The clearing was quiet again, save for the lazy hum of wind through the trees and the occasional snore from Kiba, curled beneath a bush in the shade.
Shion stared at the round creature sitting in front of him.
The Bidoof blinked slowly, raised one paw, and announced with grave sincerity:
"I am Arceus."
There was a long pause.
Shion squinted at the Bidoof.
"…Arceus. As in—the God of Pokémon?"
The Bidoof gave a solemn nod, though the effect was somewhat diminished by how it lost balance mid-nod and had to awkwardly correct itself.
Shion stood up, brushed dirt off his pants, and turned around.
"Yep. I'm definitely dreaming. Or losing it. First, a Bidoof talks. Then it claims to be Arceus." He shook his head as he began walking away. "Mom probably put something weird in the food last night. Yeah. That explains everything."
"Wait! Human—wait! I'm telling the truth!" the Bidoof squeaked, flopping off its belly and scrambling after him. "You have to help me! Or the world will fall into danger again!"
Shion stopped.
His brows furrowed.
"…Danger?"
The Bidoof, panting and sweating, sagged onto the grass. "Ugh… I really should not have eaten that many berries last night. My mobility is atrocious."
Shion sighed, turned around, and walked back. Without a word, he picked the Bidoof up. It yelped in surprise.
"Gently, gently! I'm divine!"
He carried the squishy Pokémon to the base of the tree and sat down beside it. Kiba, still snoring in a patch of sunlight, twitched his ears but didn't wake up.
Shion rubbed his temples. "Okay. Just… give me a second."
"…Take your time," the Bidoof said.
A few minutes passed in silence, save for the chirping of distant Starly.
Then, finally, Shion exhaled slowly.
"Alright," he said. "Start talking. From the beginning."
---
The Bidoof straightened up—or as close as it could manage in its squishy form.
"My name is Arceus," it said. "I am—or rather, was—the Alpha Pokémon. The protector of balance. The creator of all Pokémon, worshipped as a deity for millennia."
Shion raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound like a god."
"I've been a Bidoof for a while," Arceus muttered. "It does things to your dignity."
Shion folded his arms. "Why are you a Bidoof?"
"I don't know," Arceus admitted. "When I last used my power… I was whole. Then I awoke in this form, weak and fuzzy and… entirely too round."
Shion tried to hold back a snort.
"I've spent decades—maybe centuries—wandering, hiding, trying to gather my strength," Arceus continued. "But without my Plates… I can't restore my true form. And without my true form… I can't protect this world."
Shion blinked. "Plates?"
"Eighteen elemental Plates. Each represents a different Pokémon Type—Fire, Water, Psychic, and so on. They are the foundation of my power. Without them, I am reduced to… this."
"…A wobbly Bidoof."
"Yes."
Shion leaned back against the tree. "Alright. Why were you reduced to this? What happened?"
Arceus's expression grew solemn.
"Long ago, thousands of years past, this world was invaded by creatures not born of it. Beasts from beyond the veil—twisted, unnatural things. Some small, sharp as blades. Others massive and gluttonous, devouring entire settlements. They resembled Pokémon, but they were not. They were… wrong."
Shion's heart skipped a beat. "That sounds like—"
Shion stared at the grass. He remembered sitting on his grandfather's lap, hearing tales of monsters made of metal and darkness, of light that burned like fire, of a beast that screamed and cracked mountains.
"I thought they were just bedtime stories," he whispered.
"They were warnings," Arceus said. "The creatures your people call nightmares… were real. You know them now as otherworldly Beasts."
Arceus's voice dropped low. "Among them, one was the most dangerous . A creature made of light so blinding it scorched the earth. It devoured energy. Life. Color. Worlds."
Shion's stomach turned.
"We fought," Arceus said softly. "Humans. Pokémon. Myself. We stood against it. Many fell. Cities vanished. But in the end… I used all my strength. I poured every drop of power from the Plates into sealing it and the otherworldly Beasts away banished them beyond the dimensions."
Shion looked up. "But you paid the price."
"I became weak. Vulnerable. Something… happened. Something interfered. When I awoke… I was this." Arceus looked at its stubby paws. "I don't know who or what stripped me of my strength. But I know this: my Plates still exist. Scattered across this world."
It glanced sideways at Shion.
"And now the balance is tipping again. Pokémon grow wild. Legends run rampant. The threads of the world unravel. I can feel it. If the seal on the Ultra Beasts breaks, and Necrozma returns…"
The wind blew cold through the clearing.
"…This world will not survive."
-------
Shion was silent for a long time.
Arceus didn't press him.
Finally, Shion murmured, "Why me?"
"I've searched for decades," Arceus said. "Tried to speak to humans. Aura users. Espers. Psychics. Shamans. None could truly hear me."
It looked up.
"But you can."
Shion looked away. "That doesn't mean I'm special."
"No," Arceus said. "It means you're different. There is something in you. Something the world may need."
Shion stared down at his hands.
He was just a farm boy. He'd never left Riverleaf. The furthest he'd gone was the edge of the woods. He wasn't brave like Ren. Or passionate like Mila. He liked peaceful days. He didn't want to fight monsters from another world.
And yet…
Something in his chest stirred. Something warm. Something real.
"…I need time," he said finally. "I need to think."
Arceus nodded. "Of course."
Shion stood, brushing dirt from his clothes. He took a few steps—then paused.
"…One more thing."
He turned back to the Bidoof.
"If you're the Arceus… how do you not know what happened to you? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, all-knowing?"
There was a long pause.
Then, Arceus spoke quietly:
"…Because I'm not the first."
Shion blinked. "What?"
"I'm not the original Arceus," it said.
Shion's blood ran cold.
"You mean… there was another?"
"Yes," Arceus said. "Long before me. An Arceus older than time. The first Creator. I… inherited this world. But something about this feels different. Feels wrong. As if something deeper is stirring. And perhaps…"
Its voice dropped.
"…Perhaps even I was a part of someone else's design."
Shion didn't respond.
How could he?