The PokéCommunity Forums

The PokéCommunity Forums (https://www.pokecommunity.com/index.php)
-   Writer's Lounge (https://www.pokecommunity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=120)
-   -   So, I had a plot idea today, and... (https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=157445)

DGexe October 17th, 2008 9:43 PM

So, I had a plot idea today, and...
 
A wild DG has another idea and wants opinions! … Why am I a wild Pokémon, I don’t know; ahem. Well, everyone, it looks like this roleplayer and want-to-be authoress has come up with yet one more idea she’d like to implement into fan fiction and roleplay. However, before I even dare step foot into a role-playing area or the realm of fan fiction, I’d like to get some opinions/critiques by the local-folk—yes, that’s right, you the fellow Pokémon fans! I’d like to share with you this idea of mine and get some kind of feedback, any kind at all—provided it is useful and serves its purpose well, of course. Ahem, before I ramble on too much, I’ll get to the point of this post…



The Angels of Arceus and Other Odd Sects


I. The Angels of Arceus

I don’t know why, but I’m sure I heard groaning already—me thinks that was just my own thoughts again. Anyway, this was a little something I came up with a couple of months ago (literally) while reading Hellsing and playing Diamond; not all at the same time, thank you very much.

According to what I’ve come up with thus far, the Angel of Arceus is a rank of the Poké-Versus' version of an "angel/spiritual entity". Humans that have acquired this rank are typically people who have performed a horrendous sin, either to fellow humans or Pokémon, and are thus tasked in some way or form by Arceus himself as atonement for what they have done. Those who complete their task(s) become worthy of either staying as an Angel of Arceus (and thus gain a less ironic existence for their title) or are reborn into the world again. Those who pick the former become personal messengers and guardians of the god himself and are held in a much higher regard than their lesser peers. Remember, there is (so far) no true distinguishing feature in the title as to who has redeemed themselves and who hasn’t. After a while, a redeemed angel’s aura increases in power some, but that’s about it.


Despite their titles, most of the angels truly aren’t all that powerful nor are they spiritually gifted by the Original One. In fact, there are only a couple of “powers” a human gains as an Angel of Arceus; first off, they project a special kind of spiritual aura that only Legendaries, Poké Gods, fellow angels, and the angel’s own team can feel. Sometimes, they acquire some kind of power in connection to their ultimate death—for example, my Poké-Versus version of one of my longest-exiting characters, Lauren, can teleport people to her gravesite and can force her fatal wounds appear for others to see, albeit the pain to deal with that accompanies it. Such powers as those vary from Angel to Angel and usually are not battle related in anyway (unless the person forces them to be played—by default, they are for explanation or a reminder to the Angel of what gave them an afterlife like this in the first place). Redeemed Angels of Arceus keep such abilities.

One more significant “power” of an Angel is resurrection, though this is truly Arceus’ work; the angels are able to rise from the dead again after being killed, primarily because their tasks aren’t complete when they die. The time between death and resurrection is anywhere from three months to three or more years, according to the severity of death. Now, that isn’t to say that Arceus can not immediately revive the deceased Angel, but it is presumed that “instantaneous” time to an Angel is a lot longer to the average mortal's perception of time. The possibility of death does not come without some form of sacrifice. For whatever reason, maybe it be the Powers that Be or otherwise, angels have a slim chance of suffering fits of traumatized, pain-induced insanity that can drive them closer and closer to fully loosing whatever sanity they may have left. I’ll touch on that in a second, however.

Angels, if one even has a clue as to what to look for, can be easy to pick out without the aid of a Legendary or another Angel. Then again, they don’t go around telling still-mortal beings about how to spot them. Their symbol, which all Angels of Arceus leave as trademarks, is a simplified version of the ring which runs around the god’s torso. The appearance of the ring (also called by some angels the “Halo of Arceus”) varies from one Angel to the next; sometimes it may appear on an object as a smoldering, burnt mark or an icy patch, or even a spot where—if possible—wind blows around it and particles can’t settle within the ring. Angels that have redeemed themselves are capable of using a very small-scale version of Judgment, which registers as a “normal” type to anyone studying the move at the time. This is usually a very elaborate way for an Angel to leave his or her mark for others to see; most angels do not find it wise to wield such a move in battle themselves, thus only the rarest of occasions will produce it for offensive purposes.

Another way for angels to distinguish themselves from normal people is the fact that their Poké Balls, no matter the type, are metallic in coloration. Odd as such a thing may be, as I’ve mentioned previously, they don’t go about announcing who and what they are to the average person. Most just don’t find it very wise. With the metallic manner of the ‘ball aside, it acts in every other way normal to any other ‘ball another trainer may have—these Poké Balls can even break like normal ones do.

Last but not least, an Angel can “fall from grace” and become the subordinate of a whole other Poké God—Giratina. Most of the time, this happens when the insanity felt during an angel’s death finally causes them to snap. At that time, they are snatched up by the subordinates of the Renegade Pokémon and taken away to somewhere other than the Hall of Origin—more than likely, it is the Torn World. After that, they eventually will return as a Guardia of Giratina, ready to counter-act their former peers…


II. Pokémon Angels/Other Worldly Beings

After a trainer becomes an Angel of Arceus or any other “other worldly entity”, their team has the choice of either going back into the wild or becoming divine themselves. They aren't subjected to the same punishment/jobs as their trainers are; however, they do have to help them as part of the deal of, in a way, cheating permanent death. They don't obtain any knew powers or augmentations of their old known moves; however, they emit the same auras as their trainers, identifying them to others in the same manner as people are altered to the presence of an Angel/Guardian/Protector/etc.

Reactions to the news of their trainer’s fall from grace as mortals into the lives they lead now vary amongst the team. For example, Lauren’s team felt quite a few mixed reactions since they literally never saw any of it coming; overall, it was distress and great amounts of dismay from the team to their trainer, although overtime they eventually got over it to some extent. Not all divine beings are that lucky. There have been times when a team is so unhappy with their trainer for leading their mortal lives up to the point of becoming what they are that they absolutely refuse to aid the person in question, even after agreeing to stay with them.


Well, that's all I have so far; I'll add more information about the various groups I've come up with later, even if the majority of folks are all "eewww, you came up with this idea?". Questions? Comments? Criticism? Oh, and I don't mind if you point out grammar mistakes/contradictions. I may have made a few and have missed them.

DGexe October 23rd, 2008 6:45 PM

III. Guardians of Giratina

Simply put, they’re almost the anti-thesis to the Angels of Arceus, and the “demons” of the Poké-Verse. There are two specific kinds of guardians, which are separated by “occupation” and origin. The first are the older guardians, beings who have existed for thousands upon thousands of years under Giratina’s order—they bear no title officially, but they are known as the Reapers; hence this alias, their jobs are to herald the souls and life forces of the dead and dying to the other side (whatever equivalent of “Heaven” my Poké-canon has…); these specific guardians also serve the same purpose as the redeemed angels, and thus are held in very high regards. They can easily be picked out from their more disruptive brethren by the lances they carry around; long, black, sharp and pointy items a foot or so taller than the wielder which possess several ethereal orbs of light swirling around the arrow head. According to ancient text, these are the life forces of the Reapers. Also, they usually wear robes of dark brown, black, tan, and blue, which if you remember is the overall color scheme of the shiny Giratina.

The second kind, which are the single most abundant of the two guardian sects, are simply known as “Strayed” guardians—they were typically angels driven to the point of insanity or humans who have died and are deemed beyond the point of saving, according to Giratina at any rate. Much unlike the calm, mostly sane Reapers, the Strayed are erratic in their behavior and actions towards anyone who is not one of their own (even some Reapers have been on the butt end of a Strayed’s insanity). They only time they show true sanity seems to be when in the presence of their patron Poké God. They serve only one true purpose, and that is the counter-act the angels’ actions—whether this be driving them to insanity as well or just meddling in their affairs—; other sects of the gods might be targeted as well for various reasons, especially if it suits Giratina’s fancy.

As is the case with the angels, the Strayed do not have immense powers at their disposal, with the sole exception of their own little Shadow Force (which both kinds of guardians use; the Reapers aren’t fond of using it). Unlike an angel’s use of their own Judgment-esque move, a strayed would be more than happy to use it against you in battle themselves; in a way, all guardians leave their attacks as a signature because of one slight variation from Giratina’s original move—wherever a guardian has been just before using Shadow Force, a small ring of jagged cracks is left in the ground/floor, filled to the brim with some sort of shadowy substance despite the “ghost” type of the move. It’s advised not to touch their “signature” as it has been known to poison the mind and (predictable) drive them nuts. See the pattern here…?

Just like the angels, guardians leave behind hints of what they are as well. Very much unlike an angel’s Poké ball a guardian’s Poké ball is rusty, dull, and worn down in appearance—how it functions is a question many ignorant mortals typically desire to know when they cross paths with a Guardian of Giratina. Another hint, which is not always sure-fire and reliable, is the twitchy and on-edge mannerisms of a Strayed guardian. Everything from vile grins to random twitches can be counted as mannerisms of a strayed guardian. The Reapers are a slightly different story, as most of them have become stoic over the years and, in a way, so emotionally dispassionate that some have called them emotionless—that’s a falsehood, however, because all guardians still show emotions, but they are at other extremes of the spectrum. Akin to the angels, guardians leave their marks as well—a silhouette of Giratina’s Origin Forme, as if one is looking down on it from above, has been known to appear as a shadow on anything from walls to furniture after a guardian has left the area. Unlike the angels’ Halo of Arceus, this mark shows no elemental traits except for shadowiness.

Next section, when I get around to it: The Council of the Trinity; also, section II has been edited to give an overall view.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 3:46 AM.


Like our Facebook Page Follow us on Twitter © 2002 - 2018 The PokéCommunity™, pokecommunity.com.
Pokémon characters and images belong to The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo. This website is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK, The Pokémon Company or The Pokémon Company International. We just love Pokémon.
All forum styles, their images (unless noted otherwise) and site designs are © 2002 - 2016 The PokéCommunity / PokéCommunity.com.
PokéCommunity™ is a trademark of The PokéCommunity. All rights reserved. Sponsor advertisements do not imply our endorsement of that product or service. User generated content remains the property of its creator.

Acknowledgements
Use of PokéCommunity Assets
vB Optimise by DragonByte Technologies Ltd © 2023.