"These are the Pokémon you deposited at the Pokémon Center."
Steven accepted three Poké Balls from Nurse Joy, who wore her signature professional smile, and first took his team to have lunch.
As a courtesy, he told Cynthia about how thrilling the Gym battle had been.
In Petalburg City, he had a second objective...
Steven arrived at the Petalburg City police station.
"Officer Jenny!" Steven found Officer Jenny during her lunch break at the station.
"May I help you?" Officer Jenny set down her lunchbox, her expression turning serious.
"I'm looking for someone named Aran. Could you help me find him?"
Officer Jenny clasped her hands on the desk and asked, "What's your reason?"
"This person, Aran, is the former Trainer of this Pokémon. I want to know his whereabouts." Steven took out Scyther's Poké Ball and released it.
Scyther nodded respectfully to Officer Jenny.
Officer Jenny thought for a moment, then nodded and stood up. "Follow me."
"Thank you very much!"
Officer Jenny led Steven to a computer and typed in the name "Aran."
"Does he live in Petalburg City?" Officer Jenny's fingers moved constantly across the keyboard as she asked for more details.
"Yes. I heard he moved to Petalburg City a few years ago."
"Is this the person?" Officer Jenny angled the computer screen, revealing a photo of a smiling, cheerful young man.
"Cha!" Scyther's pupils constricted, and it responded immediately.
"It seems we found him." Steven could tell from Scyther's reaction that this was the right person.
"His residence is..."
Inside its Poké Ball, Scyther felt somewhat dazed. The matter that had troubled it for years was about to be revealed today.
Steven checked the address carefully to avoid any mistakes.
"I'm going to ring the doorbell, Scyther."
Scyther's Poké Ball shook slightly, indicating it was mentally prepared.
Steven pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong—
The echoing chime felt almost unbearable in the silence.
Click...
The door opened to reveal a woman with graying hair.
"Yes? May I help you..."
"Hello. Is this Aran's home?" Steven smiled politely.
The woman froze, stunned for a long moment.
"Hello?"
"Ah! Yes... Are you a friend of Aran's?" The woman snapped back to reality, showing an apologetic expression.
"I'm not, but this Pokémon is." Steven lightly pressed the button on the Poké Ball at his waist, and Scyther materialized before the woman in white light.
Steven suddenly paused, then showed a faint smile.
Scyther's eyes were glistening with tears.
This Pokémon recognized the woman before him. That meant they'd come to the right place.
He hadn't expected Aran's home to be so close to where Scyther had been waiting.
Though it raised a question—if Aran's home had always been in Petalburg City, why hadn't Scyther known the address?
"You are... that Scyther?" The woman's eyes welled up with tears as she covered her mouth in disbelief.
"Cha..."
"It wants to see Aran again! It wants to know why it was left behind." Steven explained gently.
The woman's clasped hands trembled slightly. She raised a shaking hand to open the door fully.
Steven's gaze was immediately drawn to a photograph on a nearby table.
The person in the photo was the same cheerful young man he'd seen on the police computer earlier.
However, this photo was framed in black and white.
Which meant Aran had already...
"I'm truly sorry, Scyther." The woman suddenly showed a sorrowful smile and apologized to Scyther.
Scyther, still processing the news of Aran's death, turned its head blankly, looking at the woman in confusion.
"Aran's health was always very fragile. It only started improving after he met you," the woman slowly explained.
"I thought Aran's condition would gradually get better, but I never expected his health to suddenly deteriorate one day."
"Aran cared about you deeply. He hid his illness from you because he wanted to travel with you... So after we moved here, he chose to leave you in Petalburg Woods, waiting for someone who could fulfill his promise to you."
Steven realized that Aran had left Scyther in Petalburg Woods even before settling into their new home after the move.
"For Aran's selfish actions, I am truly sorry!" The woman bowed deeply to Scyther.
From Scyther's perspective, Aran's actions were selfish—he'd hidden his illness and hadn't even let Scyther stay by his side during his final moments.
But it was undeniable that Aran's affection for Scyther had been genuine.
...
On the outskirts of Petalburg Woods, Steven sat on a cliff overlooking the ocean—not far from the beach where he'd watched the sunset with Skarmory and the others.
Scyther stood behind Steven, with a plate of donuts resting at its feet.
The Trainer and Pokémon watched the sunset on the distant horizon in silence.
Scyther now understood the truth of what had happened.
"Cha..."
Seriously, how could you be so selfish?
Even if you hid it from me, I never meant to blame you...
Before he died, Aran had said he wanted to be free and travel to various parts of the world.
So his ashes were scattered over the ocean at sunset, carried by the sea breeze to wherever he wanted to go.
When the sun had completely set and the last rays of light were swallowed by darkness, Scyther broke the silence between itself and Steven.
"Cha."
Steven turned around and met Scyther's resolute gaze.
Bang, bang, bang—
Metagross, Skarmory, Lairon, and Piplup appeared behind Scyther.
Now, it had new companions too.
Unlike its time alone in Petalburg Woods, these were both teammates and family.
"Poga..."
Even though we haven't known each other long, and you're pretty intimidating—not like my bond with my best friend—but...
Metagross reached out and pinched Piplup's round face, stopping it from rambling further.
"Cha." Scyther smiled with relief and nodded to Steven.
Seeing this nod, Steven had a slight suspicion of what it meant, but he still looked to Metagross for confirmation.
When Metagross also nodded, Steven retrieved a box of Metal Coats from his bag.
These weren't leftovers from Skarmory and the others. Steven had prepared these specifically for Scyther.
They were even higher quality than what Skarmory and the others used—truly premium grade.
It had been said before that if Scyther still wished to follow Steven after learning the truth, then it should evolve—become a new version of itself, free from the past.
At this moment, Scyther had made up its mind.
Steven pulled out the Metal Coat, wrapping it carefully around Scyther's body in layers.
When the Metal Coat in his hand was completely used up, Scyther's body began emitting a dazzling white light in the darkness.
The white light slowly dissipated. Scyther's originally green body transformed into crimson armor, and two pairs of translucent wings appeared on its back. Unlike its previous wings, these were slightly smaller and shaped like butterflies.
Its two scythe-like arms lengthened into giant red pincers, with patterns resembling eyes on them.
"Welcome to the team, Scizor." Steven smiled and extended his hand toward Scizor.
Scizor slowly smiled, raised its giant pincer, and gently touched Steven's palm.
"Ha-ha!"
I'll take Aran's place and witness the highest peaks!
"Poga?!" Piplup suddenly perked up.
Officially joining the team? Does that mean... my ranking just went up by one spot?!
At those words, the three other Pokémon all turned to look at Piplup with incredulous expressions.
Scizor tilted its head, regarding the boastful Piplup with a cool stare.
It gave a calm response.
On this team, strength determines hierarchy.
"Poga?!"
Then I'm still at the bottom?!