AAML: Diamond and Pearl version

by EchidnaPower

Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey. A Pokeshipping series. Also includes Penguinshipping, Handymanshipping, slight mentions of Contestshipping, and a Brock shipping to be named later. Oh yeah, there's PikachuXBuneary here too.

38. Sleepless Souls

Yeah yeah. For those of you who got messages, you're thinking. "Why did he update early?" Well, we're doing a Live Nativity at church and I dunno if I'll have time to do it. It's almost 2:00 A.M. here and I'm pushing myself to the limit to get this out. I do have a couple of anon reviews to reply.

Aditya Shukla: Thanks! Here you go! xD

Andrew: Don't worry, I already have a plan for Arceus! And I'm glad you like D. Shad too! ^^

Tray125: Well I dunno about Max. May already made her cameo, maybe if I decide to bring her back later.

lightningblade49: I can only update so fast, sorry. :( And nope, it ain't Luxio. :P

So anyways, this one I spent a LOT of time working on, so please tell me what you guys think! I own nothing except the story.
_

Chapter 38

Misty's POV

Well, the past few days have definitely been interesting. We ran into this hyperactive Pokémon Trainer named Barry who actually thought that Paul was someone to look up to! Barry also pushed me to the limit with his wrong attitude towards Pokémon. I mean, he wasn't as bad as Paul, he didn't scold his Pokémon, but he thought that the only thing that mattered was having strong Pokémon, and he didn't even know what bonding with them meant!

So Ash gave him a lesson in Pokémon battling and swept him in a battle, but he hadn't had enough, so he challenged me since I was a Gym Leader. Not only did I sweep him too, but Surskit learned 'Rain Dance' during the battle! After all that, Barry still didn't have much respect for Ash, so he told Barry to watch his rematch with Fantina.

The next day Ash battled with Fantina, and the move that Fantina had dubbed the 'Counter Shield' dominated with its versatility and power. Although Drifblim gave Ash a little trouble near the end, Chimchar pulled it out of the fire and they came out on top, earning Ash the Relic Badge, and earning Barry a kick in the ego.

But even then Barry hadn't had enough, as he challenged Ash to win at the Canalave Gym, the gym he won at, apparently Ash beating a Gym Leader he LOST to wasn't good enough for Barry. And if that weren't enough, Ash invited Barry to come with us to Canalave City, and that proved to be VERY stressful.

Not only did we get separated from our Pokémon thanks to Team Rocket, but Dawn told me that she thought Barry was cute! Even after all the advice I gave her to stick with Kenny she was still hanging on to hope for Barry!

I mean, Barry's way too crazy for her! And he seems like he has an "all about me" attitude since all he cared about while we were hunting for our Pokémon was his Empoleon. And every time Dawn tried to get close to Barry, he ignored her. I guess to each her own, but I really don't see what Dawn sees in Barry. She promised me she wouldn't ditch Kenny just because of his height, but I was starting to wonder whether or not she'd make good on that promise.

But I couldn't worry about that now. We had said farewell to Barry, much to Dawn's dismay, she had even suggested that we follow him to Iron Island. But Ash was determined to get to the gym, so with a sad sigh, Dawn said bye and we moved on to Ash's next gym battle.

Normal POV

"We made it guys! Check out the Canalave Gym!" Ash said excitedly.

"You ready for this Ash?" Misty asked.

"No sweat! Versus steel-types, all I need is Charizard and Chimchar and they'll never know what hit them! They might as well give it to me now!" Ash replied.

Ash took a deep breath and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Hello!"

A familiar silence answered back, and Ash's spirits immediately began to fall. "Uh oh."

"You don't think no one's here?" Dawn asked. "Well according to you guys it wouldn't be the first time." Misty replied.

Just then, an ear-piercing scream came from inside the steel-plated gym. "What was that?" Ash shouted in shock.

Ash and his friends backed up in fear, "Man…that was…some kind of creepy scream." Ash said nervously.

Just then, the doors to the gym eerily opened, and the entire group cringed in fear of whatever was about to walk, or maybe even float towards them. "Whatever made that scream is coming." Misty whimpered.

Misty was now cowering behind Ash for protection, just as Dawn was doing the same with Brock. They braced themselves as something slowly made its way towards them from the shadows, but they then felt extreme relief when it was just a normal human. But by the bags under his eyes, he kind of looked half-dead. "Boy, talk about scary." he said.

He slowly trudged his way over to them, hunched over like a question mark with his eyes barely open a slit. "Excuse me, but was that you we heard screaming just a minute ago?" Dawn asked nervously, still hiding behind Brock.

"Sorry if I scared you." the man said, rubbing his heavy eyelids, "But I was an awful nightmare."

"Well, I guess that's reason enough for the scream." Misty said with relief, finally coming from behind Ash.

"Yeah, and I've been having these terrible nightmares ever since I first arrived here, and I honestly haven't gotten a good night's sleep in ages." the man stretched and yawned, and since the group was still a little jumpy, they ducked upon hearing it.

After their nerves were calmed, Ash issued his challenge, but with a lot less extremity in his voice. "Well my name's Ash, and I'd like to have a gym battle."

"Not possible. You see, right now the Gym Leader's doing some training on Iron Island." the man said with a yawn.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that's where Barry went." Brock said.

"Oh man, not again. How many times are we gonna go to a gym with no Gym Leader?" Ash face-palmed in exasperation, and Misty and Brock sweat-dropped at that.

"See? I told you guys we should've stayed with Barry, but noooooo, you wanted to move on and go without him." Dawn pouted and crossed her arms in frustration.

"Chill out Dawn, it's not like we knew this would happen. And besides, it's not like you wanted to stay with Barry for Pokémon-involved reasons." Misty replied.

Unnoticed by everyone but Misty, Dawn blushed slightly and muttered something to herself, "I think he's cute, of course I wanna stay with him."

"Don't worry about it." the man said, starting to nod off to sleep, "He'll be back in a few days and I'll be sure to let him know that you're looking to have a battle with him." the man started snoring after he finished his sentence.

"I didn't think it was possible to fall asleep standing up." Misty said. "This guy must be tired beyond all reason." Brock added.

But after studying the man's face for a moment, the group noticed that he seemed to be in agony in his sleep. Suddenly, the man woke up screaming, and the group jumped back in total shock. "Stop doing that!" Misty cried in frustration.

"I'm so sorry, I've gotta try harder to stay awake." the man seemed on the verge of tears as he turned to trudge back to the gym, muttering to himself in desperation, "No falling asleep, no falling asleep, (sob) no falling asleep."

"What…was that?" Ash said in confusion. "The poor guy looks like he's on the edge of a nervous breakdown." Dawn added.

"I wonder what's causing all those nightmares." Misty wondered. "Could be what he's eating, some foods don't agree at night." Brock suggested.

Satisfied with that conclusion, the group moved on to sightsee around the island. "I can't believe the gym's empty again. Hey Mist, think you could tell the guy you're a Gym Leader and I could battle you?" Ash said.

Misty giggled. "That's a good one Ash."

"I was half-serious." Ash chuckled.

"Well the fact remains that the Gym Leader's out of town and that's that." Dawn said, "You know it's times like these that I would try and take my mind off things so how about some shopping?"

"That sounds like a good idea, anything but training, I'm still sore from Ash's last training session." Misty joked.

"Hey, that's weird." Brock said. "What's weird Brock?" Dawn asked.

"The guidebook says this is the island's busiest shopping district, but look around." Brock said.

The group did, and they noticed the same thing that Brock had. "The place looks deserted." Dawn said.

"There isn't even a stray Pokémon running around, you'd think there'd be that much at least." Misty added.

"Look a police station! Officer Jenny will know the perfect place to shop! And I can't wait to ask her where!" Brock mindlessly skipped towards the police station, "Jenny, Jenny!"

The group sweat-dropped at that. "Brock's the only person I know who gets excited about going into a police station." Misty said with some disgust.

"Hey, maybe Officer Jenny can tell us what's going on around here." Ash figured. "Right." Misty and Dawn agreed.

So they ran after the lovesick breeder, who was just catching the apparently surprised Officer Jenny and stopping her from falling from her chair. "I trust you're alright now?" he said chivalrously.

"Has there been an incident?" Officer Jenny asked groggily."Uh no, not exactly." Brock replied, still holding Jenny up. The officer's face bore the exact same dark circles of exhaustion that the man at the gym had, proving that she too was being plagued by nightmares.

Jenny yawned and stretched, "Oh good…then good night, sweet dreams." Jenny fell back to sleep with Brock still holding her up.

"But Jenny, you've gotta tell us what's going on around here." Brock said.

"Ok this can't be a coincidence. It seems like everyone around here is suffering from insomnia." Misty said.

All of a sudden, Jenny's face scrunched up in agony, and the officer woke up with a terrified scream. "Jenny? Did you have a nightmare?" Brock asked.

"How'd you know that?" Jenny asked.

"We just came from the Canalave Gym; the caretaker there woke up from a nightmare too." Ash explained.

"That just adds another person to the already long list." Officer Jenny grumbled.

"I'm afraid I don't follow you." Brock said.

"Does anyone here know how to make coffee? As soon as I get some caffeine in my system I'll explain everything." Jenny said, starting to doze off again.

"Officer Jenny no! Don't fall asleep!" Dawn exclaimed.

The exhausted officer fell back to sleep again, and wanting to avoid another ear-piercing scream, Dawn sprang into action. "Alright Piplup, use 'Bubblebeam' and wake her up, quick!"

Piplup fired a soft stream of bubbles that splashed onto Jenny's face, and the officer woke up with a start, but not nearly as bad as before. "Thanks, I needed that."

Brock sat Jenny back up, and he ran to find the police station kitchen to make some coffee. In the meantime, Ash, Misty, and Dawn kept making conversation with the officer to prevent her from falling asleep again.

"What's your favorite color?" Misty asked.

"Red." Jenny replied.

"Have you ever seen a Pokémon Contest?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, one or two." Officer Jenny replied.

"What's your favorite Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"Favorite Pokémon? At the moment, my favorite would be a Cresselia." Officer Jenny replied with a weary chuckle.

"A Cresselia?" the group said in wonder. They didn't think that such a simple question would yield such an interesting answer. They had forgotten to keep talking and Jenny was beginning to doze off again, but luckily Brock came in just in time with a cup of strong coffee.

"Here you are my darling Jenny." Brock said passionately, presenting her the cup on one knee. "Oh, thanks." Jenny replied, ignoring Brock's outburst and just gulping down the caffeinated beverage.

Brock moaned sadly and trudged over to the others. "Let's go over there so we can all sit down." Jenny said, finally seeming to wake up.

The group nodded and sat down at a bean-shaped table, and patiently waited for Jenny to finish drinking her coffee and explain what was going on. "Ahh, I needed that so badly."

"So Jenny, can you tell us what's going on?" Brock asked.

"Well the thing is, for some reason, for the past couple of days, every single person on this island have been having nightmares." Jenny explained.

"So that's why you screamed when you woke up, you must be having them too." Misty figured.

"Right, and the reason why this island is so deserted is because everyone's gone to different islands to get some sleep." Jenny almost dozed off again, but then the coffee apparently kicked in as she got a jumpstart. "Phew, that's some strong coffee you made."

"It's my special recipe, guaranteed to give you energy no matter how tired you are!" Brock exclaimed proudly.

"So Officer Jenny, do you have any idea why this is happening?" Ash asked.

"Yes. The truth is we have a Darkrai in our midst." Jenny replied.

"A Darkrai?" the group exclaimed in shock.

"Yes. You see, every year at this time, A Darkrai pays a visit to our island, bringing nightmares along with it for everybody." Officer Jenny explained.

"Oh man…EVERY YEAR?" Dawn asked in horror.

"Yes. However a Cresselia that lives nearby on Fullmoon Island shows up at the same time, warding off Darkrai's nightmarish dreams with its mystical powers." Jenny explained.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned a Cresselia when I asked you what your favorite Pokémon was." Ash said.

"Did I? I'm so tired I don't even know what I'm saying half the time." Jenny chuckled wearily.

"So if Cresselia's supposed to act as Darkrai repellant, why is everyone here having nightmare problems?" Misty asked.

"Well for some reason, Darkrai decided to show up early this year, and so far since there have been no signs of the Cresselia, everybody's been having nothing but nightmares! (Sigh) And of course it's obvious that no one's been able to get any sleep." Jenny explained.

"Well a dream can last a few hours before it turns into a nightmare, how come people don't just try to wake up before it gets bad and start over?" Ash asked.

"I sort of see your point, but there is a legend around here that scares the people around here and keeps them from even wanting to fall asleep." Jenny explained.

"A legend?" the group asked.

"Yes. You see, there's a legend around here that a young boy once fell victim to one of Darkrai's nightmares and just wouldn't wake up. He was literally locked into his nightmare." Jenny explained.

"What happened to him?" Misty asked.

"Well as best to my knowledge, his father was a sailor and he went to Fullmoon Island and found a Lunar Wing, which is supposed to protect people from nightmares. However I think there was a catch to using the Lunar Wing while actually trapped in the nightmare, but it's just legend. However it's more than enough to scare the natives into staying awake." Jenny explained.

"That sounds just awful." Misty shuddered.

"In desperation I went out and bought my own Lunar Wing to protect myself from Darkrai's nightmares, but I'm afraid it hasn't been working all that well." Jenny pulled out the unique item and showed it to the group.

"I've seen those before, they're actually Cresselia feathers." Brock said.

"As you can see they're very pretty, but the nightmares just go on and on!" Jenny said.

"I've actually got my own Lunar Wing pendant that I got a while back, and I've been wearing it for a while now." Dawn said, pulling out the item from her blouse.

"But what I wanna know is, why isn't Jenny's Lunar Wing working?" Ash asked.

"You know the thought just occurred to me, what if Jenny's Lunar Wing isn't a REAL Lunar Wing?" Misty suggested.

"You might be onto something Misty. Jenny, do you mind if I have a quick look at your Lunar Wing?" Brock asked, grabbing a magnifying glass from his backpack.

"No, not at all." Jenny replied, handing the breeder her special feather.

"Thank you." Brock took a careful look through his magnifying glass, and gasped at what he saw. "Jenny! This looks like nothing more than a Pidgey feather that's been painted with lacquer! Misty was right! This thing's a forgery!"

"What? I paid good money for that thing! Nobody tricks me…NOBODY!" With flames in her eyes, Jenny charged out of the police station, "It's arresting time!"

The group sweat-dropped. "I say we follow her and give her a hand!" Ash exclaimed.

"Right!" the group charged out as well, and followed the enraged officer to where she had bought the fake feather. "Over there! That's where I got this piece of junk!" Jenny hissed.

"Something's not right, that's for sure." Ash said.

"Hey guys, you don't suppose Team Rocket's behind this do you? After all, we haven't seen them for a few hours." Misty suggested, somewhat sarcastically.

"Somehow I wouldn't be surprised if they are." Dawn said.

Jenny and the others snuck behind the large tent, and listened in on the conversation going on inside.

"Our nightmare maker has exceeded my nightmarish expectations. A pleasant but sleepy surprise." A female voice said.

"A nightmare maker?" Ash whispered in shock. "Shh!" Jenny hissed.

"While everyone puts the blame squarely on Darkrai's shoulders, the masses are going loony for our phony Lunar Wings!" a male voice said.

"The only problem being our nightmare maker works so well that we've been having nightmares too." the female said while yawning.

"All da better for pullin' all nightas, and makin' Lunar Wings. Just take a Pidgeyfeatha and bend it, lacquer it up to make it nice and shiny, and ya end up wit a beautiful green money-makin' machine!" a third voice said.

That was all Jenny needed to hear. "So that's how you did it!" Jenny opened the tent, revealing three very shocked business workers. "I heard every word!"

"Busted!" they exclaimed in fear.

"I'm placing you three under arrest!" Jenny growled furiously.

After that, the three salespeople threw off their disguises, and revealed themselves to be none other than Team Rocket; they also had the black circles of exhaustion around their eyes.

Jessie: "Is that arresting development I hear?"

James: "Her inner rage rings loud and clear."

Jessie: "On the wind!"

James: "Past the stars!"

Meowth: "In your ear!"

Jessie: "Laying down the law at a breakneck pace."

James: "Dashing due process, putting fear in its place."

Jessie: "A Jenny by any other name's just as bad."

James: "In the name of OUR law, it looks like you've been had."

Jessie: "Jessie!"

James: "And James!"

Meowth: "Sleepy Meowth, that's a name!"

Jessie: "Putting law abiders in their place."

James: "We're Team Rocket!"

Team Rocket: "In your face!"

"Team Rocket!" Ash growled.

"The jig is up!" Jenny added angrily.

"Your plan to make everyone have nightmares and trick them into buying fake Lunar Wings is over!" Brock also added.

"Why don't they ever learn?" Dawn mumbled. "They've been doing this at least four years; they've lost the ability to learn." Misty replied in the same tone.

"Why do you twerps always show up and manage to turn our dreams of fame and fortune into REAL nightmares?" Jessie stomped in frustration.

"We've pulled more all-nighters in order to build this baby than you've been alive!" James added.

"Then when we're done, da woist nightmare toins out ta be you!" Meowth added.

"Save your whining for jail!" Ash exclaimed, "Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!"

The electric mouse launched a furious bolt of lightning right at Team Rocket's nightmarish machine, and the resulting explosion blew their tent away and sent them blasting off.

"It seems a little early for them to be blasting off, don't you think?" Misty joked. "I know, right?" Dawn replied with a giggle.

"To think that all of those nightmares were Team Rocket's doing all along." Ash said.

"Which unfortunately means that Cresselia won't be paying us a visit." Brock said. "Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that." Dawn said sadly.

"Well at least people will finally be able to get some sleep again. I can't wait to finally have some good dreams." Officer Jenny said.

"Why wait?" Brock got down on one knee in front of the officer, "A dream you dream at night can also come true during the day! So if you'll only agree to take my hand…" As usual, Brock felt a certain poison stinging his side, "Then I'll…give back Croagunk's…(Groan)."

"Just like Team Rocket, Brock will never learn." Misty sighed.

"Well I guess I'll call someone to get rid of this hunk of metal, and then you're all invited back to the police station where I'll make us a celebratory dinner!" Officer Jenny said.

"Gee, thanks so much Jenny!" Dawn exclaimed.

So while the officer pulled out her walkie-talkie, the group did a little thinking of their own. "I kinda wish I knew how this thing worked. I mean, how does a machine make people have nightmares?" Ash wondered.

"Somehow I feel that even if you knew how this thing ticked, you wouldn't understand why it did what it did." Misty teased.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Don't EVEN go there again." Dawn warned.

"Aww come on Dawn, we were just letting off a little steam." Ash chuckled. "Yeah, it's not like we're mad at each other." Misty added.

"I'm not talking for your sake, I'm talking for MINE. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to watch you two gripe at each other? Even if you don't mean anything by it." Dawn said.

"Yeah we do. Brock tells us all the time." Misty playfully stuck her tongue out at the younger girl, who just rolled her eyes in response.

"Ok, here's the deal. The trash folks wound up leaving the island too, so they won't be able to make the pickup until tomorrow, so I say we get the heck out of here and go to the police station for that dinner I promised!" Officer Jenny said.

The group cheered and followed the officer back to her station, where she and Brock got to work on an amazing feast. "You're pretty handy in the kitchen Brock." Officer Jenny had said. An apparently obscene remark had earned Brock another 'Poison Jab', and forced Jenny to finish dinner alone.

Before they knew it, Officer Jenny had laid a feast down in front of them, and they quickly devoured it with much enthusiasm. "Thanks for dinner Jenny!"

"Was that good or what? I tell you Jenny, you're one amazing chef!" Brock said.

"Well since you solved the case of the phony store and the nightmares, it's the least I could do. I'm glad you all enjoyed it." Officer Jenny replied.

"Oh man, I'm stuffed." Ash said, chewing down on the last bit of his dinner roll.

"I don't know why, but I'm real tired." Dawn said, rubbing her weary eyes.

"Must be because we ate until we couldn't eat anymore. (Yawn) I feel I could use some sleep myself." Misty said.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could rest here a bit?" Brock exclaimed excitedly.

"Cool it Brock, I'm sure Croagunk's all warmed up and ready to jab you again." Misty warned.

"No no, it's quite alright. I'd be honored if you all would stay here! I've got a comfortable room in the back and you're welcome to make yourselves feel right at home!" Officer Jenny said.

"That's great Jenny, thanks a lot!" Ash exclaimed happily.

"Not at all, now you all get yourselves settled and don't worry about the cleanup, I'll take care of everything." Officer Jenny said.

Brock leaped out of his chair and took Jenny by the hand, "My darling Jenny, how could you even suggest that I could leave a beautiful woman such as yourself to work your soft fingers to the bone? No force on this planet could EVER stop me from protecting these soft hands!"

Misty warned Brock, and sure enough, Croagunk appeared and jabbed him in the side once more, "Except…for Croagunk's…hard ones. (Groan)"

Brock fell to the floor and was dragged to the back by the poison/fighting-type frog. "Does he do this often?" Jenny asked.

"Once or twice a day at least. Going to the beach is murder for him." Misty joked.

"Don't worry about Brock; we'll take care of him. Are you sure you don't want any help?" Dawn offered.

"No no, I insist. Go on and make yourselves comfortable, it's getting late and I owe you for helping me expose those dirty crooks." Jenny replied with a smile.

Finally giving in to Jenny's persuasion, the remaining three walked into the backroom and gasped in awe. The room was completely laid out with a pair of top and bottom bunk beds, a couch, a bathroom, a computer with a videophone function, and a television.

"Wow!" Dawn squealed, "I've seen worse accommodations in four-star hotels! Officer Jenny sure knows how to treat her guests!" Dawn bounced on the bed with joy and eventually settled down after she exhausted herself.

"You know what I just remembered? Dawn, you were kinda freaked out when Fantina'sGengar used 'Hypnosis', is there a reason?" Misty asked.

Dawn shrunk back a little as she remembered. "Well…it kinda looked like what I was seeing every night. Those red eyes were…(shudder) horrible."

"You don't think you'll see it again tonight do you?" Ash asked, jumping into the conversation.

"Well I sure hope not, I've been having real issues getting to sleep now because of whatever it is I've been seeing. What I CAN'T figure out, is why it only bugs me and leaves you guys alone." Dawn replied.

"Maybe it's because you're too energetic." Brock said, somewhat bitterly, "Can you guys get ready for bed already? My side is aching from all the 'Poison Jabs' and I'd really like to get some rest."

"You wouldn't be aching from 'Poison Jabs' if you would learn a little self-control." Misty quipped back.

"You. Shower. NOW." Brock said lowly, pointing towards the bathroom.

Misty put up her hands in annoyed self-defense. "Alright, alright, sheesh, no need to get huffy Brock." The water-trainer grumbled to herself on the way to the bathroom, and left Ash and Dawn to deal with the disgruntled breeder.

"Brock…is something wrong?" Ash asked nervously. "(Sigh) No I guess not, I'm sorry guys, but something's bugging me for some reason." Brock replied.

"You wanna talk about it?" Dawn asked. "Nah, I just want some time to think and then a good night's sleep." Brock replied.

The breeder opened the door which would lead to the back where there was a patio, before leaving, Brock turned to the two with an apologetic expression. "Hey guys, tell Misty I'm sorry for snapping at her."

"No prob Brock." Ash replied. "I'm sure she'll understand." Dawn added.

Brock relinquished a small smile and stepped out. The two watched through the glass door as Brock called out Happiny, cradled it in his arms, and sat down.

"I wonder what's bugging him." Ash said thoughtfully.

Then Misty came out of the bathroom in her pajamas, letting the next person go in. "So, who's next?"

Ash and Dawn looked at each other expectantly, each expecting the other to go in first. "Well? What are you waiting for?" they asked simultaneously.

"Me? I have to talk to Misty!" they said simultaneously again.

"(Sigh) The price of being in high demand." Misty said with a shake of her head,

"Look, I need to talk to Misty about something really important, and I don't want any boy to hear it!" Dawn exclaimed.

"But Misty would much rather talk to me, since I'M her boyfriend. Tell her Misty." Ash said expectantly.

Misty smirked and pointed towards the bathroom, causing Dawn to smile victoriously, and Ash's jaw to drop in disbelief.

"I should've known better. If there's one thing I've learned about girls, it's that they stick together. And I have no chance." Ash grumbled.

Ash stopped on his way past Misty and frowned at her, trying to maybe gain some sympathy from his red-headed girlfriend. It worked.

"Aww, don't worry Ashy, I still love you even though you don't understand us girls." Misty said teasingly. The water-trainer planted a soft kiss on Ash's cheek, and the black-haired boy rolled his eyes with a smile and walked in.

"So what's up Dawn? What's SOOO important that I had to abuse my boyfriend?" Misty asked jokingly.

"Remember when Fantina's Gengar used 'Hypnosis' and its eyes glowed? Well I said then that that was what I was seeing every night." Dawn said.

"Yeah, you said that earlier too. What's your point?" Misty asked.

"Well…what if it comes back? What if…that Darkrai comes for some reason and it just gets even scarier?" Dawn asked fearfully.

"Oh come on Dawn, you can't really be scared of that Darkrai can you? Don't you remember what Jenny said? She said that Cresselia would come and scare Darkrai off." Misty replied reassuringly.

"I guess…but still, there's gotta be something I can do to make the thing go away!" Dawn said.

"Well Dawn, all I can suggest is that you don't sleep, but you can't do that so, I really don't know what to do." Misty replied with a shrug.

"Gee, thanks for the help." Dawn whined.

Just then, Ash walked out with his hair dripping wet. "So, what'd I miss?"

"Ash, that was way too fast, did you even use soap?" Misty asked accusingly.

"Of course I did! What? You think I'm a Grumpig or something?" Ash quipped back.

"Do you want an honest answer or a girlfriend fudge?" Misty countered.

"If you don't believe me you can give me a sniff." Ash quipped back.

That did it for Misty. "Ok, that's disgusting. I'll take your word for it."

"Thought so. Dawn, you're up." Ash said pointing behind him.

"You did that on purpose you…you…" Dawn was cut-off.

"Who're you calling a 'you you'?" Ash quipped back.

Dawn groaned and stomped into the bathroom, angrily muttering to herself. "Can't even have a girl to girl talk anymore, one of these days Ash…"

"Boy, she sure gets excited doesn't she?" Ash asked with a smirk. Ash's smirk vanished when he studied Misty's frustrated expression. "What?"

"We were having a totally private, girl to girl conversation, and you ruined it." Misty said with her arms crossed.

"Don't even go there Mist. The only thing you were talking about was Dawn's hallucinations again. Nothing private about it." Ash replied.

"But the fact remains Dawn was telling ME and not YOU. You can't just try and squeeze into…wait a minute, you were eavesdropping?" Misty screamed once she realized Ash was listening.

"Well I didn't think it was such a big deal, I mean I'm her friend too!" Ash screamed back.

"But she didn't WANT to tell you! Don't you get it? It wasn't any of your business, that's why she waited for you to go shower! And you purposely hurried so you could come and listen! Don't you realize how rude that is?" Misty screamed.

"Misty I'm just as concerned about Dawn as you are! And I wanna help her too!" Ash replied.

"Well that's fine! But then YOU talk to HER one on one, and not try to horn in on a private conversation!" Misty screamed.

"And if I were talking to Brock about something that was bothering me, wouldn't you want to know?" Ash asked angrily.

"Yes I would! But I would wait until you were done with Brock and then ask you myself! Not eavesdrop on a private conversation!" Misty replied, starting to tear up.

"Pikapi! Pikachupi!" (Ash! Misty!) Pikachu zapped the arguing couple hard, and they lost a little bit of steam, but were still considerably miffed at each other.

"I'm going for a walk." Ash grumbled. Ash stormed out and used every ounce of self-control he had to NOT slam the door as hard as he could.

Misty stood stiff-lipped for a moment, but then Dawn walked out from the bathroom in shock. "That…wasn't a teasing argument, was it?"

Misty broke down, dove into her bed, and started crying into her pillow, of all the arguments she and Ash had had over the years they knew each other, the one they just had hurt the most.

"Are you ok Misty?" Dawn asked gently.

"(Sniff) I'll…I'll be ok. (Sniff) Please, just leave me alone for a while." Misty sobbed.

Dawn started walking out to the patio, but turned at the last minute, "I'm sorry I caused this." she said sadly.

Misty took her face out of her pillow for a moment, and turned to Dawn with puffy, red eyes. "It's not your fault." she hiccupped.

Dawn finally walked out to join the not nearly as depressed breeder, and the water-trainer sobbed herself to sleep, with the sorrowful electric mouse keeping her company. "Why Ash? Why? Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Meanwhile, Ash was sitting in the kitchen with his head on the table and a glass of water in front of him. "Geez Misty, why are you making such a big deal about this? Are you REALLY that worried about privacy? It's not like I would've done anything, and I wanted to spend a little time with you too you know. Why do I always have to take the backseat to Dawn?" Ash pondered this for a while, until he exhausted himself to the point of falling asleep on the kitchen table.

"Dawn…" Brock moaned.

"Oh, what's up Brock? You can't sleep?" Dawn asked, stopping her pacing to look at Brock for a moment.

"Not with the one girl light parade going on in the room I can't." Brock grumbled, pulling the covers back over himself.

"Sorry Brock, I'll try to be quiet." Dawn apologized, turning her flashlight back on, "Boy, Misty sure sleeps soundly huh?"

"Mhmm." Brock mumbled.

"I mean, I've been pacing for a really long time it seems, and she just sleeps and sleeps and sleeps, while you've been stuck awake for the past fifteen minutes. Of course she's…not real happy right now, and she doesn't look too relaxed, anyways I might be able to go to sleep if I didn't think that something was gonna jump out at me at any moment…" Dawn was finally cut-off by an annoyed and sleepy Brock.

"Hey Dawn, see me in my bunk? See that darkness outside? Those are the unmistakable signs of night. Why don't you leave the talking to the Kricketot outside?" Brock pulled the covers over him once more.

"Sorry Brock, my lips are sealed." Dawn paced back and forth a few more times, before flinching when she thought she saw something floating in the air. She scrambled to the lamp on the desk and turned on the light.

"I don't believe this…" Brock sat up in his bed again with frustration, "Who told you that you could rehearse the Lanturn drama?" he grumbled.

"I thought I saw something, I'm sorry Brock." Dawn said fearfully, still scanning the room for anything that could be considered malevolent.

Brock once again pulled the covers over him, grumbling incoherently as he tried to fall asleep once more.

Dawn reached for her flashlight, and slowly climbed up into her bunk. When she got there, she began whispering to herself, "No stupid monster is gonna scare ME tonight. If I see something I shouldn't, I'll blast it with the flashlight and it'll run for the hills!" What Dawn didn't realize was that she was getting progressively louder with each word uttered, and Brock was now at his breaking point.

"Dawn! On behalf of Misty, the Pokémon, and myself, SHUT! UP!" he roared, waking up all the Pokémon in the room. Brock pulled the covers up over his head, grumbling once again, "Geez Misty, I wish I could sleep as well as you do."

"Ok Brock, sheesh, I'm sorry." Dawn finally settled down and closed her eyes, but a few moments later she felt a sudden chill in the air. Having a pretty good idea what just happened, Dawn opened one eye a slit, and sure enough there was the freaky hallucination that was harassing her for far too long.

"Ok whatever you are…TAKE THIS!" Dawn shined the flashlight right for the thing, and Dawn's monster panicked and started flying all over the room, waking all the Pokémon and Brock.

"I told you I told you I told you!" Dawn squealed. Quickly jumping into action, Piplup fired a 'Bubblebeam' to knock the crazed being out of the sky. The water attack hit dead-on, and the thing fell to the ground with a wet plop.

"What…is it?" Dawn asked nervously. "It's a Haunter." Brock replied.

"Pika pika, pika chu." (Ok then, what's with you?) Pikachu asked the soaked Pokémon.

"Haunter haunt haunt!" (Good to see you again!) The Haunter licked Pikachu playfully, and the electric-mouse made a HUGE sweat-drop at that. "Pi…pika?" (Eh…again?)

"Why does this Haunter look so familiar?" Brock wondered. The Haunter floated up and made a funny face, and that automatically answered Brock's question.

"Wow! You're the Haunter from the Lavender Tower! What are you doing here instead of with Sabrina?" Brock asked.

Before Haunter could respond, they heard a shriek coming from Officer Jenny's room. "That must be Jenny! I must go and see what's wrong!" Brock leaped out of his covers and ran for the door, but just then the door burst open with Jenny clutching her pillow, and poor Brock was smashed into the wall behind the open door.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one who's had a nightmare!" Jenny exclaimed. "I'm having one right now." Brock groaned as he sunk to the floor.

"Well Brock and I haven't really gone to sleep yet, since this Haunter here has been bugging me for whatever reason it had." Dawn said, shooting a glare at Haunter, "But Misty's been sleeping ever since she first fell asleep."

Jenny went to examine Misty, whose face was extremely stressed for some reason. "Have you tried waking her up at all?"

"No, now that you mention it, I was wondering why all this noise wasn't bothering her." Dawn said.

"She doesn't look too good; did this Haunter do something to her?" Jenny asked, also giving Haunter an accusing glare.

"No way, we know this Haunter. It may have a weird sense of humor but it's not a jerk." Brock assured.

"Yeah, weird is a nice way to put it." Dawn grumbled.

"Then we may or may not be in serious trouble. The nightmare I just had what looked like a Darkrai in it and then I woke up screaming!" Jenny said.

"Darkrai? Oh no! No wonder Misty's in agony! Quick Piplup, use 'Bubblebeam'!" Dawn exclaimed.

Following its master's orders, Piplup fired, and the stream of bubbles hit Misty squarely in the face, but to no avail. "Oh no!" Dawn cried.

"Pikachupi!" (Misty!) Pikachu gave it a shot as well, and unleashed a blast of electricity that would've been able to wake up a Snorlax from its slumber. But all that happened was that Misty stopped stirring.

"Did the nightmare go away at least?" Dawn asked worriedly. "Here, let me check something." Brock said.

Getting up close to the water-trainer, Brock grabbed her wrist and carefully felt it. "Her pulse is steady but weak! Someone call Nurse Joy!"

Jenny immediately ran for the videophone and dialed the Pokémon Center. "(Yawn) Can I help you?" the apparently weary Nurse Joy answered.

"We've got a human emergency! I have a young girl here approximately fourteen or fifteen years old, her pulse is steady but weak, and she seems to be totally unconscious!" Jenny reported.

"I'll be right over!" Joy quickly hung up and got her stuff together, and before long she and her faithful Pokémon Center Chansey were on the way.

"So what'll we do until then?" Dawn asked worriedly.

"All we can do is hope that Nurse Joy can do something. And if not…well…we'll have to try something else I suppose." Jenny replied.

"Pika pika chu." (It's all my fault.) Pikachu said sorrowfully.

"Don't beat yourself up Pikachu, there's no guarantee it was your fault, it might've been something else, like Darkrai." Dawn said.

"Pika chu…" (But still…)

"Haunter haunt haunt." (Aww cheer up.) Haunter made a few funny faces at the electric mouse, and Pikachu wiped its damp eyes and relinquished a small laugh.

"Someone should probably tell Ash…" Dawn realized.

"I'll do it. Where is he anyway?" Brock asked.

"He's sleeping at the kitchen table, come to think of it we should check on him too." Jenny said.

"Let me go alone, Ash must not be too happy if he's outside." Brock said.

Jenny nodded and let Brock pass by. Brock found Ash with his head face down in his arms on the kitchen table, and he moved closer to examine the trainer.

"Ash?" Brock asked cautiously.

"What?" Ash growled, not raising his head.

"Oh good you're up." Brock said.

"How can anyone sleep with all that noise you guys are making?" Ash said bitterly.

"Uh, sorry. Listen, Ash, there's something you should know about Misty…there's…something wrong with her…" Brock said hesitantly.

"Why should I care? Let her talk to Dawn about it, she'd rather talk to another girl than me anyway." Ash replied bitterly.

"She can't Ash…Misty's unconscious." Brock said.

Ash raised his head and stared right into Brock's face. "Say that again."

"Misty won't wake up, and her pulse is weak, we don't why or what's wrong with her…we already called Nurse Joy but, we're not sure if there's much she can do." Brock repeated.

Ash looked worried for the faintest moment, but then went back into anger. "You're just saying that to make me not mad at her, Misty was just fine when we were fighting, she's fine now."

"Ash you…you're being stubborn and stupid! You…" Brock was cut-off by Nurse Joy and Chansey, who had just arrived.

"Nurse Joy! She's in here, hurry!" Brock rushed towards the room with Nurse Joy and Chansey carrying portable life-monitoring equipment and pretty much anything else she could carry, and that finally convinced Ash.

"He didn't even bother to hit on her, something must be wrong after all!" Ash got up from his chair and rushed to the room as well, and what he saw made his heart skip two beats. Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny were hooking Misty up to wires and checking her vital signs.

Slowly the trainer walked in, and examined Misty's seemingly lifeless face, the color of her skin had paled considerably, and her face was scrunched in pure agony and misery. "Misty…wha…what happened to you?"

"How is she Nurse Joy?" Dawn asked worriedly. "Her pulse is steady, but very weak, and she seems to be under some sort of stress, but I won't be able to find the cause until I run a few more tests." Nurse Joy replied.

"You know something? The more I think about it, the more things turn out to look like the Darkrai legend." Jenny said.

"You know you're right! We need to call an expert on Pokémon legends and such." Joy agreed.

"That's perfect! I know just the man to call!" Ash exclaimed.

"Me too!" Dawn added.

"I'll call Professor Oak/Rowan!" Ash and Dawn exclaimed simultaneously.

"Before you two decide to argue about which one you should call, I'll say that you should call them BOTH. The more minds working on this the better." Brock said.

Ash and Dawn nodded and ran for the videophones in the police station.

"Hello? Professor Oak?" Ash exclaimed through the phone.

"Oh, (Yawn) Ash, it's a little late to be up, isn't it?" Professor Oak replied.

"I'm sorry I had to wake you up Professor, but I've got a major problem over here!" Ash exclaimed desperately.

"You sound like you're on the verge of a nervous breakdown Ash, what is it?" Professor Oak asked worriedly.

"It's Misty! There's something wrong with her!" Ash said.

"Well, Ash I may be a professor, but I'm not a doctor, I don't know if I'll be much help." Prof. Oak replied.

"Misty doesn't need a doctor! Look, have you ever heard of the legend of Darkrai?" Ash asked, his voice growing even more desperate.

"Unfortunately no, but my old friend and colleague Prof. Rowan would probably know something, I'm sure you've met him by now." Prof. Oak said.

"You know Professor Rowan?" Ash asked in shock.

"You know Professor Oak?" Dawn asked in shock.

"Of course, Professor Oak is the world's leading authority on Pokémon. We and all our other colleagues used to joke saying, 'Where there's Pokémon, you'll find Oak'." Prof. Rowan said.

"Gee, I never knew. But anyway, what about the Darkrai legend? Have you ever heard of it?" Dawn asked.

"Well I have heard many stories of your particular situation being true, but never any actual proof. However I would be more than happy to work on it with Prof. Oak and try to help you all in any way I can." Prof. Rowan replied.

"Thanks Professor! Don't hang up, I'll be right back!" Dawn exclaimed.

Dawn ran for the room where Nurse Joy was still monitoring Misty's vitals, and she found Ash there already fiddling with the videophone. "Alright Professor, you're on!" Ash said.

"Not fair Ash! Professor Rowan is waiting for me!" Dawn whined.

"I'm through with arguments." Brock said sternly, "Look, all you have to do is hit this button and it becomes a conference call."

Brock pressed a button on the videophone, and the screen split in two with Professor Oak on one side and Professor Rowan on the other.

"Well well, Professor Rowan, how nice to see you again." Prof. Oak said cheerfully.

"Indeed, it has been a while Professor Oak, how is your research going?" Prof. Rowan asked.

"Quite well actually, Ash's Pokémon have been amazing research subjects." Prof. Oak replied.

"Professors!" Ash exclaimed, "I'm sorry for being rude, but you've just gotta try and help Misty! Please!" Ash exclaimed desperately.

"I'm sorry Ash; I know how much she means to you. Well Professor, shall we get started?" Prof. Oak said.

"Yes. Let's start with her condition, is she stable?" Prof. Rowan asked.

Nurse Joy was about to respond, but Ash beat her to the punch. "Nurse Joy says that her pulse is steady, but it's really weak!" he exclaimed worriedly.

"Are there any other symptoms?" Prof. Rowan asked.

"Yeah! She's really pale! And her face looks like she's in a lot of pain! And she won't wake up no matter what we do!" Ash exclaimed, once again beating Nurse Joy to the punch.

"Well, I can't think of any other reasons except that Darkrai legend you mentioned." Prof. Oak said.

"We must find something to counteract the hold that Darkrai has on Misty's mind." Prof. Rowan added.

Just then, there was a loud knocking on the door outside the police station. "Open up! This is an emergency!" the voice demanded.

"Alright, let's go see what's up." Jenny said.

"I have to get some more equipment from outside, would you mind coming with me to help lift it Brock?" Nurse Joy requested.

"Of course. Ash, stay here with Misty. Dawn, let's go." Brock said.

Dawn picked up on the message and quietly walked out, leaving Ash with Misty, and the two professors who were throwing ideas around over the phone.

"Misty…oh Misty…why did I yell at you? I'm so sorry Mist…I…I-I'm so scared, I wish you were awake and you could tell me that everything would be ok." Ash whispered.

Ash grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, and as he held it, he noticed that Misty's pulse seemed to grow slightly stronger, and her face relaxed the slightest bit. "Mist, your pulse!" Ash got excited and a weird thought crossed his mind, "If holding her hand did that, then…man this is corny, maybe a kiss would wake her up!"

Ash gently planted his lips onto Misty's, and when Ash looked back to the vitals, he didn't see any change, although Misty's pulse had kept its elevated strength, and her face was a bit more relaxed. "Well, it was just a thought." he shrugged.

"Ash, you still there?" Prof. Oak asked.

"Yeah Professor, I'm here. You got something?" Ash replied.

"Well we've thrown some ideas around, and it seems the most logical thing to do would be to go along with the legend's path. If you could maybe find a Lunar Wing somewhere, you might be able to wake her, but like we said, it being only a legend, there's no way to tell for sure." Prof. Oak explained.

"However there may be a side effect to this. If you notice the way she seems to be under intense pressure, we theorize that waking her up while she's in that state would cause her to have major cases of paranoia which might possibly be permanent, she may not be able to function in regular society ever again." Prof. Rowan explained.

"Oh man…Misty." Ash groaned.

"We'll work on a way to calm her, in the meantime, stay cool Ash." Prof. Oak said.

So while the two professors started throwing ideas around again, Ash was beginning to lose hope again. He tenderly stroked Misty's silky hair, just wishing Misty would smile at him again. "What am I gonna do?" Ash let his head droop, as he closed his eyes to block the tears threatening to pour out at any moment.

Ash opened his eyes for a split-second, and he noticed a purple Pokémon staring at him with a ghostly smile. "Waah!" Ash leaped from his spot and saw Haunter laughing at him. "A Haunter…what's the big idea scaring me like that?"

Haunter made a funny face, and Ash suddenly realized who the Haunter was. "Hey, you're the Haunter I gave to Sabrina, what are you doing all the way out here?"

"Haunt haunt haunt." (I got bored.) Haunter snickered.

"Well it's nice to see you again; we sure had a lot of fun scaring Misty and Brock when I was a ghost." Just then, Ash got an idea, "Hey…Haunter, I'm desperate, I need your help!"

Haunter made another funny face and then vanished from sight. "Haunter, I mean it! I REALLY need you! Please…you're my only hope." Ash broke down onto his knees; the pain he was feeling inside was practically killing him.

Haunter popped out from behind Ash, and scared Ash onto his butt. Haunter laughed heartily at Ash's reaction, but the black-haired trainer wasn't amused. "Haunter, please. I need you to be serious, for Misty's sake."

The ghost/poison-type glanced over at the unconscious girl, and then back at Ash, whose face had desperation written all over it. Haunter then gave Ash a thumbs-up with its disembodied hand, which gave Ash a boost of confidence.

"Alright, remember when you made me and Pikachu ghosts at the Lavender Tower?" Ash asked. Haunter nodded.

"Well you're gonna do it to me again, and then…please tell me you can use 'Dream Eater'!" Ash exclaimed desperately. Another thumbs-up from Haunter.

"Ok then, let's do this." Ash said determinedly.

"How do you like that? Whoever made that prank emergency call must be drunk if they wanted to mess with me!" Jenny hissed.

"What I can't believe is that you made us look around when there's a patient who needs my help." Joy said bitterly.

"Alright Haunter, use 'Dream Eater'!"

"Ash, no!"

"Did you hear that?" Dawn asked. "Let's hurry!" Brock exclaimed.

The group rushed into the room, and saw Ash lying on the ground, unconscious. His face was pale and his body was beginning to lose body heat.

"What happened?" Jenny asked loudly.

"Ash had that Haunter use 'Dream Eater'! I think he wanted to try and cure Misty from the inside out!" Prof. Oak replied.

"Hurry Chansey! Let's get them both to the Pokémon Center! We've got to hook Ash to our life-support systems!" Brock and Jenny picked up Ash's now cold and clammy body, cringing at the feeling.

"Come on Ash, stay with me, wherever you are." Brock said.

Ash's POV

"Whoa…where am I?" I woke up from what seemed like a long sleep, and I found myself floating freely in empty space. I looked at myself and saw that my body was see-through. "Oh yeah! Misty! Hey Haunter, where are you?"

Haunter appeared behind me with a freaky face, which scared me again. "Come on Haunter, we don't have time for this, we've gotta find Misty's mind and Darkrai in here…wherever she is."

I was already accustomed to floating around like a ghost, so it didn't take long for me to get the hang of it. Me and Haunter went flying around Misty's mind, looking for signs of her anywhere. "Whoa, what's this?" I floated down to a floating bubble, which seemed to be replaying memories of her life.

"Wow, this must be Misty's memories, all the things she's done and what's happened to her all her life." I watched for a few moments, I saw Misty when she was just a three or four year old girl, learning how to talk and already loving water-Pokémon even from early childhood. "Aww Mist, you were born to train water-Pokémon."

I was just about to leave when something caught my eye. It was an eight year old Misty, wearing a small black dress along with her three sisters, and they were all crying. "A funeral?"

Then the young memory Misty walked up to the closed coffin, and placed a white tulip on it. Misty's cerulean blue eyes were red and puffy from a lot of crying, and then Ash realized why she was so sad. "Oh…Mist." The coffin read: "Leslie Waterflower", which I figured was her mother.

"I'm so sorry Misty." I said, not realizing that I was just a spectator of this scene, and the memory wouldn't change no matter how loudly I spoke.

The memory changed again to when Misty was ten, and she was living with her sisters in the gym. Misty looked more like recognizable now, with her side ponytail up and her usual yellow top with red suspenders and tight blue jean shorts.

Misty was apparently arguing with her three sisters, who were getting ready to do yet another water show. I wished that there was sound so I could listen and find out what was going on in this particular memory. Unfortunately, the memory didn't last long as Misty stormed off and her sisters merely shrugged off her ever being there.

Then I began recognizing memories as Misty had now turned eleven. "I don't believe it." I saw Misty fishing by the riverside, and she fished me out of the river with Pikachu in my arms.

I felt a tug at my heart as the two memory kids looked at each other in shock. "I remember that day, the day I met you…the day that you and I started travelling together."

Then "I" grabbed Misty's bike and rode off, and she watched in shock for a while until she started chasing after me, probably yelling at me to give her bike back. "Heh, you definitely weren't happy about that."

Normal POV

"Nurse Joy, PLEASE tell me they'll be alright!" Dawn begged.

Nurse Joy's head drooped slightly. "Misty is still under the influence of Darkrai, and until Darkrai releases her I can't do anything. And as for Ash…I can keep his body running artificially for a few hours, but…there's no soul for it. Our soul is one-third of our entire being, that's why Ash's body was the way it was when Haunter used 'Dream Eater'."

"Well, what about the Lunar Wing? Maybe that could save them!" Dawn exclaimed.

"I'm afraid not Dawn." Prof. Oak said over the ER videophone, "If Ash's soul is indeed inside of Misty, waking her up while Ash is in there would almost guarantee that Ash would die."

"There must me SOMETHING we can do. ANYTHING!" Dawn cried.

"Dawn, relax, there's nothing we can do right now." Brock said.

Dawn's head drooped in sadness and sorrow, and the coordinator slipped out of the emergency room to wallow in pity. She found that she was dragging herself to the videophones. "What am I doing here?" Then something in the back of her mind whispered, "Kenny…Kenny…"

Her mind was basically telling her that she needed to talk to someone, but what she couldn't figure out was why she had the urge to call Kenny in particular. "Why not Mom? Or Zoey or Leona? Maybe Barry! I'm sure Barry would try and comfort me." she told herself.

But still the voice in her head yearned, practically begged for Kenny. "Kenny…Kenny…" Dawn felt her face heat up a little as her mind and heart forced her to the videophone and had her dial Kenny's number.

"Hello?" a female voice said.

Dawn jumped a little at the female voice. "Oh, I'm sorry ma'am, I was looking for Kenny and I forgot he's on the road."

"That's quite alright Dawn." Kenny's mom replied.

"Um…d-do you know where he is right now?" Dawn asked.

"I believe he's headed towards Sandalstraw Town for an upcoming contest. But I can give you his Pokétch contact if you like." Kenny's mom said.

"I can do that?" Dawn asked in shock.

"Oh yes, Kenny called me and said he had managed to download an all new Pokétch application that allows communication via other Pokétch users. Here, I'll call him and tell him to call you." Kenny's mom said.

"Thank you ma'am. I would really appreciate that." Dawn replied.

Kenny's mom hung up on the coordinator, and just a few seconds later, Dawn heard a ringing on her Pokétch. "I didn't download the application, what's up?"

Dawn pressed the main button, and Kenny's face appeared on the screen. "Hey Dee Dee!" Kenny said smugly.

"K-Kenny! Uh, I don't remember downloading the application, how am I talking to you?" Dawn asked.

"The application sends a temporary file to the Pokétch so I can talk to you. You jealous?" Kenny snickered.

"Kenny, I was actually trying to get a hold of you." Dawn admitted.

This caught Kenny off guard. "You were? What's up Dawn?"

"Well…I…I-I just wanted someone to talk to and for some reason I thought of you." Dawn said, starting to choke up a little.

Kenny noticed Dawn's change of expression. "Hey Dawn, are you alright?" he asked, starting to grow concerned.

"Kenny…it's Ash and Misty, they're both unconscious, and I don't know what to do!" Dawn's sky-blue eyes started releasing tears as the full weight of the situation finally came out through her.

"What happened to them?" Kenny asked, trying to invoke as much sympathy into his voice as possible.

"Well…we're in Canalave City and we ran into Team Rocket. They had this…(Sniff) nightmare machine that they were using to make everyone buy fake Cresselia Lunar Wings. Ash took them out and we thought that was that." Dawn explained.

"So…what happened?" Kenny asked.

"Well…Ash and Misty got into a huge fight, and…(Sniff) I dunno…the point is that Misty is trapped in a nightmare by a Darkrai! And…and-and Ash got help from a Haunter to go into her mind and now he's unconscious! Oh Kenny, what am I gonna do?" Dawn broke down crying, while Kenny thought about what he could say next.

"And…and I was thinking about going to Fullmoon Island and getting an authentic Lunar Wing. But I don't wanna go alone! Without Ash and Misty, that leaves Brock, and he needs to stay here and help Nurse Joy! I can't handle it by myself; I'm just not strong enough." Dawn sobbed.

"Aww Dee Dee…" Kenny said.

Dawn snapped her head up and wiped her eyes, "Don't call me Dee Dee!" she snarled.

"I knew that would get you." Kenny said with a smile.

Dawn choked out a giggle and smiled. "Thanks Kenny."

"Listen up Dawn, I've seen you in contests, you're strong! And you can only get stronger from here. Trust me on this one Dee Dee, you go to that island and you get that Lunar Wing! And if you need help, why not call some friends to go with you? Maybe I can get there if I can find a Fearow to rent!" Kenny exclaimed.

"No thanks Kenny, you've already done enough. Thank you so much!" Dawn nuzzled her Pokétch against her face, which somehow made Kenny blush all the way from where he was.

"No problem Dawn, anything for a friend." Kenny said with a shy smile.

"Talk to you later!" Wiping away the last of the tears from her bright blue eyes, Dawn hung up and got up with a totally renewed confidence. Boldly dialing a number on the videophone, Dawn face-palmed when she got an answering machine.

"You've reached D. Shad, sorry I'm not here to talk to you in person, but I'm with another person! Leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP."

"Hey D. Shad, hope you're having a good time training with Cynthia, listen, when you get the chance can you call here? It's kind of an emergency." Dawn hung up with that.

She then dialed once more, "Not here!" and then the answering machine beeped. "Hey Brad! It's Dawn! Why don't you have an actual answering machine message? Never mind, call me here!"

Dawn hung up once more, and she sighed exasperatatedly. "Great, I'll have to go alone."

Her confidence started to drop for a moment, but then she remembered what Kenny told her."You're strong! You go to that island and get that Lunar Wing!"

"Barry may be cute, but Kenny's a lot nicer. I think Kenny wins the battle of the boys." Dawn nodded to herself and jogged back into the ER, where the group was still thinking.

"Hey guys! No need to worry! I'm gonna go to Fullmoon Island and get that Lunar Wing! And then all we have to do is wait until Ash comes back to his body!" Dawn exclaimed determinedly.

"Your attitude is really refreshing! I like it! I'll go with you!" Officer Jenny exclaimed determinedly.

"One problem, how are you gonna get there?" Brock asked.

"With me!" a rough voice roared.

The group shouted in shock at the old man who had just walked in on them. "I am Sailor Eldritch. My son is the one in the Darkrai legend that looms over all of Canalave City."

"How did you know to come?" Brock asked.

"I recognized the dark feeling that came when Darkrai tortured my son all those years ago. When I felt it, I just followed it here. Once you come close to a Darkrai's power, you never forget how it feels." Eldritch explained.

"So you'll take us to Fullmoon Island?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"I made a promise to the Pokémon Trainer that saved my son that I would repay my debt. Even now, years after that event, I intend to repay that debt. You are a Pokémon Trainer are you not?" Sailor Eldritch asked.

"Yes I am!" Dawn exclaimed determinedly.

"Then let's go!"

Dawn and Jenny followed the sailor to his boat, and in a matter of minutes, they were on their way.

Ash's POV

"Wow Mist. You're more amazing than I ever realized. Now that I've seen everything you've gone through in your life, I wonder how you managed to stay sane." I finally left the memory bubble once it started replaying from start once more, and amazingly Haunter had watched quietly next to me the entire time.

"I just realized something; we've gone through Misty's mind and haven't found anything. Where could she be?"

I started rattling my brain trying to figure out what was wrong, and then it hit me. It wasn't my mind probing Misty's mind, it was my SOUL.

"That's it…I'm looking in the wrong place! I don't need to find Misty's mind, I need to find her soul! Haunter, let's go!" Haunter nodded at me, and together we flew through her mind once more, trying to find a doorway to her soul.

But after a while, I had found everything except her soul. Her intellect, her logical thinking, but no soul. I finally stopped and just broke down onto my ghostly knees. Of course since I was floating, I wasn't really on top of anything.

I closed my eyes and thought hard. "Please Misty…I don't know what else to do…if you're in here somewhere, let me find you, please…"

After a few moments, I opened my eyes once more and saw what looked like a path that wasn't there before. "Thanks Misty!"

Me and Haunter took off down the dark corridor, and as I scanned the walls, what saw me shocked me. I saw pictures everywhere of things Misty was scared of. Carrots, peppers, and pictures of bug-Pokémon everywhere I turned.

As me and Haunter continued on, I found that the corridor was growing darker by the minute, and the pictures were gradually changing. I saw as the pictures of peppers, carrots, and bug-Pokémon turned into storms of lightning, specifically the one from when we were in the Orange Islands.

"These must be Misty's fears. Oh man, they'll probably get worse as we keep going." I pondered why these weren't part of Misty's mind like her memories were.

Then the biggest shock hit me. The corridor was almost pitch black now, and I could barely see where the path was, but the pictures were still as bright as ever. I stopped and looked in awe at what I saw.

"It's me…and May? And Dawn?" I looked on the other side of the wall and saw other photos. "And here's me and Anabel, and Angie too. Why are these in Misty's fears?"

Then it hit me. "All this time, Misty's biggest fear…was that I would like someone else?" I tried to shake that off, but I was never prepared for what was the last thing to come.

"Oh no…" The room was now pitch black, I could barely see Haunter's purple glow anymore, and above, was the biggest picture I had seen yet.

It was a picture of me and Misty, and we were fighting with each other; similarly to how we were fighting with each other earlier in the night. The background was blood red, and then it changed right before my eyes.

The picture now showed me and Misty with our backs turned to each other, and a large crack separating us. "Her biggest fear…is that we'll hate each other one day…"

I went blank for a moment, just blinking a few times before I forced myself back to reality. "No way…Misty! If you can hear me, I swear that your biggest fear will NEVER come true!"

I charged past the large picture, and just as I thought, there was Misty, kneeling down with her head in her hands, sobbing at what Darkrai was showing her.

There was the reason Misty looked like she was hurting on the outside, she was hurting on the inside. Darkrai was showing Misty a nightmare of her biggest fear, and trapped inside it, the torture would never end, unless I did something about it.

"Misty! Misty, don't listen to that nightmare! I'm right here!" I shouted.

I saw Misty take her head out of her hands for a moment and she looked around. She had heard me, barely, but she heard me!

I floated closer to her, and tried to speak as clearly as I could in her ear. "Misty, try to listen. It's me, Ash. Listen CAREFULLY, try hard."

Again Misty took her head out of her hands and looked up, but this time she stood tall and shouted into the dark sky of her mind. "Haven't you done enough already Darkrai? Ash doesn't care, why are you tormenting me with his voice?"

That hurt. Darkrai convinced her that one little fight and I didn't love her anymore. Speaking to her wasn't working, so I called for Haunter.

"Haunter! Haunter I need you!"

Right then and there, Haunter appeared in front of me, wearing the serious expression that it had worn for most of the mission. "Alright Haunter, I need you to try and tell Misty I'm here, she can't see me, but she can kind of hear me!"

Haunter saluted me with its disembodied hand, and appeared in front of the now startled Misty. "Not another dream attacker, Darkrai is enough!" Misty whimpered in fear.

Haunter made a funny face in front of Misty, and I gave a sigh of relief when Misty seemed to calm down. "It's you! The Haunter from Lavender Town!"

Haunter licked Misty's face, and as Misty laughed, the world around us seemed to be growing brighter. "Yeah Haunter, keep it up!" I said.

Haunter continued joking around, and I started laughing along with Misty, as the world went from a dark and gloomy black, to a cheerful sky-blue.

"Thanks Haunter, I feel a lot better, but what happened to Darkrai?" Misty asked.

I suddenly felt a chill go down my spine, as the world quickly turned black once more, and there, enraged, floated Darkrai.

"Aah! Haunter, help!" Misty squealed.

I grabbed for my Pokémon, but then I felt my ghostly skin crawl as I realized something horrible. "I'm a ghost…I don't have my Pokémon!"

Darkrai took a swing at me, and I quickly floated down to where Misty was and wrapped my ghostly arms around her waist, but I quickly jumped back when Misty gave a frightened yelp.

"Haunter, don't mess with me now! We have a situation here!" she cried.

Haunter put up his hands, and started drawing letters with his purple claws. "A…S…H…" Misty spelled out.

Then to really clinch it, I gave Misty a quick tickle to her sides, and after she was through laughing, it hit her. "Ash, you're here too? Where are you?"

Now was my chance. "I'm right here Misty. Right in front of you. Do you feel me holding your hand?"

"Ash…yeah, I do." Misty replied in shock.

"Don't listen to Darkrai Mist; no fight will EVER stop me from loving you. I swear it. You can throw all your fears away because they'll NEVER come true."

Misty began tearing up, and with my ghostly hand I wiped away a teardrop from her cerulean-blue eye. Then slowly, I wrapped my arms around her, and she very carefully felt around for my waist, so she could hug back.

But before we knew it, Darkrai was coming at us at full steam, and it was infuriated by my presence. Quickly I grabbed ahold of Misty and floated away, trying to dodge 'Dark Pulses'.

"Haunter, we need help!" I cried.

Haunter flew out of nowhere at amazing speed and swiped its tongue against the furious dark-type's body. Enraged, Darkrai slowly turned to attack Haunter, but it was then stopped by an unseen force.

"Darkrai's paralyzed! That 'Lick' must've done it!" Misty cheered.

But our celebration was premature, as Darkrai shook off the paralysis and fired a powerful 'Dark Pulse' at the ghost/poison-type.

Haunter took the hit dead-on, and fell limp onto a nonexistent floor. Then Darkrai turned back towards us. "Oh crud."

Normal POV

"Ahh, there it is. Fullmoon Island. I remember it like it was yesterday, unfortunately." Eldritch said bitterly.

"Cresselia lives here. If we're gonna find a Lunar Wing, we'll find it here." Jenny said.

Dawn, Jenny, and Sailor Eldritch sailed into the canal that led to the island, but Dawn was beginning to get worried. "The whole island looks like it's surrounded by cliffs, how are we gonna get in?"

"Have a little faith in this old sailor's directional skills lassie, look up ahead and you'll see our entrance." Eldritch said.

"A cave! Perfect! We can get in through there!" Dawn exclaimed.

The trio sailed into the cave, and found a spot to dock the boat. "Wow, would you look at that." Dawn said in awe.

"The entrance to the island should be right over there!" Jenny said.

"Great! Now we just gotta find that Lunar Wing!" Dawn exclaimed.

The trio started walking up the mountain, where Officer Jenny further explained the legend of Cresselia. "When it comes time for Darkrai's visit, it is said that Cresselia will perch itself on a little shrine on top of the cliffs."

After climbing a little higher, Jenny's lantern shined on something behind a rock. "Hey, what's that?" Dawn asked.

Dawn dashed over to where the bright green glow was coming from, and picked up the strange item. "Officer Jenny! Mr. Eldritch! Is this what I think it is?" she asked excitedly.

"Aye! This is the real McCoy alright! It looks just like the Lunar Wing the other Pokémon Trainer gave me when he saved my son. Cresselia must've dropped it here, and it looks like it was recent too." Eldritch said.

"That means Cresselia must've already come to the island!" Dawn exclaimed.

"In that case, we should keep pressing on until we find Cresselia, then we can ask it to take care of Darkrai once and for all!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Aye! I like the sound of that! Except how will we find the Cresselia?" Eldritch wondered.

Piplup had the answer to that. Climbing off of Dawn's head to sniff the Lunar Wing, Piplup caught a scent and led the way. "Piplup's got the scent!" Dawn cheered.

The trio followed the small penguin to a small pile of rocks, where Piplup stood proudly. "Over there Piplup?" Dawn asked.

Piplup nodded to acknowledge, but what Piplup had REALLY found drew sweat-drops from everyone. "That's just a Psyduck." Jenny moaned.

"If you don't mind me saying so lassie, but do you have any other Pokémon with a decent sniffer?" Eldritch asked.

"Hey yeah!" Dawn reached for her Pokéballs and tossed one. "When it comes to tracking scents, Swinub rules." Dawn bent down and held the Lunar Wing in front of the pig-Pokémon. "Swinub, I need you to use the scent of this Lunar Wing to find Cresselia."

Swinub sniffed it a few times, and then snorted out smoke as it picked up the scent. "Swinub's hot on the trail!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Aye! So what say we stick close to the little beastie?" Eldritch said.

Unfortunately for the trio, that was easier said than done, as Swinub hopped ahead and up a rocky hill. They struggled to climb up the rocky hill, and finally pulled themselves up. "Aye, these legs of mine aren't as young as they used to be." Eldritch said.

Swinub hopped up the slope, and then stopped in front of a crescent shaped pedestal. "I think Swinub found something!" Dawn exclaimed.

"That's it! We're standing in front of Cresselia's shrine!" Jenny exclaimed.

Almost as if on cue, the sky opened up with a rainbow aurora shining down from above. And then a shining white sphere slowly floated down, and then revealed itself as Cresselia.

"Aye, there's the Pokémon responsible for saving my son all those years ago." Eldritch said.

"What a beautiful Pokémon." Dawn said in awe, pulling out her pink Pokédex. "Cresselia, the Lunar Pokémon, shiny particles are released from Cresselia's wings like a veil, and it is said to represent the crescent moon." the Pokédex chirped.

Just as Dawn and her two escorts started moving in closer, a net appeared from above and knocked Cresselia to the ground. "What's going on here?" Jenny hissed.

"Never mind that, we've got to help Cresselia!" Eldritch exclaimed.

The trio charged to assist the Lunar Pokémon, but they were cut off from their target by a huge Magikarp tank, driven by none other than Team Rocket.

"Well take it from here twerpette, by the way, where's Pikachu?" Jessie asked.

"You creeps! You never give up! Ash and Pikachu aren't even here, so let Cresselia go and scram!" Dawn screamed.

"You apparently didn't learn the first time, why don't you ever change?" Jenny hissed.

"We do! Now WE'RE beatin' YOU!" Meowth pushed a button on his remote control, and the Magikarp tank launched out two more nets that trapped Dawn, Jenny, and Eldritch.

"Ahh, catching old and new friends warms my heart." Jessie snickered.

With another press of a button, the Magikarp tank's fins extended into two arms to take the frightened Cresselia away.

"Why don't you let me out of here and I'll show you how fast my Pokémon can make you cry?" Eldritch growled.

"Not a chance! Past experiences have taught us one thing! It's best you keep your Pokémon's attacks to yourself!" James exclaimed.

As the tank moved in to grab Cresselia, the still free Swinub surged forward with a 'Take Down' attack. Unfortunately, the pig-Pokémon wasn't strong enough to do damage, and wound up on its back after the attack. "Swinub no!" Dawn cried.

Undaunted however, Swinub hopped back to its feet and snorted smoke. "Great! Alright Swinub, go in with 'Take Down' quick!" Dawn ordered.

Swinub charged ahead again, but the Magikarp tanks merely bounced it off once more. "Naughty pudgy Pokémon." James snickered.

Swinub once again hopped to its feet and attacked again, but with the same result. As Swinub continued to ram its head against the Magikarp tank, each impact hurting more than the last, Dawn was beginning to tear up as she watched her Pokémon hurt itself on their behalf. "Stop! Swinub, that's enough! Please!"

But Swinub refused to stay down, as it once again struggled to its short and stubby legs and crawled forward. Now enraged by the annoyance, Meowth made his move. "Hey! since ya don't wanna listen to da twoipette I'll help ya do it! With THIS gentle pat!"

Meowth had the Magikarp tank ball one of its metallic hands into a fist, and it struck the already pained pig-Pokémon with a vicious right-hook. "Swinub!" the trio cried.

At first it seemed that Swinub was down for the count, but then the unthinkable happened as Swinub stood up under its own power, and started glowing white.

"Swinub's evolving!" Jenny exclaimed.

The white light more than doubled in size as it finally finished its evolution and roared mightily. "Wow, amazing!" Dawn exclaimed in awe.

"THAT'S a twerp Pokémon?" Jessie said nervously.

Dawn pulled out her pink Pokédex to scan her newly evolved Pokémon. "Piloswine, the Swine Pokémon, and the evolved form of Swinub. Piloswine's entire body is covered with fur, which makes it hard to see, so it uses its nose to sense its environment instead."

Piloswine slowly turned towards Team Rocket, the ground rumbling with each step it took. With a loud battle-cry, Piloswine charged forward with a 'Take Down' that obliterated the front of the Magikarp tank and sent it flying, and Team Rocket blasting off.

"So is this the real blast off or is it only a dream?" James wondered.

"A dream? Who knows? Perhaps it would help if Meowth and I pinched a few cheeks." Jessie said.

"I'm game." Meowth added.

After they pinched each other's cheeks, it was clear to them that they weren't dreaming. "We're blasting off again!" *Ping*

The trio freed themselves from the nets, and Dawn immediately ran to embrace her newly evolved Pokémon. "Piloswine! I can't thank you enough for saving us!"

Piloswine grunted happily at the affection, and nuzzled up against Dawn. "No matter what lies ahead, we'll all face it together." Dawn said.

"So whaddya say we go help Cresselia now?" Jenny suggested.

"Aye lassie, and it's about time too." Eldritch replied.

The trio pulled the net off of the Lunar Pokémon, who after being freed, shined brightly in a rainbow aura and perched itself upon its shrine. "It's so pretty…" Dawn said in awe.

"Cresselia, I'm begging you to please help our friend and also free all of Canalave City from all their awful nightmares!" Jenny pleaded.

Cresselia squealed and began glowing brightly once more, and then it flew off. "It looks like it's headed for Canalave City!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Well come on then! We gotta take the Lunar Wing to Misty before Cresselia gets there or it won't be able to find Darkrai!" Dawn exclaimed.

"And we better hope that Ash is out of her mind too, or it'll be pointless." Jenny added.

Ash's POV

"Ash, we can't keep this up forever!" Misty cried.

We were still being chased by Darkrai, it seemed hopeless since my ghost-self and Misty's dream-self didn't have any Pokémon to battle with. Darkrai finally nailed by ghostly form with a 'Dark Pulse', and I fell to the non-existent ground with Misty still in my invisible grip.

"This isn't over." I growled. Darkrai loomed over us and seemed to chuckle evilly, as it charged another 'Dark Pulse' to obliterate me for good and get back to tormenting Misty.

Just before Darkrai fired, it was hit in the back by a 'Shadow Ball'. It turned around and there was Haunter, challenging the dark-type to a battle. "Haunter haunter!" (Come and get me!)

Enraged, Darkrai surged forward to attack, but Haunter vanished at the last minute and appeared behind it, making a funny face in the process. "Haunt haunt haunt!" (You're too slow!) Haunter laughed.

This infuriated Darkrai, as it used 'Psychic' on the ghost/poison-type and held it in place while Darkrai moved in and fired 'Dark Pulse' at point-blank range.

Haunter fell down once more, and struggled to get back up into the air, as Darkrai slowly moved close to finish Haunter off. "Haunter no!" we both cried.

Haunter turned to us and winked at us, just as Darkrai fired 'Dark Pulse' once more and knocked Haunter out.

Then if things weren't bad enough already, I realized something else horrible. "Without Haunter, I'm trapped in here too!"

Then Darkrai moved in on me and Misty again. "Well then again, I don't think I'll be here long enough to be 'trapped'."

Darkrai was about to use 'Dark Pulse' and destroy my ghostly form, when all of a sudden Darkrai started growing weaker for some reason.

We looked behind the dark-type and there, coming out of Haunter's unconscious body, were two purple orbs coming out of its eyes. Darkrai seemed alarmed by this as it veered off and started flying around trying to avoid the two orbs.

But whatever it was, it was determined to nail Darkrai, as it eventually hit, and Darkrai seemingly vanished from sight. The world around us went from the eerie darkness, to a cheerful sky blue once again.

"Is…Darkrai gone?" Misty asked.

"I guess so. But I'm trapped in here until Haunter wakes up." I replied.

As if on cue, Haunter woke up and laughed heartily, but weakly. "Haunter, you schemer, what did you do to Darkrai?" I chuckled.

Haunter just laughed again and motioned for me to come along, it was time to return apparently. "Well Mist, I gotta go now, but don't worry, you'll wake up soon, and I'll be there waiting for you."

"Oh Ash…I wish I could see you, I could just kiss you to death!" Misty sighed.

"I'll hold you to that." I chuckled.

I gave Misty a quick embrace, and then followed Haunter outside of Misty's mind and back into the real world.

As I watched the faces of my friends, I was surprised and shocked to see who else was there with them. "What's she doing here?"

Haunter then became visible to the group of the living and scared them, as it alerted them to my return to my body. "Ash must be ready to go back into his body!" Brock exclaimed.

"Ok Chansey, be ready to deactivate the life-support systems, we have to time this perfectly!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

"What would happen if you timed it wrong?" Dawn asked nervously.

"I've done a little research on the new life-support systems being developed. Should they be deactivated too late, the body could virtually overload and the heart would literally beat itself to death." Prof. Rowan explained.

The entire group's eyes grew wide at that, which included mine. I had no idea that my plan was so risky. "Ok Haunter, let them know, I'm going in on three."

"One…"

"Two…"

"THREE!"

I charged into my body just as Haunter signaled them to shut down the system.

Normal POV

The room was silent for a moment, as the group awaited to see if Ash was even still alive after that frightening ordeal. For a moment, it seemed that Ash was dead as the monitors remained silent.

But a few seconds later, a steady beat was found, as Ash slowly woke up, holding his aching head. "Oh man, what a trip."

Ash quickly found himself being held by a pair of gentle arms, as the woman holding him sobbed uncontrollably. "Mom! It's great to see you too, but what are you doing here?" Ash asked, trying to get his mother to control herself.

"Well, I was flying here to Canalave City to visit a friend of mine. I have to do something while you're out travelling you know." Delia said, wiping tears from her eyes, "But when Brock tracked me down and called me, telling me that…you and Misty were unconscious and…oh I just had to come and make sure my little boy was alright!"

Delia began hugging Ash once more, and the trainer happily hugged back to comfort his mom. "Well, Darkrai's gone. Did you guys find a Lunar Wing?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, it's right here! And as soon as Cresselia gets here, Darkrai won't just be gone from Misty; Cresselia will chase Darkrai right off Canalave City!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Professors, what do you say?" Ash asked.

"I say go for it Ash. Misty looks very relaxed now. Waking her up shouldn't have any repercussions now." Prof. Oak said.

Dawn handed Ash the Lunar Wing. "Here Ash, you'll be the first one she wants to see, not me." Dawn said with a smile.

Ash smiled back and walked up to Misty, unsure of what to do exactly. "So…what do I do?"

"Just hold the Lunar Wing up to her face lad, it'll do the rest." Eldritch said.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"Just a rusty old sailor repaying a debt. Sailor Eldritch at your service." Eldritch replied.

"Well go on Ash, wake her up, I'm anxious to see the two of you reunite." Delia teased.

"Mooom." Ash whined playfully.

The mother and son smiled at each other, and then Ash moved close to Misty and held the Lunar Wing to her face. The item began glowing in a rainbow aura, and it covered Misty's entire body in a beautiful aurora of colors.

When the glow diminished, Ash placed it into his pocket and awaited Misty's return. As if on cue, the red head slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times to get used to the lights in the room.

Before Misty could even sit up, Ash was already embracing her tightly, invoking "Awwws" from everyone in the room except for Prof. Rowan and Sailor Eldritch.

Misty had no trouble hugging her boyfriend back despite the audience. At this point, she was just happy to feel his presence after the terrifying ordeal she had just been put through. She pulled his face close and whispered in his ear so that only he could hear, "I love you."

Ash smiled and nuzzled his face against hers, until finally Delia semi-broke it up. "Ohh, my two favorite kids are alright!" Delia exclaimed wrapping them into a group hug.

"What about me Mrs. Ketchum?" Brock moaned to himself. "Oh relax." Dawn rolled her eyes at Brock.

"It would seem that everything has worked out alright. And I've gathered some very interesting theories from this experience as well." Prof. Rowan said.

"So have I, I hope you don't mind if I want to compare notes with you sometime Professor." Prof. Oak said.

"Not at all Professor Oak, it will be quite enlightening I'm sure." Prof. Rowan replied.

"There is one thing about all this that confuses me though." Ash said.

"What's that Ash?" Brock asked.

"I went into Misty's mind and saw her memories, her intellect and her logic skills. But I couldn't find a way into her soul, why did I have to go through her fears to get into Misty's soul where Darkrai was bugging her?" Ash asked.

"Oh Ash, all those things you saw were a part of her mind, everyone has those things. But your fears, your passions, your likes, they're your soul, they're what makes you different from everyone else, your soul makes you unique, and that's why you needed to find her there." Delia explained.

"When you put it that way it makes sense." Ash said.

"I'm your mother; it's supposed to make sense." Delia laughed.

"What are you doing here anyway Mrs. Ketchum?" Misty asked.

"My maternal senses were tingling, I felt something was wrong." Delia joked.

The group laughed at the joke, "There is one more thing. Haunter did something to Darkrai that made it leave, what was it? I mean, Haunter fainted! How did it still win?" Ash asked.

"It was probably a move called 'Destiny Bond'." Prof. Oak said, "You see, when 'Destiny Bond' is used, the Pokémon using it will drag the Pokémon that knocked it out down with it. Basically Haunter just took Darkrai down by letting Darkrai knock it out."

"Wow Haunter, thanks a lot! I mean, you have no idea how much I appreciate your help." Ash said.

"Haunt haunt haunt!" (That's alright!)

Then they heard a squeal outside. "Is that Cresselia?" Brock asked.

"It must be! Come on, let's go see!" Dawn replied.

Saying farewell to the two professors on the phones, the entire group ran outside to see Cresselia shining brightly to expose Darkrai. Forced into the open by the shining light, Darkrai emerged from the treetops and faced off against Cresselia.

"It's Darkrai!" the group exclaimed. Dawn pulled out her Pokédex to scan the monster that almost destroyed her two friends. "Darkrai, the Pitch-Black Pokémon. Legend has it that on a moonless night, Darkrai will lure people to sleep and unleash nightmares upon them." the Pokédex chirped.

"Legend my foot! My son and now Misty is living proof that that cursed beast has that evil ability!" Eldritch exclaimed bitterly.

"So here's the million dollar question, what's Darkrai doing here so early?" Misty asked.

They were answered by Darkrai itself as it hovered over a nearby wreckage. "Look at that! It's what's left of Team Rocket's Nightmare Machine!" Jenny exclaimed.

"It's all starting to make sense! Darkrai's here now at such an unusual time because the electromagnetic waves from the Nightmare Machine must've lured it here!" Brock figured.

"That sounds so complicated, how do you know all these things?" Delia asked.

"When you've been on the road as long as we have, you learn things pretty quick." Brock replied.

"But that only explains why Darkrai's here, what's the explanation for Cresselia being here?" Dawn wondered.

"Aye! The Cresselia shouldn't be here yet, so what's it doing here so early?" Eldritch added.

"There's only one reason I can think of. Cresselia must've sensed that the island was in danger and it came to help!" Ash exclaimed.

"And it's a good thing it did or we both would've been history!" Misty added.

The group watched as Darkrai and Cresselia exchanged blows, but Cresselia seemed to have the obvious advantage as Darkrai was already fatigued after battling with Haunter inside Misty's nightmare.

Cresselia then loomed above Darkrai and shined as brightly as it could, driving Darkrai away from Canalave City for yet another year.

As soon as it sensed its departure, Cresselia floated down to the group and confronted them. "Thank you Cresselia! If it weren't for you I might still be trapped in that awful nightmare!" Misty exclaimed.

"Aye, I wanna thank you too. Your wonderful feather saved my son years ago and now you've allowed me to repay my debt to that Pokémon Trainer that brought it to me." Eldritch added.

"I also want to thank you Cresselia, you've saved Canalave City from all of those awful nightmares again." Jenny added.

Cresselia shined brightly for them, giving them one last thing to look at before it eventually flew away into the moonlit sky.

"Wow, I wonder where Cresselia's heading to next?" Dawn wondered, waving goodbye to Cresselia along with the rest of the group.

"Yeah, me too. Probably somewhere we've never even heard of." Jenny said.

Cresselia vanished before their eyes in a sparkling display of shining particles, leaving the group alone. "And thanks to Haunter, I was able to help Cresselia before it got here." Ash said.

"Speaking of Haunter, where is it?" Misty asked.

Dawn turned around and saw a pair of glowing eyes staring at her, "Oh, here it is." she said calmly.

Haunter reappeared; disappointed that it couldn't get a laugh out of Dawn anymore.

"Haunter, I just wanted to thank you again. If it weren't for you, we would've never been able to save Misty from whatever Darkrai was doing to her." Ash said.

Haunter licked the two trainers playfully, its way of saying "You're welcome."

"Hey Haunter, I know last time I asked this you didn't want to, but would you like to come and join my team? It'd be great having you as a Pokémon." Ash asked.

Haunter seriously pondered it for a few moments, before finally nodding yes. "You mean it?" Ash asked excitedly.

Haunter gave a disembodied thumbs-up, and allowed Ash to touch it with an empty Pokéball, making the capture official at last. "Alright! I just caught…a Haunter!"

The group then went back to Jenny's police station after waving farewell to Nurse Joy and Sailor Eldritch. "Well Mom, I really appreciate you coming here to see me." Ash said.

"Oh, anything for my little boy!" Delia said, hugging her son tightly once more.

"Little nothing. Mrs. Ketchum, take a look at his clothes." Misty snickered.

Delia released Ash from the embrace and saw that her "little" boy was outgrowing his clothes. "Well, it's a good thing I bought you bigger sizes then. See? A mother is always prepared." Delia said.

"Great! So where are they?" Ash asked excitedly.

"I wasn't prepared. I don't have them with me, they're at home." Delia admitted.

Ash face-faulted while the others sweat-dropped. And so, with a new Pokémon at his belt, and a now even stronger relationship with Misty, Ash and his friends would continue their training, after they all got a good night's sleep that is.
_

A/N: Well, after reading this you can understand why I changed the name of the episode. And yayz for Haunter officially joining! That also means no more of Dawn's hallucinations. I'll have to find something else to joke around with. xD Also a lot of guest appearances in this one. Delia, the professors, and the Sailor from Platinum! Oh, I am so awesome. *shot*

Anyways, all signed reviewers will get messages from me saying when I will update, so make sure to review!