Dear Maple,

I know it has been quite some time since I last wrote to you about Bastion. Really, he has gotten so much stronger and I find the two of us are entirely inseparable now. He keeps me active ... though I am sad to report that him and Zanna are not much better off. They still fight like cats and dogs.

I had spoken to Bastion about the possibility of adding a new addition to the team, and he seemed ... oddly considerate. It was funny. With how much Zanna has been giving him a run for his money, I never expected that he'd want to add someone else to our small team. We've grown close, you know? And I think that it frustrates Bastion sometimes that he's not 'enough'. But, that's just it -- it's not about being enough. It's about making friendships, broadening horizons, and having new experiences. It was never about 'being enough'.

Meanwhile, Zanna continues to try and use Bastion's armor-plating as a scratching post. I don't really know how it started, to be totally honest with you. What exactly the trigger was ... but Bastion has NEVER liked it, and my poor pup has bitten Zanna more than a hundred time trying to tell her off. His plating is entirely covered in claw marks ... and come to think of it, I may have touched on that in my last letter! Wow, has it really been almost three years since my last one? Time flies when you're training to be the very best, I suppose!

Bastion wants me to make sure I say hello to you. I'm surprised he's been bothering me this whole time. That I've been writing, I mean. In the beginning he was a rather rough and tumble boy, and sure, he's still strong as a bull. But now he's a bit calmer, more settled in to himself. But still insanely scrappy with anyone outside of myself. Which is ... honestly, part of the reason why I'm totally paranoid to add a new member to the team. Between Zanna the princess and Bastion the destroyer, I'm not sure a new team member would be safe? Do you think it'd be wise for me to seek out new Pokemon to add to my team?

Honestly, give me your professional opinion on this one! I'm really trying here ...

I may seem more mellow than my last letters. Weird, huh? I bet I seem like an entirely different person. Truth is, training with Bastion has worked wonders for both Bastion and I. We've seen a lot, done a lot. It's hardened us, in some ways. But it has also opened our eyes to a lot of things. Made us more mature I think?

Bastion's head in my lap makes me think that I'm on the right page here.

I can't believe when we started this journey that I felt so young still ... I feel like we've aged so much more than just these past few years would suggest. Did you ever feel that way, Maple? Suddenly hit with the realization that the world and the passage of time is far different than you remembered?

I suppose that's life.

Anyways, thanks for reading my letter!

- Blaze