teshadraws

[teshadraws]

fuck terry pulling no punches in this one

[teshadraws]

Hey Tesha, back again with another long ask. Sorry if this has been asked before, I have a feeling it has been, but I was doing some brainstorming earlier on figuring out how Egg Moves work in my own project, and I figured I'd ask how they work in Seekers. (And maybe get your thoughts on how I'll be running them, if you want to.)

For me in my work, I'm thinking that if there's an Egg Move applicable to a Pokemon that one of their parents know, they'll be likely (but not guaranteed? Still deciding...) to have it in their potential movepool, but until they begin to use it (whether learning to use it from their parent[s], being thrust into a do-or-die situation where they use it randomly out of desperation, or otherwise), odds are that they won't know they have access to the move, so they can't just instinctively know how to use their Egg Moves right out of the gate.

How would you handle them in Seekers?

That's similar to how I think of egg moves working in Seekers! There's a genetic component for sure, which MrJacob and I talked about a bit HERE and HERE. Basically, if a Pokemon's parent or even grandparent knows a move that's compatible with the grandchild's biology, then they have the chance to pass the genetic imprint of that knowledge down to their offspring through egg moves!

It doesn't take as much work to initially access egg moves in Seekers, though. Pokemon just learn egg moves like any other level-up moves once their bodies are mature enough to handle the power/strain of those specific attacks.

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 72]

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AO3 Link

-

The dig for Yveltal continues, and the members of Team Scarlet learn about a village tradition.

-

The next day dawns much the same as the one before, save for a newly-healed Samir joining their crew. Fidel sees them off with a sleepy wave and a bid to be safe.

Junie, perched on Nia’s shoulder, snorts on their way out the door. “He shouldn’t worry so much. The scariest thing we’ll see today is Soren.”

“C’mon, I don’t think Soren’s that bad,” Nia says.

Junie gives her a dry look. “No offense, Nia, but you’d think an axe murderer was redeemable.”

Tobias and Samir huff a quiet laugh.

“H-Hey! I’m not that bad, either!”

“That’s the problem,” Junie says. “You’re too good. I’m sure you saw something in Soren's aura that makes him all sympathetic or whatever, but that doesn’t mean much to the rest of us.”

She…has a point. Good intentions don’t mean much without the behavior to match. Nia pouts but doesn’t argue, pulling the straps of their new backpack down around her shoulders.

“If I had to stop being such a jerk to people before they’d give me a shot, so does he,” Tobias says casually, stretching his arms as he leads them down the icy cobblestone oath to Nico’s restaurant. Eira had told them that they could swing by the delibird's place to pick up lunch for later.

“Who says you ever stopped being a jerk?” Junie teases, fluttering onto Tobias’ shoulder.

The charmander blows a ring of smoke into her face, making her shout about him proving her point before flying back to the safety of Samir’s back. Samir gives the rookidee an amused look.

The air is frigid as ever today, and clouds have covered the sky in a thin blanket of gray. Flurries of snow drift by as their group moves through the sleepy village.

When they reach the restaurant, Nia is surprised to see a small line formed outside, leading up to a serving window near the front door. A pretty white fox Pokemon with curly, icy-blue fur atop her head is leaning out of it, laughing with one of the townspeople. She uses a paw to push a small, woven sack lunch across the counter to them.

“Thanks, Rora!" The Pokemon says. "Say hi to your mama for me."

He grabs the meal and heads off with a wave.

Oh, neat! Carnelian had explained that the Matriarch was covering their meals while they stayed here, but he didn’t mention that they have a takeout situation set up. That’s perfect.

They join the back of the line, eyeing the menu as Nia and Junie talk about fast food in the human world—

“You didn’t have Döner?!” Junie exclaims.

“No, I lived in the U.S.! I was a Wendy’s fan.”

“Oh, that’s just criminal.”

—until it’s their turn.

The fox, Rora, perks up when she sees them, standing up on what must be a stool to lean over the counter with sparkling blue eyes. “Well hellooo there, strangers! I’ve been dying to meet you.”

Nia blinks. “You have?”

“Well, yeah! I’ve lived on this mountain my entire life, and a girl gets tired of snow, snow, and more snow, y’know? Like, everyone’s nice, but I want to see an actual city! Go to the ocean! And you’re Seekers, right? So you must’ve seen it all!”

“Rora! You’re working, remember?” A voice calls from within the restaurant.

Rora rolls her eyes, and Nia realizes suddenly that this must be a younger ‘mon. A teenager, most likely, probably only a year or two behind Nia and Tobias. Probably somewhere around Junie’s age.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rora sighs. But she smiles at them. “What can we get y’all?”

“O-Oh,” Nia says. “Um. I’ll take the, uh, bannock? With berries.” Anything topped with berries seems like a safe bet.

“Sure thing, sweetie,” Rora says, giving Nia a wink that makes her flush under her fur. The fox reaches to the side to scoop a small, purple marble out of a little bucket. “And you?”

“Veggie gratin, please!” Junie chirps.

Rora nods with a hum and adds a green marble to Nia’s purple. “And you two? Wow, you’re all cute, huh?”

Tobias, who had opened his mouth to order, goes bright red. “Uh.”

Samir isn’t much better, looking like a deer in headlights.

Wow, a super-effective hit on all of them. Rora’s dangerous.

The ice type laughs. “Sorry, sorry. Mama always says I’m too forward.”

Junie grins. “No, I like it!”

“‘S fine,” Tobias mutters, looking adorably flustered as he ducks his chin into his scarf. “Uh. We’ll take the roasted root salad and the pumkin curry."

Ooh, all of those sound good. Maybe they can share their meals so they get to try a bit of each!

Rora nods, sweeping brown and orange marbles to join the others before pushing all of them off the counter to drop into a little chute. Nia hears them roll away from the window.

“It’ll be just a few minutes,” Rora says, before looking at them again with wagging tails and bright eyes. “In the meantime, can you tell me about some of the cool places you’ve been? I’m making a list of where I should visit first when I finally save up enough to go traveling!”

Nia ignores the heart-wrenching thought that if they don’t succeed in saving the world, this girl will never get the chance. Instead, Nia just smiles and says, “Sure! We actually just came back from this really cool little place called Kaleido Bay…”

No one is behind them in line, so they chat with Rora while they wait for their food, telling the young Pokemon about all the places they’ve been: Kaleido Bay, the Haven, Ghatha, Fort Asra, Shivergleam, the fields they went to for the bug swarm’s migration…

Nia’s life has really been an adventure since she woke up as a Pokemon, hasn't it? She can’t blame Rora for wanting to see more of the world for herself.

When their food is ready, packed up in a tall basket that’s nearly too large to tuck into their bag, they wave goodbye to the cheery Rora and head to the tunnel to meet up with Carnelian and Nouf.

Nia is a little surprised to see Soren there as well. While they ended the day yesterday on much better terms than they started it, she would’ve thought the lucario would've convinced his father to let him stay back today. He seems like the type that needs to stay busy.

“Good morning!” Nia calls as they approach.

“G-Good morning,” Carnelian replies with a nervous smile.

Nouf grunts, and Soren gives them a nod. While the lucario doesn’t look excited by their arrival by any means, he at least feels much less hostile. Maybe they won him over a bit yesterday.

With everyone ready to go, Carnelian guides them once more into the tunnels and the heart of the mountain. They’re quickly enveloped by darkness and the rich scent of freshly-dug soil, with Tobias’ tail flame, Nouf’s lantern, and the faint red-purple glow of the crystals in the walls as their only sources of light.

It feels like no time at all before they’re back at the end of Carnelian and Nouf’s tunnel, a wall of crystal-laden rock in front of them. The sableye stretches, cracking his knuckles before getting to work, and Nouf wastes no time joining him.

And once more, the rest of them take a seat against the wall of the tunnel to wait and keep an eye on things. Nia sits close to Tobias’ side, leeching his warmth in the cold air, and Junie flutters into Nia’s lap to nest. Soren opts to stand against the wall across from them, arms crossed.

Samir is the only one left standing, looking a little lost.

“We weren’t joking when we said you didn’t miss much,” Tobias says, a wry note in his voice. “Just sit down and keep an ear out for any sign of cave-ins.”

Samir hesitates, but does eventually fold their legs beneath themself to settle on Tobias’ other side.

“Welcome to the thrilling world of cave guarding!” Junie says.

And thrilling it is. Nia is bored out of her mind in minutes, meaning she turns to her usual method of entertaining herself in these kinds of situations: her aura.

Although…

Nia checks her aura, and is happy to see it pretty much entirely back to normal after its previous state of exhaustion.

“Hey,” Nia says, catching the others’ attention. “Do you mind if I train my aura with yours while we’re down here?"

Tobias gives her an amused look. “You want to test some of the things Soren talked about yesterday, don’t you?”

Nia gives him a sheepish shrug.

“Sure!” Junie says.

“That’s fine,” Tobias agrees, reclining back against the cave wall and closing his eyes.

“I can avoid looking at yours, Samir,” Nia assures.

Samir looks at her for a long moment, then shakes their head. They whistle a quiet, Okay.

Nia’s brows raise. “You’re…okay with me reading your aura?”

Samir looks away, as if embarrassed, but nods.

Oh. That’s a level of trust Nia hadn’t thought they’d reached yet.

Nia smiles, touched. “Thank you. Don’t worry, I won’t pry.”

Samir shrugs, still not looking at her, so Nia gets to work and scooches away from Tobias a few feet, missing his warmth immediately. But it won’t be much of a practice with distance if she’s literally touching her targets.

Junie must understand that, because she flutters out of Nia’s lap without complaint and into Tobias’ instead, making herself cozy in his warmth with a happy sigh.

Across from them, Soren watches with an unreadable expression. He doesn’t offer his own aura as a test subject, but he doesn’t scorn her exercise, either. She’ll take that as a win.

Nia settles herself, taking a few breaths to relax and closing her eyes. She thinks about what Soren talked about yesterday, and all the uses her aura could have. She’s tried most of the techniques before, but she wants to try connecting to Pokemon at a farther distance.

Nia tries to replicate what she did at the Lexym Guild, sending a bit of her aura into the threads of the world around them. She was right yesterday when she said that the pathways here are…smaller. Dried up and barely visible. Her aura goes off track almost immediately, dissipating like a puff of steam on a hot playground slide.

Nia frowns.

This is definitely going to be harder than it was at the Lexym Guild. She supposes that makes sense, though—the Lexym Guild is literally built into a giant tree. Their surroundings were teeming with life energy there, the rivers of aura lush and their currents easy to float atop.

This mountain, as expected from somewhere so barren, is like…a dried-up creek, by comparison. The pathways are still there, and life isn’t choked out completely, but the water is shallow and the current is next to nonexistent. It takes a lot more effort for Nia to traverse it. In the guild, it was like sailing down a rapid river, whereas here she’s gonna have to painstakingly paddle her way upstream.

Oh well. That’ll make her practice more difficult, but she kind of welcomes the challenge. It’ll beef her skills up faster, after all, like punching above her weight class.

So, focusing herself and trying to tune out the sounds of Carnelian’s digging and Junie and Tobias’ quiet conversation, Nia tries again.

Slowly this time, she gathers a bit of her aura and sends it down the nearest branch, navigating towards where she knows Tobias is sitting. Sure enough, in a moment, she brushes against his familiar maroon aura. It recoils for a moment, surprised, before relaxing into her touch and reaching back.

Nia smiles, twining around him for a few seconds before finding Junie’s bright orange aura and tapping it, as if to say, Tag! You’re it.

Junie’s aura flares with excitement, then playfully chases back. The two of them tussle and roll for a few moments, before Nia moves away again.

Finally, Nia brushes by Samir, their aura lighting up behind her eyes. The skiddo is…silver. As strong as steel, scuffed up from heavy hits but still unbent. Reflective like a pool of water, calm and serene.

Nia doesn’t dig deeper than that for now, instead just trying to convey a sense of fond, safe, friend to reassure Samir since they aren’t used to this. She peeks open an eye to see Samir’s posture relax ever-so-slightly.

Nia cuts off her connection and takes a breath as her aura calms.

“You found them,” Soren says, surprising Nia.

She nods, proud.

“Now find the diggers.”

Nia blinks at him.

Soren stares back. His face is impassive, but his voice is neutral. He tilts his head in the direction of Carnelian and Nouf, already out of sight as they make a sharp turn in their tunneling.

While it’s phrased as a command, Nia gets the feeling Soren is trying to help, in his own blunt way. Or he's at least curious about how much she can do.

So Nia closes her eyes and tries to do as he suggested. Once more, she gathers her aura, then feeds it into the nearest thread, moving vaguely in Carnelian and Nouf’s direction.

Nia isn’t sure if it’s because they’re farther away, or because she can’t actually see them, but she has a much harder time of it. She takes a few too many wrong turns, then backtracks, until she feels her aura straining to maintain itself.

She lets it dissipate, huffing with frustration.

“Don't just mindlessly aim for the direction you think you should go,” Soren says. “That would get you nowhere during a search. Send out feelers first to pinpoint where your target is.”

“Um…feelers?”

Soren closes his eyes. For a moment Nia thinks he’s ignoring her, fed up with her questions already, until she feels his aura brush by hers to get her attention.

Soren’s deeper blue aura circles hers, then moves down one of the threads of the world around them. Nia closes her eyes and hesitantly follows, watching as Soren’s aura…splits. Razor-thin threads of his energy spread down a hundred different pathways, as thin as gossamer, barely there. Then, a moment later, they cut themselves off and vanish, save for one. Soren pours his energy into that one, and Nia trails at his proverbial heels, surprised when they suddenly skirt past two new auras, one a soft pink and the other a stalwart brick red.

…Carnelian and Nouf?

Nia opens her eyes with a gasp. “You found them so quickly! How did you do that?”

“Sending all of your energy in one direction without knowing where you’re going means you waste both time and aura if you are wrong. Instead, split your aura to cast a…net, of sorts. Once something catches your attention, you can follow it to its origin point.”

Huh. That reminds Nia of what she learned from Xander about tracking a scent with her nose. Breathing in deep until you catch a scent, finding its trail, and following it to its source.

“Doesn’t that tire you out, though?” Nia asks. “Spreading your aura so wide?”

“Less so than blindly searching and having to backtrack,” Soren says. He watches her expectantly.

Right. Her turn.

Nia takes a deep, grounding breath, then closes her eyes. She can sense Soren’s aura still hovering nearby, watching.

Nia tries to do as he showed her, not pouring all of her aura out in one big burst, but instead sending a trickle down multiple threads. Almost immediately, she loses track of which one is where, her confusion tangling the threads and making her lose concentration until her aura peters out.

Nia huffs.

“Don't think about it so much,” Soren says. Ugh, those words sound familiar. She had a problem with overthinking while battle training too, didn’t she? “You should not be directing your aura. You’re simply sending it down the pathways and covering ground until something catches your attention."

So it's kind of like…moving her hands through murky water. She shouldn’t be purposefully trying to seek out any objects hidden underneath with her eyes, but just…feeling, until she bumps into something. Like a spider feeling the vibrations of a struggling fly in its web and following those back to its catch.

“Okay,” Nia breathes.

She tries again, sending her aura out in thin threads. Some of them wash over Soren, Tobias, Junie, and Samir, but she ignores them this time around. She continues to cast her aura thin and wide, further and further, pushing her control to the limits until—

Faintly, she senses the unfamiliar auras from before. As if hearing a voice in the distance and knowing vaguely which direction it’s coming from. 

With that in mind, Nia cuts off all the other threads, then sends a larger burst of aura down the pathway where she sensed the disturbance, homing in on it.

There! She brushes by Carnelian and Nouf, and their auras light up behind her eyes.

“I found them!” Nia says, triumphant, as she cuts off her aura and opens her eyes. She’s panting, and her heart is beating fast, but she did it!

Soren meets her excitement with a satisfied nod. “You did.”

“No idea what you did, but good job!” Junie says.

Nia laughs. “I’m learning to find people and connect to their aura from a distance!”

Tobias’ brows raise, visibly impressed. “How far can you go?”

Nia hesitates, then looks at Soren.

“Practice will increase your range over time,” Soren says. “Theoretically, there is no limit. You could connect with someone on the other side of the planet, though that would require much more aura than you or I will ever have.”

“Wow,” Nia breathes. “And that’s how you communicate with your pack, right? Across the village?”

Soren hesitates for only a moment, then nods. “If you are close with someone, or at least familiar with their aura, it is easier to connect to them, even from a distance. Familiarity creates a sort of…magnetism between souls.”

“So if you practiced enough and had enough energy, you could like…talk to Maggie from way up here?” Tobias asks, bewildered.

“Like a cell phone!” Junie chirps.

Nia hums. “I think it’d be less like a conversation on a phone and probably more like…exchanging feelings, right? When I last practiced with Val and Avery, it was more like I was hearing the intent and emotions in someone's aura rather than actual words. And I think it’d be even harder to be specific from a distance.”

Soren nods. “Psychic types tend to speak in words, but our aura is based in emotion. Intent.“

Intent. Right. It’s like how Nia decides whether to make her aura intangible or physical, and whether to make it into a club or shield. Aura is pure energy, and Nia is in charge of what it does.

“So if intent decides how aura forms,” Nia muses. “How would I transfer energy like you mentioned earlier?”

“A healing move would be helpful with how often you guys get beat up,” Junie teases.

Tobias and Samir snort in unison. They're really on the same wavelength today.

“Riolu cannot channel energy for healing,” Soren says.

“Like how I couldn’t do aura readings?” Nia asks, her voice light but challenging.

To Nia’s surprise, Soren doesn’t bristle in response, simply shaking his head. “Riolu cannot typically achieve an aura reading without years of training, but it is possible. Healing moves, however, are impossible until evolution. Your biology isn’t built to convert energy in such a way.”

Nia frowns, glancing at Tobias and Samir as if to verify the lucario’s words. Tobias shrugs in response. “But…why wouldn’t I be able to do it now if I should be able to do it after evolving?”

“Perhaps as a defensive measure. When evolution was still possible, riolu typically evolved during childhood, since our evolution depends on an affection bond rather than battle experience or exposure to a particular item. However, getting carried away with healing as a child can deplete such a small Pokémon’s limited energy reserves. Sometimes to a dangerous degree.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that before,” Tobias says thoughtfully. “Maggie mentioned it happening to one of her patients once. I think it was a cleffa that kept healing her friends while they were battling, and she pushed herself too much and fainted. Her parents were pretty worried, but she just needed to rest to recover.”

Soren nods. “Aura exhaustion. Common for young healers.”

Nia frowns, looking down at her paw. “Healing powers would be awfully convenient, though. Are you sure I can’t do it?”

For a long moment, Soren looks at her. “You can try, but don’t be disappointed when it does not work.”

“I bet you ten poké Nia somehow pulls it off,” Junie whispers to Samir.

Soren pointedly ignores her. “Use my aura as your test subject. I don’t want to risk you harming anyone else.”

Nia snaps her head up to look at the lucario, alarmed. “W-What?! Harm?”

“You are trying to inject aura directly into another Pokémon’s life force,” Soren says drily. “While intent to heal should keep you from causing any harm, surely you can see why I am being cautious.”

Nia’s face isn’t sure whether it wants to heat with embarrassment or pale with unease. When he puts it like that…

Soren sighs. “You will not hurt me because I will not allow you to do so. I can see you will insist on exploring this avenue if you do not explore it now, so go on.”

Junie snorts and whispers, “Okay, he got you there.”

Nia feels much less certain about the exercise now, but she also knows Soren is right and her curiosity will make her want to try eventually. So she closes her eyes and conjures her aura, tentatively approaching Soren’s soul.

“What do I do to heal?” Nia whispers.

Soren doesn’t respond, but his aura reaches out to brush over hers. She feels him leave energy behind to soak into her own, adding to her aura in a way that feels strange. Like…eating an oran berry and feeling her energy replenish. Or maybe like a burst of caffeine entering her system after chugging some coffee. Nia hasn’t been injured today, to her knowledge, but maybe even the regular wear and tear of just living can be mended by healing moves.

Okay, Nia, focus. Healing time.

Nia tries to do the same thing Soren did, sending a bit of her energy at his with the intent to add it to his own. Hers, however, just sort of…slides off before dissipating. Like oil and water trying to mix. Nia frowns and tries again, to no avail.

“In using a healing move, you are converting your energy to a more…universal state that can be accepted by anyone,” Soren says. “Riolu bodies are not accustomed to such a task.”

Nia wants to argue and say that she can do it if she just tries, but after giving the process a few more goes, she has to stop, releasing her aura to find herself panting hard, her heart pounding in her chest.

She couldn’t do it. She feels a bit embarrassed by Tobias, Samir, and Junie’s eyes on her.

Soren, however, just grunts. “There is no reason to be ashamed. All Pokemon are built differently. Charmander can breathe flames. Skiddo can use the vines and leaves that grow on their bodies. Rookidee are built small and light to achieve agile flight. Riolu are simply not built for healing. It's just how you are made.”

Oh. That brings up another question, though, one that has haunted Nia since she first showed up in this world. She didn’t think about it until now, but she has the perfect Pokemon to ask right in front of her.

Even if it is sort of embarrassing to bring up right after failing something else.

“Okay, I get why I can’t do healing moves,” Nia says, making herself look up at Soren, “Sort of. But, uh. Do you have any idea why I wouldn’t be able to use other types of move energy?”

There’s a long stretch of silence as everyone’s eyes go to the lucario. Soren stares back at Nia, his brow slowly furrowing.

“…You cannot use other types of move energy?”

Nia cringes. “Um. No?”

“Only normal type moves,” Tobias clarifies. “I’ve never seen her use a fighting type move. Val couldn’t figure it out, either.”

Soren continues looking at Nia like she is a particularly strange insect that has crawled into his home. She fidgets under his gaze.

“So...no guesses?” Nia asks.

Soren sighs. “As far as I can tell, you are physically a normal riolu, despite your abnormal aura control. You should possess the ability to use fighting type moves at the very least, so it likely comes back around to intent.”

Intent? But how can that be the case if Nia's intent is to use a fighting type move?

“Didn’t you say something about not wanting to be a fighting type ‘mon when you first showed up in this world?” Tobias asks, squinting at Nia. “Because you ‘don’t like fighting’ or something?”

Nia blinks. “Did I? But surely that didn’t like…change my biology or something.”

“No, but it likely explains what is happening,” Soren says, catching their attention again. “You are holding yourself back.”

Nia stares. “What?”

“If you see fighting type energy as particularly…dangerous, or violent, then you could be restraining yourself from accessing that type energy, even subconsciously.”

“I dunno if she’s restraining herself from violence,” Junie says, humor in her voice. “I’ve seen her punch a seviper in the face.”

Samir nods sagely.

Soren tilts his head. "In self-defense?”

Nia frowns. “Pretty much all of my fighting is because I’m either sparring or defending myself or someone else. I never just…attack someone because I want to or anything.”

“Then it is likely a mental block,” Soren confirms. “Some part of you sees fighting type energy as too dangerous to use on someone else, so you withhold it.”

“Even when I don’t want to?” Nia whines.

Soren shrugs, as if to say, You tell me. “I cannot unlock the chains you have placed onto yourself, Riolu."

Helpful. But at least Nia has an idea of why she can’t use other kinds of move energy now, even if the answer feels kind of silly since she’s apparently the one to blame.

Nia sighs. “So I still can’t use fighting type energy and I can’t use healing moves. I guess it’s not all that useful for me to learn how to transfer energy then, huh?”

Soren tilts his head. “l…wouldn’t say that. While you likely cannot use an energy transfer move that you see as violent, such as drain punch, you still need to practice your aura control to be able to navigate pathways and make connections from a distance, if you do desire such a skill.”

Nia perks up. Having the equivalent of an emotional cell phone to connect to the aura of others sounds pretty useful, even if Soren says that she won’t be able to go too far with her own small pool of life energy.

“I do!”

“Then I see no reason why you should not continue to practice.”

So Nia does. Over the next few hours, while Carnelian and Nouf continue to dig and Tobias and Junie talk, Nia pours her time and energy into following Soren’s intermittent coaching. She sends her aura out in webs to find Nouf and Carnelian, over and over, and eventually even gets up to go back the way they came so she can find her own team’s auras from a distance. She brushes by them with a gentle touch before rounding back and doing it again. Like laps, or repetitions in a workout.

Nia is exhausted by the end of the day and has to stumble her way out of the mountain leaning on a worried Tobias, but she feels accomplished, too.

—————————————————————————————

Fidel is nearly back to full health by the next morning, but between Eira’s cautious attitude and Nia and the others assuring the zoroark that he’s really not missing much down in the tunnels, Fidel reluctantly allows himself one more day of rest at the guest lodgings, leaving digger guard duty to Team Scarlet once again.

They stop by Nico's restaurant again on the way out to grab lunch, joining the small line that has formed there. Ahead of them, a large blue seal Pokemon with long white whiskers is comfortably settled into the snow. Atop her head, a gorgeous, giant white moth with crystalline wings is perched. The two women are talking happily with each other, and the energy in the seal's voice catches Nia’s attention.

“Eirwen said she’s finally ready to perform that new song she’s been working on!”

The moth Pokemon hums, sounding pleased. “It has been a while since we’ve had a new melody to dance to. I’m sure it’ll be lovely.”

“Mhm. The festivals wouldn’t be the same without her spicing them up every now and then!”

“A festival?” Nia can’t help asking.

The two ‘mon look behind them, surprised, and for a moment Nia is worried they’ll snub her question since she's an outsider. An eavesdropping outsider at that. But to her delight, the seal Pokémon’s face lights up.

“Oh, you’re the travelers!” The seal says, her whiskers twitching. “We heard that you helped out Lumi with her sled yesterday. Thank you. Her boy’s had a cold for a few days now, and we’re always saying that she needs to ask for help when she’s on her own but she’s so stubborn for someone so shy and—"

The moth Pokemon taps the seal’s head with a tiny foot that was previously hidden in her fluff.

“Oh, sorry!” The seal laughs. “Anyways, thank you. I know we aren’t always the most welcoming bunch to strangers, but Rora talked about how sweet all of you are.”

Nia blinks, her ears burning as she glances past the two Pokemon to where Rora is finishing up the order of the Pokemon in front of them: a penguin with an…ice cube for a head?

“O-Oh. Um, it’s no problem!” Nia says, smiling. “We’re happy to help.”

“What were you saying about a festival?” Junie asks.

“It’s not exactly a festival, per se,” the moth Pokemon says, her voice as delicate as her gossamer wings. Still, her tone is friendly enough. “More of a…small gathering for the village.”

“Yup!” The seal Pokemon says. “We do celebrate the usual holidays—winter births and all that—but this is just our monthly celebration."

“A celebration for what?” Tobias asks, brow furrowed.

“The Matriarch started the tradition a few years ago,” the moth Pokemon says, looking thoughtfully towards the head of the village. “I believe it’s to keep morale high during these troubled times. It gives us all something to look forward to, and a chance to bond and forget our problems for a night.”

“I think the Matriarch just wanted an excuse to throw a party every month,” the seal says jovially, giving them a wink. “But it’s all the same to me, as long as I get to dance.”

“So there’s music?” Nia asks.

“Yes!” The seal Pokemon says, doing an excited little flop that jostles the moth atop her head. “A few ‘mon perform for the village. We all dance around the bonfire and chat and enjoy a big meal together. You should come!”

Nia exchanges a surprised look with Tobias and Samir.

“We’re invited?” Tobias asks doubtfully.

The seal Pokemon laughs. “I think Rora would throw a fit if you weren’t there, and you’ve been nothing but polite since you’ve been here. Why not? I’m sure Eira and Carnelian would want you to come, too.”

“When is this shindig?” Junie asks eagerly.

“Tonight,” the moth Pokemon says.

“So don’t wear yourselves out too much today, all right?” The seal says playfully.

Before Nia or the others can respond, the muted thump of a little paw smacking on wood catches their attention.

“C’mon, ladies, I don’t have all day!” Rora calls playfully.

The seal barks a laugh and scoots up to the counter. “I know for a fact that you do, little flurry!”

While the two ‘mon in front of them order, Junie leans forward from her place on Nia’s shoulder to catch her attention. “So we’re totally going to that party tonight, yeah?”

“You mean the ‘small gathering,’” Tobias drawls.

Junie waves him off. “Psh. A party’s a party, and I wanna check it out! C’mon, we’ve been invited, so why not?”

Tobias and Samir exchange a reluctant look. Nia isn’t always a person who enjoys big parties herself, but she thinks they could use a bit of fun and festivity to balance out all the doom and gloom they’ve had to deal with recently. And Junie’s excitement is bringing to mind something from her human life: vague memories of her best friend Toni dragging her out to socialize. It makes Nia feel oddly nostalgic—and Nia did usually have fun once she went...

Mind made up, Nia turns to Tobias and Samir with puppy dog eyes to match Junie’s own.

“You two can go,” Tobias says. “Just don’t stay out too late so you’re ready to go tomorrow morning.”

Nia’s ears droop, disappointment hitting her harder than she expects. “You aren’t gonna come?”

“Yeah, c’mon! You need to loosen up more than anyone!” Junie crows.

“I’m not exactly a party Pokemon,” Tobias snarks, crossing his arms. At his side, Samir nods in agreement.

“They said there would be music, right?” Nia says hopefully. “Aren’t you curious to see how the music here is different from what you’re used to?”

Nia sees Tobias’ interest pique at that, though he’s clearly not sold.

“Could you just come for a little while?” Nia presses. “You can go back to the lodge as soon as you’re tired of it, and Junie and I won’t stop you.”

Tobias sighs. “Why does it matter so much if I’m there or not? You’ll have each other, right?"

“Yeah, but…” Nia trails off.

She pictures herself at the celebration with Junie and the villagers, dancing and having fun. She loves Junie, but the thought of being there without Tobias still makes her feel a little…lonely. She’s just happier when Tobias is with her, experiencing the world at her side. Even if it’s just for a little while.

“It wouldn’t be the same without you,” Nia says. Then, her face heats and she hurries to add to Samir, “Both of you. It’s more fun when we’re all together, right?”

Tobias and Samir look at each other again, their resolve faltering.

Finally, Tobias sighs. “Fine. I’ll come for a little while.”

Nia’s tail wags as Junie gives a little cheer. As one, they look at Samir.

The skiddo leans away, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. But after a long moment, they sigh and tilt their head at Tobias, as if to say, Same.

Nia joins Junie’s cheer this time, thrilled that she’ll have all of her friends with her tonight to experience the festivities.

“Ooh, what’s got you all so excited?”

Nia grins as she turns to Rora. They’ve reached the front of the line, and the vulpix is nearly hanging out the window, ears pricked and tails wagging.

“We’re excited about the party tonight!”

Rora’s blue eyes shine. “You’re going?! Oh, awesome! I’ll show you all of the best dances.”

The lightness in Nia’s chest buoys her all the way to the cave entrance, where they meet up again with Soren, Nouf, and Carnelian. She’s practically skipping across the snow, and she has to explain why she and Junie are so hyped when Soren gives them an irritated look, probably annoyed by the excitable energy their auras are putting off.

Carnelian, however, seems just as pleased as Rora that they’d been invited to join the festivities. Maybe he didn’t feel comfortable extending an invitation himself since he’s only been here for a few weeks? Eira, too, likely didn’t want to vouch for a whole group of strangers right after bringing Carnelian in.

Nia and Junie finally calm down by time they make it back to the dig site.

With this now being their third day down in the tunnels with little to do, Tobias has apparently reached the end of his rope with just sitting in the dark. It only takes a few minutes for him to get up and declare that he’s going to train too since he might as well do something down here, and Samir quickly joins him.

The two of them jog up and down the length of the tunnel, doing push-ups and other exercises between each lap. Eventually, the two ‘mon even start sparring, keeping their attacks to regular hits so they don’t cause damage to the tunnel structure with any moves.

Soren, notably, moves to watch them, trying look uninterested despite the way he physically has to relocate to get a closer look.

Guess even he gets bored eventually.

Nia follows their lead and continues to use her aura to navigate the pathways around them. She’s getting better at connecting to others from afar, locating Tobias and Samir farther down the tunnel and watching with interest as their auras flare and dim with bursts of exertion.

Junie sits on Nia’s lap and occasionally calls out to heckle Tobias and Samir when they pass by during their laps, teasing them about their speed or telling them to pick up their feet like a cranky gym teacher. When Tobias calls her out for criticizing them when she’s doing absolutely nothing, Junie hops down half the length of the tunnel on her tiny legs before giving up and returning to collapse into Nia’s lap.

Nia, who needed a break of her own anyways, releases her aura and smiles down at the little bird. “You good?”

“No,” Junie groans. She rolls over onto her back, splaying her wings wide. “I feel like such a wimp compared to all of you.”

Nia pokes her adorable little bird foot. “Well, you do literally have chicken legs.”

It’s the funny phrase that makes Nia remember.

“Oh!” she straightens up. “Junie, can you try something with me real quick?”

“As long as I don’t have to move,” Junie mumbles.

“You don’t. You remember when we first met the Matriarch, and she and Soren started talking in another language? You couldn’t understand them either, right?”

Junie rolls her head to look up at Nia. “No, I couldn’t. Why?”

“That made me think about what we realized in Ghatha! That we were speaking two different languages—well, three counting Ordirune—but still understanding each other just fine. Right?”

Junie frowns, but nods. “Yeah? I’m speaking German, but you said you’re speaking English, right?”

Nia nods. “Mhm! Tobias said that we’re both speaking Ordirune, though, so he thinks that Mew changed our brains so that we sort of…automatically translate our own languages into Ordirune when we speak, and hear others in our language even though they're speaking Ordirune. But not being able to understand Soren and the Matriarch made me wonder if we can still speak our own languages, too.”

“Huh.” Junie blinks. “You mean…avoiding that automatic translation thing so that other Pokemon would hear a foreign language?”

Nia nods. “Right! Want to try it with me?”

“I mean…sure? But I’ve been speaking German, and it still comes out Ordirune. So how do we fix that?”

Good question. Although, if it’s anything like aura…

“Maybe it’s a matter of…intent,” Nia says slowly. “Like, rather than just thinking, ‘I'm hungry,’ and saying it, you really focus on forming the words themselves.”

“Huh. Well, go on. Give it a go.”

Nia nods, opening and closing her mouth a few times as she tries to figure out where to start.

Nia had taken some Spanish classes in high school, and this sort of feels like how it felt to learn another language then. Consciously thinking of the correct words and sentence structure and molding her mouth to the syllables as she works through them.

Slowly, she tries it. “I…am hungry.”

Junie’s eyes light up. “Okay, my English is a bit shaky, but that was definitely different than Ordirune. Let me try.”

The little bird sits up, her face scrunching with concentration. Then slowly, stumbling, she says, “Ich...habe Hunger.”

Nia beams. “I didn’t understand a word you just said!”

“Klasse!” Junie laughs, hopping up.

“Success!” Nia cheers in the same tone, pumping her fists. “So that must mean it’s not really an automatic translator, then. More like...the knowledge of Ordirune was so strongly implanted into our minds that it feels more natural to default to that language than to our own native tongues. That is fascinating.”

“Okay, nerd.”

“What? You can’t say this isn’t interesting!”

“It’s kinda cool.”

“It’s very cool!”

“What’s cool?” Tobias asks, coming over to them.

He’s breathing hard after his latest spar with Samir, and immediately crouches to rummage through their pack. Probably looking for some hydration berries to refresh.

“We can still speak in our human languages!” Nia says excitedly. “It just takes a bit more focus than before.”

“Huh.” To Nia’s surprise, Tobias pulls out their water flask. Though she understands when he pulls out a bowl and pours some water into it, setting it down next to Samir.

Samir settles heavily on the cold ground, hesitating briefly before bending their head to lap at the water. Nia tries to look natural as she averts her eyes. Samir always seems weirdly embarrassed to drink in front of them. Maybe they used to use their vines to hold a flask like Nia and Tobias? It would feel weirdly humiliating to have to drink from a bowl after drinking with her hands her whole life.

Junie, on the other hand, has no shame despite her human roots. She hops to the skiddo’s side and dunks her beak to grab quick mouthfuls of water, like a songbird at a bird bath. She splashes Samir in the process, and the skiddo gives her an annoyed look.

Tobias sits too, handing the flask over to Nia to take a sip as he pops a hydration berry into his own mouth. “Say something in, uh…in your language, then.”

“Oh!” Junie pulls her wet face away from the bowl. “Hey, Tobias, you know what you are? Eine liebestolle echse.”

Tobias frowns, looking at Nia. “What did she say?”

Nia laughs and shrugs. “I have no idea. I don’t speak German. But I’m sure it wasn’t flattering.”

Junie smirks before going back to her water.

“You didn’t even do that much,” Tobias grumbles. “Stop drinking so much water.”

“Hey, that’s a long way to run for such little legs,” Nia says in English, her words still awkward and slow.

Junie laughs. “You’ve got that right!”

Tobias blinks at Nia. “Whoa. That is kind of cool.”

“Isn’t it?!”

This routine continues for hours, with their training interrupted only by lunch, short breaks to catch their breath, and moments every half hour or so where they have to get up and move forward to keep up with Carnelian and Nouf’s digging.

Nia asks Soren about the festivities planned for tonight during one of her breaks, and to her surprise the lucario doesn’t immediately brush her off. Instead, he confirms that many of his pack members will likely attend.

“Wait, you’re saying you guys actually have fun sometimes?” Junie says, only half-teasing.

Soren pinches at the skin between his eyes. “My pack does have friends in the village they like to spend time with, Rookidee. And it’s…good. For them to relax every once in a while.”

“Including you?” Nia asks, genuinely curious.

To her surprise, Soren almost seems…embarrassed. He looks away. “...The music is composed well. And the food is excellent.”

Junie whistles. “Wow, so you do know how to enjoy things!”

Nia gently clamps the little bird’s beak shut with her fingers. Soren’s being vulnerable here—she doesn’t want to immediately push him back into his shell!

“I’m excited to check it out!” Nia says brightly. “I know Tobias is excited about the music, too. What kind of instruments do they—"

Nia is interrupted as the sound of digging further down the tunnel suddenly grows loud, rocks clattering as something in the cave collapses.

Nia’s heart drops, her head whipping around as if she could see what just happened around the corner. What was that? A cave-in?

Soren is already pushing off the wall and running towards the diggers, and Nia hurries to follow, Junie fluttering to her shoulder while Nia gets her stiff legs under her.

“Tobias! Samir!” Nia yells over her shoulder. “Get down here!”

She runs for the end of the tunnel, expecting to see a pile of rubble and Soren rushing to dig Carnelian and Nouf out.

Instead, she staggers to a stop once she rounds the bend, surprised but relieved to see the sableye and piloswine are safe and sound. Soren is already at their side, his shoulders tense.

Behind them, the cave wall where Carnelian and Nouf had been digging hasn’t caved in, but instead opened up into a pre-existing tunnel. Through the narrow opening, the previously faint purple-red glow of the crystals intensifies, glowing as if lit by neon lights. It’s almost enough to hurt Nia’s eyes after the previous dimness of the tunnels.

However, Nia doesn’t think that’s why Soren is staring at the entrance like a maw full of teeth as the fur prickles on her arms and neck. No, there's something deeply wrong in the air suddenly. In the aura around them. Whereas the pathways of the world had been narrow and dried up before, the tunnel ahead feels…completely empty. Like a void.

“What’s wrong?” Tobias pants as he and Samir come running up behind Nia. The two of them stop as they too catch sight of the opening, glowing like a warning sign.

“Is that..?” Tobias whispers.

Nia nods. It has to be.

“Yveltal’s resting place,” Soren confirms, his voice hushed.

Nouf is silent as usual, but Carnelian looks unnerved by the tension in the air, wringing his claws and looking between all of them.

“W-What now?” The sableye asks.

“We have to confirm that Yveltal is inside,” Soren says. He moves to take the lead. “I can check. Stay here.”

“You are not going in there on your own,” Nia says, still staring at the gap. It feels like if she looks away, it’ll lunge and swallow her whole. “We came down here as a group for a reason.”

Soren glares at her. “I cannot guarantee your safety if you follow me.”

Tobias steps up to Nia’s side. “Duh. We’re Seekers. We signed up for danger.”

Soren makes an unhappy sound in his throat, but doesn’t argue further. Instead, he turns to Carnelian and Nouf next.

“You stay here. We’ll confirm.”

Nouf snuffles what Nia assumes to be an affirmative.

Carnelian, however, hesitates before shaking his head. “I-I…I want to see it. Him.”

That’s a surprise. Nia wonders if the little ghost actually wants to see Yveltal, or just the crystal runoff surrounding him.

Soren’s mouth twists, but he doesn’t bother arguing with Carnelian, either. The lucario’s eyes keep flicking back to the tunnel, as if he feels just as uncomfortable with the black hole of aura as Nia does.

“Stay close,” is all Soren says, before squeezing through the gap and into the glowing tunnel.

Nia exchanges a tense look with the others, then gestures Carnelian in next. She doesn’t know exactly what lies ahead, but if they were in a dungeon they’d take a formation like this. It’s important to keep their escort safely sandwiched between capable fighters.

The sableye slips in after Soren, followed by Nia and Junie, then Samir, then Tobias.

Inside, Nia blinks to adjust to the purple-red glow surrounding them. The crystals completely cover the walls here, and Nia has to step over some clusters on the ground as they start to venture forward. It would be beautiful if the air didn’t feel so…wrong.

Junie tucks herself closer to Nia’s neck, and the group moves forward in tense silence. The ceiling of the tunnel is just high enough for Soren to walk without crouching, but Nia can’t tell if it’s the cramped nature of the tunnel or just the sheer lack of aura that makes her heart pound and fear brush at the back of her neck. Normally, Nia doesn’t consciously notice the aura around her unless she’s looking for it, but the sudden lack of it is…unsettling. Like walking through the forest and realizing that there isn’t a single sound—no trees rustling, no birdsong or bugs.

Lifeless.

The feeling only grows as they move forward, and the roaring of Nia’s pulse in her ears is only accompanied by the quiet footsteps of the others.

“O-Okay, is anyone else super freaked out right now?” Junie whispers in a rush, her voice shaking. Oh, wait, all of her is shaking.

“I am,” Nia murmurs, reaching up to cup her hand over her friend and stroke her thumb over the feathers on her back. “There’s no aura here.”

Like it’s been drained away, sucked into the nothingness ahead of them.

No one else responds, and Nia doesn’t blame them. They’re likely feeling the same way. Even whispering feels like she’s breaking some rule, like talking in church when she shouldn’t, waiting to be shushed by an adult.

It feels endless, their trek forward. Especially when Nia feels like she’s being hunted every step of the way. She keeps her eyes on Carnelian in front of her, and the awe in his gemstone eyes as he looks around at the glowing crystals is a small comfort. Ahead of them, they’re lead by Soren’s steady, unflinching form.

Finally, they round a bend in the tunnel, and the air around them opens up.

A soft purple-red glow fills the room, crystals outlining an absolutely massive, cavernous space. The ceiling has to be at least a mile up, the glow of crystals there like distant stars.

But Nia’s eyes are drawn to the one dark spot amidst the light: a massive gray…stone? It sits amidst a burst of crystals in the center of the room, like an egg in a nest. It looks almost like a meteor, the size of it larger than a bus.

However, it’s the thing’s aura that makes Nia’s breath catch as she realizes what she’s looking at. Nia thought that since their surroundings were lacking life energy, Yveltal somehow would be, too. However, this is…something else entirely.

Yveltal’s aura is immense. Dense, like carbon pressed so tightly it has become a diamond. A galaxy packed within a single star.

Will and Fidel said that Yveltal consumes life energy when he wakes, right? And that when he sleeps, he goes somewhere barren to siphon that energy off into the environment. Since it's so lifeless here, maybe that means that energy disperses far away, draining outward to nourish more fruitful areas?

Either way, if this is Yveltal after sleeping for who knows how long...then this isn’t even Yveltal at his strongest. And yet the sheer amount of energy present makes Nia tremble.

The others stand around Nia with the same air of awestruck fear, gazing silently upon Yveltal’s cocoon.

“Well,” Tobias finally breathes. “He’s here.”

“That he is,” Soren says, quiet. Nia can’t tell how he feels about the statement. “We shouldn’t linger. If he is roused early, he may go on a rampage. And with the border as weak as it is and without Xerneas to calm him, we would simply be hurrying along the end of the world ourselves.”

Nia shivers, glancing up at Soren. “I-Is it that easy to wake him up?”

Soren frowns. “I don’t believe we would wake him with our mere presence, no. It would likely take a purposeful attack or disturbance. Still, I want to be cautious.”

Understandable. “Time to report to the Matriarch, then?”

Soren nods.

The lucario leads them back to the tunnel they entered from, ushering them through first. Tobias takes the lead this time, followed closely by Samir.

Nia glances back once more at the cocoon before she follows. It’s terrifying, of course, feeling that power and imagining what sort of destruction it could wreak if awoken, but it’s also sort of—

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Carnelian whispers. Nia jumps, but turns to meet the sableye’s glittering eyes. He grins at her, clearly more delighted than fearful. Nia supposes his love of crystals overrides the sheer intimidating presence of Yveltal. Plus, aren’t sableye dark types? Maybe this is like…meeting his own personal god.

“Scary,” Nia laughs under her breath. “But…yes. Beautiful too.”

Carnelian snickers. “Agreed!”

Junie, on Nia’s shoulder, is still silent. Nia strokes her back again as they walk. “You okay, Junie?”

“Y-Yeah,” Junie breathes. “Just…a little overwhelmed, I guess.”

Nia hums her agreement. She can’t stop thinking about the sheer amount of aura she’d felt in that cocoon. Is that the power of a legendary in this world?

Does that mean Giratina is that strong, too? No, Nia supposes he isn't, considering he can’t even bring them to his realm anymore. Maybe when he was at full power?

Although…if Yveltal is still that powerful even after draining some of his energy, does that mean Giratina’s speculation was right? That he and Xerneas have managed to avoid the weakening and dormancy that the other legends have fallen to?

Hope balloons in Nia’s chest. She’d been so awestruck she hadn’t even realized what Yveltal’s presence means for their plan to save the world. Now that they’ve confirmed his location, then that means Xerneas must be sleeping nearby, right? Will and Fidel said that they usually sleep within sight of one another, so that when one wakes, then the other is ready to balance them out.

Which means they have a shot. If they can just find Xerneas, wake her, and convince her to strengthen the border, maybe they really can save this world!

And after that, Nia can finally go home, too.

The thought is bittersweet, but surely if the border is stabilized and everything is all right again, Will and Giratina can focus on figuring out how to send them back.

"But souls do not simply wander."

Nia frowns as Soren’s words from yesterday echo in her head. Sure, he might be right, but that doesn’t mean anything, really. Maybe this world…called out to the human one for help, and certain people fit the bill for whatever reason.

Nia tries not to think about it too much because it makes her uncomfortable, but her body must be sleeping in the human world. Like…in a coma or something. Or maybe there are some time shenanigans going on and she’ll wake up there as if no time has passed, like this was all just a crazy dream. She wishes she could remember what she was doing in the human world before she woke up here, but her memory is still spotty.

Nia takes a deep breath and shakes her head, as if to slough off her anxious thoughts and mixed emotions. She tries not to think about her family too often nowadays, since she has enough worries to deal with in this world, and her friends are usually a great distraction from that.

But when she does think of her family in the human world, she feels that old ache reopen in her chest, fresh as the day she woke up here.

She misses baking together with her mom and hearing her laughter when Nia inevitably gets flour in her hair somehow. She misses her brother, dousing her with a water gun under the hot summer sun and dragging her with a shriek into the lake. She misses her best friend Toni, and late nights spent driving around their little hometown with the windows rolled down and music blaring. She misses the excitement of preparing for college, the nervous anticipation of going away from home for the first time and seeing the world, of finding who and what she wanted to be.

But…

Nia swallows hard as her gaze flicks down to her shoulder, where Junie is a puddle of blue and black feathers under her hand. Then she looks ahead to Samir, the skiddo’s head held high and their ears pricked, alert as always. Then further, to Tobias.

Her partner. Her best friend in this world.

Grief stabs Nia in the heart, harder than she expects and nearly taking her breath away. She wants to go home, she does, but…some part of her wants to stay here, too. Wants to continue going on adventures with Tobias, and learning more about him, and strengthening their teamwork with Samir, and laughing and teasing with Junie.

Nia thinks about waking up in the human world and knowing that she’ll never see Tobias’ little smirks or soft blue eyes again. Never feel Samir’s reassuring presence, or hear Junie’s loud laughter.

Tears prick hot at her eyes. Nia swallows hard against the lump in her throat. No more Maggie, or Fen, or Xander and his team, or even Andyn, despite how poor their relationship is right now. No Fliss, or Will, or Fidel, or…

Nia sniffs, bringing up her other hand to swipe at her eyes.

Junie, of course, notices, and pushes Nia off with a wing to look up at her with wide, panicked eyes. “Whoa! Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

That, unfortunately, catches everyone else’s attention too, and their procession through the tunnel stops as Tobias and Samir turn around immediately.

“Nia?” Tobias asks, looking ready to push past Samir to reach her side. His gaze flickers past her and Carnelian to focus on Soren for a moment before returning. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” Nia laughs, embarrassed and a little watery. “Sorry. Was just...thinking about some stuff. I’m okay.”

Tobias seems uncertain. He glances at the others, as if wishing the two of them were alone so he could press for answers. “You sure?”

Nia gives him a smile, warmed by his concern. “I'm sure. Sorry. You can keep going.”

Tobias doesn’t look convinced, but after another moment of hesitation he turns around and starts leading them forward again, casting a worried look over his shoulder after a few seconds. Samir does the same before following.

“You sure you’re okay?” Junie murmurs.

“Yeah,” Nia says with a smile, shoving thoughts of her family out of her head like she does most days. “I'm fine.”

—————————————————————————————

They make it back to Nouf and then out of the mountain entirely without any further incident, and head right away to the Matriarch’s residence to inform her of their findings. Nouf peels off at some point to go about her business, and Nia can’t help feeling amused by that. The piloswine really did show up to do her job, found a god, and then clocked out as soon as she wasn’t needed. What a power move.

Finally, they find the Matriarch back in the same cozy little room they’d first met her. The weavile is sitting in her chair again, ice cane laid across her lap and a clawed paw at her chin. She doesn’t seem surprised by their findings.

“So Yveltal does indeed sleep beneath our mountain.” The Matriarch looks up at them. “Not that that changes much for us, but that is the news you were hoping for, yes?”

Nia nods. Recovered from her earlier near-breakdown, she’s feeling hopeful again. “Right. Since Yveltal is here, that means Xerneas should be somewhere close by. Within eyesight of the mountains, hopefully.”

“Somewhere lush,” Tobias adds, crossing his arms with a frown. “Though that could describe a lot of different places.”

“If we can only narrow it down to ‘places that aren’t totally dead,’ we’re gonna be searching for a while,” Junie says. She flutters over to land on Samir’s horns. “There are all kinds of places like that surrounding these mountains, right?”

Samir huffs and whistles a Yes, their brow furrowed as they try to glare up at the rookidee using them as a perch.

Soren speaks up. “Much like how Yveltal’s surroundings are entirely void of aura, Xerneas’ resting place would be overflowing with it. Nature as a result would likely not only be thriving, but would show abnormal levels of growth.”

Abnormal levels of growth? That immediately brings one place to mind for Nia. After all, they live in an abnormally large tree.

...Surely that can’t be it.

Still, the idea won’t leave her. The Lexym Tree is the tallest tree in the forest, after all, many times over. Nia had wondered at its size before, but never really questioned how it grew to such a massive state. And while she hasn’t been to all of the places within eyesight of the mountains, the Lexym Guild is the only location she can remember really standing out from their various flights.

But surely that couldn’t be Xerneas’ resting place, right? Someone would have to know about it if that was the case. Know that a literal god has been sleeping under their feet the whole time. August, at the very least, but he sent them on this mission to find Xerneas. Plus, they literally have tunnels under the guild, and those only go out to the forest, so—

Wait. A past conversation is tickling at Nia’s brain, from their mission digging out the cave-in under the guild with Abana and Conifer.

“There are more tunnels, deeper down, but they are not easily reached, wrapped in the Tree’s roots as they are. They’re surrounded by a wall too thick to dig through without risk of damaging the Tree itself.”

“I asked one of the older diggers about it once, and he said they used to be storage bunkers before they became too inconvenient to access. They haven’t been used in decades, at least.”

Nia screws up her face, trying to talk herself out of the thought. It just sounds so unbelievable, that they could’ve been sitting right on top of something so important for so long, but…

“Nia?”

Nia jumps at Tobias’ voice, looking up. Everyone is watching her expectantly, and her ears heat.

“Y-Yeah?”

“You’ve been awful quiet over there,” Junie says, tilting her head. “Whatcha thinking?”

Nia swallows, glancing nervously between all of their expectant gazes. “Well…it’s probably a silly thought.” Especially if no one else has thought of it yet.

“Sometimes ‘silly’ is correct,” The Matriarch says. “Speak your mind, girl.”

“I was just thinking of places that stand out as having abnormal growth, and, uh…what about the guild?”

For a long moment, everyone stares at Nia, and she fights off a cringe. Guess that was a stupid idea after all.

Soren is the first to speak, his brow furrowed. “The Lexym Tree is exceptionally large.”

“But there are tunnels under the guild, right?” Junie asks. “Wouldn’t they know if there was a giant Pokemon sleeping down there by now?”

“No,” Tobias says, his eyes widening with realization. He locks eyes with Nia. “Abana and Conifer said something about storage deeper down, didn’t they? That there were roots blocking the space so no one had been down there for decades.”

“If not longer,” Nia agrees. “And there are crystals down in the tunnels.”

“Carnelian, when you were at the guild, did you go down into the tunnels at all?” Tobias asks, turning to the sableye.

Carnelian jumps. “N-No, I didn’t. I stayed the night in the guest quarters, and then hurried here the next morning.”

The Matriarch laughs and slaps her knee with a paw, startling them. “Oh, that’s rich. She’s been sleeping right under our noses this whole time! I knew the gods had a sense of humor.”

Nia blinks at her. “You think we’re right? Xerneas could really be sleeping under the guild?”

The weavile is grinning. “I’ve lived in these mountains for decades, and I can’t think of anywhere else that better matches what you’re lookin’ for ‘round here.”

Nia looks back at her team. “What do you think? Do we propose the idea to August?”

“Might as well,” Junie says with a shrug.

Samir gives Nia a nod.

“I think it’s worth checking out, at the very least,” Tobias says, giving Nia a smile. “Good thinking.”

Nia smiles back, tail wagging at the praise.

“I’m guessing you’ll be wanting to leave sooner rather than later, then?” The Matriarch asks. “If so, I’ll arrange a sleigh to take you all down the mountainside tomorrow morning. There’s a flight station near the base that can take you back to the guild.”

“That would be great,” Tobias sighs.

“Thank you,” Nia adds.

“And since we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, that means we can still go to the party tonight!” Junie says happily.

The Matriarch laughs. “I was more hoping to give you time to rest and time for us to prepare to travel, but you’re more than welcome to join the festivities tonight.“ She winks. “Just don’t stay out too late.”

Nia laughs at Tobias and Samir’s expressions. “I don’t think that'll be a problem.”

The rest of their meeting with the Matriarch wraps up quickly. The only other business to attend to is Soren telling the weavile that he plans to station sentries from the pack at Yveltal’s resting place starting tomorrow morning. When Nia and the others give him a startled look, he assures them it’s just a precautionary measure to make sure no one disturbs the legendary. Which she supposes is fair—the path there is pretty accessible if you know where to look.

Soon enough, they’re back in their lodgings, resting up for the festivities later that night.

Fidel’s eyes are round as he listens intently to their description of Yveltal’s cocoon, and Nia is reminded that the zoroark had known the most about the legendary back at the settlement due to being a dark type himself. Maybe he also worships Yveltal, to some extent.

“It sounds incredible,” Fidel says when they finish. He seems entirely healed up from his injuries, well enough to walk around on his own and agree to Junie’s request that he too join the party tonight. “I wish I could’ve seen it for myself!”

“Well, it’s not too hard to find,” Nia says idly from where she’s lying on their blankets, kicking her feet with a book open on the ground in front of her. “And Soren isn’t posting sentries until tomorrow, so you could probably still check it out tonight if you’re feeling all right.”

“Is that a good idea?” Tobias asks doubtfully.

“We’ve been going back and forth down the same path for days,” Junie says. “With his nose, I don’t think he’d get lost.”

Tobias rolls his eyes. “I meant that we don’t want to accidentally wake an angry god and break the world.”

“Fidel’s light on his feet,” Nia says, turning a page. “I doubt he would accidentally wake Yveltal. Still, one of us can go with you if you want to check it out, Fidel!”

“As long as it’s before the party,” Junie adds.

Tobias sighs. “I still don’t get why you two are so excited about this thing.”

At his side, Samir nods their agreement. They’re only half paying attention, skimming through their own book.

“You’re not looking forward to it?” Fidel asks Tobias, amused.

“I’m only going ‘cause these two will be insufferable if I don’t.”

“Dang right I will be!” Junie says.

Nia laughs, her heart light despite the enormity of their discovery today. They have a location to look for Xerneas, a promised ride down the mountainside tomorrow morning, and a party to look forward to tonight.

She can’t wait.

[teshadraws]

My sketchbook lately!

Instagram ll Portfolio ll Prints

[teshadraws]

Lei Xue: 'Drinking Tea' (2009)

Smashed Cans Sculpted and Hand Painted in the Traditional Style of Ming Dynasty Porcelain.

[teshadraws]

Green Team 🌱✨

[teshadraws]

Just saw a man ride past in a bicycle with another man sitting on his lap like in a bridal carry

[teshadraws]

thinking about when my professor told me how the boards of companies/orgs/etc. will sometimes hire on a CEO/whatever who they know will basically take a chainsaw to existing infrastructure, let them fuck as much shit up as possible, and then promptly fire them as soon as they've accomplished what the board wanted them to do. then they can point the finger at that guy & look like they're the heroes and the problem is resolved because he's gone now. and they still get to keep all the changes they wanted that nobody else did.

anyway I think it's fun and all to watch the two most divorced men on the planet publicly divorce each other. and also. maybe keep that in mind, is all.

[teshadraws]

being an artist and revisiting media you liked when you were 11 is like. oh ok. this shaped my sense of humor and the way I write characters and the way I pace narratives and the tropes I'm drawn to. and I vastly underestimated how much of an impact it had on me because I literally have not thought about it for 15 years. but it was there inside me the whole time. ok. ok cool! c ool

[teshadraws]

people are really fucking clueless about generative ai huh? you should absolutely not be using it for any sort of fact checking no matter how convenient. it does not operate in a way that guarantees factual information. its goal is not to deliver you the truth but deliver something coherent based on a given data set which may or may not include factual information. both the idolization of ai and fearmongering of it seem lost on what it is actually capable of doing

[teshadraws]

Ripley (my parrot) says "you're silly" a lot because I say it to him a lot. But he also participates in both sides of this exchange: "you're silly" "no YOU'RE silly" "we're silly." Lately he has just been cutting to the chase and thoughtfully remarking "we're silly" over breakfast.

[teshadraws]

Lua Ferreira by Luciana Kjaer for Schon Magazine June 2023

[teshadraws]

so much care put into housing this aging spider. why are my eyes wet

(tiktok link)

[teshadraws]

PMD ko-fi request!

[teshadraws]

Jane Fisher.

[teshadraws]

🐉🧬

[teshadraws]

I think cis people should also be their gender of choice. Like, if you're a man, you should get to really enjoy being a man- have fun with it! If you're a woman, take the parts of womanhood that really deeply make you happy. If being a little androgynous or ambiguous or hidden is the part that really makes you happy, you don't have to be trans for that. If you wanna lean really hard into being femme or masc- do it! You have one life in your body, do what makes you happy. Ditch the stuff you don't like.

My sinister queer agenda is I think that everyone should be the gender they like in the way they like it.