Ghost Stories

Spoken from Heidi:

Once, there was an Arceus that was full of love. As her world developed, she’s grown to care for all things. She loved the Legendary Pokémon that were her children. She cared for the various other Pokémon that called her land their home. She adored the humans that roamed the fields and learned of the environment around her. She wished nothing but to continue to watch on as her world grew into a utopia… a place where people and Pokémon could live together in harmony.

Over time, she would work to make that a reality. She would teach her Legendary Pokémon love and kindness… to work together for the benefit of the world and the constituents under them. She would adopt a Pokémon or two to learn more about them. She would even occasionally descend into the mortal realm to make friends of the humans, so that she may love and be loved in return.

It was then her final act of love that would change everything.

The Arceus could not contain her love for any longer. She loved her children, the Pokémon, and the humans too much to stay isolated. So, one day, she used her Hall of Origin to erect a great city complete with parks, shops, services, and even a gym, all centered around a giant watchtower that was her living quarters. She then actively invited humanity to come live with her… to live in the new city and learn of and live alongside her and her children. Many people moved in the new land, taking their cultures, their friends, their family, and their beliefs with them. The City had its growing pains in the beginning; however, it would quickly become the grandest place that the world has ever seen… and would become her magnum opus.

However, this came with a price.

As humans came to know her, they would grow discontent with her. The humans did not care for her as she did for them. They rose against her, demanding more and more of her live while giving less and less in return. She would do everything that she could to satisfy them, but it was not enough. Over time, her heart hardened as her greatest act of love became the vector of humanity’s biggest source of greed.

In 50 years, the great city would fall into disarray.

In 100, the world would follow.

The once-loving Arceus had enough of her internal torment and waged war against humanity. She casted Judgment against the land and throughout the world. Humans and Pokémon were powerless to stop her as they were slaughtered in the billions. Legendary Pokémon who did not align with her cause would find themselves on the other end of a blade.

Soon, all of humanity was wiped out, and only a few Legendary Pokémon remained.

The Arceus’s job was done, but she wasn’t satisfied. So, she left her original world and ventured into others. She vowed to purge the multiverse of humanity, so that she and her fellow Arceus may live in peace… and so no one may make the mistake that she had made once before. They say that whenever she enters a world that the destruction of the world is all but assured.

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Spoken from Melony:

The World Cleanser has always been a kind woman. When the world was young and she was still full of love, she loved all things. The Arceus wished for her world to be perfect – one where people and Pokémon could live together in peace. Thus, over the years, she imparted lessons onto each of us. She taught the Legendary Pokémon empathy and compassion, both for our fellow creature, but also for all living things. She would send us to watch and care for the humans in our world… to guide them through hardship so they could be better people. Even in times of war, she would serve as a beacon of light, and while she may not help to facilitate peace quickly, she would bless those who wish to help the world grow stronger. She also would visit humanity herself, imparting lessons on important people or simply descend as a human traveler herself to find those that she could trust.

Eventually, she wished to share her love with all of the world. There, she expanded her Hall of Origin into a great city. We called it “Origin City,” allowing it to become the pinnacle of the Sinnoh Region. People and Pokémon came all around the world to learn of this new land. Shops were built. Homes were established. Temples were erected. Gyms were created. Before long, her magnum opus was completed, and the people rejoiced.

Unfortunately, it all began to crumble starting with the actions of a singular man. This man detested the love, care, and spirit of the Great City… and all of the Sinnoh Region. He especially detested the power of Arceus. Why should she sit in her Clocktower without want when there were people suffering? Why should she be filled with joy when others experienced pain, loss, and suffering. The world as she built it was flawed, and only he could fix it. Thus, he and his team worked together to try to defeat her. They banished me to remain in my realm so I could not interfere. They captured Dialga, the Controller of Time, and Palkia, the Controller of Dimensions. They shackled the lake guardians of willpower, emotions, and knowledge. Finally, they ascended the clocktower, demanding her appearance so they may capture her for themselves.

They stood no chance.

The Arceus slew the selfish man and all those aligned with him. How dare they believe that they had a better idea of this world than her. How dare they hurt and capture her babies without their consent. She gave this world nothing but love and kindness, and they wished to spit it back in her face? They deserved to die.

However, the Arceus still loved the man… and loved those fallen to her. They were still her children, even if they went too far. Thus, she wept and fled to her chambers.

The humans were not pleased with her actions. They demanded answers from her… an apology for slaying their kind. While the man was not right, they still loved him as much as she did, and, thus, they demanded for her to apologize. She never did. Instead, as more and more people asked about the incident, the Arceus isolated herself into her chambers for longer and longer. Eventually, the people’s demands turned into action as several groups of trainers with Legendary Pokémon attempted to force themselves into her chamber.

In her fear, she killed all mortals who violated her holy space.

Over time, the people grew fearful. The once prosperous city, now stained with Holy Blood and death, was abandoned by the people. They feared her Holy Blade and feared that she would retaliate against them. They feared that she would do unto them as they attempted unto her. Thus, the city was left in disarray. This only served to make the Arceus feel worse, further isolating her from those that she loved….

Her heart began to harden. The Arceus forbade any human or Pokémon that were not her direct children from entering her domain. She started speaking to us less and less. Eventually, she started making trips outside of the world entirely, looking for dimensions where she could regain her love of life and love of those under her care. However, while no one knows what she saw out there, her sightings horrified her enough to harden her heart even more.

That was when… she finally decided to end it all.

The Arceus gathered a few of her most loyal children and began to purge the world of humanity. All of us who tried to make amends with the humans and who swore to protect the world attempted to stop her… but her power was far too great. Her Holy Judgment rained down, causing an annihilation event to the scale that one has never seen before. Cities were leveled in seconds, craters from the impact of her Judgment scattered throughout the land. Death and destruction were as far as the eyes could see. A few of her children were able to escape – some through my Distortion World, others by fleeing the world entirely – but no human was able to flee from Her Persecution. I even attempted to stop her myself, but I was quickly no match for her strength and was banished back to my domain, where all but a shadow of my former self would remain for 100 years.

Then, the attack halted prematurely. Suddenly, at Spear Pillar, a strange creature appeared and engaged in battle against her during the world’s destruction. It was fierce and unlike anything that anyone has ever seen, but the stranger was victorious. The World Cleanser fled, granting the ability for even a few more of us to survive. Finally, the strange hero disappeared just as fast as he appeared. And thus, he allowed for but a few to live to tell this tale.

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Spoken from Friede of a previous iteration of herself:

Long ago, there was an Arceus full of love. However, this was not the Arceus that would become this iteration of The World Cleanser. Instead, this was a creature that predated that Arceus by trillions of years… maybe even more. The multiverse was much different then, containing different types of creatures in each world… holding its own mechanics. Looking back, it was neigh unrecognizable. Nonetheless, this Arceus was full of love as well, and she wished to spread her love to all creatures. Day after day, she would approach a new creature and love it, and it would love her in return. When humans appeared in her world, she would descend and fall in love with them. She would shower them in love, and they would do so in kind.

However, night by night, the Arceus would be tormented. She started to remember things… of a previous life… then two… then three or more. While each life starts off full of love, they all ended the same:

The previous life begins her quest to destroy all of humanity.

The Arceus became distraught. She would never hurt her human friends. They were there for her, and she was for them.

However, over time, she was betrayed by her human friends. They branded her a heretic and demanded her exile. They were afraid of her and forced her to leave. The Arceus attempted to return and apologized for her nature… she wished to love them and be loved once more; however, the humans began to attack her. They wished death upon her.

Thus, the Arceus’ heart began to close.

Over time, she grew to hate humans. The Arceus wished to destroy them… and maybe destroy all traces of them. Maybe the torment was a divine vision, granted to her as a warning, or perhaps it was her peering into the future. She did not know, but one thing was for certain: humanity must be destroyed. The Arceus returned to the settlement and wiped out all of the humans in the settlement, and then of the entire world. She then departed from her realm to save others like her from humanity.

And thus, started this Arceus’ crusade against humans, and The Cycle continues.

The old Arceus did not make it far. She had been successful in destroying humanity in two other worlds, but by the third, she had met her match from a mystical Arceus that wished to keep his world in stasis for as long as possible. On her dying breath, she vowed to return… that she will be reborn and will continue her quest to destroy humanity.

And, thus, she was reborn… as what is now known as The World Cleanser. The Cycle begins anew.

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Spoken from Meredith:

We return to the Arceus from the beginning. She was a creature full of love, care, and curiosity. When she created our world, she did so in hopes to establish a family… in hopes to forever have those that would love her. As time continued and life prospered, she continued to watch over us, happy to help guide us through hardship and strife… willing to guide us through understanding. In return, we cared for her and loved her as our own mother. Even if none of us were perfect… even if she wasn’t perfect, as long as we all had each other, we would all work together to progress our realm.

However, night by night, the Arceus would be tormented by dreams – memories of past lives… of loving selves just like her falling into despair, closing their hearts, and starting a quest to destroy their perceived threats of the time, eliminating entire worlds in the process. Each Arceus in these memories have done many things to avoid their inevitable fate from isolation to exile to surrendering their power, but it was all for naught. The Cycle would get to them in the end. This upset the loving Arceus, as these events foretold her fate as well: she would go against those that she loved to destroy a perceived fear.

The Arceus spent many moons and many years finding the remnants of the previous worlds and their Arceus. For a long time, it seemed as though the sands of time had eroded all traces of her previous lives, where she would receive no hints of her past prior; however, one day, she found a series of ancient journals – tales of previous versions of herself who had since fallen into the abyss and had been since defeated. The Arceus scoured through each of the texts, reading and analyzing for years of her former selves. Within them, she found commonalities between them.

An apology to past realms.

A learning opportunity

A compassionate soul.

A merciful defeat.

An Egg birthed from the power of Creation.

A Broken Cycle.

The loving Arceus from this moment knew what to do. For many years, when she was not tending to her world, she would leave her realm to enact her plan. Arceus traveled to other worlds – worlds once destroyed by her predecessors and asked for forgiveness. She learned from Arceus who were victorious and learned from them. She studied more of the power to Create and discovered the technique to create another of her kind.

When all was done, she concocted a plan, and it would be me who would assist her.

I had always had a deep friendship with the All-Mother. Although I had been embroiled in 2 wars, she and I shared the same goal: to foster a future where humans and Pokémon can live together in peace and harmony, where the fears of war are but a long past memory. We imagined a world… well… just like this one. However, I was never able to see that future in life. During a great 1,000 year long war between Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza in my realm, I sacrificed myself to save the lives of my friends. As such, my Soul Dew was returned to my daughter who was shielded from battle at the time. However, 100 years later, my daughter, saddened that she could not utilize my Soul Dew, gifted it to the Arceus for her to keep me safe.

It was during that time when she told me everything. She told me of the Cycle of human destruction that she was destined for… the multitude of reincarnations, the recurring dreams, the closing of her heart, her desire to break the cycle…. Thus, we would concoct a plan, one that included my daughter. My daughter was always a bright and strong child, but she was plagued with the trauma of war. We knew that, under the right circumstances, she would grow to become a kind yet powerful Latias, one that would be strong enough to be able to oppose her. We allowed for her to continue through the war, giving guidance for her to not lose her way. We planned to return me to her and to peacefully transport her to another world with family so she may better learn the values of life and the love of people as we once did. That way, when the day would come that the Arceus’s heart is closed and when she becomes what we know as The World Cleanser, then my daughter will be ready and defeat her in an act of compassion and mercy. And thus, the cycle will finally be broken.

We were never given that opportunity.

The youngling was forcibly removed from our world soon after the climax of the war, never to be seen again. For centuries, we weeped, worried for her safety… wondering if we should search for her. For many years, as the Arceus continued to tend to her world, she wondered if all we planned was for naught – that the Cycle would begin anew, or that we had spent more attention to the future without thinking of the present. However, one day, 200 years ago, she returned to us. The little one found us once again and, having learned of the fate that our All-Mother would face, returned to gain some closure to her past life. We could tell that, even though she has gone through so much over the years, she was just as loving and compassionate as we expected. Not only that, but she had become an Arceus, one that had empathy and love for humanity… and one that has seen a world where people and Pokémon come together to achieve great feats. She was just as determined to put an end to the cycle of destruction as we were. As such, the loving Arceus gifted my Soul Dew back to my daughter, wishing her the best of luck in her journey.

When the time is right, the two are destined to do battle. Your Arceus is poised to defeat The World Cleanser in a decisive victory. The World Cleanser will be reincarnated, just as she had in the past; however, with the compassionate defeat and the new ability for Creation, the Cycle will be broken once she creates another such as herself…. Thus, concluding our tale.

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