It started with a secret meeting.
Marcus was not invited.
This was intentional.
LEGENDARY COUNCIL - EMERGENCY SESSION
LOCATION: The Distortion World (for privacy)
ATTENDEES: All 43 Legendaries
TOPIC: Operation: Make Marcus Cry Happy Tears
Dialga called the meeting to order.
"FELLOW LEGENDARIES. WE HAVE GATHERED TO DISCUSS AN IMPORTANT MATTER."
"Is this about the Gym badges?" Mew asked, floating upside down.
"PARTIALLY. BUT IT IS ABOUT SOMETHING GREATER."
The assembled gods quieted.
"WE HAVE SPENT THESE PAST MONTHS WITH MARCUS CHEN. WE HAVE TRAINED WITH HIM. BONDED WITH HIM. LEARNED FROM HIM."
Murmurs of agreement.
"HE HAS TREATED US NOT AS TOOLS OR WEAPONS OR SYMBOLS OF POWER. HE HAS TREATED US AS FRIENDS. AS FAMILY."
"He gives the BEST head scratches," Kyogre added.
"THAT IS ALSO TRUE. BUT MY POINT IS THIS: WE FOLLOWED HIM TO JOHTO BECAUSE WE MISSED HIM. WE DID THE GYM CHALLENGE BECAUSE WE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND HIM."
Dialga paused dramatically.
"BUT WE HAVE NEVER OFFICIALLY DECLARED OURSELVES HIS."
Silence.
"WHEN MARCUS CAUGHT US IN HIS ORIGINAL WORLD, IT WAS DATA. NUMBERS. PIXELS ON A SCREEN. WE WERE NEVER TRULY HIS POKEMON IN THE WAY THAT SUNNY OR STEVE OR KENNETH ARE."
"Kenneth is just a Shuckle," Zekrom pointed out.
"KENNETH IS A SHUCKLE WHO HAS BEEN WITH MARCUS SINCE THE BEGINNING. KENNETH IS BONDED IN A WAY WE ARE NOT."
This was undeniably true.
"I PROPOSE," Dialga continued, "THAT WE RECTIFY THIS. I PROPOSE THAT WE FORMALLY BECOME MARCUS'S POKEMON. NOT BECAUSE WE WERE CAUGHT. BUT BECAUSE WE CHOOSE TO BE."
The Legendaries exchanged glances.
"How would that work?" Suicune asked. "We weren't captured in this world. We manifested."
"WE GIVE HIM OUR BADGES," Palkia suggested. "AS A SYMBOL. WE EARNED THEM THROUGH EFFORT, THROUGH BATTLE, THROUGH UNDERSTANDING. IF WE GIVE THEM TO HIM, WE'RE SAYING 'THESE REPRESENT US. AND WE ARE YOURS.'"
"That's... actually beautiful," Mesprit said, tearing up slightly.
"I HAVE BEAUTIFUL IDEAS SOMETIMES."
"You really don't," Giratina muttered.
"GIRATINA, THIS IS NOT THE TIME."
THE PLANNING PHASE
The Legendaries spent three hours planning the ceremony.
It was EXTENSIVE.
"We need DRAMA," Reshiram insisted.
"We need MEANING," Zekrom countered.
"We need BOTH," Kyurem declared, and for once, the Tao Trio agreed on something.
The Lake Guardians were put in charge of emotional resonance.
The Bird Trio was assigned dramatic weather effects.
The Swords of Justice would provide honor guard duties.
Giratina would stabilize reality so the ceremony didn't accidentally destroy Johto.
And Kenneth...
"What does Kenneth do?" Cobalion asked.
Kenneth vibrated.
"Kenneth will 'provide vibes,'" Dialga translated. "Kenneth's vibes are apparently essential."
"How did Kenneth get into this meeting?" Terrakion wondered. "He's not a Legendary."
"KENNETH TRANSCENDS CATEGORIZATION."
Kenneth vibrated smugly.
THE DAY OF THE CEREMONY
Marcus woke up to find his entire Legendary population staring at him.
This was not unusual.
What WAS unusual was that they were all wearing formal expressions.
Even Mew looked serious.
Mew NEVER looked serious.
"Uh... good morning?"
"MARCUS CHEN," Dialga intoned. "TODAY IS A SIGNIFICANT DAY."
"It is?"
"YOU WILL ACCOMPANY US TO THE LEGENDARY RESORT. THERE IS SOMETHING WE MUST DO."
"Can I have breakfast first?"
The Legendaries exchanged glances.
"...YOU MAY HAVE A SMALL BREAKFAST."
"Thanks?"
Marcus ate the fastest breakfast of his life while forty-three Legendary Pokemon watched him with unsettling intensity.
"You're making this weird," he mumbled through a mouthful of toast.
"WE ARE MAKING THIS MEANINGFUL," Palkia corrected.
"Same thing."
THE LEGENDARY RESORT - CEREMONY GROUNDS
The Legendaries had transformed the island.
Flowers bloomed everywhere (Xerneas's contribution).
The sky displayed a perfect gradient of dawn colors (Bird Trio coordination).
Temporal echoes created a sense of timelessness (Dialga showing off).
Space itself seemed more PRESENT somehow (Palkia being extra).
The Distortion World provided a subtle backdrop that made everything seem more significant (Giratina's aesthetic choice).
And in the center of it all was a stage.
A stage made of every element.
Earth from Groudon.
Water from Kyogre.
Sky-stone from Rayquaza.
Crystals from the Swords of Justice.
Light from Solgaleo.
Darkness from Lunala.
Everything the Legendaries represented, combined into one platform.
"This is... a lot," Marcus said quietly.
"THIS IS APPROPRIATE," Dialga responded.
THE CEREMONY BEGINS
Marcus was guided to the center of the stage.
Zippy, Fluffy, Leo, Steve, and Sunny stood to his right—his core team, witnesses to what was about to happen.
Kenneth was placed on a special pedestal, providing ESSENTIAL VIBES.
The forty-three Legendaries arranged themselves in a semicircle before him.
"MARCUS CHEN," Dialga began, voice echoing across dimensions. "WE HAVE GATHERED TO PERFORM A CEREMONY THAT HAS NEVER OCCURRED IN THE HISTORY OF THIS OR ANY WORLD."
"That's reassuring."
"IT SHOULD BE. YOU ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE SOMETHING UNPRECEDENTED."
Dialga gestured, and Mew floated forward.
The tiny pink Legendary held a single Zephyr Badge in its paws.
"Mew mew," it said softly. I earned this. Through battle. Through effort. Through learning what it means to be a trainer.
"I know, Mew. You did great."
"Mew mew mew." I earned it for YOU. Because I wanted to understand you. Because I wanted to be WORTHY of you.
Mew placed the badge in Marcus's hands.
"Mew." This represents me. My growth. My love. I give it to you because I CHOOSE to be your Pokemon. Not because I was caught. Because I CHOOSE.
Marcus felt his eyes stinging.
"Mew..."
"Mew mew!" No crying yet! There are forty-two more of us!
One by one, the Legendaries came forward.
Each one presenting their Gym badges.
Each one speaking words of commitment.
Celebi floated up, Zephyr Badge gleaming.
"Bi bi." I have traveled through time. I have seen countless futures. In every future where I am happy, you are there.
Badge given.
Jirachi, surprisingly awake, presented its badge.
"I grant wishes. But meeting you is the only wish I ever wanted for myself."
Badge given.
The Swords of Justice approached together.
"We protect Pokemon from humans," Cobalion said. "But you taught us that some humans are worth protecting. We choose you as our trainer, and our charge."
Four badges given.
The Tao Trio came next.
Reshiram spoke first: "I am Truth. And the truth is, I have never been happier than I am with you."
Zekrom followed: "I am Ideals. You represent the ideal trainer. The one I always wished existed."
Kyurem concluded: "I was empty. A shell. You made me feel whole again."
Three badges given.
The Weather Trio approached together.
Groudon rumbled: "I CAN CREATE CONTINENTS. BUT YOUR LAP IS THE ONLY LAND I WISH TO REST UPON."
"Groudon, that's beautiful—"
"I PRACTICED."
Badge given.
Kyogre chirped: "I RULE THE OCEANS. BUT YOUR BELLY RUBS RULE ME."
"That's less poetic but equally valid."
Badge given.
Rayquaza descended: "I HAVE PROTECTED THIS WORLD FOR MILLENNIA. NOW I WISH TO PROTECT ONLY YOU."
Badge given.
Marcus was openly crying now.
"WE SAID NO CRYING YET," Dialga complained.
"I can't HELP it!"
The Creation Trio was next.
"I AM TIME," Dialga announced. "I HAVE WITNESSED EVERY MOMENT THAT HAS EVER EXISTED. THE MOMENTS WITH YOU ARE THE ONLY ONES I CHERISH."
Badge given.
"I AM SPACE," Palkia declared. "THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE IS MY DOMAIN. BUT THE ONLY SPACE I CARE ABOUT IS THE SPACE BESIDE YOU."
Badge given.
"I AM THE DISTORTION," Giratina said, emerging from shadows. "I HAVE BEEN BANISHED. FEARED. ALONE. YOU INVITED ME TO TEA."
"That was Morty—"
"YOU MADE IT POSSIBLE. YOU MADE ME FEEL WELCOME."
Badge given.
The Lake Guardians orbited forward together.
"We are Knowledge, Emotion, and Willpower," they said in unison. "You gave us something greater: Purpose."
Three badges given.
The Legendary Beasts approached with grace.
"We run," Raikou said. "But we always run back to you."
"We roar," Entei added. "But our roar is now your call to battle."
"We watch," Suicune concluded. "And what we see is a trainer worth following."
Three badges given.
The Bird Trio descended dramatically.
"We are ICE!" Articuno declared, immediately creating a snowflake effect.
"We are THUNDER!" Zapdos added, lightning crackling.
"We are FIRE!" Moltres concluded, flames spiraling.
"AND WE ARE YOURS!" all three said together.
Three badges given (with excessive flourishes).
The Lunar Duo approached.
"I am the Sun," Solgaleo said. "You are the light in my life. Which is ironic, given that I'm made of light."
"I am the Moon," Lunala added. "You helped me understand that even darkness can be loved."
Two badges given.
The Ultra Beasts, usually so alien and strange, came forward one by one.
Each one struggled to express emotion in ways that weren't terrifying.
Buzzwole flexed in what was apparently an expression of love.
Celesteela beeped what translated to "You are satisfactory for a non-Ultra being."
Guzzlord tried not to eat the badge before giving it.
Seven badges given (with varying degrees of success).
Finally, only the Arceus collective remained.
All twelve of them.
"THIS IS UNUSUAL," Original Arceus admitted. "I AM, TECHNICALLY, THE GOD WHO CREATED ALL THINGS. INCLUDING THE CONCEPT OF TRAINERS."
"I know."
"GIVING MYSELF TO A TRAINER IS... PHILOSOPHICALLY COMPLEX."
"You don't have to—"
"I WANT TO."
Original Arceus floated forward.
"WHEN I SENT YOU HERE, IT WAS A PUNISHMENT. I WANTED YOU TO SUFFER UNDER THE WEIGHT OF YOUR COLLECTIONS. INSTEAD, YOU TAUGHT ME WHAT IT MEANS TO CARE."
He presented a badge—not a Gym badge, but something else entirely.
A badge made of creation energy itself.
"THIS REPRESENTS NOT JUST ME, BUT ALL TWELVE OF US. WE ARE, COLLECTIVELY, THE BEING THAT CREATED THE UNIVERSE. AND WE CHOOSE TO BE YOUR POKEMON."
Marcus stared at the badge.
It glowed with the light of every star that had ever existed.
"Arceus..."
"TAKE IT. BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND AND BECOME DIGNIFIED AGAIN."
Marcus took the badge.
THE CONCLUSION
Marcus stood in the center of the stage, holding badges from forty-three Legendary Pokemon.
His arms were full.
His heart was fuller.
"I don't know what to say," he admitted.
"YOU DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING," Dialga replied. "YOU SHOWED US WHAT WE NEEDED TO SEE. THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS. THROUGH YOUR LOVE. THROUGH THE WAY YOU TREAT EVERY POKEMON AS VALUABLE."
"You're all already valuable—"
"WE KNOW THAT NOW. BECAUSE OF YOU."
The Legendaries began to glow.
All of them.
Simultaneously.
"WHAT WE DO NOW IS UNPRECEDENTED," Dialga explained. "WE ARE CHOOSING TO BE BOUND. NOT BY POKEBALLS. BUT BY BOND. THE SAME BOND YOU SHARE WITH SUNNY. WITH STEVE. WITH KENNETH."
"WE ARE MAKING IT OFFICIAL," Palkia added.
"WE ARE MAKING IT ETERNAL," Giratina concluded.
The glow intensified.
And then—
Something SHIFTED.
In Marcus's soul.
Where once there had been bonds—strong bonds, yes, but bonds that were ultimately connections to data made real—now there was something DEEPER.
He could FEEL them.
All of them.
Forty-three Legendary Pokemon, their presences now woven into his very being.
Not as prisoners.
As PARTNERS.
As FAMILY.
The glow faded.
The Legendaries settled.
And Marcus stood in silence, overwhelmed by what he could now sense.
"I can feel you," he whispered. "All of you. Like... like you're part of me now."
"WE ARE," Dialga confirmed. "AS YOU ARE PART OF US. THIS IS THE TRUE TRAINER BOND. THE ONE THAT EXISTS BEYOND POKEBALLS. BEYOND CATCHING. BEYOND EVERYTHING."
"You're REALLY my Pokemon now."
"WE ALWAYS WERE," Mew said softly. "NOW IT'S JUST OFFICIAL."
THE AFTERMATH
The ceremony concluded with what could only be described as a "massive Legendary group hug."
It was awkward.
Groudon alone was larger than most buildings.
But they made it work.
Marcus was somewhere in the middle, surrounded by gods, feeling more loved than he ever had in either of his lives.
"You're all ridiculous," he managed through happy tears.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAUGHT 4,847 POKEMON ACROSS MULTIPLE GAMES," Rayquaza pointed out.
"That's fair."
Zippy watched from the sidelines, expression unreadable.
"Pika pika," he said quietly to Fluffy.
"Vee vee," Fluffy agreed.
Leo translated for no one in particular: "They said it's beautiful. And that they're not jealous. Much."
Steve, meanwhile, was having FEELINGS.
"They chose him," he murmured. "Forty-three gods, and they CHOSE him. Just like I chose him."
"We all chose him," Sunny replied, having flown in for the ceremony. "That's what makes him special."
Kenneth vibrated.
"What did Kenneth say?" Steve asked Leo.
"Kenneth said 'family.'"
Steve looked at the Shuckle.
The Shuckle looked back.
For once, Steve didn't have a sarcastic response.
THE WORLD'S REACTION
News of the ceremony spread instantly.
The Alakazam network had livestreamed it to every screen in the world.
Global reaction was... intense.
POKEMON WORLD NEWS
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just witnessed history. Forty-three Legendary Pokemon have formally bound themselves to trainer Marcus Chen in an unprecedented ceremony that experts are calling 'the most significant moment in Pokemon-human relations since the first Pokeball was invented.'"
"Our analysts are still trying to understand the implications. When asked for comment, the International Pokemon League simply said, 'We're going to need a bigger rulebook.'"
SOCIAL MEDIA
@PokemonTrainer2000: I AM LITERALLY SOBBING. THE WEATHER TRIO SAID THEY CHOOSE HIM. GROUDON TALKED ABOUT HIS LAP.
@DragonMasterXx: okay but can we talk about how GIRATINA mentioned tea? THE RENEGADE POKEMON drinks TEA now
@ArceusFanClub: THE GOD OF CREATION GAVE A CHILD A BADGE MADE OF UNIVERSE STUFF. I CAN'T.
@KennethUpdates: Kenneth provided essential vibes during the ceremony. Kenneth is the true MVP.
@CryingGymLeader_Brock: I started this journey terrified of a Shuckle. Now I'm watching gods pledge themselves to a ten-year-old. I have grown so much.
HALL OF ORIGIN - OBSERVATION
The Arceus collective watched themselves participate in the ceremony through the viewing portal.
"We really did that," Event Arceus #3 observed.
"WE DID," Original Arceus confirmed.
"No regrets?"
Original Arceus was quiet for a long moment.
"I created this universe. I shaped reality. I have existed since before time itself."
"And?"
"And that ceremony—choosing to bond with a human child—was the proudest moment of my existence."
The other Arceus stared.
"You're getting SENTIMENTAL."
"I AM ALLOWED. I AM GOD."
MARCUS'S ROOM - THAT NIGHT
Marcus lay in his bed—a bed now surrounded by forty-three Legendary Pokemon who all wanted to be close to him.
Mew had claimed his pillow.
Celebi was sleeping in his hair.
Jirachi was, of course, already asleep on his chest.
The larger Legendaries had arranged themselves in concentric circles around the room, the building, and in some cases, the entire island.
Groudon was literally BEING the ground Marcus's building stood on.
Kyogre had created a moat of perfectly temperate water.
Rayquaza was coiled overhead, providing weather control AND security.
"This is my life now," Marcus murmured.
Mew stirred. "Mew?" Regrets?
"Never."
"Mew mew." Good. Because you're stuck with us FOREVER now.
"I know."
Marcus closed his eyes, surrounded by gods, feeling their presences in his soul.
Forty-three Legendary Pokemon.
Plus his core team.
Plus 4,800 others back at Paradise.
All his.
All family.
"Best punishment ever," he whispered.
Somewhere, in the Hall of Origin, Arceus heard him and laughed.
OFFICIAL STATUS UPDATE
Marcus Chen - Pokemon Trainer
Core Team:
Zippy (Partner Pikachu)Fluffy (Partner Eevee)Leo (Legends Z-A Lucario)Steve (Mewtwo)Sunny (Charizard)Kenneth (Shuckle - ESSENTIAL VIBES)
Officially Bonded Legendaries: 43
Creation Trio: Dialga, Palkia, GiratinaWeather Trio: Groudon, Kyogre, RayquazaTao Trio: Reshiram, Zekrom, KyuremLake Guardians: Uxie, Mesprit, AzelfLegendary Beasts: Raikou, Entei, SuicuneBird Trio: Articuno, Zapdos, MoltresSwords of Justice: Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, KeldeoLunar Duo: Solgaleo, LunalaUltra Beasts: All sevenMythicals: Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and othersThe Arceus Collective: All twelveAnd MORE
Total Pokemon: 4,847
Total Love: Immeasurable
Total Chaos Caused: Extensive but worth it
[A/N: THE CEREMONY HAPPENED AND I'M CRYING! The Legendaries are officially Marcus's Pokemon now—not by capture, but by CHOICE! Next chapter: The world adjusts to the new normal, and Marcus finally decides to visit MORE regions! Also, the Legendaries want to throw Marcus a birthday party and their ideas are CONCERNING! Leave a comment about which Legendary's speech made you cry the most!]