#apotheosistxt

though kyurem doesn’t ‘represent’ anything officially (afaik) i think i like the idea of them being the potential to reshiram’s truth and zekrom’s ideals.

an empty shell originally, but one that allows for endless possibilities.

ohhh i think i figured out a reason why ingo and dawn would lose their memories

how i’m choosing to interpret the rift is an unstable tear in the fabric of the world that mixes Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina’s domains, with Giratina’s distortion being the main thing that fuels it. the smaller tears that have been cropping up in modern times are connected to the Big Rift due to some time-space fuckery linked to the echoes of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina’s actions in the past and Cyrus’ attempt at using their powers and Giratina tearing open the world to drag him into theirs in the future/present. basically the ripples from the past synced up to the ripples in present enough amplify them and cause problems.

anyway.

i feel like the distortion of most other legendary’s domains would cause some fucky-wucky stuff for said legend, so getting thrown through such a distortion-heavy rift and being torn from the other parts of your trio- your balancers- as well as being torn from your own time in such an unstable way would probably have negative effects on an Aspect. such as losing memories and maybe make them become somewhat aimless.

ok so i think i know how i’m gonna format things (generally) but we’ll see if this plan sticks

i’m gonna have a sort of optional setup/backstory fic called Approaching Apotheosis that covers pokemon dppt and some of the aftermath/the gap years between that and dawn getting yeeted. there’ll be changes to the game storyline but not an incredible amount of differences? mainly just that lucas and barry will be more involved and the whole Aspect thing.

then there’ll be two parallel fics. i’m still debating on names for them but tentatively they’re being called EpochandZenith.they’re a little more foggy story-wise right now because i’m not sure what direction i want to take things towards the end. Epoch will be the main fic overall and can be read as a stand-alone as far as i can tell from planning stages but the others will give more info.

Epoch will cover legends arceus with some bigger differences to the storyline aside from the Aspects. some storybeats will happen either sooner or later and the plot will diverge from canon some. the end is the main thing that’s foggy due to me being unsure if i want to get the others from the present times involved in the end game.

Zenith will be almost wholly original storyline covering the reaction of people when a champion-in-training and a battle facility head disappears within somewhat quick succession in similar circumstances along with the crises that the instability in space-time is causing. basically a sort of b-side to the above fic. a lot more foggy as i’m not sure what exactly the plot line is yet aside from covering the fallout of the things leading to Epoch.

Building off of and pulling some things from this post bygreenix, which talks about the Pokemon Leagues, how they function, and how they reacted to Aspects in their Twin Dragons AU.

General Information

A region’s Pokemon League consists of the network of gyms said region has and the Elite Four headed by a Champion. The League functions as a sort of government. In all levels of the hierarchy of power, the people who take up important positions are heavily vetted by their peers and higher-ups in an attempt to prevent corruption. This has become even more important in the last few decades due to several situations where someone managed to slip through the cracks despite having dark intentions. (EX: Giovanni being a Gym Leader and a teacher in Almia’s school being a higher up in the evil team that cropped up there.) 

Champions are the ones that tend to handle most of the region-wide problems like evil teams or natural disasters (though Rangers are brought in to help with the latter). They and their Elite Four also handle politics and relations with other regions, as well as vetting Gym Leader applicants. Champions are the main leaders for a region, with the Elite Four acting as both support and a system to overrule the Champion if at all needed. The Elite Four also takes over the Champion’s duties in the event they’re unavailable or the position is empty for whatever reason. 

Gym leaders function similar to mayors and handle problems in and around their respective towns. Unless a professor lives in the area, they handle giving out starter Pokemon (if a child doesn’t already have one given by their family) and starting children on their journeys. 

There are also the Battle Facility Heads, who are technically counted as part of the League. While Battle Facilities are mostly their own entities and not involved in the affairs of the League, the Heads are sometimes called in to assist in times of crisis. 

Finally, there’s the Regional Police. The police handle most day-to-day law and order for their regions

In general, the hierarchy of power goes:

Champion > Elite Four > Gym Leader > Battle Facility Heads / Regional Police

The International Police are a separate, mostly neutral entity similar to the Rangers. The Interpol’s main headquarters is located on an island off the coast of one of the regions, but they have smaller headquarters scattered around the regions. While they’re mainly dedicated to dealing with various villainous organizations around the world, they also have departments that specialize in various types of crises. One unit, for example, is dedicated to situations involving Legendary Pokemon and the strange phenomena that follow them. This unit has contacts within the Rangers, and the two frequently collaborate in times of emergency. 

Alola’s government structure is somewhat different from most other regions. The Kahuna function similarly to both Gym Leaders and members of the Elite Four. Each Kahuna has jurisdiction over their particular area, but also deal with the region as a whole with the input of the others in a sort of council. There isn’t really an equivilant to the Champion position for Alola, though Prof. Kukui gives input on things as an equal to the Kahuna’s. Despite them introducing the Elite Four and Champion titles to the region, the Kahunas still hold most of the power, though do take input from the new Elite Four members.

Galar’s system also functions similar to Alola, where the Gym Leaders are equals to the Champion due to the lack of an Elite Four and form a sort of council to deal with region-wide issues.  

The Leagues & Age

While young trainers are able to challenge the Leagues and even attempt to become a part of them, there are many rules surrounding minors and League positions. 

While technically able to gain titles like Gym Leader, Elite Four Member, and Champion, those under 18 aren’t eligible to fully take over those positions. Instead, they hold the title and are able to battle challengers, but the actual responsibilities are handled by the previous title holder. Said previous holder- or someone who has experience as that title or one similar- acts as their mentor until they reach the age of majority, and keeps in close contact with them for at least two more years to make sure they can handle things on their own. The mentor will slowly allow their mentee to take on responsibilities a little bit at a time, having them tag along when their handling their duties or sending them to handle smaller situations.

This goes especially for Elite Four Members and Champions. In the case that the previous acting Champion or Elite Four can’t train the one taking over their position and there’s not someone in the region with the experience needed to do so, special arrangements are made with neighboring regions to provide experience, support, and training. Thankfully this hasn’t happened often, but there isprecedent.

The Leagues & Aspects

The stance on Aspects holding League Titles varies from region to region, after the knowledge of Aspects became known to them. 

Kanto holds some distrust for Aspects, and they aren’t allowed to hold the Elite Four or Champion titles even though they can challenge them. However, they can become Gym Leaders. Overall Kanto’s League as a whole views Aspects with some wariness and sees them more as something to turn to in cases of emergency. Red’s status as Articuno’s Aspect made some have second-thoughts about their kneejerk reaction of wariness and distrust, though he stepped down as Champion not long after he gained the title and went AWOL for a while. 

Johto is more accepting and lenient of Aspects due to how integral Ho-oh and Lugia are to their society and culture, but they’re put on a pedestal somewhat and still viewed more as those to turn to in an emergency. As Johto and Kanto share an Elite Four, the rules about them and the Champion are the same, though the idea of Aspects becoming Gym Leaders is met with more acceptance. 

Hoenn is very accepting of Aspects due to Wallace and Steven, trusted and well-liked trainers, becoming Aspects after they were established. They’re allowed to take on any League title if they qualify for it.  Hoenn’s League definitely sees them more as people than just Legendaries playing as human. Due to this, Hoenn has a high concentration of Aspects, which can sometimes cause problems (EX: Archie and Maxie), but also makes Hoenn a hub for passing on information to various Legendaries. 

Sinnoh is very similar to Hoenn, though with a bit more reverence and great level of respect like Johto due to the region’s view on their Legendaries. However, Dawn, Lucas, and Barry help make those who aren’t sure about the revelation of Aspects see that they’re people. Their help with Team Galactic as well as their general natures made those still somewhat wary warm up to the idea of Aspects soon enough. Flint, Heatran’s Aspect, also helped with things due to his position as a respected and well-liked member of the Elite Four. 

Unova is somewhere between Hoenn and Kanto. However, the fact that the Aspects for the Twin Dragons and Kyurem are the children of a well-known, respected figure and are trustworthy in their own right swayed the League towards a trial run. Iris was allowed to begin training to work alongside Alder after the events of Black and White, but after seeing her dedication and getting to know her better- along with starting to better understand Aspects through their interactions- Alder eventually announced that she’d be allowed to fully take over as Champion once she turned 18 if she still desired to by that time (and she didn’t have the title taken from her). 

Kalos is somewhat like Hoenn with how comfortable and open they are about their Aspects, though of course they’re still respected as whole. There was a period of contention when Lysandre’s plot was discovered and subsequently thwarted, but Prof. Sycamore helped to smooth things over and took on responsibiltiy for rehabilitating Yveltal after removing them from the toxic feedback loop they and Lysandre made. 

Alola is the most open and accepting of the regions, as their Kahunas are known to be taken as temporary Aspects- though the word wasn’t common knowledge- in times of crisis and have a deep connection to their Tapus. Aspects are treated well and protected by both those in power and most of the every day people, and are highly respected. The Alolan League finds the idea of Aspects joining holding titles normal due to the Kahunas, and it was never really debated on whether or not to allow them to do so.

Galar is, by the nature of the region and the issue with Eternatus, pretty open about Aspects and accepting of them as well. Raihan and Leon are public and respected figures, and Sonia is gaining recognition as well, which made accepting the knowledge a bit easier. Considering the ties Eternatus has to an essential part of the region’s League Challenges and the land overall, there was also very little debate about whether to allow Aspects to take on League titles.

General Information & Roles

Pokemon rangers are allies of Aspects and sometimes function as bodyguards as well.  As rangers tend to be the ones to work closely alongside legendary Pokemon more often than not, they were the ones to have known about Aspects before anyone else after the knowledge was lost to the general public. Not every ranger knows of their existence, but several high-ranking rangers from each of the three ranger-led regions were vetted and deemed trustworthy enough to keep track of all known Aspects currently running around the world. The information is passed down from those in the know to those they have taken under their wings after being heavily vetted and gaining the approval of at least three Legendaries. 

(Some current holders of this knowledge include: Lunick and Solana of Fiore. Kellyn, Kate, and Keith of Almia. Ben and Summer of Oblivia.)

Rangers are the ones to step in on the behalf of Aspects when the situation concerns the legendary side of things, as their operations are more covert than the interference of a Pokemon League. They also mediate any large, formal meetings between Aspects due to the chance that tensions could spark from clashing values and instincts. For this reason, Rangers themselves cannot be Aspects, and may be asked to retire if they take on a legendary as an Aspect. It’s crucial for rangers that involve themselves in the business of Legendaries to remain as neutral as possible. 

(However, one exception to this rule is Subway Boss Emmet, Aspect of Reshiram, who somehow obtained an honorary ranger license to mess with the ones that attempted to convince him to have rangers assigned to his family just in case.)

Pokemon Rangers are usually called in when legendary, mythical, rare, or ‘extinct’ Pokemon are involved, or there’s an ecological crisis. They also tend to be called in for cases where wild Pokemon are overly agitated and battling them off most likely wouldn’t solve the problem. To sum it up: the Leagues handle the people and urban areas of a region, and the Rangers hand the Pokemon and nature. There are, of course, times where these two things overlap since people and Pokemon live together and share close bonds, and during those times the Leagues and Rangers work together to deal with the issue. More minor issues tend to be handled by the region’s police, sometimes with consultation from a League member or Ranger. 

In the unlikely event a meeting between a large amount of Aspects- and/or, potentially, Aspect-less Legendaries- happens, it’s been agreed that the best place to host it would be one of the Ranger Regions. Some of the more formal meetings between them that have happened in the past were also held in one of these three regions, as it’s considered neutral territory and thus makes it less likely for tensions to arise over perceived slights in someone’s own place of power. However, if it’s too inconvenient to get to one of the ranger-led regions, the next best place would be one of their headquarters or a pre-selected area that’s as close to neutral as possible. 

Some rangers are able to summon Legendaries to assist them, such as Ben and Summer. This isn’t a common thing and first became possible due to ‘illegally’ modified stylers, however a select few were allowed to be able to do this in the case of emergencies requiring a Legendary’s aid. They try not too use it too often, though; especially since they never know what the Legendary or Aspect may be doing. 

There are pockets of Rangers and at least one Ranger Headquarters in nearly every region, however the main operation is located at the three Unions in Oblivia, Almia, and Fiore. 

Ranger Regions: Almia, Fiore, & Oblivia

Unlike a majority of the Pokemon world, these three regions are led by Pokemon Rangers instead of a Pokemon League. The Head Ranger of that region’s branch essentially functions like a Champion, and they have a few select Top Rangers to help them keep things in order. Top Rangers and their Head are very heavily vetted to make sure that they have the best interest of the regions- as well as their Pokemon- in mind. This is especially true after one of the teachers at Almia’s school was revealed to be a high-ranking member of Team Dim Sun who tried to recruit students to their agenda. 

Most Pokemon Rangers are trained in the ‘Ranger Regions’, with the vast majority starting their careers in Almia due to the school there. After graduation, they may move on to Fiore or Oblivia for more training and experience, with some moving on to the League-led regions instead. 

The culture in these three regions is very different from the others. Only trainers visiting or moving from other regions have Pokemon in pokeballs, and catching any Pokemon from these three regions is extremely illegal unless given very special permission. The details of ranger culture varies from region to region, but they’re very similar overall. 

Pokemon tend to roam at their partners’ sides, and wild Pokemon are usually left alone unless they’re causing an issue or are in danger. 

Pokemon battles aren’t really a thing either, though there are a few battle-proofed areas scattered around for visiting trainers who want to keep their teams up to snuff and retired trainers who moved there who want to keep their teams happy. However, there are capture challenges and competitions for rangers both for fun and training. All the Pokemon that appear in them have agreed to do so.