Tanner followed Hoopa through the streets, just as wide-eyed as he was when they first arrived outside Hallow. The diversity was extraordinary, and the architecture was just as impressive.
There was lots of construction- people and creatures building homes, stores, and statues that defied physics.
Around one of the statues, water sprites cleaned stonework and skated between the waterworks in a delicate dance. Not too far away, Tanner spotted dryads tending to trimmed bushes.
It did make him feel like he fit in, seeing so many magical creatures. Nobody even looked at him or Hoopa- they were just two more strange creatures among hundreds of different kinds of magical beings that lived in the city.
Though there were humans too. That felt weird. He watched enviously as a person ate what looked like a corn dog. What he would give to not have to clutch his food with his paws and nibble at hamburgers.
"We'll get you back before you know it, pal," Hoopa reassured as he floated alongside Tanner. "And who knows, maybe you and I will hang out and we can come visit here."
"Really?" That sounded like a dream come true. Even just being here was awesome. Being here as a human would be even better.
"Sure. You just have to promise not to become a vampire or something. That would be real problematic."
"There are vampires here?" Tanner asked.
"Yep. Like I said, generic fantasy dimension." Hoopa grinned.
This place was awesome. Not because of the vampires. He didn't want to become a vampire anyways - vampires were lame.
Tanner and Hoopa passed beneath scaffolding into a marketplace as they walked deeper into the city. A person with the face of a tiger offered them a silky scarf that looked similar to Tanner's. Tanner jogged to catch up with Hoopa, who was arguing with a blue-skinned man gesturing towards a jewelry stand with several gold rings on them.
"Do I look like I need more?" Hoopa gestured at his many rings.
Not far away, Tanner spotted a little dragon resting atop an oven, occasionally stoking the fires of a bakery. There were little pastries that smelled almost like Tony's cinnamon rolls, but not quite as good.
"What's this world like? Is it all like this?" Tanner asked as he looked around them. It seemed so peaceful, but epic.
"Oh, no. The rest of the world here is actually pretty dangerous. Hallow is a neutral city- no fighting allowed. Nah, there's like, centuries-old conflicts between the different planes, old grudges, yadda yadda yadda." Hoopa waved his hands in a circular motion and he floated along.
"Wait, different planes? Is that different from dimensions?" Tanner was confused.
"Yep. Planes are inside a dimension. So like, there's the plane of heaven, or the plane of fire, or a plane of cat people." Hoopa pulled out a small ring and looked through a portal into a fiery landscape as he floated along. "Most dimensions don't have planes, but magical ones usually do."
Alright, that made sense. So, dimensions could have planes inside of them, not the other way around.
Tanner walked along, passing a bird flying bags over to a brick mason.
"So… there's a heaven here? If I wanted to go to heaven, could you just-"
"No no…" Hoopa sighed. "It's not like, actual heaven. It's specific to this dimension. It's not special, there are only angels and clouds there. It's pretty lame. There's also a plane with orcs and zombies."
"That doesn't sound boring. I want to go to heaven. Is there an actual heaven?" Going to actual heaven was kinda the point, right? It was at least a good goal, or so he was told.
"Tanner, buddy. You're getting distracted. We're here to find my bottle and unbind me. Besides, heaven in this dimension is boring as hell." Hoopa scoffed
"Well, do we need to search in heaven?"
"No, there's nothing in this dimension." Hoopa sighed, then turned around and spoke to Tanner as he floated. "I'll know when we're close to my lamp."
"Lamp?"
Hoopa turned around quickly and glared at Tanner.
"They stole my power and stored it in a lamp. Funny, right? The genie is bound to the lamp." Hoopa scoffed.
"Like, a floor lamp?"
"What? No, like a genie lamp." Hoopa pulled a small oil lamp out of another portal, and tossed it on the floor. "Like this! What kind of floor lamp has a genie in it!?"
"I don't know, you're the one that has the lamp." Tanner looked down at the lamp. It looked like an ornate gravy boat.
"I don't have it, that's the point. My power was stored in a lamp like this, and it's somewhere in the multiverse." Hoopa floated over and picked up the lamp and examined it.
"So, you're like an actual genie in a bottle? We're looking for a lamp? How will you know when you find it?"
"It has a very distinctive energy. I mean, it's storing the vast majority of my power, it should be pretty easy to find." Hoopa floated towards a large building up the road with tables populated with patrons. There were a variety of people, fitted with delicate armor or elaborate robes.
"It's easy to find because it has your power?" Tanner asked.
"Yes- power isn't easy to hide. That, and it's pokemon power. Pokemon have a very distinctive energy to them. It's easy to tell what a pokemon is and isn't, based on how they feel."
Tanner didn't quite understand that, but he trusted that Hoopa knew what he was doing.
"We just need to get you to a point where you can defend yourself. Speaking of which - how good are you at scratch?" Hoopa glanced down at Tanner as he asked.
"I've only known it for a few days. I'm close to learning snarl too…" He at least had the darkness and the sound. He just needed to connect the two.
"Oh, is it? Snarl isn't bad. I know where we can go to teach you snarl. We'll have to get you some ghost type moves too- ghost typing is very fun."
"Oh yeah, you're ghost type too, huh?" Hoopa didn't really seem like a ghost. Maybe he could help explain more what being a ghost was all about though.
"Ghost and psychic, baby! The two best types. Seriously, dragon typing is overrated. All of the dragon legendaries love their dragon typing, and it's dumb. Come on, in here." Hoopa gestured
"Is this a fantasy tavern?" Tanner grinned excitedly.
"Yep. That's how every good adventure should start, right?"