Not many travelers made it out this far on their own, let alone continuing on in the early afternoon in this desert sun. But this dark-furred canine was managing just fine, and even had a gift for the owner of his intended destination contained in a large, tied sack carried in his jaws. He may not have been here in a long time, but with any luck, his memory wouldn’t fail him. If it didn’t, he should be arriving at the bastion soon enough. How much has it changed since his last visit? That question would probably be answered soon enough, with the sight of a tall stone wall appearing over the horizon. Just a bit farther...
Of course, with how long it had been, he would probably be stopped by a new guard when he arrived. And when he finally did, the traveler simply sat down in the shade of the wall to await whoever was in charge of the gate nowadays. Surely they were at their post? If not, then the smell of smoke that trailed wherever he went would undoubtedly get someone’s attention.
His nostrils flared on occasion while he waited, as he lifted his nose to the air and took in a few sniffs to see if he could identify any species that were around. And... To his slight surprise, a familiar Gardevoir was among the fainter scents! Perhaps some greetings would be in order when he got inside...
“All right.” Oasis gave a smile and a nod. “Let’s see, where to begin… well, I no longer have to run this place on my own, for starters.”
She began to levitate across the garden, slowly enough for Tartarus to catch up in case he needed a moment. Not only had the courtyard grown in size, it had also undergone a makeover: there were streams and ponds of fresh water, but also trees, bushes and even a hot spring on the far side where some Pokémon liked to spend the colder desert mornings.
“Mikhail arrived here a few decades ago. Neither of us really know how it happened, but seeing he had nowhere else to go, he decided to stay. We’ve been good friends ever since. There’s also Robin, who–”
“Oh, hi!” A certain Eeveelution crossed their path, waving a ribbon in greeting. “Welcome, big guy.”
“Speak of the devil – or the Sylveon in this case,” the Gardevoir chuckled.
Long legs made for a long stride, and so the hound had no issue keeping up with his old friend now that their tour had begun proper. He merely listened in silence at first, taking in Oasis’s words and the sights of the surrounding bastion that had since taken on the appearance of its caretaker’s namesake. The water cooled the entire area, and there was so much more green here than in the entire surrounding desert combined, so it was no wonder pokemon would be attracted to such a place!
As for the mysteries of Mikhail’s origin, he could shrug it off. With backgrounds like their own, it was sometimes better not knowing anyway. And if he did get curious of where some of the new inhabitants had come from, well, ones like this new one greeting him could probably provide.
“And hello to you too,” he responds simply, with a friendly nod toward the comparatively tiny fairy type and a glance back toward the Gardevoir. “I assume she arrived around a similar time?”
A Floramon would gently approach Suzy. The flower like digimon had seen her, and others playing, and thought it'd be best to approach whoever was left when the others were gone. "Um,excuse me, but...do you think we could play too?" She had recently gained the ability for others to see her, but she still looked like a glitching hologram.
She wasn’t expecting many other kids, or at least young ones like her, to still be hanging around after she saw off her usual friends. At the corner of the playground Floramon had approached sat a row of round metal tubes sculpted to look like train cars, with an engine at the front of the line that the bui sat atop of with a juice box in her paws, having enjoyed the little breather she got while watching her buddies leave and the teenagers continue to hang around.
“Hm?” She hadn’t even noticed this small one before it spoke up, and the glitching caught her eye. It reminded her of some of those computer things she’d seen on tv… Porygons, if she remembered right? “Sure! I’ve got time before I go home!” Was it really that easy to befriend a pokemon? At this age, probably. Not like a kid would say no to new friends.
