Hall of Fame Chapter 1: Prologue, a pokémon fanfic

the beginning

Where – or more precisely, when – did this all start?

Did it start with the birth of the very first of the heroes who would make the choice to defy or join Corruption, when he took a breath on his own for the first time and let out a cry to announce his coming?

Did it start when the boy-turned-man-turned-warlord reached out to something greater than he was, finding the strength to meet the Creator by heart and witnessed the Prophecy be given, foretelling the coming of the promised ones that would start the New Era?

Did it start when King Azoth chained the gods to a weapon, harnessed their power and rewrote the rules of the world's natural energy? When he who bled Creation's ichor inadvertently triggered so many different wars and encounters, planted the seeds of hate and love and peace and conflict, all in the name of his friend who was struck with horror at the massacre his actions brought?

Or was it simply something that would always come, a fateful encounter since the very beginning, when a thousand arms broke out of a single egg and began creating this world? When time began to flow and space began to expand with each heartbeat, each breath taken?

the laws of balance

There is Order. There is Chaos. And then there is Corruption.

The first two are natural, and necessary. In Order there is Chaos, and in Chaos there is Order. To be perfectly Orderly is impossible, just as pure Chaos cannot exist. The two together create a necessary balance in this universe, allowing it to exist in its imperfect yet potential-filled being. Darkness and shadows are not necessarily evil or wrong, just as light is not always right. Light cannot exist without casting a shadow, and shadows are not distinguishable without light. There are consequences that come from every action, and that is the Law.

But Corruption is different. Where it goes, it destroys. It warps reality, perverts Order, defies Chaos and extinguishes everything until nothing but a mass of Corruption is left. It comes from twisting the laws of reality and nature, ignoring boundaries for the sake of greed without being willing to pay the consequences, creating something from nothing but empty voids. And paradoxically, from that choice comes a consequence of devastation in the end.

It is Pure Evil, and it only seeks to twist and control, destroy and devour until nothing is left as it should be. It is a void, empty and craving everything to fill its insatiable abyss.

Some wonder why the gods exist, if they are so tightly bound by rules and unable to release their full powers without the guidance of mortals. Some wonder if they truly have power.

But there are rules. The gods are but safeguards for this world to protect it from Corruption, and were created to combat its existence, to eradicate its grasping tendrils and protect the balance. They do not bring Corruption, cannot make the choice to let it come into existence. And because they cannot bring it, they cannot make the choice to deny it.

Mortals do. And it is because they have the potential to Corrupt that mortals are the ones who must choose to fight it, wielding the powers of the gods through prayers and wishes, through firm hearts and strong souls.

the hall of fame

When the chosen warlord dared to stand against the conqueror with two dragon gods at his side, and called upon the Creator to cast His Judgement upon all to end the conflict causing turbulent times in the land, the Creator granted his heart's wish, and also showed him the future, where a group of founders to a new era would rise. Each noble carrying a gift within, they would make the choice, to either join Corruption and use their powers to conquer the world and subjugate it to their will – or fight it, and forge a new world, and usher in a new age.

The Progenitors.

The Miracle Bearers.

The Pioneers.

The Foundations of the Coming Times.

The Young Bloods.

The holders of such possibility that they could become anything they wanted, and shake the world. The protagonists that will not be forgotten. The heroes that would save everyone, regardless of whether their struggles would be known by others or not. The carriers of potential, stars and magic in their blood and bodies.

Would you like to know their stories?

Table of Contents

Chapter 01: Prologue/Table of Contents

[The First Young Blood – Wes]

Chapter 02: Resolution

Chapter 03: Hesitation