After leaving Mikan Island, Ash and his friends continued their journey through the Orange Islands aboard Lapras, eventually arriving at a bustling island called Mandarin Island North. The island was lined with shops and clearly a prosperous trade hub.
However, the atmosphere on the island felt very wrong!
As soon as they stepped onto the dock, they witnessed a shocking scene: a group of Pokémonincluding Raticate, Mankey, Weepinbell, and othershad hollow eyes and were moving in unison. They were closing in on several panicked residents and their Pokémon, energy gathering in their mouths as if preparing for an indiscriminate attack!
"What's going on? These Pokémon look wrong!" Misty cried out.
"Their eyes... it's like they're being controlled!" Tracey observed sharply.
Ash's pupils shrank. His Aura allowed him to clearly feel an ominous, forced mental fluctuation wrapping around these Pokémon.
It's Hypnosis! He immediately recalled the plot from the original story.
Just as the controlled Pokémon spotted Ash's group and prepared to launch their attackat the same time a wave of invisible mental energy surged forwardAsh reacted instantly!
"Compassion Barrier!" he growled. Pushing his hands forward, a blue-green barriera fusion of Aura and Viridian Powerinstantly expanded, shielding himself, Misty, Tracey, Pikachu, and Togepi.
The invisible hypnotic waves struck the barrier like pebbles hitting a deep pool, creating only a few ripples before vanishing. Pikachu and Togepi remained perfectly fine behind the shield, looking curiously at the oddly behaving Pokémon outside.
However, the other Trainers and Pokémon who weren't protected weren't so lucky. They began yawning one after another and fell into a deep sleep.
"Never mind that for now. These Pokémon are clearly being controlled!" Ash retracted the barrier, his expression grim. "We have to find the source!"
Just then, Officer Jenny arrived on her motorcycle, a Gastly floating beside her. "What happened here? Another case of Pokémon going out of control?"
"Officer Jenny, you're just in time!" Ash said quickly. "These Pokémon are likely being controlled by a powerful hypnotic wave. I believe the source might be at a high point on the island that can cover most of the area, and the culprits likely have a Pokémon specializing in hypnosis."
Officer Jenny looked at the composed boy, surprised by his deduction. "You make a very good point. We've been investigating several similar disturbances lately. My Gastly can sneak into restricted areas to scout. Let's investigate together!"
"No problem!" Ash nodded, then turned to Misty and Tracey. "Let's split up and ask around. See if anyone noticed anything unusual or if any suspicious people arrived on the island recently."
While Ash and the others began their investigation, the Team Rocket trio was having their own set of problems.
"Meowth! Where are you going, meow?! Wait for us!" Jessie and James were panting as they chased after a strangely behaving Meowth. At that moment, Meowth's eyes were as hollow as the rampaging Pokémon, and he was muttering, "Obey... the great meow..." as he walked toward the island's highlands.
Jessie and James tracked Meowth to an abandoned radio tower. They were shocked to see two familiar figures standing at the topwearing the formal black Team Rocket uniforms were Cassidy and Butch! And the Pokémon continuously releasing the powerful hypnotic waves was Cassidy's Drowzee!
"So you two are the ones behind this!" Jessie jumped out, fuming with rage.
"Give Meowth back to us!" James shouted.
"Hmph! I wondered who it was. Just you three useless losers," Cassidy sneered. "Since you've found us, you might as well contribute your Pokémon too! Drowzee, aim at them!"
Drowzee's eyes glowed intensely, and a stronger hypnotic wave descended. Jessie and James frantically sent out Arbok, Weezing, Victreebel, and Lickitung, but their strength was far inferior to Drowzee. As soon as they appeared, they were caught in the hypnotic wave, their eyes becoming as hollow as Meowth's.
"Arbok! Lickitung!" "Weezing! Victreebel!" Jessie and James watched their partners fall under control, their hearts aching.
"Hahaha! See that? This is the difference between formal members and small-time trash like you!" Butch laughed triumphantly.
Anger and the desperate need to save their partners overcame everything else. Jessie and James scrambled down the highland in a daze, where they happened to run into Ash and Officer Jenny.
"Twerp! Jenny!" Jessie said, sounding awkward but gritting her teeth. "We know who's behind this! It's Cassidy and Butch! Their Drowzee is controlling the Pokémon! Our Meowth, Arbok, and Weezing have been taken over too!"
Ash had actually already sensed the situation at the top of the tower through his Aura, but he feigned surprise. "It's those two 'colleagues' of yours? Why would they do this?"
"Who knows what those bastards are up to! Maybe to cause chaos, or maybe to steal more Pokémon!" James said angrily. "But they've controlled all our partners! We have to settle this debt!"
Officer Jenny looked at the two Team Rocket members warily. "You're Team Rocket? Why should I trust you?"
"We just want to save our Pokémon right now!" Jessie said with a rare, serious expression. "The two of us can't beat them alone, but we can tell you their location and what they can do! We can... cooperate!"
Ash looked at the pair of "villains" who were willing to bow their heads for the sake of their Pokémon and felt a bit moved. He turned to Officer Jenny. "Officer Jenny, I think they're telling the truth. The source is indeed at the top of the radio tower. Right now, the priority is to stop Cassidy and Butch and save the controlled Pokémon. An extra bit of help is always good."
Officer Jenny weighed the situation for a moment and then nodded. "Fine. But if you try anything funny..."
"We won't! Absolutely not!" Jessie and James shouted in unison.
The group quietly approached the base of the radio tower. At the top, Cassidy and Butch were still gloating.
"Now!" Ash barked. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Drowzee! Break the hypnosis!"
"PikaCHUU!" A golden bolt of lightning shot toward the Drowzee at the top of the tower like a sword!
"What?!" Cassidy gasped. "Drowzee, dodge it!"
Drowzee hastily cut off the hypnotic waves and scrambled to avoid the Thunderbolt. With the hypnotic wave broken, the controlled Pokémon across the islandincluding Meowth and the othersregained clarity in their eyes, looking around in confusion.
"Damn it! Who's ruining our plans?!" Butch roared.
"It's your old Team Rocket friends and the Twerp you hate most!" Jessie stood with her hands on her hips, shouting with great momentum (though her legs were still a bit shaky).
"And Officer Jenny!" James added.
"It's you three failures again!" Cassidy turned pale with rage. "Since you're looking for a fight, don't blame us for being ruthless! Drowzee, show them what we're made of!"
"That's right! Don't think breaking the hypnosis means you've won!" Butch yelled.
"Drowzee, use Confusion on Pikachu!" Cassidy ordered.
"Pikachu, dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash responded calmly. Pikachu turned into a blur of white light, nimbly evading the invisible grasp of the telekinetic force.
"Gastly, use Confuse Ray on Drowzee!" Officer Jenny joined the fray. Gastly released a distorted beam of light, but Drowzee swayed and managed to avoid it.
"Arbok, use Acid on Drowzee!"
"Weezing, use Smokescreen for interference!"
The now-conscious Jessie and James immediately commanded their Pokémon to join the battle. Arbok's Acid forced Drowzee to retreat repeatedly, while Weezing's Smokescreen enveloped the entire tower top.
"Curse you! Drowzee, use Hypnosis to take control of that annoying Pikachu!" Cassidy screamed through the smoke.
"I won't let you!" Ash used his Aura to clearly perceive the battlefield through the smoke. "Pikachu, close your eyes! Use your Aura to sense them and fire an Electro Ball at the source of the sound!"
Pikachu closed its eyes, sparks dancing around its body as it launched an Electro Ball precisely at Cassidy's direction!
"What?!" Cassidy barely dodged the ball of electricity.
"Gastly, now! Use Night Shade on Drowzee!"
"Arbok, use Poison Sting to cut off its retreat! Lickitung, use Lick to interfere!"
"Weezing, use Tackle! Victreebel, use Vine Whip!"
Under the cover of the Smokescreen, a multi-pronged attack swarmed Drowzee. Gastly's shadowy beam, Arbok's poisonous needles, Weezing's charge, and the combined strikes of Lickitung and Victreebel... Though individual attacks weren't devastating, the continuous harassment left Drowzee exhausted.
"Now, Pikachu! Maximum power Thunderbolt!" Ash gave the final command the moment Drowzee was pinned down!
"PIKACHUUUU!!"
The dazzling golden lightning tore through the smoke, accurately striking the Drowzee that had nowhere left to hide! The massive current surged through its bodyit was super effective!
"Drowzee!" Cassidy and Butch cried out.
When the light faded, Drowzee lay on the tower floor, unable to battle.
"Im... impossible..." Cassidy and Butch stared in disbelief. They had actually been defeated by this ragtag group of collaborators.
"It's over!" Officer Jenny stepped forward, producing handcuffs. "Cassidy, Butch, you're under arrest for disturbing public order and the illegal control of Pokémon!"
A dejected Cassidy and Butch were led away by Officer Jenny. "What a rotten feeling!" they grumbled.
Peace returned to the island as all the controlled Pokémon regained their freedom. Jessie and James recalled Arbok and Weezing, while Meowth hopped back to their side.
"This time... thanks, Twerp. You too, Jenny," Jessie thanked them awkwardly.
"Though I hate to admit it, we couldn't have saved our partners without you," James added.
"Next time we meet, we're still coming for Pikachu, meow!" Meowth said, having regained his spirit.
Ash smiled. "I'll be waiting. But seeing you guys work so hard for your own Pokémon... you're not all bad."
The Team Rocket trio was stunned for a moment. They didn't recite their usual catchphrases; they simply left in silence.
"That was an unexpected development," Tracey mused.
"Yeah, but at least the result was good," Misty said, breathing a sigh of relief as she looked at the now-peaceful island.
With the incident at Mandarin Island North resolved, Ash's journey to collect badges continued.
(Author's Note: Since I've almost forgotten the original plot, I just winged it! Hope you guys don't mind!)
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