"Hey, Tracey, is Professor Oak around?"
Tracey turned around from the flowerbed he and his Scyther were attending to and saw a dark-haired boy in a baseball cap carrying a basket. At the boy's feet was a small yellow mouse-like Pokémon.
"He's busy in the lab, Ash," Tracey told his friend. "What's in the basket?"
"Mom was busy doing some baking today and sent you guys over some extra blueberry muffins."
Tracey wiped the dirt off of his hands and reached into the basket. "Yum, these are good," he smiled as he stuffed one in his mouth.
"Tracey! Mom said to give these to Professor Oak!"
"Oh, he won't miss one," Tracey said between bites. "Besides, I'm starving. Scyther and I have been working outside all morning." He handed his Pokémon a bite of muffin.
"What are you guys doing?" asked Ash as he set the basket down on the grass.
"We're weeding the garden so that some of the grass-type Pokémon can move over here. Scyther's been helping me cut down some of the tall ones, right?"
"Scy," his Pokémon nodded.
Pikachu scampered over to his friend and the two Pokémon began having a conversation.
"Pika!" ("Hi, Scyther!")
"Scyther." ("Hello, Pikachu.")
"Pika-pi?" ("Are you helping Tracey weed the garden?")
"Scyther. Scy?" ("Of course I am. What does it look like I'm doing?")
"Pikachu." ("It looks like hard work.")
"Scy? Scy! Scyther! Scyther-scy." ("Hard? This isn't hard! Battling is hard! I'd rather be battling than doing this.")
"Pikachu." ("But gardening is important.")
"Scyther! Scyther-scy! Scyther!" ("Don't patronize me! I'm not so old that all I'm good for is cutting flowers! Matter of fact, let's battle right now!")
"Chuuu…" ("Hey, wait, Scyther…")
"Scyther?!" ("Are you going to battle with me or not?!")
Scyther slashed one of its sickle-like claws in Pikachu's direction.
"Hey! What are you doing, Scyther?" a shocked Tracey exclaimed.
"Be careful, Scyther! You almost hurt Pikachu," Ash admonished the angry-looking Pokémon.
"Sorry, Ash," Tracey apologized. "But you know how Scyther is. Sometimes it seems like all he wants to do is battle."
"Well, why don't we have a battle then?" Ash grinned. "Pikachu and I are always looking for a good battle, aren't we?"
"Piakchu," Ash's Pokémon said somewhat reluctantly. It was still confused as to why Scyther had become so upset with it.
"How about a one-on-one battle? Me and Pikachu versus you and Scyther," Ash said as he walked to the other end of the garden.
"Okay," Tracey agreed as he put down his rake. "Feel up to battling, Scyther?"
The large bug-type Pokémon slashed the air savagely with its claws.
"Scyther!" ("I'll show you that I'm as strong as any young Pokémon!")
"Guess that means 'yes'," Tracey said as he and Scyther took their places at the other end of the garden.
"You can make the first move," Ash said. "Just because Scyther's so old and all."
That was the wrong thing to say. The enraged Pokémon didn't wait for his trainer's command, but began advancing rapidly on Pikachu with a series of slashing motions.
"Scyther? What are you doing? Stop it!" Tracey reprimanded his Pokémon as Pikachu quickly jumped out of the way of Scyther's flying claws.
"Scyther!" the Pokémon yelled fiercely as it whirled around and slashed at Tracey, narrowly missing his arm.
"Scyther, what in the world's come over you?" a shocked Tracey said as he checked to make sure Scyther's claw hadn't drawn any blood.
"Looks like Scyther really wants to fight today," said an equally shocked Ash.
"Scyther, I think you'd better stop now," Tracey told his Pokémon, who was beginning to pant from the effort. "You're getting too overworked."
Scyther shook its head vehemently.
"Then let's give him a fight, Pikachu! Thundershock now!" Ash ordered.
As Pikachu's red cheeks began sparking, Tracey regained his wits and turned his attention back to the battle at hand. "Scyther, Double Team!"
Pikachu looked up and appeared to be surrounded by multiple Scythers.
"Focus, Pikachu! Focus on the real Scyther and hit him with your Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
As Pikachu concentrated on locating the real Scyther, Tracey saw an opportunity.
"Scyther, give Pikachu a taste of your Swords Dance!"
As Scyther began whirling about furiously, Pikachu struggled to stay on its feet.
"Hang in there, Pikachu! Don't let Scyther blow you away!" Ash encouraged his Pokémon.
"Now, Scyther! Hit him hard with your Headbutt!"
Before Pikachu had time to react, Scyther ran headlong into the unlucky Pokémon and sent him sailing into the air. The force of the impact also sent Scyther crashing to the ground. Pikachu landed with a thump next to Tracey's Pokémon.
"Pikachu," panted the dazed Pokémon. ("You win.")
"Scyther," whispered the exhausted Pokémon as its eyes closed. ("Thank you, my friend.")
"Whoa, guess this one's a draw," Ash said as he ran to his Pokémon's side. "Are you okay, buddy?" Ash asked as he helped his Pokémon to its feet.
"Pikachu," the little Pokémon said weakly.
"Wow, that was awesome, Scyther!" Tracey said as he knelt down next to his Pokémon.
"Let's get Pikachu and Scyther inside so they can get some rest," suggested Ash as Pikachu made a shaky attempt to stand up.
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Right, Scyther?" Tracey gently touched his Pokémon's shoulder. When Scyther's eyes didn't open, Tracey shook Scyther's shoulder harder and the Pokémon's head lolled limply to one side. "Scyther?" When Scyther didn't respond, Tracey laid his hand on his Pokémon's chest. "Oh my, God! Ash, go get Professor Oak now!" Tracey said frantically as he began to perform CPR on his fallen friend.
Ash stared in disbelief at his friend as he tried desperately to resuscitate his Pokémon.
"Ash, didn't you hear me? Go get the Professor now!" Tracey ordered as he pushed on his Pokémon's chest.
Snapped out of his shock, Ash turned to Pikachu. "Pikachu, go get Professor Oak! Hurry!"
The recovered Pokémon dashed across the yard and through the back door into the lab, where he found Professor Oak sitting at his desk, reading a scientific journal.
"Hello, Pikachu," Professor Oak smiled at his visitor. "It's always nice to have you stop by for…"
"Pikachu! Pika-pi!" the Pokémon said frantically as it leapt onto the desk and gestured in the direction of the backyard.
"Pikachu, what's wrong?"
"Pikachu! Pika-pi!" the Pokémon repeated as it began tugging on Professor Oak's hand.
"You're saying that you and Scyther were having a battle and now Scyther won't wake up?" Professor Oak translated as he scrambled to his feet.
"Pikachu!" the Pokémon nodded as it jumped off of the desk and ran out the door.
Professor Oak hurried outside and saw a frightened-looking Ash standing next to Tracey, who was still performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the unconscious Scyther.
"Tracey, what happened?" Professor Oak gasped as he knelt beside the Pokémon lying on the ground.
"We were having a battle…Scyther wouldn't stop…I told him to…he just fell over…" Tracey gasped between chest compressions.
"Stop for a second and let me take a look at him, Tracey," Professor Oak ordered his exhausted assistant. Tracey leaned back for a second and tried to catch his breath while Professor Oak quickly examined the Pokémon. "Tracey, we can take Scyther back to the lab and I can attempt to revive him. But there's no guarantee that I'll be able to do it."
"But you can try. Right, Professor?" said Ash with desperate eagerness.
"Ash, Tracey is Scyther's trainer. It's up to him to decide what's best for Scyther," Professor Oak told the terrified boy hovering over his shoulder. He turned his attention back to his young aide and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Tracey, I'll respect your wishes – whatever you decide. Tell me what you want me to do."
Tracey gulped and looked down at the still face of his Pokémon. As he did, memories of battles they had shared throughout the years came rushing back. Then Tracey knew what he had to do -- and it would be one of the hardest things he would ever have to do.
"Thank you, Professor," Tracey said softly as he lifted his Pokémon's head and tenderly placed it in his lap. "But you don't have to bother."
Ash stared at Tracey in disbelief. "You…you're not gonna…you mean you're just going to let Scyther die?"
"Ash, Scyther's already gone," Professor Oak told him gently as he stood up.
A horrified Ash continued to stare at Tracey, who was lovingly stroking Scyther's head and trying to choke back the tears forming in his eyes.
"I…I..don't believe it!" Ash shouted in a quavering voice. "If you were a real trainer…if you really loved your Pokémon, you'd do anything to help Scyther!"
"Ash, that's enough!" Professor Oak snapped. "Don't make this any harder for Tracey than it already is!"
Numb with shock and from Professor Oak's harsh words, Ash gaped at the older man for a second, then turned and ran down the hill. "Ash, wait!" Professor Oak called after the boy, but it was too late -- Ash was already out of earshot. "Damn," he swore under his breath, then turned his attention back to Tracey, who was trying hard not to break down weeping. He knelt down next to Tracey and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, Tracey. Let's take Scyther back to the house."
Tracey nodded and the two gently carried Scyther back to the lab.