279. Hypnosis
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"Darn it!" Officer Jenny said reluctantly as she observed the scene before her.
She wanted to chase after the missing children, but she still didn't know their whereabouts. The safety of the children was her priority.
Brock and Misty had already helped Hypno untie the rope, setting it free once more, but Cassidy and Butch had taken Drowzee away.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't save both of them!" Pikachu and Devileon returned to Ash, who looked at the gentleman next to him and spoke.
In some ways, those two were indeed trickier to deal with than Jessie and James. They were also smarter. At least they didn't mix up friends and foes like Jessie and James often did.
"No… It's fine. Knowing Hypno is safe is enough for us," the gentleman said, seemingly unbothered.
Hypno and Drowzee were just tools to them. The people here were wealthy and could easily acquire another Pokémon. However, the current situation was already problematic enough.
"But what should we do now? We still don't know where the missing children are, and Drowzee has been taken away. How can we release the hypnosis?" Misty asked anxiously.
"To release hypnosis, someone with the move Hypnosis should be able to do it!" Ash replied, looking toward Hypno.
"But Hypno is usually skilled at putting others into hypnosis. I'm not sure how to release it, but we'll have to try!" The gentleman sounded worried. Hypno's skillset focused on hypnotizing others, but reversing it would require more effort.
"We still don't know where the children are!" Misty repeated nervously.
"You don't need to. If the children woke up on their own, they'd be just like Misty was earlier. They should be able to return home safely using the device Cassidy and Butch dropped."
Ash shook his head slightly. Since Cassidy and Butch had used the device to disperse the magnetic field and induce hypnosis, it should also be capable of reversing the effect.
The children weren't helpless infants. Once they woke up, they'd find their way home.
"That's a great idea!" Officer Jenny agreed, nodding. This way, there would be no need to search for them individually.
"In that case, let's figure out how to use the device first!" Brock suggested. He began inspecting it, and everyone gathered around. After some time, they understood its functionality.
"Those two were thorough. They even made an anti-hypnosis device. Pressing this green button should emit the magnetic field needed to reverse hypnosis," Brock explained, pointing to the red and green buttons. From what he could tell, Cassidy and Butch had been pressing the red button, while the green button clearly indicated a release function.
"After all, keeping hypnotized Pokémon wouldn't serve their purpose," Ash added, nodding. The Pokémon they captured would eventually be freed from hypnosis anyway.
"Here goes nothing!" Brock signaled to the gentleman. After receiving his approval, Brock pressed the green button.
"Okay, Hypno, now undo all the hypnosis!" the gentleman instructed.
"Hypno!" Hypno responded, the ring in its hand starting to vibrate. It emitted a magnetic field toward the device, which dispersed it. Everyone watched as the device released the field, waking Pikachu, who had been dozing on the table.
"Pikachu is fine—it seems to be working!" Misty exclaimed, her voice filled with relief.
"Yeah! As long as we keep this up, we should succeed," Brock agreed confidently.
"I'll contact our team right away and have them search the city for any sign of the children," Officer Jenny said promptly, pulling out her phone to make the call.
Hypno continued emitting energy, its concentration evident. However, beads of sweat started forming on its forehead, signaling that it was straining. Hypnosis release was not its forte, and it was becoming visibly exhausted.
"Hypno doesn't look so good!" Misty said worriedly as she observed the Pokémon.
"That's because Hypno specializes in hypnosis, not reversing it. It's much harder for it to manage this," the gentleman explained apologetically, clearly uneasy. Hypno wasn't trained for combat or high-stress situations.
"What should we do?" Misty asked anxiously.
Devileon turned its attention toward Hypno. Sensing the difficulty Hypno was facing, Devileon suddenly floated forward, coming to rest beside it.
"Devileon?" Misty and the others looked at Ash's Pokémon in confusion. Devileon's crimson eyes focused intently on the device.
Devileon's gaze sharpened, and blue ripples began emanating from its eyes, mirroring Hypno's movements. Brock and the others watched in astonishment.
"Wait a minute… is that Hypnosis? How did it…?" Brock trailed off, staring at Ash for answers.
"It must've learned it from observing Hypno," Ash replied with a faint smile.
"You mean it just learned Hypnosis by watching?" Misty gasped, even more stunned.
Ash remained calm, though inwardly he was impressed. "Honestly, while Hypnosis is usually a Psychic-type move, I've always thought it suited Ghost-types better. Psychic-types often have difficulty landing it in battle, but paired with the unpredictable movements of Ghost-types, it can be incredibly effective."
He hadn't expected Devileon to pick up the technique so quickly, but it was an unexpected boon.
With Devileon's assistance, the magnetic field spread faster, and Hypno visibly relaxed. Its efforts were now less strenuous, allowing it to recover gradually. Ten minutes later, Officer Jenny received a call.
"We've found some of the missing children. They're weak and disoriented—they can't remember what happened before, likely due to the hypnosis. It seems they haven't eaten properly during their disappearance," the caller reported.
Jenny explained that the children wouldn't have felt hunger while under hypnosis, but now that they were awake, their bodies were naturally re-adjusting. She quickly arranged for the parents to be informed and dispatched officers to escort the children back to the police station.
As the operation unfolded, the sense of relief among the group was palpable. The plan had worked, and the children were being reunited with their families.