Drifloon Sabi from We're Not the Monsters of Your Dreams, a monster AU fic of Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
I drew Drifloon Sabi after reading a comment speculating Sabi would have Braviary after Melli was introduced in chapter 3. I had just finished writing chapter 34, the chapter where Sabi is introduced with Drifloon wings, and I thought man, Braviary wings would be cool but alas. I already had Drifloon Sabi in mind.
The drawing on the left is Sabi with the Drifloon "wings" "folded up." They do sort of just look like Drifloon on her back! On the right, Sabi uses them to fly. They just sort of unfurl and look kind of like a parachute.
In this AU, Diamond clansmen are vampire-like beings called fangs. The majority of them choose a Pokémon to inflict the transformation process upon them. Most Diamond clansmen, such as Adaman, choose Zubat but some choose others, such as Melli choosing a Dustox.
However, Diamond clansmen can also perform a ritual on the dead to "revive" them and turn them into fangs. Melli, for example, performed this ritual on Akari to transform her into a Gligar fang in chapter six.
Rye speculates on Sabi's origin in chapter 34. Excerpt from the fic (no spoilers, content warning: references to child death and Drifloon stuff):
Rye was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed the figure sitting outside his door when he finally got home until Lucario barked for his attention.
“Um, hello,” Rye greeted, sliding off Rhyhorn’s back and recalling her to her Pokéball. She deserved a good rest after all that. “What… Can I help you?”
It was a girl, a young one. Younger than Akari. She was… Well, she was a fang, at least Rye was pretty sure. She looked sort of familiar but then again, Rye didn’t know that many fangs and she didn’t actually look all that much like the fangs he had met. Most fangs were Gligar and Zubat. There were a few exceptions, like Akari’s friend Melli who was a Dustox. This was… hmm. Rye didn’t know.
The girl looked up when Rye spoke to her and floated off the ground, surprising Rye enough into taking a step back. There were these strings coming off her, thin things ending in what looked like little yellow hearts. But that wasn’t the most notable thing. She had these purple… things attached to her. Bulbs? Bulges?Â
No, balloons, Rye realized. This was a Drifloon fang. He’d never seen such a thing. What an odd choice for… Wait. Rye hadn’t lived in Hisui for long but he knew the stories about Drifloon. This girl must have become a fang after a Drifloon dragged her off and killed her.
Rye's theory is never explicitly stated so here it is.
Sabi was born in Kanto to a psychic group. Kantonian psychics get along well with channelers, experts of Ghost-type Pokémon, so the young Sabi didn't think there was reason to fear Ghost-type Pokémon and was dragged off by an Alpha Drifloon to Hisui. Lord Braviary tried to save her but was too late. The Drifloon had drained her life energy too much for her to come back from.
But, Lord Braviary wasn't too late to get her to his warden at the time, a fang who was able to perform the ritual to revive Sabi. Sabi became a fang with Drifloon balloons for wings. Lord Braviary continued to dote after Sabi after she was revived and when Lord Braviary's warden passed away, the Diamond Clan knew Sabi was the obvious choice for the next warden.
Reference image for the Sabi drawing
