lulu was deep in thought when the sound of a yeehaw reached her ears, loud like the midnight screech of a noctowl. an electro ball crackled through the air shortly after, and she turned to see the glow of its tail disappearing.[break][break]

she was surely too far to be detected under the shroud of night, and josh too left out of her sight—but not the hypno’s.[break][break]

unintimidated by the zeraora, the psychic-type stepped out of the cover of the bushes, its pendulum already swinging back and forth as its eyes locked onto the gym leader’s. the waves of psychic energy rippling outward would perhaps be wide enough to drag both pokémon and trainer under a spell of hypnosis.[break][break]

if successful, it would lead them in a slumbering trance, down toward the pond where the scientist waited.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Josh Devlin [break]
mission: pied pipers (dd)[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"][break]

the hypno watched intently, gaze not leaving the zeroaora as its trainer fell off its back and onto the path. though the electro ball struck, the hypno glared through the shocking pain, unwilling to tear its eyes away from the cat.[break][break]

though not through telepathy, its hypnotic stare still seemed to somehow suggest, 'pick up your human and follow me.'[break][break]

it waited for the zeraora under its trance to comply, and it would then deliver both pokemon and trainer to the scientist waiting in the dark.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Josh Devlin [break]
mission: pied pipers (dd)[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"][break]

the pendulum continued to swing as they went along the trail through the dark. they cut across the edge of the large property, to where the pond was.[break][break]

”there they are,” she said to her porygon-z, confident when she heard the crunching of grass.[break][break]

however, when she walked around the tree to face them, the sight was not what she’d expected. a zeraora? she got closer. josh devlin. another lucky find.[break][break]

she looked the two over to ensure they were fully under the hypno’s spell before commanding her porygon-z, ”go ahead.”[break][break]

as the scientist took a step back again, the strange digital pokemon levitated forward, twitching once before delivering its powerful z-move, dream weaver. josh’s dream would be pulled from his head, swirling outward into a small, glowing vortex.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Josh Devlin [break]
mission: pied pipers (dd)[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"][break]

in the vortex of his dream, she thought she could make out the silhouettes of legendary cats and riders. they were vague, but once the machine was running later on, their images would be vivid enough to study.[break][break]

for now most of what spiraled outward from josh’s head would be disguised in reality as abstract ribbons of color, stretching like rolled out pasta and slowly fading into nothing at the center of the z-move.[break][break]

in digital space, his dream would be stored away for later.[break][break]

the z-move was a startlingly painful experience for most, and plenty enough to wake up even a heavy sleeper. her hypno was there to attempt to pull him right back under before he completely came to, so they could make an easy escape. a typical strategy.[break][break]

however, there would be a few waking seconds available for josh to fight it all mentally, and perhaps break free from of the hypnotic shackles long enough to act.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Josh Devlin [break]
mission: pied pipers (dd)[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"][break]

the pink glow of the z-move faded, leaving the area dark again. with the cover of shadow, she wouldn’t be immediately recognizable. hoping to remain a mystery, she didn’t answer immediately, merely backing away.[break][break]

a flick of the wrist released another pokemon–this one an alakazam–as another ball returned her precious porygon-z. the hypno retreated towards the other psychic-type, the trio perhaps clearly preparing their escape.[break][break]

however, lulu hesitated at the distress in the gym leader’s voice. team rocket had wreaked upon this man’s life for months. he hadn’t been intentionally targeted this time. perhaps the universe was working against him.[break][break]

”they’ll be fine,” she assured coolly, as she reached for her alakazam’s shoulder.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Josh Devlin [break]
mission: pied pipers (dd)[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"][break]