Chapter 1067: Eternal Flower

When Honchkrow returned to the Verdanturf Gym, Yuga wasn't there; he was helping out at the shop. So, it was Brandon who came to see him.

Brandon didn't recognize Honchkrow and couldn't understand what it was saying. At first, he thought that a wild Pokémon had accidentally wandered into the gym. It wasn't until he noticed that Honchkrow was trying hard to communicate something that he went to find Yuga.

When Yuga saw Honchkrow, he quickly learned what had happened in the Petalburg Woods: both humans and Pokémon had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep.

Upon hearing Honchkrow's plea for help, Yuga initially planned to notify the Verdanturf Town police to rescue the victims. However, he quickly dismissed the idea when he realized that the cause of the sleep was unknown. Sending the police could just be sending them into danger.

The expedition team included experts like Ruri, Amber, and the forest rangers. Yuga doubted that the police could handle something that even those experts couldn't. If they were already in trouble, it wouldn't be safe for the police to go either.

The best course of action was for him to go to Petalburg Woods himself, assess the situation, and then decide whether or not to rescue them and how to do it.

He had Chimecho and Florges with him, and whether it was through the Heal bell or Aromatherapy, they were both reliable ways to wake someone from sleep.

However, Yuga still called Shirai Masato to discuss the situation. He told Masato that if he didn't return within a set time, they should find another way to rescue the victims.

Though Yuga was confident in his own strength, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he was invincible.

After making all the necessary arrangements, Yuga rode on Dragonite, following Honchkrow at top speed toward Petalburg Woods.

The outer and middle areas of Petalburg Woods showed no signs of anything unusual. As Yuga rode through, the Pokémon in the forest were going about their usual activities, unaffected by whatever had happened.

But as soon as they entered the central area of the forest, it was a different story. The surroundings suddenly became eerily silent. There were no cries of bird Pokémon in the trees, no rustling of Grass-type Pokémon in the underbrush—everything was unnervingly quiet.

Out of caution, Yuga decided to dismount Dragonite and proceed on foot once they reached the central area.

Along the way, Yuga found a Taillow lying in the grass. He turned to Chimecho and said, "Chimecho, try waking it up with Heal Bell."

"Chime, chime," Chimecho nodded in agreement.

The clear, melodious sound of a bell echoed through the air. After a while, the Taillow slowly opened its eyes. Seeing itself in the hands of a human, it panicked and quickly flew away.

Seeing that Taillow had been awakened by Heal Bell, Yuga felt a bit relieved.

He then went on to find several more Pokémon that had fallen asleep: Shroomish, Oddish, Zigzagoon, Wurmple, Marill, and more. He alternated between having Chimecho use Heal Bell and Florges use Aromatherapy to wake them up.

After a series of experiments, Yuga finally realized that the cause of the sleep was likely a Psychic-type move—Hypnosis.

While there are many moves that can put a Pokémon to sleep, the way they induce sleep varies. For example, Sleep Powder and Hypnosis might have the same end result, but when it comes to waking up the Pokémon, Heal Bell is more effective for Hypnosis-induced sleep, while Aromatherapy works better for Sleep Powder-induced sleep.

In Pokémon medicine, Sleep Powder is categorized as chemically-induced sleep, while Hypnosis is classified as mental suggestion.

Similarly, sleep caused by moves like Sing or Grass Whistle would exhibit different symptoms, and experienced Pokémon doctors and breeders can tell the difference at a glance.

Although Yuga was neither a Pokémon doctor nor a breeder, he had learned a lot about breeding alongside his Chansey's, and it hadn't been for nothing.

The reason the Murkrow leader from Lilycove had escaped unscathed was partly due to its Insomnia ability and partly due to its Dark typing.

Dark-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type damaging moves, but they aren't immune to status moves like Hypnosis. However, compared to other types, Dark-type Pokémon have a higher resistance to Hypnosis.

For example, if Gengar were to use Hypnosis on both a Charizard and a Murkrow, it would clearly have a harder time putting the Murkrow to sleep.

The Pokémon that used Hypnosis to cause this sleep incident must be extremely powerful; otherwise, it wouldn't require both the Insomnia ability and Dark typing to avoid falling asleep.

Yuga had already seen a Nuzleaf and an Ariados, both Dark-types with the Insomnia ability, lying by the roadside, having succumbed to the same fate as the other Pokémon. They hadn't been as fortunate as Honchkrow.

With this in mind, Yuga became even more cautious. If he drew the attention of the Pokémon responsible for this, there was no guarantee he would escape unharmed. It was better to be safe than sorry.

He didn't know how long he walked, but eventually, under Honchkrow's guidance, he found the members of the expedition team. They were all lying sprawled out on the ground, and not far away was a group of Nuzleaf in the same state.

However, what surprised Yuga was that a small Pokémon was currently trying to rescue the unconscious humans and Pokémon. It was struggling to move the members of the expedition team together and was attempting to use Aromatherapy to wake them up.

But the Pokémon seemed to be injured. When it used Aromatherapy, it was visibly struggling, unable to wake anyone up.

Yuga's arrival quickly caught the attention of this Pokémon.

"Floette!"

The Pokémon panicked and hid behind a large tree, then cautiously peeked out at Yuga before quickly retracting its head again.

A Floette? Yuga was astonished to see this Pokémon.

Why was there a Floette here, and an unusual colored one at that?

Without realizing it, Yuga activated his Keen Eye ability.

**Floette (Eternal Flower)**

- **Type:** Fairy

- **Ability:** Symbiosis

- **Gender:** Female

- **Potential:** Unknown

- **Level:** Unknown

- **Moves:** Vine Whip, Fairy Wind, Lucky Chant, Razor Leaf, Wish, Magical Leaf, Grassy Terrain, Petal Blizzard, Aromatherapy, Misty Terrain, Moonblast, Petal Dance, Solar Beam, Attract, Magic Coat, Synthesis, Sunny Day, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Light of Ruin.

After reading this, Yuga was truly shocked.

Eternal Flower Fairy? Isn't that the very Floette that AZ has been searching for?

No wonder AZ came to Hoenn; he must have been following Floette. However, since Floette wanted to avoid him, AZ couldn't find it, so he settled for going to sleep in the Mirage Tower instead.

But it makes sense—since Floette wanted to avoid AZ, the best solution was to leave Kalos. It just didn't anticipate that AZ would still pursue it.

Now that Yuga knows Floette's identity, he doesn't approach recklessly—who knows if Floette is as kind as the legends say?

So, the man and the Pokémon both remained motionless.

However, as Yuga looked at the sleeping Gary and the others, he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu, recalling that Team Rocket's trio in the Mirage Tower had been in a similar situation.

Could the one causing the Pokémon in the forest to fall asleep be Darkrai?

After Darkrai puts its opponents to sleep, its ability *Nightmare* automatically triggers, causing those who are asleep to continuously have nightmares.

Though the members of the expedition team aren't screaming like Team Rocket did, their faces are strained, and some are even mumbling in their sleep.

This is almost identical to the effects caused by Darkrai's *Nightmare*, indicating they are indeed having nightmares.

Thinking of this, Yuga took out the Lunar Wing that Cresselia had given him from his system backpack.

Sure enough, as soon as the Lunar Wing appeared, the eerie atmosphere in the forest suddenly lifted, and the members of the expedition team all sat up in a cold sweat. The other awakened Pokémon also panicked and scattered.

At the same time, as the Pokémon and the expedition team woke up, Darkrai in the garden at the center of the forest seemed to sense something: "Cresselia's aura... is she here too? But didn't she say she was returning to Sinnoh?"

"What happened?" asked Gary, wiping the cold sweat from his brow with a look of confusion.

"Gary, are you alright?" At that moment, Ruri approached, concerned.

"I'm fine. Ruri, how about you and Amber? Are you two okay?" Gary asked with concern.

Ruri looked at Amber, who was still shaken not far away, and shook her head, saying, "Don't worry, we're all fine."

"What exactly happened? Why did we suddenly fall asleep?" Gary asked, puzzled.

The incident had happened so suddenly that he still hadn't processed it, though the nightmare he had was so terrifying that his heart was still racing.

"Come on, me getting pinned to the ground by Ash? Impossible!" Gary thought, dismissing it.

Ruri was about to answer Gary when she suddenly saw her Honchkrow swooping down toward her in delight. At this time, she still didn't know that Honchkrow had gone back to Verdanturf Town to get help in order to save them.

Seeing Honchkrow continuously snuggling up to her, Ruri stroked its pointed hat and asked, "What's gotten into you?"

Just then, Yuga stepped forward.

The expedition members were surprised to see him.

"Gym Leader Shimizu, what are you doing here?" Ruri asked, then seemed to realize something. "Was it you who woke us up?"

Yuga nodded and said, "Yes, your Honchkrow went to Verdanturf Town for help and came to find me. I learned that you all had fallen asleep in the forest for no apparent reason, so I came here."

Yuga then explained the whole situation.

After hearing the details, Ruri hugged Honchkrow and said, "You worked hard, Honchkrow." Without Honchkrow, they might have starved to death in their sleep in a few days.

"Why did we suddenly fall asleep?"

"This place is too dangerous. We should leave Petalburg Woods as soon as possible!"

...

For a while, the members of the expedition team discussed the situation animatedly, while Yuga approached Nakamichi and Reisuke, the two rangers who were here to assist the expedition.

"Have there been any records of Darkrai appearing in Petalburg Woods before?"

Nakamichi and Reisuke exchanged glances and said, "Are you suspecting that our falling asleep has something to do with Darkrai?"

"I am somewhat suspicious," Yuga nodded.

"We've never seen a Darkrai in Petalburg Woods," Reisuke replied. They had been stationed as rangers in Petalburg Woods for quite some time and were familiar with most of the Pokémon distributed across the area.

"Yes, we've never seen one," Nakamichi agreed with Reisuke, but after thinking for a moment, he added, "But it's not certain. The central area of Petalburg Woods is a place we rarely visit, so we're not always sure what Pokémon are hidden there."

Hearing this, Yuga didn't say anything further. He glanced at the Floette hiding in the distance, noticing the injuries on its body, which likely came from the Pokémon he suspected to be Darkrai.

Though this Floette seemed timid, it was undoubtedly very strong, as Yuga sensed that its aura was no weaker than that of the other legendary Pokémon he had encountered.

In other words, this was a Floette that had become a deity.

If that Pokémon truly was Darkrai, could it be related to the one in the Mirage Tower? Or was it the same one?

After all, Yuga didn't think that Darkrai was a Pokémon that could be found just anywhere; it's not like there would be two of them just lying around.

After a lengthy discussion, the expedition team finally decided to return to Verdanturf Town, while Yuga stayed behind to continue investigating the cause of the Pokémon falling asleep with the rangers.

If this issue wasn't resolved, the safety of the towns surrounding Petalburg Woods could not be guaranteed. As a Gym Leader, Yuga had a responsibility to investigate thoroughly.

Gary was very interested in this "mysterious Pokémon" and wanted to stay and investigate with Yuga, but he was dragged away by Ruri and Amber, who firmly opposed his idea.

After thinking for a long time, Yuga decided to have a talk with Floette.

Calling Chimecho to his side for protection, Yuga approached the spot where Floette was hiding. Seeing Yuga approaching, Floette ducked into the bushes.

"Floette, can we talk?" Yuga asked softly towards the bushes.

"Floo..."

After a long pause, there was a rustling sound, and Floette's head slowly emerged from the bushes.

"Floo...?" *Talk about what?*

Floette's voice trembled as it spoke; it had been so long since it had seen a human that it didn't know how to interact with one.

"Do you know who made the Pokémon suddenly fall asleep?"

"I do," Floette nodded.

"Can you tell me who it is and where they are now?"

"If I tell you, will you help me drive it away? It took over my home," Floette looked at Yuga with hope.

Yuga: ...If even you can't deal with it, I probably can't either.

So, he said, "I can't promise to help you drive it away, but I can heal your injuries."

Feeling the pain from the wounds on its body, Floette finally nodded. Although it could heal those injuries on its own, it would take some time. But right now, it hurt too much!

Learning that Yuga was going to meet the "mysterious Pokémon," Nakamichi and Reisuke immediately offered to accompany him, as maintaining the safety of Petalburg Woods was their responsibility as rangers.

However, Yuga declined. He was only going to scout out the situation; if it really was Darkrai, it would be easier for him to escape alone. With two more people, it might not be as easy.

Led by Floette, Yuga eventually encountered Darkrai. With just one look, he recognized it as the one from the Mirage Tower.

As soon as Floette and Yuga approached, Darkrai noticed. Initially, it had thought only Floette was coming, so it planned to give Floette a good lesson. But then it saw Yuga beside her.

Damn, why is it you?

The pain that Absol had inflicted on it was still fresh in its memory.

(End of this chapter)