Arceus Report

Arceus (the Alpha Pokémon) is a legendary Normal-type Pokémon whose current location is in an unknown dimension, though it is often referred to as the Hall of Origin by experts. Even though little is truly known about this magnificent beast, Arceus is without a doubt the most powerful creature to ever walk the face of the Earth and perhaps the entire universe, even if it might not appear to be anything truly special. Humans still might not be too sure about its true origins or thought processes, but it is undeniable that Arceus deserves to be respected and should be rightfully feared above all other Pokémon in existence; after all, if Arceus had not existed, it is likely that we wouldn't either!

According to the legends of the Sinnoh region, Arceus was born from a great cosmic egg before the universe ever existed; shortly after birth, it created Dialga and Palkia to rule over time and space together and, for reasons that still remain unclear to physicists, created Giratina as the living embodiment of a strange form of exotic matter possessing antigravitational properties before banishing it to the Distortion World as a result of it rebelling against the will of Arceus in an attempt to overthrow and destroy its brethren. Eventually, Arceus came upon our world and decided to bestow life upon it, creating Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf to grant the life on the once barren planet the power to truly live. After this, it supposedly went into a deep slumber and did not reawaken for some time. In light of this myth, there are several interesting facts that make the story both puzzling and perhaps more revealing as fact than fiction. If Arceus did in fact 'create' Dialga and Palkia and existed before our universe even began, it would have to mean that either Arceus itself is a defiance of nature's laws or, as many are now coming to believe, Arceus is actually an organism from a different universe that had the ability to generate the components necessary for our universe to exist (time, space and energy/matter). If this is true, then Arceus would truly be an alien in the most liberal sense of the word. Secondly, the fact that it took Arceus billions of years to reach our planet is actually not too surprising considering the size of the universe; what doesn't make sense is that due to the expansion rate of the universe, that would mean that Arceus would have to be traveling far in excess of the speed of light, which is quite unlikely. It is instead believed by scholars that Arceus may have the ability to generate stable wormholes in the fabric of space-time using the very same powers that define the members of the Creation Trio, allowing it to travel from one point in the universe to another relatively quickly; unfortunately, this has not been fully confirmed, but it at least appears to be the most logical conclusion.

What is definitely apparent, however, is that Arceus is incredibly powerful, primarily because of the sacred relics or Life Plates that the creature possesses. From what little data is available on them, it appears that these seventeen Life Plates serve as a defensive barrier for Arceus and allow it to change its type at will (perhaps not surprisingly, this is why Arceus is the only Pokémon capable of having the utterly unique Multitype Ability). It is also interesting to note that these Life Plates serve as the prime evidence behind past interactions between humans and Arceus, as many inferior copies of the Life Plates (designed by humans and infused with the same energy found in the original plates) exist among ruins buried across the planet, with the exception of the Legend Plate, which only Arceus possesses and can use. While these inferior copies still allow Arceus to change its type to match the energy given off by a Plate and still have the effect of powering up moves associated with that type (an effect they have with all Pokémon), the original Life Plates are different in that they also grant Arceus immunity to that particular type and can be switched out for each other quickly. These Life Plates (as well as their copies) are also the prime source of power behind Arceus' signature attack, Judgment. By gathering tremendous amounts of light energy into its body and releasing it all at once, Arceus can effectively generate a literal shower of light balls that strikes opponents with enough force to disrupt their molecular structure and cause considerable damage. While not exceptionally strong on its own, Judgment is unique in that its type is dependent upon Arceus, so, as an example, if Arceus is currently a Dragon-type, Judgment will also be a Dragon-type attack; this effectively means that it will always be more powerful than normal because it matches Arceus' type, making it perhaps the most versatile and potent move known by any Pokémon. It has been further theorized that Arcues’ may have the ability to use type specific Z-Crystals in much the same way to fuel its power as the energy signatures they give off are nearly identical, though why this may be the case has yet to be determined.

Although it is quite clear that human interaction with Arceus have been quite limited, it's equally clear that people recognized its power and its importance in the world, as it is almost always depicted as the central deity of Pokémon-oriented religions within the ancient world. It can even be said that Arceus may have had some influence in non-Pokémon-oriented religions, as its form, mannerisms and description in both Hisui and Sinnoh legend share in common traits found in many eastern polytheistic religions, including Egyptian, Hinduism, Shinto, Chinese mythology and Buddhism; the true extent and reasoning behind these complex relationships, however, is buried so deeply in time that it remains beyond current understanding. Nonetheless, there have been a considerable number of temples built to honor Arceus across the planet, chief among them being the Temple of Sinnoh, now known as Spear Pillar, and the Sinjoh Ruins, which are located deep within the icy frontier that divides the Johto and Sinnoh regions from one another. It is believed that this land was once a lush forestland filled with a great variety of life, including humans, but became uninhabitable several thousand years ago when the climate in the Hisui region turned colder as it transformed into the Sinnoh region. Despite the damaging effects of snow and ice, the Sinjoh Ruins have held up remarkable well and are perhaps the most complete Arceus-associated ruins left in the world. When the ruins were first examined by archeologists nearly a decade ago, a few oddly-shaped flutes were discovered in a small stone box near the back of the temple ruins. According to the inscription written on the inside of the box, these odd objects, referred to as Azure Flutes by their discoverers, are able to summon Arceus with a tune that is imperceptible to the human ear but, in terms of sound alone, is extremely odd and unrelated to any sound that can be heard on the planet even today (aside from being eerily similar to the radio noise generated by the Unown). Unfortunately, the sound generated by these objects is incapable of traveling very far, so it is unlikely that Arceus could even hear it unless it was literally within a few feet of the instruments or the area surrounding the player has the needed acoustic and mystical attributes to amplify the sound to an audible level. Oddly enough, though, the main temple of the Sinjoh Ruins appears to be designed for the ritualistic purpose of not only summoning Arceus but enabling it to concentrate enough power to physically create time, space or matter...at least, that's what the inscriptions within the temple say. What this truly means and what applications it could possibly have, however, are still a complete mystery.

While Arceus has remained elusive to the eyes of the world throughout most of recorded history, it has made one rather frightening and remarkable appearance in modern times, namely during the Michina Town Incident thirteen years ago. Thousands of years ago, Michina Town was a barren wasteland that could not support life at all and the people living there were in constant agony. Although it is unknown why Arceus chose to do so, it is said in legend that it once protected the world from being destroyed by taking the brunt of a meteorite swarm, losing the seventeen life plates it normally carried with it in the process. While Arceus normally would have died, a man from ancient Michina Town, known only as Damos, rescued Arceus and nursed him back to full health. In return, Arceus used five of its life plates to create a powerful artifact known as the Jewel of Life, which would supposedly bring prosperity to whatever place it rested in. As such, Michina Town flourished for quite some time, but eventually Arceus returned to reclaim the Jewel of Life, only to be tricked by Damos and sealed away. In the recent past, Arceus had begun to re-awaken, sending disruptive shockwaves throughout the Temporal and Spatial realms as a consequence (which in turn led to Dialga accidentally entering the Spatial realm, triggering the events of the Alamos Town Incident and indirectly the events of the Zero Incident). Eventually, Arceus did wake up and began to destroy everything around it with its powerful Judgment attack. The three original deities, namely Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, had already been feuding amongst themselves when this occurred and, with a little direction from a young woman gifted with the ability to communicate with such wild beasts, began attacking Arceus in an effort to save the world. Their efforts, however, proved to be useless; even when the young woman (who coincidentally happened to be the descendant of Damos) attempted to give Arceus the Jewel of Life began, it was only infuriated further and forcefully crushed it beneath its foot, revealing that it was a fake. In a last-ditch effort, Dialga used its powers to send the young woman, along with a friend and a group of young kids, back to the past in order to reverse the events that had transpired. During the course of their journey, it was revealed to them that Damos had not tricked Arceus intentionally but had been brainwashed by a Hypnosis technique from a Bronzong owned by ancient Michina Town's leader, a cruel man named Marcus. Through the efforts of the children, however, the attack from Marcus against Arceus was halted and the Jewel of Life was re-absorbed into the beast before they were all returned to the present. Due to Dialga fainting in the meantime, however, the present had not actually changed even though the past had; it was only after a young boy amongst the group reminded Arceus of what had happened that it finally calmed down and departed for its home-dimension, the Hall of Origin (as did the other three back to their respective dimensions).

While it may be as mysterious as the very question of life's true origins and our purpose within the grand scheme of things, it can be said with certainty that Arceus is definitely a powerful creature that has given this world and perhaps the universe as a whole more than what could ever be repaid. With the highest base Defense stat out of all Normal-type Pokémon (in its basic, Normal-type form) and the highest base stat total out of all recognized Pokémon in all of its forms outside of Eternamax Eternatus, there is no denying that any battle against Arceus is sure to be a losing one, even if such a battle is beyond unlikely. Many might deny its existence or importance in a religious context, but one way or another, we all must and often do thank Arceus for bringing existence onto our insignificant planet…and if you choose to believe that Arceus is nothing more than a lie or a fable, you had best not say that where the beast can hear you, lest you find Judgment upon you!

Professor Wormwood