A Day at the Yooyu Training Centre

     Perhaps the Altador Cup has already ended for the public, but not for these little creatures. Today we are going to learn how these Petpets become one of the most important stars of our favourite Neopian sport – Yooyuball.

     We are at the Yooyu Training Centre and I am going to speak directly with Jules Little-Lecture, our master Yooyu trainer.

     "Jules Little-Lecture, how are the Yooyus chosen for training?"

     "Yooyus are born here and from an early age are introduced to various environments. The ones we identify as the healthiest are chosen for official training. This is because, in order for them to be a Yooyuball, they need to have a lot of endurance."

     Jules Little-Lecture took us to the environmental enrichment room, where the Yooyus, still small, are introduced to many different types of environments. Here, the goal is for them to get used to different people and sounds from an early age. Imagine a Yooyu in the middle of a match, inside the arena with the noise coming from the crowds. They need to be accustomed to this environment.

     In the beginning, the Yooyus all stay together, but later, now as adults, they are separated by their colours and special abilities for specific training. In the words of Jules Little-Lecture:

     "In specific training, we want the Yooyus to hone their special abilities to the maximum. Faerie Yooyus have these wings, which allows them to use them to make curves. A Faerie Yooyu will never travel in a straight line, which means players need to use specific strategies to pass the ball to each other and score a goal. The training of these Yooyus consists of learning how to use their wings precisely to alter their trajectory and make a curved effect. A Faerie Yooyu that does not know how to curve its trajectory is not fit to be used in the game."

     "Fire Yooyus need to be fast and also have the ability to break free from players. We know that the desire to win a game can lead to a bit of irrationality, so for the players' own safety, we teach the Fire Yooyus to break free from players after about five seconds. Even if you want them to, or even if you are a Fire Neopet or from Moltara, these Yooyus won't stay in your hand for long."

     "Snow Yooyus have a slightly different diet. The idea is for them to thicken the layer of snow they have to become a little heavier and, consequently, slower. Surely, when players receive a Snow Yooyu after a Fire Yooyu, they notice a massive difference!"

     "Darigan Yooyus are trained to veer in any direction. It is an extremely difficult training process because they need to have enough strength to go against the direction they are thrown and launch themselves in any other direction. Their wings play a key role here. But we as trainers know how exhausting this is; you will see that at certain moments the Darigan Yooyu will follow the direction it was thrown. Launching in another direction is hard, so it is perfectly normal that this doesn't happen on every single throw."

     "Mutant Yooyus are the most highly trained and capable Yooyus in the entire centre. They simply learn all the tricks! You might ask: But how do they get heavier to simulate the Snow Yooyu? Well, here is a trick that only Mutant Yooyus can do: they have a very unique control over their own speed! And this control allows them to be fast, slow, or veer in any direction. It is a unique and incredible Yooyu!"

     With great curiosity, we observed the training of the Yooyus. But I, and probably you too, reader, are anxiously waiting to see how Robot Yooyus are trained. We know that after a few seconds, those little creatures simply explode! What happens to them? Jules Little-Lecture explained it to us in detail:

     "No, those Yooyus are not real! Let me show you our Clockwork Yooyu hall."

     We entered another hall where we saw a massive conveyor belt with machines assembling Yooyus.

     "Do not confuse Clockwork Yooyus with Robot Yooyus. Robot Yooyus are living creatures and we take very good care of them! While we were running tests to determine the Yooyus for the Cup, we wanted to put the teams to the test. Why not a Yooyu that vanishes from the arena after a few seconds? We thought about using Robot Yooyus and teaching them some magic with smoke bombs, but that idea didn't work out very well. The solution was to create Fake Yooyus. They are identical copies of Robot Yooyus, with the exception that they explode! Of course, the explosion is controlled and totally safe for the players, but it is a real show for anyone watching the game!"

     After clarifying how the Clockwork Yooyus work, Jules Little-Lecture brought a Normal Yooyu for us to see up close. The Yooyu greeted us in its star shape and faced the cameras very naturally. When instructed by Jules Little-Lecture, it tucked in its points and made the famous ball shape we know. Our trainer invited us to pick up the Yooyu and try a throw. The Yooyu was quite light and our team had the opportunity to throw it at the goal a few times. Jules Little-Lecture continued explaining the training:

     "The final stage of Yooyu training is the Obstacle Course!" – He pointed to a massive track full of obstacles, catapults, giant iron balls, and flags. – "This is the final proof that a Yooyu is fit to be a Yooyuball star. And don't worry, everything here is plastic! But a little intimidation never hurts. Yooyus need to have confidence during the game, but they also need to look out for their own safety. We have complete confidence in our Cup players, but our Yooyus need to be prepared to avoid any accidents. So if the Yooyus are thrown in any direction that goes beyond the arena limits, they need to dodge whatever is there. This training guaranteed our record of 20 Altador Cup editions without any accidents involving Yooyus in play."

     After following an intense day of training, we wrapped up the day with a delicious Slushie. We hope to visit trainer Jules Little-Lecture more times to learn more about these very important little creatures! See you next time to explore more about Petpets around the world.

     Rick Razzmuzz for the Neopian Times.