Outside the mouth of the bluff, the storm rages on, rain pounding against the stone of the cliff outside. A stray gust whips inside, ruffling Yugi's fur as he curls tighter on himself in his nest, and he wonders if he should have perhaps taken up the offer to stay at one of his friend's homes for the night.
"It's a rough one tonight, huh?" He looks down at the pendant held between his front paws, staring at the familiar pattern of lines on its smooth top lit only by the softly glowing stripes on his forelegs as he fluffs himself against the cold. "I don't think even the weather Castform thought it'd be this bad tonight. I hope the Guild explorers are doing alright out there."
Yugi knows he saw both Team Poochy and Team Idol gearing up in Explorer's Square earlier, the Poochyena trio picking supplies at Kangaskhan's while the Lucario and Raichu duo went over wares at Kecleon Market, and he can't help but wonder how the two teams are faring out there in the storm.
"Explorers are pretty brave to do what they do, aren't they? I wish I had that kind of courage, but..." But Yugi is a meek little thing, wary of the idea of having to fight outlaws and ferals and setting paw in dangerous places the way his grandpa did, and so he stays safe in Treasure Town, despite the deep rooted desire to find out what makes his Relic Fragment so special. He knows it's special, the chunk of rock feels nothing like any other rock he's ever seen, but he can't for the life of him say what makes it special besides the pattern carved into the polished top.
Maybe it's instinct, Yugi thinks. His grandpa always trusted his instincts, and made it for decades as an independent explorer of his own. A pang pricks his heart at the thought of his grandpa, and he grips the Fragment tighter, tiny claws scratching at the rock as he holds it against the wind.
"You know what? I wish I could know more about where you came from. Even if I have to get out there-"
A flash of lightning blazes outside, illuminating the tossing ocean outside, and Yugi looks up, yellow eyes wide as he stares into the night. He could have sworn...
There, illuminated in another lightning strike, something small and pale against the night tumbling from the sky towards the water. Yugi stumbles from his nest, rushing towards the mouth of the cave just in time to witness the pale object hit the churning waves somewhere in the distance and vanish. He watches for a moment longer, ears flattened against the wind and thunder as he stares out between the 'teeth' of Sharpedo Bluff, but can't see any other sign of the object from the sky amongst the waves.
"Wonder what that was...?" Yugi turns to curl back up in his nest, but his head barely touches the bedding before a voice calls out from the entrance to the little cave he calls home.
"Hey, Yugi! You in here?" Yugi turns his head in time to see a pair of Nidoran walking into the bluff behind him. The girl of the pair stares around, pushing closer to her brother as another gust whips in.
"Hey, what are you two doing here?" Yugi stands, fur ruffled against the cold as he stares in surprise at the duo. "I thought you two were at home?"
"We were, but Marill said he saw you going here and we thought we should bring you back to our home with us!" The boy of the Nidoran duo speaks, standing tall even as he presses himself against his sister to keep her warm.
"Yeah, we're having Marill and Azurill over too, since they're always busy helping their mom, and..." The female Nidoran trails off, flinching slightly at another crash of thunder outside.
"...Alright, I'll come!" It doesn't take much to pick up on the subtext, that the Nidoran siblings don't want to be alone in their home in this weather, and not for the first time Yugi wonders where their parents are. "You said Marill and Azurill are there, too?"
The girl Nidoran nods. "We're having a get together until the storm passes. I heard the weather Castform say it's supposed to last until noon, so-"
"Come on! Marill and Azurill are waiting!" The boy Nidoran charges off, leaving his sister to run after him while calling for him to wait up. Yugi sighs, then after making sure his Fragment is secure on its cord around his neck, he runs after the younger duo, eager to get somewhere warmer for the night.
(And maybe, just maybe, the Relic Fragment feels ever so slightly warmer as it bounces off Yugi's chest. It's probably his imagination though, he figures, as he dodges around puddles in the streets as he trails the Nidoran siblings to their home.)
Note: So, Treasure Town is bigger in this story than it is in the games. The part we see in the games makes up what's known as Explorer's Square in this story, a square with services geared specifically towards the needs of explorers from the Guild. Most townsfolk live further away from Explorer's Square, in other parts of town.