Alright, guys, I have another idea for a one-shot! Now, I'm not opposed to this becoming a full-on story, but I'll only do it if you ask. So, with that in mind, let's get started!

As he lay in his bed with his Gardevoir kneeling next to him, he thought back on his life.

Michael was originally from the Orre region, and he was the one to defeat Cipher when they reared their ugly heads. They had proven to be quite the challenge, but he was a match for them all. He even managed to defeat their boss, Greevil, and save the world from his maniacal plans to overthrow the world. Afterward, Michael had been interested in traveling the world he had just saved. So, he traveled first to the Kanto region, where he assumed a new alias, simply calling himself Red.

Not long after he started, though, he came across another evil syndicate. And since he had left his original Pokémon behind so he could fairly start anew, he was left to struggle to defeat them. He persevered, though, and within less than a year, he defeated the boss of this group that called themselves Team Rocket, and forced the ex-boss to break up the syndicate. It turned out they had been multi-regional, spreading to the Johto region, too. He had checked there to make sure the area was safe, and when he confirmed it, he decided to take on the Elite Four challenge. He beat them all with his trusted partners and became the champion of the region after defeating the current champion, who turned out to be his rival. In less than a year, he was off to another region, another challenge.

Next Michael took on the Hoenn region, becoming Brendan. This region was his particular favorite as the new Pokémon were intensely interesting to him. But at the same time the Hoenn region was the most difficult challenge yet as he had to face off against not one, but two criminal syndicates, one being focused on expanding the land, the other obsessed with spreading the seas, and both being bitter rivals to the end. It was truly frustrating having to deal with them both, and they had nearly succeeded with their crazy ideas, waking both the Legendary Pokémon their plans centered around. Fortunately, the reigning champion had helped and told him of the only being who could control the two, the legendary King of the Skies, Rayquaza.

He had traveled to his home and alerted him of the immediate peril. The dragon had rushed off to put the two destructive forces back in their place. With the world back to a sense of normalcy, the two syndicates realized the errors of their ways and swore off their demented plans. Michael, aka Brendan, had then challenged the Elite Four and the Champion of the Hoenn region, and even though he had saved the world, they did not go easy on him, which suited him just fine. He had always loved to be challenged anyway.

Once he finished Hoenn, he heard of a land called Sinnoh. Interested, he packed his things and sailed away to a new land for him, thinking he could catch a break there. As it turned out, there was yet another group bent on domination, but of a new sort. The leader of this group, Team Galactic, wanted no less than universal domination, even taking it so far as to want to destroy the universe and create a new one in his image! Needless to say, Michael, now Lucas, couldn't let this slide. So, as he went along, making friends on the way, he took up arms against Galactic, with the help of the champion of the region, a rather attractive woman named Cynthia, destroyed the elusive team. Of course, the credit for the team's breakup really went to the Legendary Giratina, lord of the Underworld, or the Distortion World, as it were, but he had thanked Michael for his help. Then Cynthia invited him and his team to challenge the Elite Four, which he gladly did and won. Afterward, though, he was stuck for a while. He thought back to his adventures and decided to hang out back in Orre for a while and revisit his home.

While he did, he caught wind of a slight reoccurrence of Cipher, but he had no trouble crushing it down. Once he was finished with that, he was told of one more region out there, one called Unova, one filled with brand new Pokémon and new opportunities. He couldn't resist, so he took a plane within the week to this new region, excitement building.

When he arrived and was asked his name, he took a leaf from an old book and chose a simple name; Black. He quickly became friends with two charming people, Cheren and Bianca, and together they set out to become masters of Pokémon. Michael (Black) smirked to himself, thinking he had the advantage over the two novices, but decided to be sporting about it anyway.

As it tended to happen, yet one more group arose to cause trouble. This one called itself Team Plasma, but it had ideals that were completely foreign to Michael (Black). This one called for the liberation of Pokémon. As far as Black could tell, they weren't evil. He also met up with their king (another concept foreign to him) who simply called himself N. How lazy. Nevertheless, N didn't seem evil at all. To the contrary, he was adamant about the rights of Pokémon, but he seemed a bit socially awkward. He was a strange character that Black decided to keep an eye on. Over time, it became apparent what Team Plasma's true goal was; the actual leader, Ghetsis, planned to kidnap all the liberated Pokémon and use them to dominate the world. N was simply used as his mouthpiece, and when he discovered this, was horrified by his "father". Black used all his power to put an end to the plots that Ghetsis had devised, and in the end he prevailed. Satisfied with his success, he said farewell to N who left to find himself better along with his new friend, Zekrom. Black truly did wish him well, and hoped they could meet again someday.

Then he took on the ever present challenge of the Elite Four, and as he had before, he won the battles and became the reigning champion of five regions and the savior of six. He was quite proud of himself, to say the least, and he was contacted not long after by the highly esteemed Professor Oak. He had personally asked him to complete the National PokéDex, which Michael, being Michael again, was only too happy to comply with. It had taken the better part of thirty years, a lot of blood, sweat and migraines to do it, but he managed to finish the PokéDex, finding some Pokémon that Oak hadn't even dreamed of. Needless to say, Oak was very pleased with him.

Without any more regions to clear, Michael returned to the Orre region, his true home, and lived out his life along with his Pokémon. He had trained them all to be their strongest and loved them all to the best of his ability. But even though he could escape the clutches of all the villains in the world, he could not avoid the ravages of time. It was his time to go, he could feel it. But even though he had explained this to all his Pokémon, they refused to let him go without a fight, which had amused him while it broke his heart. He did not want to leave them, and had offered to release them all so they could live their lives as freely as they wished, but they had all refused, clutching to their pokeballs like lifelines, as though they could not stand the thought of being without one lasting reminder of their kind, loving master who cared for and cherished all of them. It was to the point that they didn't even squabble over whom he liked the best; they knew they had all been loved equally.

As it was now, Michael could feel his strength ebbing away, and he spoke to the Gardevoir next to him.

"Rose…"

"Yes, Master?" she asked him, her mental voice lined with sadness of an extreme kind. Michael chuckled and said

"How many times do I have to tell you all not to call me Master? Just my name will suffice, understand?"

"Yes… Michael. What is it?"

"I… want you… to tell… the rest of them… that I love them all dearly… and to take care… goodbye… Rose…" And with that, Michael took his last breath, and his eyes closed with finality. His grip on Rose went limp, and as the tears spilled from her eyes, she cried out

"No, Master! Master!" Then she flopped on the bed and wailed, her cries heard by the others dutifully waiting outside, and when they heard her, they began to wail as well, crying out together to Arceus to spare his soul, to treat him well lest the deity face their combined wrath.

Up in the Hall of Origin, Arceus watched over the scene, and he was filled with awe. Never before had he seen any large group of Pokémon mourn the passing of their trainer. Yes, there were sad ones, but many more accepted their trainer's fate and moved on, and there were still some who were happy to be freed from their fetters. But this group… this group was different. He smiled at their threats, knowing they could never beat him, but touched that they would all simultaneously threaten him.

And yet, he could not help but feel sympathy for them, as he had watched the progression of Michael's life, how he had challenged each region, beaten every evil that showed up on his doorstep, and cared deeply and lovingly for each and every single one of his Pokémon.

Then his features hardened. He would answer the pleas, he would respond to the calls. He called upon Giratina, the master of darkness and death. A portal opened up on the other side of the table he was standing at, and the Renegade Pokémon exited, glowing white for a moment, then fading into his altered form. He mockingly bowed to Arceus, hating him for reasons even he didn't know.

"Lord Arceus…" he said condescendingly. Arceus' frown didn't fade as he said

"Giratina, I want you to hand over the soul of Michael to me, the one who recently passed." Giratina scowled and said

"You shall have to be more specific than that, there are plenty of Michaels who have recently passed. And anyway, why should I? You know as well as I that when someone dies, they belong to me. That was your decree, and I am hardly one to break rules, now am I?" Arceus scowled and said

"I am not in the mood for your games, shade. Look at the scene before you. These Pokémon all call for their trainer, even going so far as to threaten my well-being if I mistreat him. Does this scene not touch your heart?" Giratina laughed at him derisively and said

"Thanks to you throwing me into that cursed wasteland, I have no heart at all. I have listened to the pleas and cries of countless thousands crying for their Pokémon, trainers and loved ones for over five millennia! This scene is nothing in my eyes but a big disaster and a waste of time. And speaking of wasting time, are you finished wasting mine? I have better things to do than listen to your idle speculation and weakness for those beneath you."

Arceus was about ready to blow the ghostly dragon back into the marble of his glorious home, but he decided to try one last thing before acting on that impulse.

"What do you want?" Arceus asked him. Giratina's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he replied

"What do you mean?" Arceus took a deep breath and repeated

"What do I have to give you to make you release the soul I want to my possession?" Giratina's eyes now widened in mock shock as he hissed

"So now the Almighty Creator has to bribe the one he created to hold the souls he doesn't have the heart to oversee himself. Forgive me if I don't jump at the opportunity this presents me." Arceus had reached his breaking point, but instead of exploding, he said quietly but threateningly

"You can accept my offer and gain something in return, or you can experience your own demise here and now. I may be the Giver of Life, but that doesn't mean I cannot take it as well. What will it be, shade?" Giratina's eyes narrowed in hatred now, and he hissed

"So, first you bribe me, then you threaten me. Very well, I wish to be able to travel outside of my realm every now and again." Raising his eyebrows, Arceus asked

"For what reason, may I ask?" Giratina scoffed and said

"I may be the God of Death, but even I like to get a bit of fresh air now and then. Do we have a deal?" Arceus narrowed his eyes and said

"Very well, I shall grant your request, but be warned; if you overstep your bounds again, I will permanently seal you in that cursed dimension for the rest of your existence. Do we have an understanding?" Giratina mocked him by bowing again and saying

"Of course, Almighty Creator." He turned and opened the portal and reached a ghostly bat-like wing inside, relying on the dimension to transform it. Then he stretched it out and searched for a specific soul. When he found it, he grabbed hold of it gently even though it squirmed, and dragged it back to the portal. When his wing emerged and transformed back, he held Michael's soul in the crook of his wing, and he threw it over to Arceus, who deftly caught him with his power. Then he looked up to the Shade Dragon and said

"Thank you." Giratina nodded and left, saying

"Do not back out on your end of the bargain, Arceus. It might take me many more centuries, but if you do, I will personally hunt you down and drag you with me and show you the true meaning of Hell." Then the ghostly dragon was gone and Arceus peered at Michael's soul, who was beginning to rouse.

"Where am I?" he asked timidly. Arceus gently set him on the polished marble floor of the Hall and told him

"You are in the Hall of Origin, my child." Michael frowned and said

"Shouldn't I be in the Underworld? Isn't that where all souls go, whether good or bad?" Arceus nodded and said

"This would be the case, but I demanded that your soul be placed in my possession."

"Why would you do that, Lord Arceus? Why am I of any significance to you?" Arceus beamed at him and pointed to the scene that was still laid out before him. Michael looked, and once he understood what he was seeing, tears sprang to his eyes without his caring.

"You truly care for your Pokémon, don't you?" Arceus asked Michael.

"No," Michael responded, "I care for my friends. They have stuck through all the good and bad times with me, never wavering in their loyalty. They are far more than Pokémon to me." Arceus allowed a bright glow to surround him, displaying his pride.

"That was the answer I hoped to hear. I have a proposition for you, Michael." Michael's eyes widened in shock, wondering what he could possibly mean.

"In all my years of existence, I have never seen any group of Pokémon this large all demand the same thing simultaneously, threatening my well-being if you were mistreated. I must admit, this deeply touches me. So, I offer you the chance to return to life and rejoin your friends. In return, you shall become my vassal and travel throughout the lands protecting those that need help. Where there is a cry of despair you shall be there to answer the call. Should you accept, I will grant you everlasting life, as well as a special bag where you may store your Pokémon without arousing suspicion from authorities about your continued PC storage account. They will be sure to notice your account name not being cancelled and become suspicious. What is your answer?"

Michael could only stare in shock at what Arceus had just proposed to him. He looked at the floor and thought hard. He could return to his friends, and stay with them for many more years to come. But it seemed so… wrong at the same time. He was a mere mortal, he wasn't supposed to live that long. Still, he could not pass up the opportunity to help whomever he could. That was the main reason he had first fought back against Cipher; Professor Krane had needed help, and he was there to answer the call. Making his decision, he looked Arceus in the face and said

"I accept." Arceus grinned and glowed again. Then he motioned for Michael to kneel, which he did. Arceus touched Michael on the top of his head and restored his youth. He was now twenty-one again, and looked rather impressive at that age. He was of medium- to tall stature, with long red hair that was spiked up, complimented by sea-green eyes and a kind face. Michael stood and Arceus told him

"I have a special outfit for you to wear while you remain my vassal. I will return you to your friends now, and I will explain the situation to them while you change. Do you understand?"

Michael nodded and his eyes filled with determination and excitement as Arceus touched his hoof to the top of his head, then they both flew down to the earth directly at the place he had called home for a long while. Arceus appeared as his soul reconnected with his body, causing it to glow brightly, making Rose, who was still crying, to jump back in surprise and slam into Arceus. She whirled around and fired a Psychic, but Arceus deflected it with no trouble. Rose's eyes widened when she saw who she attacked, then she bowed reverently and begged for forgiveness. Arceus smiled and told her

"Come, young one, while Michael completes his transformation. I have matters to explain to you and your companions, which I believe will make you all happy."

Rose stared at him in bewilderment but allowed the deity to steer her out the doorway. She glanced back at Michael's body and could have sworn she saw the color returning to his white hair and face. Then she was outside with her fellows, who were gawping at the deity who had graced them with his presence. They all threw themselves at the ground before him, and he said to them all

"Rise. I heard your wails from the heavens, as well as your threats, and I have come to a decision. I have spared Michael's life, and in return he shall become my vassal to protect those throughout the lands. You will all help him in this endeavor, and you shall remain together for as long as he consents to remain my vassal. Do you all understand?"

After Arceus finished, added with a shocked silence, all the Pokémon gathered before him split the air with their screams and shouts of approval and joy. Arceus smiled again, feeling more at ease than he had in a long while. Then he felt Michael's presence behind him, and he moved aside to reveal his new vassal in all his glory. The outfit he had chosen for him complimented his looks very well; he was wearing his red hair up in its spiky fashion, and he wore a royal blue frock coat, keeping the front open to reveal a blood-red shirt with his new sigil on it, the one that signified his allegiance. He wore dark blue jeans and black shoes, and finished with goggles that hung around his neck. He appeared bright and cheerful, and his Pokémon started jumping for joy at the sight of their beloved trainer. He descended the steps and received the attentions of all his friends. When they finished, Michael turned to Arceus and said

"We are all proud to serve you, Lord Arceus. How do we begin?" Arceus smiled and said

"You must return all your Pokémon and place their pokeballs in the special pack I have provided for you, then you must board one of your flying types and roam around the land, searching for any trouble that arises. If anything comes to my attention, I will inform you and you must travel there and resolve it."

Nodding, Michael returned all his Pokémon, down to the last two, his Flygon and Gardevoir, Rose. As he held up her pokeball, she rushed over and hugged him tightly, saying

"It's good to have you back, Michael." Hugging her back, Michael responded

"It's good to be back." Then he returned her and faced his Flygon, Alfred, asking

"Ready to get started, old friend?" Alfred nodded and lay on his stomach so Michael could climb aboard his back, and when he felt Michael's weight settle, he spread his wings and jumped high into the sky, and Michael thought about all the good he knew he could spread across the world.

Whoo, that was one long damn fic! Still, I hope you all appreciate it. My favorite scene has to be the battle of wills I put in between Giratina and Arceus. If anyone wants me to continue this as an actual story, please let me know immediately.