Now that the Earth had been created with its oceans, continents and atmosphere, Arceus deemed that there should be beings to inhabit the world they had created. But these beings would not be made of thought and energy like their previous creations; rather, they would be physical mortal beings, to be born, to live, and to die. For Arceus wanted the world to be one of motion and change, so that it would function without their constant attendance.
To this end, Arceus formed two new beings. The first, Xerneas, took the form of a noble stag, and possessed the power to breathe the spark of life into matter. He was the creator of the life force, the energy that fills every living thing. It was through his power that every living thing thrives, and it is only through his will that anything can be born.
The second, Yveltal, took the form of a powerful bird of prey, and possessed the power to remove the life energy of any living thing at its appointed time. She would be the grim reaper, the wing of death, Xerneas' counterpart. Yet though her powers are now scorned by many, she is a necessary part of life and bears no malice towards living things. For without death, life has no meaning, and the world would become stagnant and void. Thus Yveltal is the final judge, the one who ultimately decides when every living thing's time is over.
Though the creation of Xerneas and Yveltal had produced the concept of life and death, living things themselves did not yet exist. Xerneas began working on a prototype in haste, while Giratina advised him on which forms of matter would be best to use as the building blocks of life. Yet life was complicated and messy, and the first prototype was not the ideal creature they had hoped for. Their labors produced a single virus, who had the potential to change and adapt based on its environment. Though it was given the breath of life, this virus was bound to a rock and hurtled into space, deemed an educational failure. For although it had not been the type of life they had hoped for, through its creation they had produced the building blocks that would be the foundation of all future lifeforms: DNA. This marvelous invention could contain genetic codes, allowing life forms to grow, develop, multiply, and more. Yet on its own, it was not enough.
Arceus saw the struggles of Xerneas, and offered to create many lesser beings to act as helpers in the creation of life. He agreed, and seven new beings were created to aid in the creation of life. Victini looked at the stars, the great fires in the sky, and thought of a way to harness those great energies to power life; he took the flame of the sun and set it on the bare earth, and then devised a way that such combustion could produce energy for a cell. Celebi took Victini's mechanism and refined it, so that the light of the sun itself could power it, and installed this mechanism in a simple green life-form she called a plant. Manaphy took Victini's mechanism and built a simple creature, one with gills and fins to let it explore Kyogre's seas. Shaymin at first took the plant Celibi had created, and added a colorful bow he called a flower. Next he made another simple creature, this one with wings to let it explore Rayquaza's skies.
Four of the seven had completed their task, and Xerneas was already making lesser beasts based on their designs to populate the continents. But the final three dreamed of something greater, something smarter and more capable than the simple creatures of their predecessors. One of them, Marshadow, looked to the shade cast by the rapidly sprouting trees and foliage, and thought, "What if I create a conscience, something incorporeal like a shadow, that would tell a being right from wrong and could transcend death?" He took a piece of the shadow and formed it into the first soul. Then I myself, Jirachi, looked to the stars above and saw patterns in them. And I thought, "What if I give a creature the minds to understand those stars, to make wishes on them and read signs in them?" To that end I devised the mind, one that could use logic and reason and think beyond its base instincts.
Marshadow and I presented these creations, and Xerneas used them to create a new creature: man. This new form of life would be smarter and more adept, able to think for itself. But more impressively, it would have the power to choose, to become more, or less, than its base design. Yet the first man seemed empty and hollow, without emotion or spirit. To guide humanity to their full potential, Arceus created three more beings. The first, Uxie, was the spirit of knowledge. She set about teaching humanity how to learn and grow, and instilled in them a natural curiosity of the world they lived in. The second, Azelf, was the spirit of willpower. She gave humanity drive and ambition, igniting the fire of their spirits and fueling their determination to achieve their goals. The third, Mesprit, was the spirit of emotion. She touched humanity's hearts and showed them the broad spectrum of emotion. She taught them how to empathize with their fellows, how to love and to find joy in life.
Now all but one of the seven had finished their tasks. But this last aid of Xerneas, Mew, had the most miraculous creation of all. Mew had looked at all her colleagues' creations, and began designing her greatest creation. It would be a race of creatures unlike any other, ones who could wield the fires of Victini, who could brave the oceans with Manaphy, who could control the plants of Celebi, who could fly in the skies with Shaymin, and who would possess both the mind of Jirachi and the soul of Marshadow. These creatures who could control the elements themselves and stand equal to humanity would be known as Pokemon.
Arceus was pleased with all that the seven had wrought, and offered to grant them anything they asked for, within reason. Victini asked for the power to grant victory in battle to any creature; Celebi asked for the power to travel the stream of time; Manaphy asked for the ability to bear a child; Shaymin asked for the ability to fly with his creations; Marshadow asked for great prowess in battle; and I myself asked for the ability to grant the wishes sent to the stars that inspired me. Finally, Mew was given the greatest gift of all: the ability to transform into any of her creations at will. We of the seven had done well, and at last the world had been filled with life. The creation of the universe was finished.
Their work almost done, Arceus created a realm for them and the other Legendaries to reside, known as the Hall of Origin. They then retired to this hall, for the universe had been set in motion and their direct intervention would no longer be necessary. Although Arceus' will is felt everywhere as the natural law of the universe, they believed that their creations should be free to make their own choices. But as time passed, it would be this ability to choose that would bring about tragedy.
If I had to get this chapter an alternative title, it would be "Creative License 101". Creating life from scratch is a messy process, and scientists to this day aren't entirely sure how it happened, so I decided to make the process of creating life very complicated in this mythos. As a result, there is a lot of namedropping and easter eggs (keep an eye on that prototype virus).
Perhaps the biggest creative license I took in this chapter was the idea of the Seven. Throughout the various generations of Pokemon there have been one or two mythical Pokemon per gen with similar designs: small, vaguely-humanoid spirit/sprite with one major mechanic and a secondary power (i.e. Victini, humanoid sprite, mainly fire powers, also grants victory). Given how a lot of these mythicals had connections to various forms of life, I decided to group them all together as being key parts of the creation of life itself. Very un-canon, I know, but that's the fun of writing a fanfiction.
Of the seven, I think Jirachi was the most fun to write about. Although in the games he's just a wish-granting star spirit, I decided to also connect him to astrology and prophecy, since I felt that deepened his character and gave him more to do in the world. Plus the whole prophecy of doom thing fits well with his signature move, Doom Desire.
Another bit of creative license I had was on deciding the genders of Xerneas and Yveltal. While initially I had thought of making Xerneas female and Yveltal male, I decided against it since Xerneas has antlers, and only male deer have antlers. Furthermore having the Pokemon of death be female is a nice role reversal, and Yveltal's name sounds more feminine in my opinion.
One final note I forgot to mention last chapter. The idea of the Creators is my attempt to reconcile multiple competing god characters in various video game universes. Since a good chunk of video games have some sort of creator/creators (Naga, the Three Golden Goddesses, etc.) having a race of universe-creating beings allows for multiple video game universes that can still overlap enough to make their coolest heroes beat each other up for a floating hand's amusement.