Preparing to Set Out (Please Collect, Please Vote)

More than twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, and half the time had gone by. It was now late July.

During this time, Baby Scyther had grown enough to drop the "Baby" from its name.

Over the following days, Scyther no longer slept in either. Every day, it diligently completed its training, even if it was only basic training.

Its strength had improved considerably, though it had yet to experience real combat. The Energy Level within Baby Scyther had already reached the peak of the novice level.

It only needed one real battle to break through to the advanced level.

During this period, Scyther also learned Pursuit, False Swipe, and Agility.

Moreover, all of Scyther's moves had reached the proficient level. Its first four moves might reach mastery after a while.

Meanwhile, Beedrill had brought every move it had learned so far, including the three learned through TMs, to the mastery level.

After all its moves reached mastery, Eichi bought Beedrill three more TMs: Aerial Ace, Infestation, and Swords Dance.

Although it had only just learned them, all three had already reached the proficient level.

Eichi was now heading to Tokiwa City. He had just visited the Beedrill colony again, and during this period, he had gone there several times.

The last time, he had made 1.7 million from the Beedrill colony with only a few thousand in capital, which made Eichi feel rather embarrassed.

On each of these visits, Eichi had brought the Beedrill colony large amounts of Pokémon food and Pokéblocks.

The quality was excellent as well. Though he still traded with them for honey, he no longer earned as much as he had the first time. Eichi thought this arrangement was already quite good.

This visit was also to bid farewell to the Beedrill colony. It was time for Eichi to travel for a while.

He might not see them for the next month.

Once he returned from his journey, Silver Academy would probably be starting. At that point, Eichi would be going to the Chengdu region for school, and he might only be able to return during holidays.

When he arrived at Beautiful Nursery, he was there to say goodbye to Aunt Keiko and Amelie.

Inside, Aunt Keiko was carefully massaging and grooming an Eevee.

Eichi did not disturb her. Instead, he knocked on Amelie's office door.

"Knock, knock."

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Eichi."

"Come in."

Eichi opened the door. Amelie was leisurely reading a book and drinking coffee.

When she saw Eichi, she casually said, "You're here, Eichi."

Eichi nodded.

Amelie said, "Have a seat."

Amelie said, "I haven't seen Scyther in a long time. Let it out so I can take a look."

"Sure. Come out, Scyther."

A green Pokémon appeared before Amelie. By then, Scyther stood 1.5 meters tall and weighed 56 kilograms.

Its entire body gave off an exceptionally sharp impression, and its arms were scythes with a metallic sheen.

Its wings were healthy and powerful, its tail was somewhat long, and its gaze was intimidating.

From appearances alone, this Scyther had been raised very well.

The moment Scyther saw Amelie, it recognized her and greeted her warmly.

Amelie also stroked Scyther and said to Eichi, "It's been raised well."

Then she continued touching it here and there.

After organizing his thoughts, Eichi, who was sitting on the sofa, said to Amelie, "Amelie, I'm leaving on a journey tomorrow.

"I might not return until before school starts. Could I ask you about some things I should pay attention to while traveling?"

Upon hearing that, Amelie shifted her gaze from Scyther to Eichi.

She slowly said, "You've come to the right person. I traveled for a while myself once. Looking back, that period was truly unforgettable."

After reminiscing about the past for a moment, Amelie explained to Eichi what he should bring on a journey and what he needed to watch out for.

Eichi remembered everything Amelie told him.

After Amelie finished, Eichi solemnly thanked her. "Thank you, Amelie."

Amelie said, "Come on, do we really need to say things like that to each other?"

Eichi said, "All right, Amelie. See you in two months."

Amelie said, "See you in two months!"

After Eichi left the office, Aunt Keiko had just returned from seeing off a customer.

Eichi went over to greet Keiko, then told her that he would be leaving on a journey tomorrow and would come see her again in two months.

Aunt Keiko also reminded Eichi to stay safe on the road.

After leaving Beautiful Nursery, Eichi went to Lianfang Department Store.

He took the elevator straight up to the fifth floor. When he stepped out, it was still the same saleswoman. Seeing Eichi arrive, she smiled and asked, "Welcome. What do you need this time?"

Eichi said, "I'll be traveling for a while, so I need a tent, sleeping bags, pots, bowls, and utensils..."

After listening, the saleswoman smiled. "That's quite a lot. All right, please follow me."

The saleswoman then led Eichi around and introduced the items to him one by one. Whenever Eichi was satisfied with something, he bought it.

After an hour, he finally had everything he needed.

It cost Eichi more than thirty thousand. Then he went to the fourth floor to buy some Berries, and finally went to the first floor to buy enough Pokéblocks for Beedrill and Scyther for a full three months.

It was always best to prepare a little extra. That was something Eichi had learned from his past life.

After buying everything, Eichi slowly made his way home. Along the way, he suddenly thought of Teacher Arno.

It had already been a month since he last saw him. He wondered how Teacher Arno was doing now.

When he returned home, his father had just come back as well, having gotten off work.

Originally, Eichi had discussed quitting his job and returning home to become a leisurely fruit farmer with his father.

But his father refused. He said he had many old friends at work and could not bear to leave them.

As it happened, because Eichi had been accepted into Silver Academy, his father had received a promotion at work to a relatively easy position.

That day, Eichi's father, Yoshino, got off work early and prepared a lavish dinner for him.

At the dinner table, Beedrill and Scyther sat together eating. Eichi sat across from his father. Ever since his promotion, his father had become far less quiet than before.

His father said to Eichi, "Today, I asked some coworkers whose children had gone traveling about what you should pay attention to when traveling..."

"I know you have your own ideas and have probably prepared everything, but you must still be extremely careful. Make sure to protect yourself."

Then he said to Beedrill and Scyther, "Beedrill, Scyther, Eichi's safety will depend on the two of you."

Beedrill said nothing, merely raising an arm to show that it would handle it. Scyther waved its scythes and said, "Leave it to me. No problem."

His father said, "Then I'm counting on you two."

After dinner, Eichi took the two of them out for a walk. As they walked, they came to a small hillside.

Eichi sat down. The moonlight was especially bright that night, and beneath its clear glow, everything was silent.

Beedrill and Scyther stayed by Eichi's side.

Eichi suddenly felt somewhat melancholy, yet also full of anticipation for the future.

He began speaking to Beedrill. "We'll be setting out tomorrow. Along the way, we may encounter all kinds of Trainers."

"If they laugh at you during battles, then we'll teach them a proper lesson and let them know how powerful you are."

Scyther also cried out from the side, "Scy! Scy! (And me!)"

Eichi comforted it as well. "That's right, you too, Scyther."

"You will definitely become the strongest Pokémon."