Hearing Xinhai's words, Axew's purplish-red eyes widened slightly, and a warm current mixed with guilt surged through its heart.
"Ax... Axew..." (I... I can do it... You don't have to do this because of me...) it said softly, not wanting to hold everyone back because of itself.
"No, Axew." Xinhai picked it up and looked seriously into its eyes. "You're not 'holding us back.' We should be 'taking care' of you."
"You're just like everyone else—you're all my important partners, my family. Ensuring every partner's health and safety is my responsibility, and the first rule of this team."
His tone was firm yet warm. "There will be plenty more chances for exploration and adventure, but you only get one chance at the best recovery period for your health. Nothing is more important than that."
Axew's throat tightened, and it nodded hard, engraving Xinhai's words deep in its heart.
Xinhai smiled and set Axew down before rising to continue speaking to his partners. "Second, our haul has already been incredibly plentiful."
He patted the bulging Spatial Backpack beside him. "All kinds of high-quality ores, raw gemstones, even fossils. The backpack is nearly at its limit. If we keep exploring, even if we find more good things, we won't be able to carry everything out."
"And," his tone shifted as a trace of caution entered his gaze, "there are many powerful Pokémon at that Leyline Node. It's extremely dangerous. We may be in decent condition now, but after several straight days of exploration and battle, everyone has suffered varying degrees of exhaustion."
"Venturing rashly into an overly dangerous area when our preparations aren't absolutely sufficient and we have a new member to protect would not be a wise choice."
"So, does everyone understand?"
"Eevee!" (Got it, Xinhai!) Eevee was the first to