Episode 62:
Buttercup’s Legacy

Last time, Icy battled to Elite 4 again to be a pokémon master. After creaming Lorelei and Bruno, he got revenge on Agatha. But in the end, Lance’s Dragonite had Icy pinned down. With the injured Buttercup as the only way of winning, Icy sent his friend into battle. Buttercup made the ultimate sacrifice to make Icy’s dream come true. Sadly, she went unconscious and never woke up. And now…

Icy and Sara packed up their belongings from their Indigo Plateau apartment. Icy placed Buttercup’s body in a clear case and packed the last of their bags into Cyber. “Cheer up Icy. Buttercup knew what would happen. She did it for you Icy.”

“That’s why I’m upset Sara.”

“But she wouldn’t have done this if she didn’t love you so much. She knew how much you wanted that win.”

“I never wanted her to sacrifice herself for me. Why did she have to die?”

“Icy, me and Aura are sad too, but you have to remember that she did it for you.”

“But, I would have quit if I’d known. I’d never have let her pull that.”

“I know. She probably had so much loyalty towards you that she figured this would show just how much you meant to her.”

“It means nothing now that she’s dead.” Icy got into the Porygon car. Sara and Aura both got in. “When we get back, I’ll have Triking dig her grave in the forest near the gym. It’s what she would have wanted.” They drove off into the sunset. Crystal-like tears rolled off Icy’s cheeks. He remembered the time Buttercup was almost killed by Magmar, but she pulled through. This time was different. She used every bit of her life force to perform her final attack. But Icy still blamed himself for letting her do it.

They arrived back in the Viridian Forest a few hours later. “Sara, you take in the stuff. I want to be alone with Buttercup for a second. Aura wanted to comfort Icy but Sara called her back over to her.

“Come Aura, he needs this time with her.”

“Buttercup… You didn’t have to sacrifice yourself for me. This wasn’t how I wanted to win. Why Buttercup, why?” Icy clutched her soft body and pressed it to his. His tears fell on Buttercup and roll down the contours of her back. “I love you Buttercup. I will always love you. You were my best {sniff} friend.” Icy could no longer hold back his emotions and burst into tears. A flock of Pidgeys flew off from the canopy.

“Icy, dinner.” Icy and Triking had finished digging the grave for Buttercup. Sara came out with Aura. “We can do this first.” Some pokémon from the forest came out to see what was happening. When they saw the deceased Butterfree and Icy’s watery face, they kinda understood what was going on and began to pour dirt on the case. Icy wanted to smile, seeing how his friends from the forest understood his pain, but his emotions gripped him again. His tears moistened the soil below.

“We are all gathered here to witness the burial of my dear friend, Buttercup. She was a true friend, loyal until the very end, and then still. She sacrificed her own life to fulfill my dreams. She had put herself on the line many times before this. She added a certain something to my life. She brought me joy when I was sad; she was there for me when I felt alone. But now, I am alone again, and she is not here anymore. I’d just like to say, you will be missed forever Buttercup. Your sacrifice will not have gone in vein. Rest in peace friend.” Icy finished his eulogy. Everyone was crying now, even the forest pokémon. “Thank you all for being here for me. I know that I’ll never be alone.” Sara walked up to Icy.

“Icy, I’ll always be here for you.” She embraced Icy. Icy felt like he couldn’t ever let go of her. She let go and took Aura back to the gym. Meanwhile, the forest pokémon paid their respects to the fallen Butterfree and went back into the foliage. Icy followed Sara back home. They had dinner then went to bed. In his dreams, Icy dreamt about Buttercup and all the fond memories they had. She was unique. Sadly, she wasn’t meant to last…

During the night though, the Caterpies and Butterfree of the forest, plus a few Pikachu gathered around the gravesite of Buttercup.

“Cater cater.” “Pika.” “Free free freeeeeee.”

They joined together and focused their energy on the ground Buttercup was buried under. The earth opened around the case Buttercup was in. Then, they combined their energy and focused it all on Buttercup…