HOME | DD

Description
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Investigators of Spirit

a fanmade story

(Setting: While technically it's while Gabriel, Aileen, Cheren, and Sky are in the Dank Swamp, most of it is a flashback from 15 years earlier.)

Once Gumshoos finally walked away from the crowd screaming at him, unamused, it died down and realized the famous explorers had disappeared. Somehow, no one understood how they had managed to sneak off without being noticed.
Hypno, at his shop, just laughed. "Ha! Those two are almost as good ninjas as they are explorers. Disappear or show up before anyone knows what hit 'em!"
"Oh?" As the crowd dispersed, Misdreavus heard this and came up to him. "What makes you say that?"
"Heh…ah, let's just say I've had my own experiences with them."
Misdreavus was astonished. "You mean you've known them from before?! Team Explorers of Sky, I mean."
"To say the least," the Hypnosis Pokémon said, "it's a funny but long story."
"I've got time. Do tell."
"You really want to know?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if you say so. Thing is, I was the first outlaw they ever caught."
"Shut up!" She didn't buy it. "You? A criminal? You're not the type!"
"Not anymore, anyway," Hypno admitted. "But there was a time, way back when, when I lived a low life. And to think…I'd be turned around by two kids just getting the hang of things, to end up as famous as they are now."
Hypno told Misdreavus of those days…back when he used to be Drowzee.
Drowzee was a successful crook, pulling off heist after heist, and those uncommon times where teams set out to apprehend him and collect the bounty on his head, he outwitted them and made off with his loot.
He was good at what he did, and he knew it. And so he planned his biggest heist yet…at the top of Mt. Bristle, where rumor flew even higher than the peak.
It was said that thieves from around the world had stashed their loot at the top of the mountain before they were caught and jailed, and no one had ever found and claimed it.
Well, he had full intent on being that Pokémon. With such a huge collection of treasure, if he ever didn't want to keep it - which he did - the cash would just keep rolling in!
"Heh heh…" Drowzee speculated. "When I pull this off, I could practically retire! I'd be set for life!"
So he made his preparations and his way to get his hands all over it.
(Mt. Bristle
9F
Exact same selection as from Explorers
Drowzee: 15)
Once he made it to Mt. Bristle Peak, he checked to make sure he hadn't been followed, and then looked for what he was looking for.
Sure enough, straight ahead, at the bottom of the wall was a mousehole-like tunnel.
"That's got to be where it is…" the outlaw smiled. "Treasure trove, here I come!"
He got down low and crawled into the space…
and got stuck.
"Hm?" He tried to force himself through.
But it was no good. He was too fat to fit in.
"Rats…" Drowzee pulled himself out. "How am I going to do this…"
For the time being, he headed back down the mountain, resting at Treasure Town, the nearest settlement to Mt. Bristle, to try and formulate a plan to get at the bounty, blending in in the plaza. He was lost in thought, coming up with nothing, when two small blue Pokémon passed him by, headed the other direction.
"Misters Kecleon!" the bigger one called out.
Drowzee watched as they approached the Kecleon Shop just across the bridge, stopping at the counter face-to-face with the green and purple Kecleon brothers.
"Ah!" the green one's attention turned to them as he finished up his business with a Riolu and a Pikachu. "Little Marill and Azurill! Welcome, my young friends! ♪"
"Hello," Azurill, the smaller child, said. "May I buy an Apple?"
"Oh, most certainly!" Kecleon exchanges the fruit for the children's Poké.
"Thank you, Misters Kecleon!" Marill said happily.
"No, thank you, my young friends!" Kecleon praised. "You are to be admired! ♪"
Marill and Azurill started back.
Marill's about my size, Drowzee noted, and Azurill is clearly smaller than him. Someone like Azurill could fit into that hole on Mt. Bristle. Hm…
"You see, those delightful children are brothers," Kecleon explained to the other two customers as Drowzee listened closer. "Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick. So those youngsters come and do the shopping for her. It's quite remarkable. Though very young, they've stepped up and taken charge. ♪"
Suddenly the two boys came running back. "Misters Kecleon!"
The shopkeepers returned their attention to them. "Oh? What's the hurry? What makes you return in such a rush?"
"There was an extra Apple!" Azurill showed him.
"We didn't pay for this many," Marill explained.
"Oh, yes…" Kecleon nodded. "That, young friends, is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it amongst yourselves and do enjoy."
"Really?!" Marill made sure it was alright.
"Yay!" Azurill jumped for joy. "Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!"
"Oh, not to worry, my friends. Do take care on your way home."
Marill and Azurill started back, for real this time.
That is, until Azurill tripped and fell flat on his face.
"Yowch!" he cried, dropping his Apple. It rolled along the ground until it stopped at the Pikachu's feet. She picked it up and gave it back to Azurill.
"W-we're sorry to bother you," Azurill thanked Cheren. "Thank you so much."
She smiled and put her hands on her hips. But then they went to her head as she suddenly sharply shut her eyes, struggling to stay standing, seemingly suffering from a dizzy spell.
When she did suddenly open her eyes, Drowzee saw that they seemed…glossed-over. Empty. Like her mind was somewhere else right now…
After another few moments, she blinked a couple times and then snapped awake, gasping for air.
"What was that?" the Pikachu was startled. "I'm sure I heard a shout for help just now…"
She looked around before setting her gaze on Azurill. "Did that shout come from you?" Cheren asked.
Azurill was confused. "Is something the matter?"
"Hey, Azurill!" Marill called. "What's going on? Hurry home!"
"Yup! I'm coming! Wait up!"
Azurill caught up to his big brother.
"Are you all right?" Marill asked.
"Yup!"
"We're done with our shopping…now we gotta look for an item we've lost! Let's get going."
"Yup! I'm coming!"
Drowzee watched as the boys began their way home. An item, you say?
Hm…
He looked at Azurill for a moment.
And smiled a sinister smirk. This could work…
"Hey, kids," Drowzee called out to them, catching their attention and getting them to stop. "Did I just hear that you two lost an item?"
Marill and Azurill looked at each other for a moment. "Yeah, I just said that," Marill nodded.
"It's really important to us…" Azurill explained, "but no matter how hard we look, we can't find it!"
"Can you tell me what it looked like?" Not that Drowzee cared.
"It's a Water Float," Marill described. "It's like a gold ring with a big blue jewel on it."
"Mm." Drowzee had never seen anything of the sort. "I think I've seen something like that during my travels."
That got the boys' attention. "Really?!"
"Yeah. I'll even take you two to where I saw it."
"Yaaaay!" Azurill jumped for joy.
"Thank you!" Marill was also happy.
"Please! It's nothing," Drowzee played the "humble" card.
"What's going on?"
He and the boys turned to the voice.
"Oh! Hi!" Azurill said upon seeing it was Cheren and Sky again.
"Some time ago," Marill explained, "we lost an item that's pretty important to us…We've been looking all over…but we haven't found it yet!"
He turned back to the outlaw. "Then Mr. Drowzee came along…and he says he may have seen our lost item somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it. We're so happy about this!"
"Yeah! That's great for you!" The Riolu smiled, whereas Cheren, remaining quiet, was…less enthusiastic.
"Thank you, Mr. Drowzee!" Azurill properly thanked him.
"Oh, please…" Drowzee was really getting into the act. "I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye! Let us be on our way to begin our search!"
"Yup!" Both boys were more than ready to start looking.
As they made their way to the crossroads, Drowzee accidentally bumped into Cheren, who flinched on contact.
"Whoops! Excuse me," he apologized for that.
Once Drowzee, Marill, and Azurill were a ways away from Treasure Town, Marill asked, "So where did you see the item exactly, Mr. Drowzee?"
"I think it was just over this way," he said.
But in his head he was thinking: I'm gonna have to lose the bigger kid if I'm gonna get the smaller one in the hole up Mt. Bristle. What I should really be looking for is that chance up here.
(Winding Road
6F
Pokémon commonly associated with direction, such as Nosepass, Linoone, and Spinda
Drowzee: 16 [+1]
Azurill: 5 [no change]
Marill: 8 [no change])
"I think we've come quite a way," Drowzee said when they approached the base of Mt. Bristle. "Your item should be just ahead from here."
Azurill looked around, not seeing Marill anywhere. "Where'd my big brother go?"
"Ah, I'm sure he just fell a bit behind. He's following us closely," the outlaw reassured him.
"If you say so, Mr. Drowzee," the kid bought it.
Looks like it worked, then, Drowzee thought. We lost him. But we better get moving quick if we're going to stay ahead.
Ha ha…treasure trove, here we come!
(Mt. Bristle
9F
Same as before
Drowzee: 16 [no change]
Azurill: 6 [+1])
The two Pokémon were soon at the Mt. Bristle Peak.
"Uh-oh," Azurill said when he saw he couldn't go any farther. "It's a dead end."
He turned to face Drowzee. "Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item? Could you show me where the item is now?"
The outlaw smiled. Right where I want him. "Sorry, kiddo. Your lost item? It's not here, that's for sure."
Azurill didn't quite get it at first. "Huh?"
He looked around for Marill. "My…big brother…My big brother's following us, right? He's coming soon?"
"Nope. Your big brother's not coming. I'll let you in on a little secret. This was all a trick. I deceived you."
That he understood. "Huh?!"
"But let's not dwell on that," Drowzee moved on. "There's a little favor I need to ask. You see that hole behind you?"
Azurill turned to see it.
"Well…" Drowzee explained, "there's a rumor that there's a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to squirm my way through that hole.
And that's where you come in!"
It hit Azurill like a ton of bricks.
"Don't worry," Drowzee said. "Just do as I say. Do that, then I'll help you get back out of there."
"B-but…"
The kid sits on his tail, shivering in fear, about to cry.
"Go on, get going!" the outlaw urged. "Go into that hole. And don't forget to bring back the treasure!"
Azurill bursted and made a run for it. "I want my big brother!"
"H-hey! Stop that!" Drowzee quickly cut him off. "Sheesh! I said that I'll take you home when you're done!
"If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!"
"H-h-h…HELP!" Azurill cries out.
"Stop right there!"
As if on que, Cheren and Sky arrived on the scene.
"We won't let you do that!" the Riolu challenged the outlaw. "Drowzee, you bully!"
Drowzee was caught off guard. "H-how did you find this place?!" he asked.
No one fully understood until much later, but it turned out that touching Azurill's Apple and contact with Drowzee when he bumped into her had triggered Cheren's Dimensional Scream ability. Her confusion at the store was because she heard Azurill's cry for help ahead of time, and the outlaw's clumsiness had given her another vision of the very moment before they showed up. Though neither explorer understood at first - Sky just figured Cheren had had "a bad daydream" when she explained what she saw to him - they knew Azurill was in trouble when they saw Drowzee on a wanted poster. Marill led them to Mt. Bristle after he got separated, and here they were now.
"We're Team Explorers of Sky! An exploration team!" Sky challenged the outlaw. "No criminal can escape us!"
Drowzee began sweating profusely. "An exploration team?! You came to apprehend…"
Oh no, he panicked. No. No no no no. I can't be busted now! I'm so close! It was-
He held that thought as he noticed the Riolu was shaking on the spot, and it wasn't cold at all.
"…Huh? Are you…trembling?"
Then he realized. "A-ha! I've figured it out! You say you're on an exploration team, but you're total rookies!"
"Urk!" Sky flinched from the truth. They'd been found out. It was in fact only their second day as apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild, and he had gone through enough fear just getting in.
"Heh. That's right, I'm a wanted Pokémon with a bounty on my head," Drowzee admitted. "But can you two do the job?" he quickly turned it into a taunt. "Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice?"
"Urk!" Sky flinched again, but stopped shivering and stood tall. "Y-yes. We can!" he told himself. "Yes, we can! We'd never lose to a bad guy like you!"
"Ha ha ha!" Drowzee laughed. "I've been chased by all sorts of exploration teams in my day…but never a sorrier-looking bunch than you two!"
"Urk!" Now Sky was getting more fed up with being taunted than anything.
"This should be a laugh." Whatever concern there had been just a minute ago, there was none now. "Let's see if you can take me down," Drowzee boasted. "Show me what you've got!"
Azurill stayed out of the line of fire as the outlaw and the explorers-in-training clashed.
The Pikachu aligned herself so she was face-to-face with the criminal as he approached them.
Cheren then attacked with Thunder Shock, and Sky used Bite. For a couple of kids, they sure knew how to fight. Drowzee made sure to seal Sky's Bite from being used with his Disable.
Cheren was also quite smart with items. She cracked open and ate a Blast Seed, and the fire she spewed did big damage to him. Sky then used Quick Attack as some form of attack.
Drowzee, suddenly feeling a lot less sure of his chances, attempted to buy himself some time by using Hypnosis on Cheren. But even though she fell fast asleep, he didn't have enough HP to take another Quick Attack from Sky.
He tried one last time to be intimidating: "Rrrrawrrr!"
But ultimately he just flopped onto the ground, defeated.
When he came to, he was cuffed by the Magnemite cops.
Officer Magnezone was talking with Cheren and Sky. "ZZZT! I am Magnezone, the primary officer in this region! ZZZT! Thanks to you, we have been able to arrest a wanted outlaw! ZZZT! We owe you great thanks for your cooperation! ZZZT!"
He sounded his sirens in gratitude.
"ZZZT! We will send the reward to your guild. Thank you again! ZZZT!"
He turned to Drowzee. "ZZZT! Now come with us! ZZZT!"
Drowzee was in a weird spot. He had just been on the verge of his greatest heist of all time, only to be busted and wrecked by two complete newbies, all because he was too fat to fit in the hole in the first place.
His career in crime met his end at THAT, and all he had to say was:
"Awww…"
He kept thinking that over in his head as the sheriffs took him away.
He was taken to jail and placed down on the opposite end of a table as Magnezone for questioning.
"ZZZT! So…" Magnezone began, "after all this time, here you are. ZZZT!"
"I mean, well…" Drowzee was already at a loss of words. "Yeah."
"ZZZT! Even you must know you went too far this time. ZZZT! Child abduction and child endangerment, to add to the list of your crimes. ZZZT!"
"Sorry, Officer."
"ZZZT! Sorry for your crimes? Or for getting caught, by a pair of apprentices? ZZZT!"
"Both."
"ZZZT! Wrong answer! ZZZT!"
"Really, Magnezone, I know what I did was wrong, I just…really wanted at that treasure."
"ZZZT! Which was ALSO not yours! ZZZT! And you don't even know for sure if there is any! ZZZT!"
"Well, I was never going to find out if I didn't get down that hole, was I?"
"ZZZT! Sheriff Magnemite has already investigated the area and confirmed that there is no such treasure in that crawl space. It is simply a dead end. ZZZT!"
"Oh…"
"ZZZT! So you abducted little Azurill for nothing, in essence. ZZZT!"
"Come on, how is it fair when you put it li-"
"ZZZT! How is it FAIR? How is it FAIR?! Coming from someone who has lived off of unfairness for years?! ZZZT!"
"Well, maybe I don't WANT to anymore."
"ZZZT! Are you saying you want to give up your life of crime?! ZZZT!"
"Yeah. That's what I'm saying…if you'll let me. If you'll let me, Magnezone, then I, Drowzee, hereby vow that I will never again bend or break the law from this day forth."
An awkward silence for some time.
"ZZZT! Very well, then…I will hold you to those words. You are released. ZZZT!"
Drowzee was caught off guard. "Wait, what?"
"ZZZT! You are released. I believe you can reform. There will be no charges or sentence this time. However…if I catch you back to your old tricks at all, it's straight back here. Do you understand? ZZZT!"
"Y-yes, Officer…" Drowzee nodded. "Thank you for giving me this chance."
"ZZZT! Good luck now. ZZZT!"
He was then escorted outside, a free Pokémon.
Wow… Drowzee thought once he was by himself. I don't know how that worked out, but…I just dodged going to jail.
…
Now what do I do?
Well, I made that vow to Magnezone…so it's not like it's back to the daily grind or anything…
I guess for now I'll climb Mt. Travail, then see what happens from there…y'know, meditate and clear my mind for better judgement.
So he went to scale the mountain.
(Mt. Travail
19F
Same selection as Explorers
Drowzee: 18 [+2])
After a long, painful hike, he was at Mt. Travail Peak. Looking out over the cliff, he could see for miles of the rest of the Grass Continent.
It seems to stretch endlessly, he thought. Just like my available choices right now…so how do I pick the right one?
He sat down, looking over the view, thinking about his options.
But his thought process was interrupted by a "Yo! Drowzee!" coming from behind.
He got back up to see who it was; Rhydon, an old occasional partner-in-crime.
"Hey, man. I heard you dodged a huge bullet today," Rhydon said, "messin' up big-time but not gettin' jailed! Honestly, man, how DO you do it? Magnezone must be furious right now, bein' so close to gettin' you!"
"Mm," Drowzee nodded. "Heh, I did end up between a rock and a hard place for a minute, there, yeah…"
"Ha! Yeah, that's mah Drowzee!" Rhydon smiled. "Always too many steps ahead!
"So…got any big plans for yo' next heist? They say there's huge treasure in Fogbound Lake somewhere!"
"Ah…" Drowzee knew he was going to have to say it, "I actually think I'm about done."
"Wai- wha?" Rhydon's smile flipped. "Why?"
"That last one was a bit too close for comfort for me, y'know what I'm saying? I don't want to risk messing up that bad again, underestimating my opponents…"
"When's that ever stopped ya before?" Rhydon asked. "I mean, I get the close scrape, but hey! All ya gotta do is not get caught. Ain't that what you always told me?"
"You see, Rhydon…" Drowzee had to say it. "The only reason I didn't wind up behind bars this time was because I got out of the grilling with a vow."
"Ya made a vow to Magnezone?"
"Yeah…I vowed to stay on the straight and narrow this time, and he's going to remember that. And I do intend to keep that promise…I'm actually trying to figure out what I'll do next now."
Rhydon just stood there and took that all in.
"You're outta yo' mind, man…" he finally said. "What's gotten into you? Did one'a your Hypnosis'es backfire o' something?"
"Just what I said," Drowzee tried to make him accept it. "I'm done with crime. So thanks…but no thanks."
"Naw, that's not right…snap outta it, mate! I'm gonna have to knock the sense back into ya!" Rhydon got ready to fight.
"What?!" Drowzee didn't see this coming. "I don't want to fight over this…why can't you respect my decisi-"
"Stop talkin'!" Rhydon demanded. "You're goin' insane, man! I'll save ya!"
Oh, boy…heeere we go… Drowzee kept quiet.
He stood still as the Drill Pokémon approached him, and began to protect himself from him with Confusion.
This enraged Rhydon and provoked him to use Stomp.
Drowzee, not going to make the same mistake as he did with the exploration team, left Rhydon open and himself safe by using Hypnosis on him. Once the Drill Pokémon was asleep on the spot, Drowzee just kept whaling on him with Confusion. He was lucky; when Rhydon woke up, he was confused and missed Fury Attack. Another Confusion and he was down and out.
From there, Drowzee knew what he had to do.
An hour or two later, the two Magnemite had Rhydon cuffed, and Magnezone was speaking with Drowzee.
"ZZZT! Well, this is quite the turn of events! ZZZT! Drowzee, bringing one of his former comrades to justice with him! ZZZT!"
"I mean, it wasn't exactly my choice…" the Hypnosis Pokémon admitted.
"How could you do this to me?!" Rhydon was enraged.
"You know, it doesn't have to be this way…" Drowzee offered. "We could start down the straight and narrow path together."
"That's where you're wrong, Drowzee," Rhydon refused. "Unlike you, I didn't choose the thug life…the thug life chose me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ech…nothin'."
"Well…I offered. So long, old friend…"
Magnezone gave Drowzee the reward and took Rhydon away.
Once he was alone, Drowzee finished his statement: "And with that, so long, old life."
He spent the next couple of months returning just about everything he ever stole to their rightful owners. He felt good about himself, finally doing the right thing.
But…there was one crime he couldn't undo that easily.
The one he never finished.
The Azurill incident hung over his head for quite some time, as he looked out over the mountaintop, trying to brainstorm ideas to repay the young brothers and the explorers for that incident…but came up with nothing.
In fact, he was in the middle of one of those sessions when:
"Drowzee!"
He turned to face the voice…
and jumped.
"Wa-wah! You two?!"
It was Cheren and Sky again.
"What did you come here for?!" he asked. "I…I've kept my nose clean! I've stayed out of a life of crime!"
"W-wait! That's not it, Drowzee. We're not here to arrest you, Drowzee," Sky assured him. "But we are here for you. We need your help, Drowzee."
The former outlaw was confused. "H-huh? Me? You need my help?"
"Yes," Sky nodded. "You remember that little Azurill, right?"
Like he could forget.
"That Azurill has been locked in sleep and won't wake up," the Riolu explained.
"Huh? That Azurill tyke?" Drowzee made sure he heard right.
"No one knows why he won't wake up," Sky said solemnly. "That's when we heard that you, Drowzee, can possibly enter dreams. That's why we searched for you."
Huh, Drowzee thought. This…is this my chance?
"So, Drowzee…how about it? Will you help us?" Sky offered, as Cheren stared on from her partner's side.
It's almost like they're staring into my soul, he thought.
A silence.
Drowzee couldn't face them. "…I…I…" he tried to find the words. "I did a rotten thing to that little Azurill way back when…I don't know if doing this would ever make up for it, but…if it would help Azurill even a little…"
"I don't know how useful I can be," he finally said, "but…I'd be glad to help, if you'll let me."
"Drowzee!" Sky's eyes gleamed, seeing the true reform.
"Lead me back to Azurill," Drowzee said. "Let's not waste time!"
"OK!" Team Explorers of Sky nodded. "It's this way! Quick!"
Drowzee followed them as they went back down the mountain and took him to Treasure Town.
It took several days for the explorers to get to the bottom of everything, even with all the help they had, but it was all cleared up in time.
Drowzee stayed in Treasure Town for a while, before saying his goodbyes and packing it all up. His travels took him near and far, letting him grow stronger and evolve, until Hypno finally made a permanent settlement and a living here at Crossroad City.
"Wow," Misdreavus said once Hypno told her his story. "Ha. That's not…something you hear every day."
"That's one way to put it," Hypno laughed. "A big, bad crook becoming a shopkeeper after being brought to justice by two kids, who move on to become world-famous explorers. It is nuts."
"Never would've even thought it looking at you now. I guess that's just proof of how far you've come."
"Hey, hey, you're giving me way more credit than I deserve."
"I don't think so," Misdreavus teased, "but fine. See you later."
"See you."
As Misdreavus floated away, Hypno was left thinking. It's strange to run into them again, after all this time has passed. I'd say I owe them, but they owe me at the same time. I got them started onto the path they're on now, and they got me onto mine.
…
Ha ha ha! It's crazy how we ended up helping each other on our ways…I guess that happens sometimes between complete strangers, huh?
Yeah, I should've seen it from the start. Those kids are great at what they do - jumping into the unknown for others' sakes.
No wonder they saved the world twice already…
Now let's see them do it again.
(End of Special Episode 2.)

Description
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Investigators of Spirit

a fanmade story

(Setting: While technically it's while Gabriel, Aileen, Cheren, and Sky are in the Dank Swamp, most of it is a flashback from 15 years earlier.)

Once Gumshoos finally walked away from the crowd screaming at him, unamused, it died down and realized the famous explorers had disappeared. Somehow, no one understood how they had managed to sneak off without being noticed.
Hypno, at his shop, just laughed. "Ha! Those two are almost as good ninjas as they are explorers. Disappear or show up before anyone knows what hit 'em!"
"Oh?" As the crowd dispersed, Misdreavus heard this and came up to him. "What makes you say that?"
"Heh…ah, let's just say I've had my own experiences with them."
Misdreavus was astonished. "You mean you've known them from before?! Team Explorers of Sky, I mean."
"To say the least," the Hypnosis Pokémon said, "it's a funny but long story."
"I've got time. Do tell."
"You really want to know?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if you say so. Thing is, I was the first outlaw they ever caught."
"Shut up!" She didn't buy it. "You? A criminal? You're not the type!"
"Not anymore, anyway," Hypno admitted. "But there was a time, way back when, when I lived a low life. And to think…I'd be turned around by two kids just getting the hang of things, to end up as famous as they are now."
Hypno told Misdreavus of those days…back when he used to be Drowzee.
Drowzee was a successful crook, pulling off heist after heist, and those uncommon times where teams set out to apprehend him and collect the bounty on his head, he outwitted them and made off with his loot.
He was good at what he did, and he knew it. And so he planned his biggest heist yet…at the top of Mt. Bristle, where rumor flew even higher than the peak.
It was said that thieves from around the world had stashed their loot at the top of the mountain before they were caught and jailed, and no one had ever found and claimed it.
Well, he had full intent on being that Pokémon. With such a huge collection of treasure, if he ever didn't want to keep it - which he did - the cash would just keep rolling in!
"Heh heh…" Drowzee speculated. "When I pull this off, I could practically retire! I'd be set for life!"
So he made his preparations and his way to get his hands all over it.
(Mt. Bristle
9F
Exact same selection as from Explorers
Drowzee: 15)
Once he made it to Mt. Bristle Peak, he checked to make sure he hadn't been followed, and then looked for what he was looking for.
Sure enough, straight ahead, at the bottom of the wall was a mousehole-like tunnel.
"That's got to be where it is…" the outlaw smiled. "Treasure trove, here I come!"
He got down low and crawled into the space…
and got stuck.
"Hm?" He tried to force himself through.
But it was no good. He was too fat to fit in.
"Rats…" Drowzee pulled himself out. "How am I going to do this…"
For the time being, he headed back down the mountain, resting at Treasure Town, the nearest settlement to Mt. Bristle, to try and formulate a plan to get at the bounty, blending in in the plaza. He was lost in thought, coming up with nothing, when two small blue Pokémon passed him by, headed the other direction.
"Misters Kecleon!" the bigger one called out.
Drowzee watched as they approached the Kecleon Shop just across the bridge, stopping at the counter face-to-face with the green and purple Kecleon brothers.
"Ah!" the green one's attention turned to them as he finished up his business with a Riolu and a Pikachu. "Little Marill and Azurill! Welcome, my young friends! ♪"
"Hello," Azurill, the smaller child, said. "May I buy an Apple?"
"Oh, most certainly!" Kecleon exchanges the fruit for the children's Poké.
"Thank you, Misters Kecleon!" Marill said happily.
"No, thank you, my young friends!" Kecleon praised. "You are to be admired! ♪"
Marill and Azurill started back.
Marill's about my size, Drowzee noted, and Azurill is clearly smaller than him. Someone like Azurill could fit into that hole on Mt. Bristle. Hm…
"You see, those delightful children are brothers," Kecleon explained to the other two customers as Drowzee listened closer. "Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick. So those youngsters come and do the shopping for her. It's quite remarkable. Though very young, they've stepped up and taken charge. ♪"
Suddenly the two boys came running back. "Misters Kecleon!"
The shopkeepers returned their attention to them. "Oh? What's the hurry? What makes you return in such a rush?"
"There was an extra Apple!" Azurill showed him.
"We didn't pay for this many," Marill explained.
"Oh, yes…" Kecleon nodded. "That, young friends, is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it amongst yourselves and do enjoy."
"Really?!" Marill made sure it was alright.
"Yay!" Azurill jumped for joy. "Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!"
"Oh, not to worry, my friends. Do take care on your way home."
Marill and Azurill started back, for real this time.
That is, until Azurill tripped and fell flat on his face.
"Yowch!" he cried, dropping his Apple. It rolled along the ground until it stopped at the Pikachu's feet. She picked it up and gave it back to Azurill.
"W-we're sorry to bother you," Azurill thanked Cheren. "Thank you so much."
She smiled and put her hands on her hips. But then they went to her head as she suddenly sharply shut her eyes, struggling to stay standing, seemingly suffering from a dizzy spell.
When she did suddenly open her eyes, Drowzee saw that they seemed…glossed-over. Empty. Like her mind was somewhere else right now…
After another few moments, she blinked a couple times and then snapped awake, gasping for air.
"What was that?" the Pikachu was startled. "I'm sure I heard a shout for help just now…"
She looked around before setting her gaze on Azurill. "Did that shout come from you?" Cheren asked.
Azurill was confused. "Is something the matter?"
"Hey, Azurill!" Marill called. "What's going on? Hurry home!"
"Yup! I'm coming! Wait up!"
Azurill caught up to his big brother.
"Are you all right?" Marill asked.
"Yup!"
"We're done with our shopping…now we gotta look for an item we've lost! Let's get going."
"Yup! I'm coming!"
Drowzee watched as the boys began their way home. An item, you say?
Hm…
He looked at Azurill for a moment.
And smiled a sinister smirk. This could work…
"Hey, kids," Drowzee called out to them, catching their attention and getting them to stop. "Did I just hear that you two lost an item?"
Marill and Azurill looked at each other for a moment. "Yeah, I just said that," Marill nodded.
"It's really important to us…" Azurill explained, "but no matter how hard we look, we can't find it!"
"Can you tell me what it looked like?" Not that Drowzee cared.
"It's a Water Float," Marill described. "It's like a gold ring with a big blue jewel on it."
"Mm." Drowzee had never seen anything of the sort. "I think I've seen something like that during my travels."
That got the boys' attention. "Really?!"
"Yeah. I'll even take you two to where I saw it."
"Yaaaay!" Azurill jumped for joy.
"Thank you!" Marill was also happy.
"Please! It's nothing," Drowzee played the "humble" card.
"What's going on?"
He and the boys turned to the voice.
"Oh! Hi!" Azurill said upon seeing it was Cheren and Sky again.
"Some time ago," Marill explained, "we lost an item that's pretty important to us…We've been looking all over…but we haven't found it yet!"
He turned back to the outlaw. "Then Mr. Drowzee came along…and he says he may have seen our lost item somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it. We're so happy about this!"
"Yeah! That's great for you!" The Riolu smiled, whereas Cheren, remaining quiet, was…less enthusiastic.
"Thank you, Mr. Drowzee!" Azurill properly thanked him.
"Oh, please…" Drowzee was really getting into the act. "I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye! Let us be on our way to begin our search!"
"Yup!" Both boys were more than ready to start looking.
As they made their way to the crossroads, Drowzee accidentally bumped into Cheren, who flinched on contact.
"Whoops! Excuse me," he apologized for that.
Once Drowzee, Marill, and Azurill were a ways away from Treasure Town, Marill asked, "So where did you see the item exactly, Mr. Drowzee?"
"I think it was just over this way," he said.
But in his head he was thinking: I'm gonna have to lose the bigger kid if I'm gonna get the smaller one in the hole up Mt. Bristle. What I should really be looking for is that chance up here.
(Winding Road
6F
Pokémon commonly associated with direction, such as Nosepass, Linoone, and Spinda
Drowzee: 16 [+1]
Azurill: 5 [no change]
Marill: 8 [no change])
"I think we've come quite a way," Drowzee said when they approached the base of Mt. Bristle. "Your item should be just ahead from here."
Azurill looked around, not seeing Marill anywhere. "Where'd my big brother go?"
"Ah, I'm sure he just fell a bit behind. He's following us closely," the outlaw reassured him.
"If you say so, Mr. Drowzee," the kid bought it.
Looks like it worked, then, Drowzee thought. We lost him. But we better get moving quick if we're going to stay ahead.
Ha ha…treasure trove, here we come!
(Mt. Bristle
9F
Same as before
Drowzee: 16 [no change]
Azurill: 6 [+1])
The two Pokémon were soon at the Mt. Bristle Peak.
"Uh-oh," Azurill said when he saw he couldn't go any farther. "It's a dead end."
He turned to face Drowzee. "Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item? Could you show me where the item is now?"
The outlaw smiled. Right where I want him. "Sorry, kiddo. Your lost item? It's not here, that's for sure."
Azurill didn't quite get it at first. "Huh?"
He looked around for Marill. "My…big brother…My big brother's following us, right? He's coming soon?"
"Nope. Your big brother's not coming. I'll let you in on a little secret. This was all a trick. I deceived you."
That he understood. "Huh?!"
"But let's not dwell on that," Drowzee moved on. "There's a little favor I need to ask. You see that hole behind you?"
Azurill turned to see it.
"Well…" Drowzee explained, "there's a rumor that there's a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to squirm my way through that hole.
And that's where you come in!"
It hit Azurill like a ton of bricks.
"Don't worry," Drowzee said. "Just do as I say. Do that, then I'll help you get back out of there."
"B-but…"
The kid sits on his tail, shivering in fear, about to cry.
"Go on, get going!" the outlaw urged. "Go into that hole. And don't forget to bring back the treasure!"
Azurill bursted and made a run for it. "I want my big brother!"
"H-hey! Stop that!" Drowzee quickly cut him off. "Sheesh! I said that I'll take you home when you're done!
"If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!"
"H-h-h…HELP!" Azurill cries out.
"Stop right there!"
As if on que, Cheren and Sky arrived on the scene.
"We won't let you do that!" the Riolu challenged the outlaw. "Drowzee, you bully!"
Drowzee was caught off guard. "H-how did you find this place?!" he asked.
No one fully understood until much later, but it turned out that touching Azurill's Apple and contact with Drowzee when he bumped into her had triggered Cheren's Dimensional Scream ability. Her confusion at the store was because she heard Azurill's cry for help ahead of time, and the outlaw's clumsiness had given her another vision of the very moment before they showed up. Though neither explorer understood at first - Sky just figured Cheren had had "a bad daydream" when she explained what she saw to him - they knew Azurill was in trouble when they saw Drowzee on a wanted poster. Marill led them to Mt. Bristle after he got separated, and here they were now.
"We're Team Explorers of Sky! An exploration team!" Sky challenged the outlaw. "No criminal can escape us!"
Drowzee began sweating profusely. "An exploration team?! You came to apprehend…"
Oh no, he panicked. No. No no no no. I can't be busted now! I'm so close! It was-
He held that thought as he noticed the Riolu was shaking on the spot, and it wasn't cold at all.
"…Huh? Are you…trembling?"
Then he realized. "A-ha! I've figured it out! You say you're on an exploration team, but you're total rookies!"
"Urk!" Sky flinched from the truth. They'd been found out. It was in fact only their second day as apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild, and he had gone through enough fear just getting in.
"Heh. That's right, I'm a wanted Pokémon with a bounty on my head," Drowzee admitted. "But can you two do the job?" he quickly turned it into a taunt. "Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice?"
"Urk!" Sky flinched again, but stopped shivering and stood tall. "Y-yes. We can!" he told himself. "Yes, we can! We'd never lose to a bad guy like you!"
"Ha ha ha!" Drowzee laughed. "I've been chased by all sorts of exploration teams in my day…but never a sorrier-looking bunch than you two!"
"Urk!" Now Sky was getting more fed up with being taunted than anything.
"This should be a laugh." Whatever concern there had been just a minute ago, there was none now. "Let's see if you can take me down," Drowzee boasted. "Show me what you've got!"
Azurill stayed out of the line of fire as the outlaw and the explorers-in-training clashed.
The Pikachu aligned herself so she was face-to-face with the criminal as he approached them.
Cheren then attacked with Thunder Shock, and Sky used Bite. For a couple of kids, they sure knew how to fight. Drowzee made sure to seal Sky's Bite from being used with his Disable.
Cheren was also quite smart with items. She cracked open and ate a Blast Seed, and the fire she spewed did big damage to him. Sky then used Quick Attack as some form of attack.
Drowzee, suddenly feeling a lot less sure of his chances, attempted to buy himself some time by using Hypnosis on Cheren. But even though she fell fast asleep, he didn't have enough HP to take another Quick Attack from Sky.
He tried one last time to be intimidating: "Rrrrawrrr!"
But ultimately he just flopped onto the ground, defeated.
When he came to, he was cuffed by the Magnemite cops.
Officer Magnezone was talking with Cheren and Sky. "ZZZT! I am Magnezone, the primary officer in this region! ZZZT! Thanks to you, we have been able to arrest a wanted outlaw! ZZZT! We owe you great thanks for your cooperation! ZZZT!"
He sounded his sirens in gratitude.
"ZZZT! We will send the reward to your guild. Thank you again! ZZZT!"
He turned to Drowzee. "ZZZT! Now come with us! ZZZT!"
Drowzee was in a weird spot. He had just been on the verge of his greatest heist of all time, only to be busted and wrecked by two complete newbies, all because he was too fat to fit in the hole in the first place.
His career in crime met his end at THAT, and all he had to say was:
"Awww…"
He kept thinking that over in his head as the sheriffs took him away.
He was taken to jail and placed down on the opposite end of a table as Magnezone for questioning.
"ZZZT! So…" Magnezone began, "after all this time, here you are. ZZZT!"
"I mean, well…" Drowzee was already at a loss of words. "Yeah."
"ZZZT! Even you must know you went too far this time. ZZZT! Child abduction and child endangerment, to add to the list of your crimes. ZZZT!"
"Sorry, Officer."
"ZZZT! Sorry for your crimes? Or for getting caught, by a pair of apprentices? ZZZT!"
"Both."
"ZZZT! Wrong answer! ZZZT!"
"Really, Magnezone, I know what I did was wrong, I just…really wanted at that treasure."
"ZZZT! Which was ALSO not yours! ZZZT! And you don't even know for sure if there is any! ZZZT!"
"Well, I was never going to find out if I didn't get down that hole, was I?"
"ZZZT! Sheriff Magnemite has already investigated the area and confirmed that there is no such treasure in that crawl space. It is simply a dead end. ZZZT!"
"Oh…"
"ZZZT! So you abducted little Azurill for nothing, in essence. ZZZT!"
"Come on, how is it fair when you put it li-"
"ZZZT! How is it FAIR? How is it FAIR?! Coming from someone who has lived off of unfairness for years?! ZZZT!"
"Well, maybe I don't WANT to anymore."
"ZZZT! Are you saying you want to give up your life of crime?! ZZZT!"
"Yeah. That's what I'm saying…if you'll let me. If you'll let me, Magnezone, then I, Drowzee, hereby vow that I will never again bend or break the law from this day forth."
An awkward silence for some time.
"ZZZT! Very well, then…I will hold you to those words. You are released. ZZZT!"
Drowzee was caught off guard. "Wait, what?"
"ZZZT! You are released. I believe you can reform. There will be no charges or sentence this time. However…if I catch you back to your old tricks at all, it's straight back here. Do you understand? ZZZT!"
"Y-yes, Officer…" Drowzee nodded. "Thank you for giving me this chance."
"ZZZT! Good luck now. ZZZT!"
He was then escorted outside, a free Pokémon.
Wow… Drowzee thought once he was by himself. I don't know how that worked out, but…I just dodged going to jail.
…
Now what do I do?
Well, I made that vow to Magnezone…so it's not like it's back to the daily grind or anything…
I guess for now I'll climb Mt. Travail, then see what happens from there…y'know, meditate and clear my mind for better judgement.
So he went to scale the mountain.
(Mt. Travail
19F
Same selection as Explorers
Drowzee: 18 [+2])
After a long, painful hike, he was at Mt. Travail Peak. Looking out over the cliff, he could see for miles of the rest of the Grass Continent.
It seems to stretch endlessly, he thought. Just like my available choices right now…so how do I pick the right one?
He sat down, looking over the view, thinking about his options.
But his thought process was interrupted by a "Yo! Drowzee!" coming from behind.
He got back up to see who it was; Rhydon, an old occasional partner-in-crime.
"Hey, man. I heard you dodged a huge bullet today," Rhydon said, "messin' up big-time but not gettin' jailed! Honestly, man, how DO you do it? Magnezone must be furious right now, bein' so close to gettin' you!"
"Mm," Drowzee nodded. "Heh, I did end up between a rock and a hard place for a minute, there, yeah…"
"Ha! Yeah, that's mah Drowzee!" Rhydon smiled. "Always too many steps ahead!
"So…got any big plans for yo' next heist? They say there's huge treasure in Fogbound Lake somewhere!"
"Ah…" Drowzee knew he was going to have to say it, "I actually think I'm about done."
"Wai- wha?" Rhydon's smile flipped. "Why?"
"That last one was a bit too close for comfort for me, y'know what I'm saying? I don't want to risk messing up that bad again, underestimating my opponents…"
"When's that ever stopped ya before?" Rhydon asked. "I mean, I get the close scrape, but hey! All ya gotta do is not get caught. Ain't that what you always told me?"
"You see, Rhydon…" Drowzee had to say it. "The only reason I didn't wind up behind bars this time was because I got out of the grilling with a vow."
"Ya made a vow to Magnezone?"
"Yeah…I vowed to stay on the straight and narrow this time, and he's going to remember that. And I do intend to keep that promise…I'm actually trying to figure out what I'll do next now."
Rhydon just stood there and took that all in.
"You're outta yo' mind, man…" he finally said. "What's gotten into you? Did one'a your Hypnosis'es backfire o' something?"
"Just what I said," Drowzee tried to make him accept it. "I'm done with crime. So thanks…but no thanks."
"Naw, that's not right…snap outta it, mate! I'm gonna have to knock the sense back into ya!" Rhydon got ready to fight.
"What?!" Drowzee didn't see this coming. "I don't want to fight over this…why can't you respect my decisi-"
"Stop talkin'!" Rhydon demanded. "You're goin' insane, man! I'll save ya!"
Oh, boy…heeere we go… Drowzee kept quiet.
He stood still as the Drill Pokémon approached him, and began to protect himself from him with Confusion.
This enraged Rhydon and provoked him to use Stomp.
Drowzee, not going to make the same mistake as he did with the exploration team, left Rhydon open and himself safe by using Hypnosis on him. Once the Drill Pokémon was asleep on the spot, Drowzee just kept whaling on him with Confusion. He was lucky; when Rhydon woke up, he was confused and missed Fury Attack. Another Confusion and he was down and out.
From there, Drowzee knew what he had to do.
An hour or two later, the two Magnemite had Rhydon cuffed, and Magnezone was speaking with Drowzee.
"ZZZT! Well, this is quite the turn of events! ZZZT! Drowzee, bringing one of his former comrades to justice with him! ZZZT!"
"I mean, it wasn't exactly my choice…" the Hypnosis Pokémon admitted.
"How could you do this to me?!" Rhydon was enraged.
"You know, it doesn't have to be this way…" Drowzee offered. "We could start down the straight and narrow path together."
"That's where you're wrong, Drowzee," Rhydon refused. "Unlike you, I didn't choose the thug life…the thug life chose me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ech…nothin'."
"Well…I offered. So long, old friend…"
Magnezone gave Drowzee the reward and took Rhydon away.
Once he was alone, Drowzee finished his statement: "And with that, so long, old life."
He spent the next couple of months returning just about everything he ever stole to their rightful owners. He felt good about himself, finally doing the right thing.
But…there was one crime he couldn't undo that easily.
The one he never finished.
The Azurill incident hung over his head for quite some time, as he looked out over the mountaintop, trying to brainstorm ideas to repay the young brothers and the explorers for that incident…but came up with nothing.
In fact, he was in the middle of one of those sessions when:
"Drowzee!"
He turned to face the voice…
and jumped.
"Wa-wah! You two?!"
It was Cheren and Sky again.
"What did you come here for?!" he asked. "I…I've kept my nose clean! I've stayed out of a life of crime!"
"W-wait! That's not it, Drowzee. We're not here to arrest you, Drowzee," Sky assured him. "But we are here for you. We need your help, Drowzee."
The former outlaw was confused. "H-huh? Me? You need my help?"
"Yes," Sky nodded. "You remember that little Azurill, right?"
Like he could forget.
"That Azurill has been locked in sleep and won't wake up," the Riolu explained.
"Huh? That Azurill tyke?" Drowzee made sure he heard right.
"No one knows why he won't wake up," Sky said solemnly. "That's when we heard that you, Drowzee, can possibly enter dreams. That's why we searched for you."
Huh, Drowzee thought. This…is this my chance?
"So, Drowzee…how about it? Will you help us?" Sky offered, as Cheren stared on from her partner's side.
It's almost like they're staring into my soul, he thought.
A silence.
Drowzee couldn't face them. "…I…I…" he tried to find the words. "I did a rotten thing to that little Azurill way back when…I don't know if doing this would ever make up for it, but…if it would help Azurill even a little…"
"I don't know how useful I can be," he finally said, "but…I'd be glad to help, if you'll let me."
"Drowzee!" Sky's eyes gleamed, seeing the true reform.
"Lead me back to Azurill," Drowzee said. "Let's not waste time!"
"OK!" Team Explorers of Sky nodded. "It's this way! Quick!"
Drowzee followed them as they went back down the mountain and took him to Treasure Town.
It took several days for the explorers to get to the bottom of everything, even with all the help they had, but it was all cleared up in time.
Drowzee stayed in Treasure Town for a while, before saying his goodbyes and packing it all up. His travels took him near and far, letting him grow stronger and evolve, until Hypno finally made a permanent settlement and a living here at Crossroad City.
"Wow," Misdreavus said once Hypno told her his story. "Ha. That's not…something you hear every day."
"That's one way to put it," Hypno laughed. "A big, bad crook becoming a shopkeeper after being brought to justice by two kids, who move on to become world-famous explorers. It is nuts."
"Never would've even thought it looking at you now. I guess that's just proof of how far you've come."
"Hey, hey, you're giving me way more credit than I deserve."
"I don't think so," Misdreavus teased, "but fine. See you later."
"See you."
As Misdreavus floated away, Hypno was left thinking. It's strange to run into them again, after all this time has passed. I'd say I owe them, but they owe me at the same time. I got them started onto the path they're on now, and they got me onto mine.
…
Ha ha ha! It's crazy how we ended up helping each other on our ways…I guess that happens sometimes between complete strangers, huh?
Yeah, I should've seen it from the start. Those kids are great at what they do - jumping into the unknown for others' sakes.
No wonder they saved the world twice already…
Now let's see them do it again.
(End of Special Episode 2.)