Chapter 126: The Light of Evolution
Abra, sensing Xiu's desperate command, immediately intensified its telepathic connection with the convulsing Scyther. The blue psychic energy surrounding Scyther flared, attempting to stabilize, to regain control.
The link between Xiu and Scyther, momentarily severed, re-established— flooding Xiu's mind once more with the searing heat and chaotic energy that threatened to overwhelm him, but Scyther's consciousness remained lost, adrift in the internal storm, unresponsive.
Without Scyther's active participation, Xiu couldn't directly control its body or its energy. All he could do was act as an anchor, a desperate lifeline, shouting encouragement, pleas, threats into the psychic void, hoping something would penetrate the chaos.
"Scyther, wake up!" he projected frantically. "Stay with me! We can beat this!"
No response. The internal energy surged again.
"Focus! Remember the training! Control the flow!"
Silence. The chaotic pressure intensified.
"Come on! I have fresh Oran Berries waiting! Delicious ones!"
Nothing.
"Are you really this weak?!" Xiu shifted tactics, trying anger, frustration. "After all that training? Giving up now? Pathetic!"
Still nothing. The mental connection felt tenuous, frayed, like shouting into a hurricane. Scyther was slipping away.
"Get up and run those laps with me! Now! Ten laps, no slacking, or no dinner!"
The words, however desperate, however varied, felt like stones dropped into a bottomless ocean.
Useless and futile.
As he continued his frantic mental barrage, Xiu felt his own resolve beginning to waver. Doubt crept in. 'Maybe… maybe I pushed too hard? Maybe this was reckless? I knew the conditions weren't perfect, knew the risks… but I still pushed forward…' Guilt mingled with the shared pain. "I was wrong… Scyther, I'm sorry… please… just wake up…"
Professor Oak, watching from outside the psychic link, saw the change in Xiu. The fierce determination faltered, replaced by raw despair. He saw the tears, previously held back by sheer willpower, finally begin to seep from the corners of Xiu's tightly shut eyes, tracing paths through the sweat and grime on his face.
The heroic façade crumbled, revealing the frightened, desperate child beneath. The sight stirred a strange, familiar feeling in Oak's own chest… regret? No… not just regret…
Xiu, lost in his own despair and the shared agony, felt his mental defenses weakening— his focus dissolving. He had poured everything into maintaining the link, into anchoring Scyther, resisting the psychic feedback… but his reserves were depleted. The final straw came not as a surge of pain, but as a sudden absence.
Abra's psychic energy, the conduit maintaining the link, flickered and died. Out of power. It had strained itself beyond its limits, holding the connection open, battling Scyther's internal chaos alongside Xiu.
As Abra's support vanished, the telepathic link between Xiu and Scyther snapped completely. The sudden severance felt like a physical blow as Xiu, who had been held partially suspended by the psychic tension, crumpled.
He opened his eyes, vision blurred by tears and exhaustion, instinctively reaching out towards the glass tank where Scyther lay, but his arm felt like lead. He couldn't lift it. Darkness encroached on the edges of his vision.
Exhausted… He didn't even have the strength left to move. He could only stare helplessly at the tank, his last conscious thought a broken whisper: "We agreed… together…"
He didn't know if it was an auditory hallucination brought on by extreme stress, or something real, but just as consciousness fled, Xiu thought he heard it – a faint, sharp crack. Followed by another, louder one. Then more, rapid succession.
"No!" Professor Oak, standing nearby, heard it too. He saw the hairline fractures appearing on Scyther's carapace within the tank, spreading rapidly like spiderwebs. He shouted, rushing forward, fearing the worst – catastrophic structural failure, explosion…
But before he could reach the tank, the fracturing stopped. Instead, the entire Pokémon began to glow— a blinding, intense white light erupted from within Scyther's form, pouring out of the cracks, filling the laboratory, momentarily overwhelming Oak's senses.
'The light of evolution...' Oak had witnessed countless Pokémon evolutions over his long career— but this… this felt different. More intense. More… violent. A strange mix of awe and apprehension gripped him.
When the light finally subsided, Oak stared, momentarily speechless. Lying within the now-cracked glass tank, amidst the murky remnants of the metallic solution, was not Scyther.
Its form was similar, yet drastically changed. The green chitin was gone, replaced by a hard, sleek exoskeleton of burnished, metallic red. Its scythes were transformed into massive, pincer-like claws, thick and powerful. Its wings were different too, smaller, almost vestigial, retracted against its back.
Professor Oak slowly lowered the emergency containment field controls he'd almost activated. He took a step back, murmuring to himself in disbelief, "This… this is… impossible…"
The newly evolved Scizor stirred. It pushed itself up, the sound of metal scraping against glass echoing in the suddenly quiet lab. It flexed its new, heavy claws, looked down at its transformed body, then seemed to finally register its surroundings. Its gaze fell upon the unconscious forms of Xiu and Abra lying nearby on the lab floor.
Ignoring Professor Oak completely, the Scizor moved with surprising speed despite its bulk. It carefully scooped up both Xiu and Abra in its massive claws, cradling them gently but securely.
"Wait! What are you doing?" Oak protested, stepping forward again. "He needs medical attention! Now!"
Scizor merely glanced at Oak, its expression unreadable behind its metallic faceplate, then turned, leaped powerfully towards the lab window, shattered the reinforced glass with contemptuous ease, and jumped out into the night air, disappearing into the darkness below.
"Hey!" Oak rushed to the broken window, leaning out, watching the red metallic figure land lightly in the backyard below, then sprint off towards the warehouse with incredible speed, carrying its unconscious companions. He could only stare after it, dumbfounded.
'Running that fast… while carrying two people… its physical capabilities are… abnormal.'
— — —
"Mmmph…" Xiu groaned, consciousness slowly returning. His head throbbed viciously. He blinked, trying to focus. Familiar dimness, the scent of dust and stored Pokéblocks… the warehouse.
He tried to sit up, a wave of dizziness washing over him. He touched his head gingerly. "Do this a few more times," he muttered weakly, "and I will end up brain-damaged."
He didn't know how he'd gotten back here. His last memory was the blinding white light, Scyther's evolution… then nothing. 'Scythe… must be okay now.' The lab had treatment facilities; Professor Oak would have taken care of it.
With considerable effort, Xiu pushed himself upright, swinging his legs over the side of the cot. He needed to check up on Abra, check up on Scyther…
He stood up shakily, leaning against the warehouse wall for support. His body felt unbelievably weak, drained. 'Why am I so weak?' With his enhanced resilience, even after the psychic strain, he shouldn't feel this depleted. Something felt wrong.
He shuffled towards the warehouse door, pushed it open, and looked out into the moonlit backyard. It was deep night now. He must have been unconscious for hours. He dragged his exhausted body towards the main Institute building. Professor Oak… need to find him… ask about Abra… Scyther…
He reached the main door, leaning heavily against the frame. It was unlocked. He weakly pushed it open. "Professor?" he called out, his voice barely a whisper. He tried knocking, but barely had the strength to lift his hand.
After a few weak taps, he almost collapsed against the doorframe, needing the support just to remain standing. 'No… no reason to be this weak… something's definitely wrong…'
"What is it now?"
Professor Oak's voice, startlingly close, came from just inside the doorway. The door opened wider, revealing the Professor looking relatively rested, holding a steaming mug. Seeing Xiu slumped against the doorframe, pale and trembling, Oak's expression shifted from mild annoyance to concern. "Xiu? What's wrong? You look terrible."
"Professor…" Xiu managed weakly. "Abra… Scyther… are they…?"
"They?" Oak repeated, looking genuinely confused. He stepped aside, letting Xiu stumble into the hallway. "Weren't they… back at the warehouse? With you?"