Prologue

Oh, hello.

My name's Ulrich Sigous, I don't know if there's anything interesting to say about me. I've never liked talking much, but people seem to enjoy talking to me a lot more than I think they should. I can explain my reasoning simply.

I've moved around a lot in my early years. I would make friends for a year and lose them the next. It hurts moving away from people you've become close to, suddenly breaking off links, forming more, then losing it all again. So, I just stopped trying to make friends by the age of ten.

By the time I was thirteen my parents had finally moved up high enough in the corporation they worked at to stop travelling. However, I had already given up on sociality, I was scared that once I made friends that I would lose it all again. This was a rule I lived by for the past four years, the only exception I made was for my Kricketot who I've had for as long as I can remember.

Because of my demeanor, I was and I still am labelled anti-social by society, their reasons are pretty clear to me. I don't talk much, I'm not good-looking or particularly smart, and I can count how many friends I have with one hand. However, my friends always seem to enjoy talking to me despite these facts for whatever reason.

That one year I spent in middle school wasn't good or bad, however it was uneventful to say the least. It made me realize something about my life. I had my pokemon like everyone else, I wasn't threatening people to give me their lunch money or being threatened, and I didn't receive awards. My lifestyle was different from the lives of everyone else and ordinary at the same time. I would walk in, soak up information, and walk out. I didn't stay after school to join any teams or club, I didn't stay behind to watch or take partake in any pokemon battles which happened frequently outside the school. I wasn't happy with it, but I was content.

It was when I entered high school that I actually talked to someone. No, it wasn't because he noticed something special about me or anything, he just wanted to talk. It started off as idle chatter about teachers we shared, he did most of the talking. He introduced himself to me as Raymond, and I returned the gesture. That same day, Raymond introduced me to his friends, Gabrielle and Michael. I was awkward around them, and I made a fool of myself several times over that day, every time I did they would just laugh and smile at me.

I told myself it was pity, even though I knew it wasn't. Seeing what I wanted to believe made my life easier, or at least that's what I thought.

It was a week after I met them that my perspective changed, I was walking with Raymond, Michael, and Gabrielle when I noticed the whispers I heard behind my back. None of them were derogatory, but hearing people talk about me was nauseating. Why did I have to be the subject of so many random conversations?

"I heard that in middle school he didn't have any friends."

"It's because he never talks, right?"

"Someone told me that he spends every night at his house alone."

All of these statements were true, but hearing it from another person's mouth made me feel like I was being pressed against reality. The words made me feel sick on the inside, only because I didn't want to swallow those facts and accept the truth.

I stopped walking and lowered my head to look at my feet. Raymond, Michael and Gabrielle stopped to look at me when they realized I was no longer walking. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they were confused, and after a few moments of silence they picked up the voices I had been hearing.

This was when I thought they'd leave me and continue home, or maybe they'd just tell me to keep walking. I was wrong, and this memory makes me smile even today.

"Shut up." Michael said. His voice caused me to jump in surprise and the kids that were talking turned their heads and looked at him with confusion on their faces.

"You shouldn't talk about someone you don't know, is what he's saying." Gabrielle explained. The gossipers just shrugged and walked away. The rest of the walk was quiet, and it wasn't until we were about to part ways that I said my thanks.

Raymond simply replied with the four words which make me smile even today, "what are friends for?"

As the rest of the school year passed, I gradually began to return to how I was before I closed myself off, and when the last day of school ended, I thought to myself that my life was finally normal again.

But, it was exactly the opposite. That summer was the end of the ordinary for me, my friends, and everyone else who managed to get involved in the trial that was given to humanity.