Chapter 194: Staying for Three Years
In short, it was a "he said, she said" situation. Neither Meowscarada nor the Scizor would back down.
"Meow!" Meowscarada finally had enough and beckoned to the Scizor. The meaning was clear: Let's fight. Whoever loses, apologizes.
Will shook his head. He couldn't believe she had the nerve to suggest that. Her current level was 54. While she was no match for him, she was stronger than most other Pokémon. And this Scizor was less than a year old and wild. How strong could it be? This was, in every sense of the word, bullying.
"SCIZOR!"
But the Scizor was a hothead too and agreed without hesitation.
The battle began.
Ten seconds later...
The battle ended.
Will had thought that since the Scizor had agreed so readily, it must have had some strength to back up its confidence. He hadn't expected it to be pure confidence. Its level was probably only around 25. Even with an absolute 4x type resistance to Grass-type moves, it couldn't block Meowscarada's attacks.
"Scizor..." the Scizor said, lowering its head in defeat and apologizing to her.
Will felt a little sorry for it. It was just sleeping, got stepped on, got beaten up, and then had to apologize. It was so innocent.
But what made Will curious was how this Scizor had evolved from a Scyther.
"Meow," Meowscarada crossed her arms and nodded. Although this Scizor was rude enough to sleep in the middle of the path, it knew how to honor a bet, which was worthy of acknowledgment.
"Scizor?" the Scizor asked, getting up and humbly asking Meowscarada for guidance. He wanted to get stronger, too! Strong enough to leave a story behind, just like his ancestor.
"Meow?" Meowscarada scratched her head. She had only really thought about "how to get stronger" when she was little, back when she thought evolving would let her beat up Will. When she evolved and found she still couldn't, she had gradually given up. After that, she just did whatever Will told her to do.
"Scizor?"
"Meow-meow," she said, pointing at Will. Her meaning: He's the reason I'm strong.
"SCIZOR!" The Scizor immediately switched targets and came to Will.
"...You get stronger by battling constantly. There's no shortcut on this path," Will said with a shrug.
Though, there were shortcuts. The future evil organizations had developed techniques to make Pokémon stronger quickly, but the side effects were obvious: either they consumed a massive amount of lifespan, or the Pokémon would lose its mind.
"Scizor," the Scizor nodded. This was no different from what it already knew. It just felt that having a high-level senior to guide it was better than training blindly on its own.
"You want me to... guide you?" Will raised an eyebrow.
"Scizor," the Scizor bowed, its attitude very sincere.
"Hmm... we're heading to Laverre City. If you have nothing else to do, you can follow us. I can give you some pointers along the way," Will said. As long as it didn't delay his journey, he didn't mind.
"Scizor!" The Scizor quickly nodded and followed them.
...
On the road, the Scizor told them about its ancestor. A thousand years ago, near Laverre City, its ancestor had been like a guardian deity. At that time, Laverre was a small town that mainly grew tea and berries. But its landmark was a mysterious, 1,500-year-old giant tree in the center of town.
Many mushrooms grew on the tree's trunk, and when ground into powder and mixed with other plants, they could emit a wonderful fragrance. This was what the city would later become famous for. But a thousand years ago, these mushrooms had attracted a massive number of Bug-type Pokémon. They went to war over the tree, and the crops of the human residents were devastated.
At that time, a mysterious traveler who had arrived with a southern trade caravan sent out a powerful, though aged, Scyther, which drove away all the Bug-types. The people of the town worshipped it and even built a statue of it under the tree. That was this Scizor's ancestor.
He had heard this story ever since he was born, and it was why he had a desire for strength that most wild Pokémon lacked. The fact that he had managed to evolve with a "Metal Coat" wasn't just luck; he had actively searched for the item after hearing from humans that it could make him stronger.
"...Hmph," Will listened, a little dazed, and smacked his lips. He had never expected that a thousand years later, in this foreign land, he would meet a descendant of his old friend, the Scyther.
He felt a deep sense of gratitude and debt to that Scyther. In his past life, if it hadn't come to his aid, the Alpha Beedrill would have defeated him, broken through the capital, and Sakaki's plan would have succeeded. The Gligar island would have become a barren wasteland. The jade bottle in Azalea Town would have been lost. The diary fragment in Eterna City would not exist. And Liz... she would never have been able to travel the world and fulfill her dream. He, too, would never have been able to make up for his past regrets and promises in a new life.
And more than that... the Scyther had spent the rest of its life protecting Liz in his stead, traveling all the way from Johto to the northernmost part of Kalos.
"...Did your ancestor... leave Laverre City in the end?" Will asked quietly.
"Scizor," the Scizor shook its head. According to the legend, his ancestor was already very old by that time. He felt he could no longer escort the human woman across the next vast ocean, so he had stayed in Laverre and lived out the rest of his life there.
"Was he... happy, in his last days?"
"Scizor?" The Scizor looked confused, then shrugged. "...Scizor."
How could it possibly know? It only knew that the most common paintings of its ancestor in Laverre City depicted him sitting alone at the port, gazing out at the northern sea. Some said he was worrying about the woman who had left. Others said he was homesick for his homeland.
...
For the rest of the journey, Will was silent for a long time. It was only when they arrived at the entrance to Laverre City that he made a decision.
"...Meowscarada, we're staying here for three years," Will said, looking at her.
"Meow?!" she stared at him. This was so sudden. She couldn't understand it at all.
"We'll train hard here for a while. And... I want to train him," Will said, pointing at the Scizor.
"Scizor?!" The Scizor's face lit up.
"Meow?!" Meowscarada, on the other hand, glared at the Scizor. This red bug... when did it feed Will a potion?
"Alright. For the next little while, you two need to get along. No more fighting," Will said, rubbing Meowscarada's head, and then rubbing the Scizor's.
The Scizor froze, stealing a glance at Will. His parents had left him not long after he was born, telling him he had to survive on his own to become a strong Scyther. He had almost never been petted like this. He felt a little awkward, but considering they would be together for three years, he didn't mind.
"Meow?" Meowscarada looked at Will with a dejected expression. Since he had already made up his mind, she had no choice but to stay.
"We'll rest in the city and train outside of it. Meowscarada, you need to train hard too for these next three years," Will said, tapping her on the forehead. He had been too lenient with her these past few years, and her growth had slowed to a crawl.
"Meow..."
...
Three years passed in a flash. It was now the beginning of League Year 29.
On the northernmost port of Laverre City, a Sceptile sat alone. At first, the people of the city would come to gawk, but after he had been forced to beat up a few of them (and Officer Jenny had done nothing), they had learned to keep their distance.
"That Sceptile's been sitting at the port, staring at the sea for years... do you think he's been possessed by the ghost of that ancient Scyther?" the locals would whisper.
"In the past, Lan died at sea, so Scyther always had a fear of the ocean... he was old, and he probably sensed he couldn't make the next journey, so he decided to stay in Laverre forever," Will said, watching Liz's phantom. He didn't know who she was talking to. Or perhaps... she was talking to him.
Her hair was now completely gray, and her face was lined with wrinkles. She was no longer the beautiful young woman of the past, but the gentleness in her eyes had never faded.
"...It's about time to go."
Will stood up and headed for the forest east of the city. Meowscarada and Scizor were usually there, training. In the past three years, his own training hadn't fallen behind. He had befriended the local fishermen, who had taken him out to the deep sea. Any large creature they hooked, they would let him take care of.
Now, Will's level had steadily entered the Elite Four tier. He was Lv. 71 and four meters tall.
He entered the forest. He saw Meowscarada and Scizor, just as he'd expected, surrounded by a swarm of Ariados.
Will grinned. It had been a long time. He and his old friend, Scyther, had also been surrounded by an Ariados swarm, just like this.
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