Gifts From Both Sides

Talonflame has been flying for many days now.

It nears its destination.

I can only hope that my gift will provide assistance.

Kyle walked down the quiet streets of his neighborhood, his shoes making imprints in the thin blanket of snow covering the ground. He had just been dropped off at his stop by his school bus and was heading home. There wasn't anybody he could see outside beside himself; everyone seemed to be indoors. Kyle appreciated that. He liked to have moments sometimes when it was just himself and open space. He hadn't gotten that lately during his walks home. Ever since the second Arceus had struck, the streets had been practically overrun.

Of course, Eve was an exception. The dog-like Pokemon moved at a trot beside its trainer, matching his speed. Kyle had made a habit of letting his Eevee out as soon as he exited the school bus and started on the road to home. He enjoyed watching Eve when it decided to dance around in the bright snow every once in a while.

A few days had passed since he had shared his plan with Marcus, who had agreed to help with payment in return. Kyle had decided that he would have to use the money he had made in return for his services to the CPP. He had successfully shipped the Dominance ball over to them and had been paid a small amount in return.

The idea of using the money he had earned didn't exactly thrill Kyle, but not because he planned to use the money on something he wanted. Every dollar he earned that didn't go towards helping his family's financial state made Kyle feel guilty. However, he had sworn that he would not allow the use of the money for his own wishes and interests to become a common practice.

Marcus had already proven himself to be worth the money. He had discovered the location of three farming facilities around the world after only "a few days of concentration and patience," according to Marcus, who had also claimed he could find the rest after a few months or so. Kyle had given up only two to Team Dominion, in addition to making sure the ones he sent over were as far out of their reach as possible. He had purposely given them the location of the facilities he knew about that were in different continents; one of the three Marcus had found was in California. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any news about Team Dominion overrunning one of the farming facilities within at least a couple of months. Their funding couldn't possibly be so high as to allow a trip like that unless they were already there.

He had already managed to receive acknowledgment of his service to Team Dominion. An admin of the Team Dominion application called Dream Eater had asked him for the locations Kyle had mentioned in his post. About a half-hour had passed after he had complied when Kyle received another message from Dream Eater telling Kyle to keep providing Team Dominion with information. They also said that a Dominance ball would be shipped to his address, which made Kyle exited. He was now one step closer to meeting his goal. He still had many steps to go, but it was nice to know he was getting somewhere.

Now, all he had to do was wait. Marcus would continue to information, though most likely much more slowly than he had initially. He had told Kyle that he had gotten a bit carried away during his first few runs through the CPP's encrypted database and that he might have lost a few hours of sleep.

His Dominance ball would most likely be arriving within a week or so. He had seen through the posts on the Team Dominion application that the production and distribution of the devices had been slowed slightly, which made sense. They had probably used up a lot of their resources during the first wave of distribution. Once Kyle had received his Dominance ball, he would be able to use it on Eve and set his false identity into stone.

Kyle turned at the end of the road and his house came into view on the left side of the street. Despite this, Kyle kept to the right and continued to walk past his house, Eve tagging along at his side. Kyle's Pokemon had been confused the first time he had done this, but it had quickly caught on. Kyle was paying a visit to the unowned house that was stationed at the address he had entered when he had created his Team Dominion account.

Kyle didn't really expect anything to be in the mailbox, but it wouldn't hurt to check. He approached the metal container standing in front of the small, unoccupied house. He put his hand on the latch and opened the mailbox.

Kyle raised his eyebrows in surprise. Inside of the mailbox was a small cardboard box. Kyle reached his hand inside and pulled it out into the light, shutting the mailbox lid as he did so. It was about as big as the box that had contained his Poke ball. Eve cocked its head upon seeing the package.

There was a note attached to the box. Kyle removed it and read it over.

To whom it may concern...

I would like to think that the reason someone is using this address is not because of something illegal that they do not wish to use their own address for. Due to this, I will not be advising any authorities.

Please do not be stupid.

-The friendly mailman and his Delibird

Kyle smiled at Mr. Roberts's note and tucked it away in his pocket. He then turned his attention back towards the unexpected delivery.

Could they have already sent me a Dominance ball? Kyle wondered. Were they really that grateful to be given that information? Kyle would have to go back to his room to find out. He couldn't open this package exposed to the eyes of his neighbors as he was. He was already a little cautious when it came to checking this mailbox.

Kyle made his way back in the direction he had come, crossing the street so he could enter his house. Nobody was home. Chelsey and Kyle's mother were both working, again. Kyle had long since gotten used to coming home to a silent and empty house.

Once he and Eve were inside, the two climbed the stairs and turned at the top. Once they were inside Kyle's room, he shut the door, let his backpack fall to the floor, and sat in his chair. Eve hopped on top of his bed and sat down as well, eyeing the box in Kyle's hands.

Kyle ripped the cardboard apart to reveal what he had expected to see, yet the confirmation still surprised him slightly. Inside of the box was a black Poke ball with the letters "TD" inscribed in gray on the top semi-sphere. Eve backed away slightly when it saw the device and Kyle did his best to put it at ease with a hand motion.

"It's fine," he said. "It's not a danger to either of us as it is." He removed the Dominance ball from the box moved it around in his palm. Eve visibly relaxed a little.

Kyle had told Eve about his plan and it had acknowledged and gave him permission to use the Dominance ball on it. Knowing this, Kyle held it up for Eve to see and pressed his thumb against the button, making the ball enlarge.

"Are you ready?" Kyle asked. "There won't be any overall change, but it might feel a little strange; I'm not quite sure."

Eve nodded. Kyle rose from his chair and took one step towards his bed to tap the Dominance ball on Eve's head. The Pokemon was gone in a flash of light, disappearing into the depths of the device. Kyle felt the Dominance ball working in his hand, overwriting codes and creating new ones. Then it was done. The ball shrunk.

Kyle pressed his thumb against the button once again and watched as the Dominance ball enlarged for the second time. The ball opened and Eve was released once more. It sat up on the bed and seemed to stare at nothing. Kyle guessed it was evaluating how it felt. After a few moments, Eve's eyes fell on Kyle's face, and it smiled. Nothing seemed to be amiss.

Kyle returned the smile. Good, he thought. Glad that worked out well.

Kyle reached into the pocket of his dark blue jeans and pulled out his phone. He turned it on, unlocked it, then opened the Team Dominion application. As he had expected, there was a notification in Kyle's inbox. He opened it.

Congratulations!

You have successfully stolen a Pokemon using our product, the Dominance ball! You may now call yourself a member of Team Dominion with confidence!

Now, the time has come for you to select a name. Our theme usually revolves around you and your Pokemon's signature move, so keep that in mind! Enter your username below and submit.

Kyle didn't hesitate. He entered and submitted his username.

Welcome to Team Dominion, Judgement! A new notification read.

Leader looked at his computer. He had been told the hacker's ID by Luke, and he had been monitoring the account ever since during his spare time. He was re-reading his post for just about the millionth time when he noticed something.

The member's username had changed. It had been his ID only a moment ago, just like everyone else who lacked a Dominance ball. But now, it was something different, which meant the hacker had received his Dominance ball and caught a Pokemon. Quickly, too.

Leader grinned. "Why, hello there, Judgement."

Kyle was doing his math homework when he heard the noise. It had been rather quiet before then. Eve was resting on the bed. The only sounds were the ceiling fan blades slowly revolving and the pieces of paper fluttering in the artificial wind. Suffice to say it certainly disrupted the peaceful environment.

Then, suddenly, there was a thunderous noise just outside of his window that shook the entire room. Kyle jumped and fell out of his chair while Eve leaped at least four feet away from the window.

Cursing, Kyle pushed himself to his feet, using the chair for support. He moved towards the window and looked around. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. There was nothing Kyle could see outside. Had it been a bird that had hit his window and fallen?

Just as Kyle was about to turn around and exit the house to check the yard for anything unusual, a large, orange and black shape occupied the view through the window. It slammed against the glass, surprisingly without breaking it. Kyle fell backward again and let even more curses fly from his mouth.

Kyle picked himself up and looked out the window again as the shape continued to bang itself against his window. After a few moments, Kyle was able to get a good look at it.

It was a Talonflame, and it seemed to be carrying some kind of package wrapped in leaves. Kyle was surprised to see it here since he knew it couldn't be wild; he would've seen reports on the news and it wouldn't be carrying an object like the one it had in its talons. He also didn't know anyone in his area that owned a Talonflame. So what was it doing there?

Eve had regained composure and was now indicating the window lock with one of its paws. Kyle raised an eyebrow.

Why would I let it in? Kyle thought. That thing would probably tear my room to pieces!

Eve gestured once again, more firmly this time. Kyle sighed in submission. You better be right about this, he thought as he opened the window.

Kyle backed away and braced himself in the case Talonflame came barreling inside like a wrecking ball, but there was no need. Talonflame ceased its frenzy and floated inside with relative grace. The window was a little small and Kyle was just now noticing how exhausted Talonflame looked. Kyle recognized how fortunate it was that there was nothing inside the room too close to the window, though papers were sent flying due to the flapping of wings.

Talonflame dropped the package on the floor in the center of the room, then immediately collapsed on the ground. Kyle closed the window before cautiously stepping over to examine the bird-like Pokemon's condition. He wanted to be ready in case it suddenly burst into sudden movement.

The Pokemon was still alive, which Kyle had to check just to be sure. It didn't appear to be injured, either, only exhausted. It made Kyle wonder how long it had been flying or if it had simply been making haste. Whichever it was, Kyle decided he would simply let it rest until it was ready to leave.

He turned back towards the package on the floor. The only logical thing to do now was to open it. If a Talonflame had to furiously throw itself against his window to get his attention, the package was probably worth examining. Kyle nealt down and picked up the bundle wrapped in leaves. It was smaller than the other box he had recently opened; it was about as large as a football.

Something else bothered Kyle. The leaves on the package were still relatively green and at the same time felt and looked real. It was winter where he was; there were no green leaves anywhere near his location.

Where did this come from? Kyle thought to himself. He then looked at Talonflame, who was passed out on the floor. Not only that, but how far did that Talonflame fly?

Kyle recalled how Eve had insisted that the Talonflame be let inside. He held up the package to it as hopped down from the bed and started pacing around Talonflame, then Kyle. "Do you know what this is?" He asked.

Eve made a series of motions and facial expressions that Kyle couldn't make much sense out of. The best conclusion he could draw was that it didn't know what was in the package, but it could sense something about it.

Kyle ripped the leaves free and opened the bundle. There was a surprising amount of layers made up of leaves in the package; it took a minute for Kyle to remove them all. By the time he had reached the center, the floor of his room was strewn with individual leaves.

As Kyle removed the last leaf, the interior of the bundle was revealed to him. He cocked his head, unsure of what he was looking at.

There were eight of them, and they looked almost exactly like marbles. They were the same size and they had the same kind of pattern in design. However, these looked different from ordinary marbles. Each of them had something inside that was moving. Kyle could best describe it as a cloud of mist inside each one that was moving around. Four of the marbles contained white mist while the other four held dark gray mist.

In addition to these strange objects, there was a leaf that was larger and a different color than the rest. While the others had been green, this one was light gray. Kyle hadn't seen a leaf that color before in his life. He picked it up and turned it over in his hand.

Kyle raised an eyebrow when he saw writing on the back of the leaf. It wasn't just any common writing, however. The letters glowed slightly in white.

"What the hell is going on here?" Kyle muttered to himself. He read what the leaf had to say.

Before I begin, I would like to establish your trust in me by explaining one of your memories. When I descended for the second time, we had a slight encounter. You saw me standing in front of you as I saw you standing in front of me. Then I left, and you proceeded to forge your own bond with one of my children only a few moments later.

Now that I have established my credibility, I may begin.

Within this package, you will have noticed eight small, round objects. I believe the best name to give them would be candies, since that is the name your species has given to certain sweets. I do believe that they are very similar, in both looks and method of usage.

The naming, however, is meaningless. Call them whatever you would like. What is more important is the power within them.

I would firstly like to recommend that you separate the light ones from the dark ones, as they have different uses. I shall be using terms that your species developed for us in the hopes that it will help you understand.

The light candies hold power that allows a Pokemon to gain thirty levels worth of experience by consuming them.

The dark candies hold the opposite effect. It negates the effects of the light candies, draining the Pokemon of the extra experience. They will not, however, drain any more experience that has been provided by the light candies, nor will they have any effect on a Pokemon who has not consumed a light candy.

I believe that these will assist you in fulfilling your "judgment."

Give one of the light candies to your Eevee, then use the dark candy when you feel it is necessary.

The other six shall go to whoever you wish to help. I see that you often spend time with the same two people…

As for the final set? I believe we both know someone who is powerful enough to assist you.

Good luck. What you are attempting is dangerous to you, but possible. I believe you will be on the right track by the time this reaches you. I will be looking forward to watching you succeed. For the good of both Pokemon and those bonded to them.

Kyle blinked once when he had finished reading, unsure of what exactly to think. There were too many thoughts crossing his mind to focus on them all. Eve watched him curiously as he thought. He picked one question and settled his concentration into it.

It knows English?

No, not that one. Kyle decided it best to keep looking for a question that might actually hold some importance. He found another question.

This is from the thing I saw that day? Kyle thought back to when he had seen that strange creature in the light of the second Arceus. The creature that had inspired the name of Eve's signature move with the vibe Kyle had received off of it.

It's contacting me? Kyle thought. He looked at Talonflame's sleeping form once again. It sent that to deliver this to me. But how? How could it get to-

Kyle realized that there must have been a third Arceus a few days ago. It had to have been somewhere rather remote, too, or else it'd be all over the news. There were already too many more people around Kyle's house from the second Arceus. Kyle found himself feeling grateful.

So it must want Team Dominion taken down as much as I do, Kyle thought. That's why it sent me these candies. It also must mean that it sees me as capable. That's a nice thing to think about.

Now all Kyle had to do was to decide who would help. Carol and Adrien were definitely on the list. Even the message had clearly mentioned the two of them. However, he still wasn't sure if they'd be willing to help him do something like this. He knew that it wouldn't be because they didn't want to help, he just wasn't sure if they wanted to put themselves in danger. There was no guarantee they'd come out unscathed. Kyle would have to ask anyway and hope for the best.

As for the other set, Kyle had a feeling he knew who the message had been talking about. He considered it for about a minute.

Finally, Kyle sighed, knowing what was the best option. While he and Jordan hadn't gotten along in the past, Kyle knew that Fireball was strong and would be a big help. He also knew that Jordan had massively changed his personality for the better lately. They would both simply have to throw their issues with each other aside. This might even make them friends. Like the others, he might not want to do something so risky, but Kyle would ask him anyway.

Kyle picked up the candies and looked around his house for a container to place them in. He settled on a small plastic bag and placed the candies inside, securing them. He picked up the leaves in the room and threw all but the one with the message outside. He put the light gray leaf on his desk.

After a few hours, Talnflame woke up and didn't destroy too many things in Kyle's room before he managed to open the window and set it free. Kyle watched as it flew off in the distance and out of his line of sight.

After Talonflame left, Kyle picked his phone up off his desk and opened his message app. He texted the group chat with himself, Carol, Adrien, and Jordan, asking if they wanted to hang out during the weekend. Kyle would use that opportunity to explain to them what he was planning and how they could use the candies.

Everyone responded, accepting Kyle's offer. Jordan's acceptance had come a little slower than the others'.

Kyle nodded to himself. He turned to Eve, who was eyeing the candies on Kyle's desk.

Thirty levels, he thought. What will that be like?