I. In the beginning, there was neither light nor darkness; matter there was not, nor was there energy. Only the Void was.

II. And within the Void was the Primal Egg.

III. And the Primal Egg hatched, and brought forth the Original One.

IV. And the Original One dwelt in the Void for untold aeons; and in the nothingness He grew lonely.

V. And the Original One said, Let there be existence: and a universe was born in the thousand arms of the Original One. And within the universe there was neither movement nor life, nor was there substance.

VI. And the Original One said, Let there be dimensions, and let them be Time and Space: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Dialga and Palkia.

VII. And when Dialga entered the universe, the flow of Time entered with him, so that the universe now had a beginning and an end. And unto Dialga was given dominion over past, present and future.

VIII. And when Palkia entered the universe, the fabric of space entered with him, so that the universe now had an upper and lower, an inner and outer, a centre and boundary. And unto Palkia was given dominion over width, breadth and length.

IX. And the Original One said, Let there substance, and let it be composed of Matter and Antimatter: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Giratina.

X. And when Giratina entered the universe, Matter and Antimatter entered with him, so that the universe was filled with innumerable particles of each and every element. And unto Giratina was given dominion over creation and destruction.

XI. And the Original One said, Let there be Energy, and let there be absence of Energy, which is entropy: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Reshikrom and Kyurem.

XII. And where Reshikrom entered the universe, the universe was filled with Energy and motion; but where Kyurem entered the universe, it became dead and frozen.

XIII. And the Original One said, Let the Energy be divided into two kinds, and let them be positive and negative, yin and yang: and Reshikrom was cleft in twain, and he became Reshiram and Zekrom. And unto Reshiram was given dominion over Truth, whilst unto Zekrom was given dominion over Ideals.

XIV. And the Original One did stretch forth His thousand hands within the new universe ordered by space-time and filled with energy and matter, saying, Let there be a billion galaxies, and let each one be filled with a billion stars to illuminate the darkness of space.

XV. And let each star be attended by planets of every hue, and let the deep darkness twixt the galaxies be split by the radiance of comets: and it was so.

XVI. And in this task of creation the Original One was assisted by Giratina, his most faithful servant and helper.

XVII. And the Original One said, Let there be a World, and let it be of Land and Water: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Groudon and Kyogre.

XVIII. And where Groudon moved upon the face of the World, there appeared earth, rock, mountains, hills, sand and stone. And where Kyogre moved upon the face of the World, there appeared oceans, seas, rivers, lakes and streams.

XIX. And unto Groudon was given dominion over the Land: the crust that is stable, the rending quake, the bursting volcano, the tall mountains, the soft sands, the deep mines bearing metals and precious stones. And after he caused the Land to come into being, he sank beneath the ground to slumber in the bosom of the Earth; and in his dreams he walked with the Original One.

XX. And unto Kyogre was given dominion of the Waters: the gentle waves, the raging tsunami, the deep-sea current, the ebbing and rising tide. And after he caused the Waters to come into being, he sank beneath the waves to slumber deep in the heart of the Ocean; and in his dreams he swam with the Original One.

XXI. And Groudon and Kyogre were to sleep until the Day of Judgement, on which they would awaken to destroy the world, which they had made.

XXII. And the Original One said, Let there be Sky: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Rayquaza.

XXIII. And Rayquaza flew over the land and the sea, and where he flew the Atmosphere came into being.

XXIV. And unto Rayquaza was given dominion over the Heavens. And after he caused the Sky to come into existence, he flew high above the land and sea, encircling the Earth in his wake, and he guarded the boundary between the Sky and outer space forevermore.

XXV. And the Original One said, Let the land be arranged into positions suitable for various climates: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Regigigas.

XXVI. And Regigigas was endowed with great strength; and by heaving on the bones of the Earth, he moved the land masses into positions according to the design of the Original One. And after this task, he went to a secret place and there he fell into a slumber.

XXVII. And the Original One said, Let there light and darkness, and let the time of light be called Day, and let the time of darkness be called Night; and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Ho-oh and Lugia.

XXVIII. And Ho-oh rose into the sky on his seven-coloured wings, and wherever he flew the Earth was illuminated by glorious light; and unto him was given dominion over Day, light, the Sun, fire and rebirth.

XXIX. And Lugia rose into the sky on his silver wings, and wherever he flew the Earth was shrouded in impenetrable shadow; and at last he descended to the depths of the ocean. And unto him was given dominion over Night, darkness, the Moon, water and death.

XXX. And the Original One said, Let there be seasons, and let them be Winter, Spring and Summer: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres.

XXXI. And Articuno flew over the World, and wherever he passed snow fell, blizzards raged, ice crystallised and the land froze. And at last he went to dwell in the far north, where the frost lives forever; and he was Lord of Winter.

XXXII. And Zapdos flew over the World, and wherever he passed storms brewed, thunder crashed, lightning bolts fell and gales scoured the land. And at last he went to dwell in the far east, where the tempest lives forever; and he was Lord of Spring.

XXXIII. And Moltres flew over the world, and wherever he passed sweltering winds blew, sunlight blazed, flames awoke and heat pressed down upon the land. And at last he went to dwell in the far south, where the fire lives forever; and he was Lord of Summer.

XXXIV. And the Original One said, Let there be winds and weather to govern the cycles of Nature, and let the Earth bring forth its bounty: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus.

XXXV. And where Tornadus and Thundurus moved over the World storms broke, gales unleashed, tempests blossomed and rains fell.

XXXVI. And unto Tornadus was given dominion over the winds; and unto Thundurus was given dominion over the storm.

XXXVII. And where Landorus moved over the World the land was replenished, the soil renewed, and the fertility of the Earth was greatly increased, and many crops and herbs good for living beings flourished in the land; and unto Landorus was given dominion over the Earth's bounty.

XXXVIII. And the Original One said, Let there be plants and green things to cloak the land: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Celebi.

XXXIX. And where Celebi moved over the land, many plants sprouted bearing grasses, flowers, herbs, trees, ferns, mosses, vines, creepers, and others after their kind; and the land was filled with greenery and lush vegetation, and it was pleasing to the eye and soothing to the body.

XXXX. And unto Celebi was given dominion over the forests and vegetation.

XXXXI. And the Original One said, Let there be purity to restore the substance of Nature and guard it from pollution: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Shaymin.

XXXXII. And where Shaymin walked the earth, the land was purified of toxins and plants grew in abundance; and where Shaymin flew the skies, the atmosphere was purified of toxins and the air was sweet.

XXXXIII. And unto Shaymin was given dominion over the purity of nature, to guard it from corruption and degradation.

XXXIV. And the Original One said, let the light of the Moon be divided into phases to regulate the passing of the tides and the cycles of Night, and let the phases be the New, the Crescent, the Half, the Gibbous, the Full, both waxing and waning: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Cresselia and Darkrai.

XXXXV. And as the balance of Cresselia and Darkrai's power waxed and waned, so too the Moon waxed and waned; and unto Cresselia was given dominion over the Full, Gibbous, Half and Crescent moons, and unto Darkrai was given dominion over the New moon.

XXXXVI. And the Original One looked upon the World and saw that it was ready for the creation of Life.

XXXXVII. And the Original One said, Let Us make Earthly Beings in Our image, and let them be endowed with Knowledge, Emotion and Will, as are We: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf.

XXXVIII. And these three went to a secret lake and there fell into a slumber; but as they dreamed, their spirits awoke and roamed the Earth, and by their power, the earthly beings would be endowed with souls.

XXXXIX. And the Original One said, let there be Life: and from the wheels of the Original One came forth the first earthly being; and the Original One looked upon His creation, and He saw that it was good.

XXXXX. And the Original One said unto his creation: "From Matter We created thee, from Energy We created thee, and for the World We created thee; therefore shalt thy name be MEW."

XXXXXI. And into the World came Mew, that it would be his abode forevermore.


Introduction

This is the first chapter of a new translation I am preparing of the holy texts of the Arcites. I believe that this edition, which draws upon all the latest scholarship, including linguistic analysis, archaeology, and newly discovered copies of early Arcite writings (such as the Seafoam Scrolls, the Pewter Tablets and the Cinnabar Codex) will be the most complete, thorough, authoritative and up-to-date collection of Arcite scriptures available.

I am greatly indebted to Professor Justin Chan of Bodhi Tree University for his kind help with translating Old Kantian script, as well as to Dr Mahendra Bhatt of Sarasvati College for his encyclopaedic knowledge of Ancient Kantian civilisation. These two gentlemen very kindly read over early copies of this manuscript and offered helpful advice and criticism. Any mistakes that remain are entirely mine.

The aim of this publication is to present some of the earliest examples of Arcite literature to a wide audience. I have endeavoured to make the translation as simple and accessible as possible, without compromising either the accuracy or the poetic nature of the original text. It is my hope that this edition will be of use to religious leaders, historians, academics, students and enquiring members of the general public.

Notes/Commentary:

This is the first part of the Book of Genesis, the first book in the Arcite Canon.

Egg Motif: The story of a primal egg giving rise to the universe appears in many religious traditions around the world. It is found in the earliest writings of the Kantian Canon, although Jin Yoo has convincingly argued that the Egg Motif was not an originally Kantian idea, but was borrowed from the neighbouring Johto civilisation. In some versions the egg is laid by a giant pokemon such as a cosmic psyduck, but in the earliest version, there is no mention of the egg's origin: it merely exists.

Pronouns and Gender: Throughout this translation, masculine pronouns (he, his, him) are used to refer to the Immortals. It should be remembered, however, that Immortals have no gender (with the exception of Latios, Latias, Cresselia and possibly Heatran). The original Kantian text uses a neutral pronoun to refer to all of the Immortals (except those mentioned above). Modern English lacks a neutral pronoun, so masculine pronouns are used by default.

There is some disagreement amongst scholars about whether the Immortals are both male and female, or neither. Muhammad Khan argues that the Original One must be both male and female, because in Genesis He declares, "Let Us make Earthly Beings in Our image". This would seem to imply that earthly beings are imitations of the creator, and therefore if earthly beings have male and female genders, the Creator must possess these attributes also.

However, Tanveer Tadveen contends that the Original One is neither male nor female. He argues that it is wrong to ascribe human traits such as gender to the Original One, because the Original One is beyond all associations and cannot be understood in terms of mortal qualities.

The Original One: an epithet of Arceus. The Kantians believed that the names of Immortals held great sacred power, and for that reason they avoided speaking, writing or reading them except in the most solemn of circumstances. One of the main ways to avoid using the Immortals' names was to refer to them by various titles or epithets. For example, Arceus is referred to as the Original One, the Thousand-Armed One, the Creator, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the Great Wheel, etc.

The names of the other Immortals are not considered as sacred as Arceus', and they are named more frequently (for example, in the above passage, all the other Immortals are called by name). However, in other texts, they are referred to by various epithets also. For example, Dialga is called the Lord of Time or the Diamond King, Moltres is the Summer Lord, the Winged Fire or the Red One, Mewtwo is called the Destroyer, and so on.

Another common method was to write the Immortals' names with the vowels omitted. Thus, the name of Arceus is frequently written as RCS in the texts. Orthodox Arcites still do not speak the name of Arceus.

Thousand Arms: Having one thousand arms is a property associated with Arceus in his Cosmic Forme. In traditional religious iconography, he is usually depicted in his Earthly Forme, in which he appears as a centaur-like being with no arms.

The wheels: Throughout this chapter, the wheels are referred to as the source of Arceus' creative powers. All the lesser Immortals were said to have risen from the wheels of Arceus at his command. The wheel is a potent symbol of creation, destruction, power, time, existence and destiny. It represents the source of Arceus' holy power.

Finally, note that there are many versions of each Kantian text, varying greatly with the time and place in which they were written. The order in which the Immortals are created in this translation of Genesis may contradict the order given in alternate versions. Other details also vary.