The Shine of a Sneasel’s Gem

A Clover Guild Story
By Ribombee-anon

Although Sneasel and I didn’t like to split up, we had to do it sometimes. Today was one of those days. I needed to assist Macom the cartographer with his work, but my partner had been banned from the map room after accidentally ruining too many maps with her claws. As a result, she had to go and find some solo work without me. Still, even though we disliked being separated, we knew we’d get back together soon enough, so we smiled as we said goodbye.

But this time, when Sneasel returned a few hours later, her smile had been replaced with a frown. She said nothing was wrong, but I didn’t believe her for a moment. Over the rest of the afternoon and evening, her worry was plain to see, even without using my Aura abilities to sense her emotions. She smiled less than usual, and when she did, it was clearly forced. She didn’t make jokes, tease anyone, or laugh at anything. She was rather curt with people as well—including me. The contrast from her usual mischievous and playful demeanor made my heart grow heavier, but no matter how many times I asked what was wrong or how I could help, she always rebuked me.

After dinner, to help take her mind off whatever was worrying her, I suggested we visit the storeroom to replenish the items we kept in her pair of belt pouches. She grunted in approval, and we went down to the basement. There, we saw the guild’s quartermaster Toge hovering around and taking notes about the items we had. He waved at us, and I returned the gesture; Sneasel did too, but only half-heartedly. As Toge went back to work, Sneasel and I went to a long shelf that held some of the items we needed. I left my perch on Sneasel’s head to gather the items, while she walked elsewhere to find the rest.

As I wandered around and collected things, I looked over to check on Sneasel. She was standing in front of a large mirror that had been hung up on the wall of the storeroom for a while now. It normally had a big sheet draped over it, but Sneasel had slid this aside to reveal the glass and her reflection. I also noticed she was holding a rag in her claws, taken from a nearby box. As I watched, she spat on the rag, stared at her reflection, and rubbed the rag on her forehead. Or, more specifically, her forehead gem—a golden oval-shaped bump, identical to the one on her chest. Every Sneasel had them, but I didn’t know what purpose they served, and I never asked my partner about them.

Sneasel seemed dissatisfied with the result of her spit-shine. She sighed as she tossed the rag back in its box and resumed gathering items. When she finished and came to get me, we repeated the same routine we’d done multiple times today. First, I asked if she was doing okay. Next, she brushed it off and said she was fine. Finally, I grew even more worried as the fact she was lying remained crystal clear.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get an answer and help her. But I wanted to do it in private, and Toge was still in the basement, so I would have to reluctantly bide my time until later.

That night, we went back to our dorm and prepared to sleep. The room was lit only by a lantern on our desk and the pale moonlight from the window, and we would put out the lantern in a matter of minutes. I took some time to stare out at the moon, collecting my thoughts and bracing myself. I knew this was my chance. I couldn’t sleep knowing my partner was this upset over something. Even if I had to stay up late pestering Sneasel, I’d solve whatever was bothering her.

And so, I stood at the edge of our desk and said as sternly as possible, “Sneasel, seriously, we need to talk. It’s not a good idea to try sleeping when you’re upset. Can you please tell me what’s been bothering you? I want to help you.”

Sneasel was taking off her bandanna and belt, putting them atop our dresser. She kept her back turned to me and grumbled, “Leave me alone already. I don’t wanna talk about it. I’ll just deal with it myself. So drop it.”

“I can’t. You’re my best friend. I hate to see you acting so down.”

She said nothing. She crossed her arms and stared blankly at the dresser before her.

I sighed. “Okay. If you won’t tell me what’s wrong, let me take a guess. Something happened when you were out in the town, right? Something that made you think your gems are dirty or dull?”

Sneasel gave a start, then looked back at me. Her usual slit pupils were wide and round. “Okay, wait,” she said. “How’d you know?”

“Educated guess,” I replied. “You only started feeling bad when you came back from your errands, and I saw you trying to polish your forehead gem in the storeroom. It wasn’t too hard to figure out.”

Sneasel shut her eyes and nodded, mumbling, “Yeah. You got it.”

She came over and sat in front of the desk on which I stood. She crossed her arms on the edge and slouched, looking down at me with a frown.

“Do you want to talk about it now?” I asked.

“No use hiding it, I guess,” she growled. “Alright, here’s the deal: I was going around town running errands, right? Then this gang of jerks showed up and started messing with me. I know them—they’re tough, from the bad part of town, where I used to hang out. They’ve always hated me since I moved into Capim, and we got in some arguments and fights before, but I’ve been able to avoid them for the most part. But today, they ganged up on me and really kept prodding me, y’know? They even did something new: started making fun of my gems, saying they were all dull and dirty... the ugliest gems they’d ever seen on a Sneasel...”

Frowning, I walked forward and put a gentle hand on Sneasel’s arm. “Aww, Sneasel... I’m really sorry to hear that. People are just awful sometimes. Humans can be so rude too. It’s a shame things are the same in this world as they were on Earth.”

Sneasel snorted in frustration, startling me as her breath hit me. “Yeah...” she grumbled. “Honestly, I was fuming. Part of me wanted to just stab the losers right there, but I remembered the way you always tell me to chill, and not let my anger get the best of me. Plus, I knew it would’ve been real bad if a guild member just shanked some dudes in the middle of the street. There’s bad rumors going around about the guild lately, and I didn’t wanna add fuel to that fire. So I ended up walking away. Those bullies followed me, and kept pestering me, but I managed to get away. Still, the things they said stuck with me, and that’s why I’ve been so upset all day. I know it’s dumb to get bothered over words like that, but...”

“I understand,” I said. I backed away from her arm so I could meet her gaze without craning my neck, and continued, “We humans have a saying: ‘sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me’. But I never really believed it. Words can hurt a lot. Still, you can’t let it get to you. Don’t listen to the bullies. You’re a great Pokemon.”

Sneasel smirked. “Yeah, right. You’re just buttering me up...”

“No, I’m serious. Keep your chin up. Those guys... I bet they’re just picking on you because they’re jealous. Lots of bullies are like that. You’re an amazingly strong fighter, and you got to join a great guild with plenty of nice people in it.”

“Not just that—I’ve got an awesome partner too,” Sneasel said, smiling. “Heh... y’know, I’m pretty blessed, aren’t I? No reason to mope. I shouldn’t let some retarded bullies get to me.”

“That’s the spirit,” I said, copying her smile. “I’m glad you finally spoke up about what’s bothering you. Remember, anytime you want to talk, I’m here for you.”

I yawned, then went over to the bowl of cotton balls serving as my bed. But as I started to undo my belt, I heard Sneasel clear her throat. I looked back to see her sitting straight upright and staring down at me. Her gold gems glinted brightly in the light of the lantern.

“Um... hey Booker,” she said quietly. “Quick question.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think of my gems?”

I was a bit startled by the sudden question. “Oh. W-well, I like them. They’re cool.”

“Really? How cool?”

“They, uh... look good on you. They’re a neat detail. They add an interesting splash of bright color and smooth texture to break up your gray fur. I like how they’re gold, too. They’re nice and shiny.”

Sneasel listened intently, and her eyes widened at this last word. “Sh-shiny?” she repeated. “You think they’re shiny?”

“Um... I do.”

She stared at me—then smirked. “Alright. Didn’t know you felt that way, but... good to know.”

Now it was my turn to stare. “W-wait, hold on. You didn’t know I felt what way? Did I say something wrong?”

Sneasel didn’t reply. She extinguished our lantern, then got up and went over to her own bed. She flopped onto the soft cotton and said, “Goodnight, Booker.”

“B-but... I...”

She rolled to face away from me, signaling that she was done talking. I considered jumping off the desk and approaching her to get some clarification, but I decided against it. Still, I wondered about her response to my compliments. There was nothing special about what I said, right? I expected her to simply cheer up and give me a straightforward thank you, rather than this.

I didn’t worry about it too much, though. She was feeling better now, and that was what mattered most.

* * *

In the morning, Sneasel’s good mood persisted. She smiled and talked more than yesterday, and resumed cracking jokes and teasing me from time to time. In fact, she seemed even more chipper than usual. I was happy to see her like this, but I was still curious about the unexpected way she reacted to my compliment last night.

We went through our usual routine, including breakfast and training at the dojo. When we finished working out, and I told her that I still had some cartography work to do today, she surprised me by suggesting I delay it.

“C’mon, do you really have to?” she asked. “You can put it off for a day, right? Those maps ain’t going anywhere. How about we take a job and head to a dungeon together? I’m itching for a good fight.”

“Sorry,” I said. “You know I like spending time with you, but Macom’s counting on me. It shouldn’t take too long, though. We should be able to finish in an hour or two, and you and I can go do something afterwards.”

“Alright, fine,” she said with a groan. “I was just hoping we could hang out this morning. But if you got stuff to do, go ahead. I can wait.”

Sneasel brought me to the map room, put me on the table, and left to make herself busy. Macom thanked me in advance for assisting him again, and we resumed our work from yesterday. The Mareep and I had been making some maps based on reports of mysterious (and dangerous) rifts around the continent; the number seemed to be increasing, and we wanted to remain informed of their locations. It was routine work, but it was hard to concentrate today, because my thoughts kept drifting back to my partner.

Macom took notice. After scribbling some coordinates on a paper, he looked over at me and asked, “Do you have something on your mind?”

I gave a start. “Oh, w-what makes you say that?”

“You keep pausing and staring, like you’re thinking about something. I don’t mean to pry, though.”

“It’s okay. I’m just... thinking about Sneasel. Wondering what she’s up to, and what we’ll do when we get together again.”

“I see. You two usually try to stay together whenever possible, so I know it must be uncomfortable to be away from her for too long. Sorry for banning her from the map room, but I had no choice.”

“Oh, you don’t have to apologize. I understand why you did it. Sharp claws and fragile paper don’t mix.”

Macom nodded, but slightly winced—probably recalling the sight of one of his precious maps being sliced in half by my partner. “If she was as gentle with our maps as she was with you, I’d let her back in. But until then, I hope you can manage without her. Besides, maybe some good will come of it. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“F-fonder...” I murmured. “Right...”

Following this brief chat, I did my best to concentrate on the work and forget Sneasel. She was still on my mind, but not enough to distract me. And in the end, Macom and I actually finished reading our documents and drawing our maps a bit quicker than expected. I had some time left until Sneasel came to pick me up, so I stood on the table and gazed absentmindedly at our completed maps as I wondered what to do now.

“Why not visit the library?” Macom suggested.

That wasn’t a bad idea. We had acquired a lot of books over the last five months or so, and I knew I could find something interesting to read. In particular, I wondered if we had a book with any info about a Sneasel’s gems. Maybe I could learn why my partner got so deeply upset at some bullies mocking her gems, and why she acted the way she did when I called them shiny.

“Good idea,” I replied to Macom’s idea. “I’ll go there and read for a bit. If Sneasel comes back, please tell her where I went.”

“I’ll do that. Need a ride over there?”

I hesitated to reply. I certainly didn’t enjoy walking on the floor, due to the risk of being stepped on by a negligent Pokemon. That was another benefit of having a partner like Sneasel, who was big enough to ride on. And in Sneasel’s absence, Macom could be a suitable replacement. However, the last time the Mareep offered me a ride, I immediately fell asleep in his cozy wool. I still felt terribly embarrassed about it. Not wanting to risk a repeat of that, I shook my head and said I wanted to try walking over there myself.

“Fair enough,” said Macom. “Be careful—and thanks again for your help.”

I floated down off the desk and took the relatively short walk to the library. Fortunately, there was nobody roaming this part of the guildhall right now, so I made it into the library without incident. Inside, I took one look at the comparatively giant bookshelves looming around me and knew I couldn’t hope to browse the books by myself. Fortunately, a new recruit to the guild, Clara the Lucario, was in the room. She was tall enough to reach any of the shelves, so I went over and asked if she could help me get a book. With a nod, she picked me up and set me on her shoulder. I told her what I was looking for, and we began our search.

After a minute or two, she froze, as if listening to something only she could hear. Before I could ask what was going on, she turned around and walked straight to another bookshelf. She took a book in her paws, and held it so we could both see. The title was simple: “Minerals and Pokemon”.

“Here we go,” she said. “This may help.”

“Oh, th-thank you, Clara,” I said. “But how did you know... oh, wait. D-did Smoke find that for you?”

Clara nodded. She started checking the book’s table of contents, looking for any chapters pertaining to Sneasel. As she did, I looked at a random point of the library and said, “Th-thank you... Smoke.”

I got no reply, but Clara told me her partner had said, “You’re welcome.”

Smoke was originally a human like me, but he was special case: his soul had become tied to Clara, making him a ghost undetectable by anyone without a sixth sense. If I wanted to, I could see him with my Aura abilities—but the first (and last) time I tried that, I instantly regretted it. His appearance had become completely inhuman: horrifying and eldritch, disturbing to look at and impossible to describe. I decided not to look directly at him ever since then.

The invisible man’s predicament always made my heart sink. On the bright side, at least he and Clara seemed to be good friends—and I knew how important it was to have a trusty partner like that. My new Ribombee body was so tiny and weak, unable to fight or even move around effectively. I was incredibly lucky to get someone like Sneasel for a partner—someone who genuinely cared about me and was willing to assist and encourage me.

As I thought about this, Clara flipped through the book and reached a certain chapter. She placed the book on a nearby desk and pointed at the open page. “This looks like what you need,” she said.

I slid off her shoulder and floated down to the book, standing on its pages to read it. The Lucario had opened it to a chapter titled “Biomineralization”, specifically a page with a section called “Sneasel and Weavile”. I thanked her and began to read as she wandered off. I still had some trouble understanding the written Pokemon language, but with help from Sneasel and others, I had learned to read decently well by now.

The section included the following text: Through biomineralization, the bodies of Sneasel and Weavile (sometimes referred to collectively as Clawfolk) are able to organically produce mineral deposits using material from the food they consume. Occasionally, these Pokemon will ingest small rocks or crystals to obtain additional material.

I suddenly remembered a time when Sneasel bought a tiny, cheap gemstone from a merchant, and it disappeared overnight. She never said what happened to it, but now I realized she must have gobbled it up when I wasn’t looking. I smirked at the thought of my partner using a rock as a snack, then kept reading.

Biomineralization in Clawfolk results in the creation of two mineral deposits, colloquially referred to as “gems”, on the body. These deposits take the form of smooth, oval-shaped, gold-colored protrusions that grow out of the bones and through the skin. The exact makeup of the gems is unknown, but they are likely a combination of multiple minerals, and share a resemblance with topaz. One gem grows from the skull’s frontal bone and emerges on the forehead, while the other grows from the sternum and emerges on the chest. Newborn Sneasel lack any gems, and when a Sneasel evolves into Weavile, the chest gem is resorbed (meaning it is absorbed back into the body and does not regrow) while the forehead gem remains and becomes even more durable.

Despite being hard and sturdy, Clawfolk gems are too small to be used for defense. Instead, their primary purpose is attracting mates.

My eyes lingered on the last two words. With a nervous gulp, I resumed reading the paragraph, more slowly now.

The shinier a Sneasel or Weavile’s gems are, the more desirable the Pokemon is to others of their own kind. The reason for this preference is a mystery, but it seems to be inherent in all Clawfolk. As a result, they care deeply about their gems. If a gem is dirtied or broken—or simply insulted—the Pokemon will often become depressed. Major damage to a gem can even result in the Clawfolk being ostracized by others. In contrast, if someone compliments a Clawfolk’s gems, the recipient will view this as a confession of attraction. Praising the gems’ shininess is the highest type of compliment, and is one of the first steps of a Clawfolk courtship ritual.

My face quickly grew hot. The significance of what I said to Sneasel last night had now become abundantly clear—and it smacked me hard in the head as it did so. I reread the passage several times, staring at the words as if I could make them change into something less embarrassing for me. But the more I read it, the more certain I became that I hadn’t misinterpreted the text due to my loose grasp of the language.

It was obvious now: without meaning to, I had been hitting on my partner last night.

Before I had much time to turn this over in my mind, I sensed the familiar red Aura of Sneasel drifting closer. I scrambled off the book and frantically flipped to a random page to hide what I’d been researching. I pretended to read the page’s contents while repeatedly glancing over my shoulder. Through my translucent wings, I saw Sneasel enter the room. I waved her over.

“Hey, Booker!” Sneasel said as she approached the desk. “I finished those errands. Swung by the map room to get you, but Macom said you finished early and went to the library.”

“Y-yeah,” I said. My nerves made it hard to talk, but I managed to keep my voice mostly steady. “I h-had some spare time, so... just wanted to read till you came back.”

She grinned and said, “Nerd.”

I rolled my eyes. Summoning an updraft with Fairy Wind, I jumped onto Sneasel’s head and sat down as she left the library. We both waved goodbye to Clara, then stepped out into the lounge.

“Well, now that we’re back together, what should we do?” Sneasel asked. “May be too late in the day to take on a dungeon job, but there’s probably some work we can do. Come to think of it, we should probably get some lunch first. I know a good spot in town.”

“A-actually...” I murmured, steeling myself for what was about to come next. “I, uh... need to talk with you about something. Can we stop by our dorm for a bit, please?”

Sneasel hummed in approval, then went to our room on the opposite side of the guildhall’s second floor. I wondered if she noticed me shuddering atop her head. I wasn’t looking forward to this conversation, but like last night’s talk, it had to be done. I just hoped it wouldn’t damage our relationship... or embarrass me even more.

* * *

When the two of us entered our dorm, Sneasel closed the door and went to our desk. I dropped down onto it and took a seat. Meanwhile, she sat on the cushion in front of the desk and assumed the same pose she did last night, crossing her arms on the edge of the desk while leaning forward to get closer to me.

“Alright, what’s up?” Sneasel asked.

My mind went blank. I always liked to have a strategy before starting anything, but I now realized I’d been so flustered that I forgot to plan anything out in my head.

What would be the right thing to say here? I wanted to apologize for accidentally coming on to Sneasel, but I had to get my point across without going too far in the other direction, and sounding like I disliked her.

Then again... was it necessary to apologize? Even if it was an accident, did I really disagree with the notion? I remembered the time I helped quell one of her nightmares in the dead of night, shortly after we survived our most dangerous mission yet. That night, I had taken the chance to ponder our relationship, and realize how much I valued her as a partner. Maybe what I did last night was just the inevitable next step of this. Maybe it was my subconscious, or even fate, pushing me in a certain direction. But did I actually want to go down that kind of road, or—

“Booker, you’re doing that thing again,” Sneasel grumbled.

I gasped. “W-what? Oh, sorry. Was I lost in thought?”

“Yeah. You were just staring at me for a while. You know I’m impatient, and you said you wanted to talk, so... spit it out. What’s on your mind?”

I took a deep breath. Recalling a trick I learned in my Aura training, I visualized my concerns being boxed up and pushed into darkness. This was meant to clear my head. It didn’t help much—I still felt my heart racing. But at last, I forced myself to say, “Okay. It’s ab-about last night. Remember when I c-complimented your gems?”

“How could I forget?” Sneasel replied with a smirk.

“Um... w-well, we happen to have a book in the library. It talks about how Sneasel and Weavile—or Clawfolk—create their gems, and what the gems are for. So... now I know how important the shine of a Sneasel’s gem is. And I know... what it means if someone compliments it.”

“Oh? You do?”

“Yeah. But y-yesterday, I didn’t know. So, when I said your gems were shiny, I didn’t know it meant... well... m-meant that I...”

“...that you’ve got the hots for me?” my partner finished for me.

My awkward stammering filled the air for a while, mingled with Sneasel’s chuckling.

“Look, it was-s an accident,” I stuttered, avoiding eye contact with her. “I didn’t wa-want to be so... forward. I didn’t want to... confess my l-love or start a c-courtship ritual, or anything like that. I was... just trying to be nice...”

Sneasel laughed as I mumbled and fidgeted about. “Hey, it’s cool,” she said. “I get you. You’re not one of us—Clawfolk, I mean—so I know you’ve got no clue what these gems mean to us. I knew there wasn’t a deeper meaning to what you said.”

I looked up at her. “But y-you said something like ‘I didn’t know you felt that way’... and I thought it meant ‘I didn’t know you were attracted to me’...”

“You’re right. That is what I meant. But I was just messing with you. I didn’t actually think you were confessing or anything.”

I let out a sigh of relief as I felt a weight lifting off my shoulders. “O-okay, good. Thanks. I was feeling pretty em-embarrassed about all that, so I’m glad we could clear that up. I mean, I really do like you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. But I just... don’t want to go too far, or move too fast. You know what I’m saying, right?”

My partner nodded, and it seemed like the conversation was over. But the air felt oddly heavy, as if there was something more on Sneasel’s mind, and she was struggling to decide if she should say it. After a few tense moments, she decided to go for it.

With a nervous gulp, she softly said, “Y’know... even if you didn’t know what that compliment meant, and you were just trying to cheer me up... it was really nice to hear.”

“Well, that’s good. Glad you’re happy.”

“Yeah... y’know, I had some guys call my gems shiny back in the tribe, but I turned them all down. Never cared about lovey stuff back then. But even though you said the same kinda thing they all did, it sounded... different when you said it. I liked it.”

At that, Sneasel let out a decidedly awkward chuckle and glanced away, breaking eye contact. I suddenly noticed a hint of pink peeking through the dark fur of her cheeks. I never thought I’d see the day, but my partner was actually blushing. And it made her look surprisingly cute.

She cleared her throat and looked back at me. “A-anyway, I’m glad we had this chat. And it’s good that you learned more about what it means to compliment a Sneasel’s gems. That way, heh... when you finally start hitting on me for real, you’ll know what to say.”

I started to reply, but I froze as my brain caught up with what my partner had just said. “Wait,” I murmured. “W-wait. You said ‘when’ I start h-hitting on you? D-don’t you mean ‘if’?”

Sneasel’s grin grew wide, her fangs gleaming. “No... I know what I said.”

My partner continued to grin and blush, while I just stared blankly. had no idea how to respond to her now. This whole conversation was making me more flustered than I’d ever been, and my heart was pounding so hard I was sure Sneasel could hear it. But strangely, it wasn’t an entirely bad feeling. In fact, some part of me felt oddly elated to hear Sneasel say what she said.

“When you finally start hitting on me”...

She was acting like this sort of thing was inevitable.

Maybe she was correct.

Mercifully, Sneasel shook me out of my thoughts. “Alright, I feel like I’m going too far,” she said, giving another nervous laugh. “Sorry. Believe me, it felt weird to say that kinda stuff, but I saw the opportunity and I took it. But for now, maybe it’s best if we, uh... try and forget about it for now, okay? How about we go do something else to get our minds off all this dumb mushy stuff? We still gotta grab lunch, right?”

I managed to squeak out, “Y-yeah... S-sounds good...”

Sneasel’s blush had faded by now. She gently picked me up off the desk, and I took my place in my usual spot atop her head. I sat there on her soft fur, my feet resting on her forehead—right beside one of the shiny gems that had given me so much to ponder.

As we left the dorm and went about our day, I knew these recent events would remain fresh in my mind for a while. I’d have to spend plenty of time considering how I really felt about Sneasel, and where the two of us should go from here. I was entering uncharted territory, having never experienced this sort of relationship with anyone before.

And yet, somehow, I didn’t feel as scared as I thought I would.