= Chapter 1: "Have You Heard?" =
"Hey, do you know about the Vagrant Monk?" Ellis asked Janna as they browsed through many books within one of many libraries at the Tower of Mastery.
Janna shook her head in response. Phantom blue eyes and fair complexion contrasted from the sooty and dim environment." Why does that sound like something Wikky would be talking about?"
Ellis chuckled, his carob hair bounced lightly. "That's because it is." He was slouching below and by the end of the bookshelf, a book left open on his lap.
Initially, Janna had never heard anything about the Vagrant Monk, effectively making her curious. Janna admitted that she's not one who actively follow trends — having spent most of her schedule practicing with her Lucario and studying — thus the story of this "Vagrant Monk" came out as new to her.
She learned that the Vagrant Monk was one of — if not the most popular urban myths out there; with the most traction coming from Kanto and Johto Region. The stories about the Monk was admittedly quite interesting.
But at the same time, just absolutely silly.
A wandering corpse of a monk that is presumed to have been sighted in various locations around the world? Honestly, it sounded like a ghost story made up on the spot by a student during a camping trip. Janna couldn't help but be amused.
"Apparently, one of the latest accounts of someone encountering the Monk — which was like, what, a century ago? Got him into a fight with it." Ellis continued the story while putting back a rust-coloured book into one of the shelves. "In the end, he won."
"And? What about it?"
"He got a Mega Stone out of it—
Janna's eyes slowly looked up at Ellis.
"—A Lucarionite."
Mists enveloped the area around Janna, it grew colder than the time she got here — a place where the waters and sky appeared to have extended beyond the horizons infinitely. In an attempt to recover more oxygen into her bloodstream, her breathing grew frantic. She wanted to lift herself and Rocco — her Lucario slumped unconscious on her shoulder — back up from the ground. But her legs could only shiver.
Dammit!
Janna's entire limbs grew cold from the shallow waters beneath her, a minor inconvenience that made her struggling just to find some medicines and potions for her partner.
"Come on, buddy. Pull yourself up! You got this. You got this! Come on, we're not gonna end our road here. Come on." Janna delivered a series of encouragement to the Lucario, hoping that, at least, one of them would wake him up. The strong mixture of the medicine's salty-citrus odour and flavour and the dense cold air helped Rocco pulled back his consciousness — most of it, at least. It was after hearing his Trainer's voice that snapped him back into reality.
"Thank goodness," Janna sighed in relief. "Are you okay?"
The Lucario nodded before he winced from a sting of pain, immediately giving Janna a concerned look. "Easy does it, slowly and with me now."
Lifting Rocco gave Janna a moment to be at ease. It was something she didn't know she desperately needed. Right now, just by having her Lucario standing by her side was enough for Janna to stabilize herself and figure out a way to help them get out of the mess they're in.
"From the looks of things, we'll probably be staying here for a little longer." Janna scanned the area, with the only thing that she could see were the same vast body of water and sky. There was nothing noticeably different, other than the mists that had surrounded her have dissipated.
"Then again, we did practically asked for it." The two of them began to exchange looks; Janna smirked, the blend of adrenaline and anxiety that kicked in was converted into a small quip — Rocco empathized with his Trainer, acknowledging that he understood just as little as Janna.
It looks like we'll have to try and beat him," Janna said, who suddenly heard the waning sound of rippling water coming from the front. Janna could feel needles piercing out of her spine, causing the duo to become on edge.
Speak of the devil.
Sounds of trickling water gradually grew into a messy burble, as Janna was finally able to see the figure of a man limping towards her beyond the veil of mist. It made a series of splashes in an irregular rhythm that grew louder by the seconds. The fog billowed away revealing a human corpse adorned in a monk's garment, standing upright in front of Janna. The body looked like it was ravaged throughout the ebbs of time; everything from head to toe was blackened by rot, and yet she saw the waxy sheen glistened around it — as if it was preserved durably well.
Janna felt the hollowed eyes gazed deeply into her, as the voice of a man echoed around them, most likely coming from the Monk.
"Have you chosen to flee?" His question reverberated deep into both of their heads. Janna, in an act of defiance, scoffed as Rocco poised himself into a battle stance.
"Like hell we are."
A strong draft of air billowed heavily from the front, startling Janna. What was followed by two heavy splashes revealed two new figures awaiting her, their appearances were easily identifiable, they're Pokemon. And within just a split second, the realization rushed in; their highlights grew more noticeable and unnerving: Their features were distinct — a Gallade and a Lopunny — yet in a shrivelled and decaying state akin to the Monk, giving them a ghoulish facade.
"UNDERSTOOD."
It appeared as if the Monk's word triggered something within the two Pokemon; their muscles tensed and thickened, their features sporadically changed and grew — like watching a timelapse of a tree germinating from a sprout. They transformed into something horrific yet easily noticeable to any experienced Trainers.
They had just undergone a Mega Evolution.
Janna choked a little from their sight.
Shit.