Driftveil Arc: The Stranger

"Well then, map on two legs! What does the route say?" Jacky wanted to know. Mari laughed. "Beep, beep! Internally saved map is being retrieved. Bear with me for a moment. Beep. Beep. The way to Driftveil City goes via Route 5 and the Driftveil Drawbridge. Approximate travel time: 30 minutes on foot! Beep, beep!"
Jacky giggled. "Thank you so much!",
"You're welcome."

They walked to the west part of the city and passed through the gate to Route 5. They walked side by side when Mari suddenly stopped. "...",
"Huh? What is it?",
"...I feel like I'm being watched", the black haired girl replied.
"Watched?" Jacky looked around. "Uh... I don't see anyone here, though.",
"It would be totally stupid, too, if it just jumped around us so merrily.",
"It...? Who... Oh..." Jacky already knew who Mari was talking about. She sighed. "Okay, best we search the area. Noibat?" Jacky opened the Poké Ball and the little bat appeared in front of her. "Please search this area from above for a figure watching us.",
"You too, Skarmory." Mari sent her steel bird flying. It and Noibat flew off, drawing circles over the route. Jacky watched them intently. Neither of them seemed to see anything. "Hmm..."

'Why are you guys scared? I won't hurt a fly!', a voice suddenly hissed in their heads. Jacky looked around tensely. "Damn it, where is that bastard?",
'Come with me to Paradise... Then, you wouldn't have to worry anymore. You wouldn't care about anything...',
"Shut up," Mari growled. "I'd rather perish in hell. And I mean it. Get lost.",
'Why do you want to stop me? I only want to do you good.' Quiet laughter rang out.
"Then, it would be a shame to offer nothing in return", Jacky replied, clenching one hand into a fist.
"I agree." Mari cracked her knuckles and Jacky winced. "Ew, stop that.",
"Sorry.",
'Why do you bother? Sooner or later, you'll realize that all your efforts were in vain... Just come with me, it will save you the disappointment. You will never have pain again; experience suffering...',
"It's pretty cowardly of you to hide and talk nonsense to us from the shadows", Mari commented.
'Hahahah... How funny. You want to look tough, but it won't matter anymore... Hypnosis...' As if on cue, Mari and Jacky withdrew their Pokémon. "Let's go!" Jacky said, grabbing Mari by the arm and running towards the drawbridge. None of them had the nerve to deal with this yellow pest right now.

When they reached it, they stopped, panting. Hypno's voice had stopped and there was silence. "It's gone..." Mari gasped.
"Hah... hah... Finally... But... why is it targeting us still? We left it alone for quite a while now...",
"I don't know. It must see some danger in us if it's so eager to get rid of us. For my part, I could only come up with one explanation... No one but us has gotten away from it yet. Maybe, it's afraid we'll mess up its... whatever it's doing. Game, I guess?",
"Sounds logical, at least. But that yellow beast can be sure that we'll screw up its game all neat and tidy!",
"Totally agree."

At that moment, the drawbridge was raised. "Oh... look, the bridge...!" Mari remarked. Jacky looked around, "...It's being pulled up. There must be a ship passing by. Look." She pointed at the river, where a cruise ship was drifting leisurely across the water. "Then, I guess we'll have to wait a minute or two with our river crossing."

When the ship had passed under the bridge and it was lowered again, the two crossed. Driftveil was a very pretty town. The houses all had rust-colored roofs, which gave the town a certain charm. "Here we are", Mari announced. "Driftveil. The city of joy and freedom.",
"Seems pretty here. Hey, look! There's a lot going on." Jacky pointed to a cluster of people lined up by a building. "That's Driftveil's big market place", Mari explained. "It's got everything your heart desires!",
"Sounds worth a visit.",
"It sure is."

A scream interrupted them. The two of them bounced up in equal surprise. A woman had fallen and was facing an extremely angry-looking Fraxure. "Oh my!" Mari shouted, as Pokémon came from other sides and targeted the humans as well. 'Let's see you guys deal with it', Hypno hissed in their heads. 'Show me how strong you've gotten. I am curious...'
"It followed us..." Mari groaned and ran off. "I think it's testing us! Let's teach this annoying shitface a lesson! Come on!" Jacky followed her. "Kirlia, Dazzling Gleam!" Mari threw the Poké Ball, and when the Fraxure sent a Dragon Rage at the defenseless woman, Kirlia got in its way and intercepted the attack. He didn't leave a scratch. The fairy raised its arms and chased beams of light at the dragon. It backed away, shrieking. "Luxio, help them out!" Snarling, Luxio charged at a Deerling that was attacking uncontrollably. "I'm counting five," Mari said. "I think that's an okay number to deal with!",
"I gue- WHOA, WATCH OUT!" A Politoed fired a Water Gun in the girls' direction... as another command came. "Grovyle, fight back! Leaf Blade!"

A green Pokémon jumped in front of them and blocked the attack with its green glowing blades. Then, it lashed out and knocked the Pokémon into the water of the river. Jacky looked around. "...?" A few meters away from them on the street stood a boy. He was wearing a gray jacket with white stripes that went from his shoulders to his sleeves, a white shirt underneath, and black, long pants. And then, she noticed the boy's hair. It was silver and fell over his right eye. His skin was pale. So pale, in fact, that it seemed almost white. She stared at him for a few moments. He did not return her gaze. He merely paid attention to the other Pokémon that were attacking and made a motion with his hand. The Grovyle leapt into the air, pushing off a wall of a house and performing a spin as it attacked a Tranquill flying in the air. Its blades struck the bird, bringing it down. "Well done!" the boy exclaimed. His voice was soft and warm. Then, it occurred to Jacky that she should pitch in here. "Luxio, Bite!" Luxio grabbed the Deerling and hurled it right at the Tranquill. The bird screeched as it was buried beneath it. "Now Discharge!" A wave of electricity scorched them both.

When all the Pokémon were defeated, Jacky turned back to the strange boy. "Uh... thanks...",
"No problem." He smiled narrowly, then withdrew his Grovyle. "What an ordeal... What came over them all of a sudden? I've never experienced Pokémon run wild like this out of the blue.",
"Eh, it's just a minor issue", Mari replied. "There is this Hypno that likes to cause trouble.",
"A Hypno you say... I heard about that from someone else. So it's haunting this city now?",
"I wouldn't say that. It doesn't dare to enter big cities, at least not in the light of day. I think it just wanted to show us the middle finger for pissing it off.",
"You seem to have a lot of experience with it already. You haven't dealt with it for the first time then, I take it?",
"Nah, it's actually like the fourth or fifth time. Something like that. It's not too much of a deal if you know how to defend yourself against it.",
"I heard that Hypno likes to put people and Pokémon alike to sleep when its hungry so it can feed on their dreams. And that it likes to take people with it whenever their dreams are very appealing to it. That's why it likes to target children.",
'That sounds like a good horror story. Is that why it has kidnapped all those kids? As a food stock? That'd be a weird plot twist', Mari thought to herself.
"Well... just avoid eye contact and carry around an Awakening, then you're all good", she replied.
"Yeah, but it still doesn't make sense that a Hypno would go out of its way to cause such chaos. Whatever its intention is, if it keeps lingering around here, it's not a good sign. I will inform the local authorities of this problem. Anyways, thanks for the intel." He waved at them before disappearing.

"W-wait, what's... your... name?" Jacky wanted to ask, but she had awoken from her intense staring way too late. This boy... he seemed to have been a little older than her... Seventeen, maybe. And he had darn good looks... His face had a slender jawline and fine features, that sort of face people imagined angels to have. His brown eyes and voice radiated out such welcoming warmth. He was outright mesmerizing... ...What was she even thinking?!
"Whew... that was some action." Mari arrived beside her. "Hypno's going to pay for this... Uh, hello, are you still alive?" She snapped her fingers next to Jacky's ear and she winced. "Huh?! Oh... I'm sorry, what did you say?",
"What state of mind were you in just now?" the black-haired girl wanted to know.
"Uh... The boy from just now... Do you think that was the one Burgh was talking about?",
"Well, silver hair and fair skin he had. And he seemed like a nice fella. But why do you look like I just woke you up from a daydream?",
"D-Doesn't matter." She waved it off. "The Pokémon are back to normal now... And Hypno hasn't shown up, so I think it's gone...",
"Thinking is good. Knowing is better.", Mari said with a sigh. "But I guess you're right.",
'You maggots...' Hypno growled in their heads. 'I'll be back...!',
"Okay, it's gone now." Mari crossed her arms. "Come on, let's go to the Pokémon Center." Jacky nodded. "Okay..." They walked to the big building. Along the way, Jacky kept looking around to see if she could spot their strange helper anywhere. But he had disappeared. She wondered who he was...