Chapter Twenty-Four: Not What It Seems
Serena and Ash were following the road west, having finally turned away from the coast a day prior. In just a few more days, they'd arrive in Vermilion City for the next Exposition, and Ash's next Gym Battle.
After their encounter with Team Rocket on the beach, Serena had decided to hold off on trying to create any more opportunities for herself with Ash for the time being, not because she didn't want anything to happen, but because there really wasn't any rush.
Instead, she'd followed through on her intentions on training her and her Pokémon's physical fitness. Granted, for Misdreavus that still mostly came down to practicing her moves, since she didn't really have a physical body to speak of, but for Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon it was very good practice, and Serena herself felt good about it as well.
Ash, too, was training hard. He'd taken it easy a bit, for his doing, in Lavender Town, but now that his match was getting closer, he was as fired up as ever, as was his team. Pikachu especially trained hard, to such an extent that Ash even had to occasionally warn him not to overdo it.
Aside from training, Serena had been making an effort to learn to understand Bayleef and Krookodile, and to her satisfaction, she'd picked it up reasonably quickly. While that did mean she could now understand everything Bayleef said, some of which was so far beyond 'suggestive' that it was ludicrous, on the whole, it was a positive experience.
When the sun began to get lower in the late afternoon sky, they made camp in the field directly opposite the forest, and not much later they sat down for dinner.
"Wow, Serena, dinner's really good today," Ash said as he helped himself to a second serving.
Serena smiled at him. "Thanks, Ash! I tried some other spices today!"
She didn't mention that she'd mostly done that because she'd run out of the ones she actually wanted to use, but clearly she'd covered it up well.
("I bet I could cook dinner just as well,") Bayleef said.
"Well, you're welcome to help me make it tomorrow, if you want to," Serena said.
("Do you even know how to cook at all?") Pancham asked.
Bayleef looked highly offended and said, ("Of course I do! You just throw some things in a pan and put it on a fire, and then you stir it a few times and it's done, easy!")
("Yeah, um, Bayleef? That's how Ash cooks. Now you tell me, honestly, what you thought last time you had to eat Ash's cooking,") Pikachu said.
("It was…delicious, of course,") Bayleef said, forcing herself to smile but ending up with a grimace instead.
("Case in point,") Pikachu said with a shrug.
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Ash asked Charizard.
("You thought I stayed in the Charicific Valley to train, but it was actually mostly to avoid your cooking,") Charizard said with a grin.
"Thanks a lot," Ash said with a sigh. He looked at Serena and said, "You'd think I tortured them or something."
Serena laughed. "I'm sure it's not as bad as they're making it seem. But if you and Bayleef want to learn how to cook, I could teach you," she said, whereupon Pikachu got such a fit of the giggles that he fell off the table.
He hopped back up and said, ("Sorry, I just remember Delia once trying to teach Ash how to cook and he nearly burned the house down, but Delia is as stubborn as Ash is and refused to give up, so she threw a barbecue and had Ash do the cooking and then he actually burned down the barbecue and the party tent next to it, and then Gary's Blastoise put it out with his Hydro Pump and blasted away all the guests in the process. You should've seen everyone's expressions. Best party ever.")
By the end of Pikachu's story, all the other Pokémon were laughing as well, as was Serena, and even Ash could appreciate the humor in the situation.
"Okay, okay, I'll give up on learning how to cook, okay?" he said.
Rather than going to train right after dinner, they had so much fun talking that by the time Ash got up to do the dishes, it was already beginning to get dark, and Serena looked up at the emerging stars, enjoying the faint breeze.
A Golbat flew by overhead, followed shortly after by another one, probably out hunting their own dinner. Serena had always tried to avoid giving too much thought to Pokémon hunting each other, though of course she knew it happened. She also knew that people ate Pokémon, and although most meat nowadays was synthetic, there were still plenty of places where people happily chowed down on Slowpoke tails or Magikarp fillet.
Seeing the Golbat out for their hunt, though, made her wonder what it would be like for a Pokémon to be on a Trainer's team with their natural predator. Would they be friends, or would they avoid each other? Technically, of course, Misdreavus fed on humans, but she didn't actually kill them, so somehow that felt different. Then again, according to her Pokédex, Golbat fed on blood, so they didn't kill their prey, either. She shuddered. What a morbid way to finish such a pleasant day.
"Cold?" Ash, who just came back from washing the dishes, asked.
He took off his jacket and put it around Serena's shoulders. "Here, to keep you warm."
Serena blushed. She wasn't actually cold, but she appreciated the gesture far too much to reject it.
"Thanks," she said softly.
"I know, I'll make some tea. Also a good way to warm up. And don't worry, I won't burn down the camp," Ash said.
He smiled, grabbed their old teakettle and went to fill it up in the small stream nearby. Serena watched as he put the kettle over the edge of the campfire and began looking for the tea. Knowing he was looking for tea bags, while all they had with them was some jars and two tea sieves, she leaned over to Pikachu, who sat on the table next to her, and said, "Can you tell him it's in the second pocket of the bag, in the small jars? The sieves are there too."
Pikachu jumped off the table and quickly pointed Ash in the right direction.
Serena smiled, continuing to watch Ash and enjoying the feeling of his jacket around her shoulders. A few minutes later, Ash and Pikachu rejoined her at the table, and they sat in contented silence, each with their own mug of tea.
More Golbat flew overhead in the increasingly darkening sky.
"You don't often see that many," Ash said.
"Maybe it's just the time of year?" Serena suggested.
Ash shrugged. "Could be, I guess," he said, though he didn't sound certain.
"You think something's going on?" Serena asked.
Ash thought for a moment, but then he sighed and said, "No, I guess not. Maybe I'm just–"
There was something that sounded like an explosion between the trees in the forest, and Ash, Pikachu, and Serena looked up at the same time.
"What was that?" Serena asked.
Ash shook his head. "I don't know, but it probably won't be anything good. Let's check it out," he said.
("You think it's Team Rocket again?") Pikachu asked as they got up and jogged into the forest.
"Wouldn't surprise me," Ash said darkly.
"Should we call the others back out?" Serena asked.
"Not yet," Ash said. "Let's wait until we know what's going on."
They moved through the trees, quickly but still trying to be reasonably quiet. There was another explosion up ahead, and Serena caught a glimpse of a purple flash between the tree trunks.
She and Ash immediately dropped their pace and slowly crept forward until they reached the small clearing where the explosion had originated.
Serena looked past the tree trunk she was hiding behind and saw a hunched-over figure in the clearing, with its back towards Serena and Ash, which seemed to be shielding itself from three Golbat repeatedly lunging at it, trying to bite it. They seemed to be unbelievably aggressive, almost frenzied.
"We have to do something," Serena whispered, and Ash nodded.
"Yeah, we do," he said. He stepped out from behind the tree. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu jumped off from Ash's shoulder and blasted the three Golbat with his Thunderbolt, and they shrieked in pain before flying away.
As soon as they did, the figure righted itself and turned around — and Serena saw that it wasn't a person, but a Pokémon, with pointy ears and a ruff of white fur around its neck. In its left hand, it held a glittering pendant.
Serena fearfully took a step back when she recognized the Pokémon as a Hypno, and Ash, who'd moved forward to check if the Golbat's victim was alright, also stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what was in front of him.
The Hypno noticed their startled reactions, seemed to sigh, and then flicked up its pendant, grabbing it in its hand entirely and hiding it from view.
"I don't mean you any harm," a voice in Serena's head said. It reminded her uncomfortably of the Gengar from Lavender Town.
"Was that you?" Ash asked Hypno.
"Yes," Hypno 'said'. "I am using telepathy to make it easier to speak. Thank you for your help."
Now reasonably certain that Hypno really wasn't planning to hypnotize them, Serena and Ash cautiously moved closer.
"Why were those Golbat attacking you? And shouldn't you be able to fight them off?" Ash asked.
"My Psychic powers had no effect on them," Hypno said. "I don't know why, but nothing I did hurt them. It is deeply worrying. Last night, they attacked my mate. She is injured, and I was looking for Sitrus Berries to help her recover when they attacked me."
"We have medicine with us at our campsite," Ash said. "If you need help, we'll be happy to come with you to lend a hand."
Hypno cocked his head and narrowed his already narrow eyes. "You would do this even though you are clearly frightened of me?"
("Well…you hid your pendant when you noticed,") Pikachu said. ("So you're either a fantastic conman or you're honest. We tend to assume the second option…and that does occasionally come back to bite us, so I really hope this is not one of those times.")
"I cannot blame you for being wary," Hypno said. "But if you are willing to help, I will gratefully accept."
Ash nodded. "Alright, then. I'll go and get the medicine. I'll be right back. Pikachu, you stay here with Serena, okay?"
With that, he began to walk back through the trees. Serena was grateful Ash had left Pikachu with her. Even though she had her own Pokémon as well, it still showed that Ash was worried about her.
"He has a kind heart," Hypno said.
"Can you sense that?" Serena asked.
"No, but even though he doesn't trust me, he's still willing to help. I haven't met many humans who would do such a thing," Hypno said.
"It must be difficult if everyone mistrusts you," Serena said quietly.
"It is not without reason. We do prey on dreams, and the dreams of humans are the tastiest by far, especially children. The flavors are indescribably rich."
Serena chuckled. "I have a Misdreavus who feeds on fear. You should probably exchange dinner tips," she said.
She called out Misdreavus, who looked around for a moment and spotted Hypno.
("Hello,") she said with a friendly nod.
"Good evening," Hypno said.
("Ooh, telepathy. I should really learn that sometime…") Misdreavus said.
"Ash and I can understand you just fine, though," Serena said.
("Yes, but think of how much more effectively I could scare people if I could use my Confuse Ray and telepathy,") Misdreavus said with a dreamy smile.
"I personally find pleasant dreams to be tastier than frightful ones," Hypno said.
("So you live in a creepy forest? Yeah, that just screams 'pleasant',") Misdreavus said with a shake of her head.
"Humans are…not too fond of us, in many cases," Hypno said.
("I know how that feels,") Misdreavus said quietly. Then she smiled at Serena and went on, ("But Serena somehow liked me even though I scared her, and now I have great friends! Maybe that could work for you, too?")
Hypno shook his head. "It is a nice thought, but my mate and I are happy in this forest. Living in seclusion doesn't hurt us as long as we have each other."
("Aww, that's so romantic!") Misdreavus said.
At that moment, Ash returned with the small bag of medicine. "Alright, Hypno, lead the way," he said.
Hypno led them through the trees, deeper into the forest, until they eventually came across a massive, fallen tree, which had been hollowed out into a den. Another Hypno lay in the den, and she looked up when the group arrived.
"I have brought medicine," Hypno said. "These humans saved me from the Golbat and offered to help you as well."
Hypno's mate looked at Ash, who held up the medicine bag.
"Thank you, humans," she said. "The Golbat have weakened me greatly…"
She held up her left arm — like her mate, she'd clutched her pendant in her hand to hide it from view — and Serena saw that there were bite marks on it. Ash approached her and rummaged in the medicine bag.
"Your mate said that his attacks didn't work on the Golbat," he said. "Did that happen to you too?" Hypno nodded.
"It did. It was most curious. As Poison-types, they should be extremely vulnerable to our Psychic attacks, and yet they seemed unfazed by them. I have only ever seen Dark-type Pokémon negate Psychic attacks like that," she said.
"Could these Golbat somehow have…become Dark-type?" Serena asked. "I mean, I've read that in some regions, Pokémon have other types than they normally do, so maybe these Golbat are like that?"
"It is possible, but it feels like there is something different at work here," the male Hypno said.
("They definitely didn't look any different from normal Golbat,") Pikachu said.
Ash finished treating the female Hypno's injuries and then turned to the male. "Do you need some medicine as well? We've got some left," he said.
"It is kind of you to offer, but I don't require any medicine. Keep what you have left for yourself. If the Golbat come back, you may need to treat your own Pokémon, too."
("I'll just give them another Thunderbolt. That seemed to work, at least,") Pikachu said.
"Regardless, it would not feel right to take the last medicine you have. You have already helped us more than we could have asked of you," Hypno said.
"Don't worry about it," Ash said. "We're always happy to help." He smiled sheepishly and added, "Though I'd appreciate it if you didn't eat our dreams tonight."
Both of the Hypno smiled, and the female said, "We won't. It would feel like a poor way to repay the kindness you've shown."
"Though we cannot promise we won't feed on human dreams at all," the male warned.
("I still feed on fear, too, so I don't think Serena and Ash will mind that much,") Misdreavus said. ("They'll probably just say you should ask them if you could, first.")
"Humans let you frighten them?" the female Hypno asked.
Misdreavus nodded. ("Some of them do. It's mostly the other Pokémon. Serena really doesn't like it, and Ash is impossible to scare. One day I'll manage, though.")
"We will keep it in mind, at least," the male Hypno said.
"That's plenty," Ash said. "Well…if you're both alright, then we should probably head back to our campsite. I hope the Golbat will leave you alone for the rest of the night," he went on.
"I hope so, too," the male Hypno said. "In any event, thank you for your kindness, and we bid you safe travels. Should you find yourself in the area, feel free to visit."
Ash smiled and said, "We will. Good luck, both of you!"
After saying goodbye to the Hypno, Serena and Ash began making their way back to their camp.
("They were nice,") Misdreavus said.
"Yeah, they were," Ash agreed. "I feel a bit bad for not trusting them at first, now."
"I still wonder why their attacks didn't hurt the Golbat," Serena said.
"Yeah, I wonder that, too," Ash said. "I don't know how we'll find out, though. Unless they attack us, next, we probably won't get a good look at them."
Serena shuddered. "I hope not. I'd prefer to have a good night's sleep tonight."
They walked the rest of the way in silence, both lost in thought, and when they were in their sleeping bags later that night, Serena lay awake for a while, anticipating a sudden attack by the Golbat, and when she finally fell asleep, her dreams definitely would not have been to Hypno's tastes.
Okay, a few things. First, the 'synthetic meat' thing. Humans in the Pokémon universe clearly eat meat, as the anime has shown that several times, even from main characters. Pokémon are also clearly sapient, however, and I just don't see Ash or any of the other protagonists condoning killing sapient beings for food. Now, I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but I see no reason why the Pokémon world couldn't have invented proper synthetic meat. I mean, IRL we can sort of do it, and the Pokémon world has absurd tech anyway, so why not one that can create meat without requiring actual slaughter?
On that note, I always find the idea of predation between sapient species interesting, and in this fic I'll at least scratch the surface of that as it goes on. The 'eating dreams and fear' thing is one thing, but plenty of Pokémon species are carnivorous, so some will surely kill and eat each other, and those dynamics are fun to think about.
Lastly, I wanted to show a Hypno in a different role than as an antagonist. They're usually evil, and with good reason, but I wanted to show them as good guys at least once.
In any case, see you in the next one!