Mundanity

I've been thinking about it ever since I came down from the sky.

What if I added an anomaly?

Would it predetermine my True Champion and take everything away from the Contest?

No, there is a way I can avoid that.

Yes, this could work.

It is decided, then.

"Screw Jordan. He's just a cocky little brat."

"Mhm," Kyle hummed in response.

Kyle sat at a desk in a different classroom than that of his first period. It was now lunchtime; around 4 hours had passed since his incident with Jordan. The teacher had come in soon after and yelled at Jordan for having his Pokemon out, and Kyle was happy that he was able to get a good chuckle out of it. Both Jordan and the teacher had glared at him for it.

Kyle's best and only friend, Carol, who had just called Jordan a dick after hearing about his earlier actions, sat across from Kyle at another desk. She had a slim figure and long, straight blonde hair that hung loose and rested on her shoulders. Her eyes were the color of coffee beans.

A lot of people asked Kyle if he and Carol were in a relationship, which wasn't the case. They had gone to the same middle school when neither of them had any friends. Kyle's social skills weren't quite top-notch, and Carol had often been bullied for having more masculine interests. They had been given a group project to complete together, which was how they had met and become friends.

Neither of them really wanted to pursue a relationship at the moment, Kyle was sure of it. Even though he thought Carol was pretty and nice, Kyle didn't want to ruin their friendship.

"You know, you haven't been bringing anything to eat for lunch lately," Carol said. She stopped eating to hold up her dark red lunchbox. "You want any?"

Kyle held up his hand. "Nah, I'm good. But thanks."

Carol returned to eating her sandwich. "So," she said between bites, "It's not getting better?"

She was referring to Kyle's family's financial situation. "We're hanging in there," Kyle said.

Carol nodded. "If there's anything my family can do to help, just ask,"

"I wouldn't do that to you," Kyle said, making Carol sigh.

Kyle took out his phone and began browsing the web. Carol hadn't asked him anything about Pokemon yet. She was the first person today Kyle talked to that didn't bring up Pokemon within the first few sentences of conversation. Kyle knew She hadn't received a Pokemon either. They had texted each other during first period. Kyle assumed that both of them were too upset to talk about it at the moment.

He assumed wrong. "I'm going to catch a Pokemon today," Carol said.

Kyle sighed as he looked up from his phone. "How?" He asked.

"Simple," Carol said confidently. "We still received Poke balls, and my little brother got a Pokemon of his own. All we have to do is find that Pichu that was spotted here, have his Pokemon weaken it, then use my Pokeball to catch it!"

"You're rather optimistic," Kyle said. "I'd bet practically everyone in Sale Woods - Hell, maybe even people outside of Sale Woods - will be trying to find that Pichu. What makes you think you'll be the one to catch it?"

Carol grumbled. "You're rather pessimistic," She said.

"I prefer realistic."

"Look, there's not really any point in standing around and letting it get caught by some other trainer. And after I catch it, I can get you one too!"

"No," Kyle said. "I don't want any help."

"You do realize that by receiving a Pokemon from the CPP, you're receiving help?"

Kyle scowled at his friend.

Carol shrugged and said, "Just saying."

In PE, Kyle's final period for the day, the students were told not to put on uniforms. Many students were excited about this. Rumors had been going around that during PE, people would be able to participate in Pokemon battles.

It seems this was truly the case. The teacher informed Kyle's class that people could battle anyone they wished. Students without Pokemon could use one of the school-owned Pokemon they had acquired that day. Kyle looked over the rack of Poke balls that had been carried out. They were completely gray rather than red and white, and the words "school property" were printed on them.

Some students took these Poke balls and opened them to see what kind of Pokemon they held. It was mostly Pidgeys, Rattatas, Bidoofs, Starlys, and occasionally Spearows. All of them were weak normal types. Kyle expected as much.

More students started to borrow Pokemon to use in battles. Only a small few hadn't grabbed any, including Kyle. People might call him weird, picky, or even crazy, but he wanted the first Pokemon he used to be his own. Using a school-owned Pokemon that he'd never take home wouldn't cut it.

Therefore, Kyle simply stood by and watched as everyone else battled. Jordan easily beat everyone else with his Chimchar and was bragging the whole time. Some other trainers with their own Pokemon obviously won many more battles than they lost.

However, one trainer with a borrowed Starly only lost to Jordan and dominated every else, even those who brought their own Pokemon, which surprised everyone, including Kyle.

Few people paid mind to Kyle; they were too busy battling to be bothered by him. A few people asked him if he wanted to battle, but he refused and said he didn't feel well. Once class was over, Kyle was just about ready to run to get away. He burst through the main doors of the school as part of the large wave of other students trying to get home. Kyle's sister left school early in order to be able to work longer at her job. He would have to take the bus.

On the bus, Kyle thought about the plan he had made to make his family money. Once he had received a Pokemon, he would have needed to dedicate all of his time to training it. Once they were ready, they would have participated in Pokemon tournaments. Eventually, someone would have hosted one and offered prize money for first place. Kyle could have won the money from tournaments. He knew it had been mainly fantasy since it was very unlikely that he'd become a better trainer than everyone else in his area. But of course, he'd had a better chance then than he did now. Currently, his plan was ruined.

Deep in thought and disappointment, he almost missed his stop. Kyle stood and slung his backpack around himself. As Kyle was walking down the bus aisle, he almost tripped on Jordan's outstretched leg. Kyle glared at him, and Jordan sneered. Kyle stepped off the bus and watched as it drove away and out of sight.

Kyle began to walk home. For a reason that was beyond him, Kyle's bus dropped him off a mile from his house. He had tried once to reason with the bus driver but was only met with "Sorry kid, I don't make the rules."

He could deal with it most days. The walk gave him time to think. Right now, Kyle didn't really want to think, so the walk was quite undesirable.

While today hadn't been Kyle's best, it wasn't far off from a normal one, which was he couldn't be prepared for what happened next.

Something in the sky caught his eye, and he stopped walking to focus on it. A circle of white light was forming up above the neighborhood. He was certain that it was not the Sun; it was too big from his perspective and it wouldn't be in that position at three o'clock. Actually, it looked identical to the pictures Kyle had seen of the Arceus from years ago.

As Kyle watched, the shape began to expand until it took up an area, Kyle guessed, about the size of a house. People came out of their houses to catch a better glimpse of the circle. About ten people on the street were now watching and waiting for something else to happen.

Soon, the light began to descend like a waterfall, making a purely white cylinder in the sky. It evaded Kyle's sight as it neared the ground; trees and homes blocked the view. But Kyle soon saw it again as it enveloped nearby houses and flowed over everything in its path, including people. It reached Kyle, harmlessly washing over him. For a moment, he couldn't see anything, though his body felt as it had before the light had touched him.

Kyle didn't make any movements. He simply stood there and accepted the peaceful onslaught of the light. He was still confused, but he also wasn't afraid. He had, after all, experienced this before around three years ago. This time, however, something different happened.

Kyle couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw something in the whiteness. It was difficult to make out, but Kyle could tell it was quadrupedal, and it had something around its waist that resembled a spiked collar one put on a dog. Kyle couldn't see the specifics, but that was his best way to describe it, except the spikes were at least four feet long. Its structure looked very similar to that of a Pokemon. Could it be one?

Before he could think about it too much, the creature was gone in an instant. It disappeared into the light, which was then absorbed back into the sky. There was no sign of what he had seen anywhere, nor any signs that the light had come down. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

People on the street were getting excited, and some were taking out their phones to make calls or take pictures to post on social media. Kyle still stood immobile on the street, too dumbfounded to move.

What's going on? Kyle thought.