Chapter 73: The Squad Grows
"Scyther," the old Alpha spoke, stopping the new leader who was preparing to leave.
"Scyther?"
"Scyther, scyther," the old Alpha said a few words, then turned and left.
Will glanced at him but didn't say anything, simply following him. The other Scyther, including the new leader, looked at each other, at a loss, and watched their old leader walk away.
Having a stronger leader for the clan was, of course, something all the Scyther were happy to see. But they had never expected that after defeating the new leader, the old one wouldn't reclaim his position. Instead, he had just told the new leader to shoulder his responsibilities well, and then left.
"Scyther."
"Scyther!"
From among the twenty or thirty Scyther, five who also looked to be quite old, nearing the end of their prime, stepped forward. They waved goodbye to the new leader and then followed in the direction the old one had taken.
They hadn't wanted to leave the clan; otherwise, they would have left with him the first time. Their children and descendants were still in this swarm, and staying with so many comrades increased their chances of survival in Mt. Silver.
But just now, watching the battle between the new and old leaders, seeing their old leader's heroic and valiant figure, they were reminded of the memories of following him into battle, long ago. They had been together for decades. Even in the face of great danger, their old leader had never abandoned them. So, now that they had a second chance to choose, they still wanted to follow him, even if it meant starting over from scratch, or dying in battle somewhere.
On the other side.
"Why didn't you go back to being the leader?" Will asked curiously.
He had originally thought about living with the Scyther clan as a "guest elder" or something. That way, he would never have to waste time gathering food again, and he wouldn't have to sleep with one eye open at night. However, he wasn't too surprised by his friend's decision. It was like in the story he had told him; after the hero got his revenge, he didn't go back to thinking about his old fiancée.
"Scyther," the old Alpha shook his head, his figure looking a little lonely.
He had only wanted to wash away the humiliation of his defeat and show his clan that he was still the strongest. As for the position of leader, he had gradually let go of it over these past few months. Opportunities should be left for the young. He was not young anymore. At his age, it was difficult to improve his strength, and in a few years, it would even begin to decline.
The new leader was still in his prime, the peak of a Pokémon's strength. He still had a long time to grow and would one day surpass him and defeat him again. Rather than waiting to be defeated once more then, it was better to be graceful today and proactively give up the position, demonstrating his magnanimity.
"Hey, a few of your clan are following us. Your old partners, right?" Will noticed the Scyther catching up behind them. Judging by their appearance, they were clearly not young, perhaps even a bit older than the one beside him.
"Scyther," the old Alpha said, turning his head. Those were the companions who had fought their way with him from the outer ring of Mt. Silver into the middle ring.
"Scyther, scyther," the other Scyther said, catching up and explaining their intentions. They wanted to continue to follow their old leader.
"Scyther?" the old Alpha frowned. He didn't look happy, but instead turned to ask for Will's opinion. He was no longer alone; he had to consider his new companion's thoughts.
"Isn't it a good thing to let them join? This way, what happened yesterday won't happen again," Will said. He thought it was a great idea. He had always been a firm believer in "strength in numbers." From his past life as a Beedrill building a clan, to this life catching Pokémon for Liz... He had even thought about finding some underlings for himself in Mt. Silver, but the problem was he couldn't find any other Dragonair or Dratini, and the other species in the middle ring all had their own swarms.
That was why he had been all alone until he met the Scyther, who had also become a loner. Now, their two-man squad could expand to a seven-man squad. This was a great thing; there was no reason to refuse. In the future, when he came home exhausted after a day of battling, he wouldn't have to maintain such a high level of alertness and could finally get some proper rest.
"Scyther," the old Alpha looked at them, then nodded.
By a strange twist of fate, he had become a leader again, only this time, the clan was very small. But this "small" was only in the context of the Era of Primal Beasts.
In the future, not just the Scyther clan, but many other Pokémon swarms would shrink. As the pressure of survival drastically decreased, there was no longer a need for them to band together. With their naturally strong racial advantages, they could live comfortably alone and were no longer willing to submit to others. This is why in the future, humans would rarely see Scyther in groups outside of mating season. In the wild, a squad of three Scyther was already a rare sight. Most of them acted alone.
Of course, there might have been other, unknown reasons for this.
Back at the Scyther swarm's territory, a major event was unfolding.
"Scyther?!" Many of the Scyther looked at their new leader with expressions of disbelief.
"Scyther," the new leader had made up his mind. Ignoring the protests of his clanmates, he turned and left alone.
He believed that the old leader had become so strong because of the growth that came from acting alone. Today's defeat had left him extremely unwilling to accept his weakness. So, he decided to emulate the old leader, to go out and survive on his own, using pressure to force himself to become stronger!
"Scyther..."
"Scyther."
"Scyther?"
The other Scyther were suddenly left without a leader. They stood around in a daze, looking at each other. Gradually, some of the more ambitious Scyther left on their own. They thought the new leader had a point and wanted to learn from the old leader's example and survive alone. It might be difficult, but without difficulty, how could one become stronger?
The number of clan members gradually dwindled. The remaining weaker and more timid Scyther didn't dare to act alone, so they formed small squads of two or three and scattered.
A change had begun, starting with this one Scyther clan. Over the next thousand years, the Scyther that scattered today would gradually change the nature of all Scyther in the Johto region, and even the world.
But setting aside the future for a moment, just when Will thought the day's excitement was over, something he had never expected happened.
Will and the six Scyther stood in the cave, staring at a loss for words at what was inside.
"No... what kind of deadbeat parent leaves their egg on my bed?"
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