The wisdom of the ancients survives on these grounds.
The Shenlong Monastery is a settlement in the Shenshin mountain range. It is charged with much religious significance and is a popular destination for pilgrimages. Shenlong is also the current site of the Tatsu League fighting type Pokemon badge. The current Master of the monastery and gym leader is Yi Jing.
Mythology[]
According to legend the Shenlong Monastery predates any permanent establishment in the Tatsu region. It is believed and still taught at the monastery that the founder of the school, Hung Wu, was on a religious pilgrimage to find a safe haven for the various texts he carried. He was lost in the think mist that plagues Mount Shenshi praying for guidance when an Arcanine emerged from the fog and stood staring at the monk. Hung Wu was struck by the Pokemon as it was larger and more majestic than any Arcanine that came before or after it. Wu started towards the Pokemon and followed at its side as it navigated the treacherous cliffs and crags. After six days of walking with the Pokemon with no rest, the mist broke and a clearing emerged. Here the Arcanine moved to a stone podium that stuck out of the ground and stood beside it, looking at Wu meaningfully. Wu placed the sacred texts he carried on the stone slab and immediately stet to building a shrine around them to protect them. It is around this alter that the Shenlong Monastery would spring up to be what it is today.
After some time spent on the mountain Hung Wu asked the Arcanine to guide him down the mountain and toward some willing disciples. The two headed down the face of the mountain, again guided by the Arcanine, towards a small undeveloped settlement that would become Primavera Town. Here Wu set up vigil watching the people of the settlement come and go observing them. He gauged their actions to see if one of them would make a likely disciple. To his dismay he found fault with everyone he observed and would not take them. On his last day of vigil, before he was to return to the mountain, four wonderers came into the settlement looking for shelter. These four were Jira, Maru, Sunna, and Diajiro. Wu watched them with great interest as they repaid every kindness done to them back threefold. Wu devised a series of tests and approached the youths pretending to have lost his mind.
His first test was to see if they had the ability to listen. He begged the four to hear his life story to which they agreed and settled down under a great tree. According to legend Wu’s fabricated story took two days and nights to fully tell, during which time the four listened intently and asked questions about him. Satisfied, Wu decided next to test their character. He displayed for them four items: a book of teachings that he brought with him, a bolt of fine cloth, a sword, and a leather pouch with one-hundred cold pieces. He told each to take one and multiply it. Sunna took the cloth and made fine tunics which she sold and gave to those in need. Diajiro took the book and learned its teachings; he then took the children of the settlement and taught them what he learned. Maru took the sword and used it to take jobs defending the people. Jira took the gold pieces and established a trading business in the settlement. The four returned to Wu after some time and showed them what they accomplished. It was at this time Wu launched his final test and asked for the gold that they had accumulated as a repayment for his items given. After the four agreed and gave him their gold he dropped his guise and revealed his purpose for his strange requests. He asked the four if they would like to come to the alter and train with him. All four agreed and used the gold generated to buy supplies. Wu took on the honour of Master and scaled the mountain with the four where they built the first building on the mountain, what is now the Ember Room.
After some time Master Wu passed on control of the monastery to Jira, the most promising of his students. A conflict erupted between Jira and Maru for rightful place as head of the monastery as Maru believed he should hold that title. The battle was long and at the end Maru had gained the upper hand. Before Maru could order his trained Pokemon to attack, the legendary Arcanine came to Jira’s aid and defeted Maru’s Pokemon. After this Maru left the monastery and was never seen again. Jira lead the monastery and opened its doors to more disciples.
Early History[]
The earliest history of the Shenlong Monastery that can be verified by multiple sources is in the Mastery of Xin Shao. In this time period people would come from all over the Tatsu region hoping to find healing for them and their Pokemon. Upon arrival and a tribute to the monks and prayers given to the past Masters and the great Arcanine the people were taken through a cave system to the underground lake. They would bathe here and it is still believed that the healing powers of this water can heal almost any ailment. Xin Shao used the funds collected in this way to add to the monastery much of what is currently in existence.
The Shenlong Monastery’s early history is fraught with battles between Shenlong and neighbouring monastery settlements. These conflicts were primarily fought over control of the healing underground lake that is underneath Shenlong. There is only evidence of one battle where Shenlong lost control to a rivalling settlement. In the ruling of Master Aki Natsume, Jin Yun lead a group of highly trained warriors to take over the establishment. They entered the Great Temple and barricaded themselves in the Ember Room with Natsume. During the month long period they held Natsume captive Yun declared himself Master and ran the monastery. This period of control ended when Aki Natsume was able to mysteriously defeat his captors single handily and return the monastery to its original working order.
Recent History[]
Recently Master Yi Jing has opened the grounds of the monastery to the general public. The Tatsu Pokemon League approached him about holding gym matches for the fighting type Pokemon Badge in his temple to which he agreed to under some specific conditions. The League was to come to the aid of the Shenlong Monastery in the event of a financial crisis. Also there was to be no Pokemon Center or Pokemart chain anywhere on the mountain. Jing stated that while he believed opening his doors to trainers was not a bad thing and would expose his students to many new experiences, he did not want to forsake the sacred healing techniques of the underground lake or make modern conveniences to ready for his students. This he believed would interrupt with their training and make them lazy.
Li Shan Fang, current executive of SOLARUS Inc., was one of the best students the monastery had seen since the original four. However, his quest for power led him to challenge the then-master, Quon Kadena. After the battle, Fang was expelled from the monastery. News of the turmoil in Tatsu still reaches the Monastery. The latest master Yi Jing and his pupils still prepare for whatever may happen.
List of Known Past Masters[]
- Master Hung W
- Master Jira Li
- Master Aki Natsume
- Master Jin Yun
- Master Xin Shao
- Master Howrang Shimida
- Master Reon Xi
- Master Quon Kadena
Geography[]
The Shenlong Monetary lies to the east of Primavera Town. It is nestled on the western face of Mount Shenshi, the largest peak in the mountain range of the same name. From its position it is possible to see as far west as Centria and as far east as Gaston Town, as well as out to sea. The Mountain range is very treacherous as the slopes are quite steep and the mountains within it are covered in sharp spires. There is only one route that leads to the monastery and trainers or tourists going there are strongly advised not to deviate from this path. In the colder months this path becomes quite tricky to traverse and is sometimes closed do to the dangers of ice, falling snow, and below freezing winds.
Cityscape[]
Shenlong Monastery is the most known and largest of several monastery settlements dotting the mountains. It is the only one connected to the rest of the Tatsu region via a route and the only one that is so open to trainers and tourists. The settlement is made up of several sections. The largest building is the Great Temple, a large square building with grand architecture. Outside the Great Temple stands a 16 foot stone statue of the great Arcanine that guided Wu. The temple itself is divided up into several rooms which are used for meditation, lectures, and other various types of training. In the center of the temple is a large open courtyard where Pokemon battles are staged for training purposes and more recently, for gym battles with the current Master of the Monastery. In the northern corner of the monastery is the Ember Room, which is strictly off-limits to everyone but the monastery Master.
South of the main temple is the residential quarter where the students of the monastery live and sleep. It is made up of many small, simple dwellings and houses a garden at the back of the complex. Within this garden is a bronze statue of Master Wu commissioned by Master Quon Kadena.
To the north of the Great Temple is the newer public quarter. Here merchants that travel up the mountain set up their shops. Trainers interested in buying supplies should look here as there is no Pokemart chain on Mount Shenshin as per Master Yi Jing’s orders. Also in the public quarter any trainers or tourists can find food venders and a “Zen Room” which is a large stone structure under a viewing tower. Here trainers can converse or ascend the tower for a view of the surrounding area. Battling in the Zen Room is strictly prohibited.
Directly behind the Great Temple are the training grounds that the resident monks use during the course of the day. Here you will find various apparatus to train both man and Pokemon. These are open to the public to use after dinner hours (8:00) while the monks attend meditation and perform their various chores. Further back behind the temple, set inside the mountain, is the public resting chambers. Here trainers can rent rooms carved out of the stone for the night. The rooms are equipped with simple furniture of chairs a table and as many cots as needed by request. Also deep inside Mount Shenshi is an underground lake, which is heated by the mountain’s small volcanic activity and lighted by thousands of candles maintained by the monks. Tourists descend a spiral staircase to the lake room where for a small fee you can place a candle of your own if you wish. Trainers wishing to rejuvenate themselves and their Pokemon should come here as there is no Pokemon Center on Mount Shenshi.
Culture[]
The residents of the Shenlong Monastery are very secretive to outsiders. While not unfriendly they are not willing to discuss their training or diverge information about the workings of the monastery. The initiation too becoming a monk is a closely kept secret and the monks do not offer trainers that appear there access to becoming one of them. Among their closest kept secrets are the Ember Room and its function. The room itself is off limits to everyone but the Master residing over the monastery at the time. In the basement it rumoured that the original shrine built by Master Wu still resides, holding the texts he brought here for safe keeping. It is also said that the spirit of the great Arcanine guards the texts to keep away all those who are not worthy of their teachings. The basement does however act as a mausoleum for the previous Masters of the temple and all of them are buried there from the first to the last.
The students themselves are disciplined. They rise early in the morning and report to their teachers after eating. They train to strengthen both the body and mind with their Pokemon. The monks are known to have battles with trainers as a means of judging their growth. All members of the Shenlong Monastery are required to wear the Shenlong karate style tunic which is completely black, save for the red around the collar, wrist cuffs, and ankles.
Gym[]
The Shenlong gym is located within the Great Temple courtyard. Here trainers will face the current Master of the monastery on a natural rocky field that is open to the air. The Master will combat the trainer with fighting type Pokemon. Upon defeating the Master of the monastery a trainer will receive the Focus Badge. Current Master and gym leader is Yi Jing.
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