The True Owner

The man in his armchair swiveled around, his fingers drumming the armrest as he fixated his eyes onto the pokémon that was sitting in the cage before him. It hissed aggressively, snarling and scratching its enclosure, clearly adamant on getting out.

"Interesting," he murmured. "How very interesting."

He stood up and approached the cage.

"Well, I wanted to get Mewtwo," he said. "And turns out, I've got something better."

Espeon bared her fangs at the man, and while every fiber of her being was screaming that this man is bad news, she could only stay inside here, at the mercy of this frightening man. She dared not speak to him telepathically. After they have teleported out of the Plateau onto the summit of Mt Silver, this man easily called out another Deoxys and teleported both of them to this dark room. The fact that he was capable of such feats so easily terrorized her, and her worries in regards to the war, only worsened.

Licinius only inched closer, and Espeon tried to swallow her heart down her throat to no avail. It was hammering like a thousand alarms, warning her the deadliness of the enemy before her.

"I sense Arceus' powers inside you," he smiled eerily. "It's weak, but it's there."

Espeon froze, not believing what she was hearing. Having powers of the god of the universe, Arceus, inside of her?

"Let me guess, a forced evolution?"

By now, the psychic pokémon was staring at the man with both incredulity and fear. No one should know about that incident back then, and the fact that she is an anomaly in pokémon evolution, other than Red and herself.

"You don't seem to be aware of the significance of your existence," the man seemed to chide. "If Arceus granted a forced evolution onto you, he has imparted a part of his power inside you, and as such,"

She felt the red orb on her forehead throbbing, her whole body feeling wretchedly painful all of a sudden. As if needles were stabbing her at every corner, her entire body is turned inside out.

"You are a direct link to the Pokémon of Creation,"

She blacked out, her consciousness leaving.

"Isn't that right, Arceus?"

The feline's violet eyes morphed into a deep emerald green with red irises that stared straight into Licinius, whose lips stretched upwards. Espeon, at this moment, emanated a regal air of absolute power, and she stood firmly, head held high. Arceus, that now possessed the body of the psychic Pokèmon, saw the man eye to eye. With a single glare, Licinius' knees buckled and he lost his balance, crashing into the dozen items on the desk. He barely held his ground and giving a wry smile towards the feline, he chuckled.

"Well, you are more or less, a god, Arceus. A supreme one." Licinius huffed. "I'll be darned if you were not at this level."

You jest, immortal. Arceus said telepathically. A normal creature would have been reduced to dust. You are nothing less of a monster.

"That is high praise," Licinius said as he curtsied. "To think that the Creator would think so highly of me."

Such insolence! Arceus bellowed as it snarled. I'll have you know that you are a banal existence. Cease your evil acts, for there will be consequences.

The smile on Licinius' face only widened. "Evil acts?" He laughed. "I wonder, Creator, who is the real evil here? I truly hope that you have not forgotten what you've done all those centuries ago."

I have not. Arceus answered grimly. Licinius' smile faded, contorting into an expression of pure rage.

"The Plates," Licinius began. "Those Plates were never yours. You are a liar, o god of Pokémon. A crafty, power-hungry liar."

Arceus stayed silent, as the immortal continued. "You cheated us, spoke of a reward for gathering all twenty-two of us, and when we did, you went against your word. You knew since the moment we appeared in this world. You knew the Plates' true bearers are the Major Arcana. You used us, stole the Plates, and hid the truth. You are the true evil, Arceus."

I shall admit to my wrongdoings, Magician.

"Do not call me with that accursed title. This mark," Licinius screeched as he rolled his sleeves to reveal a muddy tattoo of the Roman Numeral I. "The mark of a slave. You, who lied and had never created the world. You, who interfered with the system of the world and made yourself the owner of the Plates. You, who proclaim yourself as a god. You who interfered with the world's order and burned these tags onto the Major Arcana to keep us under your watch. The only fortunate thing is that you messed up during your interference, so in the end, you could only keep watch on the Fool and the Magician."

Licinius gritted his teeth, glaring at the irises of the Creator with centuries worth of hatred and utter contempt. Losing his cool for the first time in a really long while made him feel a little more human.

You speak with such conviction, Arceus said evenly. Yet, why are you committing the card killings? Your actions baffle me, immortal.

Licinius said nothing for a while, yet his beady black eyes glimmered in the dark.

"It's awfully simple," Licinius said with an excited glint in his eyes. "I eliminate the Major Arcana. I remove the true owner of the Plates, destroy it and force you to forever lose the power you've been seeking since time immemorial."

What empty threats. The Plates are indestructible-

And Licinius merely smiled. Arceus felt a terrible chill coursing through his entire being. It needed no words, and the Creator was immediately aware of the meaning behind that smile.

He has found a way to destroy the Plates.

You devil. You should know full well that the Plates-

"Are the original shards derived when the universe was first created." Licinius cut in. "I know, o dear god, I know."

Then you should know doing that will destroy the world. Entirely. What do you gain from this?

"Oblivion."

Arceus widened its eyes, as Licinius loomed over it, eyes bloodied, hungry. The Creator had used up whatever power he could exert with this vessel, and while he would very much want to end the immortal's existence, he could not.

Not when the pact is still in effect.

"For presuming the role of god, both you and Neo shall pay. And that son of his that would be his successor, shall pay. I will end this cycle of the Major Arcana and make the 22nd Generation to be truly the last one to ever exist. For the creation and sustenance of this twisted world, the world and its inhabitants shall pay." Licinius declared. "And the world knows. Its energy is already at its limit, and with the ending of the Major Arcana, the ending of the plates, everything, will become oblivion."

The immortal stared straight at Arceus, lips turning up, knife in hand.

"I will make sure that there will be no beginning after the end. And you shall lose everything, Arceus." Licinius sneered. "Just like how I did."

His head hurts.

A cloudy black mess was swirling inside his brain, and he could see nothing. He found himself face to face with Green, and he could feel all sorts of ugly emotions rising inside him.

If...weren't...

"He's just taunting you, you big fat idiot!" Green's voice came hollering at him, and he found himself shouting back, flames coming out of his body uncontrollably.

Major Arcana... Espeon...

He found himself standing at a battle arena, his frustration, his agony, translated into cold commands to Pikachu. He struggled to catch hold of himself, but the voice gripped him tightly.

It's your fault!

The scratchy voice screamed at him. And he wanted to scream back, but the nightmarish cloud seemed to control his everything. From his emotions to his actions.

If you did not come down the mountain, none of these would have happened!

He saw his Pikachu, fallen on the ground, defeated by Green's Pidgeot, and his temples throbbed. A bloody image of Espeon suddenly surged into his mind.

If you did not play the hero and accepted to help fight in the war, none of these would have happened!

His arms moved of their own accord and Red could only stare at Blastoise slowly being demolished by the opponent.

If you were not part of the Major Arcana, you would not have to be part of the madness!

Stop, stop! He screamed desperately, but all he could see was his Blastoise falling to the ground with a thud, defeated.

If you weren't the Fool, Espeon would not have been taken away!

The giant black cloud enveloped him, and all he could do, was to helplessly watch a shell of his being, coldly commanding his team, his Snorlax, looking at him with eyes full of disbelief and hurt.

No, this is not him. This is not him at all.

Kill your powers, Red! That way, you can be free! Destroy! Destroy your core that commands the Flame Plate. Destroy it, and you will no longer be the Fool. You will get back Espeon, and no one can hurt you any longer!

The voice was now hysterical, constantly barking, constantly wracking his brain, and Red desperately tried to resist. But whatever was controlling his body, brought out his Charizard, whose eyes stared straight at him.

"That is not me!" He yelled while thrashing about in the dark cloud. "Please!"

Kill your powers, Fool! Kill it, and you'll get out of this nightmare!

"Stop forcing your ideas on me!" He said angrily while trying to tear himself away from the black mess.

Kill your powers, Fool! That way, Espeon will come back!

The empty husk of himself seemed to react to the mention of the feline, and Red watched in horror as flames fizzled to life on his arms. He heard Green's shouts and Charizard roaring, the pokémon looking absolutely flustered. Screams erupted around him, the Gym Leaders staring at him in pure shock, Brendan yelling at him to stop.

The entire arena was on fire.

So was his body.

He watched as a cloudy mist obscured his surroundings, torrents of water gushing at his uncontrollable flames in a bid to extinguish them, but it continues to burn without reservations.

He needs to stop. To stop this black cloud from controlling him and going on a rampage inside him.

"Let me go!"

The whole situation at hand was nothing like what Green Oak has seen throughout his life. And from everyone else's reaction, none of them expected this, in the middle of a pokémon battle.

Red had simply taken out his Charizard, and Green noticed that his friend's gaze suddenly blanked out. His crimson eyes lost all focus, and when the Viridian Gym Leader noticed a flame sputtering to life on his palm, he knew that something was going very wrong with his rival.

And truth to be told, the unexpected danger happened.

The arena had gone up in flames without warning, the flames towering high in the air. If he did not neutralize it immediately with an unstable water shield, Green was positive that both Machamp and himself would have been burnt to crisp. He hurriedly recalled Machamp and dashed to escape from the fiery inferno. His poor excuse of a water wall was definitely not sufficient to go against the temperatures, and without further ado, he tumbled off the arena.

His clothes were singed and his hair was slightly burnt, but that was not the main problem.

The spectators were all screaming, all rushing for the exits, and Green took out another pokéball, brows furrowing with worry. He clicked onto the release button, and a flash of white light emerged.

"Gyarados, Hydro Cannon!" He yelled, and his Gyarados that materialized from the light particles roared and unleashed a torrent of water from its mouth.

Green watched as the water-type Gym Leaders provided their respective support to douse the angry fire, with much of the Training Arena emptied out. Green inwardly sighed in relief, glad that at least there will be a lower chance of getting casualties.

"Someone get Red outta there!" Misty shouted over the rushing noise of the water.

"It's too hot!" Blaine cried out. "None of our pokémon can go into the fire!"

"Keep up with the water attacks!" One of the Hoenn Gym Leaders yelled urgently.

Yet, the fire had no sign of diminishing and Green involuntarily cursed under his breath. Their water tricks were not working at all, and at this rate, the building would collapse.

"Gyarados," he called out to the gigantic water pokémon, and Gyarados paused in its attacks.

"Mega Evolution," its trainer said with a confident smirk. Gyarados stared at Green incredulously, not understanding one bit what he was saying.

Until Green felt his tattoo glow with a marine blue light, power surging through his body, and Gyarados yelped in horror as its body shone with an iridescent light.

And what emerged was a much bulkier Gyarados, its barbels much longer, raised red scales running along its sides and Green's smirk went even wider at the sight of Mega Gyarados.

"Welp, that was easy."

What in Arceus happened to me!? A confused, low voice rang in Green's head, and the trainer watched his Gyarados flapping its fins, flustered.

Sweet. Green smiled at the realization that telepathy was effective between him and Gyarados.

Gyarados!

The Atrocious Pokémon turned around, still confused, and now even more so, when it dawned onto it that its trainer was talking to it telepathically.

How the hell are you talking in my head, spiky?

What? Spiky? Green shouted back telepathically, his hand immediately patting his hair down, offended. Is that seriously what you've been calling me for four years?

Of course. His pokémon answered smugly.

Dammit, I've raised you since you were a Magikarp-! Green slapped his cheeks angrily. Now was not the time for bickering.

Upon relaying his intentions to Gyarados, the pokémon obeyed and allowed its trainer to climb up onto his back.

"Green!"

The Gym Leader turned to his left, just to see the Hoenn Champion coming around the corner with his Sceptile behind.

"It's not working, the fire just won't go out." Brendan panted. The oxygen was going low here, and he was having trouble breathing. "We need a plan."

"Plan?" Green chuckled. "No need for a plan, I'm going to go and put it out myself."

"What?" Brendan said with a look of surprise. But Green proceeded to leave him hanging for answers as he tapped onto Gyarados' back.

"Okay, ready," Green said as Gyarados puffed its chest up. "Hydro Cannon!"

Water was shot out from Gyarados' mouth, the attack now a whole lot stronger than expected, creating a visible pathway for him to enter back into the fiery arena. Brendan widened his eyes in horror when he understood what the Gym Leader was about to do.

"That's suicide! Don't-!"

Green did not wait for Brendan to finish, and he charged into the fire, with the Hoenn Champion yelling his name.

The fire was starting to swallow them up, and Green conjured up a water shield, as Gyarados glided through the arena, spewing out another hefty Hydro Cannon to clear the path. The heat was unbearable, and Green wheezed heavily, for the oxygen was thinning out, and he could see the stars starting to swirl in his vision.

The moment he saw the familiar fire-type pokémon, he commanded Gyarados to stop. He jumped off, landing next to Red's Charizard, whose scales were alternating between jet black and sunset orange one second after the next. The pokémon's wings were raised protectively, and the moment it saw Green, it frantically provided an opening for the Gym Leader to enter.

Green wordlessly slide under Charizard's wings and found Red writhing about within, moaning with pain. The null tattoo was burning, flaming without control, and Green tried to douse the flames coming from the said tattoo, to no avail.

Charizard growled with much urgency, alerting Green that the fire was only growing stronger.

"He's having a nightmare," Green muttered through gritted teeth, his finger pressing onto the pokéball of his Alakazam. He hurriedly fed a Revive to the unconscious psychic-type.

Alakazam woke up groggily, still in the middle of trying to recover after being knocked down from its battle. It looked up at the young trainer and its sweltering surroundings, and it did not take long for the psychic-type to understand the current situation.

"Alakazam," Green panted, his breath ragged. "We don't have time. Use mind control and remove whatever is inside Red's head."

Alakazam nodded, its spoons immediately glowing a purple hue. It focused its powers, his mind navigating through the maze that was Red's consciousness. Beads of sweat rolled down the pokémon's forehead, as it tried to tear through clumps of black clouds that muddled the boy's mind.

Suddenly, a gigantic shadow screeched, throwing Alakazam off-guard. The shadow swirled around, refusing to budge.

"Alakazam, hurry," Green urged as the flames started to intrude his water shield. Even Charizard at his limit, the consistent transformation between its two Mega Evolved forms taking a heavy toll on his body. Gyarados was starting to run out of steam, the number of Hydro Cannons it could muster diminishing as the fire circled around them hungrily.

The psychic pokémon exerted even more of its powers, not willing to relent. The shadow screeched in pain, rampaging around as Alakazam wrestled with it.

Get out. Alakazam huffed.

With a shriek, the shadow finally exploded, the murky clouds disappearing along with it.

Similarly, the flames around them retreated, and Green gasped for air, the water shield evaporating away. He glanced at Red, who now laid quietly, his chest heaving up and down peacefully.

"You owe me this," the Viridian Gym Leader muttered under his breath before he fell forward and fainted.

As the door to the infirmary opened, the heavy silence within the space slowly lifted at the sight of the new visitors. Lance walked in alongside with Morty, who looked equal parts of confusion and worry.

Within the room, Ethan, Silver, Lyra, May and a hovering Leaf were sitting around, while Brendan stood at the side, the group waiting for Lance to provide them due updates on the current situation.

"I've managed to cover it up somewhat," Lance began. "The trainers are convinced that the fire is caused by a fault in the wiring. Most, at least." He added with an exasperated sigh.

"Thank you, Lance," Brendan said with a nod of the head.

"How are the two of them?" Lance gestured towards one of the curtains, where Red and Green were resting behind.

"They're still out cold," May shook her head. "Green breathed in too much smoke, and let's just say that Red has it much worse than him."

Grim faces filled with worry hung low, and an audible cough broke the group away from their thoughts.

"So what am I here for?" Morty spoke and cocked his head to one side curiously. He had an idea on why he was here, although he was not entirely sure.

"We would like to ask Sei about this incident," Brendan explained. "I thought that he might provide the answers. Do you mind?"

I don't.

A jingle of bells and the group were on high alert, as they waited for the same apparition of the ghost to appear.

Yet, nothing happened, and Ethan started turning his head around, confused. "Where is he?"

"There," Leaf said as she pointed a translucent finger towards none other than Morty.

The six of them took a collective look towards the Ecruteak City Gym Leader. Sure, he looked exactly the same, violet eyes, blonde hair and all. The only thing different about him was the air he emanated.

"Hang on," Ethan gasped. "What?'

"He possessed Morty?" Lyra said out loud, while Silver had a look of horror on his face. Although the Hoenn Champion had explained what kind of entity this "Sei" guy is, Silver still had trouble trying to process that information.

"As expected of Temperance," Morty said with a voice much calmer than usual.

"How...?" Silver blurted out.

"How?" Morty said, amused. "I'm a ghost. Of course, I can possess people. Although the catch is that I can only possess my descendants. Thanks to my affinity with ghost-types, Ryota here is also very susceptible to ghost possession, so you could say that I stick by him as a form of protection as well."

Bewildered, Silver merely dropped his jaw open in shock.

"I don't usually possess Ryota's body, but this calls for urgent measures."

The ghost-possessed Morty walked towards the curtains with quick steps and flung them open. And there laid Red and Green, the two boys having their eyes closed.

Morty frowned, and he extended his hand out, his palm glowing violet. The group stared curiously, wondering what the ghost was doing.

"I see," Morty finally muttered after the glow on his palm died away. He clicked his tongue, seemingly irritated by something.

"What's wrong with them?" Brendan asked. "Why did Red's powers ran out of control?"

"Another of Licinius' tricks," Morty said, gritting his teeth. "This is much worse than I thought."

"What is it?"

Morty sighed as he folded his arms. "I suppose I can't hide it any longer."

The group looked at Morty, or should they say, Sei, with befuddled gazes. The Ecruteak City Gym Leader sent a glance towards the Lance, and the Dragon Master took the signal, the man leaving the room quietly. When he did a visual check to make sure that no one other than the Major Arcana was present, Morty declared, "Swear on your lives that you must not divulge this to anyone else, not to anyone outside of the Major Arcana."

The group exchanged glances before each of them solemnly swore. Sei sighed, while mentally berating himself that he really should not be doing this.

But if whatever he saw just now, hiding this fact, will only serve to let Licinius have his way.

"I did say that whatever that happened to the First Generation is a secret," Sei began. "And it will stay that way, through and through. But I believe I owe you an explanation on your powers and the Plates."

"The Major Arcana is a cycle. A power that maintains the balance of the world. Each cycle refreshes the balance of the world by restoring the energy of the world through a span of twenty-two generations." Sei explained. "And the method to refresh this balance, so to speak, is to gather the twenty-two cards."

"Wait, how are we capable of restoring the world's energy?" Ethan asked. "Isn't that supposed to be like maybe, Arceus' job, or something? I mean, he is the Creation Pokémon, after all."

Sei's face merely turned dark at Ethan's words, his teeth biting down onto his lower lip.

"I'm afraid, whatever lore or legend that has been passed down the centuries are false." Sei finally said with his fists clenched. "I would not be surprised if even Legendaries or Mythicals are fooled. However, if we try to rectify these tales and beliefs, it will only serve to rock the foundations of the world and create conflict."

"These false legends are all caused by my generation. And I will not say them. All I can advise you, the 22nd Major Arcana and the last generation of the first cycle, is that you must not trust Arceus."

A thick silence enveloped the room, and whatever that broke it, came as a disembodied sound.

"Not trust... Arceus?" Lyra murmured. "But he's...,"

"I understand your doubts," Sei sighed. "I do not expect you to believe me when I say this, but Arceus is not the true owner of the Plates. I may sound sacrilegious, but Arceus is no god."

The group was simply stunned by Sei's words. Here they were before an ancient being, rejecting the very roots of their world.

"It lies," Sei said. "Whatever it claims the Major Arcana to be, original humans, the group of humans that can bring forth ruin or prosperity generation by generation, the special beings who can harness the power of the Plates, are all half-truths. Yet even I cannot provide you the full truth, because I myself, am not aware of what exactly is the Major Arcana."

"The only one who knows is Neo." Sei sighed, sending a glance towards the unconscious Red.

"But I can tell you this," Sei continued. "The true owner of the plates is the Major Arcana, and that is the one and undeniable truth."

"I don't understand," Brendan said. "So why is Arceus-?"

"Because it is no god." Sei reiterated. "Yes, it is powerful, and yes, it created the world. Yet it is unable to control the world entirely. It wants power, no, it needs it. So when the Major Arcana appeared with the power it needs, you can guess the rest."

"So you're saying...," Ethan breathed. "Arceus is our enemy?"

"Was," Sei sighed. "Neo created a pact with Arceus, forbidding the Creation Pokémon from harming any cards, in exchange for restoring the world's energy. Although, I can't safely say it is our ally."

"I see," Brendan gulped, face growing pale. "But how is that related to Red's situation?"

Morty closed his eyes, a frown sitting on his brow.

"Because Red almost destroyed the Flame Plate."

"What!?" The group collectively exclaimed.

"But he doesn't own the physical plate!" Lyra reasoned.

"He is the owner," Sei interjected. "So are each of you in regards to your respective type. A core inside you connects you to the plate. And the moment the owner destroys the core, the plate-"

"Is consequently destroyed." A weak voice said from behind. They all turned around, surprised.

Green Oak fumbled and struggled to sit up, and Leaf rushed to his side, her hand reaching out to hold him. But she stopped, seemingly reminded of her physical state, and refrained herself.

"Are you alright?" She murmured, concerned.

"Yeah," he heaved. "I managed to hear parts of your conversation. So you," he pointed at Morty. "You're saying Red going berserk was because he was trying to destroy his core."

"That is correct." Sei gave a knowing look towards the Magician.

"But why would he-!" Ethan got ready to protest.

"While under someone's control." Green pointed out. "I can attest that he clearly was not being himself."

"Darkrai, to be exact," Sei affirmed. "I felt traces of its powers."

"It must have infiltrated Red's mind during the scuffle at the party," Brendan suggested. "So his odd behavior is also caused by the Pitch-Black Pokémon?"

"Yes," Sei concluded. "And this is precisely why things are only going to get more dangerous from now on."

"What do you mean?"

"It simply means that Licinius is finally aware of the way to destroy the Plates," Sei explained with a furious look. "Only the Major Arcana can destroy the Plates. And once the plates are destroyed, the world's balance and energy will crumble entirely."

Sei pursed his lips. "And the fact that he is now capable of controlling the mind with Darkrai, I'm afraid that you are all at a major disadvantage."

"But why?" Lyra clenched her fists. "Weren't we just supposed to gather all the cards, and stay alive? Now we have to worry that Licinius is going to perform mind control on us and make us literally destroy the world with our own hands?"

"Can't Arceus do something?" Brendan shouted, agitated. "He might not be our ally, but he is still the Creation Pokémon."

"No," Sei objected. "The pact applies to Licinius too. If only the pact was established after he betrayed the First Generation, things would have been a different story."

The entire group fell silent, Brendan and May exchanging distraught looks, Lyra, Silver, and Ethan looking at the ground dismally. Green and Leaf glanced over at Red, who remained motionless.

"So is Red's core alright?" Green raised the question. "From what you said from before, his powers are still with him, isn't it?"

"Indeed they are," Sei answered with a frown. "But with him overexerting it, I'm afraid it will take time for him to recover. His core has also taken quite the damage, after all."

"So what can we do?" Brendan cried out, exasperated, looking almost desperate. "The way things are, how are we going to fight against Licinius while trying to gather the cards? This...," he gasped, before falling silent, none of his words coming out.

"No," Sei shook his head. "You can do something."

Their heads all looked up at the ghost-possessed Morty, who merely smiled.

"I have no doubt that he will continue his attacks, be it on your spirit, or body. His ambition and shrewdness will threaten everything and everyone you love, even the innocent." Sei explained. "But if all of you train yourself, physically and mentally, I doubt Licinius can play his mind control tricks. You must learn to control your core and your powers." He cast a glance towards Lyra and Silver. "Though it will take time, especially for those of you that have yet to awaken your powers."

"In other words, become stronger," Sei concluded and turned around to face Leaf. "And as much as I don't want to do this,"

He pointed towards a surprised Leaf, who widened her eyes.

"I'll throw in the offer to train you personally," Sei said with a piercing look. "Temperance of the Last Generation."