some feathered fiend

(Quick reminder of all the members on Team Shellshock!)

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Just as planned, Team Scarlet meets up with Team Shellshock in the psychics’ quarters at dawn.

Nia yawns and shuffles closer to Xander’s warmth as Tobias and Avery set up their teleportation coordinates with the abra behind the counter, who is accompanied today by a little green jelly Pokemon. A solosis, Nia thinks through hazy, sleepy thoughts.

The abra seems to be sick, speaking with a throaty voice and sniffling every few seconds. Nia makes sure to keep her distance, not wanting a repeat of her illness from before. Still, she feels a bit bad for them—their narrow eyes are drooping with fatigue, and the solosis keeps shooting them concerned looks. August surely lets sick Pokemon take days off to recover, so the abra probably insisted on coming in to work.

Well, not much Nia can do, unfortunately. She knows firsthand how stubborn some people can be about their health.

Samir is standing close to Nia’s other side, shifting restlessly on their hooves. Kry and Felix are joking about something across the room, far too awake for the early hour.

Finally, everything seems to be worked out for today’s joint mission. Tobias stands on Nia’s other side, a welcome wave of heat in the morning air, and Avery steps into place by Xander, a hair closer than they strictly need to be.

Once everyone is brushing up against each other, physical contact made, the abra and solosis hem the group in on either side. The solosis glows a faint yellow as they start to use their psychic powers, but the abra seems to be struggling, purple energy flickering in and out of existence around them as sweat beads on their forehead.

Nia exchanges a worried look with Avery.

Avery shifts. “Minerva, are you—”

Before they can finish speaking, Nia feels it. The tingle running through her fur. Then, all at once, her vision is a flash of light and her stomach flips as a feeling of weightlessness overtakes her and—

She lands on cold, dewy grass and stumbles with nausea. Oh, she’s gonna barf.

Nia takes a deep breath and keeps a firm grip on Tobias’ arm as she regains her bearings.

“’S wrong with her?” She hears Kry ask.

“She’s a fighting type,” Avery says. The kirlia moves closer to rub Nia’s back. “That doesn’t mesh well with psychic energy. Especially since Minerva is sick and couldn’t make the transport as smooth as usual.”

Nia squints open her eyes as her stomach starts to settle. Ugh. She’s never going to get used to teleportation.

Still, it is useful. Looks like they’re already almost to the dungeon, if the forest around them is any indication. They’re in the thick of it, lush greens and muddy browns interrupted only by streaks of white frost and the occasional glimpse of gray stone. Overhead, a cloudy sky is visible through half-bare branches. Looks like it’s going to rain later today.

Nia shivers as a gust of wind blows by.

“I’m okay,” Nia assures. “Thanks.”

Tobias nods as she releases him. A moment later, Avery steps back to give her some space.

“It looks like they still got us to the right place,” Tobias says, looking around. “So which way to the dungeon? You think the victreebel outlaw is hiding in there, right?”

Xander nods. “Right. I don’t see any other reason for him to be hanging around this area so consistently. Chances are he’s evading capture in one of the deeper levels.”

“Coward,” Kry snorts, cracking her knuckles. She looks to Avery. “Which way, Ave?”

Avery hums, closing their eyes. Nia feels a gentle ripple of psychic energy pass over her, much less nauseating than the teleportation. Is the kirlia using some kind of ability to track the outlaw? Or are they just sensing the dungeon itself? Nia knows psychic types are the ones most sensitive to shifts in energy like that.

Nia doesn’t want to interrupt to ask, and Avery starts walking with their usual grace as soon as they open their eyes, despite the tricky roots and foliage underfoot. “This way. It’s not far.”

Kry and Xander follow instantly, while Felix falls back, looking at Samir.

“Wanna start your first lesson?” The wartortle asks, arms crossed behind his head.

Nia blinks. “You know the whistle language too?”

“The important stuff, yeah! We all do. Watch this. Hey, Kry!” Felix whistles a short trio of notes in a distinct pattern, ending with a click.

Kry cackles. “Back at ya, buddy. Remind me to kick your tail extra hard later.”

“What did you say?” Nia asks.

 “Something unfit for innocent ears.” Farther ahead, Tobias snorts. “I see you only retained the most important information.”

“Of course! It’s extra fun to curse out enemies when they can’t understand you.”

Nia giggles. Samir looks uncertainly between them, as if unsure of whether they’re allowed to be so lighthearted while on a mission.

Luckily, the skiddo loosens up as Avery leads the group through the cool, damp forest and Felix teaches them some actually useful phrases. The wartortle starts with a refresher over the basics that Nia discovered with Samir and Junie the night before, and she finds that it helps to be able to practice with someone more experienced out loud.

Still, the language is tricky. With so few “notes” to work with, it’s easy to mix up the phrases as they get more numerous and complex. For example, two quick, sharp whistles signifies to be on guard, or that something needs attention. Two whistles with a longer pause in the middle is more of a check-in on your party. Yes is an easy enough answer to that question if all is well, but the more detailed responses only add more complexity. “Injured” is a high-to-low No with a click of the tongue at the end. “Stuck” is a click, a sharp whistle, and another click, as if the sound itself is trapped between the two noises. And so on.

It's fascinating, and Felix is a surprisingly good teacher, patient and clear as he bookends Samir and Nia’s mess-ups with his usual levity, but it’s still a lot to take in, especially as they cross into the border of the mystery dungeon proper.

Nia shudders as the now-familiar charge enters the air, prickly and unnerving. In what seems like a blink, the “walls” of the dungeon crowd in around them. What was frosty but open forest is suddenly close walls of towering roots and stone, slick with frozen condensation. Trees tower high overhead, dark and clawlike against the bright white of the sky. As always, it all feel mildly claustrophobic, their group corralled into a narrow hallway that stretches on in front of them before branching off.

Felix seems to take their entrance as his cue, because he falls back to cover the rear of the group without hesitation. Xander takes the lead of their combined party, the luxio’s relaxed posture tensing into something more alert. Kry lurks close behind him, prowling like she’s ready to attack at any moment. Avery slows down to join Nia, Tobias, and Samir in the middle.

“This is our usual formation,” the kirlia explains. “But until we find out where everyone works best, feel free to claim a space anywhere.”

Nia, who is usually comfortable just following Tobias through dungeons and making sure any charges are sandwiched safely between them, exchanges a hesitant look with Samir. Tobias, unsurprisingly, moves past them to take the spot right behind Kry, probably itching to prove himself. After a moment, Samir hesitantly follows, settling behind Tobias and in front of Avery.

Nia decides to take the place behind Avery, joining Felix in the back of the group. The wartortle gives her a bright grin and a friendly twitch of his fluffy ears.

And then they tackle the dungeon in earnest.

The group has to pause periodically to handle the ferals that start to appear. While Xander’s team works together fluidly, clearly old pros, it’s an adjustment for Nia to traverse a mystery dungeon with not only one new teammate, but another team entirely. With the rescue mission involving the crew of the Aqua Jet, Nia and Tobias had handled most of the fighting, with little interference aside from Cordelia and Beck’s protective outbursts.

Here, everyone is a battler. Xander and Kry clear the way easily when a tangela and gloom attack, Kry grabbing the tangela by the vine and slamming it into the stone and root walls of the hallway. Xander uses a flash of dazzling electricity to stun the gloom before knocking it aside with a heavy paw. Tobias leaps forward to finish it with an ember attack, and Xander gives the charmander a nod of thanks for the support.

When a tan and black-striped crocodile tries to sneak up from behind, Felix blasts it with a powerful jet of water so it goes tumbling out of sight down the hall. Nia, who hadn’t been listening for sneak-attacks at all until that point, makes a mental note to keep her ears as vigilant as her eyes.

When they cross an open room from one hall to another, the ground covered with frosty grass and housing a single tall, near-leafless tree, it’s up to Nia, Samir, and Avery in the middle of the group to fend off a sandslash and little grassy chipmunk. Nia vaguely remembers Samir’s strategy in their fight against the steelix, and makes sure to give the goat plenty of space as they go for the sandslash with a volley of razor leaves.

Nia instead takes on the chipmunk, dodging its sharp teeth and white eyes and giving it a kick square to the chest to send it stumbling backwards. Avery takes that opportunity to encircle it with a glow of indigo energy, then sends it flying into the wall. There, it slides to the ground, unconscious.

Samir is busy fending off the sandslash’s dagger-like claws with careful parries of their horns, so Nia jumps into that fight with a blast of aura to send the sandslash staggering and give the skiddo some breathing room. Samir doesn’t hesitate to send another barrage of leaves at the sandslash, and the spiky creature staggers back before falling unconscious.

“Yes!” Nia turns to Samir with a hand raised for a high-five, before faltering. Oh. Right.

Samir looks at her, bewildered, but hesitantly taps her palm with a horn. Nia laughs.

The first floor of the dungeon is surprisingly painless, but their two teams do start to trip over each other once they get deeper into the dungeon. Nia gets nicked by Felix’s water gun when she jumps into battle expecting Tobias to be at her side, and she has to take a few minutes to assure Felix—who is rambling apologies and near tears—that she’s really all right.

Tobias and Kry both go for an opponent with their usual brand of aggression, and crash into each other when the feral dodges unexpectedly. While the two of them snarl insults at each other, Samir jumps in to help and nearly slices Xander to ribbons with their razor leaf attack.

Avery is the only one who manages to weave around everyone without issue, so they take out the feral with a quick flash of fairy energy.

After that mess of a battle, Xander stops to analyze their party with sharp golden eyes.

“All right, clearly it’s time to re-order. Kry, join Felix at the tail of the group. Tobias, Samir, you two take point in front of me. Nia, you and Avery hold down the middle.”

Nia doesn’t know why she’s surprised by the sudden show of authority. Xander is the leader of Team Shellshock, after all. It makes sense that he’d give out commands, and it’s not like he’s saying anything with a tone of arrogance. His voice has the sort of calm confidence to it that says the luxio knows what he’s doing and that he expects his word to be followed. She supposes she’s just used to her and Tobias’ way of working, which tends to be more of a question-and-response conversation.

Samir doesn’t look surprised by Xander’s style of leading, and follows the order without issue.

Tobias, on the other hand, narrows his eyes. “You’re putting me in the lead?”

Xander looks at him sharply, as if irritated that Tobias is being contrary, before registering the open suspicion on the charmander’s face. The luxio takes a deep breath.

“I’d like you to lead because I know you do so for your own team, so I can trust your judgement. And I can tell you’re itching to battle anyways.”

“Why put Samir in second, though?” Nia asks, fully trusting Xander’s knowledge but curious to know the logic behind it.

“Samir has a powerful razor leaf attack at their disposal, but it’s volatile in the middle of a group considering how widespread it is. In this formation, if any leaves do go wide during battle, then Tobias won’t take nearly as much damage from a grass type attack.”

Nia can tell Tobias’ hackles are slowly lowering, but he still asks, “And you or Kry aren’t leading us because..?”

Xander smiles. “Kry isn’t leading because, quite frankly, she will go out of her way to fight everything she sees.”

Kry, who had been passing by Nia on her way to the back of the group, sends a very human and very rude hand gesture over her shoulder. Huh. Nia wonders where she learned that from.

“I’d prefer to stand back,” Xander continues. “Because I want to see how you two fight and act as a team. I’ll be right behind you as backup. Sound good?”

Tobias stares at Xander with a furrowed brow for a moment longer, as if to make sure he isn’t playing a prank, before wordlessly passing by the luxio and skiddo to take point.

Nia isn’t sure if she’s more surprised by Tobias agreeing to the reassignment, or by Kry going along with it. The fraxure clearly isn’t thrilled about getting taken out of the action, but she joins Felix as requested. The wartortle snickers and elbows her as she joins him, and she pushes him back so hard he almost stumbles into the wall.

Xander looks over everyone’s places again, then nods to Tobias. “We’re good.”

Tobias straightens up, nodding in return before leading the group down the next hall.

Xander’s strategizing proves itself as soon as they run into the next few groups of ferals. Tobias doesn’t go out of his way to pick fights, but his usual aggressive combat style works well as the first line of defense. Samir, with only Tobias to watch out for, can clearly focus better and use their leaves more precisely as they fight. When a little green cat does slip through their wall of attacks, Xander doesn’t hesitate to pounce, slamming the smaller cat down to give it a shock and knock it out.

Felix and Kry are clearly used to working together already, and do so effortlessly. When a Pokemon tries to sneak up on the group from behind, Felix knows when to fall back and let Kry lunge forward, and when to step in to help her out, resulting in a near-flawless battle and a fist bump between the two ‘mon by the end of it.

And Nia is delighted to find that she and Avery continue to work well together, too. Nia is the frontal attack, getting in the face of a phanpy who rolls right past the front of their group to avert its momentum with her aura staff, sending it veering into the wall. From there, Avery picks it up with their psychic energy to finish it.

It only takes a few battles for all of them to find an easy synergy, smoothly traversing hall after hall and mowing down ferals in the process.

It’s going so well five floors in that Avery decides to start teaching on the go, apparently unworried about making noise and calling out lessons for Samir’s new language between and sometimes even during battles. When a feral approaches, Avery uses the sharp whistle-whistle code to alert everyone, and at the kirlia’s behest, Samir and Nia echo them. After each fight, they take turns asking for a check-in, and everyone whistles a low-to-high Yes in response.

Well, until Xander answers with a woozy No instead, after a sneak-attack from a dugtrio.

“Dodge would be another useful command,” Avery says, almost guilty, as they kneel to offer an oran berry to their partner. The luxio is fine, if a bit bruised, but his tense frame relaxes as soon as Avery puts a hand on his back.

The rest of them wait while Xander crunches into a few of the small blue berries, Kry and Tobias keeping watch. The mystery dungeon shifts around them like a slow-moving optical illusion, a living, breathing maze of roots and stone and trees, but no ferals jump out.

Nia takes the chance to rest, and sits on a nearby stone. “What’s dodge, then?”

“Oh, I got that one!” Felix says, stretching his sides. He straightens up and whistles once, sharp and loud and low. It almost sounds like the word “move,” if you strain for it.

Samir hesitates, but then tries the word themself. It takes a try or two of them blowing air through their cheeks, but then they get a wobbly version of it down. Nia brightens, giving them a congratulatory clap. Then she tries it herself.

The two of them are still trying to get it nailed down, Felix coaching them by squishing his own cheeks to show how to mold the sound, when Xander gets back to his feet. Everyone turns to look as the luxio shakes out his fur, standing tall once again.

“Sorry for the detour,” he says, smiling with something like embarrassment. “We ready to keep moving? Or do we need a food break?”

“We’re only on floor seven, right?” Tobias asks, frowning. “Do we know how deep this dungeon goes?”

“It’s not very large, actually,” Avery says, getting back to their feet and reorganizing the satchel looped around their delicate shoulders. “Only a few more floors.”

Nia blinks. “Really? This is a C-rank mission though, right?”

“Doesn’t mean the dungeon is C-rank,” Kry says, stretching her arms. “Just means the outlaw we’re hunting is C-rank levels of danger.”

Oh. Nia supposes makes sense. The Pokemon they’ve been fighting haven’t felt much stronger than the Pokemon they usually fight, which she’s been grateful for, but she forgot that they’re here for a specific target.

“I’m good,” Tobias says. He looks first at Nia, then Samir. “You two?”

“Good!” Nia chirps, giving him a thumbs-up. She doesn’t want to actually barf when they reach the outlaw. She can eat when they get back.

Samir nods as well.

Xander smiles. “Good. In that case, let’s keep moving. The outlaw will likely be hiding near the end of the dungeon. Keep your eyes open.”

The others nod. Felix gives Xander a joking salute, and Nia bites back a laugh.

“Tobias, I’m going to take point again, if that works for you.”

Tobias stiffens, distress crossing his face for an instant before he stuffs it away again. “I can handle it.”

“I know you can,” the luxio says, voice calm. “But we’ll need your fire against the outlaw. I’d rather keep you back a bit so you’re at full strength.”

Tobias’ mouth twists, as if he doesn’t believe that that’s the full reason, but he grudgingly nods, falling back behind the luxio.

Nia goes to Tobias’ side as everyone else prepares to get moving again. “Hey. Remember that they’re responsible for us in this dungeon, since they’re the upper-level team. I’m sure he’s not pulling you back because he doesn’t believe in you.”

Tobias shrugs, clearly not buying it. “I guess.”

“Really! You did awesome as leader,” Nia assures, giving him a smile.

Tobias glances at her, and finally the quiet upset on his face fades a bit. He gives her a faint smile in return. “Thanks.”

Nia gives his arm a squeeze, then retreats back to her position in the middle of the group, behind Avery and in front of Kry.

And they continue on.

The remaining floors aren’t much tougher than the previous ones, but the air of the group is notably more quiet and tense as everyone pays closer attention to their surroundings. Nia keeps her ears perked and her eyes moving almost constantly before realizing—

“Um. Hey, Avery?”

“Mhm?”

“Uh. What does a victreebel look like?”

Behind her, Kry barks a laugh. Nia’s ears burn. She can’t believe she forgot to ask this beforehand.

Avery glances over their shoulder with an amused look. “Well, you know he’s a grass type. Otherwise, he’s large, taller than all of us, and shaped a bit like a sitrus berry. Bright yellow, with darker spots and leaves for arms, and his mouth is on the top of his head.”

“On top of his head?” Nia echoes, aghast.

“Yeah, victreebel are weird ones,” Kry says. “They like to bury themselves in the ground to  ambush enemies.”

“Don’t let him grab you with his vine, either,” Felix adds, sounding mildly unnerved. “Seriously. Victreebel have lethal acids in their stomach and while I like to think most ‘mon wouldn’t go that far, he could potentially, uh. Eat you?”

“Eat me?!” Nia shrieks, a little louder than she means to. She stops on the spot to give Felix a horrified look.

“We won’t let him eat you!” Felix assures, hands out.

“If he does, I’ll kick his tail extra hard,” Kry offers with a smirk, as if that helps.

“Thanks,” Nia says weakly, only half-listening. They faced a known murderer in Kaleido’s prison less than a week ago who was much higher thanC-rank, but something about the idea of this victreebel outlaw being able to eat Pokemon is so much more alarming.

Nia is suddenly very, very aware that she took it for granted that Pokemon society is basically vegetarian. Every giant, toothy-mawed Pokemon she’s ever met flashes through her mind.

“S-So how do you avoid it ambushing you?” Nia asks, voice hushed in the tense air. “If it likes to hide itself?”

“You stay vigilant,” Xander answers from the front of the pack, one of his large ears swiveled backwards to listen. “Which is easier with seven pairs of eyes, rather than four. You’ll be fine, Nia. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

Nia swallows down shame for needing to be babied, but nods, relieved all the same.

“Just put those big ears and nose to use,” Kry adds.

Nia blinks, glancing over her shoulder. “My nose?”

Kry tears her eyes away from their surroundings to give Nia an unimpressed look. “You’re a riolu. You don’t use your nose?”

“Um. I usually try to block out smells, actually. They’re a bit, uh. Overwhelming.”

Kry abandons her surveillance to stare at Nia, as if genuinely shocked that the answer to her question was Yes. “You’re a riolu,” she says again, in disbelief.

“Who was once human,” Avery reminds gently, stepping over a root crawling across the path. “I’m guessing humans are more like my species in that their sense of smell is rather unremarkable, correct?”

Nia nods. “Y-Yeah. Like, we can smell! But it’s nothing like a dog’s nose. I spent so long just trying to get used to this body that I guess it feels difficult to try changing how I use it at this point.”

“Makes sense,” Felix says.

“It would be helpful if we could train you to track in the future,” Tobias says, glancing back at her. “It definitely has its uses in the field.”

Nia sighs, vaguely recalling that they’ve had this conversation before. “I know, I know. How exactly do you train your nose, though?”

Xander hums. “It’s really just like training any other part of your body. You practice.” The luxio stops, looking back thoughtfully. “Actually, victreebel have a very distinct scent. Right, Ave?”

The kirlia perks up. “Oh! Yes, you’re right! The acids in their stomach smell overwhelmingly sweet, somewhat like honey. Are you suggesting..?”

Xander smirks. “Well, if we’re talking training, this is a prime opportunity. What do you think, Nia? Want to give your nose a workout?”

Nia blinks, looking around as she’s put on the spot. She doesn’t really want to—she would much rather practice first in a more secluded area with something less, uh…important on the line. But then her gaze lands on Samir, who has clearly been so nervous but so brave about approaching them to join as a team, about meeting new people, about learning a whole new language, and—

“I can try,” tumbles from Nia’s mouth. She’s not sure who’s more surprised by that—her or Tobias.

“That’s the spirit!” Felix cheers, nudging her forward.

She stumbles over her own paws, but slides past everyone to reach the front of the group. Xander steps aside for her too, and she looks at him with pinned ears, nervous. “I-I’m leading?”

“You can do it,” Xander assures her, all confidence. “I’ll be right behind you.”

The luxio does as he says and stations himself second in line, which helps alleviate some of her worry. Still, it’s rare for Nia to take the lead in a dungeon. Rare as in she can’t even recall if she’s done it before, aside from the one time she entered a dungeon alone, chasing after Tobias before they even became partners.

That feels like so long ago. They’ve done so much since then. She’s done so much since then.

She’s gotta be braver now than she was then, right?

Nia takes a deep breath to calm her nerves, shaking out her arms. Then she nods and takes the lead, feeling the gaze of her friends on her back. “S-So I just…pick a direction and go?”

“Use your nose, dummy!” Kry jeers.

“Shut your mouth, dummy!” Tobias growls back. “Give her a sec!”

Nia closes her eyes to block out the squabbling, listening first for anything abnormal. Aside from Avery hushing the argument, Nia can only hear the wind through the trees and the distant cries of feral Pokemon. But nothing unusual.

Her nose. She needs to use her nose. Usually, Nia tries to block out most of the information that comes with taking a deep breath, since it’s so overwhelming. Like squinting against a bright cacophony of colors, or putting on sunglasses so her eyes don’t burn. But this time, she takes a long breath through her nose and tries to understand what she’s smelling.

Some of it’s familiar. The sharp bite of frost, the earthy scent of the forest, Tobias and Xander’s comforting scents close by. But then there’s also the sour tang of something she realizes is probably the scent of a feral, likely one that passed through this very hall not too long ago. But nothing sweet.

“Nothing,” Nia reports, wrinkling her nose and blowing air out of her nostrils as if to clear out all the scents.

“Then we keep moving,” Xander says. “Do you feel comfortable leading?”

Nia glances back at Tobias and Samir. Tobias gives her a nod, as if to say she can do this, and Samir glances at him before doing the same. Right. She’s just leading them through the dungeon. No big deal.

Nia tries not to feel wholly responsible for the lives following behind her, and instead marches forward with a swagger she doesn’t feel, down the hall and to a nearly-empty room. There, a feral toedscool jolts awake from where it’d been sleeping in the corner.

She nearly freezes when it runs at her with an angry cry, but she manages to dodge at the last second. Tobias and Samir burst past Xander, and make quick work of the ‘mon with a burst of fire and a volley of leaves.

Nia, panting, stares at the downed feral, heart pounding.

“You good?” Tobias asks, hushed as he comes closer.

Nia nods, swallowing. She is. She just needs to stop freaking herself out and get her head in the game. It’s no big deal—she has her teammates behind her.

Oh.

Nia blinks, then looks up at Tobias, who is watching her with a furrowed brow, and then at Samir, who is squinting at the downed toedscool as if to make sure it’s really knocked out. Behind the two of them, Xander gives her an encouraging, knowing smile.

Right. She has all of them behind her. Just because she’s leading their steps doesn’t mean she’s suddenly alone. Quite the opposite, actually.

“I’m good,” Nia says, meaning it this time. She pushes herself to her feet and brushes off her fur, offering a smile. “Sorry. Got in my own head for a minute there.”

Tobias reaches out to knock his knuckles against her forehead. “Well, get out of it. You’ll have plenty of time to overthink later.”

Nia snorts and bats his hand away, turning back to the empty room. There are two hallways they could take, other than the one they came from, but she isn’t sure which one to follow.

Oh, right! The whole reason she’s in the lead at all. Nia closes her eyes again and takes a deep breath, both thrilled and alarmed when, beneath the strangely musky scent of the toedscool, she catches a hint of something…sweet.

Brow furrowed, she steps closer to one hallway and sniffs a few times, not sure if she imagined the scent. But then, when she steps closer to the other, she smells it again: something almost like honey. Like a whisper of it on the breeze.

“I…I think I smell something?” Nia says, looking back at Xander. “Something sweet, right?”

The luxio nods with an encouraging smile. “Is it stronger on one path than the other?”

“It’s really faint, but I think so?”

“Then we follow it,” Xander says with a decisive wave of his tail. “Lead on, Nia. Just remember to keep smelling as you go—I don’t want us tripping over the outlaw, and it should be obvious when it starts to get stronger.”

Nia nods, resisting the urge to salute like Felix had earlier, and turns back to the hall the sweet scent had come from, cautiously walking down its path. The scent strengthens ever so slightly, but nothing close to “obvious” like Xander had said.

When they reach the next open room, the crumbling stone stairs at its center explains the question on her mind.

“I’m smelling him from the next floor?” Nia asks, shocked.

“You are,” Xander confirms, seeming pleased as he looks at the top of the stairs. “Good work, Nia. You’re a natural.”

Nia flushes under her fur, pleased relief unfolding in her chest.

Xander’s mouth drops open the slightest bit, and after a moment Nia realizes she’s seen the gesture before, in housecats. Is he…scenting the air?

“Wait, can yousmell him too?” Nia asks.

Kry snorts. Felix punches her arm.

“Ah, yeah,” Xander says, sheepish, as his ears fold back. “I’ve got a strong sense of smell, too. Just wanted to make sure he wasn’t waiting right near where we’d pop up. We should be all right if you want to keep leading, but I can hop in front if you’re worried.”

Nia blinks, unsure how to take that sudden revelation. Well…she supposes she has a willing teacher on hand if she needs help with tracking in the future? “Um…if you’re pretty sure he’s not right up ahead, I guess I can stay in the lead?”

Xander nods. “Do that, then. I’ll keep an eye on the trail too so we don’t stumble over him unexpectedly, but this is the perfect opportunity to get you started on tracking.”

Nia takes a deep breath, then leads the group up the set of cold stone stairs. She braces herself as her foot hits the top step, but the sudden warp to a new floor, in a new room, is still as jarring as ever. Her stomach flips like a pancake.

She glances back to make sure everyone is with her, then sniffs the air to find the scent again.

Xander was right—the victreebel isn’t waiting for them in this room, or even on this floor. There’s a clear scent trail she can follow as the smell gets stronger and stronger, almost like following a line of paint across the ground. Except instead of seeing it, it just becomes more and more obvious to her nose where the paint leads and where it doesn’t. She gets more and more comfortable with closing her eyes and relying on her ears and nose than she’s used to doing, and some part of her feels oddly…thrilled by it.

It took her a while to get used to this body, and even now she’s usually fairly neutral about it. But something about this process feels…instinctive, almost. And fun! Like rediscovering her aura for the first time. It’s not something she ever could’ve done as a human, and it almost feels like a superpower.

Once or twice she loses the trail, usually when it crosses through a puddle or a patch of frost or a particularly strong feral scent, as if the line of paint has been wiped away. But each time, Xander is quick to find it by scenting the air himself, showing her how to do the same with her own nose, and setting her back on the right path.

It’s two floors deeper into the dungeon that the scent becomes nearly unbearable, cloying the air to a nauseating degree. It’s so strong that it decimates the path she’d been following entirely, as if instead of a line of paint on the ground the entire floor had been painted.

“Well, he’s definitely here,” Xander says, quiet, his own muzzle wrinkled with distaste. “Nia, I’ll take lead again.”

Nia gladly lets him do so, falling back to walk behind Avery. She rubs her nose as she tries to put her “blinders” back up to block out some of the sweet stench.

“I need your duller senses of smell now,” Xander tosses over his shoulder with an amused look. “Nia and I are overwhelmed up here. Let me know if you smell him, and keep an eye out.”

Kry rolls her eyes, but everyone nods, falling back into formation as they follow the luxio.

It’s unusually quiet on this floor, and Nia doesn’t know if that’s because the outlaw scared off all the ferals, or if he really is out here eating other Pokemon. Surely not, right? Like, he’s a criminal, but a petty one. Nia’s pretty sure cannibalism would get you put much higher on the guild’s priority list than a simple thief.

Regardless, their group is silent and tense as they traverse the halls, scanning every rustle overhead and every shift of stone in the walls. The sweet scent of rotten honey permeates the air.

They pass through an open room with a single tree growing from the side of the stony walls, surprisingly large and still with a great deal of leaves on its branches.

It’s here that Samir stops in their tracks.

Avery, behind them, stops as well. “Samir?”

Samir’s brow is furrowed, their gaze locked onto the tree. A breeze rustles through the leaves and then—

Samir whistles two piercing, short notes, jumping back. Everyone but Nia and Tobias, still unfamiliar with the whistle language, leaps away as well, just as a vine lashes out almost too quick to see, slamming into the hard ground where they’d been standing a moment before. Nia yelps and staggers away, heart pounding.

“Found ya!” Kry growls, racing forward to tackle the trunk of the tree, sending it shaking. “Come out, coward!”

A giant creature, bright yellow and almost pear-shaped, drops from the boughs of the tree and lunges at Kry with a guttural scream, slashing with the leaves at its sides. Kry grins and neatly dodges each attack, before swinging around to slam the creature with her tail.

The creature goes flying closer to the middle of the room, tumbling over once before righting itself. Finally, Nia gets a good luck at it.

It’s the victreebel outlaw they’ve been searching for. He almost looks like a pitcher plant, a bright yellow color with darker speckles. Large, sharp leaves are held at his sides and cover the top of his head, which is indeed an open mouth. Acid slips between his teeth and drips to scorch the grass, right above panicked, darting eyes. The long vine he attacked with before stems from the top of his head, and it lashes now like the tail of an angry cat.

“Keep your distance!” Xander calls. “Ave, slow him down. Kry, act as cover. Felix, ice moves. Team Scarlet, long-range attacks only.”

Nia nods, watching as the victreebel is surrounded by Avery’s distinct indigo energy. The outlaw shrieks in pain as Avery uses some kind of psychic move, but he manages to lash out with his vine, making the kirlia dodge and lose focus.

Unfortunately for the victreebel, there’s a storm of attacks waiting in the wings. Xander launches a dazzling electric move that locks the outlaw in place with a cry of pain, and Felix follows immediately after with a gust of icy wind that coats the grass type in frost. Samir’s razor leaf attack and Tobias’ flames follow shortly after, swamping him.

Nia waits, almost expecting the victreebel to fall unconscious in record time. However, the moment the attacks have a gap, the outlaw screeches again and spins, spitting a shower of acid.

“Take cover!” Xander yells.

Nia hurries to do so, tripping over herself as she backs out of range. The acid splashes at her feet, the grass beneath sizzling and withering to nothing. Yikes.

The victreebel takes advantage of the moment to retreat, and uses his vine to swing back up into the tree. A moment later, Nia sees the faint glow of a move at work.

“He’s healing,” Avery warns.

Nia looks around, glad that everyone seems to have been able to dodge the dangerous attack.

“Want me to shake him out again?” Kry calls.

“No,” Xander says. “He’s expecting that. Let me—”

Before he can finish, the victreebel’s vine is shooting out from the leaves again, wrapping around Tobias’ ankle and yanking his feet out from under him with a shout. In a flash, he’s pulled through the air towards the tree.

“Tobias!” Nia yells, heart dropping. The outlaw must be trying to take out the biggest type threat first.

She bolts after her partner before she can think about it, pouring her energy into a quick attack and leaping up to grab onto him. The two of them, light as they are, are whipped through the air and into the tangle of leaves and branches.

The outlaw looks surprised to have reeled in Nia as well, and Tobias takes the instant of hesitation to blast him with a flame burst. The outlaw shrieks, flinging Tobias aside as Nia loses her grip. The charmander gasps, tumbling out of the branches to fall the (thankfully) short distance to the ground below.

Nia snags a branch with her arm and latches the rest of her body around it like a koala, getting her bearings. Okay, she’s in the tree. With the dangerous criminal. The dangerous criminal who is still recovering from Tobias’ attack, eyes squeezed shut and embers smoldering away at his leaves.

Ugh. She needs to get him back out in the open, doesn’t she? She’s in literally the perfect position to do so.

Nia takes a breath, pushing herself up to balance carefully on the branch, then makes the short leap to the branch the victreebel is resting on. The outlaw whips around to face her. Before he can do a thing, she reels back, aura staff forming in her hands. He looked pretty light when Kry hit him earlier, right?

“Batter up!”

Nia slams the grass type with her aura, sending him flying out of the tree with a shriek.

Nia hurries to follow, dropping carefully to the ground below. Tobias, who had apparently been climbing back up to help her, is halfway up the tree trunk, holding on with his claws.

“Oh. Uh. Nice hit?”

“Thanks!”

The two of them dart back into the fight, where the victreebel is once again trying to flee. This time, Avery catches them in a bubble of psychic energy. When the victreebel tries to swipe at the kirlia with his vine, Kry steps in front to intercept, letting it wrap around her arm with a feral grin.

“Someone cut this guy loose. I’m tired of him playing yo-yo.”

Nia doesn’t even have time to consider what the fraxure is asking before Samir sends a razor leaf attack at the vine, severing it. The victreebel shrieks and reels back.

Nia gasps, hand coming up over her mouth. Did she—did they just cut off one of the outlaw’s limbs?! She glances at the others, but no one looks as horrified as she feels. Even Avery, usually the most sympathetic to Nia’s soft heart, doesn’t wince.

Okay. Okay, maybe that means that wasn’t as serious as Nia is thinking it is. The victreebel doesn’t bleed from the remnants of its vine, or go into shock. Instead, it simply goes on the offensive once again, sending another wave of acid around itself in a sludgy, dangerous mess.

Later. She can ask about the vine thing later, when she’s not dodging puddles of bone-melting goo.

The victreebel is apparently tired of dealing with their long-range strategy now that he has nothing to fight back with, because he launches himself directly at Felix next. One of the victreebel’s leaves glows a bright green as he swings it around, slicing into Felix’s shell with a super-effective hit.

The wartortle is sent rolling back with a pained cry. Nia’s stomach jumps.

Still, she’s surprised by the sheer panic in Xander’s voice as he shouts, “Felix!”

She looks over to see the luxio full-body tackle the victreebel with a snarl, distance strategy apparently out the window. The two roll until Xander comes out on top, slamming his paws down to pin the light grass type in place. There’s an instant where Xander’s fur lifts with crackling electricity, his gold eyes alight with fury. Then, in a flash of lighting, the victreebel is struck. The outlaw screeches, locking up as light blinds Nia.

When the stars behind her eyelids start to fade, Nia squints an eye open. The victreebel is out completely, fried to a black crisp. His crumpled leaves twitch.

And just like that, the fight is over.

“Whoa!” Kry laughs. “A bit overkill, Xan.”

The sentiment echoes Nia’s own thoughts, and even Tobias and Samir seem shocked, whether by the sheer display of power or by how ruthlessly the luxio attacked their enemy, she can’t tell.

“Felix!” Xander cries, ignoring Kry and bolting to the wartortle’s side.

The water type groans and sits up slowly, wincing. He chuckles and pushes Xander’s probing muzzle away. “‘M fine, you big worrywart. Calm down.”

“You’re sure?” Xander asks, scanning Felix’s body again and again, lingering around his shell. “That leaf blade looked strong.”

“Let me see,” Avery says, moving to kneel beside Felix. They feel at the edge of the wartortle’s shell, where the attack must’ve landed.

Felix hisses a breath, wincing.

“Toughen up!” Kry calls. “You’ve taken worse than that.”

The fraxure has wandered over to the victreebel and is nudging at him with a foot. The outlaw twitches again, which Nia really hopes means he’s alive and not just working the last bits of electricity out of his system.

Xander is…actually kind of terrifying when he wants to be.

“Felix!” Xander hisses, catching Nia’s attention again. The luxio is keeping the wartortle on the ground with a heavy paw, ears pinned back. “Stay down and let Avery check you over, for Raikou’s sake!”

“I must defend my honor!” Felix groans dramatically, throwing back his head. “Kry has challenged my toughness! As a wartortle, such a slight cannot stand!”

Avery goes back to feeling around the injury, and Felix yelps, facade broken. Xander sighs, once again looking more like a tired parent and less like a raging ball of lightning.

“He’s been through worse?” Nia asks Kry.

“Yeah,” Kry says, walking over. She has the short remnant of the victreebel’s vine slung over her shoulder, and is using it to drag the crispy outlaw behind her. “Nearly got his shell split in half by a nasty leaf blade a couple years ago. Xander gets all fussy when Felix takes a hard grass type hit now.”

“His shell almost split?” Nia asks absently, still staring at the outlaw.

“Yup,” Kry says, popping the “p.” “Like a chestnut. He tried to laugh it off, then passed out as soon as he stood up while Avery worked on teleporting us out. He’s still got the scar if you’re looking for it.”

“Felix, don’t—!”

They all look over to find Felix sitting up to eat the sitrus berry that Avery handed him. Xander looks a moment away from tackling him back to the ground, fur bristled.

“Ugh.” Kry rolls her eyes. Nia looks at her, questioning.

“I know Xander can’t help being a bit of a dad with the cubs and all, but those two have been teammates for almost a decade now. He should know Felix can handle himself. He needs to stop getting his tail in such a twist over every little hit.”

“I don’t know,” Nia says thoughtfully. “I think it’s kind of sweet that he cares so much.”

Kry snorts. “We all care. He’s just the only one working himself into a frenzy over it.”

Nia is thinking about how to respond to that when she finally notices Samir, standing nearby and watching Xander fret over his teammate. The skiddo’s expression is a complicated mix of emotions. They look…pained.

Before Nia can step forward to make sure they’re all right, Tobias beats her to it.

“Hey,” Tobias says, nudging the skiddo. Samir jumps, looking at the charmander almost guiltily. “Good awareness back there. You spotted the outlaw before any of us did.”

Samir seems surprised by the compliment. But then they nod, opening their mouth to say something before letting their breath out in frustration. Finally, they mouth, Thank you.

Tobias mutters something embarrassed in response, clearly feeling as awkward about the exchange as Samir is. Nia, on the other hand, can’t help a soft smile.

Before she can decide whether or not to go join them, she’s distracted by Felix rocking to his feet, sitrus berry finished. Xander stands too, weaving around the wartortle as if to catch him if he drops. 

“I’m fine! Don’t get your fur in a tangle.” Felix does a spin to prove it, then nearly falls over. But it does look more like it’s just from the wartortle being clumsy rather than from his injury.

Avery simply gives the wartortle a fond look and an affectionate pat on the cheek before walking over to Nia and Kry.

“The outlaw is all right?” Avery asks, peering past Kry.

Kry waves a dismissive hand. “He’ll live ‘til we get back to the guild.”

“Kry.”

“Seriously, he’s fine!”

“Kry, we can’t have Xander going to jail for murder.”

“Look, he’s breathing! I think! He’ll be fine!”

Avery sighs and crouches to make sure the outlaw is indeed still alive.

Nia is reminded of her earlier horror, and she can’t stop her eyes from jumping back to the victreebel’s severed vine. “U-Um. His vine. That’s not like…losing a limb, is it?”

Tobias, who had been walking over to Nia, raises a brow. A moment later, Felix and Xander join them, Samir on their heels.

“No, it’s not,” Avery confirms with an apologetic look. “I didn’t think how that would appear to you. Grass types are connected to the plant life growing on their body, and it may sting a bit if suddenly severed, but his vine will regrow fairly quickly.”

Oh, thank God. Nia finally relaxes, some of the nausea in her gut settling.

“Jeez, even Kry isn’t that ruthless,” Felix says, clearly teasing. “Usually, at least.”

“If I were ruthless, you’d be missing a few limbs yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Felix says. Then he turns to Nia and Tobias with bright eyes. “Last hits aside, that was awesome! You two have been holding out on us in training. You’re seriously strong!”

Nia cracks a shy smile. “Thanks, Felix.”

Tobias looks away. “I didn’t do that much.”

“What?! Yeah you did! Seriously, I wish we always had a fire type like you with us. You’re great with your flames. Attacking even as you’re getting dragged into a tree? Your lung control must be crazy!”

Tobias flushes, looking down to kick at the frosted ground as if it holds the secrets of the universe. Nia smiles, watching him with a sad sort of fondness. She wonders how often anyone compliments him for his fire. Especially in the Haven.

“Great, the fire type can use his fire,” Kry says as she sits on the outlaw’s back, making the poor guy oof a breath of air. “I’m more impressed with you two.”

The fraxure’s claw points right at her and Samir.

“U-Us?”

“Yes, you. Thought you’d wimp out on us, Riolu, not pull that little stunt in the tree. And you, little leaf? Sharp reflexes.”

“Um. Thank you?” Nia manages. “I think?”

“That was just as much an insult as it was a compliment,” Tobias grumbles, giving Kry a dirty look. The fraxure smirks in return.

“She’s right, though,” Xander says, still standing a bit closer to Felix than is probably necessary. He’s finally managed to tear his eyes away from his partner, though. “You did well.”

“Thank you!” Nia says. “So did you. That attack at the end was…”

“Strong,” Tobias finishes, crossing his arms. “But if you could’ve done that the whole time, why didn’t you just do it from the start?”

“That move depleted my energy completely. I’m going to be feeling it tonight, and my electricity won’t be back to full charge until tomorrow. I try not to use a thunder attack unless I really need to.”

“Or until you get all overprotective,” Felix teases, nudging his friend.

Xander coughs. “Right. Or that. Regardless, mission accomplished. Good work, team.”

Nia finally relaxes at those words.

Before they return to the guild, Avery calls for an injury check, but aside from Felix, the rest of them made it out with only minor scrapes and bruises. So in a matter of minutes, they’re rounding up the outlaw and pulling out their badges for a teleportation back to the guild.

When the usual flash of light fades, Nia keeps her eyes closed until the nausea passes.

“Wait, why are we out here?” Kry asks.

Nia forces her eyes open, only now registering the quiet rustle of the leaves overhead and the open, breezy scent of the forest. They’re…somewhere outside of the guild? Don’t they usually warp in directly to the psychics’ quarters?

Avery hums, looking concerned. “Minerva was clearlyfeeling unwell this morning. It’s likely that the psychic wing is either short-staffed or Minerva’s illness is making their teleportation more inaccurate. I’ll check in on them when we get back.”

“More walking it is,” Felix sighs, not sounding all that put out. “Ah, well. Good reminder of how lucky we are to have the teleportation system in the first place.”

“True,” Xander says, flicking his tail and stepping through the brush. “Come on, it’s not far to the nearest entrance.”

“You say that, but you don’t have to carry this stupid lump,” Kry grumbles, hefting the unconscious body of the victreebel overhead with a grunt.

“Think of it as an extra workout,” Xander says, tone light. “And I can take over if you get too tired.”

Kry growls in a way that says he will not be taking over, regardless of how she feels.

“This is actually kind of convenient,” Nia says, looking at Samir. “We haven’t gotten to show you all the entrances to the guild yet, right?”

Samir shakes their head, then tilts it in question.

“The guild has multiple tunnels running underneath it,” Xander explains, leading them through the undergrowth. “All of which lead out into the forest. The entrances are hidden, but all of the guildmembers are shown where they are.”

Samir’s eyes widen as they straighten up and look around with more purpose than before, as if to catalogue where they are so they can find their way back in the future.

Nia laughs. “Don’t worry, I still get lost all the time, even here.”

Tobias snorts and flicks her leg with his tail. “Which doesn’t mean you should encourage Samir to do the same.”

Team Shellshock points out the notable landmarks on their way to the nearest entrance. Nia takes a few mental notes herself, having forgotten most of them since her initial introduction to the guild.

Finally, they arrive at a small cave hidden away beside a creek bed, behind a curtain of lichen and moss. Xander takes the lead and slips inside, and the rest of them follow into the darkness as it slopes downward into cool, damp earth.

Nia is about to block out the loamy scent of the soil in her usual fashion, before deciding to take a deep, purposeful breath of the scent instead. Tobias and the others were right. Her nose is an advantage, and she should start trying to use it.

Beneath the smell of the earth, she detects the scents of her friends as well as fainter hints of other guildmembers she’s met and passed by before. She even thinks she catches Abana’s trail in particular, the hippo’s scent reminding her somehow of a sandy beach.

Nia keeps her eyes cracked open as they walk, even as she tries to identify the overwhelming variety of scents she comes across. While they have Tobias’ tail flame to light the way initially, soon the darkness starts to lift on its own. Then, their surroundings brighten significantly as familiar glowing blue crystals start littering the walls and ceiling of the large tunnel.

Their group makes small talk as they near the guild, light and relaxed, until Xander suddenly stops at the head of the pack. Nia and Avery, who had been chatting right behind him, nearly bump into his legs.

“Xander?” Avery asks, the rest of the group falling silent.

“Shh,” Xander murmurs, staring ahead with a serious expression and pricked ears.

“What is it?” Nia murmurs.

Xander’s focus doesn’t waver. “I thought I heard…”

Nia frowns, straining her ears and swiveling them in the same direction. It takes a moment, but then she hears it too: high voices that definitely shouldn’t be down here in the tunnels.

“And you’re sure we can find our way back?” Laine asks. The shinx cub sounds uncertain.

“If we get lost, Xander’s gonna be so upset,” Leor adds. “A-And Arlo, and Junie, and—"

“They won’t be upset because they won’t know!” Asher responds. The zorua is the loudest of them all, sounding almost cocky. “C’mon, don’t you get bored stuck in the nursery all day? I wanna explore this giant forest!”

“Yeah!” Luca cheers. “He’s right! C’mon, we’re more than strong enough to go outside by ourselves by now. Don’t be such cubs about it.”

Xander’s expression darkens, and he bounds forward down the tunnels. As soon as he rounds the corner, he’s met with startled shrieks.

The rest of their party follows quickly, and sure enough there’s the three shinx cubs, cowering in front of Xander, whose fur is lifted along his spine. Asher is the only one still standing tall, glaring up at the older ‘mon.

“You know you’re not supposed to be down here alone,” Xander is saying. “And you’re certainly not supposed to leave the guild.”

“We weren’t gonna!” Luca says.

Xander stares his brother down, twitching an ear. “You want to try that again?”

Luca shrinks back.

“That’s such a stupid rule!” Asher says brazenly. He morphs into a little green monkey with a sprout atop its head, reminding Nia of August somehow. As if he could intimidate Xander by echoing the appearance of the guildmaster.

Xander is clearly unimpressed by the display, muzzle wrinkling with the hint of a snarl for just an instant before he regains his cool with a deep breath. “It’s a rule meant to keep my siblings safe. How old are you?”

Asher falters. “…Twelve.”

“And do you know how old my siblings are?”

Asher glances back at the smaller shinx cubs. “Eight, right? But that’s not that much younger than me!”

“It’s young enough that they’re going to look to you to lead them. Are you prepared to bear that responsibility?”

Asher’s bravado stumbles for the first time. “Um. W-Well…"

“If one of them gets hurt and you’re lost a mile away from the guild, do you know what to do in that kind of situation? If you stumble into a mystery dungeon, do you know how to fight your way out?”

Asher swallows, ears falling. He morphs back into his zorua form with a flash of light, fluffy tail lowering. “…No.”

Xander sighs, then directs his stern look across all four kids evenly. “I know you feel cooped up in the guild, and I’m sorry about that. I’ll try to make more time to take you outside to explore.”

The cubs perk up at that.

“But,” Xander continues, stern. “Rules are there for a reason. This one is there to keep you safe, especially when the world is so dangerous right now.It’s okay to question rules if they don’t make sense or if you’re unhappy with them, and hopefully you’ll get an answer that explains things. But you have to understand why a rule is there before you even think about breaking it. All right?”

The three shinx cubs nod with murmured agreements, properly chastised. Asher glances at them as if he’s seeing them for the first time, and Nia catches the zorua glancing down to where his paw rests next to Luca’s, almost twice its size.

Finally, after a few moments of heavy silence, Xander softens. He leans down to lick each of the shinx cubs on the head, then gives Asher a gentle brush of his paw as he passes. “Come on, let’s get you all back to Arlo. I’m sure he’s worried sick. Asher’s father too, if he’s around.”

“Actually, Junie was watching us since we were supposed to be playing together,” Laine says, looking contrite all over again.

Oh boy. Nia can only imagine how the little rookidee is handling all this.

“Then you’ll be apologizing to her first,” Xander says simply, flicking his tail for them to follow.

The kids do, trudging behind the luxio. They cast a few curious glances behind themselves at the rest of the party, looking torn between embarrassment at getting in trouble and curiosity about how their mission went, especially once they see Kry carrying the unconscious victreebel. That’s when they start muttering to each other with renewed excitement, and Nia has to stifle a laugh.

She hopes they got the message, but it looks like that won’t keep them down for long. Well, the shinx cubs, at least. Asher still looks rather put out, trailing along with his head low and a thoughtful frown on his face.

Their crew of eleven—twelve, counting the outlaw—files out of the tunnels and onto the mission floor where the bulletin boards are posted. There aren’t any other teams present at the moment, which explains how the cubs snuck through undetected, but as they start climbing the spiral staircase leading up into the Lexym Tree, a blur of blue and black nearly flies straight into Xander’s face, backpedaling just in time with a squawk.

It's Junie, flapping frantically in place with wide eyes and panting breaths. “Oh, hey guys! Back already, huh? Everyone in one piece? Great. Awesome. You want to help me with a little something?”

Nia holds up a hand. “Jun—”

“I lost the kids,” Junie blurts. “Like, your kids, dude. We were playing hide and seek and they were supposed to stay on the nursery floor but I can’t find them anywhere. Or Asher! I should’ve guessed they were going to be little gremlins about it when they were whispering to each other but—”

Xander, clearly amused but trying to keep a stern expression, steps aside to reveal the group of kids.

Luca is in the front, ears pinned back. “Uh. We’re here. Sorry, Junie.”

The rookidee cuts herself off, beak hanging open. Then, she sighs with relief, landing heavily on the nearest step. “Oh, thank God.”

“We caught them trying to sneak out of the tunnels into the forest,” Xander says, giving all four cubs another scolding look. “Which I will be telling Arlo about. And Asher’s father.”

Luca and Asher wince. Laine and Leor shrink back and shuffle their paws.

Junie groans. “I know I’m a cool rebellious role model, kids, but you’re not supposed to disobey me! Do you know how upset Arlo and Fidel would be if I lost you?! Arlo’s a giant dragon! He could eat me in one bite!”

“Arlo wouldn’t eat you,” Laine protests quietly, head tilted in confusion.

“But he could! Look at me, I’m bite-sized!”

“Regardless,” Xander interrupts. “You four will be apologizing to everyone you worried. And then you will not whine or argue with whatever punishment Arlo and Fidel see fit to give you.”

All four cubs mutter a reluctant agreement.

Xander sighs. “Well, go on then. Apologize to Junie.”

The shinx cubs murmur a seemingly genuine chorus of, “Sorry, Junie.” Asher mumbles his own apology a moment later, looking embarrassed as his ears fold back.

Junie snorts. “Thanks, I guess. Just don’t do it again under my watch. Good luck with the rest of your apology tour.”

And with that, Junie flutters up and over Xander to perch on Nia’s shoulder.

“Well, I guess I’ll be taking the criminals back to the nursery floor,” Xander says. He looks back at his teammates, farther down the staircase. “You can go ahead and drop off the outlaw. I’ll catch up in a bit.”

Kry pushes past him without hesitation, hefting the victreebel over her head. Felix gives Xander another joking salute before following her, ruffling the fur on Laine’s head as he passes. Avery waits a beat longer, looking at Xander questioningly.

The luxio gives them a tired smile. “I’m fine, Ave. Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

The kirlia relents and heads up the staircase as well, whispering something about checking on Minerva, the sick abra from this morning.

Finally, Xander turns back to Team Scarlet. “It was good working with you all today.” His gaze settles first on Nia, then Tobias and Samir. “All of you. You work well together.”

Nia beams, and Samir and Tobias shift in place, muttering a quiet thanks.

With that said, Xander turns to herd the four cubs up the stairs back to the nursery floor, already laying into them again about how bad an idea it was to try sneaking out. Winter’s coming, after all. They could get lost and freeze to death overnight, or stumble into a mystery dungeon, or come across an outlaw, or—

Junie laughs as Xander’s voice fades away. “Kinda glad he’s being so hard on them, actually. I was gonna start losing feathers from the stress.”

“Understandable,” Nia says, giving Junie a pat with her finger. “Have you eaten yet?”

Junie perks up. “Nope! Food time?”

“Food time,” Tobias agrees, taking the lead up the stairs.

___________________________________________________________

That evening, the rain that had been hanging heavy over their heads the entire day finally arrives, coming down in stinging cold sheets. Thankfully, they’re all back in Team Scarlet’s quarters by then. Junie is tweeting short melodies from the human world for Tobias to imitate on his guitar, and Samir is practicing their whistle words. Nia, exhausted as usual after a mission, is skimming through a book near the gray light of the window.

As soon as the first drops of rain patter against the wooden sill, Nia hears the distant drumming of August using his powers. Right on cue, the roots and branches making up the frame of the window in their room start to wind shut, creaking like old rope until the opening is much smaller than before, easy enough to cover with the leaf-sewn blind installed overhead. After doing so, the room is dimly lit, and Nia can only see by the faint light bleeding through the blind and Tobias’ tail flame.

Samir’s mouth twists. They squint and lean closer to try reading the book in front of them, then glance at Tobias and his tail flame before looking away just as quickly.

Nia laughs under her breath. “Samir, you can use Tobias’ tail flame to read. I do it all the time.”

Tobias gives Nia a dry look, but doesn’t argue, his eyes sliding shut as he continues to play.

Samir hesitates, but then flips the book shut and picks it up with delicate teeth. They move over and lie down again close to Tobias, flipping the book back open to resume their studies.

Nia smiles, tempted to go over and join them.

But she has something else on her mind suddenly, after watching the tree obey August’s orders like that. She’d marveled at it briefly before, the rillaboom’s power and command over nature, but now she can’t help thinking about how it actually works. Does he tap into the energy of the tree itself?

Will’s words from their last meeting come to mind.

“Have you ever tried? Tried tapping into the life energy outside of other beings? Plants. The dimensional border. It would be fascinating to learn how deep your aura powers go.”

Nia never tried interacting with aura aside from other Pokemon because she simply didn’t think it was an option. Sure, if aura is life energy, then it makes sense that anything alive should have its own form of aura, but tapping into the life energy of the world itself doesn’t seem like something Nia should be able to do. That kind of power would be a lot of responsibility, wouldn’t it? It feels like something only gods should have access to.

Then again, Pokemon are constantly interacting with that energy anyways, in how they use their moves. So maybe it isn’t as big of a deal as she’s making it out to be?

Nia glances at the others from her place in shadow near the window. She can’t very well read now, and she is tired from the day. She’s sure Junie is going to call her over any minute now, but...

Nia closes her eyes and places a hand against the wooden wall of the room. She gathers her energy, like she does before reading the aura of another Pokemon. Then she holds her breath, and tentatively reaches out to the tree.

She’s stunned when she realizes there is something there, reaching back. It’s not a concentrated, bright ball of aura and color like Tobias, or Junie or Samir. Not a soul, necessarily, but still life. It’s fainter. Quieter. Something she has to actively look for or risk missing entirely.

But Nia feels like she can almost…follow it. Like a network of rivers. Like she can dive into that lifeforce and see where it goes.

So she does. She tries to focus her consciousness into her aura, and sends it into that strange tangle of roadways, millions and millions of strands of energy threaded together, splitting and converging again and again. Are those the individual roots of the tree? Its branches? Or maybe something much smaller, like the veins of a leaf? Its atoms, even?

Nia has no way to ground herself, so she picks a thread at random and follows it, feeling the pathway usher her down an endless road, through uncountable connections, through a web too large for her to comprehend. She thinks she notices something like a soul on the edge of her periphery a few times, bright colors in large concentrations of life energy, but she doesn’t investigate until she brushes by something familiar, a burst of indigo aura that feels like a serene night sky—

Avery?

Nia cuts the connection, startled, and blinks in the dim light, her breathing a little heavy. Did she—? No, that couldn’t have been Avery. The kirlia is all the way down the hall in Team Shellshock’s quarters, and Nia has never reached her aura nearly that far before, let alone so effortlessly.

Except…her aura wasn’t connected to her on its own this time, was it? She was riding the lifeforce of the tree, coasting along its aura like a surfer on a wave. So could she have really..?

“Nia! You good?”

Junie’s voice snaps Nia from her thoughts, and she whips her head up, blinking at the rookidee across the room. Junie is staring at Nia with a confused little smile, head tilted. Tobias has stopped playing and Samir has stopped reading, the two of them also watching Nia with a touch of concern.

Oh. Right. She supposes it is weird for her to be sitting here in the dark with her eyes closed.

Nia forces a laugh, sitting up and grabbing her book to move over to the warm glow of Tobias’ tail flame. There, she sits against their bed, close to the charmander’s side. “Sorry. Tired, I guess.”

She doesn’t know why she says that. She doesn’t know why she doesn’t feel excited about this discovery. Maybe because she’s still in disbelief that she could be right.

“Well, at least nod off over here where it’s warm,” Junie teases. “Toby, play us a lullaby.”

“I’m not your personal minstrel,” Tobias grumbles. Still, he starts plucking away at a softer melody than before.

Nia tilts her head back and closes her eyes, hugging her book close with one arm. With the other, she places a hand on the wooden floor, too curious to resist. Once again, she reaches out with her aura, and leaps into the quiet, gentle lifeforce of the wood.

This time, she picks a direction with purpose. Tracks the vibrations of the specific aura she’s looking for like a spider feeling the vibrations of prey caught in its web. Tracks it like the scent trail in the mystery dungeon.

Just as Nia suspects, she brushes up against a blaze of bright orange energy, Junie’s familiar silhouette lighting up behind her eyes. No contact needed. And she’s done that before, but something about the way she doesn’t feel drained at all, something about how she accidentally connected to someone rooms and rooms away, feels…big.

In a world like this where nature is so present, where life energy weaves through the very fabric of reality so consistently, how far could Nia reach? Could she reach Maggie, up on the top floor? Or Fliss, at the flying outpost? Beck and Hazel, in Afon’s Cap?

Could she affect that lifeforce somehow, like Xerneas and Yveltal can?

Nia abruptly cuts off her aura and grounds herself back in the physical world. She focuses on Tobias’ playing and the heat radiating from his skin. Focuses on Junie’s chipper comments and the sound of Samir flipping a page as they read. Focuses on the smell of the rain and the feeling of rough wood grain against her hand.

Nia’s heart pounds. Her stomach churns.

She’s suddenly reminded of that fight with the seviper, outside of Ghatha. When Nia's aura grew in power and she felt like it was too much for her to control. When she’d handled her aura like a live bomb, terrified of it destroying everything and everyone around her.

I really loved the story. It was simple but it never felt too boring. Going from place to place, doing quests, exploring and finding new mosnters... It really felt like playing a pokemon game for the first time when you were 10 and everything was new.

Also, finding and helping your partners. Building a relationship and learning about them... Honastly, I didn't dislike anyone and it was really sad saying goodby at the end.

An the bosses. The Archangels are really something. They are so not from here with their 3D models and other representations, they really seem like cosmic horror for the characters. And at the end, when you learn what they are and fuse all together to kinda become one and fight Aleph... Really cool.

I don't remember who said in my other post that you could permafreeze some monsters but thank you for the tip. I tried it and it was really funny. I also tried to turn some monsters to glass and use wind to destroy them. though now that I say it out loud it sound a bit cruel. But, that you can even do this to begin with really shows how great and connected the interactions between elements can be.

My favorite cassette beasts are Lobstacle (love saing its name outloud), Apocrowlypse, Glaistain, Aeroboros and Auriclaw (love its gimmick).

Also, I think that I already talked about the music but honestly, its amazing. When you are fighting and you fuse and the lyrics kick in, wonderful. And the regular battle theme is also great. And the battle against the Archangels. And---

The only thing bad thing I can think of right now is that I still haven't found a bootleg on my own. But still have to do part of the post-game so I guess it's just a matter of time.