[Pokémon] The Way It All Happened

I settled myself onto the grass, disgruntled. As a Torterra, I was one of the larger fellows in the forest, even with all the visitors, and so I had to submit to being the bleachers for a host of smaller Pokémon. I still didn't know why Piddle didn't have to come if he made me attend.

See, Piddle was a Pidgey, and my dearest friend. I'd been around this big world twice with him before settling down here, and in all that time and all the time before that where I was with my Trainer I still don't know the first thing about Pokémon history. Piddle knew everything and more for some damned reason and now he thought that I should, too, since I was just sitting around getting old, anyway.

The local Smeargle Clan was hosting a public reading from their archives to honor some guests from the Agents of Arceus. Smeargles are really some of the only Pokémon who dedicate so much time to records, and they don't pull out their texts very often, so Piddle managed to goad me into attending, although I was already uncomfortable. A Swalot had decided to seat himself on me and I didn't feel like letting her know she was more than big enough to sit on the grass, so I was prepared for a hot, boring afternoon listening to Elder White's less-than-stellar lecturing voice.

Oh well. Beats wandering for a living.

Elder White stepped up to the podium, now, his whiskers fluttering in the breeze as he approached the mic. SmeargleTech was always a while behind human technologies, but they had the basics down, and had other sources of power they could use. I noticed distantly that someone had erected an omniversal receiver near the stage, but I didn't know what purpose this reading would serve to other realities. Nor did I care, really.

"Hello and welcome, everyone," White said. "As some of you are already aware, Lady Asmodeusbane and her squadron are visiting"--he passed a hand over the old Gardevoir and her four attendants, all with that stern look that the Agents always wear--"from the Agents of Arceus. To entertain them as a thank-you for their handling of the Abomination in the Durant tunnels, we've decided to bring up our old texts and read through the creation of the Pokéverse." Another Smeargle approached and handed White some papers. "First, we'll read the Interpretations of the Pictograms, a text that dates back to around the fifteenth century, BC, written to textualize the series of events depicted by the now-destroyed Glyphs of Creation in Western Africa. This text was originally in Hebrew Unown-Script, but it has undergone translations over the years, and our current one is in Smearglese. I know a lot of Pokémon these days have forgotten these origin stories, and many are as blind as the humans in regard to the weight of science, so I hope you all take some meaning from this. I ask that you hold any questions until our recesses. Keep in mind that oftentimes the Legendaries do not look the same as they do today when they first show up in this, so you'll have to use some imagination. And keep in mind this text's age. Some things may not make sense at first.

"Now," he cleared his throat. "Let us begin."

"In the beginning there existed instantly and infinitely a great nothingness, and in this nothing there was, of a sudden, a great Egg. In the span of an unending moment, the Egg did split down its middle, and from it and into the universe poured the flow of time, introducing causality into the universe. Then, countless grabbing, flailing hands poured from the fracture, and they took hold of the shell and shoved it open, revealing the thousand-armed Father, the source of the Four Forces of Life.

"The Father took the two halves of His shell and consumed them. Thus having brought into Himself all the matter in existence, He proclaimed into the vast empty nothing, 'I am Arceus, the First and Alpha, and I am the Father of Creation and Finality.' For countless eras Arceus existed in isolation, contemplating His lonely existence. Discontent with this rumination, He said to Himself, 'Lo, for I am miserable in this solitude. Might I for My self and of My self a child to raise and be raised by.'

"And Arceus tore free all his many arms and cast them into a heap, smashing them together with His hooved legs into a pink mess. Arceus encountered failure at first in this first of creations, and pounded harder, angry with His inability, and He breathed into the mass an amount of the Four Forces of Life, and, lo, it moved. From the great mass, only a small amount took life, and it stood and was the Father's first daughter. And Arceus said, 'Here and behold, for I have birthed the first of what shall be many children. I shall name her haloed Mew, carrier of the life with which I hope to fill this horrid emptiness.'

"Mew did look upon her Father and say, 'But wherefore shall this new life reside, dear Father?'

"Arceus pondered, and strode away in thought, Mew moving after Him, and in His wake the remaining mass pooled and retreated into the emptiness, pink and horrible. Finally, Arceus spoke, saying, 'I shall craft, now, a grand kingdom, as immeasurable in age and limitless in span as this void before Me, and I will present from Mine own bosom an Egg to bear three sons, who shall rule it as their inheritance, My gift to them.'

"And Arceus took His shining halo and broke it, casting its shards of light into the void, casting forth all the stars of the beginning times. And Arceus broke His shell, shattering its splendid canopy, and threw it among these stars, forming the planets and asteroids of the universe. And Arceus threw forth His mighty, hardened chest, and it split to cast into the universe all the wondrous light and energy that it would ever know.

"Mew looked upon Her broken Father in dismay, but His work was yet unfinished. Arceus--withered, unshining, unarmored--fashioned from an amount of the Four Forces of Life with His hooves a great Egg and made it to hatch into three dragons, three brothers. These He named Dialga, lord over causality and time past and future; Palkia, lord over the vastness of space and the dimensions by which it spanned; and Giratina, protector of life and its ways.

"Exhausted, Arceus swooned. The brothers went to support their Father, but He said, 'Unhand Me, My sons, for My work is yet unfinished. I must fashion each piece of My shell into a place onto which Mew may spread the seed of the life I aspire to raise.' But Mew, who was as much Her Father's caretaker as His daughter, said, 'You must rest, Father. Create, instead, one more child to do this work for you, and sleep and recover Your strength.'

"Arceus saw the sense in this, and He broke his many-pointed antlers, and breathed into them the burning flame of His passion. From this mixture rose the fifth child, with splendid wings and glorious haloed head, and Arceus said, 'Go, My son, Heatran, and force the shards of Mine armor into places for which life may live, and breathe into them some of My passion, that they may forever support that life. Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, explore this vast expanse and learn your kingdom. Mew, you must rest as well, as you must travel it entire when Heatran's work is finished.'

"And Arceus's children, all five, took their halos and cast them together so that Arceus might sleep in shelter, and He named it His Hall of Origin, and so did Arceus enter the First Great Slumber."

White took the glass of water offered him by his aide and cleared his throat. "Well, that's a good stopping point, I think. Go stretch your legs for a few and come on back. I'll answer any questions then, before we start again."

I hadn't dozed off in the end, after all. The Pokémon on my shell all moved to move around, but the Swalot was still sitting there, confused. "Hold on," she said to herself, "I thought Giratina hated life?"

I rolled my eyes and replied in a tone that I hoped implied that I would have liked to move, myself, "White said some of the Legendaries started off in very different scenarios. That goes for the world, too. There's a reason he'll get to for what happened with Giratina, and for what happened to the other planets if they supposedly all were meant to support life."

She pondered for a moment, but didn't take the hint that I wanted her off of me. "Well, what are the Four Forces of Life, then?"

Luckily, I had listened to Piddle go on about it enough to know this one. Unluckily, it looked like I was doomed to spend my recess in unmoving conversation. "Well, there's the Divine Force that we use for Moves and that sort of thing. Then, there's the Holy Force that we use for Abilities and that lets people cast magic and make Items. After that there's the Artificial Force that maintains cycles and systems. Finally, there's the Soul Force that gives us our sense of self."

I had made the mistake of getting her attention, so I ignored my stiff legs and went on. "There are four sorts of life form. Lessers, like you, me, and humans and Plants, have mostly divine force. Legendaries, like Arceus, have mostly holy force. Bacteria and viruses and macrobacteria, like coral and insects, have mostly artificial force. Abominations, like demons and those sorts of things, have mostly soul force. What distinguishes a living thing from a non-living thing is the presence of all four Forces of Life within its being. Non-living things are usually mostly artificial force, but they vary. Fruits and stones and things are mostly artificial force. Items and religious artifacts have mostly holy force. Temporary fixtures made by Moves are pretty much just pure Divine Force. Corpses are dead because their soul force leaves them, and the soul force is the scarcest of any of the forces, especially among non-living things, and is responsible for spirits and hauntings."

"Oh," she said. "Cool."

She sat there for a moment before I had to pointedly clear my throat to get her to move. She slid off and I got up to go get a drink at the pond before the recess was over.

I settled back into my spot, having stretched my legs a little, and submitted to the group of smaller Pokémon that climbed back onto me, I got ready to hear some more of White's droning.

The crowd quieted down as White broke off his conversation with Asmodeusbane and came back to the mic. "Right," he said, clearing his throat, "now that we've all had a moment to let all that shake around for a bit, were there any questions?" He ran a quick eye over us, and, satisfied, nodded to himself. "Alright, then," he said as he picked his papers back up. "Let's pick right up where we left off. Ahem.

"Whilst Arceus slept in His hall, and Mew slept beside Him, His sons spoke among themselves as Heatran set out to fulfill his sacred task.

"Dialga looked onward at Heatran's labor, and said, 'O lowly Heatran, how hard it must be for him to work toward such a grand goal. I am happy that I should never have such basal work: I watch only the echoes of the time stream, the images left behind by existence, and all I must do is be certain they do not dissipate. Truly, I've the greatest domain in our Father's kingdom!'

"But Palkia scoffed, and said to Dialga, 'How fool, Dialga, to truly believe that! What domain do you speak of? It has no shape or form to hold: but my domain is all this infinite space we all see. I was the one who was given the best kingdom of all: yours, Dialga, is naught but an idea.'

"And Dialga grew agitated with Palkia and said to Giratina, 'Pray, brother, what say you? Is it space or time that is the most splendid?'

"Palkia spoke before Giratina could respond, saying, 'What use is his opinion, Dialga? The poor worm does not have a domain, what would he know of splendor?'

"Dialga and Palkia laughed, and Giratina said, 'Our Father promised me the domain of life, and that is certain to be the most splendid of all, and far more so than time or space.'

"Dialga shook his head. 'Alas, my brother, what is it you see this life being? Will it create pockets of universes every instant?'

" 'Will it encompass all the eye can see?' Palkia asked, as well.

"But Giratina could not answer, for Giratina did not know. Angry, he fled the laughter of his brothers, out away into the cosmos, for he did not wish to speak with them until his domain came to be and he could face them on even terms.

"Dialga and Palkia watched Giratina go, still laughing after his powerlessness. And then Dialga said, 'Ah, but brother, jesting aside, mine is certainly the most splendid; infinitely greater than your domain.'

"And Palkia's brow lowered. 'It is odd, Dialga, how such a big thing can be completely invisible, then. It would almost seem to be perhaps not all you say when one cannot even fathom it.'

"And the two brothers glowered at one another and moved away, never turning their backs to each other. Offense had been given among the dragon triplets, and now they retreated to sulk in isolation, jealous of one another, and spiteful. Heatran, meanwhile, continued his work, oblivious to the tension that drew out a quivering mass from the farthest corner of the cosmos where it had been hiding.

"It was the mass leftover from the creation of Mew, and it had observed the universe and the brothers until now. It noticed that the brothers had had names, and that even the rocks were being given proper form. The mass grew angry: it had not received a name nor a form. Its Father had neglected it. It made its way to the Hall of Origin, and looked upon Arceus sleeping there.

"And the mass, furious, chose to give itself its own form where Arceus had neglected to do so. It grew, and shrank, and its colors changed, limbs and eyes emerging outward and falling again into the turmoil of its shifting shape. And then, it became the shape of Arceus. The blasphemous thing felt all the power and infinitude of its Father, and knew its desire: it would usurp its Father, and rule this universe as its own.

"But as it tried to summon power to kill its sleeping Father, it knew it was too weak. Arceus had still within Him more of the Four Forces of Life than the blasphemer did, and even in His slumber, He would be far too strong. The blasphemer knew it could not do this alone, and then it saw Mew, there, its sister favored over it in all ways.

"The blasphemer took her form, then, and flew into the universe before saying, in Mew's beautiful voice, 'My brothers, come to me, for I have need of your aid.'

"And Dialga and Palkia and Giratina heard from their places along reality's edge, and they came to the False Mew, eager to help their beloved sister. Heatran heard as well, but knew his brothers would go to her aid, and kept to his work, ignoring the call. The brothers came together, glaring at one another but worried for their sister, and Palkia said, 'What has happened, dearest Mew, why do you call for us?'

"And the False Mew said, 'Our Father has told me that He is unhappy with this universe, and wishes to unmake it all and start over. He meant to take me with Him, but He was going to unmake you, and I could not bear to let Him do so.'

"And the brothers recoiled in terror, crying aloud. 'Doom is upon us,' cried Dialga. 'Blessed sister, we implore you, you must change His mind, do not let Him unmake us.'

"But the False Mew said, 'He will not be deterred, and I am too weak to stop Him, but together we might force Him down.'

"And the brothers grew silent. The thought of patricide rested uneasily upon them all, but their sister Mew had asked it of them, and they feared the unmaking she spoke of. They looked between one another hatefully. Each hoped the others would be killed by Arceus, and then they alone could appeal to the Father to go with Him into the next universe. They followed the False Mew to the Hall of Origin and approached their Father.

"As they came, Arceus roused, and from his wondrous brow came a shimmer of every color of the rainbow, out into the universe and across all things within it and Arceus said, 'Lo, feel this warmth, my children, for it is the warmth of concepts, the nineteen Types.' And then He saw them gathered before Him and said, 'What is it that has happened? Why have you come upon me in My sleep?'

"And the False Mew stepped forward and said, 'Your reign is at an end, Father. You are too slothful, too inattentive to be our God. We have come to lay you to rest, and release the power you selfishly hold to your own breast.'

"The brothers, hearing their intentions thus worded, each stepped back and away from the False Mew, no longer willing to stand with her as Arceus's eyes grew angry and reality rippled about Him. He rose, seething, and as He did, He noticed the true Mew, still curled and sleeping nearby Him. His anger faded, and His eyes grew wide. He looked upon the False Mew with confusion. 'What are you that takes the face of My favored daughter?' He demanded. 'You are not a thing I have made and are not a thing I remember.'

"And the False Mew melted away into the formless mass that was the shape Arceus had given it. The brothers recoiled from it, terrified for another reason entirely, and scrambled against the walls of the Hall, staying as far from the intruder as they could. It said to Arceus, 'I am that which You forgot, which You abandoned, which You disowned. And I will be that which You dread.' It ran from the Hall, then, past the brothers, but Arceus darted forward, fury building within Him, and as the intruder left the Hall, Arceus struck it with a bolt of searing unmaking.

"The thing burst, scattering pink fragments throughout the cosmos, uncountable, everywhere, and where they landed they took the form of the dirt, the star, the stone, the vacuum, and disappeared. Only one piece remained before Arceus, shimmering with the failing power of His attack. It took His form and said to Arceus, 'It was only by mistake that You made me, and it is only by mistake that You may destroy me, Father. I am Missingno, and I shall consume Your creation, for I am Your first-born, and I am Your heir.'

"And Missingno ran again. The brothers came to Arceus's side and He said, 'This thing has angered Me, and it shall face My fury tenfold.' Arceus bolted after Missingno, and the brothers could not keep His pace, and fell behind. Arceus pulled alongside Missingno and glared at it, but Missingno threw forth a ball of destruction at the planet up ahead, and Arceus could see his child Heatran working on the surface, oblivious to the doom that neared him, now. And Arceus shot forward and absorbed the attack, and Missingno took the opportunity to turn away into the vacuum. But just as Missingno faded from Arceus's sight, He cast upon it a mark most holy, such that only He might see Missingno in its true form, and any others who looked upon it in that form would see a hole, where reality opened away around it, and so all His children to come would know that Missingno was not one of them.

"And then Arceus turned His gaze toward Heatran.

"Right," White said, rubbing his throat a little, "how about we take another recess, then? Remember to bring any questions you might have back for the start of the next part." The crowd began to dissipate again. The inquisitive Swalot who had distracted me last recess didn't do so, this time, and simply moved off without prompting.

I didn't feel it had been all that long since the last recess, and was content with staying where I was. Of course, I'm sure I looked to be in the deepest of thought, but, to be honest, I think I ended up dozing off as the other Pokémon moved about.

I shook myself awake as White cleared his throat into the mic. It had gotten to that point in the morning when the sun comes over the trees and makes everything all warm, and it had been quite pleasant to doze.

"Yes, yes," White said, "so does anyone have any questions they drilled up during our little recess?"

A Roserade near the front of the crowd spoke up. "Yeah, isn't Arceus supposed to be, like, all-powerful or something? How could Missingno get away from Him or hide from Him?"

White caught himself before answering directly and darted an anxious eye back toward the visiting Agents of Arceus, not sure how to respond without potentially blaspheming Arceus in front of His acolytes. Asmodeusbane stood up from her folding chair and approached White, taking the mic from him, and said, "That's a misconception that stems from confusion with certain human religions. Arceus is not omnipotent or omnipresent, He does have faults and gaps in His knowledge, but He has more power and knowing than any of His creations, regardless. He is powerful, but not insurmountable." She handed the mic back to White and said to him, softly, "White, do speak freely, don't worry about offending us." She retruned to her seat.

White cleared his throat. "Uh, right, any further questions?" No one said anything. "Okay, then I'll pick up where we left off, Arceus was just about to talk to Heatran.

"Ahem.

"Heatran looked up from his work and said, 'Father, you have awoken. I have finished your task and made round each body among these stars, and given my fire to their cores.'

"Arceus felt His anger over Missingno dim as He cast eyes upon Heatran. Heatran had become decrepit, his wings had fallen away, and his once-beautiful hide had grown pocked and scarred. 'My son Heatran, is it truly you? What has happened to you, to your beauty?'

"Heatran saw the distress in His Father, and took it to be discontent with his work. 'I am sorry Father, I only tried as well I might. Have I failed you?'

"And Arceus bowed His head and said, 'My child, it is I who have failed you. Only see how wretched you have become, and at my behest. Heatran, you have done your work admirably, and I thank you.'

"And now, Mew came upon them, full of worry. 'Your sons have awoken me, and speak of a Missingno, who came upon You in Your sleep. Do you well, Father?'

"Arceus felt only remorse: it was He whose negligence allowed Missingno made and Heatran disfigured. He said, 'My beloved daughter, I am well, do not fear. Look, your brother Heatran has accomplished his task, and has made many places for life to live.'

"And Mew looked upon Heatran and said, 'Thank you, Heatran, but you look so tired. Father,' she said, looking toward Arceus, 'do You not think Heatran has earned Your favor?'

"Arceus appreciated His daughter's suggestion and said, 'Pray, Heatran, what would you have for your service to Me? Make any wish, My child, and it is yours, if only you might forgive Me for having used you so.'

"Heatran shook his head. 'I am only so tired, Father. I wish to rest.'

" 'Then sleep, My child.'

" 'No, Father, I am weary beyond sleep. I wish to die, for life has worn me away.'

"Arceus was confused at this request, and as He thought about it, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina came upon them, having finally made their way toward them all. Only Mew had the confidence to speak to their Father when He was in such deep thought. 'Father, what does it mean to die?'

"Arceus looked at her sadly and said, 'What we do now is live, My children, and we must serve our purpose while we live. You, Mew, and you, my sons, have duties too large to ever stop living, and My duty is larger even than that. But you, Heatran, have served your purpose, and now wish to cease living.'

"Mew still did not understand. 'But what happens when one stops living?'

"Arceus looked upon her and the others, and looked closely upon Heatran. Of a sudden, He shook His head in frustration. 'No! Death is not for us. Our life is the life of this existence. We are not allowed to die. We might only live.'

"And Heatran, impatient, addressed His Father with anger. 'You said that I might have whatsoever I desired, Father, and I desire death.'

" 'Very well, Heatran, you may die, but you will live still, for you have a new duty to Me. You will be allowed to die, Heatran, but you must tend the fires of these planets until you do, as you do, after you do.' And as His children tried to make sense of this, He struck out and killed Heatran in one flash of motion.

"The dragon brothers huddled away in fear and Mew cried out. 'Father, what have you done?'

"Arceus approached the body and pulled from it its shining essence. 'I gave Heatran his wish. He is not one of us anymore. Mew, this is the part of Me I have put in you and your brothers, but you have more than all of them combined. You will go to each of these planets and take the part of Me within you, and from it you will make on each of these planets a great many creatures of all shapes and sizes. On each one, also, take a piece of Heatran and leave a shadow of him there among these Lessers, to be one of them, and not one of us.'

" 'At once, Father. What duty shall I assign them, then?'

"And Arceus said, 'The only duty of Lesser life is to live. Do not give them some role to fill, for that is the burden of us and not of them. Go, now. I will follow behind you and greet them in turn.'

"And Mew left to begin her work. Arceus turned toward His three sons, now. 'You will accompany me, and meet the denizens of your shared domains. Time and space will effect these Lesser beings much more heavily than us, and Giratina, you must see those things I have made you to defend.'

"Together, they set out behind Mew, and saw each planet across all the cosmos populated with Lessers."

White paused, now, for a drink of water.