Explorers of Sky's Heartwarming

A few days after the festivities of New Years had come and gone, the cool air of winter washed over the towering trunks and bridges of Capim Town, and although the sky was overcast and partially blotted out the sun, there were still many pokemon out and about, wandering through the bustling streets in winter attire.

The situation was less than ideal for many to be doing business, but for three particular pokemon decked out in winter gear – a nidorina whose spiky ears were studded in earrings and whose neck was wreathed in an elegant, pink scarf; a poochyena who let his fur coat grow out a bit longer in the season, content with braving the winds that made the rickety bridges they now crossed sway in the air, and a maractus slowly hopping his way after the two, the cotton poncho he bore extra-thick to help him brave the winter chills he far from used to.

“D-do we have to come out, Nida? I-it’s so cold! And it’s not even snowing! What’s the point?” asked Sunny the maractus.

“Why, the very second I learned you never had a Tamato Berry before, I knew exactly what we were going to do today, rain or shine!” declared Nida the nidorina with pride in her voice and a lingering flavor on her tongue that could only be solved by nothing other than her favorite berry.

Nida then turned to Pochi the poochyena, her companion who was tagging along more to ensure Nida didn’t get into any trouble, and asked, “well Pochi, do you know where the vendor might be?”

Pochi raised a paw and sniffed the air. Poochenya generally had good noses, but he felt that his was among the best; one of the many reasons he had chosen to become a police officer. His tufts of thick fur danced in the wind as he raised a paw and sniffed the air – before unceremoniously falling over after the wind swayed the bridge.

He picked himself up and said, “I think we’ve got to go to the ground level; I can smell the Tamato berry there…”

The trio known as Team Moxie continued to brave the elements, working their way across the bridge – and only Sunny falling over once or twice, where his friends helped him back up carefully, making sure to not get pricked by the thorns that studded his body.

They wormed their way down the stairs of the pale green trunk the bridge had connected to and set foot upon one of the many tiled roads of central Capim Town, Pochi yet again sniffed the air and, making sure he was on solid ground, once again raised a paw and pointed in the direction of where he smelled the Tamato berry.

“That way!” Pochi said with an unmistakable hint of pride in his voice; considering how much Nida loved to eat, it was practically essential for Pochi to know by heart the smell of Tomato berries to give to his friend.

And, quite frankly, to more often than not bribe Nida into doing something she’d normally rather sleep in for.

As Sunny hopped his way and Pochi, almost prancing with his head held high in the air, sauntered towards the stall he had directed them towards, Nida practically ran into a full-on sprint.

As Sunny and Pochi approached the stall, they heard a cry of pain from Nida.

“What?! You only have one left?! What do you mean ‘out of season!?’”

Nida began to fumble in her bag for Poke, desperately trying to buy it so that some other customer wouldn’t get to her prized Tamato berry before she could, even though there was no one around.

She hurriedly snatched the last remaining Tamato berry at the stall – and perhaps in Capim Town until they came back in season in the spring – and looked at it with a look that beheld such a sense of longing and love that many ‘mons wouldn’t have even dreamed of receiving from their partners.

But as she stared at the Tamato berry and wagged her tail so fast one could’ve sworn she was about to take flight, she noticed in the corners of her vision Pochi and Sunny looking on.

Pochi, used to the sigh, simply said with a smile, “Enjoy your Tamato berry, Nida!”

Sunny, understandably a bit upset at having to come out on such a cold, put on a brave face for his friend who he knew loved to eat above almost everything else and said,”don’t worry Nida, it’s your favorite berry, after all!”

Nida, elated to have the approval of the rest of Team Moxie, opened her mouth and was ready to bite down until an annoying thing called a conscience started to bother her.

Didn’t you come all this way to show Sunny how delicious the Tamato berry is? After all Nida, what is the one thing you care more about than food..?

Nida found the strength to stop herself from biting down onto the prized berry and, using her claws, set it down on the counter and cut it into three the best she could.

Nida kept the biggest piece for herself – some things really do never change – but she handed the other two pieces of the Tamato berry to her friends, much to their collective surprise.

“Y-you want to share the Tamato berry, Nida?” Pochi asked, incredulity clearly present.

Nida just let out a smile and said, “well, we came out this way to all have a Tamato berry, Sunny especially. And, the only thing that tastes better than having a berry by yourself is having a berry with friends.”

Upon hearing this, Pochi and Sunny both graciously accepted the cut up Tamato berry from Nida and, at the count of three (Nida counted especially fast, unsurprisingly) they all bit in.

A rush of delicious spices entered and danced around in their mouths as they savored it. As luck happened to have it, the Tamato berry was well-renowned for its warming effect, so Sunny above all others was happy to have had one, feeling the warm glow within strengthen against the cold gusts that blew past even at ground level.

The flavor continued to transform as the Tamato berry danced on their tongues, advancing from a cacophony of delectable spice to a smooth and eye-popping taste that still retained its distinctive spicy edge.

After a moment, Nida opened her mouth to speak, the inside a bright blood-red. “So, Sunny, how did you like it?”

Both Pochi and Nida looked at Sunny expectantly who, after a moment of internal deliberation, opened his mouth to respond with a bright red grin. “I- I loved it! I don’t know, but for some reason it tastes just like home!”

At this Nida let out a shout of joy and rushed to hug Sunny – but stopping and making sure she avoided Sunny’s barbs – and Pochi joined in, leaving Team Moxie in a large group-hug, warming each other from the cold on the outside and the tasty Tamato berry that still lingered on their tongues warming them from within.

Sure, it was windy and overcast and a day far from ideal for going out and about, what Team Moxie that otherwise uneventful morning was that a nice day came from what you made of it and who you shared your time with.

Nida, Pochi, and Sunny, still embraced in a tight hug with Nida’s and Pochi’s wagging tails almost shaking the dog-pile, all were happiest not to have had such a delicious berry, but to have enjoyed it together. It was going to be a berry nice day after all.

Art by Nido-anon