Showdown Arc: The Nightmare Begins

"I'm going to go check on Combusken", Mari decided after placing her Pokémon in the nurse's care. "Okay." Jacky nodded at her. "I'll stay in the lobby.",
"Okidoki." Mari went to Combusken's treatment room. The nurse was doing the final check, moving Combusken's arms and legs as if she was in physical therapist. "Hello, Nurse Joy," Mari greeted her. "How is Combusken doing?",
"It can be discharged today," the nurse replied. "I have succeeded in banishing most of his bad injuries. The bruises of its ribs have also receded so far... Only its arm should not put any weight on it yet. It should not fight any battles yet."
Mari nodded. "Okay... But it can participate in battles sometime in the future?",
"I think so, yes." The nurse said. "But not too soon." She let go of Combusken. Mari pulled out the fire-type Pokémon's Pokéball. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Combusken. Come into the Pokéball, okay?" She extended the ball in its direction, and Combusken agreed. It let the red withdrawal beam catch it and pull it into the ball. Then, she put the ball on her belt. "Thank you, Nurse Joy.",
"Helping Pokémon is my calling. You don't have to thank me," the nurse said with a smile before leaving the room. Mari went back to Jacky, who was pale in the face. "What's wrong with you? You look like a cheesecake.",
"Mari...?" Jacky looked at her. "Just now, there were breaking news on TV...",
"Concerning what?",
"The police announced a red alert..." Jacky replied. "More than a hundred children have already disappeared...",
"Excuse me?! Over a hundred?"
Jacky nodded. "Yeah...",
"Hypno has really been working overtime..." Mari clenched her hands into fists. "That's enough. We have to do something NOW.",
"And what? We don't even know where Hypno is.",
"It's got it in for us, doesn't it? Besides, it started kidnapping children here, on Route 7. We'll set a trap for it and defeat it, then, we'll finally have peace.",
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Jacky stood up. "And how exactly are we going to do that? Stand in the street and yell 'Hello, Hypno, come and get us'?",
"Of course not!" Mari shook her head. "Hmm, let me think... It must have a hiding place where it took all those children. One that hasn't yet been discovered or is rarely visited. A place that provides a certain protection to Hypno against discovery. One where it's traces are hard to follow to, and that falls out of its usual habitats, making it unlikely for anyone to look for it there. It must also be somewhere near the place it has started its rampage. Uh... how about we go to Celestial Tower?",
"I'm totally not in a creepy mood right now.",
"Celestial Tower is a place where rarely anyone goes because it's a burial ground. It's off-limits at night as well, and it is located on Route 7. Abandoned places like this... wouldn't it be an ideal hiding place?",
"Who says that yellow beast even put up camp there? Why should it have its lair where it has started kidnapping the kids? It doesn't quite make sense to me, it could also be anywhere else. Besides, aren't there people maintaining this place regularly?",
"As far as I know, the keepers of that place pay it a visit once every two weeks to clean up and check for damage. We know Hypno is intelligent, so it will know how to avoid those people. Also, it started everything there, indicating it has found an ideal hiding spot nearby that allowed it to abduct those children without leaving much of a trail. All the children that went missing were from parts and towns around Celestial Tower. Mistralton, Icirrus, et cetera... Hypno has only left the vicinity and area of that place because it had its sights set on us. The tower is surrounded by dense woodlands and grass fields... Not a place where you can find traces easily. And because of its location and isolation, not many people dare to head there because of the ghost-type Pokémon who have made it and the woods around it their home. They don't do much, they just enjoy the quiet of such a place, but can get a little upset if they are getting disturbed too much.",
"Uh... I mean, I guess I get where you're coming from...",
"We can at least try, can't we?",
"Jeez... Okay, okay." Jacky nodded. "You're right... It's worth a shot. I just hope this doesn't turn into a total nightmare."

The two of them marched through Mistralton and across Route 7 until they reached the old tower. It looked gloomy and unfriendly, but what did one expect from a Pokémon burial ground? They entered the tower and looked around. "The atmosphere here is strange," Mari commented. Jacky stroked her fingertips over the tombstones. "You don't say. Party atmosphere can't be expected here, can it?",
"Nah... Not really." Mari yawned. She felt kind of tired... But she ignored it and kept walking to the back. "Hmm... I can't see anything suspicious here... It's just... a little too quiet for my liking.",
"Hey, where are you?" Jacky looked around. It had gotten darker.
"Here." Mari's voice echoed through the hall. Jacky followed the voice, but she couldn't find her. A moment later, she cursed as she bumped her foot against a tombstone. "Fuck-... fricking hell...",
"Where are you?" Mari's voice asked from another direction.
"I'm here!" Jacky replied.

Mari looked around. Jacky's voice sounded far away. "What the heck...?",
"I can't see anything anymore!" Jacky exclaimed. "Not even my own hand! Why the hell did we go in here?! This is creepy! Is this normal?" A loud droning sounded. The sound of a bell. "What in the world is that?",
"There's a bell at the top of the tower..." Mari muttered before rushing off. "Come on!"

Jacky heard her call and charged through the never-ending darkness. However, she tripped over a darn tombstone every so often.

Mari sprinted up a flight of stairs. "Hey, Combusken! I need you for a second..." Her new Pokémon appeared next to her. "Can you... maybe create a flame or something so I can see?" Combusken nodded and lit a flame in its hand. Mari could see a little more and looked around. "Hmm... Jacky! Can you see the light?",
"Yes, I see it!", came her friend's reply.
"Then come towards it!"

Jacky nodded. The air around her vibrated and her heart beat faster. She had a feeling that someone was nearby. As she was about to sprint off, an ice-cold hand suddenly dug into her shoulder. She flinched and it gave her goose bumps. 'It was stupid of you to come here... You made my game a little easier. How ironic that you should meet your end here... between the gravestones. Hehehe...' Jacky tried to break away, but she didn't get the chance. She slumped forward, unconscious. 'You are now in my territory... Here, I can do anything I want. Here, in your dreams...' It disappeared into the shadows.

Mari had heard the dull thud. She looked around, "Jacky? Are you okay...?" Combusken backed away. "Is there anyone...?" She narrowed her eyes. "... So... Hypno... it's really here... That was almost too easy to figure out.",
'Hey, hey... Do you think you can defeat me? It's almost ridiculous how much you cling to your light... But it will go out, in the world of my nightmares. Just like your friend's...', "Where is she?" Mari asked. Despite Combusken's light, she couldn't see Hypno anywhere. 'It doesn't matter to you.' A hand shot out of nowhere and Mari's heart stopped. Then, her knees went weak and she slumped. She tried desperately to keep her eyes open and managed to withdraw Combusken before everything went dark.

Jacky's head hummed like a Beedril hive as she sat up. Thick fog billowed around her. "Huh...? Where am I...?" She tried to get up, but her legs couldn't hold her and she fell back onto her paws. Confused, she looked to the ground. "Wait, what...? PAWS?!" She lifted a snow-white paw with dark claws. "Oh no..." Then, her gaze went to the side and she could see something beside her. No. Someone. A Gardevoir. "Huh... what's Mari's Gardevoir doing here...? Wait a second." She fumbled at her head, almost cutting herself on a blade sticking off the side of her head. "What the... That can't be... Mari?"

A soft groan sounded as the Gardevoir sat up and looked at her. "What...? HOLY SH-!" When she saw the Absol sitting in front of her, speaking in Jacky's voice, she cringed. "What the Torn World?! Jacky, is that you? What happened to you?",
"I-I have no idea! Hypno touched me and I passed out and... Waah, this is all so weird! This can't be happening! I look like an Absol, you look like Gardevoir...",
"Wait, what...?" Mari looked down at herself and recognized the white dress. "...Oh... please no... I hate dresses... What's wrong with this place?",
"Don't ask me... What are we going to do?" Jacky looked around. "At least you can walk on both legs... I feel so weird here on all fours..." Then, she suddenly snapped her eyes open. "Wait a minute! If we're stuck in our Pokémon's bodies... Are they stuck in... ours?!",
"... Uh... Maybe...?",
"The worst part would be that Absol is a male..." Jacky lowered her head.
"Oh Arceus..." Mari had to laugh despite the situation. "That would just be really weird..." Then, she stood up as well. "This could just be one of Hypno's stupid nightmares... I felt so tired earlier, before it got dark.",
"Me too. Great... I already don't find this game funny.",
"Then, we should find Hypno very quickly." Mari opined. "Even if that might be a bit... difficult given the fog here is quite dense...",
"You don't say.",
"Do you think we have our Pokémon's abilities, too?",
"Even if we do, how are we supposed to use them?",
"Uh... try it out, I suppose?" Mari raised her hands. "I'mma try a Focus Blast..." A small ball of energy appeared in front of her and fizzled out again. "...Wow... that was... pathetic.", "But something, at least", Jacky commented.
"Hypno is trying to mentally wear us down", Mari grumbled. "Cunning of it, I must admit...", "That critter is a bastard", Jacky growled. "We'll go find it now and finish it off.",
"Oh yeah. I'm looking forward to that." The two walked determinedly through the fog.