Another (-o-) Pokémon-themed (-o-) piece I did today using Paint 3D. I love the Safari Zone areas in Pokémon, and the Great Marsh -- located just behind Pastoria City, somewhere in South-East Sinnoh -- is a great one in my opinion. Both Quagsire and its prevo, Wooper, can be found here, and in Platinum there are even more Pokémon to be encountered in this area than in Diamond and Pearl.

🌾 This Quagsire right here is enjoying a mud bath next to the railway, where the tram is parked. The railway is responsible for dividing the Great Marsh into two halves, but there are a couple crossings paved into the ground so that people and Pokémon alike can cross the track, and walk from one side of the Marsh to the other. Quagsire, despite enjoying his bath in the pool of mud, does feel a bit lonely after some time has passed. His friends Yanma, Carnivine and Croagunk left this place out of fear, after they witnessed a shocking incident two weeks ago, in which a poor Marill was run over by the tram and died shortly after. Quagsire also saw what happened. But he couldn't do anything about it really, however strange or sad that may sound. Despite all of Quagsire's friends leaving and asking him to come along with them, Quagsire feels as if he was responsible for Marill's death -- even though he was five whole meters away from Marill when the incident happened... Despite this, Quagsire prefers to stay in the Marsh, and wants to look for any signs of Marill. Does his spirit still linger around this place? Is he planning on getting revenge on whoever operated the tram on that faithful day, fourteen days prior? Quagsire clambers out of his comfortable mud pool, the sticky brown-and-green substance dripping down his waist and his tail. Quagsire turns around, and proceeds to venture into the deserted wilderness surrounding him. He looks to his left, and sees the signature orange tram standing motionless on the track, its wheels unable to be detached from the rails or even to be moved. The vehicle itself is covered in dirt and mud, too, making it partially blend in with the deep-brown pools of mud dotted around the area. It is as if the operators of this gorgeous natural habitat suddenly had to leave this place after they discovered what happened to that poor Marill. Just when Quagsire is about to cross another pool of mud, he hears someone call out his name. ''Huh?'' He freezes and looks around. A Skorupi emerges from the orange wreck before crawling over to our big blue friend. ''Hey, Quaggy!'', the scorpion shouts, ''yer' back already? What's the matter, yo?'' ''I-I... never even left!'', replies Quagsire, ''...I-I'm looking for Marill! He must still be somewhere around here, he MUST be! I'm almost positive'' ''Aww... yer' still mourning him, aren't ye'?'', Skorupi asks, with a clear hint of concern in his voice, ''I'm so sorry, man. Surely that poor Pikablu didn't deserve the demise he got. May he rest in the hands of Arceus'' Quagsire gets rid of the mud on his lower body by wiping the sticky substance off his waist and tail, using his clumsy arms. ''W-Where did all our pals go?'', he asks. ''I have nah' dang clue'', replies Skorupi, ''but if I had to guess... they're probably heading towards Veilstone City'' ''Veilstone Ci-... T-To the Game Corner, you mean? A-And they didn't tell me where they went when they left the Marsh?! If they did tell me then I'd go with them no doubt!'' Realizing this, Quagsire instantly regrets his decision to look for the spirit of his little azure friend. Darn it! He should've left the Marsh earlier and go after his friends! Skorupi walks away from the pools of mud and turns left, crossing the railway in the process. Quagsire goes after him without hesitation -- the more friends he can gather in here while he can, the better. The two arrive at the other side of the Marsh. There's way more mud than on the side they were five seconds ago. The pools here are so deep you could sink away in them! Suddenly, Skorupi freezes, and he lifts his poisonous tail up into the air, as if he is being attacked by another Pokémon. ''Shhh! Dude... ya' hear that?'', he whispers. Quagsire works his way through the deep mud, and starts listening very closely... ~Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh...~ The two friends can't believe their ears and eyes! From behind a tall rock in a corner of the Marsh, a translucent, round shadow crosses the brown dung... ''M-Marill...'', Quagsire whispers, ''...f-friend...! Is... t-that you...?'' The transparent blue being slowly turns around, revealing a pair of horrifying, small, red eyes paired with a mixture of happy and sad expressions. ''Whoa! Dang, dude!'', Skorupi exclaims in pure shock, ''whoa-whoa-whoa, that's freaky! Don'cha' get any closer, pal! I warn ya'! I've got some nasty venom in dis' here tail of mine! Don't ya' dare!'' The circular blue corpse starts to move in Quagsire and Skorupi's direction... ''Marill!'', Quagsire cries, ''Marill! It's me! I'm so sorry for what happened to you! Please don't hurt us!'' Quagsire takes a few slow steps backwards, each time the little abomination takes an equal amount of steps forward. Quagsire feels something cold against his back. He just hit a towering rock formation standing behind him! This causes him to be boxed in by his nasty opponent, stuck between a giant rock and this terrifying zombie, who was once his ally. Having no other option left, Quagsire fires a strong jet of mud at his attacker, causing it to tumble backwards, then turn around and run away, only to disappear behind a couple trees... ''Whoahh... Duuude...'', Quagsire hears his friend Skorupi say out loud, ''I can't believe yer' friends with that freak, yo. I pray this is the last time we see him in this state'' ''I-If... we'll see him again at all...'', replies Quagsire with tears in his eyes. He needs some time to process everything that just happened. ''Come'', he hears Skorupi say, ''dis' place REALLY isn't safe anymore, yo. I suggest leaving dis' stinkin' wilderness and heading for Veilstone, like ya' intended, right?'' Quagsire is still in shock from the encounter with the one Pokémon who used to be one of his best friends. But once he notices Skorupi leading him the way, he follows the small purple scorpion across the railway, down to the south portion of the Great Marsh. Neither Quagsire nor Skorupi would've ever guessed this place was haunted by a diseased Water type... Finally, they are able to distinguish the spherical shape of the Safari entrance's roof from the rest of the poorly maintained, swampy Pokémon paradise. The two friends race through the door and traverse the hallway with the empty counter, to finally reach the other end of the Safari Gate and end up in the quiet Pastoria City. ''Ooph... boy...'', Quagsire gasps, ''we... w-we lost him... Thank Arceus...'' They look around, only to discover that they are completely alone. The only thing of note aside from the houses in this small city, is a cut-out stand of a Croagunk with a gaping hole in the exact place where its face used to be... Normally, Quagsire would be completely fine with the laid-back ambiance of this town, but taking into consideration the things that just happened to them at the Great Marsh, never was he so relieved about being outside of that man-made jungle. Quagsire looks to his right, where Skorupi gestures him to come with him. ''C'mon, dude!'', the scorpion says, ''let's get our butts outta here, man! I've had quite enough of dis' freaky shizzle! ...Yo! Follow me!'' Before running after Skorupi, who is already heading east, Quagsire looks back at the building separating him from the monstrosity that his old friend Marill has become. With pain in his heart, and with his poor spherical blue friend constantly on his mind, Quagsire turns himself away from the Safari Gate one last time, before getting on all fours and running after Skorupi. Quagsire knows he can trust the little scorpion, and if he is able to follow him to the tall, somber buildings of Veilstone City, and find some help from the people living there, he couldn't be more grateful. And that's all thanks to his trusty scorpion companion.

(-o-) THE END (-o-)