Pokémon The Johto Journeys: Tough Enough

Chapter 10: Hypnosis!

                Ash ran to the fallen man. “Are you okay, sir?” he asked.

                The man stood up and smoothed out his gray shirt. He adjusted his eyeglasses. “I was trying to catch that off-colored Noctowl, but I failed again,” he said, scowling a little. “My name is Dr. Wiseman. I collect rare Pokémon.”

                “I’d love to catch one myself,” Ash said.

                Dr. Wiseman raised an eyebrow. “You? There’s no way. That one is much smarter than your average Noctowl. Chances to catch one of these Pokémon don’t come along very often.”

                That sounded like just the kind of challenge Ash thrived on. Dr. Wiseman kept talking, but Ash was focused on the Noctowl in the tree. He couldn’t resist.

                “If this one is so great, I’ve got to catch it,” Ash said. He took an empty Poké Ball out of his vest pocket. “Gotta catch that Noctowl!”

                Ash missed the shock look on Dr. Wiseman’s face as he hurled the Poké Ball toward the tree. Noctowl did not take its eyes off of the Poké Ball. As the ball approached, Noctowl knocked it back with its foot. The Poké Ball flew through the air bumping Ash in the head!

                “Ouch!” Ash complained, rubbing his head.

                Noctowl flapped its wings and let out a hoot that sounded a lot like a laugh.

                “That thing’s making fun of me,” Ash said angrily.

                Dr. Wiseman smiled smugly. “I told you it wouldn’t be easy,” he said.

                Ash wasn’t about to give up. “Pikachu, catch that Noctowl!” Ash cried.

                As Ash spoke, glowing red circles appeared in Noctowl’s eyes. The red beams floated through the air and landed on Ash’s face.

                Ash noticed them for a second. Then he forgot about them. A strange feeling latched onto his brain. All he could think about was Pikachu.

                But Pikachu didn’t seem to be moving. It was like it had ignored Ash’s commands. This wasn’t like Pikachu at all.

                Ash knelt in front of Pikachu and grabbed the Pokémon by the shoulders.

                “Come on, Pikachu! Move!” he pleaded. But Pikachu wouldn’t budge.

                Ash tried to pick Pikachu up. For some reason, Pikachu was much too heavy. Ash fell back onto the ground.

                Suddenly, the strange feeling disappeared. Ash looked down. He wasn’t grabbing Pikachu at all—he was grabbing a rock! Pikachu was standing a few feet away, looking perplexed.

                “What happened?” he asked his friends. Misty was trying to hide a giggle.

                “Noctowl used Hypnosis on you, Ash,” Dr. Wiseman said. “It made you think that rock was Pikachu.”

                In the tree above, Noctowl laughed again. Then it flew away.

                “I really wanted to catch that Noctowl!” Ash said, disappointed.

                Dr. Wiseman invited them back to his cabin for a snack. As they munched on cookies, he told them about his quest to capture the strange-colored Noctowl!

                “That Noctowl has been tricking me ever since I met it,” he explained. “But it won’t make a fool of me any longer. I’ll show it how clever I can be!”

                “I know how you feel,” Ash said. “I just met it, and I want to show it up, too—by catching it.”

                Dr. Wiseman just shook his head. “You couldn’t catch it in a hundred years.”

                “Well, you haven’t caught it either,” Ash pointed out.

                Dr. Wiseman stood up and walked to the corner of the room. A green cloth covered something big and bulky.

                “When my trap is completed, I will catch that Noctowl once and for all,” Dr. Wiseman said.

                Misty frowned. “A real Pokémon trainer would battle Noctowl fair and square.”

                “Yeah,” Ash agreed. “Just like I’m going to do.”

                “That’s what you think,” Dr. Wiseman said. “But my trap is the only way.”

                A light bulb went off in Ash’s head. “Why don’t we compete to see who catches it first?”

                Dr. Wiseman shook Ash’s hand. “Just what I was thinking. Let the challenge begin!”

                Dr. Wiseman worked to put the finishing touches on his trap in a few hours; he was ready to test it out. Ash let Dr. Wiseman try first.

                Back in the woods, they went to the tree where the Noctowl lived. Dr. Wiseman set up his trap. Then he joined Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Togepi behind some bushes.

                They waited in silence. A few minutes later, the Noctowl with the red wings and markings flew onto the tree branch.

                Dr. Wiseman grinned. Then he reached over and began pulling on a rope. Ash saw that the rope went through a series of pulleys. The far end of the rope was attached to some fake tree branches Dr. Wiseman had planted near Noctowl.

                As Dr. Wiseman pulled the rope, the tree branches spread apart to reveal a mirror. Noctowl looked in the mirror—and thought it was looking at another Noctowl! Its eyes glowed red as it used Hypnosis against the Noctowl in the mirror.

                “Just as I planned,” Dr. Wiseman said, smiling.

                Noctowl’s Hypnosis waves hit the mirror, and then reflected right back at Noctowl! The poor Pokémon hypnotized itself.

                “I see,” said Brock. “Instead of hypnotizing its opponent, the attack was reflected back onto Noctowl.”

                Dr. Wiseman laughed. “I’ve done it! It’s a Pokémon, after all. It can’t compete with human intelligence.”

                Ash felt a little weird about Dr. Wiseman’s tactic. It just didn’t seem fair.

                Noctowl started to teeter back and forth on the branch, as though it were sleepy. Then it fell to the ground.

                Dr. Wiseman ran over to it. “I did it! I did it! I caught a Noctowl!” Dr. Wiseman said gleefully.

                Ash’s heart sank. Had he really lost the Noctowl challenge?