Chapter 70: Friends
In the dense forest, the Scyther flew forward unsteadily, blood still seeping from the slash across its left eye. It was in extremely poor condition and could lose consciousness at any moment. It had to find a safe place to rest, and fast. This area was close to the outer ring; it wanted to return to its clan's original territory to recuperate for a while.
"Hey!"
A voice suddenly came from behind. The Scyther's gaze sharpened, and it spun around, taking a battle stance. When it saw Will, its eyes widened, and the light within them seemed to dim.
Its instincts told it that in its current state, it was no match for this behemoth. It was probably going to die here.
"Scy... ther..." the Scyther hissed, trying to sound threatening in an attempt to scare Will away.
"Don't be nervous. I mean you no harm."
"Scyther?"
"Looking at you now, it'll be hard for you to survive in this forest. I don't know where you're going, but with your injuries, I don't think you'll make it. Why don't you come with me? I'll save you," Will said, standing his ground and staring at the Scyther.
In a situation like this, it was best to keep a certain distance, giving the other party the mental space to think. Rushing forward would only startle it, causing it to stop thinking and react rashly.
"Scyther? (What's your motive?)"
"Motive? Probably because I've been bored lately," Will frowned, then tilted his head and added after a moment, "Oh, right. Let's try to survive in this forest together from now on."
"...Scyther," the Scyther hesitated for a moment. It flexed its scythes, a ferocious grin spreading across its face, and then nodded in agreement.
"Come with me. My place is close. I have berries there that can help you recover."
Will's face lit up with joy. He turned and led the Scyther to his cave. About ten minutes later, they arrived.
"This used to be a bear's territory, but I took it. Eat this," Will said, pulling a few berries from his food stash and handing them to the Scyther.
"Scyther," the Scyther nodded in thanks. Having lived in this forest for decades, it naturally knew that these berries were good for healing injuries. It ate them immediately, and its trust in Will grew.
It was not, after all, an inexperienced Pokémon like Blaze or Scorp; it wouldn't trust others so easily. Although it had never left Mt. Silver, its mind was far more mature than the other two's. Blaze was born in a peaceful forest on the plains where the average power level was low. Scorp was born on an isolated island occupied by its own clan. Neither of them had experienced any real danger or darkness growing up.
But this Scyther had been fighting for survival in a perilous ancient forest like Mt. Silver since it was young. The dozens of scars on its body were all mementos of lessons learned the hard way. It had nearly died at the hands of other Pokémon several times. Their mentalities could not be compared.
"And this. Grind this grass into a powder and sprinkle it on a wound. It stops the bleeding quickly," Will said, taking out a handful of herbs from a corner. He used his tail to hold a rock and crush the herbs, squeezing out their juices, and then unceremoniously slapped the paste onto the Scyther's left eye. It was a trick he had learned from Liz. Humans were truly efficient at using natural resources, a skill they had learned through generations of trial and error.
"SCYTHER!"
The Scyther was stunned for a moment, then its body began to tremble violently. The pain made it roll on the ground in agony, but after only two or three seconds, it sat back up, drenched in sweat.
"Feeling better?" Will asked with a smile. He had studied this stuff in his spare time. He had discovered that it was likely the raw material for future items like "Potions" and "Super Potions." In the Era of Leagues, these were made into convenient, multi-use spray bottles. He remembered in the anime, when Pikachu got a scrape, Brock would spray a Potion on it. It would sting at first, but the scrape would heal almost instantly.
"Scyther," the Scyther nodded. Although it was still in bad shape, it felt much better than before. At least now it didn't have to worry about fainting or dying at any moment.
"Scyther?" the Scyther asked, looking at Will curiously. It didn't seem to have ever seen him, or even a Pokémon like him, in this forest before. Of course, it was also possible that its clan moved around so often that they had simply never crossed paths.
"I came from outside the forest. I just arrived not long ago, to train and get stronger."
"Scyther?"
"Yes. I want to protect some people, but I feel my strength is still not enough."
"Scyther," the Scyther said, indicating it understood. It then began to tell its own story.
The more Will listened, the more he admired the Scyther, because it was a lot like him. More accurately, it was a lot like his past self, the Beedrill.
When the Scyther was first born, it was in the outer ring of Mt. Silver. It was all alone, surviving by stealing territory from Caterpie and Weedle. It had been chased by Pidgeotto and Fearow, nearly becoming their food several times. Later, it met other Scyther, conquered them with its strength, and gradually formed a clan. After that, it realized the constant threat from humans in the outer ring and decided to move its entire clan deeper into Mt. Silver...
Although the Scyther told its story concisely, Will knew it must have been an incredibly difficult journey. It must have endured countless hardships to get to where it was. Will had only lived as a Beedrill for a short time, but he had lived cautiously every single day. The Scyther, with its nascent intelligence, would have suffered even more.
"Aren't you bitter that your position as leader was stolen?" Will asked curiously. He couldn't imagine what it would feel like. In his past life, he had died long before any of his subordinates would have had a chance to rebel. Besides, he had Wally. Wally was extremely strong and talented, even stronger than him at the beginning, and second only to him later on. Because Will had saved his life, Wally was fiercely loyal. Any other Beedrill that wanted to usurp his position would first have to consider if they could survive a fight with Wally.
"Scy... ther..." the Scyther lowered its head, a look of resentment in its eye. The results of decades of hard work—how could it be willing to just hand them over to another? It had hoped to one day step down on its own terms, not be beaten and cast out.
"It's fine. We'll get stronger together, and then we'll go back and kill them. I'll help you."
"...Scyther!" The Scyther looked up at Will and then nodded firmly.
"Scyther?"
"You want to hear my story? Hmm, alright. It all started when I was in a small lake..."
Will paused for a moment, then decided there was no harm in telling the Scyther about his current life. And so, in the cave, a Dragonair and a Scyther told each other their stories, sharing the sights they had seen as they had grown.
In that moment, Will felt a strange feeling in his heart. He had made his first true friend in this world. The first, and the only one. Their meeting had been a coincidence, born from his boredom, with no other motive. This was different from anyone else he had met.
Liz was family, a loved one.
Iris, Blaze, and the others were more like juniors, or underlings.
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