Roy didn't go any further inside, instead standing by the lobby entrance to wait.
Gastly floated in mid-air like a diligent security guard, occasionally drifting in front of the two hypnotized Drowzee and Hypno to confirm they were truly fast asleep.
The hypnotized white-collar workers in the lobby were still sprawled everywhere; some were snoring, others were talking in their sleep, and one middle-aged man was hugging the leg of a nearby sofa, muttering nonsense like "This project must be secured" and "Sister Nana, please give me another chance."
Roy leaned against the doorframe and checked the time.
After waiting about ten minutes, a chaotic sound of footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
"Quick, quick, quick! Everyone keep up!"
Officer Jenny's voice came from the passage, followed by a crowd of people rushing in.
Officer Jenny led the way, her police uniform crisp and her hat sitting perfectly straight. Behind her were over a dozen police officers, both men and women, all appearing as if they were facing a great enemy.
They rushed into the lobby and were stunned by the scene before them.
"This..." a young officer's eyes widened, "What's the situation here?"
Officer Jenny was also momentarily stunned, but she quickly reacted and walked over to Roy: "Mr. Roy! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Roy pointed to the sleeping people in the lobby. "There, everyone is here. There's another room inside with even more people."
"There's more inside?" Officer Jenny frowned. "How many?"
"Dozens, probably," Roy said. "They were having a party; it was quite lively."
Officer Jenny's expression darkened as she turned to the officers behind her: "You, take some men inside to control the scene! The rest of you, wake these sleeping people first and verify their identities! Remember to maintain professional conduct!"
"Yes!"
The officers immediately sprang into action.
Several officers rushed into the corridor and pushed open the ajar door, followed by a wave of surprised shouts and chaotic noises from within.
"Nobody move! Police!"
"Put your clothes on!"
"Turn on the lights!"
Roy didn't go in, staying in the lobby to watch.
Officer Jenny walked over to the two hypnotized Pokemon, furrowing her brows as she examined them. "It was them?"
"Yeah." Roy nodded. "The Drowzee and Hypno. They must have been the ones releasing the hypnotic waves that caused those children to lose consciousness and wander off to play in corners."
Officer Jenny crouched down to check the status of the two Pokemon, then looked at the Gastly floating nearby, her mouth twitching slightly. "You hypnotized them?"
"Giving them a taste of their own medicine." Roy smiled. "My Gastly learned a few tricks from an old expert; they happened to come in handy."
"Hehehe!" Gastly floated in two proud circles, wearing an expression that practically screamed 'Praise me, praise me!'
Officer Jenny stood up and looked seriously at Roy. "Mr. Roy, I truly can't thank you enough. We've received several reports of missing children recently, all in the HopHop Town area, and we couldn't find the cause for the longest time. Today, the source has finally been found."
As she spoke, a look of relief appeared on her face.
"With this resolved, I expect those children will soon reappear by the roadsides, crying."
"You just need to send people to patrol the vicinity; you should receive reports from the public very soon."
Officer Jenny nodded repeatedly. "Right, right, I'll arrange that immediately."
She picked up her walkie-talkie and began assigning tasks.
Roy waited nearby, watching the police move in and out, bringing the people from inside out one by one.
The people emerging from the party scene were in various states—some with disheveled clothes, some mentally dazed, and others stumbling as they walked, clearly having been under deep hypnosis.
After finishing her orders, Officer Jenny turned to Roy, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say something, but she seemed a bit embarrassed.
Roy looked at her. "What is it?"
"I..." Officer Jenny's face turned slightly red as she stood there awkwardly. "I really don't know how to thank you. You've helped us so much. This was supposed to be the police's responsibility, yet a citizen like you..."
As she spoke, she suddenly took a step forward and opened her arms, looking as if she wanted to give Roy a hug.
But just as she reached out, she heard footsteps behind her as several officers emerged from the corridor.
Officer Jenny immediately pulled her hands back, quickly changing the gesture to a pat on Roy's arm while letting out two dry coughs. "Ahem, anyway... thank you very much!"
Roy smiled, not calling her out.
Officer Jenny pulled a small notebook from her pocket. "Right, Mr. Roy, could you please register your Trainer ID? We will send you the Good Citizen reward later, along with the assistance bonus for this operation; both will be credited to your account."
"There's a bonus too?" Roy raised an eyebrow.
"Of course," Officer Jenny said seriously. "You assisted the police in cracking such a major case; there's bound to be a reward."
Roy gave his Trainer ID, and Officer Jenny carefully recorded it.
Just then, a sudden commotion broke out from the corridor.
"Let go of me! I'm fine!"
"I want to go home! I want to go home!"
"Don't touch me! I can walk by myself!"
A group of people was being led out by the police.
There were both men and women, mostly in their thirties or forties, dressed quite decently—clearly successful individuals.
But at this moment, they were all in a sorry state. Some had hair like bird nests, some had misbuttoned their clothes, and others even had their skirts on backward.
The most exaggerated was a red-haired foreign woman. She was tall with a curvaceous figure, wearing a sexy red slip dress that was so short it barely covered her backside.
She was being supported by two female officers as she walked out, but she was still completely dazed, her eyes unfocused, clearly not fully recovered from the hypnosis.
As she walked, she suddenly broke free from the officers' grip and stumbled toward Roy.
"Hey! Miss!" The female officers were startled and quickly chased after her.
But the red-haired woman was quite fast, reaching Roy in a few steps and throwing herself directly into his arms.
Roy felt a gust of perfume, followed by a hot body pressing against him.
The red-haired woman wrapped her arms around his neck, hanging off him as she looked at him with Misty eyes, muttering incoherently, "I love you... come... FK..."
Roy: "..."
Officer Jenny: "!!!"
The red-haired woman leaned closer to Roy's face, looking as if she wanted to kiss him.
Officer Jenny hurried to pull her away.
But the woman was surprisingly strong, clinging to him like an octopus and refusing to let go, still muttering, "You are so handsome... come on... let's go..."
"Sorry, so sorry!" The two female officers finally caught up, each grabbing one of the red-haired woman's arms and pulling her off Roy with all their might.
"Let me go! I want him!" the red-haired woman continued to struggle.
The female officers, their faces lined with frustration, dragged her away.
Officer Jenny stood nearby, her face dark.
She quickly pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket, took one out, and handed it to Roy. "Quick, wipe yourself!"
Officer Jenny gritted her teeth, pulled out a few more tissues, and began wiping him down herself.
As she wiped, she grumbled, "These people are really... outrageous! Doing this kind of thing in public! Even assaulting an officer! No, assaulting a citizen!"
She wiped with such force it seemed she wanted to scrub away the makeup stains along with the fabric of his shirt.
Roy looked down at her and noticed that Officer Jenny's ears had turned red.
After cleaning him up, Officer Jenny finally let go, took a step back, and coughed dryly. "Um... don't mind them. These people were under too deep a hypnosis; they're not in their right minds and don't know what they're doing."
"I know, of course." Roy smiled.
Officer Jenny glanced at him then quickly looked away, turning to the other officers and shouting, "What are you all standing around for! Get these people out of here! Also, notify the nearby patrol units to send people to every intersection. If any lost children are found, contact their parents immediately!"
"Yes!"
The police officers got busy.
After wiping his shirt, Roy threw the tissue into a nearby trash can.
At that moment, an officer ran out from inside: "Officer Jenny, the headcount inside is complete. They are all white-collar workers and corporate executives from nearby office buildings. Also, those two Pokemon have been contained."
Officer Jenny nodded. "Good. Take them all back to the station, take their statements, verify their identities, and then notify their families or workplaces to come pick them up."
"Yes!"
The police began leading the people out.
Those white-collar Elites were now all dejected, some covering their faces and others lowering their heads, terrified of being recognized.
Watching this scene, Roy couldn't help but want to laugh.
He wondered what kind of expressions these people would have in their offices tomorrow.
Once most of the people had left, Officer Jenny turned to Roy. "Mr. Roy, I have to trouble you once more."
"What is it?"
"Regarding those lost children—even though the source of the hypnosis is resolved, we still don't know their exact locations. Could you... help us out again?" Officer Jenny sounded a bit embarrassed. "I know you've already done so much, but..."
"Sure," Roy interrupted her. "I'm not doing anything anyway; I'll show you around."
Officer Jenny's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great!"
The two of them went downstairs together.
For the next two hours, Roy followed Officer Jenny all over HopHop Town.
As expected, once the hypnotic waves vanished, the hypnotized children slowly regained consciousness and began emerging from all sorts of nooks and crannies.
Some were crying behind trash cans, some were staring blankly in mall corners, and others were sitting on curbs in a daze.
The police responded to one call after another, finding the children and returning them to their parents.
Roy accompanied Officer Jenny to three different locations, and after confirming that all the children had been found, he finally took his leave.
"Mr. Roy, thank you so much!" Officer Jenny stood in front of her patrol car, looking at him seriously. "I'll apply for the reward as soon as possible and notify you then."
"Alright, thanks for your hard work." Roy waved his hand. "I'll head out then."
"Safe travels!"
Roy turned and walked toward the Pokémon Center.
About thirty minutes later, Roy pushed open the doors of the Pokémon Center.
As soon as he entered, a figure rushed toward him.
Misty stood before him with her hands on her hips, her face puffed up with anger and her eyes wide.
"Roy!!!"
Roy paused. "What's wrong?"
"You have the nerve to ask what's wrong?" Misty pointed at him, her finger nearly poking his nose. "You lied to me again!"
Roy blinked. "What did I lie to you about?"
"What did you say was here?" Misty stamped her foot in anger. "A legendary Water-type Pokemon! Legendary! Water-type!"
Roy: "..."
"And the result?" Misty continued her accusation. "I stayed here all afternoon, and besides a stupid duck with a headache that has no Trainer, every other Pokemon has a Trainer! They were all sent here for treatment because of headaches!"
She spoke with her hands on her hips, her chest heaving.
In her anger, she looked like a bristling kitten—both fierce and cute.
"I spent the whole afternoon trying to comfort those Pokemon with headaches, only to find out they all have Trainers. I was so embarrassed!" Misty grew angrier as she spoke.
"Do you know how those Trainers looked at me? Like I was a thief trying to steal someone else's Pokemon!"
Roy couldn't help but laugh.
"You're still laughing!" Misty lunged forward, grabbing his arm and shaking it vigorously. "I don't care! You owe me! You owe me a legendary Water-type Pokemon!"
Roy felt dizzy from the shaking. "Hey, hey, stop shaking, I'm going to fall apart."
"Then pay me back!"
Roy looked helplessly to the side.
Delia was standing by the counter; she suppressed a smile, her eyes conveying a 'You caused this mess, you fix it' message.
Roy looked back, preparing to speak.
Misty was still shaking his arm, her body twisting along with the motion.
She was wearing a crop top, and with this twisting, her slender waist was revealed, her skin fair and her lines smooth.
As she twisted, a poké ball suddenly slipped from the poké ball belt at her waist, hit the ground, and rolled away with a clatter.
"Eh?" Misty froze and stopped moving. "My poké ball."
The poké ball rolled across the floor, all the way until it reached the side of the counter.
Standing there was a Psyduck.
It was the one by Nurse Joy's feet, currently clutching its head with a pained expression.
Psyduck had its head lowered, struggling with the universal dilemma of 'Who am I?'
Suddenly, a red and white ball rolled to its feet.
Psyduck tilted its head, looking at the poké ball by its feet.
Quack?
It blinked, the question marks over its head nearly becoming physical.
What is this? Food? Doesn't look like it. A toy? Don't know.
Psyduck stared at the poké ball for three seconds, then it lowered its head and gently tapped the poké ball with its beak.
The poké ball automatically opened, and a red light shot out, enveloping Psyduck.
Psyduck: Quack?
Before it could react, it was sucked into the poké ball.
The poké ball landed on the ground and shook twice.
Ding.
Capture successful.
The entire Pokémon Center fell silent for a second.
Nurse Joy's eyes lit up, and she quickly walked over, picked up the poké ball, and looked at Misty excitedly: "Ah! Miss Misty, congratulations! You've captured this Psyduck!"
Misty's expression instantly became abstract: "Huh???"
She widened her eyes and pointed at herself: "Me? Captured? No! I didn't do anything!"
"No, it captured itself!"
Nurse Joy's eyes crinkled into crescents as she smiled: "This Psyduck has finally found a Trainer that suits it."
Misty: "..."