#weavile

[wevelocityteampresents-blog]

Every time I look at these new art pieces featuring Melanie, it's almost as if she gets prettier with each one. The slipped off jacket, that earring, and the sparkles only solidify my crush for her. It truly is a Weavile Wednsday. (Even though it's Sunday.)

weavile wednsday

[atompalace-official]

shouldn’t have picked on that Swinub…..

[amberlea-draws]

Shiny Jangmo-o and Weavile✨🩷💛

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 70]

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AO3 Link

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Nia, Tobias, Samir and Junie meet a few new faces--and one old acquaintance--in the village atop the mountains, and focus on recuperating before their search for Yveltal continues.

-

Nia feels dizzy with relief as they’re taken to the village. She tightens her arms around the neck of the lucario who’s carrying her, grateful that they’re doing most of the work of holding her and Junie up.

Junie is quiet where she’s nestled in the crook of Nia’s neck, surely just as exhausted as the rest of them, so Nia closes her eyes as the moonlit snow of the mountainside rushes by at an incredible speed, wind whistling against her ears with each impressive leap through the air. The lucario are beyond agile.

Lucario—Nia’s evolved form. She’s sure she’ll have a million questions for them once she doesn’t feel like a lump of a person anymore.

Could Nia make leaps like this one day, if she stayed in this world long enough to evolve? She’s pretty sure she could already manage the snowshoe technique they’re using with a little practice, and she’s weirdly proud that she thought of something similar during the avalanche, spiking her aura through her snowshoes to cling to the ice like cleats.

The lucario leap and bound silently, though, gracefully navigating the mountainside in a way that Nia knows she would struggle with. They move as a seamless group, like a school of fish, and Nia wonders if they’re using aura to communicate rather than words, or if they’re just that well-trained. She could probably use her own aura to find out, but she can tell her energy is low after holding back the avalanche.

Plus, some part of her suspects that would be rude. Like eavesdropping.

So Nia stays quiet and keeps her aura to herself, despite the way she can feel other auras brushing by hers on occasion, gone too fast for her to decipher what they’re feeling.

Time passes in a surreal blur, both endless and instant. Finally, Nia notices the lucario beneath her slowing down, and she lifts her head to see that they’re cresting a snowy ridge, light glowing from beyond its lip. And when they reach the top, Nia can see its source.

The village. It’s tucked away inside the shallow bowl of a valley, the slopes surrounding it too gentle for an avalanche to form. The buildings themselves are made from stone and wood, low to the ground with steeply pointed, snow-covered roofs. Thick ice crawls up the foundations of the buildings and hang as icicles from the edges of their roofs like delicate adornments, glistening with firelight from the torches outside nearly every home. Through the cracks in windows and doors, Nia can see more firelight beckoning with its golden glow.

Nia doesn’t think she’s ever seen a more inviting sight in her life. She’s so ready to be warm.

The lucario who rescued them cluster together as they enter the village proper, the leader striding forward with purpose and a destination clearly in mind.

Since night has already fallen, it seems like most of the villagers are already tucked away inside their homes, but there are still a couple of Pokemon out and about, nearly all of them species Nia hasn’t seen before. Ice types, most likely.

There’s a giant polar bear with icicles growing on his face like a beard, a basket full of some kind of vegetable or root sitting on his hip. A tiny blue and white bear cub with a dripping nose toddles after him.

A large white yeti Pokemon with an afro-like snowball atop his head pushes a sleigh of crates across the snow with his powerful arms. He passes by them with a quiet word of greeting to the lucario and a wary glance at Nia and the others.

A pale blue dinosaur Pokemon with a build similar to Maggie and a lovely sunset-toned frill atop her head watches them curiously from her house’s window.

Nia can’t manage more than a tired smile when she meets each of their gazes, but they don’t seem all that excited to see strangers. Fidel did say they’d be seen as outsiders, so it makes sense that they wouldn’t have a warm reception, even if some part of Nia can’t help feeling a bit hurt when they don’t return her friendliness. She tries not to take it personally.

“The Matriarch will want to speak with you right away,” the lead lucario says, catching Nia’s attention. It’s clear from how he says it that it’s an order, and not an offer.

“What about Fidel and Samir?” Nia asks, looking back at the zoroark’s limp form being carried between two of the lucario. “They’re both hurt.”

The lead lucario glances over his shoulder at Fidel, then looks forward again. Wordlessly, the two lucario carrying Fidel peel off to take the zoroark elsewhere.

“Hey!” Tobias barks. “Where are they—"

“The healer. Is your injury urgent, Skiddo?”

Nia glances back again to see Samir shake their head no, which Nia knows better than to fight against even if they really should get their leg looked at sooner rather than later.

Nia wishes they could rest before having to explain everything, but the lucario ahead of them is all business and strides through the small village at a quick pace, his tall ears pricked. She doesn’t think he’d agree to dropping them off somewhere for food and sleep before accomplishing what he has set out to do.

Luckily, it’s only a couple of minutes before Nia sees their destination. It’s a building larger than the others, and the ice at its base is much taller than the other clusters in the village, surrounding the structure like a fancy crystalline frame. A small set of stairs leads up to thick wooden doors, and the lead lucario opens them without hesitation, the others following him inside.

The lead lucario guides them down a surprisingly ornate front hall decorated with rugs on the floor, tapestries along the walls, and shelves and side tables displaying beautiful stones and gems. It’s dim, the wooden interior warm but not well-lit, and Nia barely has a chance to look around before they’re reaching the end of the hall and turning to enter a smaller room.

The new space is surprisingly cozy, almost like a den. It’s dim, lit by the flicker of a fireplace, but it’s just as well decorated as the front hall. Tapestries cover the walls in geometric patterns and abstract depictions of Pokemon, mountains, and plants. More stones and gems sit atop shelves and bookcases, glinting in the firelight. And in front of the fireplace, sitting atop a plush rug, are two tall chairs.

The lead lucario guides their group around the chairs, the pack gently setting them down onto their own shaky feet. Nia shudders as the heat of the fire hits her back; the warmth is both incredibly welcome and somehow too hot after being exposed to the frigid air outside. She watches over Samir’s head as most of the lucario exit the room, save for the leader who guided them here.

A new Pokemon catches Nia’s attention next, sitting in front of them in one of the high-backed chairs. She’s sipping from a stone mug with her eyes closed, but Nia’s gut swoops with surprise and lingering guilt as she realizes the Pokemon looks like Ezra. She has a similar shade of sleek, dark blue fur and a gleam of gold at her forehead. And around her mug, the impressive claws of Ezra’s evolutionary line are curled. The only differences are that she’s larger than Nia’s friend, and her striking red ears are held much lower beneath a tall, proud crown of feathers. Maybe she’s the sneasel line’s evolution?

The second thing Nia notices are the barely visible streaks of gray around her face, marking her age. A thin, patterned shawl also rests around her shoulders. She must be on the older side, but there’s something about the confident, leisurely way she holds herself that makes Nia feel like she’s still a force to be reckoned with.

“Matriarch,” the lead lucario says, bowing respectfully.

Nia hurries to bow as well, clamping a hand over Junie when the bird nearly falls off her shoulder.

“Soren,” the Matriarch says in return, voice wry. She opens sharp, cat-like eyes to look over Nia and the others. “So you’re the mites that set off the avalanche? You and that zoroark.”

The lucario, Soren, answers for them with a nod. He must’ve used his aura to let her know that ahead of time.

“Interesting that there’s a riolu among you,” the Matriarch comments, looking at Nia with idle curiosity. “It’s rare for riolu to separate from the packs, isn’t it?”

Nia exchanges an uncertain look with Tobias and Samir. What does she say to that?

“She’s human,” Soren answers, his tone unreadable.

Nia’s head whips over to stare at him. Soren stares back with piercing blue eyes.

There’s no way he should know that, so…he must’ve picked that up from her aura, even if Nia’s never noticed much of a difference between a Pokemon’s aura and a human’s aura. But she knows he’s been paying careful attention to hers ever since they met. Even now, she can feel his energy—a deep, almost royal blue color—brushing near hers, not quite looking at her feelings or thoughts but almost…encircling her. Guarding her aura and preparing to counter if she uses it in some way.

She doesn’t like the claustrophobic feeling.

Nia swallows down a note of fear. Okay, so they know she’s human. They still rescued them and brought them to the village, so even if Soren’s guarded stare isn’t her favorite thing in the world, they aren’t immediately freaking out about her humanity.

The Matriarch sips at her drink, watching. Waiting.

“I-I am human,” Nia admits. “My name is Nia. These are my friends—my teammates. Tobias, Samir, and Junie.” She gestures to each of them in turn. “The zoroark is our friend Fidel.”

The Matriarch glances at Soren, then back to them. “You four seem relatively unscathed for how injured the zoroark is.”

Nia winces, fresh guilt clogging her throat. “I used my aura to protect us, but Fidel was scouting ahead. I…I couldn’t reach him in time.”

The aura surrounding Nia’s tightens for a moment. Nia feels a flicker of Soren’s emotions.

Suspicion. Unease.

Just as quickly as they arrived, the emotions distance themselves.

“You held back the avalanche by yourself?” The Matriarch asks, tone neutral.

Nia nods.

Soren continues to stare at Nia, frowning. “You also knew that we were approaching you on the mountainside. And what our intentions were.”

Nia frowns back at him. Should…she not have been able to do that? “Yes..? I felt your aura searching for ours. That you were looking for survivors to bring back to the village.”

The lucario doesn’t respond, though the furrow in his brow deepens slightly.

“I suppose the next question is why you were trying to climb the mountain in the first place,” the Matriarch says, finishing her drink and setting it onto the side table with a quiet clunk of stone on wood. “Not many venture this way, and for good reason. You would’ve been dead by morning without the pack’s goodwill.”

Nia swallows, nodding. “W-We know.” She glances at Soren. “Thank you again.”

Soren doesn’t respond.

Beside her, Tobias steps forward. “We were sent here on a mission by Augustus, the Lexym guildmaster.”

The Matriarch straightens in her seat, clearly recognizing the name of the rillaboom.

“We’re looking into the world’s instability and suspect we might know the cause of it,” Tobias continues. “And we’re trying to figure out how to fix it before it’s too late.”

The Matriarch hums. “Is that so? A noble aim. And what could the mountain offer you in such an endeavor?”

Tobias glances at Nia and Samir. Nia nods.

“We want to explore the mountains to see if we can find evidence of Yveltal sleeping nearby.”

Though the Matriarch and lucario don’t visibly react, something in the air—in their aura—grows heavy. Cautious.

“We’re actually trying to find Xerneas,” Nia clarifies, a little frantic. “But we thought since they usually sleep so close to each other, we could narrow down the search if we could confirm Yveltal’s resting place first.”

“Yveltal’s location has been lost to time,” the Matriarch says. The light of the fire flickers across her face, giving her an eerie look. “What leads your search here?”

“The barren landscape, for one,” Tobias says.

“A-And the crystals,” Nia adds. Soren and the Matriarch lock their gazes onto her. “We ran into a researcher on a mission a couple weeks back, and he said he was coming here to investigate some strange crystal formations. Carnelian the sableye?”

The Matriarch sits back, her eyes narrowing. Quietly, almost too low to hear, she says something to Soren. For a moment, Nia thinks she’s just too tired to understand the jumble of words, until Soren answers back with something equally incomprehensible.

Oh. That’s…a different language. It’s a consonant-heavy tongue, and some of the sounds are entirely unfamiliar to Nia, throaty as they are. Nia thought that whatever allowed her to understand and speak Ordirune—the most common language in this world—just translated all languages, but apparently not. Nia glances at Junie, still perched on her shoulder, but the rookidee looks just as lost as Nia feels. Tobias and Samir seem equally out of the loop, their shoulders tense and brows furrowed.

Huh. She’d put the whole language translation thing on the backburner, but this makes her curious again. If there are multiple languages in this world, then doesn’t that mean Nia should still be able to speak plain English? Or…will her tongue always twist it into Ordirune?

She hopes not. Something about losing her native language entirely makes her feel…sad.

Finally, the Matriarch turns back to them. “If Augustus sent you, then he surely sent a letter to vouch for you, yes?”

“He did,” Tobias confirms, grimacing. “But we lost our pack in the avalanche. Our items were wiped.”

The Matriarch sighs, rubbing at her forehead with her knuckles. “Of course. In that case, I will need to have Soren check your aura.”

Tobias and Samir both lean away, visibly uncomfortable.

“Why?” Junie asks, suspicious.

“To verify that you’re honest about your intentions,” the Matriarch explains. “If we have any knowledge regarding Yveltal, I will not risk that kind of power falling into the wrong hands.”

Nia supposes that makes sense, but…

She glances again at Tobias and Samir and their tense postures. They clearly hate the idea of a stranger they don’t trust reading their aura.

“Could you just check mine?” Nia asks, taking a step closer to Soren. “Tobias and Samir are private people.”

“You can check mine too!” Junie chirps.

Tobias starts to protest behind them, but apparently thinks better of it as he falls silent.

“Will that work?” Nia asks.

Soren seems unhappy with the compromise, but maybe that’s just how his face always looks because he only hesitates for a moment before nodding. Then, he closes his eyes and holds out a paw in front of Nia and Junie.

And then, all at once, the aura that had been skimming around Nia's engulfs her. It's heavy, smothering, and it doesn’t hesitate before carding through her aura with purpose, digging between her ribs and pulling at her soul like taffy as it searches for something in particular.

It feels so…intrusive. Nia desperately hopes this isn’t what it’s like when she reads someone’s aura. She always tries to be gentle when she does it, turning their soul over in her hands like a delicate turtleshell to read the patterns and scars on its surface.

Soren’s aura feels like a pat down, like someone physically digging their fingers through her brain, pulling away her thoughts layer by layer without care. It doesn’t hurt, per se, but it does feel deeply uncomfortable.

“Stop!”

Soren homes in on a particular chain of emotions, pulling at them to read the train of thought attached. A moment later, she realizes it’s about their mission. She glimpses the vague storm of feelings attached to the memories: the desperation, hope, and fear of learning about this world’s destruction and all that would come with it. And following that, their desperate plan to fix it and Nia’s burning desire to succeed. Her hope to save everyone in this world and her own.

“I said stop!”

Tobias?

Suddenly, blessedly, Soren’s aura retreats. It feels like fighting her way out of twisted, too-hot blankets. Like a gasp of fresh, cool air.

Nia’s legs nearly give out as she comes back to herself. Tobias’ arm is looped around her back as a steadying heat, though, and Samir is pressed close on her other side, the two of them the only things keeping her from collapsing into a heap of shaky limbs. Junie trembles against Nia’s neck.

“What were you doing to them?” Tobias snarls. “I’ve seen Nia do that with a hundred ‘mon and they’ve never looked like that!”

Soren’s blue eyes focus on Nia, narrowing. “You have read others’ aura.”

Nia nods, rubbing her hands over her arms and giving herself a shake. She pulls her coat tighter around herself.

“She’s done it with me and it never felt like that,” Junie snaps, making them all look at her. She’s glaring up at Soren despite the way she shakes. “Dude, I-I don’t even understand what you just did, but even I can tell it was super rude!”

The Matriarch snorts. “Soren, it seems your bedside manner continues to lack.”

“It was the most efficient method of verifying their claims,” Soren protests.

“Well maybe don’t pick the most efficient method if it’s going to suck!” Junie yells.

“Did you at least find an answer?” the Matriarch asks.

“I did,” Soren confirms. “They’re telling the truth.”

The Matriarch nods, satisfied. Then she looks back to them. “In that case, I apologize for the cold welcome you’ve received so far. We’re always wary of outsiders, but particularly when they come asking after such dangerous information.”

Tobias doesn’t respond, looking too riled up to answer politely. Nia doesn’t either, still trying to steady her own voice.

“In all truth,” the Matriarch continues, crossing her legs and folding her clawed hands atop her lap. “We summoned Carnelian here to research the crystals for a similar reason. While we weren’t hoping to find Xerneas, we have been concerned by the Silen mountains’ increasing instability. Although we’re aware that the issue is much more widespread than our little corner of the sky, I wanted to be sure that Yveltal’s presence wasn’t contributing in some way.”

“T-The mountains’ instability?” Nia echoes. “Like…the avalanches?”

The Matriarch nods. “The weather has been slowly growing more and more unpredictable each year, changing centuries-old patterns and creating volatile conditions. Storms and deadly winds are more common than ever, and our winters are harsher. And while the village itself has not been claimed by any, thankfully, a mystery dungeon formed on the next mountain over just last month.”

“And you already knew that Yveltal slept here, in the mountains,” Tobias guesses, brow furrowed and voice suspicious.

“We have records stating as much,” the Matriarch admits. “But we never sought him out. Intruding on a legend’s domain without reason is just asking for trouble. But when we noticed strange, unknown crystals growing on the mountainside…”

“You thought it best to look into them, just in case,” Nia finishes.

The Matriarch nods. “I wanted to know where exactly Yveltal slept, and if his proximity has been harming the village. Expediting the disasters. Carnelian was called in to verify that the crystals are indeed connected to Yveltal, and to track them to their source.”

“So have you already confirmed that they’re from Yveltal’s cocoon?” Tobias asks.

The Matriarch shakes her head. “Not yet. Carnelian believes we’re close, and has good reason to believe they are indeed from Yveltal, but we haven’t found his resting place.”

“Still, it sounds like we’re after the same thing, right?” Nia says. “If Carnelian can lead us to the crystals and we can confirm that Yveltal is actually here, that narrows down the locations where Xerneas could be sleeping.”

“And you believe Xerneas will be able to fix the world’s disruption,” the Matriarch says.

Nia winces. “W-Well…it’s more a hope than anything certain, but...”

“The dimensional border around our world is weakening,” Tobias says. “And soon it’s going to break entirely. We’re hoping that if we can find Xerneas, she can use her life energy to fill the gap and keep the barrier intact.”

There’s a long moment of silence where both Soren and the Matriarch take that in, looking thoughtful but not particularly surprised.

Finally, Soren speaks up. “Our pack has known for years that this was an issue involving the world’s aura, but where did you get such information?”

“Giratina,” Nia admits, cringing when both Soren and the Matriarch look at her in surprise. “It’s…sort of a long story.”

Soren huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. The spikes on the back of his paws catch Nia’s eye. “And even Giratina believes Xerneas will fix this?”

“You don’t think she can?” Tobias challenges.

“You should be more preoccupied with whether or not Xerneas will want to.”

A tense moment of quiet follows, the crackle of the fire the only sound in the room.

“What do you mean?” Nia asks.

“Xerneas and Yveltal are the gods of creation and destruction,” Soren says. “The cycle of life and death. If this is meant to be how the world ends, then Xerneas will likely not stop it from happening.”

Nia’s stomach churns. “W-What? But…if she can fix it, why wouldn’t she?”

“It’s not her role,” Soren says simply. “Her duty is to rebuild once the destruction has already passed. Not to prevent it from occurring at all. If there were no winter, there would be no spring, after all.”

Nia shakes her head. No, that can’t be true. Right now, Xerneas is their only hope. If fixing the border is impossible, then…then this whole world and everyone in it will die. And so will the human world.

“And how do you know that for sure?” Tobias growls.

“Because Xerneas is the god of creation,” Soren says. “The guardian of life energy—of aura. We lucario are her most devout followers. We follow her guidance our entire lives.”

Another long pause. Nia feels panic slowly rising in her chest.

“S-So what does that mean for us?” Junie asks. “This was the only idea we had, right?”

Soren doesn’t answer, looking calmly resigned to such a fate.

The Matriarch, however, scoffs. “For such a stubborn bunch, you lucario are so weak-willed. I, for one, am not letting my village die without a fight.”

Nia looks at the older Pokemon in surprise.

Soren sighs. “Matriarch, you know as well as I do that finding and waking Xerneas is a long shot on its own, but convincing her to stop the cycle of life and death is simply a fool’s errand.”

“Ha!” The Matriarch bares her sharp teeth at Soren, the expression feeling more like a challenge than a smile. “Then consider me a fool, pup. You and your father might believe in following the will of the world, but I do not.”

“Then…you’re on our side?” Nia asks, quiet.

The Matriarch looks at Nia with a gleam in her eyes. “Thankfully, while the pack is not under my control, neither am I under theirs. So consider my village an ally in this wild legend hunt of yours. August always was one for crazy ideas.”

Hope lifts once more in Nia’s chest. “So you think we can do it? Fix the barrier?”

“Won’t know until we try,” the Matriarch says with a shrug. “And it’s better to die fighting than to roll over and guide death’s foot right to your throat.”

Soren makes a derisive sound from his spot off to the side, clearly disagreeing with the sentiment.

Nia is sticking firmly with the Matriarch on this one. Nia doesn’t care if Xerneas thinks this is the natural order of things, or if a new world would be born from the ashes of this one’s destruction. This is her world. Her people. This world and the human one both. She won’t let them go without a fight.

“So the plan remains unchanged, then,” Tobias says, glancing between Nia, Samir, and Junie.

Nia takes a breath and nods. “We find Yveltal to confirm his presence, then use his location to find Xerneas and ask her to reinforce the barrier.”

“And if she refuses?” Soren asks. His tone is neutral, but only just.

“Then we cross that bridge when we get to it,” Nia says, voice a bit sharper than necessary.

“Three cheers for winging it!” Junie says, pumping a wing from her spot on Nia’s shoulder.

Tobias snorts.

Samir looks just as solemn as they usually do when the topic of their mission comes up, but thankfully the skiddo doesn’t seem to have been shaken from their resolve at all. Their front leg, however, is still being held delicately above the rug.

Right. Samir’s injured, Fidel is unconscious somewhere, and between exhaustion, stress, and hunger, Nia feels moments away from withering away into a pile of dust. Right on cue, her stomach growls, loudly. She groans and covers her face with her hands, embarrassed.

“Sounds like you’re more than ready for food and rest,” the Matriarch says, clearly amused. “We can move forward with the search tomorrow morning. Have Eira take a look at your injuries, and then rest up. You should all be able to fit comfortably in the guest lodgings with your old acquaintance.”

Old acquaintance?

A timid knock comes from the doorway, and Nia turns to the newcomer. She perks up when she sees a familiar little ghost Pokemon, his translucent purple body nearly lost to the darkness if not for his diamond eyes glinting in the firelight.

“Carnelian!”

The sableye looks shy but pleased by Nia’s excited greeting, returning her wave across the room.

“Enter, Carnelian,” the Matriarch says.

The sableye skitters over to join them, smiling with sharp teeth. If Nia had seen such a face in the human world she probably would’ve had nightmares about it, but here and now she finds it strangely endearing.

“It’s so good to see you!” Nia says, feeling her tail wagging behind her. She has to fight off the urge to hug the nervous little ghost.

“I-It’s good to see you too,” Carnelian says. He looks between Nia and Tobias, then quickly averts his eyes from Samir and Junie’s curious gazes. “I-I was shocked when Cobalt sent word that you were here!”

Cobalt? Maybe one of the other lucario.

“Are you all right sharing the guest house with me during your stay?” Carnelian asks. “I-It’s the only one in the village since they usually never have visitors, but I-I wasn’t expecting anyone so I did have quite a few of my books shipped over, which in hindsight feels rude but—”

“Books?!” Nia interrupts, ears pricking.

“Oh, now you’ve done it,” Tobias says.

Junie laughs. “Just try keeping this nerd out of your place now!”

Carnelian lights up. “Oh! Well, I-I���m happy to share!”

That is music to Nia’s ears. While they’re sure to be busy while they’re here and Nia still has plenty of books to read at the guild, she’s excited to see what the sableye has on hand.

“Go on, then,” the Matriarch says, catching their attention. She waves them out with a clawed hand. “Tomorrow morning, you’ll join Carnelian, Nouf, and Soren bright and early in the search for Yveltal.”

Soren is helping? Nia looks at the lucario, surprised.

In turn, the lucario scowls at the Matriarch with more expression than Nia has seen from him all night. “With all due respect, Matriarch, I never agreed to help.”

“Ah, but I have ways of getting your father on my side,” the Matriarch says, winking at Nia and the others. “Preparing the young leader-in-training to socialize properly with outsiders is a valuable skill, wouldn’t you say?”

Leader in training? So Soren isn’t the leader of the lucario pack, but the son of the leader? Nia supposes that does explain his stoic but deferring demeanor in the Matriarch’s presence. Even now, the lucario is visibly reigning in his irritation, jaw clenching and eyes closing for a moment before he regains his calm countenance.

“We shall see.”

“That we shall. Carnelian, if you would?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

The sableye leads Nia and the others out of the room and down the hall, back outside and into the frigid bite of mountain air. Nia shivers and steps closer to Tobias to leech some of his meager warmth, keeping an eye on Samir on her other side. The skiddo is still limping, carefully navigating the icy ground so they don’t slip and fall.

Carnelian is surprisingly chatty as he leads them across town, clearly familiar with the place after a couple weeks of living here. He points out the purpose of each building they pass, from the market to the town storage to the homes of individual civilians.

Nia feels a little bad interrupting him, but she can’t help asking, “Carnelian, you don’t happen to know how Fidel is doing, do you? The zoroark that showed up with us?”

“O-Oh! Yes, Eira was checking him over when I left,” Carnelian says. “I don’t think she was too worried about him. She starts frosting over her workspace when she’s really stressed, and when I left, everything was still ice-free! In fact, I-I think she wanted to move him into the guest quarters to have somewhere warm to recover, so he might even be there already when we arrive.”

Oh, that would be lovely. While Nia’s just relieved to hear that Fidel is in good hands, she’ll feel much better once she sees him again for herself.

Thankfully, they reach Carnelian’s house—or, more accurately, the guest lodgings—soon thereafter. It’s a cozy triangle of a building, similar to the other houses they’ve passed, with warmth spilling through shuttered windows and painting the snow around its base with golden light and blue shadows.

Carnelian pulls open the front door and leads them inside, and Nia’s eyes immediately find Fidel’s bright red mane of hair. The zoroark is curled up beneath a pile of thick blankets, bandages peeking out from under his fur. The quilted lump of his body rises and falls with steady breaths.

Thank goodness.

At his side, an unfamiliar Pokemon is placing medical supplies back into a sturdy woven bag, though she pauses to look up as they enter. She’s very clearly an ice type, mostly white with light blue accents and two shards of ice atop her head. However, she also comes across as very feminine—almost like she’s wearing a kimono. Her arms flare out around her wrists like long sleeves, and a red sash-like piece circles her middle before arcing out behind her like a bow. She floats a few inches off the ground, no legs beneath her, and her face almost reminds Nia of a skull, the skin beneath her eyeholes and jaw a frostbitten purple. Her eyes are just as blue as Soren’s, striking a balance between beautiful and haunting.

Her expression warms as she sees them, though. “Welcome back. These are the rest of our guests, I assume?”

“Yes!” Carnelian moves to stand at the healer’s side, presenting the much larger Pokemon in an unusually confident gesture. “This is Eira! The best healer in the mountains.”

Eira gives him a playful nudge. “I’m the only healer in these mountains, you sly spirit.” Then she floats forward and bows to them. “It’s nice to meet you all. I assume the Matriarch let you know that I would be attending to your medical needs?”

“Yes!” Nia bows in return. “Thank you so much for taking care of Fidel.”

“Of course! Go ahead and take a seat, and I’ll check on the rest of you one by one.”

Nia takes a look around as they step inside the building, amused by what she finds. While the walls are a warm wooden brown, and a patterned rug spreads over most of the floor, any décor, is hidden behind towers of books and loose-leaf paper. Tabletops are similarly covered by piles of stones and gems.

Carnelian has certainly made himself at home here, huh?

Their spare bed, luckily, is already set up on the floor next to Fidel, close to the fireplace set into the wall. Nia groans with relief as she flops into it, spreading out and stretching her sore, cold muscles in the warmth of the fire. Junie does the same with a happy sigh, and Tobias and Samir follow shortly after, the four of them piling together on the makeshift cot like puzzle pieces as their bodies are finally allowed to rest.

This is heaven.

“Carnelian, why don’t you grab them some food?” Eira says, more of an order than a suggestion even with her light, almost tinkling voice.

“O-Oh! Of course, you all must be starving!” Carnelian hurries out of the house, and Nia blinks after him, surprised yet again by his eagerness.

“Excuse my cousin’s excitement,” Eira says, floating over to them with her medical supplies in tow. “He doesn’t often feel comfortable with strangers, but he told me all about Team Scarlet when he first arrived the other week. He’s thrilled to see you again.”

Nia flushes beneath her fur as she sits up. “We didn’t do that much for him, really! We were just doing our job.”

“Mm.” Eira looks at Nia fondly. “Yes, I imagined you’d say something like that. Well, just know that you have my thanks, regardless.”

“You’re his cousin?” Junie interrupts, looking curiously between Eira and the door where Carnelian had disappeared.

“I am!” Eira says, looking proud as she starts pulling out medical supplies. Bandages, herbs and little jars of ointment become organized piles on the floor. “When the Matriarch mentioned the crystals and their possible importance, I knew Carnelian would be up for the task. He’s very sharp, you know.”

“I can’t wait to see him in action!” Nia says.

Eira hums her agreement, glancing over their group with an expert eye before settling next to Samir and gesturing for them to extend their injured leg. The skiddo looks annoyed, but silently does as asked. Eira hums and feels around their leg, all the way from the lump of their knee down to their hoof, noting when they tense up and asking where it hurts most.

Nia looks away since Samir seems strangely embarrassed about the injury. As she soaks up the heat of the fire and pets Junie’s soft feathers, her eyes catch instead on Tobias. The charmander is scratching at his neck with an irritable expression.

“You okay?” she asks.

Tobias jumps, his face flushing. “Yeah. Yeah, just, uh. An itch.”

Nia frowns, tilting her head. “You sure? I thought I saw you scratching at your neck when we were climbing, too.”

Tobias averts his eyes, looking disgruntled. “’S fine. Just some old injuries acting up in the cold.”

“Oh. Maybe Eira has something for that?”

Tobias shrugs. Then, he looks back at Nia. “Are you okay? After whatever that lucario jerk did earlier?”

Nia blinks. She recognizes the deflection for what it is, but she’s also surprised Tobias is still thinking about that. “O-Oh. Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t great, but it’s not like it hurt or anything?”

“It was super creepy is what it was!” Junie says, sitting up from where she’d been sprawled across the blankets like a bird splatted against a window. Her feathers puff out as her anger reignites. “I thought it’d feel like when Nia reads my aura but it felt like the dude was rifling through my pockets or something! Except it was my head or my soul or whatever, which made it ten times worse! Talk about an invasion of privacy.”

Tobias’ eyes darken and he glances at the door, as if debating whether or not to march back outside and find the lucario to chew him out properly.

Nia lays a hand on his arm to keep him in place. “Yeah, it, um…felt a lot more intrusive than I would’ve liked. Junie, you said it doesn’t feel like that when I read your aura, right?”

Junie looks up at Nia, surprised. “What? No, definitely not! When you do it it’s all warm and stuff! Like…I’m your little guinea pig and you’re giving me a nice bath or something.”

Nia snorts a laugh, caught off-guard by the comparison. “Like what?”

“You know what I mean! It's like...how little animals get nervous about people handling ‘em, and you need to reassure them and be gentle and stuff so you don’t stress ‘em out, right? When he was doing the aura stuff, it was kind of…scary? I could feel how easily he pried my thoughts open, and he didn’t care at all that I was nervous. But with you, you’re always super soft and stuff and you don’t pry like that, so I always feel safe!”

Oh. Nia doesn’t think she realized she was actually worried about this until Junie immediately laid her fears to rest. Hot tears prick at her eyes.

“Aww, c’mon, don’t get all weepy on me! Your little guinea pig doesn’t know how to deal with that!”

Nia barks another laugh. “Stop saying that!”

“She’s right,” Tobias says, catching Nia’s attention. His eyes are low, something in his posture a little upset. “I was nervous when you read my aura, but it wasn’t bad at all with you. I’m sorry he didn’t treat you two the same way.”

Fresh tears spring to Nia’s eyes. “Tobias!”

“Stop, you’re making her cry more! One guinea pig can only handle so many tears!”

Their delirious conversation continues until Eira gives Samir the all-clear. The skiddo’s leg is bandaged from the top of their hoof up to their knee, a chunk of ice tied to both joints. Their entire leg is also elevated on a pillow, and they look down at the setup with a disgruntled expression.

Nia’s happy mood dampens.

“All right,” Eira says with a little clap. “Other than that sprain, you should be good to go, Skiddo. No walking for you tomorrow, but you should be clear for the day after.”

Samir looks away with their ears low, not answering.

“Hey, that’s not too bad!” Junie calls, trying to cheer Samir up. “C’mon, we’re weak to ice types, dude. We’re lucky we even made it up here at all!”

Samir huffs, still not looking at any of them. Nia’s brow furrows.

Eira floats over to Tobias next. “Tobias, right? Let’s give you a look next.”

Tobias sighs but doesn’t argue, removing his winter gear and letting the ice type look him over. He is pretty beat up, bloody scratches and blossoming bruises littering his skin. Luckily, they all seem pretty minor, at least to Nia’s untrained eye.

Junie flutters around the charmander, chirping about how he’s going to look like a chameleon with all those colorful bruises, and Nia takes the opportunity to scoot over to Samir, who’s still glaring down at their bandaged leg.

“Hey,” Nia murmurs. “You okay?”

Samir doesn’t meet her eye, but they do nod.

Nia doesn’t believe them.

For a long moment, Nia worries at her lip, working up her courage. “Hey, Samir? I wanted to apologize.”

Samir finally looks up, visibly confused.

“About what I said on the mountain, after the avalanche,” Nia explains, shame squirming in her gut. She looks down, picking at the melting snow encrusted onto the bottom of her coat. “And during the avalanche too, I guess.”

Samir stares, still not getting it.

“I didn’t listen to you. Or, well, I almost didn’t. About letting Fidel go. I knew it was too dangerous to let my shield drop, but I just thought if I could grab him, I could—” Nia cuts herself off, taking a breath. “You were right. And I’m sorry that I argued with you. And then yelled at you afterwards. I was really worried about Fidel, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you when you were just trying to keep us safe.”

Samir doesn’t respond. After a few beats of silence, Nia peeks up at them.

The skiddo seems flabbergasted, blinking at her and her hunched, contrite posture. Finally, shakily, they whistle a quiet low-to-high response: Okay. It’s okay. They still seem like they’re trying to wrap their head around her apology.

Nia breathes a sigh of relief as one of the many, many weights on her shoulders melts away.

“Thank you. I just wanted to say that right away, especially since we’ll be separated most of the day tomorrow,” Nia says.

The skiddo’s glare returns as they focus back on their injured leg. They narrow their eyes, then glance at Eira, who is smearing some kind of salve on Tobias’ cuts and bruises and bandaging up the worst of them. Then Samir’s eyes flick to the door.

Oh no. Nia recognizes that look.

“Samir,” Nia warns in a low voice, leaning closer. “I saw that. You are not sneaking out to join us tomorrow.”

Samir huffs and shakes their head, stamping their other foreleg ineffectually against the blankets as they meet Nia’s gaze. No, they whistle.

“Samir, you have to rest! What if you hurt your leg more by walking on it too soon?”

Samir is shaking their head fervently before she’s even done talking. They meet her eyes, whistling again. No.

Nia stares at them, trying to understand why they’re suddenly so stubborn about this. They did this on the mountainside too, when they were freshly injured and trying to hobble down to help unbury Fidel despite Nia and Tobias telling the skiddo to stay put.

For someone so serious about Nia and Tobias playing it safe, they aren’t very safe with themself, are they? It’s like Samir thinks they’re playing by different rules, like they don’t get to rest just because they’re hurt. Like something terrible will happen if they do.

And then it clicks.

Nia feels her heart drop. She stares at the desperate shine in Samir’s eyes, at the way their mouth trembles the slightest bit.

Samir’s old partner abandoned them when they got hurt, right? So who’s to say that Nia and Tobias won’t do the same?

Nia hesitates, but then reaches out to cup Samir’s face in her hands. The skiddo jolts a bit, surprised, but doesn’t pull away. “Samir, you know you’re allowed to rest when you’re hurt, right?”

Samir’s eyes widen, something like fear crossing their face. They tug weakly against her hold.

Nia tightens her grip. “Samir, we want you to rest. It’s fine if you sit out tomorrow.”

Samir shakes their head, closing their eyes tight.

Nia tries to put all the conviction she can into her voice. “We aren’t going to leave you behind or think you’re a bad partner or something just because you got hurt, all right?”

Samir slowly stops fighting, cracking their eyes open again to search Nia’s face.

“We’re not your old teammate, Samir. When you’re ready to go again, we’ll still be here, okay? But until you’re better, just…please rest. We don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Samir’s expression crumbles. They yank their head free of her hold and dip their head to hide their face.

Nia silently panics, hands reaching. Was that the right thing to say? Did she make it better or worse? What does she do now? Scoot closer or leave them be?

Before she can decide, Samir gently buries their face in her lap, careful not to prod her with their horns. They’re shaking.

Oh.

Nia quietly turns her body to hide the skiddo from the others’ view, stroking a hand down the back of their head and through the surprisingly soft mane of their leaves as Samir shudders.

“You’re our teammate, Samir,” Nia murmurs. “And more importantly, our friend. You don’t have to prove yourself every moment of every day, okay? Especially if it’s going to hurt you. We don’t want that. Okay?”

Samir sniffles, but finally nods against Nia’s stomach. She smiles, relieved.

By the time Eira deems Tobias’ inspection finished, Samir has pulled themself together again, wiping at their face with their good foreleg. They look mortified by their little breakdown, avoiding Nia’s gaze, so she just gives them one more gentle smile before shuffling back to Tobias and Junie.

Tobias is covered in small bandages and shiny poultices, his expression resigned. Junie is making fun of the charmander even as Eira checks her over, gently extending her small wings and feeling for any breaks or strains.

Luckily, Junie is cleared with no injuries, and then it’s Nia’s turn. She dutifully takes off her own winter gear and follows Eira’s instructions as the ice type looks her over, gently squeezing and feeling along her limbs and shoulders.

As Nia answers Eira’s questions, she spots Tobias once more scratching at his neck, annoyed expression twitching into something painful before he pulls his claws away.

Nia frowns. She doesn’t know why Tobias doesn’t want Eira to see whatever scars he has perpetually hidden beneath his scarf, but…

She looks over her shoulder, to where Eira is finishing up. “Hey, Eira?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have anything for…old wounds? Uh, like when they act up in the cold?”

“For scars, you mean?” Eira asks, coming back around to face Nia with a curious expression.

“Um,” Nia looks over Eira’s shoulder, at her partner, and back. “I think so.”

Eira follows her gaze, making a quiet “Ah” of realization. Then she nods and digs into her bag, handing a jar of salve over to Nia. “Here—advise him to put it on once in the morning, any time during the day when the itching is bothering him, and once at night before bed, all right? Don’t be afraid to really pile it on. It should help moisturize and soothe the irritation, and it has a nip of a numbing agent, too.”

Nia takes the jar gratefully, cradling it in her hands. “Thank you so much.”

“Just doing my job,” Eira says, echoing Nia’s earlier words with a smile.

Just as they’re finishing their last checkup, Carnelian finally returns with food in tow.

“S-Sorry for the wait!” the sableye says, gently kicking the door open and shuffling inside with two bowls in hand. Soup? Whatever it is, it’s steaming hot, and Nia’s stomach rumbles as she takes a deep sniff of the air. “I had to get an extra pair of wings to help me bring them over.”

Behind Carnelian, a fluffy, red and white penguin-like Pokemon waddles in. He’s holding two more bowls of soup, one notably smaller than the rest for Junie’s tiny stomach. “Hey, Eira! Got some hungry bellies in here?”

Eira smiles at the newcomer. “That we do. Thank you for your help, Nico.”

Nico smiles back, and he and Carnelian quickly pass out the four bowls of soup. The food smells wonderful, hearty and well-spiced and loaded with some kind of vegetables. Or maybe roots?

Whatever the ingredients are, the dish has Nia drooling.

They quickly tuck in with a word of thanks, and Nia practically inhales her food, savoring the hot, salty broth, the soft potato-like vegetables and withered greens, and the slice of bread that Nico pulled out—from his tail?—and handed to them once they were settled.

If Nia weren’t so focused on devouring her meal, she’d be curious about all the ingredients they used for it. Vegetation doesn’t seem like it would do well in this climate, considering the lack of trees and grasses they’d seen on the way up. Maybe some kind of cold-resistant berries or crops grow up here? Or maybe they use roots or pine needles or tree bark or something. She thinks she remembers something like that back in the human world.

Whatever the answer is, Nia doesn’t think she’s ever tasted anything better.

Nico chats idly with Carnelian and Eira as Team Scarlet eats, the bird looking proud of how quickly they drain their bowls. When they’re done, satiated and warm and ready to pass out, they give the bird another round of thanks that he accepts with a bashful “Shucks!” before taking their bowls and spoons and heading out for the night. Eira follows him out, wishing everyone a good sleep and letting them know she’ll be back before they set out in the morning, and to send Carnelian for her if Fidel showed any worrying symptoms overnight.

Carnelian tries to start up a new conversation with them after that, but they don’t last long before they’re slurring their words through big yawns. Nia’s eyes feel heavier and heavier with each passing blink, and Junie has already slumped over into a lump of snoring feathers.

“You’d better get some rest before tomorrow,” Carnelian says with a smile. He slides a few more logs into the fire and peeks at Fidel’s sleeping face before retreating to his own nest in the back of the lodge with one of his books. Huh. It’s pretty dark over there, but maybe ghost types have good night vision? That would make sense.

They’re all too exhausted to go far, so they lie down to sleep right where they’d been sitting.  It’s not until Nia almost flops right on top of something hard that she remembers the jar she’d been keeping tucked away in her lap.

Oh, right!

Nia holds back another yawn and pushes herself back up. She squints over at Tobias, grateful that Junie is already out cold and Samir is quickly nodding off themself, their head dipping. “Hey, Tobias?”

Tobias was just about to lie down, too. Instead, his jaw cracks with a yawn as he looks back at her, matching her low tone. “Yeah?”

Nia holds the jar out to him. “Here.”

Tobias blinks sluggishly at the jar, then back at her, a furrow in his brow. “What’s this?”

“You said you had old injuries acting up, right? Like scars? I asked Eira if she had medicine for something like that and she said to use this when you wake up and go to sleep. Oh, and also if it itches during the day.”

Some alertness returns to Tobias’ expression as he realizes what Nia’s saying. He stares at her, face flushing, before he finally takes the jar and holds it close to his chest. “Oh. Um. Thanks, Nia. I’ll give it a try.”

Nia hums and flops back down in her spot on the bed, sighing happily at the softness and warmth. Just before she drifts off to sleep, Nia’s sharp ears hear the quiet spin of the lid being opened.

She hopes it helps.

[ohitsdragonite]

Wonderful research!

some of my favorite pokémon 💕🌈

[javacad0]

I'm tired of saying "Sneasels of both forms and Weaviles and also Sneaslers" all the time, there should be an umbrella term.

[scribz-ag24]

these people need to get back to work

[console-pokeballs-rupees]

Full Art Illustrations from Pokemon Pocket - Space-Time Smackdown expansion

[robbimonsuta]

Weavile EX alternative art from Pokemon TCGP Space-Time Smackdown expansion set

Illustrator: hncl

[reesieroo-spark]

Coolest pokemon in the entire world, according to my instagram mutuals :3 which are based choices

Btw that’s Nanu’s Absol over on the left 🖤

[diviously]

🇵🇸

[otiksimr]

Poorly drawn Sneasel line.

[southpauz]

Pokemon warmup doodles ❤️

[venusaur-propaganda]

Drawing Venusaur with every Pokemon pt. Weavile

[citrispace]

My full pieces for Pokeplanner! I'm so excited that I got to draw for my favorite gen. Huge thanks to every incredible artist in this project and especially to the mods that made it all happen. You guys rock ❤️

Leftovers are open now, so if you missed preorders be sure to nab one now before they're gone! I'll drop the l/nk in the comments

[pollyannawog]

Nonsense pmd au doodles