Later that morning, a little group gathered on the hill overlooking Pallet Town. The group of mourners consisted of Professor Oak and Delia; Tracey, who was flanked on either side by Venonat and Marill; Brock and Misty (Professor Oak had called them the night before to tell them about Scyther's death); and Gary (who really didn't want to be there in the first place, but his grandfather had insisted). All of them stood around a wooden coffin that contained the body of the Pokémon that Tracey had come to love over the past couple of years.
Professor Oak kept a small Pokémon cemetery on the grounds of the preserve that surrounded the lab. The day before, he and Tracey had gone there to pick out Scyther's final resting place. As soon as they had arrived at the cemetery, Tracey knew exactly where he wanted Scyther to be buried. Tracey picked up his shovel, walked over to the plot next to a still-fresh grave with a headstone labeled "Marowak", and began digging. (Scyther and Marowak had been fast friends and had spent many hours battling each other until Marowak's death from extreme old age a few weeks earlier.)
Now they'll be together again, Tracey said as he and Professor Oak worked side by side to dig Scyther's grave. They're probably having a battle right now.
Professor Oak's back still hurt from all the shoveling yesterday. He had been plagued with lower back problems for years and spending several hours digging Scyther's grave yesterday hadn't helped his lumbago at all.
I'm going to have to take something for this later, he thought as he painfully bent over, picked up the huge spray of flowers that Delia had brought, and placed them atop Scyther's wooden coffin. As he finished arranging the flowers, he heard a rustling in the grass behind him. Everyone turned to see a dark-haired boy and a Pikachu step through the bushes surrounding the gravesite.
"Hey, Mom, why did you want me to meet you…?" Ash's face reddened when he realized what was going on; his mother's note had said only "Meet me at Professor Oak's at ten."
"Hello, Ash," Professor Oak smiled kindly at the upset-looking boy. "Thank you for coming."
When Ash realized that he had just arrived at Scyther's funeral, he began to frantically search for a means of escape. Delia, noticing her son's panicked expression, reached over and grasped his arm.
"Mom," Ash whispered. "I don't want to be here! Tracey…"
"Ash," Delia said firmly, "I know you're upset, but you are going to stay here for the funeral."
When Professor Oak saw that Delia had a firm grip on her son, he cleared his throat and began the ceremony. "Ahem…dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to pay our final respects to our friend Scyther. Scyther will be sorely missed, but today we will honor his memory with memories of our own. Who would like to speak first?"
Everyone looked around uncomfortably until Brock stepped forward.
"I didn't really know Scyther all that well, but after hearing all the stories that Ash and Misty told me about him, it sounded as if he was a very special Pokémon. And it also sounds as if you did a fine job taking care of Scyther in his last months, Tracey. Scyther was lucky to have you as his trainer."
"Thank you, Brock," Tracey said quietly.
"Anyway….that's all I wanted to say." Brock stepped back into the crowd.
"Thank you, Brock," Professor Oak smiled at the young man. "Who would like to speak next?"
"I will, Professor," Misty volunteered. She stepped forward and faced Scyther's coffin. "Scyther, I'm going to miss you. We all are. Even though I've never been crazy about bug Pokémon…" This comment drew a soft laugh from the congregation. "…You were one of the few ones that I liked." Misty then went over to Tracey and gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry, Tracey."
"Thanks, Misty," he replied as he returned her embrace.
Misty then returned to her place in the crowd.
"I'll go next," Professor Oak said as he looked down at the mass of yellow and white flowers atop the coffin. "Scyther, it was an honor for me know you during these past few months. Your determination, your strength, your bravery in the midst of battle were an inspiration to us all. And despite the frailties of age, you didn't let that keep you from living your life to the fullest." He turned to his assistant. "Tracey, you were willing to take a chance with Scyther when the others in his group rejected him. You helped Scyther when you found him injured and helped restore his pride and self-confidence. And that says a lot about your character. You're a fine young man, Tracey. And you're also an excellent Pokémon trainer. Brock was right – Scyther was fortunate to have you as his friend. And Misty, you're right, too. We will all miss Scyther very much."
By now, tears were streaming down the faces of everyone but Gary, who wished he could be somewhere else, and Ash, who was trying hard not to cry.
Professor Oak bit his lip. He was starting to get choked up, too. "Anyone else like to say anything? Gary?"
Gary winced. "Grandpa, do I have to?" His grandfather gave him a look that told him that he'd better say something if he knew what was good for him. Conceding defeat, Gary awkwardly stepped forward. "Uh, Scyther was a strong Pokémon, even if he was ancient. And Tracey, you did do a good job taking care of him." Gary shuffled his foot and stared down at the ground. "I'm done."
Professor Oak sighed. Sometimes his grandson's attitude really got on his nerves. "Anyone else?"
"I'd like to say something," Delia volunteered as she stepped forward and gave the man she loved a quick smile. She then turned to face Tracey. "Tracey, I know how much you loved Scyther. And Scyther loved you, too. I remember that one day that the two of you helped me cut down those thorn bushes in my garden…well, the both of you were so nice and helpful. And I could tell that the two of you had a special bond. And even though Scyther's gone, that bond you two had will never be broken."
"Thanks, Mrs. K," Tracey sniffed as she went over and hugged him.
Moved by her words, Professor Oak wished he could hug Delia too, but he knew that wouldn't be appropriate right now. "Does anyone have anything else to say?" he asked as Delia returned to her spot in the crowd.
As everyone stared at Ash, Delia gave her son a nudge forward. "Mom, don't," Ash whispered as Delia nudged him again. Feeling everyone's eyes upon him, Ash swallowed the lump in his throat and stared at the mound of flowers on the casket in front of him. "Uh…" Ash stammered as he attempted to clear his throat. "I…I just want to say that I'm sorry, Scyther. I'm sorry about what happened." Ash turned his red eyes to Tracey. "Trace, I'm…I'm sorry." Ash quickly retreated to his place in the crowd next to his mother. Pikachu then picked a little red wildflower at its feet, leapt atop Scyther's casket, and placed it in the middle of the other flowers.
"Pika," it said softly. ("Goodbye, friend.")
Venonat and Marill, each holding a single white rose, then stepped forward and placed their flowers atop their friend's casket.
"Marill," the little blue mouse Pokémon sobbed. ('I'll miss you, Scyther.")
"Venonat," agreed the big-eyed bug Pokémon.
As the two weeping Pokémon returned to their place in the crowd, Tracey knelt down to comfort his two remaining Pokémon.
"It's all right, guys…it'll be all right," Tracey said as he choked back the tears he had been trying so hard to suppress throughout the ceremony.
Misty, moved by the tender scene, began to cry. Brock, who also had tears streaming down his face, leaned over and took her in his arms. Embarrassed by all the crying going on around him, Gary continued to stare uncomfortably at the ground.
"Then this concludes the ceremony," Professor Oak announced as he wished he could go over and comfort Delia, who was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue.
"That was so beautiful," Misty sniffed as she and Brock went over to where Ash was standing.
"Are you okay, Ash?" asked Brock. "Professor Oak said that you were there when it happened."
"We tried calling you last night, but your mom said that you'd already gone to bed," Misty said.
"So you killed Scyther," Gary smirked as he came swaggering up to Ash. "I didn't realize Pikachu was so powerful. Any Pokémon that kills another one must be pretty tough."
"Shut up, Gary!" Misty said angrily.
"Gary, leave Ash alone," Brock warned.
But Gary couldn't resist the opportunity to taunt his lifelong rival. "Oooh, guess I'd better watch out, or else you and Piakchu might do me in, too!"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" shouted Ash as he turned and ran down the hill.
"Ash, wait!" cried Brock.
Professor Oak, who was busy murmuring words of comfort to Delia, whirled around at the sound of the two boys fighting and saw Ash, with Pikachu at his heels, jump over the fence that surrounded the cemetery and disappear in the fields beyond it.
"Ash!" yelled Delia as her son vanished in the distance.
"You jerk!" Misty yelled as she sent a right hook flying in Gary's direction. It connected, and sent Gary crashing to the ground.
"That's enough!" Professor Oak ordered as he and Delia came running up to the fighting teens.
"He asked for it!" Misty fumed as she glared at Gary, who lay moaning on the ground.
"He accused Ash and Pikachu of killing Scyther," Brock explained to the two adults. "We told him to leave Ash alone, but he wouldn't."
"Is this true, Gary?" Professor Oak asked his grandson. Gary, who was busy trying to stop the blood gushing from his nose, said nothing, but Professor Oak could tell from his grandson's expression that Gary was indeed guilty of provoking Ash. "We'll talk more about this later, Gary," Professor Oak said with a stern expression as he handed his grandson a handkerchief. "Meanwhile, sit up and pinch your nostrils shut. The bleeding will stop in a few minutes."
"I'm going to go look for Ash," Misty said as she gave Gary one last disgusted glance and then headed down the hill.
"I'm coming with you too, Misty," said Brock as he went to join her.
"Ash didn't kill Scyther," said Tracey as he came up to where Professor Oak was administering first aid to his injured grandson. "And neither did Pikachu. Scyther was dying, Gary. And he wanted to die fighting in battle, so that's why he wanted Pikachu to fight with him. It wasn't Ash's fault."
"Tracey, why don't you take Gary back to the house and see if you can find him an ice pack?" Professor Oak said as he helped his grandson to his feet. "I'll be along shortly." And Gary knew from the expression on his grandfather's face that he wasn't going to like it when his grandfather did arrive.
"Samuel, we've got to find Ash," Delia said frantically as Tracey led Gary away. "He might get hurt running around the preserve."
"Delia, he'll be all right. He knows the grounds of the preserve as well as I do. He's spent his whole life running around here. Besides, there are times when you have to let him go, remember?" he said as he softly caressed her cheek.
Delia smiled slightly, recalling their conversation from earlier that morning. "I remember."
"Don't worry," he assured her as he drew her into his arms. "Either Brock or Misty will find him. I didn't realize that girl had such a powerful right hook."
"Misty is pretty headstrong," Delia said as she snuggled in the comfort of his arms.
"Maybe she knocked some sense into Gary. Speaking of which, I still need to go have a little talk with my grandson." Reluctantly, he parted from her soft warmth. "Come on. Let's head back to the lab."