DISCLAIMER: Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! aren't mine, but that's beside the point.
WARNING: Um …look out for falling rocks! No… I know! There is shounen-ai, but no hentai, I swear.
MR. REFEREE: Is that all now? I think that covers everything, except the kitchen sink. But I'll get to that later…
WARNING: Beware of psychopathic schizophrenic fan writer with no sweet clue what he's doing!
MR. REFEREE: Oh, shut up.
[Voice from the sky] 'Today our heroes find themselves called from their relaxed stay in Goldenrod City, and heading toward New Bark Town, where they are to meet Professor Oak for some unrenowned reason. With no idea what's in store for them there, they venture carelessly, only thinking about what could possibly be awaiting them in New Bark Town.'
"Well, did Prof. Oak say what he wanted? Or why he was in New Bark Town?" Misty had been asking questions like this ever since the three of them left Goldenrod City.
"No," Ash tried to answer without blowing his top. "He just said that it was very important that I meet him in Prof. Elm's lab."
"Well," Brock piped up, "I guess we'll soon find out!" He was pointing at a big wooden sign that read Welcome to New Bark Town.
As they enter Prof. Elm's Lab. Ash, Misty and Brock notice that Prof. Oak and Prof. Elm are talking to what seems to be a multi-colored Sandslash, sitting on the table. With no idea what they're here for, they are not quite sure how to respond, but since Pokemon was Prof. Oak's field of study, then the only thing they could manage to muster was that this was why they were here.
"How cute! Look at the pretty colored Pokemon! Ash, LOOK!" Misty was getting squeakier by the sentence.
"Wow, that must be some rare Pokemon, Professor. Is that why you called?" Ash was slowly gaining interest. The walk to the lab had been tiring, but it seemed that some vitals were coming back online.
Prof. Elm and Prof. Oak both blink and stare at the object of their curiosity. The 'Pokemon' slowly moves across the table, and it seems that it would fall right off, but keeps going! It then comes around the front of the table.
"Ash. Misty. Brock." Prof. Oak started has he adjusted his lab coat. "I would like you to meet Yugi Moutu."
A sweat drop appears over Ash, Misty and Brock. A "DOH!" expression is also displayed, as they try not to express how stupid they feel.
"Oh, um, nice to meet you." Ash stammered in embarrassment. 'What is wrong with me,' Ash thought to himself. 'I haven't felt like this since the first time I met Gary…' His thoughts of Gary were interrupted by the soft sound of Yugi's voice.
"Nice to meet you, too."
"Ash, Yugi is here from Domino City because of recent events surrounding synthetic production of Pokemon." Ash broke contact with Yugi's eyes. "As you know, we have been working on creating synthetic Pokemon which stand similar to Duel Monsters. Anyway, our lab in Pallet Town was broken into the other night and all research and developments on the project were stolen. Recently there have been sightings of weird Pokemon in Johto, and we believe that the thieves finished our research, but then set the Pokemon free! These Pokemon could prove harmful, and we want you to capture as many as possible. Bring them back here to Prof. Elm and me. We need to study them completely to find out all there is to know about them."
Misty and Brock blink. Ash tilts his head slightly. They are obviously confuzzled.
"So why is he here?" Ash had on a very puzzled look as he pointed at Yugi.
"Yugi is the King of Games, a Duel Monsters expert. He will be able to aid you with information about the Pokemon." Prof. Elm began a spiel similar to that of Prof. Oak's. "As with regular Pokemon, some DM Pokemon are stronger than others, and some with very mystifying attributes. Yugi is our best hope for identifying between Pokemon and their traits, as your Pokedex is not fitted to give this information."
Misty and Brock blink again. Ash stares at Yugi, but then looks up at Prof. Oak. It didn't do much help, apparently.
"Ok then, is that all?" Ash looked back down at Yugi. "Damn those eyes," Ash thought as he looked back up again.
"Almost. Just one more thing. The DM Pokemon can't be contained in normal Pokeballs. You're going to need these." Prof. Oak held up a turquoise and burgundy ball. "This is a DM ball. This is the only thing that can contain the bio-generated Pokemon. I only have 10 to give you, so if you need more you'll have to go to Azaela Town and see Kurt."
"So that's it? Seems simple enough." All the scientific mumble-jumble was clearly confusing Ash. "I guess we should get going then. If we leave now, we can get to Cherrygrove City before nightfall."
"Why don't you stay here for the night?" Prof. Elm suggested. "Wandering around at night with unknown Pokemon lurking about may not be such a good idea. You can all come to my house and we'll get some food and sleep, and then you'll all be ready to start your journey in the morning."
"FOOD!!!" Ash, Misty and Brock shout in unison, almost running Prof. Elm's assistant over as they dash toward the door. Yugi's eyebrows rise.
"Come on Yugi," Prof. Elm said calmly as he placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Let's get over there before the three of them eat up all of the food. Are you coming Prof…" Prof. Elm stops and looks around for Prof. Oak.
"Prof. Oak, where did you go?"
"Look," Yugi said in his quiet, little voice, "over there!"
Prof. Elm looks to where Yugi is pointing. Prof. Oak is running right alongside of Ash, Brock and Misty.
"Make that 4, I guess." Prof. Elm muttered exasperatedly.
At Prof. Elm's house, Ash, Brock and Misty are stuffing themselves with as much food as they can. Yugi is slowly eating and talking to the Professors. Ash is keeping a close eye on Yugi. He was hoping to make some conversation, but had no idea what they were talking about for they were talking in a whisper for some reason. He decided to try a conversation topic, anyway.
"So, Yugi, do you have any Pokemon yet?" So far this was the first time Ash had spoken directly to Yugi since the hello.
"Well, kinda…" Yugi sounded as if he was unsure.
Ash looks at Prof. Elm, waiting for an explanation. Prof. Elm doesn't notice, but Prof. Oak does, and discretely nudges Prof. Elm in the ribs, almost causing him to choke.
"Oh, um, yes. We gave Yugi here the only Pokemon that was recovered from the lab in Pallet Town. Yugi, would you like to show them?" Prof. Elm looks at Yugi, and for some reason Prof. Oak starts to beam.
"Sure, why not?" Yugi then hauls out a turquoise and burgundy Pokeball like they had seen in the lab. Then, "Dark Magician, I choose you!" The ball started to glow and then a large purple figure with a green staff materialized in Prof. Elm's dining room.
"Ash. Misty. Brock. This is the Dark Magician, Yugi's DM Pokemon." Prof. Oak was still beaming. After all, it was his research.
"Cool!" Ash reached inside his knapsack and pulled out his Pokedex and opened it up. He pointed it at the Dark Magician and then, "Beep. Beep. BOOM!" The Pokedex went up in a cloud of blue smoke.
"I told you already, Ash," Prof. Oak began, "that your Pokedex was unable to read these Pokemon. Luckily for you, I backed-up your Pokedex before we left the lab, so I'll transfer the information to a new one before you leave tomorrow morning."
Ash frowned and looked at the floor. Never had he made himself look like such an idiot in front of someone he didn't even know! This was definitely not his day, but before he could apologize for his idiocy, Prof. Elm spoke up.
"I think it's time that we all settled down and got some sleep. You're all going to need to be well rested so you can start bright and early tomorrow morning."
"That sounds like a good idea," Misty responded, and then ended with a yawn. Everyone else nodded in agreement and followed Prof. Elm to their rooms for the night.
"What time is it?" Ash muttered as he turned over. He put his hand up and looked at the alarm clock. 1:54. "Great," he said sarcastically as he rolled over again. "It's not even 2 o'clock and I'm already awake. May as well go out and get a drink before I doze back off to sleep, I suppose." With that Ash got up and headed out to the kitchen.
When he got out to the kitchen, he suddenly realized that he wasn't the only one awake. Sitting at the tiny round, kitchen table was Yugi, sipping a glass of what appeared to be milk. Calmly, Ash poured himself a glass of water and sat down across from him.
"Couldn't sleep?" Ash asked quietly. He truthfully couldn't think of anything else to say. Hoping that he wouldn't screw up again, he waited for Yugi to answer.
"Yeah, I'm not used to this place." Yugi eyed the room carefully.
"Well, don't be. It's probably one of the best places to be. Prof. Elm is a nice guy." Ash was trying to comfort him, but he wasn't sure it was working.
"Don't tell the others, but I'm also a little scared." The uncertainty in Yugi's voice began to show more than ever. "I may know a lot about Duel Monsters, but I've never seen Pokemon before, and I don't want to slow you guys down. I just don't know how much help I'm going to be…" His voice slowly drifted off.
"Don't worry about it," Ash spoke softly and placed his hands on top of Yugi's. "It'll all work out. You'll see. Just try to get some sleep so you'll be ready to go in the morning." With that, Ash stood up and began to walk toward the hall. As he reached the hall entrance, he looked back at Yugi. He was looking into his glass as he finishing the last bit of his milk. 'I better get some sleep, too,' Ash thought to himself as he walked into the bedroom, 'cause tomorrow is going to start a very interesting adventure.' And with that, Ash dozed off into a deep sleep.