Kanto Gets Loud
Chapter 81: Hypno's Naptime!
Later that night,
As the day drew to a close, Rita and her daughters were getting ready to get to bed, "Alright ladies, we've got another busy week ahead of us, especially for you, Lori and Junior," Rita stated.
"Hey, Mom, do you even need to keep calling Lynn 'Junior'? I mean, since that guy is no longer our dad, there's no Lynn Sr.," Lana asked. Rita thought about this for a moment.
"Hmm, you do raise a valid point, Lana. Well, as soon as I take back my maiden's name, we can figure it out," Rita replied.
"By the way, what was your maiden's name again, Mom?" Lola asked.
"It's 'Reynolds'," Rita replied.
"Well, it'll take some serious getting used to not being called a 'Loud' anymore," Luan commented.
"Well, we're still connected to Gramps and Uncle Lance's family. Even if our Mother Unit divorced from our former Father Unit, that doesn't mean we have to cut off ties with them," Lisa pointed out.
"Yeah, we need to try to make up for lost time after our ex-Daddy and Uncle Lance had their fight all those Christmases ago," Lola added.
"I still think it's cool that Emily and those sirens that Mom's friends are hosting are going to be joining the High School during their stay," Luna commented.
"Yes, but the first week is going to be spent getting them used to Royal Woods and the Human Realm as a whole," Rita replied.
"Makes sense. It's not just a big change for them. The people in town have to get used to them too," Lynn pointed out.
"Precisely… Lynn, oh, that is definitely going to take some getting used to on my part," Rita commented, feeling weird about not called Lynn 'Junior'.
"Just take you time, Mom. Rome wasn't built in a day," Lori advised, as they all dispersed into their bedrooms.
"See you all in the morning," Rita said.
"Goodnight!" they all rang, as they went to bed themselves. As they went to bed, though, Lori and Lynn's thoughts were on school in the morning. They knew that the minute they got out of the sanitorium, that they'd be going back to school immediately. And they knew that their friends would no doubt want nothing to do with them. They wouldn't be able to blame them, though. After everything they've done to their own brother, who would? All they could do was take their just desserts for everything they've done.
The Next Morning, at Royal Woods High School,
The soon to be Reynolds new family van pulled up to the curb just outside the High School, "Alright girls, have a good day at school!" Rita said, as Lori, Luna, and Luan exited the van.
"We will, Mom," Luna replied.
"And Lori? If anyone gives you any grief, just try to take it with a grain of salt, alright?" Rita advised.
"I'll try, Mom," Lori replied, dreading the oncoming heat she was going to get.
"We'll see you all after school!" Rita said, as she drove off. Lori could only look at the high school with dread, until she snapped out of it by Luna.
"Try to keep it together, Lori. We all had to deal with people lashing at us for what we did. You'll just have to make the most of it," Luna said, as the three of them made their way into the school. Almost immediately upon entering, Lori saw a lot of hate filled glares being shot her way. She kind of was expecting this.
"Oh yeah, and here's your locker assignment," Luan said, handing Lori a slip of paper with her locker number and the combination to said locker, "It's fairly close to my and Luna's lockers."
"Thanks girls," Lori replied, as they rounded the corner, leading to the hall that had their lockers. As they walked down, Lori could see all of hers and Leni's gal pals.
"Uh, hey girls," Lori awkwardly greeted.
"Hey Luna, hey Luan," Carol greeted, seemingly to purposely ignore Lori's greeting.
"Hey dudes. What's shaking?" Luna asked.
"Not much. I saw just the other day that some of my neighbors are playing host to some monster exchange students," Dana replied.
"Really? What sort of monsters did they look like?" Luan asked.
"I'm pretty sure they were sirens," Dana replied.
"Really? Our mom said some new gal pals of hers were playing host to a couple of sirens," Luna commented.
"Huh, talk about a small world," Becky commented.
"So, how have things been with you girls?" Lori asked, only to be deliberately ignored once again.
"So, what all have you and your family been up over the weekend?" Carol asked.
"Well, our uncle, Aunt, and cousins on our ex-father's side moved out here the other day, and they're playing host to some Monster Exchange Students as well," Luan replied.
"Oh yeah? What sort of monsters are they hosting?" Whitney asked.
"They're hosting a seraph and a dragon. We met them just yesterday. They're actually really cool," Luna replied.
"Y'know, I heard through the rumor mill that all minor monster exchange students will attend the various schools based on their age group," Sam said, as she walked up to the group.
"And the Interspecies Exchange Coordinator working with our aunt and uncle did say that the seraph they were hosting would start attending this school starting next week," Lori pointed out. It was then that her gal pals finally acknowledged her, but only in the way she half-expected.
"Oh? And here I thought you were against monsters, Lori?" Carol spat venomously, causing Lori to flinch slightly.
"W-What? I'm not against monsters! Whatever gave you that idea?" Lori defended. Becky then rubbed her chin in a sarcastic, thinking manner.
"Hmm, well, let's see, there everything that Luna and Luan told us since the day you all first met that little cutie of a brother's future fiancés, you've been extremely hostile towards them!" she yelled.
"And speaking of your brother, where do you get off treating him like more of a disease than a person?! Especially when based on something as idiotic as 'bad luck'?!" Dana added.
"W-Well, he did put on a convincing act at the time," Lori feebly replied.
"And another thing; Who are you to decide who he dates and who he doesn't?!" Carol interrogated.
"I-I was just trying to keep my relationship with Bobby in check!"
"Oh, here we go with Bobby again! Lori, unlike Lincoln, Bobby is not officially part of your family! Ergo, he doesn't take priority over any of them, like, at all!" Whitney chastised.
"B-B-But I…" Lori was cut off by Carol.
"Save it Lori! It's clear that all this time, you've only been caring about what was best for you, and no one else! And you've just been using that lie of yours as an excuse to keep yourself from feeling guilty! Well, it's time to face reality, just like the rest of us, Lori! You're not above anyone else! And being the oldest sibling in your family doesn't mean you get to keep your brother and sisters on such a tight leash! I get that it must be stressful for you to have some many siblings to be responsible for, but that's still no excuse for you to be a tyrant towards them!" Carol chastised. Lori could feel her heart breaking the same way it did when Bobby dumped her.
"And another thing; That whole 'red headed slag' comment you made about that Misty girl your brother's been hanging out with for the past few weeks since you and your family made the decision to send him to that Kanto place? Don't make the mistake of thinking for a moment that you get to decide if it was directed at just one person or all red heads in general! A comment like that affects ALL red heads like me!" Becky declared. Lori couldn't even come up with a good come back to anything they were saying at this point.
"Until you manage to get your brother to accept you back as a sister again, don't even try hanging out with us. Consider this friendship over!" Carol said, as Lori's now ex-friends abandoned her, leaving Lori a disgraced mess right where she was standing. Luna and Luan could say nothing. They knew that Lori would be getting some heat for how she treated Lincoln, but didn't think it would be taken to that extreme. But, then again, with everything she and Lynn did, it was fair to say that there wouldn't be anyone on their side. Just then, a teacher walked down the halls.
"Better get to class, ladies! School's starting soon!" he said.
"Well, we'd better get moving. Come on, Lori," Luna said, as she and Luan had to drag their blubbering sister away.
Meanwhile, at Royal Woods Middle School,
Lynn didn't even make into the building, and already she was heckled and harassed by everyone at the Middle School in both her grade level and the underclassmen, including the new ones that got promoted from the Elementary School. They didn't hesitate with calling her out for her stupidity.
"Hey, here comes 'Lucky' Lynn Lame Loud!"
"She's got a lot of nerve showing up here after what she's done!"
"It's probably a good thing her luck finally ran out! People like her don't deserve to have the best things in life!"
"At least all the sports teams won't be laughingstocks anymore!"
Lynn hated all this heckling, but knew that she had no one else but herself to blame for it. After all, she did a lot of heckling herself before things went as badly as they did for her and her family. Now she got to have a taste of what it was like for herself, "Lynn Loud Jr?" she looked up to see one of the faculty members standing before her, a stern look etched on his face.
"Yes? What do you need?" Lynn asked dejectedly.
"Principal Ramirez has requested you in her office immediately," the faculty member replied. Lynn had a feeling she knew what this was about. She made a quick detour back to the principal's office. Once she was at the front office, she walked up to the secretary's desk.
"Excuse me, Meryll?" Lynn said, catching her attention.
"Ah, Lynn… I take it since you're not at the sanitorium, you finally managed to get over your overzealous beliefs about being number one and anything relating to superstitions?" Meryll asked, sounding condescending towards the disgraced former athlete.
"Yes, I have. I was told to report to Principal Ramirez's office before heading to class," Lynn replied.
"Ah, right," Meryll replied, as she pressed the button on her intercom, "Principal Ramirez? Lynn Loud Jr. is here to speak with you."
"Send her in!" Principal Ramirez's voice ordered.
"You heard the woman, Lynn. In you go," Meryll said. Not needing to be told twice, Lynn slowly marched into the principal's office, where she saw her principal, sitting in her chair, slurping coffee from her mug, looking down at Lynn in a disapproving manner.
"Ah, Ms. Loud. I had heard from your mother that you got out early from the sanitorium. Please, have a seat. What I have to say may take a bit," Principal Ramirez said. Lynn took a seat on the other side of the desk, "Now then, I assume you must know why I called you in here for?"
"I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with my status as this year's hall monitor," Lynn replied.
"Correct. I had chosen you because I believed that you were responsible enough to help maintain the rules of this school. But based on the new broadcast during your family's trial, it's clear that I may have been a bit too hasty in considering YOU as a candidate for such a position," Principal Ramirez explained. Lynn could feel her words lashing against her flesh as if they were actual whips with how much they hurt, "I'm not going to mince words with you, Mr. Loud, so I'll just shoot nice and straight. Your brash and arrogant behavior since our school's first game against the Lions has been so bad, so selfish, so dangerous, that it's clear that we need someone who is far more qualified to be this year's hall monitor. Someone who won't become something like a tyrannical police cop over something as ridiculous as 'bad luck'. And fortunately, I have just the student in mind."
"Wh-who do you have in mind?" Lynn asked. Principal Ramirez then placed a photograph of another girl student on her desk; a girl that Lynn recognized much to her displeasure, "Cindy Peterson!? You chose her out of literally everyone else who could easily be considered FAR more qualified?!"
"Is she truly that unqualified, or is she just unqualified by YOUR standards? I recently received evidence that you not only broke into MY office, but also tore up literally every OTHER hall monitor application that several other students submitted, all because you wanted the position for yourself!" Principal Ramirez yelled, slamming her fist on the table, causing Lynn to flinch.
"Y-You're not… going to get the police involved, are you?" Lynn asked shakily.
"Ordinarily, you wouldn't just be right about that. Something like that shouldn't even BE up to YOU to decide! However, given what you've been through the past week and a half at that sanitorium, I'm choosing to be lenient towards you on this incident this ONE time only! However, that doesn't mean you're still not being punished for it. You're not only being blacklisted from being the hall monitor when you enter High School, but you're also banned from joining any sports teams, ever. Especially with the dangerous stunt you pulled with forcing your team to not use the bathroom until after you won the game!" Principal Ramirez ranted.
"W-Well, to be perfectly frank with you, after one night in particular at the sanitorium, I've decided that I'm going to retire from sports entirely, and pursue a new hobby, like photography," Lynn shakily replied. Principal Ramirez took a moment to think this over, before coming to a conclusion.
"Alright, if that's what you wish to do, then I won't press the matter any further. However, you won't be permitted to join any new clubs until AFTER a two-month probation period. After all, you may have been given an early release with a clean bill of mental health, but that's not enough for me to trust you with a privilege like joining a new club," Principal Ramirez replied. Lynn could only sigh.
"Alright, fair enough," she relented.
"Good. Now then," Principal Ramirez said, handing her a stack of textbooks, "I had these set aside for you when you got back. Your teachers for this year have included a list of assignments that you'll be expected to get caught up on."
"Ok," Lynn replied.
"Alright then. Now, off to class with you, Ms. Loud," the principal said, as Lynn got up to leave her office, "Oh, and one more thing, Ms. Loud?"
"Yes?"
"Don't let me hear about you instigating any sort of ruckus' during this school year. We already had to disband ALL of the sports teams because the parents don't trust the school with their kids' health, and I would rather not have to deal with any more issues," she said in a tone that made it clear she wasn't messing around this time.
"Yes ma'am," Lynn replied. She knew that her old teammates straight up abandoned her after their loss to the Beavers because of her superstitious beliefs, but to hear that every other sports team at the school was disbanded because of her was also major blow to what little pride she had left after her stay at the Sanitorium. With that altercation complete, Lynn left the office, and went to find her locker.
"Hey Loud! Bet you're not feeling to lucky now, huh?!"
"Why don't you go back to that Mental Hospital where people like you belong?!"
"We're a lot better of without someone like you here holding the rest of us back!"
"With a sister like you, that brother of yours has no need for bullies!"
Lynn didn't have the gumption to tell her hecklers to stop. And even if she did, she knew they probably wouldn't listen anyway, and would only serve to give them more reason to antagonize her even further.
On their continuing quest to Fuchsia City and Lincoln's next Gym Battle, our intrepid heroes first must navigate the sprawling cityscape of Hophophop Town, in hopes to get to the Cycling Road, which will act as a shortcut to their destination. They were stopped in the local park to figure out the best way to the terminal, "Alright, if we turn on this street, and then continue for five blocks, we should get to the Cycling Road Terminal in no time," Brock said, looking over the map.
"Yeah, but before we leave, why don't we do a bit of sightseeing?" Misty suggested.
"Hmm, you know, that would be a good idea. We should do an inventory on our supplies to see what medicines and food we'll need," Brock replied.
"Plus, this town does look like a nice place to just hang out," Lincoln admitted, looking around, when…
"DENNIS!" a woman called out, as she ran up, and tightly embraced Lincoln, "You had me so worried, young man!"
"Uh, lady, hate to burst your bubble, but my name is 'Lincoln'," Lincoln clarified, managing to wrestle his mouth free from the woman's arms.
"O-Oh, I see," the woman said, sounding sad at what they had just told her.
"Is your son missing?" Misty asked.
"Yes, and it's not just him," the woman said, pointing to a nearby wall that was completely covered with missing child's posters, "Dennis, as well as all of those other kids you see on that wall there went missing exactly three days ago."
"Three days ago?" Lincoln parroted.
"Have you reported this to Officer Jenny?" Brock asked.
"Yes, and so have every other parent whose child went missing. The strangest thing about it, as I said, was that when they disappeared, it was at the exact same time, exactly three days ago," the woman explained.
"Hmm, could they have been trying out to become Pokemon Trainers?" Lincoln theorized.
"My Dennis does like Pokemon, sure, but he's never mentioned anything about wanting to become a trainer," the woman replied.
"Hmm, what about all those other kids? Did they have anything in common with your son? Even the most insignificant thing," Lincoln asked.
"Not really. In fact, I've never even heard of most of these kids until their missing posters went up," the woman replied, just as a police motorcycle with two Officer Jennys pulled up to the wall, with what appeared to be more posters.
"And they were all such nice kids, too," one of the Jennys, the older looking one, said, as they dismounted.
"It just doesn't make sense for them to just vanish like that," the younger Jenny said.
"Officer Jenny!" Misty called out, as the three travelers approached them. Immediately, they recognized the younger of the Jenny.
"It's you!" Lincoln exclaimed, recognizing the Jenny he's been dating.
"Oh, hey Lincoln! On your way to Fuchsia City?" Lincoln's Jenny asked.
"Yes, that's right. Since the Celadon Gym was closed, I couldn't challenge them for a badge from there. But enough about that; What's the deal with these missing kids?" Lincoln asked.
"We wish we knew, Lincoln, really, we do. But we don't have any sort of leads to go off of. We asked several other kids about the missing ones, but they either didn't know them or don't know what caused them to disappear either," the younger of the Jennys replied.
"Hmm, and none of these kids, from what that woman over there told us, have anything in common," Lincoln said, looking over at the saddened woman. This got him to thinking about his own mother, and what she would probably go through if he or any of his sisters went missing.
"It's only natural that a mother would worry for her child," the older Jenny stated.
"Yeah. I know my mother would be to. By the way, on an unrelated note, are you the cousin of the third cousin's sister from Maiden's Peak?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh no, I'm actually her cousin's cousin," the older Jenny replied.
"Yeah, I'm not even touching that one," Lincoln replied.
"She's the most beautiful one of them all," Brock gushed.
"They all look the same!" Misty snarled. Just then, Pikachu jumped up onto Lincoln's head.
"So, are we going to help out with finding these kids?" Pikachu asked.
"Of course we are. These kids could be in a lot of danger for all we know," Lincoln replied, before turning to both Jenny's, "Jenny, we'd like to offer our help in cracking this case, if you'll allow us."
"We could use some extra minds on the matter," the younger Jenny stated.
"Well, it is a bit unorthodox, but we'd be glad to accept your help, so long as you all pull your own weight and don't get in the way," the older Jenny accepted.
"Alright, so far, we know that they all went missing three days ago, and have nothing else in common. Has anything else strange happened during this time?" Lincoln asked.
"Now that you mention it, Joy said she and her cousin at this town's Pokemon Center were treating Pokemon that were becoming increasingly lethargic and out of energy. I wonder if that might have anything to do with it?" the younger Jenny wondered.
"It might be worth checking out. We should get down to the Pokemon Center, pronto," Misty suggested.
"We'll show you the way," the older Jenny said, as they led the trio through the streets. Up above the city, in a camouflaged spaceship, some feminine figures were observing the group on a monitor, or more specifically, Lincoln. These were friends of Nana and her sisters.
"Sssssso, that'ssssss the Lincoln Loud that'ssssss captured Nana'ssssss attention?" a serpentine teen girl, resembling an anthropomorphic cobra, asked. Her body was covered mostly in dark purple scales with a light blue underside. She a golden breastplate and shoulder guards, and wore a wavy, white skirt around her waist. Something else to note about her was that she also had a large pair of draconic wings. This was Vaxeena, crown warrior princess of her desert home planet of Vuter. She was tough, fierce and all around not someone you'd want to get angry. Her species bolsters a powerful poison that, while not lethal, was strong enough to paralyze just about any living creature.
"Yes, indeed. It's so baffling why Nana would be interested in him the way her sisters are interested in that Rito Yuuki boy," the black alien girl with snow white hair replied. Her purple attire could easily be called that of an" Arabian harem dancer". This was Xalanna, crown princess and third in line for the Martian Empire. Although she prefers taking a more peaceful route in dealing with matters of diplomacy, she's not hesitant to throw hands if she feels threatened, or if someone threatens her family.
"There mussssst be sssssomething about him that she findsssss attractive. Otherwissse, why elssssse would she maintain her engagement to him?" Vaxeena pondered.
"Well, he did show tremendous courage when he and the others faced the Clan of Echo Mirages and freed those Kovaks from their grasp. Even more impressive is that he treats them more like living creatures, rather than possessions," the newt girl said. Her appearance was that of a short, lite blue, anthropomorphic newt, wearing a regal, pearl white dress, and her dark, murky blue hair done up in curls. This was Gyleena, the first-born princess of the planet Bronov, a mostly swampy planet whose inhabitants were amphibious in build, and were, for lack of better phrasing, hillbillies by disposition. Gyleena was among the very few of her kind that maintain a degree of high-class elegance and manners. As such, she would prefer not to fight, but will hurl the slimy mucus film coating her body to ensnare those that would threaten her.
"He must have some ulterior motive for treating them as such. We still need to investigate. After all, we can't just let any backwoods Earthling get hitched to one of our friends," Vaxeena proclaimed.
"Indeed. Though it would appear he's investigating something else himself," Gyleena observed, as they saw Lincoln and friends arrive at the Pokemon Center.
"Perhaps this would be a good time to observe his cognitive functionality. After all, if Nana and her sisters do end up marrying a couple of earthlings, then these humans should at least show some degree of intellect," Xalanna suggested.
"Agreed," Gyleena replied.
"Very well then. But do we at least have any audio on this thing?" Vaxeena asked.
"We should… Give me a second," Xalanna replied, as she began to press some buttons on the control panel, "Alright, that should do it," she said, as they began listening in.
Meanwhile, down in the Pokemon Center,
The group was brought into the back by both Nurse Joys, one of them being Lincoln's girlfriend, "See, the Pokemon all began behaving strangely exactly three days ago," the older Joy said, showing them a group of very unenergetic Pokemon, including Cubone, Oddish, Magikarp, and even a Charmander.
"Exactly three days ago? That can't be just a coincidence," Lincoln stated.
"Are you saying that the children disappearing and the Pokemon being the way they are right now are somehow connected?" the younger Joy asked.
"It's possible, but HOW they're connected, I don't know. Just as we get involved in one mystery, another pops up, and we have more questions than answers," Lincoln replied, when he noticed a chubby yellow duck Pokemon that was holding its head with its hands standing next to his Joy's legs, "Is this one also being affected by whatever's causing the Pokemon to act this way?"
"No. We can't figure out what's wrong with it. It's been in just terrible shape," the younger Joy replied. Lincoln then scanned it.
"Psyduck, the Duck Pokemon, a Water Type. It is constantly wracked by a headache. When the headache turns intense, it begins to exhibit strange powers. Afterwards, however, it is unable to recall the episode. This Male Psyduck is Level 20, and knows the moves Scratch, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Confusion, Fury Swipes, Water Pulse, Disable, and Zen Headbutt," Dexter explained.
"Oh, so this Psyduck is a wild Pokemon?" Misty asked.
"Yes. It just wandered in here one day, and we've been trying to figure out what's wrong with it. So far, nothing," the older Joy replied. It was then some sort of beeping noise was heard. The older Jenny pulled out some strange device, "Oh, we're getting a reading right now!"
"What's that?" Lincoln asked.
"Isn't it obvious? It must be a handsome guy detector!" Brock stated.
"Don't kid yourself!" the older Jenny retorted.
"What my cousin is holding is a special kind of Sleep Wave Detector. It helps detect sleep waves that we've been picking up," Lincoln's Jenny explained.
"When you say Sleep Waves…?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah. They're wavelengths that induce sleep," she replied.
"But there aren't any Pokemon being treated here that emit those," the older Joy stated.
"According to this, the wavelengths are coming from outside," the older Jenny replied. It was then that Pikachu fell asleep.
"Ack! Pikachu's loosing energy too!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"It could be possible that those sleep waves and the Pokemon's condition are some connected," Brock theorized.
"Our thoughts exactly," Lincoln's Jenny replied.
"Hey Pikachu, can you try to get up?" Lincoln asked.
"Mmm, big booty bimbos," Pikachu said in his sleep.
"Well, Pikachu's really out for the count," Lincoln lamented.
"Well, we've got ourselves a lead. We can use the detector to try and find the source," the older Jenny stated. Lincoln placed Pikachu inside his backpack, as they exited the Pokemon Center.
Elsewhere in Hophophop Town,
A strange machine was picking up the same sleep waves that Officer Jenny picked up on with her detector. Nearby this machine, the X-Rockets were watching the gauges, "Aha, I knew it! The sleep waves are coming from this town!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Alright! Now if we can find the source of those waves, we can finally move along with our plans!" Meowth proclaimed.
"That's right! With those sleep waves, we'll be able to pull of the heists of the century, maybe even the millennium!" James proclaimed.
"First, we use those sleep waves to put every personnel at every major bank, jewelry store, and Pokemon storage facilities to sleep, then we'll swoop in and take everything under the sun!" Jessie proclaimed.
"And that's just the Kanto Region for starters! Once we've gotten everything we could ever want from here, we'll move on to all the other regions, and then the rest of the world!" James exclaimed.
"A plan so flawless, even Team Rocket won't be able to stand in our way!" Meowth stated proudly.
"It's ever bit as flawless as a perfectly cut diamond," Jessie chuckled maliciously, as did her cohorts.
"So, do we have a lock on the source of those sleep waves?" Meowth asked. James punched in some keys on the scanner.
"Just give me a moment, and… THERE!" James exclaimed, as some paper printed out. He took the print out and smirked, "According to this, the source isn't terribly far from our present location."
"Well, then what are we waiting for!? Lets get a move on!" Meowth proclaimed, as they left to find the source.
Back with Lincoln's group,
The group of five continued to follow the Sleep Waves that the older Jenny's detector was picking up on, "So many buildings. Whatever's causing this whole mess has to be in one of them, right?" Misty asked.
"That's our hope, Misty," the younger Jenny replied, as the beeping on the detector became more and more frequent. She pointed it around, eventually stopping at the tallest building in the city.
"Whoa, that's got to be one of the tallest building's I've ever seen!" Lincoln commented.
"And the sleep waves seem to not only be coming from this building, but they also seem to be coming from the roof!" the older Jenny exclaimed.
"Let's get moving, then!" Brock said, as they rushed into the building and boarded the elevator, taking it straight to the top floor. As they did, the beeping on the detector became more and more erratic.
"Looks like your theory was right. Going up is making the signal that much stronger," the younger Jenny commented, as the elevator stopped at the roof floor. The doors opened, revealing a fairly open room with a door clearly marked "Exit" at the opposite end.
"It doesn't take a Batman to figure out where this is going," Lincoln commented, as they cautiously approached the exit door. The older Jenny opened up the door, and what they saw was both astounding and baffling. Beyond the door appeared to be a mansion estate, complete with hedge mazes and a fountain, "What the…?!"
"A mansion on top of a skyscraper?!" Brock exclaimed.
"I didn't think there was anything like THIS in town!" the younger Jenny exclaimed. The olde Jenny pointed her detector at the mansion at the end, which caused it to beep wildly again.
"It looks like the source of the Sleep Waves are coming from that building!"
"Well, how should we do this? Charge straight in, or sneak up to the front door?" Lincoln asked.
"It'd probably be best to just approach the door cautiously. After all, we don't know what's going on inside there," the older Jenny replied, as they made their way up to the door. Lincoln, Misty and Brock stayed behind some trees, while both Jennys approach the door. The older one placed her ear up to the door, as if trying to listen in on what's going on inside, "Sounds like some sort of soiree."
"We'd better be ready for anything," the younger Jenny said, as she motioned to the others to come on up, which they did.
"What's the situation?" Lincoln asked.
"There's some kind of party going on inside. We're going in!" the older Jenny said, as she and the younger intern rammed the door, forcing their way inside. Upon entry, the five of them saw a group of well-dressed people who clearly looked like upper crust members of society, inside of what appeared to be a large ballroom of sorts. In the center of the room, sitting on a table, were two, yellow Pokemon. One of them, Lincoln recognized as a Drowzee, like the one he encountered in Team Rocket's Celadon Hideout. The other one was a more humanoid looking Pokemon with a long nose, a collar of white, fluffy hair, and appeared to be holding a hypnotist's pendulum.
"Beg pardon, but are any of your new members?" a man, who looked like the head of the group of people, asked.
"'Members'? Members of what? Is this some kind of club?" Lincoln asked.
"Hang on a minute, Lincoln," the older Jenny said, as she took charge, "We've been tracking some Sleep Waves that were emanating from this building."
"'Sleep Waves'?" the head of the group asked, before something came to mind, "Oh, I know! This Hypno over here must've been what you've been tracking!" he said, looking over at the other Pokemon.
"So, that's a Hypno?" Lincoln questioned, as he took a moment to scan it.
"Hypno, the Hypnosis Pokemon, a Psychic Type, and the evolved form of Drowzee. It always holds a pendulum that it swings at a steady rhythm. This rhythm causes drowsiness in anyone nearby," Dexter explained.
"Oh, so it evolves from Drowzee?" Lincoln questioned, as he scanned Drowzee next.
"Drowzee, the Hypnosis Pokemon, a Psychic Type. It remembers every dream it has ever eaten. It rarely eats the dreams of adults, as it finds children's dreams much tastier."
"Ok, so they're an evolutionary chain that use Hypnosis based attacks," Lincoln commented.
"That is correct, young man. In fact, this Hypno evolved from another Drowzee we had exactly three days ago," the man replied.
"Three days ago?!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"Then it all adds up! The missing children and the Pokemon loosing their energy at the Pokemon Center!" the younger Jenny exclaimed.
"We've recently been taking a shine to Pokemon that use moves to induce sleep, rather than using sleeping medications such as melatonin," another fancily dressed man said.
"'We'? What do you mean 'we'?" Misty asked.
"Why, the members of the Pokemon Lovers Club, of course! I am Victor, the head of this club," the head of the group said, finally introducing himself.
"Is your club anything like the Pokemon Fan Club that Mr. Sukizo is the President of?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh, no, dear boy. We're a completely separate club entirely. Anyhow, as was just mentioned, we've recently begun to take a keen interest in Pokemon that help induce sleep. Before we took an interest in Drowzee and Hypno, we would make use of Parasect's Spore or Vileplume's Sleep Powder. Effective? Sure, but it's always sort of a hassle to clean up the mess both moves make. Which is why we're experimenting with Pokemon who can induce sleep without leaving any residual residue," Victor replied.
"Ah, so that explains using Hypnosis," Lincoln mused.
"Yes. You see, city life can be quite stressful, and many of us are suffering from insomnia. Which is why we're trying to rely on Pokemon moves to help cure this problem. First it was powder moves like Spore and Sleep Powder, as I previously mentioned, and as you can tell, we're now relying on Hypno's Hypnosis attack to one, continue with finding our perfect cure for city life insomnia, and two, to keep from having to clean up any residue," Victor explained, as Hypno was seen using Hypnosis on another gentleman, lulling him to sleep, "As you can see, all of our hard work has finally paid off when Hypno finally evolved from our second Drowzee."
"That must be why all the Pokemon are getting sapped of all their energy at the Pokemon Center!" Lincoln deduced.
"What do you mean?" Victor asked, sounding concerned. Lincoln lowered himself to allow Misty to fish out the still sleeping Pikachu from his backpack.
"Pikachu just randomly collapsed and hasn't woken up since we were at the Pokemon Center. It's the same with all the other Pokemon as well," Misty explained.
"Oh dear, it must be…" Victor got cut off by Brock.
"A side effect!" Brock proclaimed.
"How do you mean, Brock?" Lincoln asked.
"See, Hypnosis is a move that only affects other Pokemon by putting them to sleep. Since the wavelengths needed for it are being changed to affect humans, it must be creating a side effect that's affecting the Pokemon across the city as well. And I bet that some little kids that are particularly sensitive to these wavelengths are affected by it as well," Brock explained.
"Oh dear. It would appear that this experiment has accidentally caused trouble for others in the city!" Victor lamented.
"Don't worry. Since you weren't intending to cause any trouble, I doubt there'll be any charges pressed against you. Though I might recommend you veer AWAY from Hypnosis as a sleep aid," the older Jenny replied, as Misty went to go place Pikachu on the table with Drowzee and Hypno.
"Mmm, I really shouldn't, but I can't help myself… I just love me some ketchup," Pikachu said in his sleep.
"Let's have a look then," Misty said, as she stood in front of Hypno.
"Look into the coin, and you will do as you are told," Hypno chanted, as it began to use Hypnosis. Misty felt herself succumbing to the power of Hypnosis, "If you are as cute as you believe yourself to be, then a Seel you should try to be!"
As it was done chanting, Misty started clapping her hands, chanting "Seel, Seel!"
"Huh?! Misty, what's gotten into you?!" Lincoln questioned.
"Looks like your hunch was right, Brock! Misty's being controlled by those Sleep Waves!" the younger Jenny exclaimed.
"We got to do something!" Lincoln exclaimed. Just then, Misty got up and ran off somewhere, "Misty, where are you going?! Come back!" he called, as he, Brock, both Jennys and Victor chased after her. Up in their spaceship, Vaxeena, Gyleena, and Xalanna were watching everything unfold before them.
"Well, looks like things are heating up now!" Xalanna commented.
"I'd say so. Using those creature's natural abilities to help with sleep is quite ingenious, especially for such a primitive planet," Gyleena replied.
"Sssstill, we should sssssee how the kid dealsssss with thissss problem," Vaxeena added.
"And we fully intend to. Lets just see where they're going to now," Xalanna replied, as they continued watching the monitors, which showed Lincoln and the others chasing Misty through a large park.
"I had no idea there was this big a park in this big a city!" Lincoln commented, as they followed Misty through the foliage. Upon reaching their final destination, they were shocked at what they had seen. There, along with Misty, were all of the missing children from the past three days. And much like Misty, they were all behaving like Pokemon, either climbing trees, splashing in puddles, or lounging in the bushes.
"It's all of the missing children!" the older Jenny exclaimed.
"But why are they acting this way?!" Lincoln questioned.
"Pokemonitis," Brock replied.
"'Pokemonitis'? Are you just making up words now?" Lincoln questioned bluntly.
"No, it's an actual condition, Lincoln. Those Sleep Wavelengths are affecting these kids, trapping them in a dream state and making them believe they're Pokemon themselves," the younger Jenny replied.
"Just like Misty!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"How could this have happened?" Victor questioned. The older Jenny took it upon herself to try and snap the children out of their stupor.
"Alright kids, that's enough! It's time to go home!" she said, clapping her hands, taking one of the kids by the hand, "Come on, your mothers must be worried sick by now!" the kid tore their hand free from her grasp, and resumed acting like a Pokemon, "It's just no use!"
"There has to be something we can do!" the younger Jenny commented.
"Yes, but what?" Brock wondered.
"Oh, I know! What if use Drowzee to cure the children?" Victor suggested.
"Drowzee?" the younger Jenny parroted.
"Oh, I get it! The Pokedex said something about how Drowzee could be a descendant of the legendary yokai, Baku, which was a tapir-like creature that eats dreams!" Lincoln exclaimed.
"Precisely my boy. See, sleep emits dream wavelengths, which, in this case, may counteract Hypno's wavelengths," Victor explained further.
"Hmm, yeah, I think that should work, especially if we use Dream Eater!" Brock proclaimed.
"Alrighty then, lets just get a Guinea pig for this experiment," Lincoln said, as he tossed a Pokeball, releasing Metang, "Metang, use Confusion on Misty and bring her along with us."
"Yes sir!" Metang replied, as it began to use Confusion, lifting Misty up, and floating her along with them.
"I must say, you've got quite the rare Pokemon, young man," Victor commented.
"Heh, thanks. Metang's been one of my strongest battlers," Lincoln replied, as they left the park.
Back at the Rooftop Mansion,
Misty was seated in front of Drowzee, while still clapping her hands like she was a Seel, "Drowzee, use your Dream Eater and snap this girl out of her trance," Victor requested.
"Alright, lets see what we've got to work with here," Drowzee said, as it began waving its hands around. As it continued, Misty seemed to fall back asleep.
"Well, that's a good sign, I think," Lincoln commented, as Drowzee continued to use Dream Eater.
"Now then, you shall be awoken!" with a clap of its hands, Drowzee was able to wake Misty from her trance.
"Huh? What happened? Where am I?" Misty questioned.
"Misty, do you remember anything?" Lincoln asked.
"I remember sitting in front of Hypno, but everything after that was just a blur," Misty replied.
"Well, at least now we know that Dream Eater can snap those afflicted by the Sleep Waves out of their stupor. And I bet you anything that once we free those kids in the park, the Pokemon will get their energy back!" Brock stated.
"Then let's get Drowzee down to the park, pronto! Do you have Drowzee's Pokeball?" Lincoln asked Victor.
"Afraid not. The member of our club who actually owns Drowzee and Hypno couldn't make it today, but allowed us to bring them in for the Hypnosis Sessions," Victor replied.
"Dang it! Well, guess it can't be helped. We're going to have to walk," Lincoln said.
"Drowzee, we're taking you to the park to help clean up a little mess we unintentionally created. Can we rely on your Dream Eater?" Victor asked Drowzee.
"Of course. Just get me there, and I'll get to work," Drowzee nodded, as the group exited with Drowzee in tow.
"So, what exactly did you find out?" Misty asked.
"We found out that Hypno's Sleep Waves were what were causing the disappearances of those kids, and the Pokemon loosing their energy," the younger replied.
"Yeah, and when you got hypnotized, you managed to lead us straight to the missing children," Lincoln added.
"Wait, so how did I do that?" Misty asked, sounding perplexed.
"Long story short, you got hypnotized into thinking you were a Seel," Lincoln replied. It was then that they saw something flying towards them.
"Hey, what's that?" Misty asked.
"I don't know," Brock replied. But they soon got their answer as the flying objects got closer.
"Oh geez, not those guys again!" Lincoln complained.
"I just heard a twerpish voice,"
"Introductions are now, that is our choice!"
"Travelling the world, plundering it's rarest resources!"
"All to enhance our own personal forces!"
"This duo shall not be stopped by the law!"
"We do what we want, while you stand in awe!"
"Jessie, the fiery temptress of villany!"
"Technical Master James, that is me!"
"We're an independent team of criminals, fighting for our rights!"
"Give up now, you can never win any sort of fights!"
"WE'RE THE X-ROCKETS! TRAVELLING NIGHT AND DAY!"
"And with Meowth, the price, you'll surely pay!"
"Alright, to go get ourselves some Hypnosis Pokemon!" Jessie proclaimed, as the three of them swooped down onto the estate. Jessie and Meowth landed perfectly, while James had a crashlanding.
"Nice moves there, James," Meowth commented sarcastically.
"We X-Rockets hereby declare that both Drowzee and Hypno are OUR Pokemon, effective immediately!" Jessie proclaimed.
"Not even in your dreams!" Lincoln declared.
"We'll see who's dreaming after we take what's wrongfully ours!" Jessie countered, as she pulled out a mirror.
"A mirror? Really?" Misty questioned.
"That's right! If Hypno has any pride as a Hypnosis Pokemon, then it should have no trouble using Hypnosis on this!" Jessie said, handing the mirror off to James, who approached Hypno.
"For those of you readers at home, allow me to explain. This is our patented 'Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Sleepiest Pokemon of them All?' dirty scheme! James will now demonstrate!" Meowth said, as James got close to Hypno.
"Alright Hypno, try hypnotizing this!" James said, holding up the mirror to Hypno, who began to use Hypnosis, only for it to get bounced back, causing Hypno to start feeling sleepy.
"Ack! We got to do something! Lincoln?!" Misty asked.
"Already on it!" Lincoln said, as he grabbed a nearby potted plant, and chucked it at James, smashing the mirror into a thousand pieces, thus snapping Hypno out of it's trance.
"Ugh, and to think, we were up all night coming up with that scheme!" Jessie exclaimed, as she and James then used whips to snatch up Drowzee and Hypno respectively.
"You know, it would've saved us a mirror and seven years of bad luck if we did this right from the start," James commented.
"Well, those kids would've tried to interfere with us if we took the easy way out! Besides, those seven years are all on the white-haired brat, since HE was the one to destroy the mirror!" Jessie argured, not knowing that one comment was what would seal the fate of their operation. Lincoln clenched his fists tightly upon hearing the term "bad luck" being hurled at him. His friends noticed, and sighed without any sort of pity at all.
"Well, it's all over for them," Misty commented.
"They brought this on themselves," Brock commented. The younger Jenny nodded, much to the confusion of the older Jenny and Victor.
"Tyrunt, Queeny, Amaura, come out!" Lincoln said darkly, releasing the three aforementioned Pokemon, "Queeny, use Magical Leaf, and Tyrunt, use Bite! Cut those whips!" Queeny moved fast, and fired Magical Leaf at James' whip, slicing it up instantly, while Tyrunt happily bit through Jessie's whip, causing both of them to fall to the ground.
"Gah! He's still ruining our plan!" Jessie whined.
"We can at least take those two Fossil Pokemon and sell them off for a hefty price!" Meowth declared.
"Amaura, Icy Wind!" Lincoln instructed. Amaura then blasted the X-Rockets with Icy Wind, encasing them in a block of ice.
"Now that's just cold!" James complained.
"Tyrunt, use Dragon Tail, and Queeny, use Trop Kick to send them flying!" Lincoln ordered. Tyrunt swung its cyan glowing tail, while Tsareena used Trop Kick, sending the X-Rockets flying.
"NO! NOT ANOTHER FOILED PLOT!" Jessie whined.
"THAT KID HAS ALWAYS BEEN A REAL PAIN IN THE ASS!" James grumbled.
"Try to keep a cool head, you two!" Meowth said, as the block of ice landed somewhere else in the city. Lincoln took a moment to calm down.
"Nice work you three," Lincoln praised.
"Is there something we should know about?" the older Jenny asked.
"I'll explain it to you later. For now, we got to get Drowzee down to the park," the younger Jenny replied.
"Ah, that's right!" the older Jenny remembered, as they left for the park.
Later, back at the park,
"Sweet Arceus, this is the biggest case of Pokemonitis I've ever seen! But it shouldn't take too long," Drowzee commented, as it began to use Dream Eater all over the park area. All of the kids, upon being exposed to Dream Eater, fell asleep.
"Looks like Dream Eater's working like a charm," Brock commented.
"And it looks like Pikachu's getting a good dose of it too," Lincoln said, seeing how Pikachu was sleeping soundly on his shoulder.
"And now, you shall all awaken from your slumber!" Drowzee said, clapping its hands. As soon as it did, all the children began waking up, completely oblivious to what they were just doing.
"Huh? What the…? How'd I get in the middle of the park?"
"I can't remember anything!"
"How long were we out?"
"Looks like they're all back to their senses," the younger Jenny commented. The older Jenny then approached the kids.
"Alright kids, time to head on back home! Your families have been looking for you!" she said. The kids, not needing any further instruction, all went their separate ways back home, "I'll release a press statement explaining the whole thing."
Just as she said that, Pikachu woke up, "Huh? What in the…? I just had the wildest dream ever!"
"Glad to see you're back in action, Pikachu!" Lincoln said.
"Now that the missing children have been found, we should get over to the Pokemon Center to cure the Pokemon," Brock suggested.
"My thoughts exactly," Lincoln replied.
Later, at the Pokemon Center,
"… And now, you shall awaken!" Drowzee said, clapping its hands, thus waking up all of the Pokemon in the Center.
"Oh, it's so good to have them all back to their old selves!" the younger Joy said, as she got knocked down, and swarmed by the Pokemon, obviously happy to be full of energy again.
"Well, all's well that ends well," Lincoln commented. It was then Misty noticed the Psyduck from before, who still looked to be in the same shape it was before.
"How come Dream Eater didn't affect Psyduck?" she asked.
"Probably because Psyduck's condition had nothing to do with sleep," the younger Joy said, as she got back up.
"She's right. Psyduck is a Pokemon that's always plagued with a headache, but this one seems to be a completely bizarre case compared to others," the older Joy added, just as some of the Pokemon knocked Misty down, causing her to drop one of her empty Pokeballs. Another Pokemon also pushed Psyduck down, causing its bill to fall right on top of Misty's Pokeball, activating it, and sucking it in. It didn't even so much as rock as it just clicked instantly.
"Ack! That Psyduck just went into my Pokeball!" Misty yelled.
"Well, seeing as how it was a wild Pokemon, and there were no other ailments to it, I guess it's ok for you to keep it," the older Joy replied.
"And think of it this way, Misty; Psyduck is a Water Type, so it may be worth your while trying to train it," Lincoln added.
"Well, I suppose that vacant look in its eyes is kind of cute," Misty relented, retrieving her newly caught Psyduck.
"By the way, are you all planning on staying here in town?" the younger Jenny asked.
"We were planning to do some sightseeing while we were here, as well as stocking up on our supplies," Brock replied.
"Well, in that case, why not take part in the P-1 Grand Prix Club Attack?" the older Jenny suggested.
"Another P-1 Grand Prix tournament?" Lincoln asked.
"That's right. This event allows trainers to enter only one Pokemon each, but the prize for winning is a year's supply of Pokemon Vitamin Drinks. I'm talking Protein, Iron, Carbos, Zinc, those sorts of drinks," the older Jenny replied.
"Huh… Maybe this would be a good chance to help get closer to Primeape," Lincoln commented.
"Don't use Primeape, Lincoln! Not only is it out of control, but you haven't had a chance to train it yet!" Misty warned.
"Actually, Lincoln has the right idea to use Primeape. Battling other high level Fighting Type Pokemon might help it to calm down and start forming a bond with Lincoln," Brock chimed in.
"Well, if you're set on doing this, then I'll just leave it be then," Misty relented.
"We'd love to come cheer you on and go on a date with you, Lincoln, but our studies are going to be keeping us too busy for anything," Joy said sadly.
"Oh, that's too bad. Well, hopefully next time, we'll be able to have another date," Lincoln replied, which seemed to cheer up both teens.
"So, when is the tournament?" Misty asked.
"It's taking place the day after tomorrow," the older Jenny replied.
"Great! So tomorrow, we can take in the sights of the town! What can we expect to find here?" Lincoln asked.
"Well, there is Scissor Street, otherwise known as 'Breeder's Lane'. It's chock full of salons meant exclusively for Pokemon grooming," the older Joy replied. Brock looked intrigued by this bit of information.
"Hmm, it would do some good to pick up some breeding tips for all the Pokemon I've been catching. I'm hoping that it'll even help Selena open up to me," Lincoln commented.
"Assuming that the other Pokemon found a way to get her to behave," Misty replied dryly.
"According to Queeny, they have, so here's to hoping that she'll be cooperative," Lincoln replied. Just then, a faint glowing was seen from his backpack, "Hmm? What's going on here?" he dug through it to find that his Egg was glowing, if only faintly.
"I think I read somewhere that when a Pokemon Egg is glowing like that, it's a sure sign that it's almost time for it to hatch," Brock stated.
"No way, really?!" Lincoln excitedly exclaimed.
"Cool your jets there, sweetie. It looks like it's still a way off from hatching," the younger Joy said, as she took a closer look at the Egg.
"Even so, the thought of having a new baby Pokemon is still something to be excited about," Lincoln commented, as he stowed his Egg back into his backpack.
"Well, if you all need a place to stay, we've got more than enough rooms here at the Center," the older Joy offered.
"That's so nice of you. Thank you," Lincoln replied, as they were led out of the medical room.
Meanwhile, in the cloaked spaceship,
"Well, the human certainly handled that mystery quite well," Gyleena commented, clearly impressed at how Lincoln and company solved the mystery.
"I think I can see why Nana is so keen on giving him a chance," Xalanna commented.
"May hapsss we should try to meet with him tomorrow," Vaxeena suggested.
"Our thoughts exactly. We'll have to get him somewhere where there're no others of his kind. After all, such an underdeveloped planet shouldn't know of the existence of life beyond the stars… Not just yet," Xalanna replied.
"Let's look for that street they were discussing in that room, and try to find any secluded places along that route," Gyleena suggested, as they began looking around for Scissor Street.