All the Smallest Things: Original Draft

The other founders of the Pokémon Emergency Taskforce watched the conference live from what had once been a break room. They'd brought popcorn with them, but Misty had eaten it all within half an hour. Currently, the leaders were discussing how to fireproof buildings or something, but only Izzy and Hitch were still paying attention.

"So... you wanna apply for citizenship here?" asked Nemona, who was leaning on a sofa.

"I don't see why not," said Arven, who was sat next to her. "I kinda like it here... though we should probably get our own place soon."

Nemona snorted. "Heh. We're too young to get married, but we're already thinking about buying property."

"We need money for that," said Penny, who was curled up on the floor.

"Good point," said Arven. "It's a good thing we have friends in high places." He pointed to Zipp, who was boredly looking at her folding phone.

"Huh?" said Zipp as she turned her head towards them. "You still need to earn a living somehow. Besides, I— the royal family don't have any power over Maretime Bay."

"Maybe we could get paid for being in the P-E-T?" asked Nemona.

"We'll... figure that out later," said Zipp.

Arven looked back at Nemona and sighed. "You know... We've been through all sorts of crazy stuff, but I still never thought my life would come to this. At least I can still be a cook — do you still wanna be a Pokémon trainer?"

Nemona looked down at her hands, moving her claws one at a time, before she resumed eye contact. "I don't know. Being a trainer when I'm a Pokémon just sounds weird, y'know?"

"Well, I heard you did great during the forest fire," said Arven. "Maybe you could work for the P-E-T in the long-term. As for me? I'm not so sure."

"Speaking of which, how's Pawmot doing?" she asked.

"He's fine," said Arven. "He told me he missed you while you were in Bridlewood, and right now he's helping Sprout and the others around Maretime Bay, just in case any Pokémon problems come up."

"So are my Veevees in Zephyr Heights," said Penny.

"Really? That's good to know," said Nemona. "And... thanks. To both of you."

That evening, the leaders finally reached a consensus. Sunny turned to face the camera and said, "And that's the end of the world leaders' conference! Thank you to anypony — or otherwise — who watched the whole way through, but I'm guessing most of you didn't, so here's a summary. Any Pokémon who wishes to live in Equestrian society should apply for citizenship in their local area. Only then will they be legally considered persons. It'll take a few days for the legislation to be put into place, and the offices you need to apply at will be announced later. Starting this fall, the basics of Pokémon will become a mandatory subject at all Equestrian schools, but we'll need teachers — preferably Pokémon. A series of Pokémon welfare and rights laws will come into effect over the next few months."

Then, she gestured around the table, prompting Pipp to pan the camera across. "I must thank all these guests for offering their different perspectives on these issues. If we learn to live in harmony in Pokémon, who knows how strong our magic will grow?"

And with that, Pipp ended the broadcast.

Once all the guests had left, the others raced into the studio to meet back up with Sunny and Pipp.

"You did great!" exclaimed Izzy.

"My favourite part was when you talked about updating building codes," said Hitch. Everyone stared at him. "What?"

"Can we get a head-start on the citizenships?" Nemona asked.

"Sorry, but laws are laws," said Hitch. "We can't give advantages to ponies— I mean, Pokémon we know."

"I tried..." sighed Nemona.

They all headed outside. Once Misty noticed that the sun was close to setting, she turned to face the others and said, "I just remembered! I had a dream telling me to go to the Wishing Tree in Bridlewood tonight. I think it was trying to tell me something important."

"And...?" asked Arven with his arms folded.

"Misty sometimes has dreams of the future," said Sunny. "It's how she found her father!" Misty nodded.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" exclaimed Izzy.

When the group arrived in Bridlewood, they had to wait a few minutes for night to fully fall. Once the stars were barely visible through the dense, magenta and blue canopy, breezies started to swirl around the Wishing Tree as if they were panicking, and then they flew away. A golden glow appeared in front of it, which gradually solidified until it took the form of a white and grey figure who was vaguely pony-shaped. Its legs were long and slender, its mane flowed as if it blown by a non-existent wind, and a golden wheel encircled its body. Everyone looked up at it in awe; it was even taller than Dragon Lord Spike.

Do not be afraid, it said. Its voice sounded male and female, both and neither. It was loud and all-encompassing, and seemed to both echo through their minds and vibrate through their bones. I am an avatar of the Original One. You may call me Arceus.

"You're a what of what now?" asked Izzy.

Pipp, meanwhile, hovered up and started recording Arceus on her phone.

"Now's not the time for this!" hissed Sunny.

No, she can record this if she wishes. I wish for my message to reach as many of you as possible.

Sunny stepped back and let Pipp continue.

I am the creator of the world of Pokémon in physical form. I oversee my creation as history unfolds, and almost one of your months ago, I noticed a disturbance. Due to an excess of time travel, ultra wormholes, and other anomalies, my world was swallowed up by space-time distortions.

Penny, Nemona, and Arven gasped in unison.

"S-so our world was destroyed?" Nemona stammered.

Unfortunately, yes. As I used up most of my powers when I created my universe, I was unable to stop it, but I could reduce its severity. I made sure that these distortions led to an inhabitable world, though I could not control which one, as I have limited power outside of my universe. As a side-effect, several timelines collapsed together, hence why many Pokémon have inconsistencies in their memories.

"What is space-time distortion, anyway?" asked Zipp.

I believe you have already encountered them. Space-time distortions manifest first as purple sparks, followed by rifts in the sky and a purple vortex that surrounds the affected area. Their sheer strength would tear apart any human at an atomic level, so I did the best I could to save them: I transformed them into Pokémon. For you see, Pokémon have a powerful life force that collectively forms Infinity Energy. It is what allows them to harness the elemental powers that form their types, but it also protects them from extraordinary harm. Humans lack this.

It has taken me a while to manifest in this world, but I see no reason to intervene. You are more than capable of handling this on my own. However, it is of utmost importance that my subjects understand their current situation. I hope you can work together to build a brighter future...

As Arceus faded away, he sent everyone present a vision. In Maretime Bay, Arven hugged his Mabosstiff, a grown-up Skye rode on the back of a giant birds clad in black armour, and a Chansey taught a class of foals and young Pokémon. Elsewhere in the world, bird Pokémon flew alongside the pegasus royal guards above Zephyr Heights, a pod of Finizen weaved through pale-pink kelp alongside seaponies in the Jade Sea, and several white, Ice-type Pokémon played with auroracorns in the snow of Starlight Ridge. Everyone was left with the same impression: it was beautiful.

Once that was over, Hitch said, "So... what do we do now?"

Arven shook his head. "I need to lie down and process everything..."