On the boy's fifteenth birthday, the same scene unfolded, with him sitting alone at the dining table in the hall.
On the table were gifts and a cake with a single candle.
The boy lit the candle, then stood up and turned off the hall lights.
He silently made his birthday wish—the same wish as always.
"I want a friend…"
A friend who will always stay with me…
Perhaps sensing the boy's strong desire, the gift on the other side of the table began to tremble.
Drawn by the movement, the boy reached out and tore open the wrapping.
Inside the box was a brand-new Poké Ball.
With trembling hands, the boy excitedly picked up the Poké Ball.
Feeling the Poké Ball shake, the boy's eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.
Had his wish… come true?
The boy pressed the button in the middle of the Poké Ball, and a brief flash of white light illuminated the dark villa.
A silver-white Beldum appeared beside the boy.
The boy's expression shifted from excitement to shock, then to delighted surprise, as he embraced the Beldum.
The excited boy kept talking to Beldum, though it seemed to understand very little.
It only knew the boy was very happy, and its front eye slowly curved into a crescent shape.
In the days that followed, the boy and Beldum were inseparable.
They read together, admired stones in the collection room together, exercised together, and went mining together.
After Beldum appeared in the scenes, it was always with the boy.
The boy's smiles became increasingly common, and Beldum was clumsy, often making mistakes.
Each time, the boy would smile and pat Beldum's head, then clean up its messes.
The boy never blamed Beldum once.
Slowly, Beldum's identity transitioned from friend to family member…
The scene ended when Beldum evolved into Metang under the boy's proud gaze.
"They are very similar to you, aren't they?" the white-dressed girl said softly.
Indeed, Scyther often made mistakes too, but in its memory, its trainer also looked at it with such caring affection, then silently cleaned up the messes Scyther left behind.
Scyther itself used to face that person's joyful laughter every day.
Inseparable from him.
However, looking at it this way, that Beldum seemed even clumsier than Scyther.
"Do you want to give yourself another chance?"
"A chance to… believe in humans again."
"I won't change your mind. I just want to hear your thoughts."
Scyther remained silent for a moment, then spoke:
"I don't know…"
The white-dressed girl said calmly, "These scenes are memories I copied from his mind and projected here."
"I can confirm that his feelings for Pokémon are genuine. That cannot be faked."
"This is your mental world. You should also be able to judge whether I am speaking the truth or lying."
"Mm…"
Scyther nodded. It could sense that what it had just witnessed, and what the girl said, were all true.
However, it really didn't want to take another gamble.
"I cannot use Future Sight, but the one who controls the future… is you."
"I cannot copy the memories of people not present. But from the content of your memories, I don't think your trainer would abandon you so easily."
"It's highly probable he had his own difficulties."
"And your 'journey' is not over yet."
"You haven't found out the truth of the matter, have you?"
"Don't you want to know the truth?"
Hearing this, Scyther's eyes gradually regained their luster.
Raising its gaze to meet the girl's, Scyther said solemnly:
"I don't know who you are, but I know what you say is true."
"I… want to know the truth of what happened back then!"
The white-dressed girl's lips curved slightly, and she chuckled softly. "This is more like you…"
Gradually, the white-dressed girl's figure became ethereal, disappearing into the empty dark space.
"Thank you all…" Scyther lowered its head, looking fondly at the young Pokémon.
The young Pokémon, with smiles on their faces, turned into white light and merged into Scyther's body.
The black mucus covering Scyther's body seemed to be provoked, becoming violent.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—
The dark space gradually brightened. The black mucus on Scyther's body made a sizzling sound as if being burned, accompanied by a heart-wrenching shriek, slowly melting away…
Steven suddenly felt the pain subside and stood up, breathing heavily.
His first instinct was to turn and look at the anxious Metagross.
"What just happened to me?"
"Metagross!"
Metagross shook its head. Even with its Psychic abilities, Metagross hadn't detected anything unusual with Steven's body.
"You were worried, huh…" Steven patted Metagross's arm, forcing a weak smile.
"But it seems I'm fine now?"
Steven looked up at the Scyther across from him.
Its aura was rising higher and higher.
Scyther had its eyes closed, head tilted upward, but a slight smile played on its lips.
The Pokémon, seeing this, slowly retreated to a safe distance.
"It looks like it's taken that step," Steven said, somewhat surprised.
Scyther's current state likely meant it had crossed the barrier of the Elite rank and leaped into the Alpha rank.
"Cha…"
Scyther exhaled, opening its bright, spirited eyes.
It lowered its head, looking at Steven.
"And thank you for your memories."
A voice exploded in Steven's mind, startling him.
No matter how he thought about it, that voice must have been Scyther's, right?!
"Cha…" Scyther lowered its head and said something to the group of young Pokémon.
"Now I can't hear what Scyther is saying again?"
That last part really confused Steven. What exactly was going on?
Thank you for my memories?
My headache just now—was that Scyther's doing?
That shouldn't be possible. Scyther isn't a Psychic-type or Ghost-type. How could it do something like that?
Scyther slowly walked toward Steven.
Although its aura was impressive after its recent breakthrough, Metagross didn't sense any hostility.
It took a step back, leaving Steven to handle things himself.
"Huh? Metagross, why are you backing away?"
Scyther nodded slightly to Metagross. Behind it, the group of Pokémon were unusually teary-eyed.
What in the world… is going on?!
Scyther walked up to Steven. The Scyther, standing just over 1.5 meters tall, was still a head shorter than Steven.
Steven lowered his head, and Scyther raised its eyes.
The human and the Pokémon gazed at each other.
Scyther stared intently into Steven's eyes, a hint of a smile appearing on its face.
Indeed…
Scyther nodded at Steven, its smile and actions leaving Steven utterly bewildered.
I don't think I did anything, did I?
Scyther, which had been so hostile toward me just moments ago—how did it suddenly undergo such a drastic change?
Steven looked back at Metagross, hoping for some guidance.
He saw Metagross also nodding slightly at him.
What the hell?! Why are you nodding too?
Am I the only one who doesn't know what happened?!
"You've decided to come with me?" Steven asked tentatively.
Could it be that his brief speech earlier really touched Scyther's heart?
But judging by its previous reaction, it didn't seem touched at all. It looked like it wanted to tear him to pieces, didn't it?
"Cha." Scyther nodded in response.
I need to become even stronger to find the truth of what happened back then!
Scyther turned its head to look at the teary-eyed young Pokémon.
It seems I can no longer continue to protect you.
But you have grown up…
You can protect yourselves now…
Goodbye, everyone.
Scyther raised its scythe, pointing it at Steven's waist.
"I understand. Although I haven't figured out the whole story, welcome to the team, Scyther."
Steven took out a Poké Ball and placed it in front of Scyther.
Scyther's scythe gently tapped the button on the Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball snapped open, drawing Scyther inside with a beam of red light.
Ding!
The Poké Ball didn't even shake once, emitting the sound of a successful capture.
He definitely needed to teach Metagross how to communicate better!
That way, he could find out the whole story and why Scyther suddenly wanted to become his Pokémon.
Steven walked toward the group of young Pokémon, stopping in front of them.
"I will take good care of Scyther. When I have time, I'll bring it back to visit you all!"
Saying this, Steven bowed slightly.
"Trust me!"
Instantly, the forest echoed with emotional cries.
And inside the Poké Ball, Scyther watched the young Pokémon who had always accompanied it, tears in its eyes.
Keep up the good work, everyone!