Chapter 51, everybody! Which may or may not be seen because FFN has decided to be jerky about updates now…I've been Andy Dufrene-ing their support and you can see it if you use the app, but…IDK, might start cross-posting everything on AO3 after this. :\

In other news, been working on all of my active fics this month, so we should be seeing more updates before the year's out—I will get back to regular updates if it kills me. *glares angrily at fic*

Also, minor references to Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse and Janet Evanovich's writings. And Rio—you know, the one with all the birds? And yes, niacin does help with sleep—we take tons of different vitamins, so….And Darkrai quotes Return of Jafar with Drowzee quoting Rush Hour 3.

And now for something completely different in the review responses:

I'd like to thank talesfanjmf, Dragonkeeper10, JadeDragon100, Urdeadnotbigsurprise, R2-D2106, forward-smash, Cyan Quartz (yes that was totally a reference to the Beach Boys song thanks for catching it :D), and guest for the reviews! You rock. :D

AverageHiveMind, thanks for the review! Yup! And…yeah, never really cared for Todd. Oh Noctowl—that wasn't until Johto so still hope. And yeah—this was one of the episodes I actually managed to watch back in the nineties, and yes, the missing kids were a plot point in that episode. Yes on both points. :D And…you're not the only one lost I derailed the show plot when they landed in Fuchsia after the S.S. Anne sank and I've been paying for it ever since. Ah, thank you. :D

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

And now, for something completely different:

And next up on our radio broadcast: Chespin St. Peter's "Pied Hypno." As catchy as a Hypno's Hypnosis! In other news, the Pokémon League would like to remind you to avoid Hypno.

They took the elevator up to the top floor, stepped out to see a rather impressive replica of a mansion yard with a mansion sitting in the middle.

"Okay, that was…not expected," Misty said, eyeing the whole setup. "What is this place?"

"This is…potentially dangerous," Brock said. "Ash, where's Darkrai?"

"He's nearby, don't worry," Ash said.

"I feel like we should worry," Misty felt compelled to point out. "Whoever's in there has a clean line of sight to us, and our only line of defense is a Pokémon who may or may not help us depending on his mood."

Ash shrugged, sideways nod acquiescing this point, before striking off across the walkway.

"Ash! Oi," Misty muttered, following after him and Brock as they went, scanning the whole area for any potential ambushes and trying to ignore the way her skin was pricking from the expectation of an assault at any time. This was not her idea of a good time by any means.

But Ash had had a point—if they didn't do something, things would end up worse. And to be honest, after Tommy and his parents (and she used the term loosely), seeing Ash want to help was heartening.

And then they reached the door without incident.

"Okay," she hissed. "So how are we doing this?"

"We break down the door like on the shows and tell everyone to freeze," Ash said.

"Usually they have conscious Pokémon out when they do that," Brock pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Um…but they'd be expecting Pokémon, so we'd have a few seconds to do something, right?"

"Ash there's a hole in your logic you could run a Rypherior through," Misty said.

"But we have to do something," Ash protested.

"We do," Brock agreed, assuming a pensive pose—Ash adjusted his hold on Pikachu so he could imitate. "But we have to be smart about this. We have no Dark types because Dark types aren't native to Kanto, which leaves the only things Psychic being weak to as Bug and Ghost."

"Maybe Frenzy wasn't affected," Ash mused, tugging his Pokéball out and releasing the Paras to check.

"Maybe he sleeps with his eyes open?" Misty guessed after a few long moments.

"Hmm," Ash noised. "Uh…Frenzy, raise your right claw if you're awake."

Frenzy's right claw went up.

"Does the army know about this bug?" Misty had to ask.

"So see! We have someone—and Frenzy definitely counts, right?"

"I think if you asked Frenzy could level the town," Brock said. "Please don't ask him."

"Okay, but it can be something for later, right?"

"Maybe if we ever need to storm something else. By the way, now we can storm the place."

"Right," Ash said, scurrying to the side with the rest of them before pointing at the doors. "Frenzy! Break the doors down!"

There was a lot of startled exclamations from within, which was understandable when a little Paras reduced two Kalosian doors to sawdust.

"Um, Frenzy," Ash said, looking in on the Paras gnawing on a doorknob. "That's…kind of enough…."

"What is the meaning of this?" a man demanded.

Brock stepped into view, arms crossed and full Gym Leader façade going.

"Something's affecting the town and the Pokémon," he said sternly, Misty going to his side and pulling on her own game face. "The source has been traced to here. As two gym leaders recognized by the League, I'm going to have to ask you to produce any source of Psychic readings and cease and desist at once."

It was a little insulting, having a room full of adults laugh at you.

"Not yet, Misty," Brock said, prompting her to grumble and store her mallet away.

"I don't know who's been telling you what, but what we're doing here is perfectly legal and not harming anyone," the lead man said, indicating they come in. "Look, see? We've been having our Drowzee help us sleep."

They looked at the little yellow and brown Pokémon. "That's definitely a Psychic type," Misty observed. "And on a roof with radio towers that can project its psychic waves. Did none of you think what this is doing to the town?"

"Well we figured if we were enjoying a good night's sleep for once—"

"Noise-cancelling headphones."

"A better bed," Brock interjected.

"Niacin."

"Not drinking caffeine before bed."

"There were a lot of other options you had before resorting to…I don't know what. Hypnosis." Which reminded her—tug Ash away from the Drowzee, didn't need a repeat of the Exeggcute.

"So you're using a Pokémon to sleep," Ash said, looking from the Drowzee to the crowd.

"Yes, that is what I said," the lead guy said, eyeing Ash like he thought he was slow.

"And you're using a Drowzee? Gee, how…inefficient."

The guy blinked at Ash—Misty did too, seeing as how that wasn't a word that usually came from Ash. "How so?"

"Well, I know a Pokémon that can really outdo a Drowzee as far as knocking people out."

"Oh really? What is this supposed Pokémon? Hypno, perhaps?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you—I mean, you're doing just fine, right?"

The man looked at the others, who nodded and looked at Ash.

"So what is this Pokémon you speak of?" the man demanded. "And how can it be better than our Drowzee?"

"You really want to know?" Ash asked. "I mean you really, really, really want to know?"

"Yes! Details, man!"

"Drow zee," the Drowzee objected, putting its paws on its hips in a huff.

"Now, don't fret—we're just putting this miscreant in his place."

"I don't think I'm the one about to be put in their place," Ash said, scratching his face.

"And for the record, you walked right into this."

Misty and Brock had stepped away from Ash when they thought the conversation was leading to confrontation, and therefore weren't surprised when Darkrai burst out of a shadow and sent an attack washing over the adults, sending them dropping into unconsciousness. Okay, that part surprised Misty—she was expecting Hypnosis.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Dark Void," Darkrai said, tossing his head and giving the Drowzee the stink-eye.

"It's like his signature move," Ash explained. "And it knocks everybody he aims it at unconsti—unconshee—er…puts them to sleep."

"Unconscious," Brock said, toeing one of the adults—definitely out of it.

"Yeah, that one."

"This is ridiculous," Darkrai declared, floating over the solidly sleeping adults to properly loom over the Drowzee. "Getting a two-bit Pokémon like you to knock them out. It's actually insulting."

Misty sighed, trying hard not to be impressed. An area-of-effect attack like that was…definitely something. Terrifying, maybe, but definitely at least a little impressive.

"So the missing kids," Ash said, looking at the Drowzee. "Where are they?"

The Drowzee turned up its nose and said something—from the tone, Misty guessed it to be along the lines of I don't have to tell you squat!

That opinion was further cemented by Darkrai's expression.

And then the wall exploded, and Darkrai was flying out and up, Drowzee in tow.

One didn't live for centuries without picking up one or two tricks. And Darkrai knew the fastest way to get what you wanted from someone was to scare the living daylights out of them.

Hence, Drowzee getting introduced to the stratosphere—

And then being let go.

"Now, I know what you're thinking," Darkrai declared, falling beside the Drowzee—his calm demeanor was completely at odds with the Drowzee's flailing. "'Why should I help you? What's in it for me?'"

"Save me!" the Drowzee wailed.

"I mean, after all, I'm just a plain old Darkrai—what could I possibly offer that would interest you?"

"Save me! Please, save me!"

He waited until they were oh so close to the ground—

And then caught the Drowzee.

"All right, you twisted my arm enough, but all right," Darkrai said, before flipping the Drowzee so he was holding it by its snout. "But I just want you to know: any funny business, any at all, and I'll make you wish you didn't have Insomnia. Because, my little sleepless friend—it's amazing what you can live through."

The Drowzee whimpered, or something like that—difficult to tell when its breathing apparatus was being squeezed painfully.

Darkrai was willing to take it, however, and was humming as he flew back up to the hole yutz and company were peering out of.

"My new friend says he'd be happy to help," Darkrai declared.

"By happy, do you mean under fear of death?" Misty asked.

"Minor details."

The Drowzee was quickly convinced to assist them in getting to the bottom of everything regarding both the missing kids and the affected Pokémon—as in, it was going to die painfully if it didn't help them.

Unsurprisingly, threat of death was a powerful motivator.

"Where are we even going?" Misty asked, glancing around. "This stupid town is a maze."

"Just so you know, attempts to lead us into traps will end badly for you," Darkrai said, glaring at the Drowzee.

It flinched away from him, scurried into an abandoned building. "It's just up this way, I swear!"

"Be careful," Brock advised. "I don't like this."

That made two of them—keep all senses on high alert as they followed the Drowzee up the stairs—

"You couldn't have picked a shorter building," Misty huffed after several flights.

"It doesn't bother me," Darkrai said.

"You don't have legs—you are literally floating right now."

"Excuse you I have legs."

"He does," Ash confirmed. "Little skinny ones."

"Excuse you." Glare at the Drowzee, who had paused, huffing. "Seriously?"

"Short legs—short legs—give me—give me a minute," it wheezed, waving a paw.

Roll his eyes—grab the Drowzee by the back of the neck, getting a sharp squeak for his trouble, hold it up to eye level. "Which floor?"

"Top floor! Top floor!" it yeeked out, pointing. "There's a park on the roof!"

"What is it with these people and putting parks and gardens and things on the tops of the buildings?" Ash asked when Darkrai shared this news.

"Beautification, greenery, improving air quality," Brock listed.

"Okay, you know what?" Misty asked. "I've decided I hate this town—let's just finish this up and get out of here."

No one else had a problem with that—went the rest of the way, the human portion of the party collapsing as soon as they were out on the roof.

"We walk all day," Ash moaned. "Why did that hurt?"

"Vertical versus horizontal," Brock muttered—squawked when a kid ran over him, chanting Skar! Skarmory! "What the—"

"Oh look at that," Darkrai observed. "We found the missing kids."

Indeed, there were at least five of the kids in their immediate area, more as they progressed through the little forest and past a swimming pool posing as a pond. And for some reason, all of them were acting like Pokémon—and chattering nonsense in Pokénese.

"I'm going to be needing an explanation," Darkrai said, shaking the Drowzee a little.

"Uh…kids these days?" it tried.

"Cute. Where are we heading?"

The Drowzee pointed, whimpering—they followed it to a clearing with a playground within—

Saw a Hypno crouched over a sleeping kid, thin whips wicking off the kid as it used Dream Eater.

"HEY!" Ash barked, causing it to look up sharply.

"Uh, b-boss?" the Drowzee said. "We got a real big problem here."

"No kidding," Darkrai said, bringing it up close to his sawtooth ridge and patting it on the chest. "But you've been such a good help." Spike it, sending it bouncing away into unconsciousness with a squeak, loom up dramatically with fur billowing.

The Hypno had obviously never seen a Dark type before, let alone a Darkrai—leaped to its feet in indignation. "HEY! Who do you think you are!?"

"Really? You're out here kidnapping kids and you're going to get mad at me?"

"Let all these kids go!" Misty barked. "And whatever you're doing to the Pokémon, stop it!"

"Oh please," the Hypno sniffed—started swinging its pendulum.

Ash, Misty, and Brock quickly covered their eyes—after that whole thing with the Exeggcute they were a tad more wary of Psychic types. Darkrai, meanwhile, just shot a Night Shade at it, disrupting its attack.

"Hey! Rude!" it barked, shooting a Psybeam at him—blinked in surprise when it did nothing. "Wha—"

"Oh right, I didn't introduce myself," Darkrai said, putting his claws to his chest. "I'm Darkrai, I'm a Dark type, I like to eat Psychic types like you for breakfast."

Was suddenly in front of it and wrenching its nose, eliciting a satisfying yelp of pain from it.

"Now," he growled. "I'm not even going to bother with asking you what you're doing, because I think I already know: kidnap the kids, hypnotize them so they don't run off, eat their dreams, use your little buddy stationed in the other building to keep the adults in line and the Pokémon asleep so they don't interfere. Do I have the gist of it, or do you have anything to add?"

The Hypno Pounded on him ineffectively, couldn't get any other attacks going—of course not, it had gone soft feasting on this little racket, what with everyone under its thrall.

But there was a real fast way to stop that one.

Wrench its head sideways, nail it hard with a Sucker Punch, watch it drop faster than a Snorlax falling asleep. It hit the ground hard—

And all the kids running around staggered, tripped, and collapsed to the ground.

"What did you do?" Misty demanded.

"Wow," Ash said. "I've heard of being hit so hard your ancestors feel it, but that's…I didn't think I'd actually see something like that."

Brock kneeled, checking the nearest kid. "Will knocking the Hypno out fix the rest of the town?"

"We'll find out in a minute," Darkrai told him—which was about when Pikachu started stirring. "Or sooner."

"Bleh…whahappened? What'd I miss?" the yellow rat moaned, rubbing his face. Looked around. "Wait where are we?"

"Pikachu!" Ash cheered. "You're back to normal!"

"Why wouldn't I be—what happened what did you lot do?"

"Bleh," one of the kids moaned, sitting up. "Why does my mouth taste like grass?"

"I'm starving!" a different one said. "Where's Mom?"

"Where are we?" a different one asked.

"Yay, babysitting kids," Darkrai noised. "I'm out."

"You stay," Brock said, pointing at him. "I want you around in case that Hypno wakes up again."

Doubtful, considering how hard he had hit it—pick it up by the ruff, indicate it. "I mean I could take care of it permanent—it's not like earlier was hyperbole."

"Not in front of the kids."

That left a lot of wiggle room. "I will be right back."

Now that their Pokémon were able to actually function, they wasted no time in using them to round up all the kids.

"Darkrai wasn't actually going to eat that thing, was he?" Misty asked Brock.

"Well," Brock said. "In this wonderful world of ours, there exists a system called a food chain—my money's on yes."

"Ew."

"Do I need to remind you where burgers come from?"

"No," she said, nudging the Drowzee with her toe. "What about this one?"

"Not sure about that one."

"What if we caught it?" Ash asked, poking it. "Then it couldn't cause any more trouble."

"Oh it could still cause plenty of trouble, let's be real."

"And besides, you and I have a full team," Misty pointed out. "If we catch it, it'd go to our sponsors—I think Brock's the only one without six Pokémon on him at this point."

Ash made a face at that, counted off on his fingers. "Oh yeah—Brock, what do you think?"

Brock shrugged. "On the one hand, Psychic type. On the other…Psychic type that was part of a racket to kidnap kids."

"Yeah that kind of sucks," Ash muttered—twitched when the Drowzee stirred. "Oh hello."

The Drowzee squeaked and scurried away—was stopped by an angrily sparking Pikachu.

"So," Brock told it. "Here's how it's going to go down. We could leave you for the Rangers to deal with, which might not end so well for you. Or, you could come with us, which still might not end so well for you, since we do travel with Darkrai. But, if you promise to behave and not do any of—you know, this—anymore…you might have a better shot with us."

The Drowzee fidgeted, sucking on its nose, flinching away from Pikachu barking angrily—

Finally ran over to Brock and hugged his leg. "Drow-zee!"

"Nicely intimidating, Brock," Misty said, giving him a thumbs-up. "And wrangling the kids too—what's your secret?"

"Lots of siblings," Brock said, lightly bonking a Pokéball on the Drowzee's head—it went in and was captured without a fuss. "Pro tip: if the ones in front of you are behaving, then the ones behind you aren't."

"Glad I was the youngest," Misty said, turning to look at Ash. "Ash, what are you doing?"

Ash had been staring at a kid who was staring at him, turned to them and pointed. "I don't look a thing like this kid!"

"Oh, that's…Timmy, right?" Misty guessed. "Your mom's looking for you."

"It's not dinnertime already, is it?" Timmy asked.

"No, but lunch was delicious," Darkrai said, floating by. "Oh, hi Ash."

"Are you kidding me!?" Ash demanded. "I'm over here!"

"You sure?"

"Um…what is that?" Timmy asked.

"Darkrai—he can be annoying," Misty told him. "But useful, I guess."

"You 'guess'?" Darkrai asked.

"Don't read into it."

"He's so awesome!" one of the other kids said. "Can I have one?"

"I don't know, how much will you give me for him?"

"HEY!"

In other news, leading a gaggle of kids to the Pokémon Center attracted a lot more attention than they thought it might.

Mostly because with the Hypno gone and the Drowzee captured, the whole town seemed to start snapping out of its fugue. Pokémon were scampering by, scrambling for something to eat, people were walking around disoriented like they had just woken up from a long nap, and the streets were starting to get packed again.

Also, parents were recognizing their kids and running up to them, crying and hugging the bemused kids who—as far as they were concerned—took a nap and woke up days later.

"Maybe it's a good thing they don't remember," Misty said to Brock.

"They probably don't because of Dream Eater," Brock told her. "But yeah, I agree."

Ash recognized Timmy's mother when she came running up, planted Timmy in front of himself and pointed at him. "Timmy. Not Ash."

Timmy's mother didn't pay him any mind, was too busy hugging Timmy and sobbing, picked him up and carted him off going let's go home, Timmy.

"Bye Ash, bye Misty, bye Brock," Timmy said, waving. "Say hi to Darkrai for me!"

In all, it was a much-reduced group of kids that actually made it to the Pokémon Center—which was currently bustling with people retrieving their now-revived Pokémon. Brock excused himself, made a call to the police station while Ash and Misty herded the kids over to the closed eatery and stuffed several dollars into the nearby vending machines.

"Officer Jenny said she'd be right over with a couple of other officers soon," Brock announced as he came over. "The rest of you kids should be back home by tonight at the latest."

"Were we really kidnapped by an evil Pokémon?" one kid asked, hand raised.

"Um, kinda?" Ash noised. "It didn't really seemed bothered with taking care of you guys."

"Lame," one of the other kids said, earning a nod from the kid next to him, too busy with eating to answer verbally.

"That black Pokémon was cool though!" one little girl said. "Like a superhero!"

"Ah," Brock noised, getting the kids' attention. "Well, since he is, kinda, it's very important that you kids don't tell people about him, okay? It's like a secret identity."

"Can I at least tell Nate two doors down?" one kid asked.

"Is Nate good at keeping secrets?"

"No."

"Then no. No telling people about Darkrai, he's sensitive."

"I have a cousin like that," one girl said.

"That's like…a rash, right?" the boy next to her asked.

Fortunately, they were saved from any further comments by the police arriving. They gave their statements, turned the kids over to the police, made their way to the counter where the nurse was currently slumped.

"How did this day go so nutty?" the nurse moaned.

"We kinda wondered the same thing," Ash told her.

She looked at them blearily. "Oh please, tell me you didn't leave any Pokémon here."

"We didn't."

"Oh thank you," the lady muttered, resting her head back on the counter. "I don't know what happened."

They exchanged glances, came to the agreement that it was probably better not to share. "So," Brock noised. "Is everything back to normal? You told us this morning that the Pokémon were acting strangely."

"Everyone except this one," the nurse said, reaching behind the desk and putting a yellow Pokémon on the counter. "Someone found it on the street and brought it in—said it was acting funny, but it's not acting any differently now. Poor thing doesn't have an owner, and I don't feel right letting it go."

"What is it?" Ash asked, pulling his Pokédex out.

"Psyduck: the duck Pokémon," the Pokédex chimed. "This Pokémon is capable of using a mysterious power. When it does so, its brain generates waves similar to those seen in sleepers. This discovery has caused controversy among scholars."

"I guess it would have been hit harder by Hypno and Drowzee then," Brock observed.

The nurse blinked. "A Hypno did all this?"

"Yeah, we were surprised too," Ash said, picking at the 'Dex. "Hey Misty, it's a Water type!"

Misty considered it. "Well…I guess I feel bad about leaving it to its own devices too," she said finally. "What do you think?"

"Psai?" it noised, tipping its head.

"Sounds like a yes!" Ash declared, pumping his fist in the air.

Misty sighed and pulled a Pokéball out of her bag.

"You'd better be worth it," she told the Psyduck. "I'm going to have to call my sisters because of you."

"Psai?" it noised—right before disappearing into the ball and being captured with about as much effort as the Drowzee earlier.

"Oh hey there's more," Ash said, still looking at his 'Dex as the ball vanished. "It is constantly wracked by a headache. When the headache intensifies, it uses its mysterious powers—so I guess it's always going to be like that—OW!"

"And now you know how it feels," Misty said, shaking her hand and feeling a headache of her own coming on.

Great—what was she even supposed to do with this thing?