I'M BACK AND SO IS THIS STORY! Well, it's rewrite anyway. As I said in the update, which has been trashed along with the other chapters, I am completely rewriting this and, in the end, this chapter was double the word counter of the original. Characters are still the same so Brock, Cilan and Iris are the travelling companions but they are changing a bit too, especially Iris in particular in both appearance and personality.

Other things that have changed are:

Marks: There is now a society based around the things and legendary marks only have FOUR ABILITIES EACH. So, no aura this time around.

Pokemon: I am starting afresh for teams minus who gets which Kanto starter, suggestions are accepted for ALL companions.

Appearances: Ash and Iris now have different and more unique designs than just copies of their outfits, Brock and Cilan have changed a bit too.

Chapter description and length: Now heavily descriptive with double the length of some chapters, you have been warned.

So, as you may tell from my years of being away, I have grown as a writer and look back on the old MOA as a mess, a cheesy story with a good premise that just, in my opinion, didn't deserve the credit it got. But now, I am proud to present the rewrite/reboot of Mark of Arceus.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this story over the years, this is for all of you.

Rarity and Acceptance

Nobody knew how it started, nobody knew where it came from, but everyone had accepted the society that had been built around the marks that formed once a child reached their tenth birthday. The mark on a child's arm was associated with a Pokémon. It could have been any one of the eight hundred or so critters that occupied the world, but the rarer the mark, the more people looked up to that child. Children gifted with pseudo legendary marks were seen as the prodigies of their respective training choices, put on a pedestal for others to bow down to. Those with weak, first stage or baby Pokémon were sneered at and looked down on like trash that had escaped the garbage can with the wind.

Marks had become the judging factor on a child's success in the future, they had become a symbol of strength and power when they were never meant to be. No one truly knew the meanings behind the different marks and, as such, deemed them as signs of potential, not what the marks were truly made for. In mythology, marks were used as a way of finding a chosen Pokémon to be a partner with, a Pokémon that would be by your side for eternity until the end of time. That, at the very least, was the case for legendary Pokémon.

Legendary marks were rare, and there was only one mark per legendary as there could only be one chosen at any one time. Whilst the other marks of non-legendries did nothing to the person's abilities, people with legendary marks had select powers of those legendary Pokémon. Say if someone had the mark of Darkrai; they would be able to cause nightmares if people slept around them, be able to use it's signature move called Dark Void, be able to use dark type moves and, finally, move by using shadows. And that is just looking at the surface. Legendary marks were powerful, but the people with them weren't treated like their pseudo legendary counterparts. Oh no, they were treated as freaks.

Even though people with legendary marks were CHOSEN by those legendries to represent them, others deemed them as threats to society. Many legendary mark owners were chased, captured and either killed or turned into lab rats to find out how they gained their powers. It was these actions that caused those close to mythology to believe this was why Arceus, the creator, had never chosen a person to bear its mark. There was no one pure enough, kind enough or able to have adversity to be its chosen, no one was a representative of the past of humanity.

There were some who predicted the coming of Arceus' chosen, but almost all of them were proven wrong multiple times. If such a person existed then why weren't they around? Of course, humanity wasn't perfect but the system surrounding marks had changed everything for children under and over the age of ten. Children were terrified of their mark's arrival, praying for a good mark, whilst those who had them would have their future pretty much decided for them. It was a flawed system with no room for change, a system that people were sure Arceus' chosen would never live in. Oh, how wrong they were.

Arceus had chosen a person to bear its mark, a ten-year-old who was about to get their very first Pokémon soon enough. A person who would change everything, for the better.

Honestly, he had no idea why he offered to stay behind when he found out that there were too many trainers this year but, for the love of his mother, Ash really was glad that he did. Having branched himself high up into nearby tree, he secretly watched the starter selection as the three other beginners chose between Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. Having only four, in the grand scheme of things and the knowledge that hundreds of children were born on the same day in Kanto alone, be chosen to receive a starter from Professor Oak seemed daunting. Most kids received starters from their parents or grandparents as a gift for turning ten, the day their mark was revealed for the world to see.

Every child hid their arm, the space nearest their wrist, to allow the mark to form and develop for its arrival when they were ten. Only on their tenth birthday could a child remove that bandage or slip on cover to reveal what the fate of the world had in store for them, find out whether that fate was good or bad.

The just turned ten year old yawned, swinging his legs to and fro from his seat as he thought about which of the Kanto starters he would have chosen.

Bulbasaur was a good all-rounder, sturdy and tanky with good special attack, and the additional poison type made it stronger against its many weaknesses. In Kanto, Bulbasaur could be used to decimate the first four gyms, and then take down the eight, which was rumoured to be a ground type gym. In fact, people could consider it superior since its Mega Evolution had the ability Thick Fat, which meant it was resistant to fire and ice attacks, two types that were commonly used worldwide. With a mixture of special and status moves, it could be considered a beast if trained well.

Squirtle, type wise, was the best. Being a water type, it could learn ice type moves, taking out its grass type weakness meaning that only electric types were a problem. Like Bulbasaur, Squirtle was useful for many Kanto Gyms, with the rock, fire and ground gyms being the prominent ones, grass if you could teach it an ice type move by the time you reached Celadon. Just like Bulbasaur, Squirtle was slightly tanky but had higher attacking stats, which made it trouble to go up against unless a powerful electric type, or a different type who knew both electric and grass type moved, took it on.

Charmander was the starter that was the hardest to train, Charmeleon were known to disobey trainers if they didn't trust them or trust their skills in battling, it took a lot to gain back that trust. For those without that problem, Charmander's line was a powerhouse hidden inside a lizard/draconic form. Sure, the gyms didn't really work out in Charmander's favour but there could always be other Pokémon to catch! Being able to take to the skies and rain fiery death upon your enemies was way too cool for some kids, which is why they ended up picking Charmander.

Of course, Ash knew he wouldn't get one of these three.

Professor Oak was known to keep spare Pokémon, either unwanted eggs or legitimate starters that weren't the main three such as Pikachu and Eevee. However, only those close to him knew that, or those who had been the fourth or fifth trainer to come at one time. Considering he basically lived in the Oak Laboratory and worked there thanks to his mother's job, he had seen many a Pokémon choosing in his life. Thinking about it, there would probably be an Eevee left over or something along those lines. Maybe Oak had a few elemental starters left over as well. As the ten-year-old thought over his choices, his fingers absentmindedly scratched at the bandages covering his lower arms. With his starter came the unveiling of the mark that had be forming since his birth, a mark that no human had seen before. Sure, Pokémon like Chancey were brought in to change the coverings as not to ruin the surprise, but no human had gazed eyes on it.

The door to the Lab opened, almost causing Ash to fall down from his perch. As he regained his balance, he noticed that two of the trainers had left holding a Charmander and a Bulbasaur respectively, talking animatedly about their experience. The boy was surprised to find that Gary hadn't left the lab, but realised he was probably waiting his entrance to get his starter. Gary Oak was five months older than Ash was, but acted like the older brother that the younger had never had. Considering Ash had lived about half of his life in the labs, even having his own room inside the Oak estate, it wasn't that much of a shock to the professor. Even from being little, the two boys always played together and ever since Ash's father went missing and his mother had been even busier with her job – a job that took her away from her family almost constantly with a week's holiday of sorts – Gary had taken it upon himself to act more responsible, be a role model for his younger friend.

Not wanting to make the two males that were practically family in all but blood waiting, Ash climbed down the tree as swiftly but safely as he could and made a dash for inside the lab. With the excitement building up inside, he ran through the hallways until he reached the main, open spaced area where two familiar face awaited him.

Both Oaks chuckled at the dishevelled appearance of their continuous guest. Even the fridge the boy had grown out to cover his left eye was sticking to his face with sweat as he panted for air to refill his lungs. They were both used to it by now, having dealt with the other boy for a long time now. Gary rolled his eyes and stepped forwards, wrapping an arm around his 'younger brother's shoulders.

"You didn't have to run, Ashy-boy!" The older of the two chuckled heartily, ruffling up the other's hair. "We weren't dying over here."

"Well maybe I wanted to run because I was excited!" Ash huffed back, pulling himself out of the chokehold before straightening his already unruly spikes. "I've had to wait an extra hour for you guys to finish. Seriously, why did you take so long?"

"Individual mark revealings, duh!" Gary looked down at the offending wrappings around Ash's arms and raised his right arm, revealing a tattoo like image just below his wrist on his forearm. Two crossing silver spoons were the foreground to a trio of purple/pink wavy circles, the mark of an Alakazam. "I got lucky, but not pseudo legendary lucky."

"An Alakazam?! No way!" The younger male gushed, pulling forth the knowledge he had gained from analyising Pokémon from their information and from TV battles. "Alakazam is one of the strongest psychic types in the world with a powerful Mega Evolution to boot. It's known for its intelligence and planning skills, its also able to learn to communicate to humans via telepathic waves from its huge brain which has an IQ of over 3,000…"

"Ash, you're mumbling again." The Oak boy raised an eyebrow, noting how his friend jumped back and began rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry! I was trying to say how awesome a Pokémon it would be on your team and…" Professor Oak's gleeful laugh cut through the embarrassing tension, returning attention to the old man.

"I am glad someone listened to my lectures," Upon saying that, he sent a look in Gary's direction. "But you've had your turn Gary, it's Ash's turn to pick his starter."

"I chose Squirtle by the way," Gary butted in, ignoring his grandfather's stare. "Just giving you a slight heads up for our next battle, since you are my little bro, after all."

"Anyway," The professor coughed, turning to the table which the Poké Balls for Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle once resided on. "Since there were four trainers here today, and I only had three elemental starters, that meant I needed to prepare a starter for the one who was late or chose to remain behind. After a call from Professor Birch, saying he had a spare Pokémon Egg lying around, I took it and had it raised with the same expectations as a starter would have… except this one is more destructive which is why I'm happy knowing it's going to one of you." Pressing a button on a handheld remote control raised a pedestal, with a Poké Ball resting on top, right beside the table. "Well then, Ash. Are you ready to meet your partner?"

"Do you even have to ask?!" Ash answered, almost jumping up and down with excitement for what was to come. Reaching out, he picked up the Poké Ball and, as all first time trainers did, threw it experimentally to reveal the creature inside. In a flash of light, a small childlike figure formed in front of the three, its white pyjama like body meeting a clashing green bob cut of hair. A mouth and the lower parts of the eyes could only just be seen on its face whilst its long fringe was parted slightly with a flat horn like spike poking out of its head from the front and the back.

His starter was a Ralts.

Ralts was the first in the Gardevoir/Gallade line, a psychic and fairy type with amazing special attack or attack depending on gender and which evolution is suitable. Gardevoir had the best Mega Evolution with Pixilate turning every normal type move into fairy, giving it a STAB boost. Hyper Voice plus Pixilate equalled Draco Meteor levels of power. Gallade was an impressive attacker, with Leaf Blade as one of its many moves, a powerful slashing attack which was helped by its sharp appendages attached to its arms.

"And I thought I was lucky," Gary whistled at the sight of the Pokémon in front of them. "Ralts are pretty hard to find in the wild, how did Birch get an egg of one?"

"One of his trainers had a…"

"Okay!" The older child placed his hands over the younger one's ears, blocking out any dirty content from the innocent brain those ear canals connected to. "I get the picture Gramps, trying not to ruin the innocent here!"

"Oh, right…" Professor Oak scratched his chin sheepishly before he regained his posture. "This Ralts is a female, about level 5 by now and has two unlocked egg moves in her possession, Confuse Ray and Shadow Sneak. Her ability is Trace, which allows her to copy the ability of the opposition's Pokémon… something that can turn the tide of battle."

"Wow, she sounds awesome!" Ash stated whilst smiling at his starter, who puffed her chest out proudly which made him laugh in the process.

"Yes, she loves to fight and prove her strength, which is why I said destructive earlier." The Professor announced, chuckling at the small Pokémon's posing. "I was hoping one of you two could train her considering how much knowledge I've implanted into your brains with my research so I was glad when Ash said he'd stay behind." He regained his composure once more, and an air of professionalism rained over the aging man. "Now, I believe it's time to see what mark you have, my boy."

"Y-y-yeah…" This was the moment he'd been waiting for, the moment that would chose his place in society whether it be good or bad. Turning his head, he frowned to see Gary heading for the exit. "Where are you going? I thought you were going to stay?"

"Nah, the mark revealing is something strictly between sponsor and trainer, I can't be here so I'd better head to Viridian City and prepare for my first Gym Battle," Gary stopped in the doorway, turning his head around so his 'brother' could see his grin. "But when we next meet, you can tell me what awesome Pokémon made your mark, got it?"

"Got it!" With that, Gary waved goodbye and left the lab to set off on his own journey.

"Now then," The professor had waited until the front door had nearly been slammed shut before he continued. "More often than not, the mark is situated on your dominant arm, but there are times when it's not, so all unveilings start with the right arm so don't worry if it's not there. I know you're left handed." Slowly, Oak unwrapped the right arm's bandages with Ralts watching curiously from below them. As he got to the wrist, it was shown that the right arm had nothing on it. Because of that, it meant that there was only one solution and that the mark was on the dominant arm. Of course, that wasn't the only solution in Ash's mind.

"What if I don't have a mark?" The boy asked suddenly as the professor got to work unwrapping the other arm.

"That's impossible," Professor Oak promised, trying to reassure the boy he saw as a second grandson. "Ever since the beginning of humanity, people have had marks. There is no way you won't have one."

"But… let's say what if…"

"Let's say, wait and see…" As the area close to the wrist was exposed, the mark beneath it glowed with a white light. "Everything seems in check, it'll glow until I've fully released it and… OH MY!" The bandage had fallen to the ground, left forgotten in the wake of the jaw dropping revelation that was in front of him. The light had dimmed, revealing a golden circle with spikes pointing out in the near corner like places on the shape, making a criss cross in between the inner and outer circles. In the band made by the circles was split evenly into eighteen with all of this backgrounded by a deep purplish-pinkish circle that faded into the natural skin colour around it. It was a mark that had never been seen in human history.

It was the mark of Arceus.

~0~o~0~

"I can't believe it, MY trainer is Arceus's chosen? THE Chosen One?!" Ralts paced up and down her trainers bed as he put the dark blue and white jacket of his trainer outfit over a black undershirt and a large white ribbon like belt, that was tied into a bow at the side with two ends trailing down his legs, sometimes hitting against the baggy, greyish blue trousers that were tucked into red high-top boots. She grinned with a smug look of satisfaction. "HA! I get to lord it over the other Pokémon of the world! Kneel before the mighty Ralts, starter of the Chosen One!" Ash sighed as he grabbed the pair of middle finger looped arm covers that reached halfway to his elbow, tied to his wrist by strong red threads so his mark wouldn't show.

Having a legendary mark was a big deal, especially since that meant gaining four powers related to that legendary over the course of the next few years. Some came instantly, others took time to develop, but there was one huge thing that made having such a mark so scary. It was society and the people who deemed legendary mark owners as nothing but lab rats to find out how normal marks could give people power. It was terrifying enough to have a first stage evolution as a mark due to how low the others would treat you, but what was more horrific was that even those at the bottom of society would actively hunt and capture legendary mark owners to probably boost their place in the pecking order.

Professor Oak was also a legendary mark owner, the chosen of Celebi. From Celebi's powers, the professor could travel through the time that he was alive for, manipulate plants with chlorokinesis, levitate to a near state of flight and could absorb information from plants and trees outside. Of course, they were amazing gifts that could easily be hidden. However, Ash wasn't so lucky.

One of his gifts had manifested straight away, the ability to understand Pokémon. Oh boy, he was not going to get away with this. Mere seconds after his mark revealed itself, he heard a female's voice begin shouting arrogantly to see what was going on and why old monkey face – Professor Oak – had gone pale, a voice he learnt belonged to Ralts. After getting over the shock, the professor began to speculate what other abilities his charge of sorts had obtained, guessing that Judgement – Arceus' signature move – and plate switch – the ability to change types – were included as they were well known for the legendary. However, the last ability was shockingly predicted as telekinesis, not something random like aura abilities which one could get from either a mark of Dialga, Palkia, Mew, Giratina or any of the Sinnoh lake trio, Azelf, Mespirit or Uxie. Arceus created the universe, so some kind of psychic ability had to be in there somewhere.

After this, he was told immediately to cover up his mark, hiding it from sight to keep himself safe. It was commonly known that people would cover up their marks by wearing long sleeves, jackets or some kind of elbow reaching glove, which is exactly what the professor had given him. Sure, they weren't gloves, but they did their job and looked kinda cool, matching the more traditional look of his outfit. Putting on the items of clothing, he turned to his starter, who was still going on about her superiority over every other Pokémon in the world.

"Please don't say stuff like that, you could get us into trouble…" Ash swung his backpack on and adjusted the straps as he talked. "…Police reports say that Team Rocket have a Pokémon on them that can speak in the human language but can still understand the Pokémon language. Blabbering stuff like that could end my life as we know it."

"Sorry…" Ralts looked genuinely apologetic, staring down at the ground with her head bowed low in guilt. "…I'm just so excited that I sometimes don't think before I speak and…" She was interrupted by a reassuring pat on the head.

"It's okay, Ralts," Ash gave her a small, teeth barely showing, smile which calmed her nerves down. "We all do it some time or another. I've run my mouth multiple times when angry so I can get where you're coming from." His eyes rested on the framed photograph on his bedside table, the last photo taken before everything went to pot, before his father vanished and before his mother was basically made to live at her workplace.

"That's your family, huh?" Ralts tipped her head as she viewed its captured memory from on the bed, legs swinging to and fro as she did so. "I guess something bad happened, which is why you're living with old Mankey pants out there." When a nod was her only answer, she freaked out at the thought that she'd hurt his feelings. "Sorry! I shouldn't have said anything about it!"

"It's okay, living with Professor Oak and Gary has been amazing," The ten-year-old sighed again before he picked up his starter in his arms and headed out of the room, giving it one last glance before he headed for the stairs to the first floor. "So, are you ready to be the best?"

"Please, have you forgotten who you're talking to?" Ralts scoffed and flicked her hair with her stubby arms. "I was born to be the best!"

"Good to hear it, ah! Professor!" Ash ran the rest of the way to the lab's front entrance where Oak was waiting for him. "I've triple checked everything and we're ready to go!"

"I bet you are, you've been waiting ages for this day," The old man cleared his throat before giving them a weary smile. "Please stay safe, your mother would kill me if she found out your mark had put you in even more danger than she expects from you."

"I'll keep it covered up so don't worry there…" Ash grinned at the mentor figure he had seen grow into the grandfather he never had. "And I'll call when I get to Viridian. I have Ralts to protect me, after all!" Ralts, without speaking, quickly saluted at the professor, showing him that she was not going to let anyone get near her trainer to harm him if they tried.

"Alright, I'll look forward to that conversation, good luck you two."

"Thanks for everything Professor, see you soon!" With a quick wave and a tear-filled glance, Ash rushed down the stairs leading from the Oak Laboratory to Pallet Town, heading towards the path that would grant him access to Route 1. His Pokédex was in his trouser pocket, having been obtained in the days before the starter choosing to save time, extra Poké Balls were in his other pocket and his starter was whooping and cheering from the top of his head as he ran, standing on top of it as if it was a surfboard. As the breeze swept his fringe from covering his left eye, both eyes caught sight of a beautiful landscape with the sun slowly rising with the morning wakeup call from the village's Dodrio.

Today was truly the best day to start a journey on.