~Chapter 4: Enter Team Stinkface~
"We're on the road to Viridian Cityyyy"
"Really Ash? Really?"
Ash rubbed his head as the four walked along the dirt road leading into Mustard Town. Dawn had finally had enough of Ash singing every Pokemon theme song imaginable and proceeded to bonk him on the head, much like Misty did back in the day.
Cynthia shaded her eyes with her hand, looking out into the horizon.
"I can see the outline of a building, we're almost there!"
Just as Ash was about ready to sing his rendition of "I Wanna Be the Very Best", three mysterious figures emerged from the bushes, blocking their path to Mustard Town.
"Hey what's the big idea?!" Ash bellowed. "I need to get going to Mustard Town to start the Sandwich League!"
The three were dressed in black, military-style clothing, with masks covering a large portion of their face-save for the eyes. The lone female member (as evidenced by her smaller stature and protruding chest of course...not that Ash would know) stepped forward and addressed the group.
"Sandwich League eh? Our boss has big plans for the Sandwich League. But enough about that. I'm afraid we can't let you pass."
A large (and I mean very large) man lumbered up beside his female compatriot, visibly laboring.
"That's right...the boss...whew is it hot out here or is it just me? Oh Arceus I need some potato chips."
The final member of the trio shook his head and put a hand on his large partner's shoulders.
"ECV my man, I'm telling ya you need to go on a diet."
Ash and his friends looked curiously at the last fellow, who stood out from the rest of the group with the presence of a Burger King paper crown on his head.
"Just who are you guys anyway?" demanded Brock.
"My name is Alien." replied the female member. She pointed to her two comrades. "The fat one is called ECV and the guy with the crown is named Myz."
"Hey! How many times do I have to say it? I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!"
"Shut up ECV!" roared Myz, smacking the big fellow on the head.
Alien shook her head and sighed. "The three of us are members of the notorious Team Stinkface. And we have been ordered by our Dear Leader to keep Mustard Town under strict lockdown."
Brock, Dawn, and Cynthia all tensed up, ready for the inevitable fight. Ash put on a serious face as well, before blurting out, "Oh wow another Team? Do you guys have a motto too?"
Everyone stared at the young trainer in disbelief.
"Ex..excuse me?" sputtered Alien, wondering who this little punk thought he was.
"You know a motto! Like 'To protect the world from devastation...to unite all peoples within our nations...Meowth that's right!"
"...What?"
"Yeah!"
Just then, Alien's voraciously large teammate tapped her shoulder with his grubby (and greasy!) fingers.
"Hey Alien...we need to go get some Arby's or something. I'm starving."
Alien's eye twitched at this absurd, random, and meaningless (to her anyway!) comment. But before she could utter a retort, a loud cackle reverberated through the air. A garbled voice was heard.
"Hello? Do you copy?"
Alien reached into her black cargo pants and pulled out a walkie talkie. "This is Alien, what do you need? Over."
"We found something. Orders are to move out of Mustard ASAP."
Alien gritted her teeth. "Fine."
She nodded to her two companions and just like that, they were gone, leaving behind four very confused trainers.
"Well that was certainly...odd." remarked Cynthia as she looked around to see where the trio had gone.
"Who were those guys? Brock? Cynthia? As...Brock?" Dawn asked, looking at the elder statesman and stateswoman of the group.
Brock furrowed his brow in thought, exasperated at the thought of yet another dastardly, villainous trio plaguing their travels.
"They mentioned something about a Team Stinkface, could be similar to Team Rocket and other "Teams" in that vain.
Dawn shook her head in disgust. "What do you think about this Ash? Ash?" The blunette turned around and noticed her friend a few yards away, whistling a merry tune and walking toward Mustard Town.
"WHAT THE HECK?! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"
Ash flinched at the sudden outburst, enough time for Dawn to run up and promptly smack him on the head.
"Owwwwww"
Before Ash could be smacked again, Cynthia put a hand on the coordinator's shoulder, nodding to her that that was enough. Displeased, Dawn put her hands on her hips and let out a small pout.
"Come on Ash, this is serious business here! Don't just walk away in the middle of a conversation like that."
"Winning the Sandwich League is important business too!" protested the raven-haired trainer. "And besides, those guys were in Mustard Town right? Well I bet Professor Yew will be able to explain to us what's going on. So the sooner we get there, the better!"
Silence overcame the group as they all stared at Ash, mouths agape at the fact that Ash freakin Ketchup had actually said something that for once made actual sense!
Cynthia was the first to break the pause, clearing her throat and declaring that Ash was right and that they should get going. Dawn and Brock followed like brainless zombies, still dumbfounded over Ash's comments.
An hour or so later, the group arrived at the small community known as Mustard Town. It looked fairly similar to Pallet Town, with a number of plain houses dotted here and there, surrounded by fields of wild grass. There was a large marked Pokemon Laboratory in what appeared to be the center of town, opposite a small, quaint looking Pokemon Center. Wild flocks of various bird-type Pokemon could be seen flying overhead in the afternoon sky.
"Are you guys hungry? We could stop into the Pokemon Center and get free food before heading out to the lab."
Ash waved off Cynthia's suggestion, insisting that they hurry to Professor Yew's. Although audible growls were heard from their stomachs, the trio reluctantly followed the young trainer as he marched up to the automatic doors of the lab.
"Hellooo? Is anyone here?"
Ash's voice echoed through the seemingly empty room. But soon enough, a wary looking woman in a lab coat stepped out from behind a bookcase, regarding the quartet with a guarded expression.
"Yes can I help you?"
"Are you Professor Yew?"
The woman hesitated before answering. "Who wants to know?"
"Well my name is Ash Ketchup from Pallet Town and I'm here to register for the Sandwich League and become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world!"
A quick tap on his shoulder and a stern look from his friends reminded him of Professor Oak's message.
"Oh and we come with greetings from Professor Oak!"
At the mention of the Pallet Professor's name, the woman relaxed somewhat, though she still appeared guarded.
"Oh you must be Ash Ketchup and his friends! Welcome to Mustard Town! You must forgive me, I haven't had any time to tidy up."
"Not a problem at all Professor Yew. In fact, I suspect that whatever's been keeping you busy pertains to our questions as well." said Cynthia, keeping a guarded face of her own.
Brock, meanwhile, couldn't contain his hormonal excitement any longer, shoving Ash out of the way and taking Professor Yew's hands into his own.
"How fitting that your name is Yew because I couldn't stand to be without you for a second longer! Excuse me where are my manners? My name is Brock, but you can call me the Love Muffin and I was wondering if you would like to...he-hey what's going on?!"
Everyone stared up at Brock who was now sheathed in a bluish glow and hovering about 10 feet in the air.
"Gar-de-voir."
The green pokemon dragged the struggling Brock away from the scene with her psychic powers, leaving behind a very amused Cynthia.
"I'm sorry Brock! I didn't tell her to do that!" she laughed, wondering if Gardevoir was actually going to do that every time Brock met an attractive woman.
"Uh...okay then. Your creepy friend did make a good point about introductions though. My name is Raisin Yew. You can call me Professor Yew or Marcie. If you call me Raisin I'll probably throw rocks at you."
"You already know my name! I'm Ash Ketchup from Pallet Town and my goal is to be the greatest trainer in the world and catch all the pokemon in the world and open up my own ketchup-themed restaurant and-"
"Pipe down Ash!" shushed Dawn. "Hi my name is Dawn and I'm from Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh Region! I'm a Pokemon Coordinator!"
"Pleased to meet you Marcie, I'm Cynthia from the Sinnoh Region as well. I forgot what city I'm from unfortunately...I blame the endless paperwork that comes with being a Champion."
Brock shuffled back to the group with his head down, mumbling, "I'm Brock from Pewter City in the Kant-I have one day without something stopping me from pretty girls-region."
Professor Yew smiled. "Well most of my research was either taken or trashed by those filthy Team Stinkface, but at least they didn't poach the starter pokemon I'm going to give out next week. Want to take a look?"
With a collective nod, the four followed Professor Yew into another room where three pokeballs lay on a table, waiting to be claimed by ambitious young trainers. The professor released the starter pokemon one by one as the group watched each pokemon emerge in a flash of white light. The first one to emerge was a cute looking orange bear with a crescent moon symbol marked on its head.
"Teddi-ursa!"
Dawn squealed. "So. Cute. Must. Scan!"
Teddiursa. The Little Bear Pokemon. Teddiursa love eating Moonpies and as a result have their trademark logo imprinted on their forehead as a form of advertisement. They also eat unsuspecting trainers' socks.
The next pokemon revealed was a greenish blob with a yellow quill-like protrusion jutting out from its head.
"Gul-pin!"
Dawn didn't squeal this time, but did scan it as usual.
Gulpin. The Stomach Pokemon. Gulpin often travel in large droves across the land, leaving behind ink trails that take an eternity to clean up. It is rumored that the Declaration of Independence was signed using a Gulpin.
Ash scratched his head. "The Declaration of what?"
The last pokemon had a slender, blue, serpentine body with a white underside and big, recognizable ears. It mewed softly as it examined its surroundings. Although all four trainers knew exactly what this pokemon was, Dawn scanned it anyway.
Dratini. The Dragon Pokemon. Dratini often shed their skins as they grow, leaving them behind to pollute the waters of the Kanto and Johto Regions. Dratini are exceptionally rare and hard to find. There is a 5% chance of encountering one in the Safari Zone with a Rusty Old Rod.
"Wow a Dratini!" Dawn exclaimed, rushing over to it and petting it on the head.
"These are some interesting starter pokemon you give out Marcie." observed Cynthia who seemed to be the only one using that name.
"Ah well you see, here in the Sandwich Region, the starter pokemon vary from year to year. I'm actually a bit surprised that Team Stinkface didn't take any of the Pokemon, especially a rare one such as Dratini here."
"Mm...I'm sure these three will make excellent pokemon for the next batch of new trainers. But I believe we have more pressing matters at hand to discuss, such as that Team Stinkface."
"Right. Well let me update your Poke-Dexes if you have them, and I'll go make some beverages for us all."
Ash and Dawn handed their Poke-Dexes over and waited patiently as Professor Yew disappeared to another room.
"Gosh this Dratini is so cool. Some lucky trainer is going to get it as their first pokemon." cooed Dawn as she continued to rub the top of Dratini's head.
Cynthia and Brock both chuckled, with the latter remarking, "Well Dawn I think Dratini wouldn't mind if you were its trainer."
"Huh?"
Dawn looked down and noticed that the Dratini was nuzzling up against her leg, mewing excitedly. Before Dawn could react, Professor Yew returned.
"Okay everyone let's talk in the meeting room. It's just down this hallway over here. Your Poke-Dexes will be ready shortly but it should give us enough time to talk." Professor Yew walked over and returned Teddiursa and Gulpin back to their pokeballs.
"Okay Dratini back in you go!"
The Dratini mewed sadly in response and hid behind Dawn's leg. Professor Yew frowned for a moment, but her face soon lit up in realization.
"Ah I see. Okay Dratini you can come with us to the meeting room if you want."
Dawn smiled and picked up the happily mewing Dratini and followed Professor Yew and the rest of her friends to the meeting room, where they would hopefully get to the bottom of the mystery of Team Stinkface.
A/N: Oh noes, not another "Team"! Oh well at least they made it to Mustard Town and it looks like Dawn has a new friend!
As always thanks for reading! Comments and reviews are appreciated and welcome! :D