Judgment
He has a good heart but often refuses to listen to it.
He will forever have ability, but he will forever have conflict.
She drew power out of the sea and wrapped it around herself.
He saved it, not because he wanted it for himself, but because it was right.
As soon as the doors were closed, everyone cheered. Kyle had lost the battle, but he had won the war with strength in numbers, numbers he'd never dreamed would rush to his aid. He and Carol thanked everyone that approached them, and people complimented Adrien, as well, for making his stand first.
The referee said he wouldn't report the incident but that everyone should keep their mouths shut when talking to the teachers or staff. Everyone agreed.
Kyle thanked Adrien last after everyone had mostly cleared out. It was almost time for class to start. Kyle had completely forgotten that he still had school to finish after the battle. As he was thanking Adrien, Carol approached them both, Scarf wrapped around her neck.
"Wait a minute!" Carol exclaimed. "I thought I recognized you!"
"What? You know him?" Kyle asked. Adrien suddenly became very interested in his Pichu, which was beside his leg, giving off a few sparks now and then.
"Yeah!" Carol said. "He's in almost all of my classes. He always sits in the back and keeps out of everyone's way, but people always notice him because he's literally the smartest one there! He always has the highest test grades and his English essays are unbelievable! He probably has the highest grades in the school!
"We worked on a project together, once. He had so many ideas and all I could do was give only a few contributions. But when we were presenting it, he looked like he was about to pass out! He said that he gets a lot of anxiety, but I'm sure to everyone else he looked fine since he's able to hide it so well. But come to think of it, it's a miracle that he was able to stand up to Jordan in front of all those people."
Kyle examined Adrien's odd behavior closely.
Wait, he thought. Is he blushing?
Adrien was, in fact, blushing. His face had gone red with the number of compliments Carol was giving him, and at the embarrassment of being called out for his nervousness during presentations.
Kyle took that instant to connect Adrien's current behavior with the way he was acting when he had first entered the gymnasium. It had all started when Carol had been there.
Hold on, Kyle thought. He couldn't . . . he doesn't like her, does he?
Kyle had respect and gratitude for Adrien, which is why he didn't tackle him right there and demand to know how he truly felt about Carol. So he did his best to keep his composure and act as if he hadn't noticed anything. He would deal with the issue another time.
The trio talked for a little bit longer before heading to class. Carol and Adrien went one way to go to their English class, and Kyle went another. As Kyle walked through the halls, people waved and greeted him or complimented him. This had never happened before; people usually just passed him by. Kyle realized as he reached his classroom that it felt good just to be complemented by people, even if he had lost.
Students in Kyle's classroom were watching the fight on various videos posted online. Kyle smiled as he looked over the shoulder of one kid and saw his Eevee shooting out beams of light at Fireball. He heard people talking about the fight among their friends.
"Hey, there he is!" Someone said.
Before Kyle could even get to his seat, he was swarmed by people asking about the battle and his Eevee. Kyle smiled over the volume of their joined voices and opened his mouth to answer all of their questions.
"Woah," Mr. Roberts, the mailman, said. "Ain't that something,"
"Yeah," Kyle said. "I haven't decided on what to call him yet, though. I just can't think of anything fitting for it."
"Hm. Well, you know," Mr. Roberts began, "people name their Pokemon to make them unique, right?"
"Yeah. What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that by not naming your Pokemon, you are already more unique than everyone else because everyone will be naming theirs. Or you could simply call it a name close to its species name. Take my Delibird, for example. I call it Deli rather than giving it a name. I like it better that way."
Kyle nodded. "You know, that makes sense," He said. "Maybe I don't have to give it its own unique name."
"Exactly," Mr. Roberts said.
Kyle and Mr. Roberts stood on Kyle's street early in the morning. It had been almost a week since his Eevee had lost to fireball. Since then, his Eevee had been growing in experience as Kyle trained it in battle. Eevee was currently trying to balance packages on its head so it could help Delibird deliver the mail. It was a rather amusing sight.
"Anyways, have you two been in any battles?" Mr. Roberts asked.
"A few," Kyle responded. I've only lost one, so far, but I've been undefeated since. I'm not planning on losing my streak anytime soon."
"That's the spirit. Your mother will surely be grateful. Proud, too."
Kyle nodded. He had it all figured out. He would keep training Eevee until it was strong enough to enter in tournaments. There, he could earn the cash he needed to help support his family.
"And you said it's special?" Mr. Roberts asked.
Kyle grinned. "Very."
"Good luck to you, then," Mr. Roberts said.
"Thanks."
"So, how's Jordan doing? I noticed he wasn't here today, again," Kyle asked.
"He's pretty upset about last week. Probably won't be back for a while."
"Ah."
Kyle and Adrien sat on the bleachers watching the Pokemon battles occurring on the gymnasium floor. It was the final period of the school day, and he and Adrien were waiting for a chance to battle.
"So anyway," Kyle said, "I wanted to ask you something else."
"What?" Adrien asked.
"How long have you known Jordan?"
Adrien raised an eyebrow.
"I can tell you've known him longer than you've let on," Kyle said. "So when did you two meet?"
Adrien hesitated before answering, "Since elementary school, actually. He was my closest friend, back then. Then he started hanging out with 'cooler' people. That's when I became sort of a lone wolf."
"Then he just started inviting you to hang out with him?" Kyle asked, hiding his surprise. He hadn't expected the answer to be as early as elementary school.
"Here's the thing," Adrien began. "Jordan and I talked a lot last night over text, and he opened up to me. That incident where everyone turned on him made him crack, I guess. I think he's a nice guy, but he hides under a false and hostile persona he developed years ago. It turns out he felt really bad about leaving me behind. He told me that the friends he made weren't real friends, so he wanted to hang out with one: me. But his persona had taken control, and he couldn't bring himself to ask me if I wanted to be friends again. Jordan was afraid of getting rejected by me after what he'd done. So he waited. For years, as it turned out. I showed my skill in Pokemon battles, and he used an offering to catch me a Pokemon as a cover for wanting to hang out with me."
"So that's why you have a bit of influence over him," Kyle concluded.
"Yeah."
"And he wasn't mad? About you turning on him, I mean."
"A little," Adrien said. "I don't blame him. After all, I did break the deal I made to stand against him. But he didn't seem too upset. I asked him about it, and he told me not to worry. He said he deserved it for his actions."
"Did he say anything else?"
"He did. He wanted to apologize to you. He told me that he wanted to be friends with you, too, when the two of you first met. But it just didn't work out like that. He'd been influenced by the people he'd hung out with before, and so the two of you became enemies instead of friends. He was actually planning on giving you his Chimchar if you ended up winning the fight."
"Wow," Kyle said, honestly surprised. "Never saw that coming. Does he still want Eevee?"
Adrien shook his head. "No. He's content with his Chimchar. He understands how powerful it can be. But he was wondering something, and I have to say, I'm a little curious too. What was that move? The one where your Eevee shot out beams of light?"
Kyle leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "Did you ask Carol about it?"
"Yeah."
"What did she say?"
"She said it'd probably be better to ask you."
Kyle nodded. "I don't know. I'm going to figure it out though, or I'll just make it my own move. CPP should be contacting me soon about it."
The two fell into a brief period of silence as they continued to watch the battles.
"Alright, one more question," Kyle said, growing serious. "I have to know. Do you like Carol?"
Adrien didn't react like Kyle thought he would. He was calm and collected as Kyle finished his question, rather than surprised or panicky. Adrien took a moment to think before answering.
"Yeah, I do. She was really nice to me when we met. Did she tell you that when we were assigned that project, we had to find our own partners? Nobody wanted to be with me, but she came right up to me and offered to be my partner. I could tell it wasn't because she thought I was smart, even though it felt nice when she told me I was. She said that I looked lonely and needed a friend. I really needed to hear that, at the time.
"But I know how you feel, too. Which is why I'm not going to go looking for a relationship with her. I don't think I could handle one with my current mental state, anyway."
Kyle looked over Adrien in surprise. He hadn't expected to hear that. He had also expected it to be a lot harder to convince Adrien that Kyle and Carol both probably liked each other.
"Mental heath?" Kyle asked. "What do you-"
"Hey," Adrien said, pointing, "There's an area opening up."
Kyle looked out onto the court. There was indeed an area opening up. Two students had just finished their battle.
"Alright," Kyle said, grinning. I finally get a chance to beat you."
Adrien chuckled slightly. "If you say so."
It was around two in the morning when Kyle's phone buzzed from his nightstand. He slowly opened his eyes, waking from a deep sleep that had been interrupted. He placed his hand on the nightstand and fumbled around until his fingers found the smooth texture of his phone case. He grabbed it and pulled it over his head, squinting his eyes in the bright shining light.
He had received a message from the CPP. Kyle snapped awake. He sat up in his bed to a sitting position and unlocked his phone, full of excitement. He opened his email and the message. It read:
Name: Parker, Kyle
Trainer ID: 000493
Mr. Parker,
It seems you have filed a report about an issue concerning one of the moves in the Trainer Tracker. I have personally done my research and found that there is no move an Eevee learns at level four, which is what I believe was the level the Eevee was when it learned the move. Could you send a description of the move from your perspective, please?
Bradley Pine
Professor and Programmer of Trainer Tracker
Kyle sent a description of the move, using the specific words "beams of light." It was about an hour before the response came. Kyle had been falling back asleep when his phone buzzed. That had taken a while. Kyle wondered what the wait meant. He opened the email. It had the same heading as the last, but with a different message:
We were unable to find a move that fits this description. Therefore, I have determined that this is a new move none of us at the CPP have seen before. I reported this to my superiors, and they determined that you should be the one to name this new move and create the description for it since you discovered it. What would you like the move to be called?
Kyle flopped backward onto his bed. A new move? It was unbelievable! He had discovered it, too! But what to call it? Kyle tried to think. Lightbringer? No. Illuminator? No. Galeem? Definitely not. Then Kyle thought back to what had given the move to Eevee. Kyle thought about what he had seen inside the Arceus, and how it had made him feel. Kyle sat back up and began typing a message. When he finished, he sent it. It contained only one word.
Judgment.
End of Part One