Fair warning: this entry may deserve a T rating.

Hypno

"Dude, your Pokémon is dangerous." The teenaged boy was serious. "You're gonna end up dead someday because of it."

The Pokémon in question was sitting on a set of stairs nearby. Her ears flicked, the only sign that she might have been listening. In one hand, she held onto a pendulum, a stone disc with a circle in the center for a thin cord. She was polishing it, rubbing a small cloth around the surface over and over and over again. If left to do as she wanted, she usually went right for polishing.

"I've heard that when kidnappers die, the really sick sort, they reincarnate as a Hypno," the boy went on. "Someday, it's going to lure you out into the woods and you'll never be heard from again."

"You're just jealous because I caught an evolved Pokémon now and you don't have any," the other teen boy said. "Pokémon don't ever hurt their Trainers; that's only in those dumb old stories grannies tell to scare little kids into behaving. She's going to help me build a powerful team."

"Most Pokémon won't," he admitted. "But just look at her! She acts weird, always polishing that rock, and she looks so creepy. That one's going to be trouble."

The Hypno twitched her ears again. True, humans often found her kind unsettling. They looked almost like humans: same body shape, same height, same kind of eyes, almost same face. But they had a yellow skin tone and grew white hair on their necks and shoulders, not on top of the head. She heard that she came off as creepier still, since she wore a dark red cloak with long sleeves and a hood. The hood was down now, but when she wore it up, people often approached her thinking she was human until they got a good look at the large nose on her face. That had caused more than one to yelp in shock.

The reaction was nice, though. As was the argument she was eavesdropping on. The Hypno looked over her pendulum, rubbed it on her cloak, then turned it over and began work on the other side.

"She's probably killed her last Trainer, cause you caught her wearing that cloak," the other boy said.

The Hypno's Trainer shook his head. "That's ridiculous. At worst, she stole it from somebody. I can't find a name on it, so it's fine. And before you ask, no, there wasn't any blood on it."

"Just cause she killed somebody doesn't mean that there will be blood," the other boy pointed out.

"I'm not arguing with you about this anymore. Come on, Hypno." He stormed off down the street. Nodding once, the Hypno got off the steps and walked after him.

"You're gonna regret not listening to me!" the other boy called out.

"He'd believe any crazy story people have told him," the Trainer muttered.

The Hypno twitched her ears, but kept walking silently by him. Her fingers still fiddled with the pendulum and the polishing cloth.

About a week later, the Hypno and her Trainer were walking through a forest, along a route that led to the nearest town. The Pokémon wore her hood up today, as bright sunlight filtered through the trees. She held her pendulum out in front of her, letting it sway a little. When the sunbeams hit it, it gleamed save for a few spots. Frowning, she rubbed over the dull spots again.

"Where's all the Pokémon today?" the teen asked, slowing his pace to look around. "Normally this route is filled with Pokémon ready to fight." He kicked at some of the tall grass, making a loud rustle but not getting a response. "It would take my dad the whole afternoon just to get through, but at this rate we'll be there in less than an hour."

The Hypno glanced around, but knew she wouldn't see anything. Her mind couldn't feel anyone nearby. For her, that was usual. At her birthplace, other Pokémon had challenged her to fights but then the rumors began. They all avoided her. That made it tricky to search out dream energy for food, so she moved on. But no matter where she went, she eventually got that reputation once again.

Wait… there was someone approaching them. Holding onto the stone, she stopped and looked off the path. The Trainer stopped soon after. "What is it, Hypno?"

There was a rustle of dry leaves, then another Hypno emerged from the woods. "What are you up to now?" he demanded to know. His pendulum swung jerkily in his hand as he pointed a hand at her. It sparkled so nicely that she frowned in jealousy. "Are you off to take advantage of this one too, you monster?"

"You're a bore," she said dismissively. "Leave us be."

"Another Hypno?" the Trainer asked, not knowing what they were talking about. "I guess it's lucky, but I dunno if it's good or bad."

"You're in danger," the male Hypno insisted, trying to telepath his concerns. "Her sins show in the dullness of her stone. Let her go."

Irritated, she swiped her hand out and made a motion of crushing something tough. The other Hypno was lifted up by telekinesis and choked. But before he died, she tossed him back into the woods. Hearing him slam into the tree, she sniffed and walked on down the road.

Her Trainer was soon walking with her. "Yeesh, what kind of move was that? I don't recognize it, but it was sure strong."

"Not standard," she mumbled. Pokémon like that were why she was with this boy, after all. It was time to move on. Swinging her pendulum through the air, she saw the unevenness and went back to polishing it to perfection.

It was a cool night, one that made her appreciate her cloak. The Hypno had the hood up, keeping the wind from nipping at her ears. Flicking the stone, she sent her pendulum in motion. The firelight reflected off it, showing off a smooth gleam. It could be better, she thought. But for a minute, it was not rough. Good.

Nearby, her Trainer was tending to the fire, clearing a spot to put another log piece in. "Geez, it's hot close to the fire and cold once you take a few steps away. I'm going to have to get better clothes at the next town." He dropped the firewood in and moved back to a cushion he'd placed on the ground. "At least we're finally seeing Pokémon again. I was getting worried. But I guess I need to teach you something weaker to capture… hmm?"

She watched her pendulum, smoothing out its swing with her mind. Then she looked up to her Trainer. He was watching the stone. A couple of times, he looked away to do something else. But he kept looking back to the steady swing and gleam of the stone ring. She waited until his breathing started to slow then cast Hypnosis over him. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, but remained seated.

"Come here," she said quietly, catching the stone in her hand and keeping it there.

He got up and came to sit by her. Since her spot was further from the fire, the boy started shivering. All it took was a mental suggestion that he was warm to get him to stop that. Adjusting her hood, she smiled at that. The Hypno reached over and touched the boy's forehead, putting his mind to a state of sleep where he could dream. Then she was able to take the dreams from his mind to eat them and gain power.

Although he had nice dreams, those were never enough. Any Hypno could survive on one dream for a day, but one never got powerful that way. Feeling that the dream was running thin, she placed her other hand on his shoulder and mentally reached deeper into his mind, going right for his memories.

His body tensed as his mind realized that something wasn't right. Every creature in the world had some mental power, although most used it merely for a last line of defense. But he was asleep and unable to react in time. She crushed those defenses and fully grasped his mind.

As the fire began to die, the boy collapsed into her lap. The Hypno smiled and stroked his hair. But then, she caught a glimpse of her pendulum. It was rough and dull once again.

Growling, she retrieved her polishing cloth and went back to work on it. Why did it keep doing that? The other Hypnos said it was because she went too far. That simply couldn't be. Maybe she hadn't polished it enough yet.

She got so absorbed in that that she didn't notice when someone came upon the campsite and saw her with her former Trainer dead in her lap.

…

Hypno Emerald entry: The arching movement and glitter of the pendulum in a Hypno's hand lull the foe into deep hypnosis. While searching for prey, it polishes the pendulum.

Hypno is actually a Pokemon I like. Was in my first (horrible) team for Blue thanks to Hypnosis and Dream Eater. Still, it's one of the creepier Pokedex entries, especially the version that talks about kidnapping children. Its uncanny valley appearance and yellow skin doesn't help any. But I liked the idea of compulsive polishing.

Happy Halloween!