Brand new Apple Pencil gen 1 will not work with iPad 10

I bought a brand new Apple Pencil gen 1 to use with my 10th generation iPad & no matter what I do I cannot get them to work together. First, they will not pair naturally, I had to download a third party app (light blue) to get them to connect, which in itself is ridiculous. Then even once the iPad says it’s connected in the Bluetooth settings it will not respond to the pencil. I’ve tried every tip, trick, & piece of advice that I’ve found, short of factory resetting my iPad which I refuse to do. I specifically didn’t buy a cheaper off brand assuming that Apple would be the best integration & am so frustrated that it’s this difficult & appalled there isn’t a resolution despite this issue going on for years. Do better Apple!