  Due to its highly suppressed cross section (fermionic) dark matter
interacting with the Standard Model via pseudoscalar mediators is expected to
be essentially unobservable in direct detection experiments. We consider both a
simplified model and a more realistic model based on an extended two Higgs
doublet model and compute the leading one-loop contribution to the effective
dark matter- nucleon interaction. This higher order correction dominates the
scattering rate completely and can naturally, i.e. for couplings of order one,
lead to a direct detection cross section in the vicinity of the neutrino floor.
Taking the observed relic density and constraints from low-energy observables
into account we analyze the direct detection prospects in detail and find
regions of parameter space that are within reach of upcoming direct detection
experiments such as XENONnT, LZ, and DARWIN.
