Scyther and Scizor

Not everyone appreciated fine music, the Scyther considered. The near-metallic ringing of her two blades being slid across each other was very fine music, but the group of Pokemon sitting nearby winced every time those lovely notes broke the hot humid air. A Ralts being carried out of the building by her Trainer started crying when she heard it. The Scyther smiled at that. At least that Pokemon appreciated it, in her own way.

They were sitting on the steps to the GTS station. It was a graceful building, in a way, but it inspired dread in many Pokemon. Being traded was a daunting prospect as it was, but at least with the Wireless Club, one could meet the new Trainer before being transferred. When it came to the GTS, a Pokemon had no idea where it would wind up, who it would be under, or what its future would hold. So the gray concrete facade, the enormous archway entrance, the sparkling fountain out front, it was all destined to become the elements of nightmares.

"Skyra, come here."

The Scyther got up and walked up to steps to her Trainer. "Is it our turn?"

She waved her hand to follow. "Come on. We finally got rid of that slacker. About time, too. I'm not liking all the system failures they're having here."

"It is new to the Jasper area, didn't you say?" Skyra looked around the lobby as they came inside. Some human kids were staring at her. She narrowed her eyes and they pretended that she wasn't there in a hurry.

Chuckling, she followed her Trainer back to the receiving area. Camilla was graceful herself, quick and nimble too. Skyra respected that she was talented like that. Other humans would rely on their Pokemon all the time, but Camilla could kill an enemy as easily as Skyra. That is, if she could do that without getting into trouble with the police. It was one of the things that made the Scyther glad that she was a Pokemon.

Camilla brushed her long black hair back, then smiled warmly to Skyra. "I found a male Scyther in exchange. He seems pretty impressive, based on the forms at least. We should be able to build you two into a strong Doubles team."

"That would be nice." She looked down at her blades. "Too bad I don't have stained blades to show him how tough I am."

"And if you two get into any ritual fighting in here, I'll have to recall both of you. I hope you understand that the staff wouldn't appreciate that. I'll let you two go at it outside of town if you want."

"I know, but it depends on how long he has been around humans."

A polite female voice interrupted their conversation. "Trade #3074, commencing arrival of a Scyther named Miguel."

Camilla crossed her arms over her chest. "Miguel, huh? Could be worse. I ran across one named Skizzles before I caught you."

Skyra shuddered. "How awful."

A boy wearing a wide straw hat came up. "Hey, are you that Camilla woman?"

She turned to him and nodded. "Yes, what is it?"

He looked up at her critically. "You're trying to open a Bug Gym around here? You don't look like any Bug Maniac I've met."

"I'm not a Bug Maniac," she said patiently, as she'd been told that a lot lately. "I'm an entomologist, which means I know far more about bugs than your run-of-the-mill Bug Maniac."

"You can't be serious. Girls don't like bugs, except for the cute ones, and even then..."

Skyra ignored the conversation; she'd heard variations on it before. Instead, she looked into the receiving room. It was a large dome-shaped area with strange glowing panels running around it in a spiral. The panels were beginning to hum; the air inside the room shimmered and turned into a haze. For a moment, it was impossible to see anything in there.

The haze then condensed into two objects. One was a green Pokeball with a netting pattern on the top, which appeared open on the floor. The other was Miguel. He was taller than Skyra by half a foot and his white scythes were as sharp (and clean) as hers. His exoskeleton wasn't quite the same color as her's. Skyra had a bright meadow green armor while he had a more muted desert grass green. She wondered briefly if it was due to where they had been born; Camilla probably knew why.

When she looked at his face, his eyes seemed dazed and disoriented. Skyra quickly looked down, not wanting to insult him by acknowledging a moment of weakness. As she did, she noticed that he was wearing an odd accessory. It was a vest made of connected steel plates. Why had his previous Trainer put him in that? It looked uncomfortable, not to mention hot for this kind of weather.

Then the air around him began to shimmer again. Skyra wondered if the trading machine wasn't finished, but then felt the energy release of an evolution taking place. She grabbed hold of Camilla's sleeve. "Hey, something's happening!"

"What?" She looked into the receiving room to see Miguel evolving, but not in time to interrupt him. "Oh... M'am, I wasn't informed that this Scyther was wearing a Metal Coat."

"We don't give out information on what a tradable Pokemon may be holding," the worker replied.

"But I listed exactly what my trade was: history, accessory, and health records."

"That sort of thing is used for surveys, not for listing the Pokemon."

Miguel's armor was now a sandstone red. His wings lay differently, grown wide instead of slender like hers. But most different were his blades. They were no longer scythes. Rather, they reminded Skyra of scissors, or tree branch loppers. They were about the same size as his head, and even had markings like eyes near the joints. They still appeared sharp, but...

Skyra wasn't sure what to make of this. As far as she knew, she was supposed to judge a peer's power based on the condition and size of his scythes. His earlier form had been impressive, but this now: did she judge based on original or this form?

"Que?" he asked. He brought one of his hands up and noticed the lack of the Coat and scythe. "Qué me ha sucedido? Por qué soy tengo gusto de esto?"

"What happened to you?" Skyra asked, not understanding him.

Startled, he looked at her, then looked down, ashamed. "Sorry, senorita. I didn't know where I was. Or how I came to be like this... it isn't the right time to turn into this."

"Into what? I didn't know we could evolve."

"Scizor." He started out of the room, but stumbled from his change in weight.

"No, I'll keep him," Camilla said, continuing her conversation with the GTS worker. "I'll just see about pushing for better listing information." She went into the receiving room and picked up the Net Ball. "Miguel, I am Camilla, your new Trainer. I have chosen you as a strong hunter for my Gym. I expect nothing less than your best."

He straightened his posture and lowered his arms. "She knows us well."

"She could hunt like us, if it were not against her kind's gentle hands," Skyra pointed out.

"Truly?"

Camilla pointed to the Scyther. "This is Skyra, another of mine. I have other Bugs working for me, but they may not be to your interest. Come; let's go outside."

"Are you gonna help him?" the boy with the straw hat asked. "He doesn't look too steady."

Miguel growled. "Don't be cheeky."

Camilla brought her hand up. "Hush." Then she looked at the boy. "He is strong, so he needs no help. I know my Bugs. This is why I am an entomologist, not a Bug Maniac." She went on past him towards the door.

Skyra followed after her. After taking a few tentative steps to gauge his new balance, Miguel followed as well. By the time they arrived at the fountain, he was breathing heavily in the humidity. "This is not like Amarillo Desert. Where is this?"

"We're in Queens Port of Jasper," Skyra answered. "There's no deserts on this side of the sea."

The entomologist looked up at the temperature display. "Miguel, you need to beat your wings."

"What for? As far as I remember, Scizors don't fly."

"Do it."

He huffed. "Fine. But it's so sticky." He set his wings off with a ringing hum, like a tuning fork left to vibrate.

The Bug Catcher came back out to them. "Hey, so you really know a lot about Bug Pokemon?"

"Of course," Camilla said. She made a quick wave to Miguel. "Scizors are found naturally near harsh regions where the Scyther's territory overlaps with a lot of Rock Pokemon or those that can use Rock-type moves. Such regions must have deposits of mineral-heavy clay or sand around. Where these Bugs take a lot of risks with falling rocks or Rock attacks, they eat bits of clay or sand to strengthen their exoskeletons. After several years of this, they retain enough metal to evolve into Scizor. However, since the advent of electronic trading, it has been discovered that this process can be greatly sped up by trading a Scyther with a piece of metal from another Pokemon. This is most commonly the Metal Coat, which is found on Steelix."

"Really? I had no idea you could find naturally evolved Scizors."

"You'd have a terrible time trying to catch one, though. Also, while they do protect themselves from Rocks by trading their Fly type for a Steel, it leaves them prone to overheating, especially on scorching hot days like this one. Thus their wings have shifted form and function from quick bursts of flight to dispelling of excess heat."

Miguel's wings slowed for a moment before speeding back up. "I would have figured that out, given time."

Skyra chuckled. "She knows us well. Miguel."

"What?"

She flipped her wings out and darted into the air. She then skipped around until he thought she was coming from his front-right, but actually she was just behind him and to his left. Tapping his shoulder with her left blade, she said, "I would like to see your power. But when you are accustomed to being a Scizor, not before."

He smirked back at her. "Do you mean to be flirtatious, senorita?"

"We shall see. I do not know how to appraise one like you. But, you were rather intriguing before."

"If you wish to be impressed by your defeat, then by all means. You will hardly make a scratch on this armor."

"You will not find me to be a pushover," she replied.

...A year later...

Camilla had put her Gym outside, in a large grassy field. It was still odd to Miguel, who was used to harsh rocky deserts with the occasional tough grassy patch. But the other Bugs of the Gym loved it, so he didn't make a fuss. As a Scizor, it was his duty to keep all wild birds out of the Gym grounds. He enjoyed the job initially, but the birds were wising up to his presence.

In fact, he hadn't seen any today. As he was considering going out of the Gym bounds, he heard a ringing almost-metallic sound. Not true metal, but bone so sharp and solid that it might as well be metal. That could only be Skyra sharpening her scythes. He always loved that music, but it made him giddier when he knew that it was her. He went to find her.

It was pointless for him to sneak up on her. When the rings of her scythes weakened, he rushed at her with his claws at ready. By the time he reached where she was, the Scyther was already gone. The grass rustled on all sides. Lesser Pokemon would fear attack from multiple foes, but Miguel knew it was just Skyra zipping around making it seem that way. He braced himself, then spun around and brought his claws up in time to catch her scythes.

"It seems that you have caught me," she said. "What do you mean to do to me?"

"Did you let me catch you?" he asked.

"That depends on what you want with me."

"I wanted to ask if you would come hunting with me."

"Really? We are lone hunters, though we follow the pack."

Miguel pushed her scythes aside and moved closer. "I would only hunt with you, Skyra. You helped me so much in the past year, getting used to this new place and this new form. And the way you move in battle is so devastatingly beautiful. Would you hunt with me?"

She smirked. "I think you have more than hunting on your mind."

He grinned back. "I know you have more than hunting on your mind."

"Skyra, Miguel, come here now," Camilla called.

"Do we have to put some rookie back in place?" Skyra asked.

"Seems so." He rushed to the battle area. She still got there before him and teased him for it by beckoning with her right scythe. He responded in kind by clipping the air with his claws.

Camilla put her hands on her hips as she looked at them. "I wasn't aware that you two were courting. You'll have to put it off for now."

"Only because it's you, Camilla" Skyra said.

"I don't like it, but yes, as you ask." Miguel then winked at Skyra.

The Gym Leader then looked at her challenger with the same stern look she gave her Pokemon. "Look kid, every type has its strengths and weaknesses. So don't dismiss any one of them, or you will be defeated. We shall demonstrate this for you."

"And when the blood of one foe lies on the hands of two, they shall hunt with one heart evermore," Skyra said.

"And we shall take your blood and be forever bound as one," Miguel added.

The Murkrow facing them pretended to gag. "Sheesh, she told you to cut the romance already. I think I'm gonna lose my lunch."

The bird's partner, a Gloom, stared at them with wide eyes. "I think I lost yesterday's lunch."

…

Scyther Leaf Green entry: With ninja-like agility and speed, it can create the illusion that there is more than one of itself.

Emerald entry: A Scizor has a body with the hardness of steel. It is not easily fazed by ordinary sorts of attacks. It flaps its wings to regulate its body temperature.

I've noticed that these two Pokemon, although of the same line, have different fans. Many like one while disliking the other. Thus, I've read a number of stories with bitter rivalries between the two. So of course I would turn this into a romance. And sorry about the off-color jokes, heh.