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Review: Rival Me This

Rival Me This by ImberLapis

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Slice-of-Life

Chapter Length: 10 Chapters, Complete

Update Schedule: N/A

Quote: "That's because I don't let what happened dictate everything I do. ... Well, I do, but not as much as I used to. You know why? It's because I know I can't get rid of it. It's always going to be there, because you can never truly dismiss your past."- Silver

What readers think:

"This is more like how I imagined their relationship to be LOL" certifiedbreadstick

"CUTIE FKDKDKSKSKS I WILL DIE FOR THIS CHILD" an-tan_

"Aaa I loved this story sm! It was such a fun ride!" starfallsylveon

Warning: I've gotten the okay to do Spoilers for this book, and while I don't touch up on a lot, I don't hold back on them, so tread with caution if you haven't read this book.

Rival Me This is about three Trainers: Blue, Silver, and Bede. Silver is working for Blue at his Gym, and since Bede is in the middle of learning the ropes of what a Gym Leader is like, he has to shadow every Gym Leader in a region of his choice. He chooses Kanto. You can probably tell that trouble is going to brew when Bede (a know-it-all, thinks he's better than everyone else, kid) has to train under Blue (the original rival of the Pokémon games with the same mentality, or somewhat the same mentality) for three days. Surely nothing can go wrong, right?

Of course not. That's what makes this story so interesting. Between these three, strong-minded Rivals, they are surely going to butt heads. I'm glad to see this struggle. Blue just wants to do his best to help Bede, but he doesn't want to lose his values. Bede doesn't want anything to do with Blue (or adults in general) because he thinks he's always right. As for Silver, well, he just wants his paycheck and for these two to stop the tension.

Honestly, I really enjoyed how Silver was portrayed. Out of the three, I figured he would be the most level-headed, and surely enough, he was. He was the person to create peace between Blue and Bede. It wasn't easy, but he was very chill about it all, and I enjoyed reading that.

This brings me to the moral of the story, something this writer does a very good job in with all her stories. I can always expect that when I open one of her books that I'm going to learn something from it, and this book is no different. There were many valuable lessons that could be learned: people change, don't hold onto your past, and many more. The biggest take-a-way I took from this story was learning how to apologize and forgive. These are two things many people struggle with, including myself. We all want to be right and never admit that we are wrong, even if it was something that seemed small. I'd like to believe this is human nature, but there's a problem with that train of thought. If we kept those types of tensions up, and keep believing in our own rights without putting what other people have to say/think into consideration, things are going to get awkward and things will never get better for anyone.

Blue and Bede come to realize this, but they struggle realizing this too. Obviously, they try to avoid each other at all cost and not let their differences bother them (but it does). This is when they realize they have to apologize, especially since they'll be working with each other when it comes to the League meetings they would have to attend in the future (well, once Bede is officially Gym Leader). And it's not just a one sided, half-uh-given apology either. It's one that truly shows that both Bede and Blue were sorry about what they did. For Blue, it was shown in giving Bede the rematch he wanted, while Bede started calling Blue Mr. Blue. It's a small act, but it shows that they truly meant what they said, making it easier to forgive. That's something that isn't easy, but it helps alleviate future tension that could happen between to two, and I absolutely loved that. Even more, I loved it because it was a unique take that isn't shown much in Pokéfics.