Chapter One: Nightmares in Littleroot Town
Deep in the forestry surrounding Littleroot Town, a creature crept through the trees. He snuck, and slithered through the shadows, reaching ever closer to the quiet community. A wide, malicious grin formed across it's face, as he could see the lights of Littleroot Town come into focus. The task was simple. Reap as much fear as possible, for this very night. As the creature slithered closer, he could hear the laughter and cheers of children. He crept closer, to just being outside of clear view, hiding in the thick bushes. He saw a group of children, going around trick-or-treating together. A malicious, wicked grin slowly crept across it's face, imagining how loud and deep their screams would be.
Being fond of frightening children, he couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself at the prospect of this year's crop of potential fear. "Darkrai, my lord... I, The Sandman, will provide more than enough fear this year... heheheh." The moonlight shone upon his light yellow skin, and his white mane. "It may not be my beloved Lavender Town... however..." The creature stood up, out of his skulking position, revealing himself to be a Hypno. He was eyeing the child that lagged behind the others, the one child he had so carefully observed. The Hypno's beady eyes glinted, shimmering with nothing but malicious excitement. "This Hoenn region has so many children... so many innocent, little children... ripe for the frightening."
He kept still in those bushes, waiting for just the right moment. Never shifting his eyes from the young boy. He was around the age of six or seven, had brown hair, and looked to be quite the nervous type. He always kept the lag behind the other children. The Sandman didn't have much time to bide, the community was too small for his perfect moment. So... he had to improvise.
With his psychic powers on focus, he steadied himself. There was a house nearby his spot that the children seemed to not have stopped at. All of the children were at the Pokemon Research Lab, where Professor Birch was dressed as a Mightyena. All, but one. The little boy, who still kept away from the other children.
The Hypno grinned again, his teeth on show. He licked his lips in anticipation, and began his plan.
Afraid to approach, young Jacob watched from afar as the children he had accompanied was playing with Professor Birch. He saw his brother, Tyler, also having fun. He brushed his brown hair out of his eyes, and looked down at the ground. "I know I should be trying, but.... I'm scared of being around others... Maybe next year won't be so bad." Jacob muttered this to himself, before he could hear... something. It was coming from the trees. He tried to listen in, but the noise of the children was consuming whatever noise that haunted Jacob.
He got up, and walked towards the source of the noise. As Jacob slowly approached... he could make out the words...
"Come, young child, come with me... Safe and happy, you will be..." It sounded like a lullaby. But, the voice was a whisper, so he couldn't make out the rest... just those two lines.
Jacob, however wanting to return to the group, couldn't help but feel drawn to the song. It was as if his legs were not in his own control. Nor any part of him.
The Hypno, whispering the song he so enjoyed, was using his Psychic attack, but only to keep the young boy moving towards him, quickly enough so that the others wouldn't notice. Both Sandman and Jacob met each other's gaze, as the child was too close to the bush.
Before Jacob could do anything, the Hypno pulled him into the darkness of the forest around Littleroot Town, lulling him with his sinister lullaby. The boy could see the Hypno's sinister grin, but couldn't understand how he could be singing it without moving his mouth.
As if to answer, Sandman raised Jacob into the air, just a bit to meet his captor eye to eye. Jacob was in the hands of a Psychic-type Pokemon. The boy's lips quivered, his eyes widening as he could only see blackness in the Pokemon's eyes. Blackness, and an unmistakable look of malice.
The Hypno reached into it's mane, to pull out a pendulum, and raised it to Jacob's face. The pendulum had seemingly began to glow, as it swung back and forth, lulling poor Jacob into a deep sleep. Sandman decided it was time to end the game, and receive what he came for. He continued with his lullaby...
"Come, young child, come with me... Safe and happy, you won't be... Your fear and dread, will feed and freshen me... Oh, young child, you were not clever, now you'll stay with me, forever..."
Jacob fought to stay awake, his tears streamed down his face, as his eyes slowly closed. And with that last verse, the boy hung in the air, his face wet with tears, yet slept soundly.
"Now, my child... FEED ME!" The Hypno's eyes widened, his sclera became a deep red, as he was forcing a Nightmare attack onto the sleeping Jacob.
Jacob awoke to a small playroom, though it was sealed off completely. No doors, no windows, no anything. Just a bunch of letter blocks, and some dolls on the floor. He couldn't understand why either of these things were here. That, is, until... that creature appeared before him. His head hung low, his face not visible. Jacob whimpered, before weakly muttering, "No.... no, you can't be here...!" Jacob scooted to the opposite wall, fear now coursing through him. He couldn't understand why this Hypno was torturing him, and prayed for it to stop. The Hypno slowly raised it's head... and began to sing in a whisper again...
"Oh, young child, you were not clever... now you'll stay with me..." His face came into Jacob's view, and the sight... sent Jacob into tears. The Sandman's eyes were large, and his sclera was a blood red. His pupil was a pitch black, and his smile... the smile was too wide for even it to manage. He walked closer to Jacob, the room slowly losing it's color, the faces of the dolls slowly formed expressions of pure terror. It sounded as if screams came from every direction, bombarding Jacob from all sides. The boy was at his limit, but he couldn't move. The face that gazed down upon Jacob was getting too close... too close for Jacob to handle.
"Now you'll stay with me, forever, Jacob." The Sandman screamed into Jacob's face, forcing Jacob to awake and scream in utter terror. He jerked himself up off the ground he was laying on, jumped to his feet, and sprinted as fast as he could to Littleroot Town, terrified by the thought of that phantasm of a Pokemon chasing him. As he leapt from the bushes, he made it to Professor Birch's lab, banging on the door, begging to come in, for someone to help him.
The door had opened, one of his assistants at the door. Jacob held onto the assistant's leg and cried furiously, rambling about a psychotic Pokemon. The two rushed inside, and the door was slammed shut behind them.
Sandman was skulking through the forest, away from the no longer quiet little town. He wiped the sweat from his head, basking in the fear he had reaped. "Ahh... even I could taste the fear on that one... I love to start my night off strong. Look out, children of Hoenn... The Sandman is ready to sing his lullaby again..."
The Sandman, now finished with Littleroot Town, faded into the darkness, ready to find his next victim.