The Plates were special relics tied to Arceus's authority, formed from fragments that existed when the universe was born.
The number of Plates matches the eighteen types. But in truth, beyond those eighteen Plates, there is a nineteenth one.
It holds the power of all things. As long as someone uses this Plate, they can gain the power of every type.
It is called the Legend Plate.
In a very real sense, this one Plate is equal to all eighteen others.
As everyone knows, every Plate has its own inscription. The inscription on the Legend Plate is that very famous line:
"From all universes, it watches over Pokémon and humans."
The one described in that line is Arceus's true body.
Without a doubt, the original Arceus has all the Plates, so it naturally has the Legend Plate as well.
However, since it is the Alpha Pokémon that created everything, it can create all things on its own. That includes its own avatars and the Plates.
Therefore, it is not impossible for one of Arceus's avatars to have the Legend Plate.
This also explains why the Arceus of this world does not care about the Plates inside the Jewel of Life.
Of course, it could also be because, to the Arceus of this world, the Plates are just Plates. They are not the Source of Life.
So it does not care much about them. Maybe it thinks things will happen the way they should.
Or maybe the Arceus of this world simply overslept. After all, for Arceus, sleeping for several thousand years is normal.
Who knows?
"Arceus..."
After hearing the old story Sheena told, Cynthia was very moved.
"I have never heard any stories about Arceus before," Caitlin said, touching her chin.
"Mhm. That is because the story of Arceus comes from a very distant age. But you may have heard its other title," Sheena said with a smile.
"In the Hisui era, Arceus was known as Almighty Sinnoh."
One could tell from Sheena's words that she truly respected and admired Arceus.
"Almighty Sinnoh is Arceus?" Caitlin was a little surprised.
"Yes. So in truth, Arceus has always been watching over and protecting us," Sheena said with emotion.
"It shines over the land of Hisui from the heavens, becoming its own light. With that light, it guides and protects Pokémon."
Damian rested his chin on his hand and recited that line.
"Oh? You know that too? That was the respectful phrase people used for Almighty Sinnoh back in the Hisui era," Sheena said, looking at Damian in surprise.
"I know a little about it," Damian said with a nod and a smile. That was the exact description of Arceus in the Hisui Pokédex.
"You seem to know a lot about the Hisui era, Sheena," Cynthia said.
"Ah, not that much. But my ancestors left behind some old books and rubbings of ancient poems. Are you three interested?"
Sheena spoke openly. Even though the Michina Ruins were not large, they had originally only been the site of a temple.
However, because her family line had never been broken, Sheena's family had gathered many old items over the years.
"Can we see them?" Cynthia asked at once, clearly interested.
"If it were someone else, I would have to think about it carefully. But since it is you, Champion Cynthia, it is fine," Sheena said.
Sheena trusted Cynthia a great deal. After all, as the Champion of the Sinnoh League, Cynthia protected the whole Sinnoh region.
"Thank you very much," Cynthia said with a polite bow.
"Please wait a moment, the three of you. I will go get them," Sheena said as she walked deeper into the ruins.
"Tsk. Cynthia, your reputation in Sinnoh is really that good," Damian said, teasing her.
Or rather, it was not just Cynthia. Back at Mt. Pyre, he had also used Wallace's reputation to get the two orbs from the old couple.
"It is because everyone trusts me. So I definitely cannot let them down," Cynthia said, shaking her head.
Damian raised an eyebrow. It was true. The people of Sinnoh trusted Champion Cynthia very much, and Cynthia protected them because of that.
But for Damian, this was not exactly good news. After all, he really wanted to pull Cynthia to his side, but that would be extremely difficult.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I have not organized these very well, so please do not laugh," Sheena said.
Soon, Sheena returned carrying a small cardboard box. Damian stepped forward, took it from her, and set it on the stone table.
"These are... Old Verses?"
Cynthia's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the old papers in her hands.
The Old Verses were twenty poems discovered from the Hisui era. They recorded a great deal of history and myth.
Nowadays, some of the content in the "Sinnoh Legends" at the Canalave Library may have come from these Old Verses.
And it was said that the Old Verses were written down by a woman named Cogita.
"These are not the original Old Verses. They are only copies made by my ancestors."
"That is still amazing. This is the first time I have seen Old Verses kept in such good condition. Sheena, this box of Old Verses is a real treasure."
Cynthia's voice was rarely this excited. For someone like her, who loved exploring history and myths, these Old Verses were extremely valuable.
"You can read them. But please be careful. Even though they were preserved well, they have been passed down since ancient times, so they can tear easily."
"Please do not worry."
Damian put on gloves and picked up one sheet of the Old Verses.
'Once, two gods existed together. One watched the flow of time. One watched the breadth of space.' 'To seek the future beyond the future, they wished to explore the world beyond the world.' 'The two gods each walked their own paths, always staying by the side of Almighty Sinnoh.' Damian read the poem softly.
"The two gods refer to Palkia and Dialga, right?" Caitlin also picked up one page of the Old Verses.
The poem Damian just read was easy to understand. It told the story of the bond between Dialga, Palkia, and Arceus.
"That is right. Palkia and Dialga were both created by Arceus. They manage this world's time and space. They are both very powerful Pokémon," Sheena said with a smile.
Unlike most people, Sheena truly understood Palkia and Dialga.
This was because she was born with the Power of Overcoming. This power let her push past limits.
Because of that, she could even communicate with Palkia and Dialga while they were in different dimensions.
However, even after asking Palkia and Dialga, she still could not learn anything about Arceus.
After all, Arceus stayed in the Hall of Origin. That was a special dimension that belonged only to Arceus.
Caitlin looked at the poem in her hand.
'Once, there was a hero. The hero led ten Pokémon and challenged Sinnoh.' 'In that great battle, humans proved their own strength.' 'Sinnoh recognized the strength of humans and returned to the world where humans do not belong.' After Caitlin finished reading that poem, she was a little shocked.
"Humans challenged a god?"
"Yes. That was the act that made Arceus see the will of humans. They were truly great heroes," Sheena said with emotion.
In truth, the second and third parts of the Old Verses described how weak humans were at that time.
Later, lightning struck ten Pokémon. Those ten Pokémon then became helpers to humans. However, no one knew whether that was Arceus's mercy toward humans.
"Courage is truly priceless. So which ten Pokémon were they?"
Cynthia, who had been lost in the poems and reading with great interest, heard this and looked up at once, asking curiously.
"Um... I only know that five of those ten Pokémon were nobles. But as for exactly which ten they were..." Sheena hesitated because she did not know them all.
"Were any Legendary Pokémon among them?"
Caitlin was also curious. That hero could not have challenged Arceus with ten ordinary Pokémon, right?
That would have taken way too much courage.
"There were no Legendary Pokémon," Damian said, shaking his head.
"Lord Kleavor, Lady Lilligant, Lord Arcanine, Lord Electrode, Lord Avalugg, as well as Wyrdeer, Ursaluna, Basculegion, Sneasler, and Braviary."
Damian named the ten Pokémon one by one. Since he had played Pokémon Legends: Arceus, he remembered them clearly.
When Sheena heard Damian list those ten Pokémon, which had such an important place in Hisui's history, as if he knew them by heart, her eyes widened.
What was going on?
Even she could not name all ten Pokémon. How did this man know so much?
"Kleavor, Wyrdeer, Ursaluna... I have never even heard of those Pokémon," Cynthia said thoughtfully.
"It is because of differences in regional environments. You know that different environments can make Pokémon grow in different ways."
"Even though Sinnoh is ancient Hisui, the environment back then was different from the current one. Because of that, many Pokémon had different forms and different evolutions."
Damian shrugged. The clearest example was Ursaluna.
Ursaluna is the evolved form of Ursaring. However, for Ursaring to evolve into Ursaluna, it needs special conditions. In ancient Hisui, those conditions existed naturally.
Also, there was another point worth mentioning. In the Hisui era, one Ursaluna crossed the sea and reached the land of Kitakami. Then, under Kitakami's special environment, it became the Bloodmoon form.
To this day, that Bloodmoon Ursaluna was still living in the land of Kitakami. Well, when he had time, he would go catch it.
"What a pity," Cynthia said with regret. She truly felt it was a pity that she had no chance to see those special Pokémon from Hisui.
"True," Damian said with a nod. It really was a pity.
Still, it was not completely impossible. If Dialga was willing to help in the future, there was still a chance to return to the Hisui era. Then he could catch those special Pokémon there.
By the way...
He could also go and see whether Akari, the protagonist of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, was really there.
The protagonists of every Pokémon generation could be called the chosen ones of their era. Every one of them was a genius.
But if someone had to pick the strongest protagonist, the answer would definitely be Akari.
Selene had one of the wildest records of all the protagonists. She actually defeated Necrozma. She beat it three times in a row, including its Ultra form, and then caught it after forcing it into submission.
Later, when facing Team Rainbow Rocket, the strongest evil team, which had come from parallel worlds, Selene wiped out the entire organization by herself.
That record was absurd.
Even so, Selene still could not compare to Akari.
After all, Akari was chosen by Arceus from the very beginning and sent to the Hisui era. In the end, Arceus's true body even gave her one of its avatars and the Legend Plate.
With treatment like that, she was basically Arceus's golden child. How could anyone else compare?
"Now that I think about it, Akari was sent from the modern era to ancient Hisui by Arceus. But if Akari really exists, why have I never heard of her? Or is Akari from the next generation?"
Suddenly, Damian thought of this.
Also, Akari looked exactly like Platinum. But he had never heard that Platinum had a sister.