Vitalism
History: Vitalism is believed to have originated in Kalos around 1400 years ago, when ideas of who should be worshipped began to shift from Arceus towards other deities. Today, Vitalism maintains a strong following in Kalos and has been noted in most regions around the world.Beliefs: Vitalism explains that even though Arceus created the world, he did not create life itself. Instead, Arceus created Xerneas and tasked it with creating life. That’s exactly what Xerneas did—Xerneas brought forth all of the plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. However, there was no check to Xerneas. The world became overcrowded, and with eternal life there was no room for progression. Because of this, Arceus then created Yveltal. Arceus purposefully created Yveltal to be selfish, apathetic, remorseless, and constantly hungry for life energy, so that it never develop any qualms with taking life. This would force life into a cycle. Xerneas could create life, Yveltal existed to take it. The world would never become too crowded, new designs for living things could be freely created, tested, replicated if successful, and removed if unsuccessful.
And yet, the cycle of life was not perfect. Xerneas and Yveltal constantly fought for control. To counter Yveltal’s hunger, Xerneas would produce new life faster than ever. This would only make Yveltal lust for more life energy. Vitalism explains that Arceus foresaw a great falling out would occur if he did not intervene, and created Zygarde to act as a balance between the two. Zygarde is said to rest somewhere deep, deep underground, where it monitors the world’s ecosystems. If biodiversity in an ecosystem becomes too great, or a population becomes too large and risks itself or another species, Zygarde is said to step in and cull the numbers. If an ecosystem is on the verge of collapse due to the loss of a keystone species, Zygarde finds a way to sustain and rebuild the ecosystem. Zygarde is said to also step in and settle disputes between Xerneas and Yveltal, to prevent world-threatening catastrophic battles from happening.
When it comes to the afterlife, Vitalists retain the traditional Arceist beliefs. When a person dies, they receive judgment from Arceus and are either sent to heaven, the Distortion World with Giratina, or the Nightmare Realm with Darkrai.
Xerneas is seen as a benevolent and generous god, and is praised for its love of the world and its affinity to breathe new life into it. Yveltal is seen as malevolent, but it is not hated. Yveltal is seen as a necessary evil. According to Vitalism, Death cannot exist without Life, and Life must not exist without Death. Zygarde is praised and worshipped for maintaining the balance between life and death.
Place of Worship: Because Vitalism is based in Arceist tradition, Vitalist Priests spread their teachings through churches.