Chapter 85: Let's Battle Together Next Time
That evening, Alan returned to the cave with a triumphant howl. The Scyther rushed out, ready to fight whatever was making a racket at their doorstep, only to find the chubby Dragonite.
"...Scyther?" While the others were confused, his old friend immediately guessed his identity.
"Yes! I evolved!" Alan patted his belly proudly and walked over, arms outstretched for a big hug.
Duang.
His belly arrived before his hands, bouncing the Scyther away. His friend stared at Alan's trembling belly, a look of pure confusion on his face.
"Never mind that. Scyther, I've become super strong now," Alan boasted.
"Scyther," the old warrior nodded. He could tell. Yesterday, their strength was comparable. Today, he felt that all six of them combined might not be a match for Alan. He then entered the cave to get Golbat.
After coming out, Golbat recognized Alan at a glance.
"Golbat~" Alan rushed over, pulled his friend into his arms, and rubbed his cheek against him. Having arms felt so good.
"Golbat~~" Golbat went limp in his embrace, completely melting into Alan's soft, warm belly. According to the Dragon Master Iris, a Dragonite's body was as soft as Altaria's cotton—the ultimate comfort.
"Right, Scyther, I should leave Mt. Silver now," Alan said, putting Golbat down. His friend was the best he had ever made, and their bond was deeper than ordinary friendship.
"Scyther," the old warrior nodded. There was no sadness. He had seen countless companions die over his fifty years. Alan wasn't dead; he was just going back to the place, and the person, he had always missed. He was sincerely happy for him.
"Yes, I finally made it through," Alan said. "I'll take this child with me."
"Do you want to come with me?" he asked Scyther. "You and your clan would receive good treatment in the Royal Dragon Kingdom."
The Scyther was silent. He turned to look at the peak of Mt. Silver, then shook his head.
"I understand," Alan nodded, respecting his choice. Like many of Ash's Pokémon, Scyther had his own path to follow.
"Scyther," the old warrior said he would see him off.
"Okay."
As they were about to fly out of Mt. Silver, Alan looked down and saw a small lake. Memories flooded his mind. "Accompany me to a place," he said.
This lake was where he had first been reborn as a Weedle, and where he had met the eight-year-old Liz. It was where he had been reborn a second time as a Dratini and been immediately picked up by the twenty-eight-year-old Liz. It was as if a thread in the dark, spanning 20 years, had connected them.
"This place is where Liz and I first met," Alan said casually, then leaped into the water.
He lay quietly at the bottom. In a trance, he seemed to see a blurry image on the surface above. It was Liz, sitting under a tree, looking at him in the lake.
"Alan?" she seemed to call out, reaching for him.
"Liz?" Alan's eyes widened, and he shot up from the bottom of the water.
When he broke the surface, there was no one there, only the Scyther waiting quietly nearby.
"Scyther?"
"...It's nothing. I should go now. You go back too, Scyther."
"Scyther."
"Let's battle together next time."
[Inorin Note:
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