Pokémon: Tears of the Fallen

Chapter 30: I Trust You

Ash: "AL-- AL-- ALWAYS?! I've always been a Dark Manipulator? How? I never knew!"

Arceus: "Your Dark Manipulation just wasn't active, so you weren't able to sense it. But now, it is activated in full force."

Ash: "Umm, so..... you did this?"

Arceus: "I did."

Ash: "W..... Why?.... How could you do this?! I'm not an evil person! I'm trying to help my friends, not hurt them! What kind of Mythical Pokémon are you?!"

Arceus: "Believe me, this was necessary. You're the only one who can handle such evilness flowing within you."

Ash: "What does that mean?! Did you not see what I did to Alain? I don't wanna hurt them."

Arceus: "YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF PAIN YET, IMPERTINENT ONE!"

Ash: *gasps* ....

Arceus: "I did this for the right reasons and you will find out in due time, so just wait and learn to use this Manipulation to fight the enemy. As for the demon, whatever happens will happen and you cannot stop it. Understand?!"

Ash: "I-- I'm still.... a little confused... but okay. But what will I do if the demon threatens one of my friends' lives?"

Arceus: "For now, keep your trust in Alain and his ability to keep the demon at bay."

Ash: "Alright.... so.... what activated this Manipulation?"

Arceus: "I didn't awaken until after it happened, so perhaps you were in some grave danger... or maybe you had someone you were trying to protect."

Ash: "Oh.... Dawn...."

Arceus: "Who is this person?"

Ash: "I'm sorry, but... I know you ordered for Alain and me to travel alone, but we brought a friend who had lost everything she had and had no place else to go."

Arceus: "I see... This is fine. You will need to meet more people along the way to help fight in the end. Also, this is a good time to tell you that I'm a separate entity from the physical Arceus that's captured by the Tekiyoku. I have the memories of Arceus leading up until the Plates stopped being dormant. This means that while I know about what's happening with you now, the physical Arceus does not. Our memories cannot be merged until we become one and that can't happen until a certain condition is met, which you do not need to know."

Ash: "Oh... Understood."

Arceus: "And do not tell Alain about me now. He would have a hard time trusting you if you told him you were always a Dark Manipulator. It can wait."

Ash: "Oh, okay that's fine. But there's still so much I need to know."

Arceus: "You'll know more when the time is right. I will take my leave for now, but I'll be watching...."

Arceus vanishes from Ash's mind, while he regains awareness of his surroundings.

Ash: *sighs* ........

Next day. It's Sunday, August 19th. After some training, the Mokusetsu is loosely gathered around the town talking as they relax. Zoey and Kenny step off to get food somewhere.

Barry: *cheerily* "ALAIN!"

Alain: "What?!"

Barry: "School is in session!"

Alain: "What the heck are you talking about?"

Barry: "I'm enrolling you in my Politeness Academy! You're gonna work on your manners so that they'll improve and you'll be nice!"