▌ABOUT SOULMATES

[ARCEUS]

As so many outsiders have been coming into Aniferna within the past couple years to help us with the Unifi problem, I have taken it upon myself to write up and publish this pamphlet. Playfully called "Aniferna 101" while I was writing it up, it contains the results of much of my research into the greatest mystery Aniferna has to offer, the Soulmate. It is put into as easy terms as I could possibly find without it sounding too patronizing. Hopefully this will help shed some light on the confusions you have regarding Aniferna.

- Sophie St. Clare, Researcher

▌Just what is a Soulmate?

A soulmate is a human's soul, manifested in physical form outside of (or inside of, in terms of a shifter) a human's body. They are exclusive only to Aniferna, so that means you must have been born in Aniferna or have two parents from Aniferna to possess a Soulmate. Soulmates can communicate telepathically with their humans and with other Soulmates--not with other humans, though. They are also able to sense other Soulmates around them, and tell the difference between a Shifter and a human that just doesn't have a Soulmate. More details on Soulmates can be found below.

▌Can Soulmates evolve?

Soulmates are the physical manifestation of a human's soul outside the body. So, that means, if a Soulmate were able to evolve, it would mean that a person's soul would have to undergo a drastic change as well, as a Pokemon's evolution is a drastic change within the Pokemon. So, while it would be considered "technically" possible should someone go through a drastic enough change, there have been no documented cases of Soulmates evolving, and as such, we will just say no, that they cannot.

▌Can I battle with my Soulmate?

While I would not recommend it, people battle with their Soulmates all the time. It is possible, but should your Soulmate be knocked out, you will usually be knocked out as well (and if you aren't, you will be on the verge of losing consciousness). And don't even get me started on what happens should your Soulmate die...

▌Can you keep a Soulmate in a Pokeball?

No. Soulmates are not normal Pokemon, and thus, cannot be contained within a Pokeball like a normal Pokemon. They remain perpetually by the human's side.

▌Well, how do water-type Soulmates move around, then?

Well, if it's a Soulmate that can walk, it walks, obviously. But if we're talking about something like Milotic, Gyarados, or Seaking, it moves by "swimming" in the air beside their human. It does not need water to survive, since it's obviously not a normal Pokemon.

▌What about Shifters?

What about them? Shifters are, in the easiest terms I could find, a failed splitting of human and Soulmate. They can do everything a normal human can, except instead of having a separate being, they shift into their Soulmate. They can be trainers, coordinators, all of that, it's just unusual to see a shifter using itself to perform in contests or battle--especially with the risks that battling can bring. Shifters are also able to mentally communicate with the Soulmates of non-shifters, though they are unable to mentally communicate with other shifters.

▌Legendary Soulmates? Shiny Soulmates?

Both exist, they are just absurdly rare. To this day, I can still count the amount of Legendary Soulmates I have either heard of or read of in old documents with one hand. I have had the pleasure of meeting a shiny Soulmate with my own eyes once before, when I was just a little girl, but, according to her human, she was, as far as they knew, the only shiny Soulmate within all of Aniferna at the time. So while both exist, they are extremely rare.

▌What about genderless Soulmates?

Genderless Soulmates were once believed to not exist at all. However, as of late, there have been a few that have appeared. Aside from Legendaries, which supposedly do have genders, genderless Soulmates seem to appear to those who are uneasy with the gender they were born in. It seems to be a bridging between what they are born as and what they are most comfortable as. Though they exist, they still are fairly uncommon.

▌How are Soulmates determined?

They represent the true nature of a human. So, from how I see it, Soulmates are determined based on a person's personality. Someone who is gentle, sweet, and playful might have a Skitty, while someone who is fierce, domineering, and arrogant might have a Nidoking. Arceus is said to take a person's soul at birth, split it from their bodies, and allow the soul to manifest in the form of a Pokemon. So, the soul itself chooses its best fit.

▌What is this "Unifi"?

Unifi is a group of criminals that have appeared in Aniferna within the past couple years. Their ultimate goal, according to what I have heard, is to "unite body and soul." Their method of doing this? Killing the Soulmate. It seems any method that would kill a human or normal Pokemon will work in killing a Soulmate. While they firmly believe that this allows the person to unite with their soul once more, what it is actually doing is depriving the body of a soul. The person becomes a shadow of who they once were, and most appear to lose all sense of individual will, as, like Mareep being herded by a Houndoom, they follow Unifi blindly.