Arc 1: The Beginning | Chapter 2: Team Vice
In a secret room under Mt. Mortar in the Johto region, a meeting was just starting – a meeting that would start a series of events that would shake the very foundations of the entire Pokémon world …
"Before the universe existed, all that existed was a sea; an endless and limitless sea of chaos and nothingness. It stretched beyond the limitations of time and space that exist now; it was everything, and nothing, simultaneously. But there was an entity that existed alongside it – a "will"; the will of the universe itself. For eons it gazed upon the sea of nothingness that made up everything, until one day, it became discontent with its world; it wanted a change; a change that would allow for something more to exist. Something more than a chaotic and paradoxical existence that was eternal yet ever changing. It wanted something greater to exist.
And so, the will manifested itself into a physical form – an egg that floated precariously on the sea of chaos. It was an object like no other; it shined with every hue of the rainbow and emitted everything from hatred to love to knowledge to restraint to understanding; emotions and characteristics that now define living creatures. It also emitted a strange yet beautiful energy; one that would allow compassion to exist between different creatures, permitting life to flourish and co-exist in all places. But some of this energy was contaminated by the sea of chaos on which the egg floated; and this contamination became the root of all things malicious, like evil and mistrust. But this happening was dwarfed with what transpired when the egg hatched.
From it emerged a creature – the very first Pokémon to exist – what we know now as the Creator Pokémon, Arceus. It was a regal being, the first of any living creature, and was the perfect embodiment of the will of the universe. It would not only carry out the will's dream of creating a deeper and more majestic universe, it would also act as its protector and guardian in the physical realm. And so it made the universe we know today – it created the dimensions of time and space, created additional supporting dimensions, and created a world; a perfect world in which creatures known as Pokémon and human beings would live together in harmony.
Arceus drew its immense power from the shards of its egg; these shards not only gave it the power to form and mold the basic elements of the world which would be used to create the planet, it also allowed it to channel emotions and characteristic traits into the inhabitants of its perfect world. This gave Pokémon and human beings the ability to live together in peace and the special bonds they shared as they lived as companions emitted a special energy, to the surprise of Arceus. It was a pure and angelic energy that the Creator Pokémon marveled at; though it could not find any use for it, it was still a marvelous thing to gaze upon. But at times, he would have to leave his wonderment to deal with a darker side of his creation.
You see, even though the sea of chaos was destroyed when this new universe was created, its remnants remained in the shards Arceus had used to shape the worlds and its living creatures. The dark energy that contaminated the egg was now present in the shards. And this dark and malicious energy sometimes took over the minds of Arceus' otherwise peaceful creatures and caused them to disrupt the balance of the world. Every time such an evil rose and threatened to destroy what the will of the universe had worked so hard to create, Arceus descended into the world of mortals and struck the corrupt beings down, restoring balance to the universe.
For centuries, no chaotic power was able to challenge the might of Arceus, and so the universe grew and prospered, but there was always a shadow of fear lurking in the Creator Pokémon's mind. Transcribed upon the shards of power that originated from his egg was an inscription that told of a weakness; the weakness of not Arceus, but what he guarded – the will of the universe. Unknown to the creatures of the mortal world, the will was a being that had been influenced by the sea of chaos, just as they had. The will, from co-existing alongside the sea of chaos before the universe had been molded, had become corruptible.
And as long as the remnants of chaos remained in the universe, the will was in danger of being corrupted; and if that occurred, the culpable being would gain the power of the will itself – the power to create, mold and destroy entire universes; a power they would undoubtedly use to reshape existence to better suit their wants. Only two things stood between the world of today and this horrific fate – Arceus, the ultimate guardian of the will, and the ignorance of the evils that resided upon Earth. As long as Arceus kept the shards of his egg with him, chaos would not be able to gain power.
But on one fateful day, an evil challenged Arceus – an evil that he had never seen before in the eons of his existence. It was stronger, more calculated, and more purposeful than any he had faced before. He learned that it had drawn its power not from the Earth but from the outer reaches of space, where existed an easily moldable form of energy that was needed to help the universe grow. After many millennia of balance and tranquility, an evil had risen that Arceus simply could not defeat; he had let it grow unchallenged for too long a time.
And so, Arceus was forced to make the ultimate sacrifice; by unleashing all of its power and throwing its physical form into a deep slumber, it was able to repel and restrain the evil by dividing and scattering it all across the world of Pokémon. A great victory was achieved that day, but fear began the grip the will of the universe; as Arceus fell, the shards of his egg – the plates of creation – had fallen onto the mortal world. With its great guardian defeated, nothing stood between it and the forces that would be able to corrupt it; and so, it had to turn to a new guardian to protect it, and the universe.
Thus, the will turned to the pure energy that was released by the bonds between human beings and Pokémon. For the first time, the creatures of the mortal world would play a defining role in protecting their universe. As long as these two races existed as companions, they would be able to defeat any evil that rose through the ages. And hopefully, they'd be able to defeat the age-old villain that had defeated Arceus, when it rose again – the will knew that it was only a matter of time until it was reborn into the world and when it returned, it would undoubtedly aim for the plates of creation; the ultimate power …"
"Gentlemen, that evil is, without a doubt, us; and it's about time that we rose up from the ashes and took the power that's destined to be ours, no?" finished the leader of Team Rocket with a smirk on his face. The others sitting in the room simply gawked at their soon-to-be associate.
Giovanni straightened his trademark red tie and took a sip of red wine as he waited for the others to speak. The look on their faces told him all he needed to know – they wouldn't be able to resist obtaining such a power.
A stern looking man with a striking head of pink hair by the name of Maxie, was the first to recover from the astonishing tale: "If what you say is true, Giovanni, and this power truly does exist, then I'll pledge the power of Team Magma to your cause."
"Consider Team Aqua in as well," added a rather pompous looking bandana-wearing man named Archie, who gave Maxie a sideways glance before turning back to the orange-suited man who sat at the head of the table.
Giovanni's smirk widened; two done, two more to go, though he really doubted that the other two leaders sitting at the table would be as easily convinced of his story, especially without any evidence. Maxie was rumored to be a fan of such creation stories and he suspected that Archie had only agreed to his cause due to his almost childlike rivalry with the Team Magma head. His thoughts proved true – both Cyrus and Ghetsis were eying him apprehensively, their minds undoubtedly whizzing in their heads, going over facts that would support or disprove the story they'd just heard.
"Forgive me of my apprehension, Giovanni, but do you really expect me to pledge all the resources and assets of Team Galactic to a cause that's based on a story that could very well be nothing more than a work of fiction ….?" asked Cyrus.
"I was having the same … concern; is there any evidence that you can show us that might help give your tale more … believability?" added Ghetsis in a rather cautious tone.
Giovanni eyed the blue haired man who led Team Galactic in the Sinnoh region; he quickly realized Cyrus was no pushover as he was staring just as intently back, his gaze radiating power and purpose. Ghetsis, an older man from Unova, was of a similar stature, though unlike Cyrus, he seemed to be cautious simply for the sake of being cautious. Regardless, he'd have to convince these two if he wanted his master plan to succeed; luckily, he'd come prepared.
"Of course; it's only natural that you would like to see some proof before investing millions of dollars in assets to this plan … Attila! Hun! Bring over the Dread plate so we can show our dear comrades the validity of this story," Giovanni replied in a sweetened voice that ill-suited him; this went unnoticed by everyone present, except the Team Galactic leader who slightly narrowed his gaze.
A grey-haired woman and blonde man stepped into the conference room carrying a large plate that seemed to be made out of a sort of holographic obsidian; it was a deep black colour but had veins of energy pulsating all throughout it, which easily lit up the dim room, considering the fact that it was over 6 feet tall. The Team bosses leaned in for a closer look, picking up on the sense of power the plate was emitting. As they looked closer, they saw glyphs carved into the surface of the plate.
"This, my friends, is the Dread Plate – one of the legendary shards of power that were created from the egg of Arceus. The story I've just told you is based on the transcription on this plate that my researchers had translated for me," Giovanni said, with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Amazing," Ghetsis marveled after a few minutes of examining the large object, "Where on Earth did you find it?"
"Right here, in the Johto region. My operatives found this plate along with two others in the ruins of the burned tower in Ecruteak city, deep below the structure and right under its very foundations. It seems as though the tower was built on top of the plates in an attempt to conceal them. The other two plates that were with the Dread Plate – the Mind Plate and the Spooky Plate – are not currently in my possession but I have Team Rocket members retrieving both of them from their … current locations," Giovanni replied, hesitating at the end. And once again, Cyrus, while being the youngest at the table, was the only one to pick up on this; he did not ask further about the locations of the two plates, though – that little conversation would come at a more … opportune time.
"Does the inscription tell you how to use the plates …?" Archie asked expectedly, in a rather excited voice. It was obvious to everyone present who the Team clown was going to be; who knew, a goof off might be appreciated in such a serious situation.
"No, that information will only be revealed when all of them are brought together. But before I give you any more information I've discovered, I'd like to confirm that you're all willing to pledge yourselves and your respective organizations to finding these plates. Your monetary and influence-based assets will be invaluable in discovering and retrieving these plates before the authorities and Pokémon League can retaliate; without the combined power we have, this endeavor is meaningless."
"Yes," Ghetsis agreed, "it's like the inscription said – we'll only be able to succeed if we pick up the scattered pieces of the ancient "evil", as it was called, and unite them as one being, or organization in this case! You have the support of Team Plasma, my young friend!"
"That was a corny-ass speech from the old timer, but I see your point, Giovanni. Count Team Aqua in."
"If what you say about the power we'll gain at the end of all of this is true, I'll be more than happy to pledge Team Magma to your … I mean, our cause, Giovanni."
All eyes turned to the final man – Cyrus waited a moment, gazing intently into Giovanni's eyes; he knew that they still held something back – a piece of crucial information, no doubt. But it would be foolish for him to leave Team Galactic out from such a huge alliance; if he wanted to create his own universe, without strife and pain, he'd have to join these criminals. "Team Galactic is in."
Giovanni stared back into Cyrus' pale blue eyes. He might be a problem later on … but for now, there were bigger matters to be dealt with. "Very well; for the sake of uniformity and symbolically unified strength, I propose we merge our various teams, officially, into a single organization. I announce the birth of Team Vice!" The men shared a smile at the thought of their ambitions finally coming to fruition, courtesy of the power promised by the plates of creation.
Though Archie's grin was significantly wider and toothier than the rest.
Many miles away in a cave on the side of Mt. Silver, a Pokémon trainer that would eventually become the bane of the newly formed Team Vice was staring intently at a Pokémon that was created by the very leader of said organization. He jolted back suddenly, surprised, as Mewtwo opened its eyes, after many hours of rest. Grey smiled at it, knowing that his meeting with the Psychic Pokémon marked the dawn of a new adventure. But what he could not know is that his new journey would be his most dangerous one yet.
This chapter was quite a bit longer than the first one, but there was quite a bit to include … hopefully you guys don't mind! Remember to review and make sure to follow if you want to know when this story is updated with its next chapter!