This is the last chapter before it's time for the movie "Spell of the Unown". I hope you'll look forward to the first Johto movie arc.

The chapter is in Ashley's point of view.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 17: Fowl Play

After Ash and Misty caught their new Pokémon, we camped by the lake and continued our journey to Goldenrod City the next day. I was thinking about how many new Pokémon we've caught recently and we have been in Johto for just a few months. The distance between the towns and cities were almost the same as in Kanto.

Today, we were walking through a thick and dense forest after I checked the map on my PokéGear. It said it was a shortcut to Goldenrod City, but there was a town in between where we could take a rest and heal our Pokémon. It was quite dark in these woods, but not spookily dark. Maybe because the sunlight still shone through the leaves so the area was still a little bright.

"Pi? Pika pi!" Pikachu suddenly called from Ash's shoulder, noticing something.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" my twin brother asked his partner. "Did you see something?"

"Pika pika", Pikachu nodded and pointed at something. We followed his paw and spotted a birdhouse on a tree next to us.

"That's a birdhouse", Misty said.

"Togi?" Togepi chirped curiously.

"Who set it up here in the middle of a forest with no towns nearby?" I wondered out loud.

"I wonder most about what kind of Pokémon roosts in there", Ash said.

"Hmm… The birdhouse is too large for a small Pidgeotto and too small for a big Pidgey to even have a nest inside of that", Brock hummed. "It's for a Pokémon who's got the right size between a Pidgey and a Pidgeotto."

"Is it for Hoothoot then?" I asked.

"Hoooh!"

I snapped my head up when I heard the hoot cry. A Noctowl landed on the branch and stared curiously at the birdhouse.

"That's a Noctowl…", I mumbled softly, not wanting to scare the wild Pokémon.

"Noctowl? Isn't that the evolved form of Hoothoot…?" Ash asked as he grabbed his Pokédex.

"Yeah", I responded. "I'm surprised you know that, Ash…"

"I'm not the only one who studied at Professor Oak's lab, sis…", Ash sweat dropped with a sheepish smile. "Although, I don't have the same good memory as you…"

Noctowl, the owl Pokémon. Normal and flying-type. The evolved form of Hoothoot. Its eyes are specially adapted. They concentrate even faint light and enable it to see in the dark. When it needs to think, it rotates its head 180 degrees to sharpen its intellectual power.

"But it's the middle of the day… Aren't Noctowls nocturnal Pokémon?" Misty asked.

"I think this dark forest confuses them thinking it's nighttime so they are already active in the middle of the day", Brock replied.

The wild Noctowl stepped closer to the birdhouse and was about to peek inside when a branch pushed it away from it. "Shoo! You're not the Noctowl I'm looking for…!" a voice snarled from the trunk of the tree, clearly a human hiding by using a sheet that melted in with the bark of the tree. Whoever it was, they shoved the Noctowl away and it flew away after getting frightened.

"What was that?" Ash wondered.

"Pika?" Pikachu tilted his head to the side.

"Somebody's clearly hiding on that tree…", I mumbled unamused.

"Guys, look…!" Misty yelled out softly as another Noctowl landed on the same branch as the first one. "That Noctowl looks completely different."

I held back a gasp when I saw the new wild Noctowl. Its feathers had different colors compared to an ordinary Noctowl, which could only mean one thing… "That's a shiny Pokémon…!" I exclaimed, keeping my voice as low as possible, despite the thrill of seeing such a rare Pokémon for the first time ever.

"A shiny Pokémon…?" Ash repeated confusedly.

"Shiny Pokémon are Pokémon that are born with a different color", I explained enthusiastically. "Those are very rare to find and nobody knows why some Pokémon are born like that."

"Wow… So Pikachu could be a different color as a shiny Pokémon?" Ash asked in awe, turning to his partner.

"Pika?" Pikachu looked a little disturbed by the fact that his skin could have a different color.

"If I remember it correctly, a shiny Pikachu's color is just a darker shade of yellow, almost orange", I replied.

"Hooo-hoooh!"

"Hey, ow! Ow, ow! Stop!"

We got interrupted by the shiny Noctowl attacking the person hiding. The covers fell down, revealing a man in his forties, as he held onto a branch to not fall down to the ground. The shiny Noctowl pecked the man's hand and made him lose his hold on the branch and crashed onto the ground.

"Are you okay, sir?!" Misty yelled worriedly as we ran to the man to see if we could assist him. I was feeling a little bothered by him, but I couldn't put my finger to as of why yet.

The man quickly got up on his feet with a growl. "Hey! I'm not a sir, kids! I'm a doctor! Dr. Wiseman!"

"Sorry, Doctor!" Brock apologized instantly. "We didn't know you're a doctor. So… What are you doing here?"

"I'm studying unusual wild Pokémon like that Noctowl", Dr. Wiseman said, pointing at the shiny Noctowl that was now talking to a wild normal Noctowl. "Not only is it smaller compared to a normal-sized Noctowl, but it has different colors. I want to research and figure out what makes some Pokémon shiny. I believe it has something to do with DNA mutation."

My gut told me I shouldn't trust Dr. Wiseman just yet. I didn't know if he wanted to catch the shiny Noctowl and keep it to himself or he was a kind doctor and just wanted to conduct field research in the wild.

"However, that shiny Noctowl is so intelligent that it hasn't fallen into any of the traps I've set up", Dr. Wiseman said just as the normal Noctowl flew away, leaving its shiny friend alone. "It keeps outsmarting me every time I try catching it."

"Hoooh!" the shiny Noctowl hooted, like it was agreeing with Dr. Wiseman.

"Well, how about I catch it for you?" Ash suggested. "I'm an experienced Trainer, so this should be easy!"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded, agreeing with my brother.

"I wouldn't hold my head high if I were you, but go ahead and try, boy", Dr. Wiseman chuckled as he adjusted his glasses. "This Noctowl's intelligence is higher than any average Noctowls, so stay alert."

"Alright!" Ash cheered and ran toward the tree where the shiny Noctowl sat. My brother snatched a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it toward the wild Pokémon. "Poké Ball, go!"

"Hoooh!" Noctowl hooted and actually kicked the Poké Ball back, sending it straight at Ash's face.

"Ow!" Ash yelped in pain and clutched his sore face as the empty Poké Ball fell down to the ground.

"Hoo-hoo-hoooh!" Noctowl hooted in a laughing manner.

"Quit laughing!" Ash growled at the shiny Pokémon. "It's not funny!"

The next thing I knew, my brother acted weird and talked to a random rock next to him. "C'mon, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt on Noctowl!"

"Piii…ka?" Pikachu cold sweated as he stood on the other side of my brother and watched him talk to that rock.

"Why is Ash talking to a rock thinking it's Pikachu?" Misty wondered worriedly.

"Togiprii", Togepi chirped from her arms.

"It seems your friend got hypnotized by Noctowl", Dr. Wiseman spoke up. "It's not the usual Hypnosis move that makes the target fall asleep, but a different kind that makes one confused."

"Isn't that dangerous?" I asked, worried for my brother's well-being.

"Fret not, young lady. A light hit of a slap or another way to inflict a small amount of pain will break him free from the hypnosis", Dr. Wiseman replied. "Whenever I got hypnotized, I always snapped out of it by running into a tree."

"That's…assuring", Misty laughed sheepishly.

"So, basically, Noctowl hypnotizes Pokémon and humans so they can't harm it", Brock concluded. "Noctowl's very clever."

"I'll help you by throwing you at Noctowl, Pikachu!" Ash yelled and lifted the rock up, but it was just too heavy for him so he fell backwards with the rock squashing his abdomen. "Oww… When did you get so heavy, Pikachu…?"

"Hoo-hoo-hoooh!" the shiny Noctowl laughed before it flew away, retiring to wherever it had its nest.

"Ash!" I yelled and ran to my brother, pushing the rock off of him and clapped his cheeks a couple of times to make him snap out of it. "Ash, wake up!"

"Huh…?" Ash blinked his hazy eyes until they were back to normal, much to my relief. "W-What just happened?" he asked while he sat up and clutched his sore abdomen.

"You got hypnotized by Noctowl", I explained as I brushed the dirt off his clothes. "It made you believe that a rock was Pikachu."

"It did what now to me?" Ash replied confusedly, probably finding it hard to believe that he got hypnotized.

"Piika…", Pikachu purred concernedly at his Trainer and put his paws on Ash's leg.

"I told you, young man", Dr. Wiseman said as he stood next to us. "That Noctowl is not an easy Pokémon to trick and catch."

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way now", my brother laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

"For how long have you been chasing after this particular Noctowl, Dr. Wiseman?" Brock asked.

"For many months!" Dr. Wiseman replied enthusiastically. "I found it last year and I've dedicated my life to catch and study it! And protect it from heartless people who want to catch and sell it at the black market!"

That sounded a little assuring, so perhaps I could trust the doctor for now.

"If you're interested in my tale, I can treat you to some tea at the cabin where I'm currently residing", Dr. Wiseman told us. "And, perhaps you can assist me in capturing Noctowl."

"I wouldn't mind a good story and a cup of tea", Misty giggled.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to take a break and help you, Dr. Wiseman", Brock nodded.

"I'm only interested in catching the shiny Noctowl, so let me take part of your plans, Doctor!" Ash exclaimed determinedly.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu nodded, agreeing with my brother.

"Umm… Is that plan going to hurt Noctowl?" I asked, feeling concerned about the wild Pokémon.

"Oh no, my dear! It's perfectly harmless", Dr. Wiseman grinned brightly.

XXXXXXXXXX

We had some afternoon tea and officially introduced ourselves to Dr. Wiseman. After all that, we helped Dr. Wiseman carry parts of his trap to the woods and set it up by a tree that the shiny Noctowl often rested, according to him. The doctor finished the last preparations before he joined us in the bushes, holding a rope that was connected to the trap. "Now we just have to be patient and wait for the shiny Noctowl to fly to this tree", he chuckled.

"Are you sure the Noctowl will fly to this particular tree?" Brock asked.

"Well, Noctowl and I have built a friendship over time so it actually likes challenging itself with my traps", Dr. Wiseman giggled. "But this is the ultimate trap and I'll have it soon."

"Hoo-hoooh!" Noctowl hooted as it landed on a branch of the tree Dr. Wiseman had bobby-trapped.

"And voila! Here we go…!" Dr. Wiseman yelled and pulled the rope in his hand, setting off the trap, which turned out to be just a machine that lowered down a mirror among the leaves of the big branch right next to Noctowl.

"Hoooh?" Noctowl hooted and looked at the leaves with curious eyes. Those eyes soon began glowing red, which signaled it was using its hypnotic powers.

"I get it now!" Brock exclaimed in realization. "You're using that mirror to bounce back the hypnosis onto Noctowl!"

"Precisely!" Dr. Wiseman chuckled. "Now we just have to wait until Noctowl hypnotizes itself and I'll have it within my grasp…"

I felt like I had forgotten something important. I opened my Pokédex and checked the data about Noctowl. "Noctowl has two different abilities… One is Keen Eye and the other one is…Insomnia…", I trailed off as I figured out this trap might not actually work. "Dr. Wiseman. Do you know if this Noctowl have the Keen Eye ability of the Insomnia one?"

"I got iiit!" Dr. Wiseman cheered as he rushed to the trunk of the tree and picked up a rock, cuddling it like a plush toy. "I finally got Noctowl! My research will take off to the skies soon! Hahahah!"

"Umm… Did I miss something while I was looking at the Pokédex?" I asked with a sweat drop.

"Y-Yeah, I think Dr. Wiseman got hypnotized by Noctowl", Misty replied hesitantly.

"When did that happen?" I asked as I looked around, trying to find the shiny Noctowl because it was no longer sitting on the branch with the mirror.

"I think just before it fell into its own hypnosis and fell off the branch, it sent its hypnotic power at Dr. Wiseman", Brock explained.

"Then… Where is Noctowl now?" I asked.

"Over there!" Ash yelled and pointed at the distance.

Noctowl was on the ground walking on its claws away from us, but it acted like it was drunk and hooted weirdly. Clearly it was still under its own hypnotic spell.

"Noctowl might be hurt! I need to check it!" my brother exclaimed and ran after Noctowl.

"Wait, Ash!" I shouted before running after him with Misty and Brock right behind me.

"Noctowl, are you okay?" Ash called as soon as he got close to the shiny Pokémon.

"Hoooooh!" Noctowl hooted aggressively, but its eyes were still hazy so it wasn't under its own control.

"Whoa! Easy, Noctowl! I just want to help you!" Ash tried talking sense into the wild Pokémon's hypnotized brain.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu shouted, hoping to make Noctowl snap out of it.

"Careful, Ash! Noctowl might attack you thinking you're trying to hurt it!" Brock warned my brother.

All of the sudden, the calm wind began blowing violently like a storm was coming. Dirt and leaves flew onto my face, so I shielded my eyes so I wouldn't get blind. A couple of branches were blown in the air and knocked lightly onto both Noctowl and Dr. Wiseman's heads, which helped them snap out of the hypnosis.

But the main question remained in the air. "What's going on?!" I shouted as I held onto Ash, grasping his arm for safety.

"Is there a storm coming?!" Misty shouted worriedly.

"But the sky's too clear for a storm!" Brock yelled through the noise of the blowing wind.

"Hahahahahah!" three familiar voices laughed from a loudspeaker as a loud crash was heard in front of us.

A large Noctowl robot was standing just meters from us and had a pair of weird pink balloons where the wind came from. Those balloons became smaller as the force inside the balloons got weak and the wind finally became calm again.

"Prepare for trouble, we're here on a hunt!"

"Double trouble, stay away so you don't get hurt!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Team Rocket?!" my group yelled angrily when we recognized the voices.

"Hoooh?" Noctowl hooted confusedly at the sight of the robot.

"Their rhyme didn't sound good this time…", I mumbled to myself.

"What do you three want this time?!" Ash yelled at the trio that was inside the robot.

"What else? We're here to catch that shiny Noctowl and give it to our boss", Meowth replied.

"And we're gonna get the biggest bonus we've ever received!" Jessie laughed happily.

"But we've never received any bonuses before…", James mumbled quietly, although we did hear that.

"We're not gonna let you catch this Noctowl!" Ash yelled back at them.

"Hoooh…?" Noctowl hooted curiously at my brother.

"As a Pokémon researcher, I won't allow petty criminals like you to take this Noctowl for your own greed!" Dr. Wiseman shouted at Team Rocket.

"Oh, but we're criminals, so we're allowed to do whatever we want!" Jessie laughed.

"Wooobbuffet!" Team Rocket's new Pokémon shouted.

"Oh, c'mon! Stay inside your Poké Ball, you big blue blob!" Jessie growled irritably before we heard the noise of a Pokémon returning to its Poké Ball.

"Pikachu, destroy that robot with Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as he jumped up from my brother's shoulders with sparkling cheeks. "Pika…CHUUU!" A massive Thunderbolt was fired at the Noctowl robot, but the move bounced back on the metal and made the electricity strike the ground around us, making us panic and jump back so we wouldn't get electrocuted.

"What was that?!" Misty shrieked.

"We've learned from our past lessons, so we prepared a robot with protective metal body coating that insulates us from electric attacks", James explained with his voice laughing.

"If electric moves are ineffective against this machine, then I have to use other Pokémon types!" Ash yelled and threw a Poké Ball and his only Lure Ball. "Go, Cyndaquil and Totodile!"

"Cyndaquiiil!"

"Totodile toto!"

"Your Pokémon won't be able to touch us with their moves!" Meowth retorted. "Have a taste of our Noctowl Whirlwind!"

A pair of pumps came out from both sides of the Noctowl robot's head and connected themselves to the large balloons. The balloons got filled up with air until they were large enough so the robot levitated a little. The pumps were then pulled back and strong winds were blown at us from the balloons, pushing us and Ash's Pokémon back.

We tried standing our ground while Cyndaquil and Totodile got rolled back to our legs where they held on. Pikachu gripped the ground while we held each other to not get blown away. Before we knew it, the shiny Noctowl got blown past us and crashed onto the ground.

"Noctowl!" Ash yelled worriedly.

"Hoooh…", Noctowl hooted weakly, not getting up on its feet.

"Now we can get that shiny Noctowl!" Meowth called as a compartment opened on the robot's chest and a small talon came out from it, heading toward the fallen Pokémon. "Come to Papa Meowth!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Dr. Wiseman exclaimed and ran over to Noctowl. He picked up the shiny Pokémon and ran away with it.

"And where do you think you're going with our Noctowl?" Meowth retorted sarcastically, making the robot talon grab the Doctor before he had a chance to get to safety with Noctowl. "Drop that Noctowl now!"

The robot talon shook Dr. Wiseman violently until he lost the grip on Noctowl. The talon dropped him to quickly snatch Noctowl before it had a chance to fly away.

"Hooooh!" Noctowl hooted, crying for help, as the talon withdrew toward the Noctowl robot.

"They got Noctowl!" I gasped, terrified.

"We finally got it!" Jessie cheered happily.

"Let's take off to the sky and say bye-bye!" James laughed.

"Pump the balloons full and up we go!" Meowth sang as the pumps got connected to the empty balloons, filling them up with air again. The pumps plopped out and the air was blown out from the balloons, making the robot fly upward.

"You're not going anywhere!" Ash yelled and threw two more Poké Balls. "Ivysaur, Chikorita, use your Vine Whips to grab that robot's claws!"

"Saur!"

"Chiko!"

The two grass-type Pokémon extended their vines and grabbed each a robotic claw, holding back the giant robot from leaving. I got stunned seeing how the two small Pokémon were able to hold back the robot that was massive compared to them. Pokémon were such powerful beings, both big and small.

"Alright! Now I've gotta save Noctowl!" Ash suddenly called before he climbed up a tree.

"Ash, what are you doing?!" I yelled worriedly, watching my twin brother jump to a taller tree that was much closer to the talon that held the shiny Pokémon. He braced himself and took a leap, landing safely onto the clenched claws.

"Ash!" Misty and I shouted worriedly at his antics.

"Ash's reckless when it comes to saving Pokémon!" Brock commented.

I watched in horror with Ash's Pokémon how he put all his strength into pulling one of the robot claws up so he could free Noctowl. His face almost turned tomato red by how much strength he used in his arms. He did manage to pull a claw off Noctowl, so the Pokémon flew away while it still had a chance.

"Hey, twerp! How dare you free our Noctowl?!" Jessie yelled angrily at my brother.

"Get off the talon, boy!" Meowth snarled, forcing the talon to move violently in an attempt to shake Ash off.

"Whoaaaaah!" Ash screamed as he lost his grip on the talon and flew off from it.

"Ash!" Misty and Brock yelled worriedly.

"Piikaa!" Pikachu screeched along with Ash's other Pokémon, fearing for his life.

"Hikaru, go!" I shouted quickly as I threw my Poké Ball.

"Flaaaffty!" Hikaru bleated as soon as he came out from the capture device.

"Use Cotton Spore to save Ash!" I yelled.

"Flaaffyyyy!" Hikaru bleated and spat out cotton from his mouth, forming a large mattress on the ground where Ash fell toward to. The cushion was big enough for him to land on safely without breaking a leg.

"Ash!" I shouted as I ran to him. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, thanks to you and Hikaru", Ash sighed in relief as the cotton dispersed.

"Flaaa!" Hikaru bleated happily, relieved his new move had worked properly.

"QUIIIL!" Cyndaquil suddenly shrieked as he breathed a Flamethrower at the Noctowl robot.

"Hey, what's Cyndaquil doing?" Ash asked after we walked back to Misty and Brock.

"Noctowl spoke to your Pokémon and I think it told them a plan", Brock explained while Ivysaur and Chikorita still held the robot with their Vine Whips.

"Hoo-hooh!" Noctowl hooted.

"Toto!" Totodile nodded and began using Water Gun as soon as Cyndaquil was done heating up the robot. The water sizzled as it came in contact with the hot metal, but it didn't take long before loud crack noises emitted from the robot.

"Noctowl's a genius!" Brock exclaimed. "It figured out if you heat up the metal it will expand and it contracts as soon as it comes in contact with cold water, forcing the metal to crack!"

"Maybe this time Pikachu's Thunderbolt can electrocute it!" Misty nodded.

"Priii!"

"Let's find out!" Ash yelled determinedly. "Totodile, stop the Water Gun! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt where the crack is!"

"To!" Totodile nodded and quit using Water Gun so he wouldn't accidently get electrocuted.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and jumped up in the air. "Pika…CHUUU!" He released a new Thunderbolt and aimed it perfectly at the open crack. Sparks erupted from the robot and Team Rocket's cries echoed from the loudspeakers before the machine exploded into millions of pieces. We took cover behind trees while sharp debris flew around us. None of us wanted to get stabbed by metal pieces.

The chaos calmed down as quickly as it had appeared. I had barely heard Team Rocket's yells when they were blasted off again. There was lots of trash scattered in the area of the forest which would take days if not weeks to clean it up.

"The danger's over…", Ash sighed in relief as we stepped away from the trees that were pierced by sharp debris. "Great job, everyone."

Ash's Pokémon cooed in joy and smiled, happy that they were able to protect everyone and mainly Noctowl. Speaking of…

"Hoo-hooooh!" Noctowl sat on a branch, flapping its wings, and hooted in a way I couldn't describe. It was like it wanted something from us. "Hoo-hoohoo hooo!"

"What's the matter, Noctowl?" Ash wondered.

"What is it trying to say?" Misty asked.

"It's pretty obvious in my eyes", Dr. Wiseman smiled and adjusted his glasses as he joined us. "Noctowl wants to challenge you, Ash."

"Challenge me?" Ash repeated confusedly.

"You've earned its respect by saving it from Team Rocket", Dr. Wiseman explained. "I've tried capturing the shiny Noctowl for a long time, but never really earned its respect. So you should have the opportunity to catch it, Ash."

"But you're the one who wants it the most for your research, Dr. Wiseman", Ash argued.

"Yes, but I'd feel better knowing the shiny Noctowl is with a Trainer who's heart is pure and cares immensely about Pokémon", the adult retorted calmly. "You've proven it today, so go and give Noctowl a good challenge. Who knows; you might outsmart it."

Ash catching a shiny Pokémon…? That would be amazing. "Go and try, Ash", I encouraged my brother.

"Yeah, even if you fail, it'll still give you good experience", Misty nodded.

"Togiprii."

"And just seeing a shiny Pokémon with our own eyes is already a reward to us", Brock commented.

Ash thought about it for a few seconds before he nodded. "Okay. I'll challenge Noctowl with Pikachu", he declared before he returned the other Pokémon to their Poké Balls.

The rest of us watched intensely as Pikachu and Noctowl battled each other. At one point, it looked like Noctowl was going to win because it used Hypnosis against Pikachu, but he woke up quickly from it and shocked the shiny Pokémon with a Thunderbolt. Noctowl was part flying-type, so the electric move was super-effective. It was enough for Ash to throw a Poké Ball at Noctowl and successfully caught it.

It was a big surprise that we even encountered a shiny Pokémon, but having the chance to catch one was shocking. I didn't mind that Ash caught the shiny Noctowl; it wasn't part of the dragon egg group, so I haven't lost anything.

Who knows; I might find the right shiny Pokémon for me…if I'll ever have that luck.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's party:

Cedric the Larvitar (male)

Trica the Furret (female)

Hikaru the Flaaffy (male)

Mystic the Togepi (male)

Victor the Houndour (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's party:

Ivysaur (male)

Pikachu (male)

Chikorita (female)

Cyndaquil (male)

Totodile (male)

Shiny Noctowl (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Heracross (male)

Wartortle (male)

Tauros (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Psyduck (male)

Togepi (female)

Poliwhirl (male)

Chinchou (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Zubat (male)

Vulpix (female)

Pineco (male)