"What a treat~"
Of course, Scyther knew what Tetsuya was going to say. After twenty days together, the bond between man and Pokémon had grown strong.
Scyther knew this human well—knew that he was talented, calm, and that every suggestion he made was thought out. Rational. Fair.
But still, it was unacceptable.
So, before Tetsuya could even speak, Scyther shook its head.
A quiet, firm rejection.
Tetsuya sighed and smiled wryly. He had to give up.
He had been trying to convince Scyther to join him, if only temporarily—to continue mentoring Combusken, who had now fully evolved into Blaziken. The training had been going well, but there was still a long road ahead. He'd even thought of where Scyther could stay and how it would fit into their travel plans.
But Scyther had its pride, and its own path. It had made its decision.
Even now, as Blaziken stood tall beside Tetsuya and the rest of his team, ready to set off for their next destination, Scyther hadn't changed its mind.
Tetsuya understood. He respected it. He wouldn't force something that wasn't right.
Sure, with his current strength, capturing Scyther wouldn't be difficult.
But what would be the point?
"Blaaaze~"
Blaziken glanced at Scyther, a trace of reluctance in its eyes.
Scyther looked back, then shook its head again, expression calm but resolute.
"Scy! Scy-ther!" it barked suddenly, flapping its blade-like wings and leaping into the air.
"Wait!"
Tetsuya called out, quickly pulling a small bag from his pack—prepped and ready.
"I made these for you. Energy cubes. Eat them sparingly—they'll last you a good while."
Scyther hovered for a second, then swooped low to hook the bag with one clawed foot. It hovered again. Then, in an uncharacteristically formal gesture, it crossed its sickles, gave a short bow toward the group, and turned toward the treetops.
In a few seconds, it was gone—just the soft hum of its wings fading into the distance.
Tetsuya watched the sky for a moment, then clapped his hands.
"Alright, everyone. Let's get moving."
The three Pokémon looked away from the sky, still a little reluctant. Scyther had started as just a mentor to Blaziken, but over the course of twenty days, it had become more than that.
It had trained them all in different ways.
To Pidgeot, it had passed down flight techniques—the kind only a Pokémon with years of experience and natural aerial instinct could teach. Though many techniques were hard for a larger bird like Pidgeot to mimic directly, the concepts had stuck. Scyther's way of reading wind currents, sudden dives, using terrain—these lessons had elevated Pidgeot's entire flying style.
Then there was Torkoal.
In the last ten days, Scyther had mainly acted as a sparring partner for it. Blaziken and Pidgeot were simply too strong, making it hard for Torkoal to train in a meaningful way. But Scyther? Strong, but aged. Balanced. Just right.
The progress had been real.
Take gravity, for example. Tetsuya had been training Torkoal to refine its use of the move—specifically, to create variable gravity fields. The kind where each section of the battlefield had a different gravity multiplier. Normal in one spot, triple gravity a few feet over, then suddenly half gravity right next to that.
Chaos, but with purpose.
Torkoal had started with the basics: concentric rings of gravity, increasing step by step.
That was useful—great for Blaziken's physical conditioning. But not so great in battle. Too predictable.
That's where Scyther came in.
Under its sharp guidance—and with Tetsuya's strategic feedback—Torkoal managed to scatter gravity zones in a way that looked random to any outsider. Only Tetsuya and the team, who had trained side-by-side day and night, could sense the patterns buried in the field.
It was still a work in progress. But the potential? Immense.
Tetsuya looked at his team. They were staring at him now, waiting.
He smiled, rolled his shoulders, and slapped both cheeks lightly—getting his head back in the moment.
"Alright! Let's go, team!"
He pointed ahead, a grin spreading across his face.
"Next stop—Cerulean City!"
"We're finally in Cerulean City," Tetsuya muttered to himself, stretching his limbs as he took a sip of his coffee.
After Pidgeot dropped him off just outside the city, he'd made his way to the Pokémon Center, booked a room, and—no, he hadn't completed the Gym challenge just yet. That was a lie he told himself.
He chuckled dryly. At least he wasn't scared of flying anymore. Well… not exactly.
The truth was, in his previous life, he had fallen from a terrifying height. The trauma stuck with him even now. And despite his stronger, more athletic body in this life, the idea of plummeting from hundreds of meters up still made his stomach knot. He wasn't a superhuman fighter or some kind of humanoid Pokémon. He had bones that could break.
But as Pidgeot grew larger and more powerful, Tetsuya began to trust it more. He calculated that if he did fall, Pidgeot would likely have the strength and reaction time to catch him. That possibility made him think of it like an extreme version of bungee jumping—and slowly, cautiously, he began riding directly on Pidgeot's back during travel.
It turned out to be incredibly comfortable.
Sailing high above the land, seeing mountains, forests, and lakes stretch endlessly below—it was like tasting freedom itself. The only real downside was the wind. Without goggles and a good way to brace himself, Pidgeot's speed could easily reduce him to a teary mess, clinging on for dear life while being thrashed around like a leaf. But even then, the benefits far outweighed the risks.
He even sold his electric bike and swapped it out for a normal one—just in case he needed land transportation. After all, there were still places where even a mighty bird like Pidgeot couldn't go.
"I wonder what it's like to ride an Aerodactyl," Tetsuya mused, fiddling with his now-empty coffee cup. "Wouldn't that hurt your butt? Gotta try it sometime."
His thoughts meandered like a lazy river, drifting from high-altitude travel to his training routines. He couldn't stay in battle mode all the time—neither he nor his Pokémon could take that kind of constant pressure.
You needed balance. Tension and relaxation. Fire and calm.
Maybe the bike was still useful after all. He could use it to warm up alongside Blaziken instead of going for a run himself.
Thoughts came and went like clouds: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?
Was he turning into a philosopher now?
Across the table, Blaziken—his proud and powerful partner—sat calmly, enjoying a fruit salad. Its sleek feathers and fierce eyes drew admiration from passersby, as always.
It narrowed its eyes in bliss. The salad really was good—Miss Joy's specialty at the Cerulean Pokémon Center lived up to its reputation.
Meanwhile, Tetsuya just stared off into space, barely blinking.
Blaziken had seen him like this before. The dazed look, the spiraling thoughts. It didn't worry. Boys had their moments.
Ding dong~
The chime for a Gym reservation alert sounded.
Tetsuya didn't flinch.
Blaziken casually reached for his coffee, then snatched a berry instead, tossing it into its mouth.
"HOT!!" Tetsuya jolted upright. "Bang!"
The coffee cup shattered on the floor.
People turned to look. Miss Joy rushed over with a towel, scolding him gently for being so careless.
Still dazed and now embarrassed, Tetsuya apologized and helped clean up. But in the back of his mind, a question brewed: Wasn't that supposed to be iced coffee?
Once Joy left, he turned to Blaziken with narrowed eyes. The Pokémon calmly continued eating its salad, tilting its head in innocent confusion.
What?
Tetsuya got the message. This wasn't the first time Blaziken pulled something like this. Definitely not the last.
He shook his head with a sigh. Guess it's fine. I can sell that story later.
Oh right—the Gym message.
He tapped his watch, pulling up the alert.
"...Postponed to 10 a.m. tomorrow?" he said aloud, scratching his head. "I booked it for 1 in the afternoon. What gives?"
Usually, Gym battles got delayed until late afternoon if there was a long queue. That's how it went in Pewter City. But this? He hadn't heard anything on the forums about Cerulean Gym being that busy.
Still, what could he do? Tomorrow was fine.
"I guess I've got the afternoon free," he mumbled. "Might as well take a walk."
Blaziken finished its salad, and Tetsuya got up with a stretch.
"Let's go."
But the moment they reached the front doors of the Center, the scorching air hit like a wall.
Nope.
He retreated instantly.
A moment later, he was standing at the ice cream counter, eyeing a massive vanilla-and-strawberry cone. He nodded in approval. Perfect.
Sunhat on, cone in hand, he stepped outside again. The first bite of creamy, cold sweetness dulled the summer heat just enough to make it bearable.
As he walked off down the sunny streets of Cerulean City, a strange customer entered the Pokémon Center behind him.
"Ma'am, please… it's been almost an hour," the ice cream clerk begged.
"Hmmm… durian's good… but strawberry's a classic. Then there's vanilla too…" the girl muttered to herself, still browsing.
The clerk nearly wept.
Back outside, Tetsuya was in high spirits. The sunlit city, crisscrossed with canals and bridges, lived up to its nickname: the Water City.
Spontaneously, he waved down a boatman.
"Could you give us a little tour?" he asked.
The old man grinned. "Of course! I can tell you're a strong trainer. That Blaziken of yours—haven't seen many of them around here."
Tetsuya laughed. "Haha, thanks! Still got a lot of work to do, though. Can you tell me more about the city?"
"Gladly," the boatman said, pushing the oar as the boat glided into the canal.
"First up, over there's the Fruit Powder Shop—makes specialty drinks that are great for raising Pokémon. Then, that building near the plaza is a move tutoring center. They say the Cerulean Gym Leader herself drops by sometimes.
"And over that way is…"
The boat drifted on, cutting a smooth path through the sparkling blue water, as stories of the city filled the warm afternoon air.