"When in the heights Palkia was not named, and Dialga had not breathed time, Almighty Sinnoh spent an eternity in loneliness and darkness," the Celestic Town elder, Dr. Calytrix Karashina, told her great-granddaughter, Celeste Astra. When Celeste was younger, she enjoyed listening to her great-grandmother's stories about Sinnoh legends and family histories. She sat cross-legged on the floor, cuddling with her Froslass. Now, as an 18-year-old, soon to be college student, she did not find the stories as entertaining. Yet out of respect for her family, she feigned interest, occasionally drifting off into her thoughts about her future as a college student. Dr. Karashina continued on, "One day, He-"

"How can Arceus do something 'one day'?" Celeste interjected, suddenly listening, "If Dialga did not exist then?"

"Quiet, child! Anyway, one day, He called into being Time and Space. To which Palkia roared galaxies into existence, while Dialga bore months and weeks and days. And from that point on, Almighty Sinnoh had created more. He called for light, and light was born. He announced water and clouds and plants and land; shadows and streams and darkness and caves and the ground; and, ultimately, left His most favored creations for last. He created other beings to His own likening: Pokemon, then humans. There was a time when we weren't the way we are. We lived in a paradise. There was no war, no anger, no evil.

"One dawn, Arceus visited His paradise and spoke to Shaymin, one of His creations. Even though this was paradise, Shaymin appeared saddened.

"'Shaymin, what is wrong?' He asked

"'Although we are blessed to have been living in this paradise, oh Great Arceus, all that I am aware of is this Gracidea flower that I had been living underneath.'

"And so Great Arceus listened and took this concern seriously. That night He created Uxie, the Bringer of Knowledge. The next day, He visited Shaymin again.

"'Oh Almighty Sinnoh, I am grateful for this knowledge that you brought upon us! Uxie, the Bringer of Knowledge, taught me about the berries that grow atop that tree,' Shaymin gestured towards a tall tree, 'How tall it is! But I wish to try the fruit up there.'

"And so, that evening, Great Arceus created Azelf, the Bringer of Willpower. The next day, He visited Shaymin once more.

"'Oh Almighty Sinnoh, I am grateful for the willpower that you bestowed upon us! Azelf, the Bringer of Willpower, gave me the strength necessary to reach the fruit.'

"'I believe that you have all that you need then," Arceus stated.

"'Yes, Almighty Sinnoh. How grateful I am! Yet, I still am... empty. There is something missing within me. I feel an emptiness that I cannot explain.'

"And so, Great Arceus created Mespirit, the Bringer of Emotion. His beings grew intelligent, powerful, and happy. And Arceus was pleased with His work. The Lake Trio was meant to improve the human-condition. Yet, one of His creations took great interest in this Trio. Giratina, the Being of Shadows, secretly plotted against his Master, for whatever reason. Some believe that it was because the Trio; Uxie taught him about the knowledge that he could have if he overthrows Arceus, Azelf gave him the strength to rebel against his Master. And Mespirit, the Being of Emotion, brought feelings of jealousy, insecurity, and anger.

"And he was a wicked sprite; the most mischievous being of all of Great Arceus's creations. But as mischievous as he was, he had a wicked sense of humor. One day, in his own arrogance, he stole Almighty Sinnoh's Plate. Arceus trusted Giratina and gave him great powers, yet the Shadow Being betrayed him. He filled the Plate with his jealousy, insecurity, and anger. The surface that was once shiny and radiated life, light, and Arceus's love now became dull and dark. Oh this plate was still very much mirror-like, but now, instead of showing peace, it greatly exaggerated evil. In it, beautiful beings saw themselves as ugly. Those that were kind-hearted saw only wickedness.

"Giratina took his evil mirror to the great plains of Sinnoh. After a single glance, Gardevoirs, generally considered beautiful, could only focus on their ugly features: any blemishes, scars, acne. Jirachi of the Hoenn and Kanto regions, who was known for its great kindness and ability to grant any wish, only saw ugliness in the mirror. He fled in fear under Kyogre's protection and now only visits our world once a millennia.

"As terrifying as this mirror was, not all disagreed with Giratina. Darkrai, the Bringer of Nightmares, took inspiration from the mirror. But never mind him; that is another story. One day, Arceus discovered what Giratina had done. In a moment of rage and anger, he picked the Plate up with his thousand hands and shattered it against Mt. Cornet. Thousands of pieces flew into the air, landing in many places. Some in grass, others in trees. These larger pieces bring great power to the right individuals: the Icicle Plate can help Froslass; the Zap Plate works great with Raichu, the Toxic Plate empowers Roserade. But smaller, more dangerous pieces landed in the eyes of Pokemon and men. Anyone who got such a shard in their eye could only see the world through the lens of the glass. All the evils of the world are greatly magnified. There was a man in Hoenn, Maxie Matsubusa was his name I believe, who got this shard in his eye and saw only the evils of water; that water is hindering humanity's expansion of civilization.

"At the same time, there was Archie Aogiri who saw only the evils of land. Imagine if they succeeded! We would have either no land or no water! How ridiculous!"

"Grandma, why are you telling me this story?" Celeste asked suddenly.

"It is a warning, my child," Calytrix stated grimly, "You are about to go to college, which is a huge success. Yet, the world is not the same as it used to be. I am terrified of the things that I hear. How widespread drugs and sexual assault are on college campuses... back in my day, we never had these problems."

"Back in your days these problems were underreported," Celeste pointed out. But Calytrix ignored her great-granddaughter.

"I am terrified of the world that you grew up in. You know, there was a man a couple of years back who was around your mother's age... Do you know what he tried to do? He had this ridiculous idea to disrespect Great Sinnoh and start the world anew in his own image. Surely, he must have been insane. His followers ran around in space suits acting like deranged clowns. It was all very confusing. There was a whole international investigation. Your mother tried stopping him, you know? Yet one day, he just kind of... disappeared. Your mother never talked about him again. She just said that he was taken to the Distortion World and was never heard from again. You know who resides in the Distortion World, right? Anyway, I hope your mother did not go there, but she seemed... shocked after her last meeting with him. She didn't speak for many days," the old woman paused for a moment, "Oh gods, she must have gone to the Distortion World."

Celeste thought for a moment. She did not know what her great-grandmother was trying to get at, but she desperately wanted to get back to her room to finish packing and prepare for her university.

"Anyway, legend has it that when you get the mirror in your eye, not only will you see the world as evil, but you will be inclined to leave for Giratina's domain," her great-grandmother continued, "Once Giratina held shelter in Snowpoint City. A little boy named Kai traveled all the way from Veilstone City to Snowpoint City, just to see Giratina!"

"Grandma, that's just the plot of The Snow Queen," Celeste rolled her eyes, "And he didn't leave to go see Giratina. He left to see the Snow Queen to solve a tangram."

"That's irrelevant. The point is, I know what happens on these campuses. You really need to be careful, Celeste. You'll be of special interest to everyone there. The media knows so little about you... it'll be even worse when they find out that you don't know your father."

Dr. Karashina's generation is well known for being superstitious. Although she herself is not as traditional as others her age, she still held certain archaic worldviews. It was no secret that Celeste's father was unknown. Champion Cynthia, her mother, kept the secret very well. Fortunately for the girl, she looked almost like an identical copy of her mother: they had the same blonde hair, nose, and mouth. There were only small differences in their appearances: Celeste was slightly taller with paler skin and pale blue eyes. Cynthia never told her daughter who her father was, and Celeste did her best not to care: it rarely came up in conversations and when it did, either her mom, her aunt, or her great-grandmother would divert attention from the topic.

There was one case when her mother had an important event at the prestigious Ribbon Syndicate. Celeste was six at the time, but even at her young age, she understood that her job was to be well-behaved, polite, and, well, cute. After her mother gave a speech, Celeste clung onto her Snorunt and Aunt Celina, her mother's younger sister. Usually, people paid no attention to her as Cynthia kept her distance during such important events. But that one day, an older woman recognized Celina.

"Oh, Celina! Hello," she smiled at Celeste's aunt while Celeste tried hiding behind her leg, "Ah, you must not recognize me. I am Dr. Helen Magnolia. A friend of your grandmother."

"Ah, yes," Celina smiled warmly, "How are you? Long time no see!"

"I am doing well; just decided to visit from Galar. How proud your grandmother must be to see Cynthia grow into the Champion. I saw that she was speaking today about her research on early Sinnoh history. That was a very informative presentation."

"We are all just so proud of her. Cynthia is very passionate about history."

"How unfortunate that your parents are not with us. They were also very interested in Sinnoh's past," the woman spoke with a heavy accent. Just then, she noticed the girl, "Oh! And who is this?"

"This is Celeste; she's Cynthia's daughter," Celina stated meekly.

"Well hello! I am Dr. Magnolia. I did not notice you there!" she turned to Celina, "I did not know that Cynthia had a daughter," she frowned, "I do not remember your grandmother ever mentioning Cynthia getting married."

"Cynthia is not... ah, married. Celeste is just our little miracle," Celina smiled awkwardly, ruffling Celeste's hair.

"Oh. Well, I suppose that is how things are with the youngsters these days. During my youth you would never see single mothers unless her husband died. Then the woman would quickly remarry so that her children can still have a strong father figure in their lives. But times do change dramatically."

"Celeste, are you listening to me?" her great-grandmother snapped.

"Oh yes, you were talking about the evils on college campuses."

"This isn't a joke," Calytrix warned, "How fortunate that you look so much like your mother and not like that son of a bitch father who abandoned her... I don't understand why your mother keeps protecting him. She should just name him. I can't imagine what kind of a weak man would refuse to be present in his own child's life," the old woman sighed, "But it is too late now. I can only hope that when he does show up again, your mother kicks him out. Men like that only want one thing... Just... don't get pregnant while in college. Please."

"Okay."

Calytrix scratched her eyebrow, "But please be careful. I know how badly you want to go to college and get away from this small town, but if it were up to me... you don't need to work ever again. Your mother's connections are enough to get you a good career without doing too much. Hell, you might even be the next Champion. And if not, you can always join my lab."

"It's just four years. Not even, I'll probably be coming home for breaks."

"I know, but the paparazzi are vicious. And I have no doubt in my mind that you'll just meet people who will want to take advantage of you. Your mother was quite naïve in college, you know?"

"...I'm not sure that I do, grandma."

The two were interrupted as Cynthia rushed into the room. As always, she was on her phone, having a frustrating conversation with someone.

"What do you mean you can't get the Croagunk toxin? What kind of a hospital are you?" she sighed in frustration, "Yes, I do understand that there is a global shortage because of the supply chain... yes, I understand that- ok, ok, I'll hold."

She put her phone down angrily and looked over at Celeste, "What are you still doing here? Are you even packed up?"

"I was just talking to grandma," Celeste responded defensively, "Plus I am leaving tomorrow morning. I still have time."

"No you don't. You have to leave tonight. Sunyshore is blocked off again because of the blackouts and all the nearby hospitals are somehow out of Croagunk toxin. Even Pastoria City... somehow. I'm going to have to go there tomorrow with Roserade and figure out an alternative."

"In all of Sinnoh they couldn't find another Roserade? Gardenia has one."

"Gardenia has another situation in the Forest... Some strange lights appeared in the middle of the night and burned it. I'm sorry, Celeste, looks like you'll have to go earlier than expected."

Celeste wasn't upset by that. She was excited to finally go to college. But she hated Cynthia changing the plans because of work. Yet again.

"Go finish packing," Cynthia instructed her, "I'll let Aunt Celina know that we're leaving."

By the time that Celeste made it to her dorm in Canalave City, it was midnight. Cynthia quickly walked in with her, wished her luck, and left.

"You will love it here!" she said, "It's my alma mater. The third highest ranked university in the world. Just enjoy your time, sweetie. If anyone asks about me, don't say anything. In fact, it's for the best if you don't bring your family up at all. I know the paparazzi... their mouths foam at any stories about me. Ok, I gotta head out now. Buh-bye!"

Celeste sat at her bed. Froslass floated around the room, picking up clothes from her suitcase. Celeste wasn't in the mood to set up her room. She lied down on the bed, feeling lonely and desolated and went to sleep.

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Thank you for reading! I am trying to improve my writing so I would appreciate any comments and suggestions :)