Chapter 25: Cynthia Watches "Arceus Genesis"
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“This video is purely hypothetical. At present, there is insufficient evidence to support it.”
Once again, it opened with a defensive disclaimer, its guard raised to the absolute limit.
And yet Cynthia faintly sensed something different in the wording of “Shui Ye’s” usual opening. In the past, the introductions had always been the same: “This video has undergone artistic adaptation. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.”
But this time, “there is insufficient evidence to support it” seemed to imply that relevant evidence might yet be discovered in the future.
Did that fellow Shui Ye truly believe this was a theory that might stand up?
After the opening statement, the screen fell into darkness.
“In the year 172 of the League calendar, the twenty-year-old Yukinari Oak first proposed the concept of types in the journal Celadon, arguing that Pokémon should be classified according to their types.”
“This universally renowned discovery is regarded as the beginning of modern Pokémon studies.”
“But have you ever considered this question: What is the origin of types?”
“Or, to take it a step further, what is the origin of all things?”
The male voice in the video was clear and gentle. Cynthia was soon completely drawn into his questions.
To be frank, the question was hardly unfamiliar.
It was almost the same as the ultimate question humanity had asked after recognizing the vastness of the starry sky: What is the meaning of the universe?
“Clearly, no one can give an accurate answer.”
“But perhaps the existence of this Legendary Pokémon can offer you some insight.”
A flash of light appeared in the darkness, revealing a statue of a Pokémon that resembled neither sheep nor horse, yet possessed a sacred and awe-inspiring bearing.
“Arceus—a Legendary Pokémon revered by the people of Sinnoh from ancient times to the present as the Great One, worshipped for generations, yet whose mysterious veil has never been lifted.”
“Of course, I would rather call it the Creator of All Things.”
And so, a magnificent epic of creation began.
“...”
“The Earth Plate rose high, forming the spine of the planet...”
“The Thunder Plate burst apart, releasing the first lightning...”
“The Bug Plate trembled, giving rise to the code of life...”
“...”
The Cosmic Bangle shattered into sixteen Type Plates, and the energy within those plates gave birth to everything in the universe.
Including Pokémon possessed of supernatural power, divided into sixteen types.
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Arceus then created Dialga and Palkia, granting them dominion over time and space respectively.
To balance the instability that arose after the appearance of all things, the deity Giratina, master of antimatter, came into being.
...
One unfamiliar concept after another appeared in the video.
When Giratina appeared on-screen, Cynthia was already so profoundly shaken that words failed her.
At that moment, she no longer cared whether this was merely Shui Ye’s fabrication. She had become completely immersed in this creation myth, its epic grandeur surging toward her like a tidal wave.
Then Dialga and Palkia, the twin gods of time and space, entered into conflict.
The energy that spilled from their battle brought Heatran into existence.
The violent Giratina began to rebel.
Arceus descended upon the Spear Pillar and quelled the war...
Through the birth and interaction of one powerful Legendary Pokémon after another, the Genesis Era entered the Era of Chaos.
The spectacle only grew more thrilling.
Yet just as Cynthia was eagerly anticipating an even more magnificent continuation, the video came to an abrupt end.
Instead, it went straight into the final advertising segment.
“I recently caught a new Pokémon and equipped it with the Devon Corporation’s latest seventh-generation Hoenn Luxury Ball. But what should I do with its old Poké Ball? I put it up on the Magikarp Platform. I never expected an ordinary red-and-white ball to sell for over a hundred. The Magikarp Platform has professional staff who bring Psychic-type Pokémon to your door to collect used items. For buying and selling secondhand Pokémon equipment, the Magikarp Platform is the right choice...”
Cynthia: “...”
Shui Ye, couldn’t you have shown a little more consideration?
You could at least have finished telling us what happened to the twin gods of time and space before ending it!
For the first time in her life, Cynthia felt an urge to have her Garchomp launch two Draco Meteors at the person on the other end of the internet connection.
“Aren’t you going to bed yet, little Cynthia?”
A familiar, aged voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Cynthia jumped and turned around, half complaining and half pouting as she said, “Grandmother, why did you come in without knocking?”
There was only one person who could get past so many of Cynthia’s Champion Pokémon and come directly to her back.
She was the current director of the Solaceon Town Historical Research Institute, Cynthia’s grandmother, and the guide who had led her onto the path of mythology studies: Professor Carolina.
The usually aloof historian, who revealed a smile only for her granddaughter, pretended to scold her.
“I knocked for three whole minutes. You simply didn’t hear me. If you don’t believe me, ask Glaceon.”
Glaceon had entered alongside Professor Carolina. Its expression was as cool as ever as it nodded, refusing to take its Trainer’s side.
“Even if you’re spending your vacation at home, you shouldn’t stay up so late.”
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Professor Carolina set down the milk in her hand and teased her.
“What is it? Have the affairs of the Sinnoh Champion piled up so high that you still can’t finish them by nightfall?”
Cynthia shook her head and held out her phone to the old woman with the enthusiasm of someone sharing a recommendation.
“No, Grandmother. Look at this.”
Professor Carolina’s eyesight had begun to fail with age. She narrowed her eyes at the subtitles on the phone and read aloud, “Arceus’s creation of the world... Interesting.”
Cynthia’s eyes lit up.
“You’ve heard of this hypothesis before?”
Professor Carolina was the undisputed authority on the history of Sinnoh. It was fair to say that no one understood Sinnoh’s mythology better than she did.
Carolina did not answer directly. Instead, she began watching the video.
Naturally, Cynthia, who had been preparing to watch it again, watched alongside her.
Another half hour passed.
The grandmother and granddaughter emerged from their absorbed state and silently exchanged glances.
Only after a long while did Professor Carolina speak.
“An interesting video. A very imaginative hypothesis.”
Cynthia’s heart trembled. Coming from her grandmother, who rarely offered praise or showed approval, this was an exceptionally high evaluation.
She asked, “Do you think this could be an account of actual history?”
Professor Carolina shook her head.
“Although the logic is internally consistent, I cannot pass judgment.”
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was internally consistent too, but did that make it true?
Even an academic hypothesis—something proposed first and substantiated later—could not be accepted casually, let alone a historical theory, which required even greater rigor.
She paused for a moment, then murmured thoughtfully, “Of course, we cannot deny it outright at this point either. It’s just that some of the things in it reminded me of a story my grandmother used to tell me when I was young.”
Cynthia asked curiously, “What story?”
Professor Carolina murmured, “That which has existed from ancient times to the present is called space; that which encompasses the four directions above and below is called time...”
Then she shook her head helplessly.
“I’m old. I can’t remember the rest clearly. I only recall that it was a story about a rift in space-time and Arceus. My grandmother said she had read it in the Canalave Library when she was young, and that her great-grandmother had told it to her.”
Cynthia nodded pensively.
Her grandmother’s grandmother’s great-grandmother... That had to have been something that happened more than two hundred years ago. No wonder the story had been so difficult to pass down.
But... the Canalave Library?
Cynthia fell into thought.
There was still a month left of her vacation. Perhaps it was time to find something to do.
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