uh, well, you see…"
"Ha! I knew a loser like you wouldn't have a band. I'll just let you get back to writing those boring stories of yours." That crossed the line.
"HOLD IT!" Takara yelled into her cell phone, "It just so happens that I DON'T write stories! I DO have a band, and we'll play that Author Bowl! How do you like that, villain?"
Gordor, unfazed, replied, "Good luck next Tuesday. I hope the audience brings lots of…ibuprofen!" With that, the call ended.
Takara gulped as she sat down on the couch, "Man, I need to drum up a marching band fast! Heh, drum. Band humor."
Solana was patrolling Ringtown when she came across a flyer, "Looking for some fulfillment to add to your dull, dull life?"
Sven was reading the same flyer, "Then become part of the greatest musical sensation ever to hit the Pokémon world…"
Elita was reading as well, "…and be forever adored by thousands of people you don't know."
Cameron was reading a flyer while using the restroom, "Not to mention, free refreshments."
Percy was in the shower while reading, "Practice begins tonight, 8:30 sharp."
Takara was riding her bicycle to the warehouse where everyone was waiting. A trailer full of instruments for the Pokémon Ranger cast to play was being hauled behind her. She looked at her watch and scowled. It was 8:31.
"Great, the stupid rental clerk made me late for my own meeting. That idiot probably can't tell the difference between an oboe from an elbow. Heh, elbow. More band humor."
Once there, she walked in as all the Rangers, Operators, and Mechanics and some of her OCs were talking amongst themselves, but they were really saying, "Blah blah blah blah blah!" over and over. Some were even holding their instruments the wrong way.
"Okay everyone, settle down!" Takara commanded, and everyone gave her their attention and settled down, "Okay, how many of you have played musical instruments before?"
"Do instruments of capturing Pokemon count?" Joel asked.
"No."
"Is mayonnaise an instrument?" Michael asked dumbly.
Deadpanned, Takara replied, "No Michael, mayonnaise is not an instrument." Michael raised his hand again, "Horse radish is not an instrument, either." Michael put his hand down. "That's alright, no one has had an experience. But I'm sure I can make you all decent musicians by the end of the day." Takara laughed at the end. No one said anything.
"When do we get the free food?" Cameron asked impatiently.
Takara sighed and said, "Okay, repeat after me." She played a scale on her recorder. "Brass section, go!" Barlow, Kellyn, Monique, and Lelani repeated her scale on their brass instruments. "Good! Now the winds!" Wendy, Ollie, Rhythmi, and Mindy repeated on their wind instruments. "And the drums!" Luana, Keith, Taylee, and Ben started blowing on their drumsticks, but due to lack of breath, the drumsticks flew out of their mouths and hit Takara, pinning her to the wall.
"Too bad that didn't kill me," she said sarcastically.
"Let's try stepping in rhythm. I want everyone to stand in straight rows of five," said Takara.
"Is this the part where we start kicking?" Keith asked eagerly.
"No Keith, that's a chorus line," Takara replied.
"Kicking? I wanna do some kicking!" Michael exclaimed before kicking Monique's leg.
"Ow! Why you…! WHY I OUGHTA...!" Monique started beating up Michael cartoon style across the room and out the door. Moments later, a loud scream was heard. Everyone stared at the door with wide eyes, worried that Monique had just killed her brother.
The door then opened and Michael poked his head in, "Whoever are the owners of the Fearow and Dodrio, they're having an argument." He walked in, revealing Monique had shoved him through a trombone. His head stuck out through the bell and his legs were sticking out through the mouth piece. When he sat back down, the slide went up and slid back down and a note played from his mouth, leaving everyone confused.
Day two
On the second day, everyone was practicing marching outside while playing their instruments, but they were still bad.
"Great job, everyone! That's perfect!" Takara exclaimed, "Author Bowl, here we come! Hey flag twirlers, spin those things faster!" she ordered the flag twirlers, Linda and Marcus. When they were at a corner, Takara ordered, "Now turn! Come on flag twirlers, move! Spin those things like there's no tomorrow! Spin them!" The two Operators were spinning the flags so fast that they actually defied the laws of physics and flew off the ground. They crashed into a blimp, causing an explosion. Isaac began playing Taps on his trumpet and everyone bowed their heads in respect. All except for Takara, who just curled up on the ground in a fetal position.
Day three
The next day, back at the warehouse, Takara went over to Lunick, "Hey Lunick, how's your harmonica solo coming along?"
"It's going great! You wanna see?" Lunick then ran to a giant harmonica on the other side of the room. He went to the first hole, took a deep breath, and blew a note. Then he ran to the last hole, took another breath, and blew the note. Then he ran to the middle of the harmonica and blew three notes in one breath. Finally, he ran to the last note. But he was really tired so when he took one last breath and blew the note, he passed out.
Day four
"Well, this is our last night to rehearse before the Author Bowl. And I know none of you have improved since we began," said Takara while Mindy was trying to help Michael get his hand out of a trumpet, "But I have a theory. People talk loud when they wanna act smart, right?"
"CORRECT!" yelled Chris, shocking everyone that he spoke.
"So, if we play loud, people might think we're good. Everybody ready?" Everyone nodded as they raised their instruments, "And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three, four…"
From outside the warehouse, the windows shattered and the whole building shook from the loud blast of music made by everyone. Inside, Takara's hair and clothes had been blown back and her conductor's stick snapped in two.
"Alright, new theory," she said, shocked at how horrible they played, "Why don't we play so quietly, no one can hear us?"
"Well, maybe we wouldn't sound so bad if some people didn't try to play with such puny girl hands!" snapped Vatona while looking angrily at Nage.
Nage turned to him, glaring, "What did you say, pal?"
"Puny. GIRL. HANDS!" Vatona answered, also glaring.
"Well, these hands aren't for just researching things!" Nage yelled, ready to fight.
"Bring it on, brother! Bring it on!" Vatona yelled.
"No, guys. We should be smart and not bring violence into this," Keith said as he got between the two scientist brothers.
"Oh, so now the redhead here is gonna preach to us!" Aria snapped. By now, everyone was arguing.
"Everyone, calm down! I know tensions are high, but-" Takara never got to finish her sentence as the arguing quickly broke out into a full-fledged brawl! Kody was trying to strangle Crawford, but Summer smashed a drum through his head. "There's a deposit on the instruments, guys!" Vatona and Nage charged at each other with clarinets joust style, but they suddenly tried to stop. They were too late when Kate banged cymbals over their heads. "Come on, you guys! Stop fighting!" Kellyn tried to beat Monique with a xylophone, but she grabbed a drumstick and smashed it. As Kellyn ran off, Michael ran up and kicked his sister's leg again. She growled at him and threatened him with a trumpet. Michael ran off screaming with Monique right behind him. Suddenly, the clock struck 9:00. Everyone stopped fighting when this happened.
"Hey, class is over," Marcus pointed out. Apparently, he and Linda survived their accident the other day. Then everyone got up and started leaving. Suddenly, the front doors swung open, revealing a dejected Takara.
"Well, you did it. You took my one chance at showing my rival that I can be a good band conductor…and crushed it. You crushed it into little, itty bitty pieces. I've expected better from all of you. But I guess I'm a loser for that, too. Don't bother showing up tomorrow. I'll just tell them you all died in a marching accident. So thanks, thanks for nothing…" With that, Takara sulked off into the darkness.
"You're welcome," said Michael densely.
"What kind of monsters are we?" Keith asked, and everyone looked at him, "That poor creature came to us in her time of need, and we failed her. Takara was always there for us when it was convenient for her!" Keith walked over to Lacey, "Lacey, when your Machop got sick, who went with you to Unova instead?"
"My Pichu," Lacey answered.
"And Sven, when your Luxray sprained its paw, who healed it?"
"Nurse Joy," Sven answered.
"That's right! So maybe if we can just pretend that Takara was Lacey's Pichu or Nurse Joy, then I'm sure we can all pull together and discover what it truly means to be in a marching band!"
"Yeah, for Lacey's Pichu!" Vatona yelled happily and everyone broke into cheers.
Keith grabbed the remains of Takara's conductor stick and said, "Now let's make Takara proud! A-one, a-two, a-scidilly-didilly-doo!"
The next day, Takara was walking sadly to the stadium where the Author Bowl was being held, "I knew this was gonna happen. They're just gonna have to find another band to play. I just hope that- GORDOR DOESN'T FIND OUT! GORDOR! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Takara screamed in alarm when she saw Gordor standing in front of her, "W-what are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious? I came here to see you fail," Gordor replied, smirking, "So, where's your band?"
"Um, they couldn't come. They…died," Takara lied.
"Then who's that?" Gordor asked, pointing behind her. Takara turned around, only to see the Rangers, Operators, and Mechanics dressed in blue marching band uniforms.
"AHH! THAT WOULD BE MY BAND!" Takara yelled, her eyes bulging out of her head.
"We're ready to perform, Takara!" Keith exclaimed, saluting.
"Well Takara, this is exactly how I pictured your band would look," Gordor said smugly while Keith was doing a really goofy looking dance. Gordor looked at Takara with amusement and slight confusion.
"That's his…eager face," Takara explained flatly as she was given a spare uniform to wear. Gordor laughed loudly at Takara and her band as they all went inside the stadium.
"Well, I guess this'll be the last time I'll be showing my face in this region," Takara sighed as everyone got on a platform.
"That's the spirit, Takara!" Ben exclaimed.
The platform began moving upwards and an author called Pokémon Ranger-Trainer announced, "Okay, all you authors, put your hands together for the Pokémon Ranger Super Band!"
Authors such as A Random Human, FireFrostFlare, Katie Dazuru, and Friendly Kitty were screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs while other authors like pokelover0ash, Riley Sky, Pikawolf11, and Akozu Heiwa were holding up signs that read things like "I love Pokémon Ranger" and "PR 4ever".
"Why do some of these people look familiar?" asked Kellyn.
"Maybe we're in one of those toxic waste dumps," replied Keith.
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Murph moaned.
"Alright, everyone," Takara started nervously. She quickly glanced at Gordor, who had a smug smirk on his face, "Let's just get this over with. One, two, three, f-four…" She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for a loud blast of horrible music. Instead, she heard an amazing trumpet piece. She opened her eyes. Lunick played a keyboard solo and everyone moved aside to show Keith with a microphone as he began singing.
The winner takes all
It's the thrill of one more kill
The last one to fall
Will never sacrifice their will
Michael did a drum solo and everyone began playing rock instruments.
Don't ever look back
On the world closing in
Be on the attack
With your wings on the wind
Oh, the games will begin
Takara gaped at her band. How did they turn from horrible to amazing in one night? She looked at Gordor, who was gaping as well, and smirked. She threw away her conductor stick and pointed at Michael, who did his drum solo as Keith continued singing.
And it's sweet, sweet, sweet victory, yeah
And it's ours for the taking
It's ours for the fight
Gordor fainted from how good the band was and paramedics came and dragged him away. Takara waved goodbye to him and ran to the edge of the stage, where the pyrotechnics went off.
And it's sweet, sweet, sweet victory, yeah
And the one who's last to fall…
Takara danced to Michael's drum solo and jumped into the air happily. This was truly the best day ever.
Author's notes: Well, that was fun to make. I was watching my favorite SpongeBob SquarePants and it inspired me to write this. Also, I just got back from my first day of high school today, so I won't be updating as much for a while.
So, as you may have guessed, Takara was me and the authors mentioned in this were some of my favorites. That was a shout out to you guys! You're all awesome!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon Ranger or SpongeBob. I only own Michael, Monique, Taylee, Mindy, Kody, and Lacey.
Review and don't flame!
~RangerTakara
P.S. In real life, I really do suck at playing the recorder.