When the video was released, Paldea had already entered the late hours of the night.
However, in Sinnoh, which is halfway across the globe, it was already seven o'clock in the morning.
Even in winter, the sun at this time had already risen, bringing some warmth to the cold Sinnoh region covered with snow-capped mountains.
Sinnoh region, Sandgem Town.
A sandy town adjacent to the sea and also the first place touched by the starting winds.
The most prestigious researcher in the entire region, Professor Rowan's laboratory, was located here, breeding excellent "starter Pokémon" for aspiring trainers across Sinnoh.
As usual, the meticulous Professor Rowan sat outside the breeding house of the research institute, quietly observing through a thick glass the researchers recording Pokémon body data.
The honest Turtwig showed a simple smile, allowing people to gently touch its soft belly;
The lively Chimchar stretched out its hand generously but suddenly turned around when the researcher approached, startling them with its ignited tail;
Only the Piplups remained completely still, silently observing other Pokémon with clear and pure eyes.
Seeing this, Professor Rowan's stern expression softened a bit, even revealing a faint smile.
These newborn Pokémon would surely meet their destined trainers and grow to a level that would impress him.
Just as he thought this, a young researcher suddenly walked past him.
Originally, this was an unremarkable small event, but Professor Rowan noticed that his gaze was focused on the Rotom phone in his hand.
At the same time, a male voice quickly appeared.
"We all know that Arceus is the supreme deity who created this world, worshipped by ancient Sinnoh people forever."
"However... very few people know how He actually created the world and nurtured life."
These two short sentences immediately caught Professor Rowan's attention.
This was... ancient Sinnoh history?
Every regional professor has their own specialized field.
For instance, the highly respected Professor Oak of Kanto mainly studied the relationship between Pokémon and humans.
In the Sinnoh region, there are four professors: Dr. Footstep, who studies Pokémon footprints; Newton Graceland, who studies the Distortion World; Professor Rowan, him, who studies Pokémon evolution; and Professor Carolina, who specializes in mythological history.
(T/N: Newton Graceland appears in the movie 'Giratina and the Sky Warrior')
Of course, he wasn't an expert in this area, but he at least knew the general outline.
Thus, his attention was immediately drawn to the playing video, and he actively stopped the young researcher passing by.
"Professor Rowan, do you require me for something?"
After pausing the video, the young researcher looked at Professor Rowan with confusion.
Although he knew that Professor Rowan was actually a very approachable old man, his serious appearance and meticulous personality still made him instinctively nervous.
"What video were you watching just now?"
"Huh? Oh..."
The young researcher was momentarily stunned before realizing and then placed the phone screen horizontally in front of Professor Rowan.
"It's Teacher Azure's video. I think what he said is quite interesting."
"Teacher Azure?"
Professor Rowan slightly frowned imperceptibly.
He hadn't heard this name before. Researchers studying history should be known to him if they were even slightly famous...
But the voice did sound familiar, likely someone he had met before?
"He's a very interesting battle streamer on PokéTube, sometimes making interesting off-topic videos."
Upon mentioning "Teacher Azure," the young researcher immediately became excited. After noticing Professor Rowan's expression, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to use the Legendary recommendation technique.
"Professor, how about I forward Teacher Azure's video to your navigator?"
"Okay."
Professor Rowan nodded and didn't refuse.
After forwarding the video, the researcher quickly left.
Professor Rowan soon opened the video and started watching.
After the grandiose opening, the slightly young male voice in the video quickly posed the first question—
Which was what he had just heard.
"How did Arceus create this world?"
Regarding this question, mythologists in Sinnoh have always felt puzzled.
But one thing was obvious—
If humans were also creations of Arceus, then obviously their appearance must have occurred after Arceus' Genesis.
Therefore, no murals or textual records related to this could be found.
Now, a young man whose voice sounded only about 20 years old proposed his own opinion for the first time.
"Disclaimer: The following content has no empirical evidence and is merely Teacher Azure's speculation. If there are any errors, please correct me."
After skillfully adding a disclaimer, the man's voice gradually became serious.
"Before the universe and heaven and earth were formed, darkness shrouded the boundless void of chaos."
"There was no life here, nor death, only eternal silence."
"One day, the first egg nurturing life was born from chaos, and the first being hatched from it was our well-known Creator God, Arceus."
"After devouring all the chaos, Arceus thus gained the power of creation and began to bring order to the world."
Hearing this, Professor Rowan couldn't help but smile.
What a big imagination, this kid.
To become a mythologist, the most important thing is rigor when drawing conclusions.
Content without any evidence, entirely based on conjecture, might only serve as after-dinner talk, amusing people with a laugh?
However, it was indeed quite interesting.
With such thoughts, Professor Rowan continued to listen.
"To create this world, Arceus took only seven days."
"On the first day, chaos was divided, and order was born from the initial chaos. The remaining fragments turned into nineteen plates."
"The power bestowed upon the plates was originally held by giants incarnated from chaotic forces, but they were all easily defeated by Arceus."
Professor Rowan paused, unconsciously muttering:
"Shouldn't it be eighteen plates? Was that a slip of the tongue?"
The plates left by Arceus' creation indeed existed, and some had already been discovered in various ruins.
But according to current mythologists' speculations, there should be eighteen plates corresponding to the eighteen basic types.
Professor Rowan didn't pay too much attention to this problem and continued to watch.
Though not guaranteed accurate, this kind of video was unexpectedly interesting.
No wonder the account named "Azure Wings" had so many followers.
Soon, the video continued to roll.
"After obtaining the plates, Arceus' power greatly increased. Thus, facing the pitch-black universe, He exclaimed—"
"Let there be light!"
"So, the first beam of light in the world was born, and the vast universe appeared from the light. Henceforward, light was called day, and darkness was called night."
"The alternation of light and dark, day and night, formed the prototype of time and space."
"The Time God Dialga and the Space God Palkia were simultaneously born, becoming the first creations of the Creator God Arceus."
"However, where there is light, there is shadow. Establishing a new order also means breaking the old."
"Outside the universe, another spacetime formed, completely opposite to reality—the Distortion World. Reverse substances nurtured the destructive Giratina."
"Due to its terrifying destructive power on the real world, Arceus exiled it, forbidding it from ever setting foot in the real world again."
Hearing this, Professor Rowan raised an eyebrow.
Although it sounded a bit far-fetched, somehow it still felt reasonable...
Moreover, due to living in the Distortion World, Giratina's existence was rarely mentioned even in ancient murals.
Those who knew its true name clearly had a deep understanding of Sinnoh history.
Could it really be a local researcher whom he forgot?
With doubts, Professor Rowan continued to watch.
As a result, the subsequent content had little to do with Sinnoh legends.
"On the second day, facing the vast starry sea, Arceus waved His arm, easily dividing matter by weight. Intangible floating things formed the sky."
"Rayquaza, the offspring of the sky, was born from the clouds, henceforth taking on the duty of guarding the sky."
"On the third day, Arceus gathered flowing substances with great power. Where water flows converged, oceans were formed."
"Magma was washed away by water, forming mountains and continents. Seeing this, Arceus sprinkled shell fragments, causing the ground to sprout grass, shrubs, and forests."
"Groudon and Kyogre were successively born. They fought endlessly over territorial expansion, causing drastic climate changes, drawing the attention of celestial beings to the ground."
"This protracted battle was eventually quelled by Rayquaza, and the world once again restored order."
"In the treetops, Celebi quietly emerged. The trees it inhabited henceforth bore fruits filled with life energy."
Hearing this, Professor Rowan's expression became somewhat complex.
Was this still Sinnoh history? How did the three divine beasts from Hoenn make a cameo?
Celebi was extremely rare to appear before humans. It was said that Professor Oak had seen them in his youth, and aside from that, there were almost no sighting records.
One of the most obscure among the obscure.
Knowing the existence of this Pokémon indicated that the person making this video definitely had extraordinary knowledge of Legendary Pokémon.
And...
It seemed he was interpreting the myths of each region from a completely new perspective.
Since the historical myths of various regions had basically no connection before, they hadn't thought of linking all these contents together.
Just the fact of being the first to unify the legends of various regions opened up entirely new perspectives.
While Professor Rowan was pondering, the man's voice reappeared.
"On the fourth day, light and darkness formed a boundary. Light gathered on the planet, dispelling endless darkness."
"Arceus used the size of the planet as a boundary, letting the larger manage the day and the smaller manage the night, forming the alternation of day and night, and the rotation of the seasons."
"Solgaleo and Lunala were born from the stars. The dispersed darkness coalesced into a single entity, forming the light-devouring beast Necrozma."
If the previous content allowed Professor Rowan to at least have a rough idea, the three names mentioned here were completely within his knowledge blind spot.
Based on the video's style, he could only tentatively speculate that they were Legendary Pokémon from some region.
As for whether these contents were fabricated by the video creator...
Given the various Legendary Pokémon mentioned earlier, the possibility seemed low.
But...
How did even a regional professor like himself not know about these Legendary beings? How did he know?
With this curiosity, Professor Rowan's gaze continued to focus on the phone.
"On the fifth day, the fragments previously scattered by Arceus were washed by water currents. Some entered the ocean, and the first life in the world was thus born. It was said to be the Legendary Mew."
"Magikarps leapt out of the water and were swallowed by Pelippers. Life began to cycle and proliferate."
"Life and death, this eternal contradiction, were thus born, transforming into Xerneas and Yveltal, continuously cycling through conflict and dormancy."
"The cycle formed the initial ecosystem of the world, allowing the countless cells of Zygarde to flourish."
"At the dawn of life, two intelligent birds were chosen by Arceus, gaining the powers to reshape life and control ocean currents."
"They were called by humans—Ho-Oh and Lugia."
The names of the two deities familiar to the ears of people from Kanto and Johto appeared, making Professor Rowan believe more in his previous guess.
Adding the XYZ trio from the Kalos region, nearly all proven existing Legendary Pokémon from various regions were mentioned.
So...
The three unfamiliar names mentioned earlier must also be Legendary Pokémon from some other region!
Compared to the first five days, although the later content of the video was no longer as stunning, it made Professor Rowan even more amazed by this "talent's" immense imagination.
"On the sixth day, feeling that the ground was too monotonous, Arceus once again emitted life energy. Thus, creatures began to appear on the land."
"Dugtrio burrowed underground, magma spawned Magcargo, and Oddish and Caterpie shared the inexhaustible resources of the forest. Life harmoniously thrived among lives."
"Finally, sensing that His energy was almost depleted, Arceus decided to exert divine power once more before falling asleep, creating the last managers of order."
"The Lake Guardians were born in the lakes. They delved into the lakes, retrieving important items, bringing Knowledge, Emotion, and Willpower to the first humans, thus earning worship."
"From then on, beings called humans appeared on the land, always remembering Arceus' rule of 'guarding the homeland and coexisting harmoniously with Pokémon,' until today."
"On the seventh day, having completed the work of creation, Arceus was about to fall into slumber, leaving only the Lake Guardians to maintain mental balance while He slept."
"He dispatched His follower, the giant Regigigas, to split the entire continent, allowing humans and various Pokémon to live in their respective territories."
"The giant rested at the Snowpoint Temple after completing the work, protected by humans chosen by Arceus, holding the Jewel of Life."
"As for Himself, He retreated into the mysterious Hall of Origin, waiting for His divine power to recover, perhaps to reappear in this world."
"Thus, Arceus' seven-day creation of the world was fully completed."
The story ended, and the man's tone quickly became light-hearted again.
"Well, that's all for today's video. Videos like this will also be updated irregularly in the future, so stay tuned."
"Finally, another disclaimer: All the above content is Teacher Azure's guesswork. There is no guarantee of authenticity, so just treat it as a story~"
As the last casual sentence fell, Professor Rowan felt as if his brain had suffered a heavy blow.
Each segment sounded very reasonable, fully corroborating the terrifying powers possessed by the currently known Legendary Pokémon, but...
When put together, something felt off.
"Just treat it as hearing a story. After all, there's no evidence to prove it, so the truth and falsehood are no longer important."
Professor Rowan quickly shook his head.
Although it was a very outrageous "Arceus Genesis" wild history, he had to admit—
This stuff was much more interesting than boring history lessons.
Legends of Pokémon regions were not secret. Under the joint efforts of mythologists, the mist enveloping them had been preliminarily lifted.
However, mythology and historiography had always been a niche and hardcore category because...
It was really boring. After all, rigorous empirical evidence was needed to support claims of authenticity, making it a very serious topic.
In Professor Rowan's view, this video was a good attempt.
If it could spread, at least it could deepen people's impressions of the Legendary Pokémon of various regions.
So, correctness seemed not so important anymore.
Professor Rowan quickly closed the video and immediately thought of a colleague—
Professor Carolina, in Celestic Town and specializing in mythological history research!
"Such an outrageous video shouldn't be enjoyed alone. Let Professor Carolina appreciate it too."
With the idea of sharing the fun, Professor Rowan quickly reopened his navigator and forwarded the link shared by the young researcher to Professor Carolina.
Soon, just as Professor Rowan was about to enter the breeding house to check the work of other researchers, a call suddenly came in.
Taking out his phone again, it was none other than Professor Carolina.
"Hello, Professor Carolina?"
As doctors of the Sinnoh region, they often collaborated on projects, so they were very familiar with each other.
"Professor Rowan, I didn't expect you to forward this video to me too."
Professor Carolina's voice came through the phone, carrying evident amusement.
Also?
Professor Rowan immediately noticed the keyword and was about to ask when Professor Carolina spoke first.
"Besides you, Professors Oak of Kanto, Magnolia of Galar, and Sycamore of Kalos have already contacted me."
"The reason is simple—they are all very curious and want to verify the authenticity of this video."
"..."
Professor Rowan scratched his head.
"Such content without any evidence shouldn't alarm doctors from other regions, right?"
How to verify records of Legendary Pokémon?
There was simply no way to verify them...
You can't just pull out the supposedly still-sleeping Creator God Arceus and hand it a microphone for authoritative certification, right?
Other than that, there seemed to be no effective method of proof.
Compared to real history, these records were more like myths, which was why mythology and historiography were inseparable.
Hearing his words, Professor Carolina on the other end quickly laughed and then said something that shocked Professor Rowan:
"No, no, no. Because of this girl Cynthia, after I learned about this, I immediately went to the library in Canalave City where myths and legends are stored and compared the recorded content."
"The result... whether it's 'The Genesis' or the records about the Lake Guardians, they basically match what Little Aiden said."
"The reason other professors contact me is the same. The legends left in their regions almost perfectly align with Aiden's descriptions."
???
A string of question marks slowly floated above Professor Rowan's head, renowned for his rigorous examination.
"You mean..."
"Such a wild story could possibly be historical truth?"
Professor Rowan's eyes instantly widened.
"Temporarily uncertain, further verification is needed."
Professor Carolina quickly replied.
"However, in a sense, maybe he's right? Just with a bit of artistic embellishment to make more people willing to understand these historical materials."
"After all, when Professor Oak called me, he praised this kid profusely."
"..."
Professor Rowan couldn't help but gasp.
Even that academic authority, Professor Oak...?
Could it be...
Was he too rigid?
Professor Rowan even began to doubt himself.
On the other side of the phone, Professor Carolina seemed to guess what this old friend was thinking and quickly spoke:
"Though it sounds like that, just as Professor Rowan said, these legends are ultimately just legends. Unless those Legendary beings can be revived and speak, the authenticity of this content can never be verified."
"So, rather than obsessing over these, it's better to treat what Aiden said purely as a story."
"At least from this episode of the video, the legends narrated by Aiden are more easily accepted by others, which doesn't seem like a bad thing."
"How can we say this, young people's brains are really sharp, aren't they?"
Professor Carolina's words quickly drew Professor Rowan's attention—
Of course, not because Professor Carolina's remarks won his agreement, but...
"Aiden? That little guy from Celestic Town?"
Reminded by Professor Carolina, Professor Rowan suddenly realized.
It was Aiden's voice. No wonder he didn't recognize it at first...
Back in the Sinnoh summer camp he led, Aiden, Cynthia, and Caitlin were always considered three geniuses by him.
Especially Aiden, who looked like a promising researcher from a young age.
Unfortunately, he later heard that he moved to Paldea with his parents and hadn't heard from him since.
No wonder he understood Sinnoh history so well—it turned out he was one of Professor Carolina's "own people," just like Cynthia...
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