Servine's wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Scyther, cut it off!"
Scyther's eyes focused sharply, its whole body tensing up. With a single swing of its scythes, the vines were sliced into several pieces.
Seeing that Scyther was about to break free, Brighton immediately ordered Servine,
"Servine, bind it with Vine Whip!"
Two vines shot up rapidly from Servine's back. Scyther, who had just broken free, tried to dodge by accelerating, but one of its arms was still caught by the vines and pulled down hard to the ground.
The two Pokémon began to wrestle for control.
Seeing this, Eichi's lips curved slightly into a faint smile.
"In that case, Scyther, pull Servine toward you."
"Servine, hold on tight, don't get dragged away!"
Scyther suddenly exerted all its strength. Servine's face changed drastically as it was yanked up from the ground.
According to official data, Scyther weighed 56 kilograms, while Servine was only 16.
There was a full 40-kilogram difference. Servine could never outmatch Scyther in strength.
"Servine, use Leaf Blade!"
As it was being pulled forward, bright green blades appeared in Servine's hands.
"Scyther, use Vacuum Wave!"
Already prepared, Scyther swung its twin scythes. White light burst forth, cutting through the air toward Servine.
The two Pokémon collided fiercely with a loud bang.
Energy was scattered all around, and smoke filled the air, before being slowly blown away by a gentle breeze.
A single figure was thrown out of the smoke. Both trainers focused their eyes.
It was Servine. In that head-on clash, it had been overpowered.
Eichi's confident smile widened. He had expected this.
This Servine was just like Teacher Arno's Delibird back then: it knew many moves, but had poor mastery of them.
The advantage of many moves was versatility, but the drawback was low power.
Scyther, on the other hand, knew fewer moves but had mastered them completely.
Each of its attacks carried tremendous strength.
"Scyther, now, use Vacuum Wave!"
Servine struggled to stand, but Scyther's Vacuum Wave was already approaching.
"Servine, use Energy Ball!"
Servine steadied itself, opened its mouth, and gathered its remaining energy into a bright green orb.
It fired the orb at Scyther. The Vacuum Wave struck the Energy Ball, and both attacks canceled each other out.
Scyther followed up immediately with another Vacuum Wave, rushing toward Servine.
Brighton didn't panic. He calmly gave another command.
"Servine, use Substitute!"
Substitute consumed part of Servine's stamina to create a copy that could take hits for it.
Scyther's Vacuum Wave struck Servine head-on, but it didn't even flinch.
A moment later, its entire body vanished.
It had been a Substitute. The real Servine was already gone.
Scyther looked around, scanning the battlefield for its opponent.
The instant it turned its head, a shadow appeared behind it.
"Scyther, behind you!"
Servine had already prepared its Leaf Blade, but Scyther was faster. Even if it reacted slightly late, it didn't matter.
"Leaf Blade!"
"Vacuum Wave!"
Both trainers shouted at the same time.
Servine's Leaf Blade struck Scyther's body, while Scyther's Vacuum Wave hit Servine.
Both Pokémon were injured and stumbled back, each retreating several meters.
They glared at each other, both barely standing, waiting to see who would fall first.
The air turned still and heavy. Only the faint rustle of wind could be heard.
Eichi and Brighton held their breaths, eyes locked on their Pokémon.
A second later, Servine could no longer hold on. With a pained cry, it collapsed onto the ground.
Scyther exhaled in relief, then struck its scythes together and let out a victorious roar toward the sky.
Eichi smiled in triumph. "Good job, Scyther."
"Come back, Servine."
Brighton looked a little downcast as he recalled Servine. He spoke softly to the Poké Ball.
"You worked hard, Servine."
After taking a deep breath and adjusting his mood, he walked up to Eichi with a smile.
"I lost. Your Scyther is really strong."
Eichi replied, "Your Servine was great too. At the same level, this is the toughest battle Scyther's ever had."
***
The two of them moved to a flat spot nearby and started talking.
Brighton said, "After all that battling, I realized I still don't know your name."
Eichi replied, "Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yoshino Eichi, from Viridian City. You can just call me Eichi."
Brighton nodded to show he understood.
Eichi then asked, "Judging by your accent, you're not from the Kanto region, are you?"
Brighton smiled. "I'm from Unova. You've heard of it, right?"
"I have," Eichi said. "But Unova is pretty far from Kanto."
Brighton continued, "My family has some business ties here in Kanto.
It's only been in the last few years that travel between Kanto and Unova has opened up.
I got bored staying at home, so I decided to come along for a visit."
Eichi asked, "What about your family?"
"They're in Vermilion City on business," Brighton replied. "I just came out here to travel a bit nearby."
"But honestly, your Scyther is really strong."
Eichi chuckled. "That little girl trains hard every day. That's how it got this strong."
"Yeah," Brighton agreed. "Without all that practice, no one could reach this level."
He paused for a moment, then asked, "I noticed your Servine knows a lot of moves."
Brighton laughed. "Speaking of Servine, I think I really need to reflect on that."
"I got Servine a little over a month ago. Back then, it was just a Snivy."
"When I first caught it, all I wanted was for it to learn as many moves as possible.
I thought the more moves it had, the stronger it'd be."
"But today's battle made me realize I was wrong. From now on, when I get back, I'll focus on training it properly."
"Thanks, Eichi."
Eichi waved it off. "Don't mention it."
Brighton checked his watch. "It's getting late. I should head back."
Then he suddenly looked serious. "Eichi, would you say we're friends now?"
Eichi was taken aback by the sudden question.
Looking at Brighton's sincere eyes and expression, he smiled.
"From now on, we're friends."
Brighton showed a faint, curious smile.
***
Viridian City.
At the Verdant Breeding House, Amelie was sitting in her office reading documents when her communicator suddenly rang.
She picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sis, it's me," a man's voice said from the other end.
"Archie? Where are you? I've been waiting for days, you know?" Amelie asked.
Archie chuckled awkwardly. "Hehe, I'm at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City."
"Alright, stay put. I'll head over right now."
After ending the call, Amelie let her coworkers know, then left the office.