Chapter 1-5

The Sickness

Kon cracked his eyes open, seeing an unfamiliar ceiling. He noted his body felt lighter than normal before looking down…

"WHO THE-" Kon's outraged question about where his clothes and armor went was cut off by his dry throat and harsh coughing. A glass bottle filled with water was pushed to his lips and he drank the water greedily… before he noticed the sheet on him.

He threw the bottle aside, getting under the sheet and hissing.

"Mr Konstantin. I can assure you that you are not even in the top fifty of ugliest pokemon I have had to work on." A female voice spoke up, sounding tired and irritated. "So, come out so I can make sure the mixture I gave you is working properly."

Kon, in his irrational brain deprived of his hood, had a simple reply. "Only when I have my hood back!"

"It will be a while. Chansey took all of it out back to wash them." The voice got lower. "I know some pokemon have attachment to human clothes but sheesh…"

"Kon?" Luke's voice entered the room.

"He's under the sheet. Mr Konstantin will not come out unless I give him his hood back." The female voice grumbled.

"Um, let me try something, Miss Audino." Luke took off his half cape and approached the shaking sheet. "Kon, if I give you my cape to wear on your head, will you come out?"

There was a second of silence.

And then the charmander stuck out his hand from under the sheet. "I'll take it." His dry voice came out.

Luke handed it over before looking to where the smashed bottle was. "I'll get that cleaned up." Luke rushed out to go get something to clean it up with.

Audino shook her head before looked to the charmander who looked rather ridiculous with the half cape acting like a hood. "You explorers are all the same. Pushing off your sickness just so you can explore for just a little bit longer."

"You are not the first one to come in here puking blood but at least you have the decency to be interestingly difficult with what you've got. If it was just normal stomach issues, I'd just throw you out and recommend a Sitrus/Rawst Smoothie from Spinda. Thank the legends you didn't panic and just assume you were dying and just pass out instead."

At this, some part of Kon took offence and his mouth started talking before his conscious mind noticed. "I'll have you know I've killed monsters while I had caught the Black Plague! Open, oozing sores! Tumors! Fever! Vomiting! Did I whine about it? No! I kept moving and killed the cannibalistic monster that was haunting our woods outside... Uh... Outside... Nhgn..."

He grabbed his head before the pink and cream colored pokemon walked over, taking one of the swirly appendages from her ear and put it to his chest. "Ah, now you make more sense. You're one of them crazy pokemon from the northern isles who tried to stay."

Kon at least gave a confused look before the normal type pokemon continued.

"So who was it that made you stay on the murder islands? You parents? A sibling? A lover?"

"Employer. Got paid." The words slipped out.

"Heh, must be a really hopeful pokemon."

Kon didn't respond.

"OK, now, I don't know what caused that head pain but I have determined what is causing the blood puking. Hopefully, I will have something ready to stop it before you leave this afternoon." Audino stepped away as Luke came back in with a brush and a large leaf.

A little while later, Kon was trying to walk around without his stomach seizing up. Luke was staying near him, ready to grab him if he started to show signs.

There was a soft chuckle from nearby, causing both of them to look over.

It was a large blue and white pokemon with bunny ears… at least, to Kon.

"Oh, hello Missus Azumarill!" Luke waved as she walked over. "Are you here for a treatment?"

"Oh, yes, dear Luke." She looked to Kon. "Is this your partner?" She giggled. "He seems much more entertaining than Rita's partner."

Kon would have been offended if he knew who Rita was or her partner.

"Um, yes. His name is Kon-stan-tin."

"Oh, that seems a little long." Azumarill gasped. "Sir, may I call you Stan?"

"Anything but Stanley." Kon responded kurtly.

"Oh? Is there a story behind that?" The water type pokemon asked, looking eager for gossip.

"I stabbed the last man who called me Stanley." Luke tensed up at what Kon said.

"Ahhhh." Azumarill looked to Luke. "Your friend has a unique imagination."

Before Kon could get offended, three blue balls of varying size rushed in, two of them connected.

"Momma! Mister Kecleon gave us free apple today!" The tiny one spoke up.

"Yeah, we could bake an extra apple pie!" The bigger one cheered.

"Oh, that sounds just delicious!" Azumarill smiled at her children.

Kon's anger just melted at the voices of the children.

Then they looked to him. "Oh, this pokemon looks silly!" The little one laughed. "I'm Azurill!"

The other one started laughing a little as well. "I'm Marill. Why'd ya got a cape on your head?"

Luke broke in before Kon could even get a word out. "Because Kon's trying to seem mysterious and cool but he's mission what he normally wears."

Kon gave Luke a dirty look before the cries of the children broke through. "Wow!" "I wanna be cool like you, Mister Kon!" Azumarill was just laughing at all of this.

Then the questions started. About if they were Rescuers or Explorers, if they had found something really cool, if they had seen a Water Float, and about a million other questions.

Kon opened his mouth to respond but all that came out was a grunt of pain, grabbing his stomach.

The kids went quiet, Azurill moving forward. "Are you okay, Mister Kon?" He asked, his ear brushing Kon's arm."

"I'm fi-" Kon suddenly felt a haze go over him. 'What?' And then everything went black, and the void cried out.

"H-Help me!" He recognized the voice.

Suddenly, the void was gone and he was still standing there, only he could feel Luke's paw in his arm. "Kon?"

"I'm fine." Kon responded, starting to head for a exit outside. "Just…need fresh air."

He stumbled out, but could feel Luke watching him.

Seeing a small bench, he walked over and laid down on it. Finally, he took in his surroundings.

Huh. More tents in the semi distance, a weird yellow pokemon sitting under a tree, and the Guild in that direction. Neat.

Then, Kon started thinking internally. 'What was that? It was Azurill screaming for help but he didn't scream it right then and there.' Kon grimaced, holding his head. 'Was it just a hallucination?'

"Sir, are you okay?"

Kon snapped out of his thoughts at the male voice, looking up to see the weird yellow pokemon. Kon sat up, grimacing again, this time at his stomach. "I'm fine. Just stomach problems."

"Oh, well, I'm sure Audino will have you cured of that soon enough." The yellow pokemon smiled. "I am Drowzee. And you?"

"I'm Konstantin."

"It's nice to meet you, Konstantin." Drowzee smiled, before seeing the two kids rush out, laughing. "Ah, the innocence of youth."

Drowzee smirked a little. "Those kids actually lost an item recently but haven't told their mom. I actually saw it recently in a Mystery Dungeon and I'm going to help them find it."

"Good." Kon muttered, seeing the two pokemon roughhousing.

"We're going to leave soon, so care, Konstantin." Drowzee held out his hand, which Kon shook.

"Okay, kids!" Drowzee called out, getting up. "Let's head out! To Mount Bristle!"

Then, the haze came to Kon again. 'Again?'

"Yes sir, Mister Drowzee!" Both the water types started to follow Drowzee.

And for Kon, the haze reached a climax and suddenly, he was in a rocky area. In front of him, he could see Drowzee at a hole. In the hole, Azurill was hiding.

"Kid, I swear, if you don't come out with that treasure, it will mean big trouble for you!" Drowzee angrily spat.

"H-Help me!" Azurill cried.

Just as suddenly, the vision ended and Kon's blood ran cold. The kids were already at the tents in the distance with Drowzee, but the happiness was a massive contrast to the vision he just had.

"Kon, you okay?" Luke approached the charmander, who looked shaken.

Kon turned to Luke and explained his vision. "Just- Go down to the Guild and see what you can find out. I don't trust that yellow f***!"

"What's wrong with being yellow?" Luke asked with a tilt of his head.

"Nothing!" Kon growled out, a touch of smoke coming out of his mouth. "Just do it!"

Luke looked skeptical for a second before saying, "Okay. I'll go to the Guild and check the Outlaw Board."

Kon exhaled as Luke ran off.

"What are you doing out here?!" Then tensed up when Audino came out. "You need to stay inside for now!"

"Well, I-"

Audino yanked him up and started dragging him inside, much to his frustration.

After trying a foul tasting concoction that Audino had made, he stared out the window of the building, watching for the tell-tale look of his partner.

Kon had seen Azumarill but didn't want to terrify her too much in case he was wrong. From what he had heard, she had something wrong with her lungs that kept filling up with liquid.

He also looked at the clothing line, where his was drying in the hot summer day. It was probably because of his amnesia but he couldn't remember when his clothes looked so clean.

"Gah, where is he?" Kon started to pace.

"KON!" His head snapped up, looking outside and seeing two figures approaching, the second one practically confirming his fears.

It was Luke and Marill, both looking fearful and panicked. Azurill and Drowzee were not with them.

Worst yet, Luke was holding a wanted poster with Drowzee's face on it.

Kon opened the window and crawled out.

"I-I lost track of Azurill and Drowzee and-" Marill was starting to devolve into blubbering crying.

Kon grabbed the spherical pokemon. "Calm down, Marill."

"We'll find your brother."

A/N

Whelp. Added and shuffled things. Next chapter is the end of the first Arc.

Also, hints of where the Corrupted Pokemon are coming from and ever so slight foreshadowing.

Zara, your thoughts?

Zaravan : Konstantin is going to come down on Drowzee hard. I'm talking 'Wrath of God' hard. He's definitely...

Not happy, to understate it.