AUTHORS NOTE:

Okay, first thing's first. I originally didn't plan on publishing this. This was just a little idea that I had and my friend wanted me to write up for her. Upon me finishing this, she asked for me to publish it, which I reluctantly obliged to. I'm a little bit nervous about publishing this, but hopefully you guys will enjoy it? I'm just going to try to have fun with it.

Also this is an AU by the way, so yeah there'll be canon characters.

And a lot of them will die.

Sorry if this one's a tad bit boring, the chapters will get more interesting as they go along. And, as always, I'd love to hear some feedback. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Monster

~Prologue~

Warm rays of sun filtered through the orange leaves of a tall oak tree, warming the soft yellow pelt of the small Pikachu below. The rodent yawned, slowly stretching itself out, eyes closed contently as he soaked in the sunlight. His little nose quivered. It was a beautiful summer day. Though the ground was still chilled from the cold summer that had preceded it, the wind brought fresh pockets of heated air for all the creatures of the forest to enjoy. The Pikachu straightened up, left ear twitching rhythmically, before breaking out into a run.

Pikachu let out a little squeak. Scampering alone the crunchy leaves of the path it followed, his beady little eyes were dead set on a golden field of wheat before him. There, the sky could be seen as a gorgeous light blue from the crack between the trees and the grass. He looked up to the rainbow of trees above him. Beautflys and Butterfrees fluttered above, stirring the leaves above to make a soft flapping sound. A Pidgeot starred down at him, face smothered in blood and entrails hanging from her beak, but Pikachu felt no fear. It was evident that she had just eaten recently, and the bird would only go after his type if she were desperate.

Another rodent-like noise escaped the Pikachu. The field was getting closer. He could practically see the stalks of wheat, waving in the wind as if saying hello. His stomach shifted slightly, sending discomfort radiating throughout his tiny body. Hunger was never a good sign, especially not now.

Finally, he reached his destination, slowing to a kind of waddle. Pikachu flicked his tail, little teeth gnawing expectantly on the air. The warm ground squished wetly beneath tiny paws as he walked.

Pikachu reached forwards, paws extended, and grasped a piece of wheat in his claws. Mouth open, the brought it towards himself and-

Bang

A force so strong that it sent him flying hit the rodent directly in the side of his head. His skull crumpled beneath the force of the object, bits of his brain flying off and sticking onto the tops of some of the wheat. The sharp smell of blood filled the air as the Pikachu fell. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

A girl, a little bit short with her messy blue haired tied behind her, stood far off to the left, lowering her gun with a low sigh. She straightened up, dusting off her torn black and pink dress. Her dirtied arms crossed silently.

"Well." She said simply. Her two companions turned their heads to face her.

"Holy shit Dawn!" A younger girl with equally disheveled hair gaped. Green eyes wide, she flipped a brown lock back over her shoulder. "That thing wasn't even in range! How'd you hit it?"

Dawn shrugged, actually looking rather bored. Her gaze was emotionless, face nothing more than a still mask of silence. She couldn't blame the younger girl for being so enthusiastic. It was her first time leaving the city to go on a real mission, even of it was just hunting. Now that today was her thirteenth birthday, she was officially a teenager, and could been seen as fit to visit the outside world. From the right of Dawn, another teenager let out a low sigh, standing up out of his crouching position.

"We're wasting time." He snapped, hands on his hips. The pose combined with his long red hair made him look oddly feminine. A dark scowl was set upon his features. "Some sort of filthy bird could snatch it up before we have a chance to obtain it."

Dawn nodded, but Leaf pouted a little bit.

"You're such a grump, Silver."

Silver was known for being one of the most ruthless people in their group, which consisted of eighteen people. He had already had a burning hatred for Pokemon and everything about them before the… incident, so that likely factored in. He was tall, fairly well built and never seemed to be smiling, but instead walked around with a glare that seemed to rip the happiness out of everything in a five-mile radius. It was almost cruel that such a joyous girl like Leaf got stuck with two of the most serious people in the group.

Despite what the brunette had said, the three started to make their way through the field, wheat tickling at the legs of the girls. Dawn, a little bit on the short side, was up to her neck in the tall stalks. It didn't seem to bother her much though, all the better for protection.

Leaf fiddled enthusiastically with the weapons in her hands, a couple of twin pistols, to be exact. The weren't very strong and had pretty bad accuracy, but she was well trained. Her forest green eyes scanned the sky, looking for any sort of prey. Nothing so far.

Dawn meanwhile, had simply re-attached the gun to her belt, crossing her arms as she stalked through the grass. She was the only one ever brave enough to do this when out on the field. It was almost reckless. Silver rolled his eyes a little, muttering something under his breath, but remained alert.

Finally, the three stopped at the mangled corpse of the Pikachu, Leaf wrinkling her nose a little at the sharp smells of blood. She had smelled it before of course, both her own and that of her friends, but it wasn't something she'd ever get used to.

"So…" Dawn said in her monotone. She turned to the other two. "Who wants to carry it?"

The brunette shuffled her feet awkwardly. Silver narrowed his namesake eyes more then usual. Both of them remained silent.

"Whoa. Don't jump at me all at once." She muttered emotionlessly. Flipping around, the blue haired girl was just about to pick of the bloodied body when the ground below her started shaking. She cast a glance down, not looking scared but rather inconvenienced. "Oh look. Someone's gonna die."

Silver grabbed her but the back of the shirt, hauling her backwards to what he hoped was safety. The earth below started to glow and odd black light, circling the body of the Pikachu. Leaf shrieked and jumped backward. Silver prepared his rifle, gritting his teeth. Dawn just kind of stood there.

"Stay back!" The red haired male snapped.

A loud cracking sound broke out as a hole was formed on the ground, winds picking up around it. Long, black tendrils, hooked red on the ends, curled out of the hole and gripping at the ground. The three trainers watched in awe (or in Dawn's case, mild amusement) as a long, snake-like creature slithered its way out. Screaming echoed out from below, freezing them in their places. Silver nearly dropped his weapon.

The monster looked upon them with glowing red eyes, its entire form draped in shadows. It hissed, making a wet slithering noise as one of its claws reached out for the Pikachu's body.

And just as soon as it had happened, it was gone. The monster, whatever it was, simply brought the mangled corpse up to its body, pulling it into the hole below. Seeming satisfied with whatever that had accomplished, it slowly lowered itself back into the ground, blackness fading away and the rumbling dying out. All the remained was a small, barely noticeable break in the lines of wheat.

Silence fell over the three. Leaf and Silver starred, opened mouthed and entirely shocked at what they just saw. Dawn was wondering how she got a certain cut on her right knuckle.

Finally, Leaf decided to break the silence.

"So was that like, a Dunsparce or something?"

~*To be continued*~