The star festival was one of the rarest events to take place in any region, much less the Johto region. This was when a town was set up overnight, in less than six hours, it was the most magnificent place in the world. The vendors, performers, organizers, and festival coordinators would show up at midnight, and unpack everything into the clearing they came to every year.
They would line up their 'streets' in a star pattern, five roads that were narrow at the end, and widened towards the center, and set up shop. The vendors were quick, as they often set up straight out of cars that they brought with them. The sides would fold up to create awnings, and the awnings would hang over the vendors' counters. Other vendors, however, set up their own tents, and put out their hand-made treats, that they only sold at the Festival of Stars. Some of the more famous vendors, however, had enough money to set up their own store buildings. It took them about five hours, but to them it was worth it.
The vendors lined the streets, selling their extravagant foods, trinkets, and other luxuries. They were filled with things to make passerby stare in awe, and transfix them for hours on end. Trainers and civilians would gather for this festival, some to purchase these treats, others to marvel at the mystifying performances, and the more aspiring trainers to compete in the week-long tournament.
The performers lined their stages up at the ending sections of each street. And the stages changed depending on the actors, pokémon, and performances. Some could even set up large tents, like big tops, in their large lots. While the performance were extravagant, and the vendors goods exquisite, they didn't even bring half of the attendants.
In the center of the star, was a huge stage in the shape of a star. The huge, golden, star-shaped building surrounded by gorgeous structures and beautiful star-shaped fountains, which remained there all year. They really pushed the Star theme. The stage was called a stage, but it was really nothing more than a tournament battleground for the "Tournament of the Grand Stars." Every year, 1,024 contestants joined, and a ten round tournament was held. The champion walked away with the Grand Star Pokéball, which was said to be the legendary ball that contained the magic of the night sky and the strength of the stars. The ball was kept by the trainer, and a solid, silver bust was made for every contestant, as had been the tradition for many years. The winning trainer the previous year wa supposed to appear on stage and present that year's trainer with the grand star ball, and return the silver to he Official festival organizer. The organizer used his pokémon to melt the silver, and reshape it into the likeness of the trainer that year on stage.
The area couldn't be more packed for a week if it were inter-regional "Free Candy and Gym Badge Day". Even if they were to hold that same event here, it would pale in comparison to the one and only Festival of Stars.
Cole was riding through the thicket of the woods, pushing through on top of his trusted mount. The creature he was riding was a warm, chocolate brown in color. The fur covering the creature was short, but effective at holding in warmth. The underside of the equine figure was a creamy tan color, splotches of the color sprouting up on his flanks. His slender legs led down to black hooves, pounding the packed earth hard as it ran. His long face held a pair of determined amber eyes and a black, wet nose. Two curvy and swooping antlers sprouted from its head, bearing small violet-black balls rolling infinitely between the antlers' curves. The pokémon was a Stantler, and Cole's first pokémon.
Cole himself rode on top of his Stantler, only 14 years old as of last month. The boy wasn't necessarily a new trainer, but he claimed that he was. He had decided to finish Elementary school before he went on his pokémon adventure, so he waited until he was 11 to leave. He hadn't thought of using Stantler for traveling until he had earned his third gym badge, and as such had built up strong leg muscles through a lot of walking and climbing. The rest of his body, however, was not especially muscular. No more so than your average 14 year old boy, at least. When he was riding, he pulled his unruly brown curls back with a red bandanna trimmed in white. Comments had been made about him wearing a "Santa bandanna" before, but he figured unless he was being pulled in a sleigh by a team of reindeer, he was far outside of Santa territory.
Today was a typical day for him, so he wasn't wearing anything particularly fancy. A long-sleeve, somewhat tight, forest green shirt covered by a thick, dark red vest, unzipped of course. A pair of brown riding gloves, a gift from his dad, were resting themselves on his hands. They were hard to see in the pitch black of midnight, but they were there. He wore a pair of dark blue "Adventure" pants, as his mother had called them, but they had long-since been worn down to a lighter blue. The cuffs needed to be rolled up when he had first left his house, but he had grown into them. His black tennis shoes, accented with red, had been recently bought a few towns back, but had been well worn-in. A drab green travel bag was slung over his left shoulder, and rested on his right hip. On the underside, under a strategic flap of cloth hooked in place by Velcro, were five of the eight Johto badges.
After almost an hour of straight riding, the moonlight broke through the trees. Cole tapped the front right leg of Stantler with his hand, and he slowed down. They trotted out of the trees, and Cole patted Stantler's neck. They were on a sloped hill, leading down into a valley beneath them. Star Valley. The valley below them was empty, save for the Coliseum and the fountains. But they were all closed off. No one could get into the Coliseum until the organizers opened it in the morning. Cole looked down at the Pokégear strapped to his wrist, the clock function still plugged in. The clock read 11:54, meaning in about five minutes, the cars would roll in. Cole dismounted Stantler, and looked at the creature's back. He was currently wearing a red blanket to save Cole's legs, which his trainer pulled off quickly. The antler pokemon responded with a whinny of happiness, and then turned to lick the young trainer's face. Cole giggled as the soft, moist tongue laped at his face, and he petted Stantler softly.
"Good job today, boy," Cole folded up the blanket and opened his green messenger bag. He stuffed the blanket in and retrieved a small, brown container no bigger than a soda can with a screw-on lid. He unscrewed the top and emptied three treats onto his palms. Two red and two green cubes fell out onto his palms. They were pokéblocks, a nice "candy" for pokemon. He slipped Stantler the green cube, and gave him another soft pat.
Cole's green eyes scanned the valley below, and his ears picked up the sound of cars pulling in. The front of it was headed by a large semi-truck loaded down with building materials, all either gold or silver, and was followed by some regular trucks. They had probably arrived by ferry, and a very large one by the looks of it. Several smaller cars followed, most likely little ones owned by the vendors. Cole smiled. His childhood friend, Kal, had told him to show up early if he ever went to the Festival of Stars. He could watch the set up that way. The large semi-truck pulled out into the center of the field, where three paved roads had already been laid. Cole could see the gleaming, gold fountains arranged around the center where the stadium would soon be. Workers jumped out of the back of the Semi-truck, and began to haul bits of the building over to the center. They lined them up quickly and efficiently, until they formed a ring in the middle. A few of them stood in a line and waved their arms towards where they had entered the valley from. A few more trucks entered, with huge pieces of wood and metal strapped to their tops. It wouldn't take long for them to set up the stadium.
Cole snapped a small orb, about the size of a ping-pong ball, off of his belt. It was red on the top and white on the bottom, a black dividing line running down the middle. In the center was a small white button, outlined by black. He held it up to his Stantler, who shook his head quietly. The Stantler lowered itself to a laying position on the ground, and Cole rolled his eyes.
"Well," He said with a sigh. "I guess we'll sleep here until the morning." Cole laid down on the grass, and leaned his head back against Stantler. Cole punched in an alarm time for his pokégear. 7:30. The air around him was warm and crisp, not dictating a blanket necessary. He counted his breaths, and was soon out like a light.
-------
The slow beeping and vibration of his pokégear woke Cole slowly, the sun shining overhead. The air had warmed up slightly from the night before, but not much. He looked down at the Festival, and already saw people lined up around streets and making finishing touches. However, one street seemed bare. A few cars pulled up, and he saw some people get up and move. Cole sat up straight and stretched. With a yawn, he stood up on his feet and gave Stantler a nudge with his shoe.
"Come on boy, it's festival time," He coaxed. The Stantler groggily raised its head, and blinked a few times before looking at Cole. Slowly but surely, Stantler got to his feet and shook his head. Cole started to walk down the hill, but gravity dictated he run. So Cole, along with a tired Stantler, began nearly sprinting down the hill, and ran for a good sixty yards before slowing to a stop. He was in front of the more bare street, but cars were lining up in their designated lots. One pulled up right next to Cole, and the driver inside pushed out the side. He was a light-skinned man with ginger hair, and he waved happily before pushing out a brown table with snack bars on it. Cole walked over, and pointed at a chocolate one.
"How much?" Cole asked, reaching for his wallet.
"100p, my good sir," The man had a Sinnoh accent. Cole pulled out a very dark red wallet, and retrieved a 100p bill. He slapped in on the table with a proud smile and took the bar. "Pleasure doing business with you." The man said. Cole gave a half-hearted salute, and felt his fingers touch the bandanna. He pulled off the piece of cloth and slipped it in his pocket along with his wallet. Cole walked away happily, Stantler clopping slowly behind him. Pulling back the shiny interior of the wrapper, Cole munched on the bar immediately. He held it back, and felt Stantler take a bite from the bar as well. He turned to his right, and saw a man busily trying to push up the last wall on his building with a rented Bobcat. Cole smiled, taking in the sites of the streets. As he walked, he soon found a vendor with a piece of machinery on his counter. Cole walked over and picked it up.
"It's a pokélauncher," the man behind the counter said with a Kanto accent. Cole looked at the stout, black-haired man. "100p for a go." Cole shrugged.
"Why not?" He asked with a smile as he retrieved another 100 from his pocket and handed it to the man. The owner slipped a regular pokéball into the gun, and pulled a bar on the left back until it clicked. The thing was white, and looked like a 22, but with a wider barrel that had been chopped in half. Accidentally, Cole's hand slipped on the handle and fired the ball off into the crowd. Somebody, sounding like a 15 year old boy, yelped. He reached into his pocket and slapped a 100 on the counter again. "For the ball." Cole put the gun down and ran out into the street. "Sorry!" Cole called ahead of him. "Who'd I hit?"
Open to the public. But Cody posts next. After that, whatever.
They would line up their 'streets' in a star pattern, five roads that were narrow at the end, and widened towards the center, and set up shop. The vendors were quick, as they often set up straight out of cars that they brought with them. The sides would fold up to create awnings, and the awnings would hang over the vendors' counters. Other vendors, however, set up their own tents, and put out their hand-made treats, that they only sold at the Festival of Stars. Some of the more famous vendors, however, had enough money to set up their own store buildings. It took them about five hours, but to them it was worth it.
The vendors lined the streets, selling their extravagant foods, trinkets, and other luxuries. They were filled with things to make passerby stare in awe, and transfix them for hours on end. Trainers and civilians would gather for this festival, some to purchase these treats, others to marvel at the mystifying performances, and the more aspiring trainers to compete in the week-long tournament.
The performers lined their stages up at the ending sections of each street. And the stages changed depending on the actors, pokémon, and performances. Some could even set up large tents, like big tops, in their large lots. While the performance were extravagant, and the vendors goods exquisite, they didn't even bring half of the attendants.
In the center of the star, was a huge stage in the shape of a star. The huge, golden, star-shaped building surrounded by gorgeous structures and beautiful star-shaped fountains, which remained there all year. They really pushed the Star theme. The stage was called a stage, but it was really nothing more than a tournament battleground for the "Tournament of the Grand Stars." Every year, 1,024 contestants joined, and a ten round tournament was held. The champion walked away with the Grand Star Pokéball, which was said to be the legendary ball that contained the magic of the night sky and the strength of the stars. The ball was kept by the trainer, and a solid, silver bust was made for every contestant, as had been the tradition for many years. The winning trainer the previous year wa supposed to appear on stage and present that year's trainer with the grand star ball, and return the silver to he Official festival organizer. The organizer used his pokémon to melt the silver, and reshape it into the likeness of the trainer that year on stage.
The area couldn't be more packed for a week if it were inter-regional "Free Candy and Gym Badge Day". Even if they were to hold that same event here, it would pale in comparison to the one and only Festival of Stars.
Cole was riding through the thicket of the woods, pushing through on top of his trusted mount. The creature he was riding was a warm, chocolate brown in color. The fur covering the creature was short, but effective at holding in warmth. The underside of the equine figure was a creamy tan color, splotches of the color sprouting up on his flanks. His slender legs led down to black hooves, pounding the packed earth hard as it ran. His long face held a pair of determined amber eyes and a black, wet nose. Two curvy and swooping antlers sprouted from its head, bearing small violet-black balls rolling infinitely between the antlers' curves. The pokémon was a Stantler, and Cole's first pokémon.
Cole himself rode on top of his Stantler, only 14 years old as of last month. The boy wasn't necessarily a new trainer, but he claimed that he was. He had decided to finish Elementary school before he went on his pokémon adventure, so he waited until he was 11 to leave. He hadn't thought of using Stantler for traveling until he had earned his third gym badge, and as such had built up strong leg muscles through a lot of walking and climbing. The rest of his body, however, was not especially muscular. No more so than your average 14 year old boy, at least. When he was riding, he pulled his unruly brown curls back with a red bandanna trimmed in white. Comments had been made about him wearing a "Santa bandanna" before, but he figured unless he was being pulled in a sleigh by a team of reindeer, he was far outside of Santa territory.
Today was a typical day for him, so he wasn't wearing anything particularly fancy. A long-sleeve, somewhat tight, forest green shirt covered by a thick, dark red vest, unzipped of course. A pair of brown riding gloves, a gift from his dad, were resting themselves on his hands. They were hard to see in the pitch black of midnight, but they were there. He wore a pair of dark blue "Adventure" pants, as his mother had called them, but they had long-since been worn down to a lighter blue. The cuffs needed to be rolled up when he had first left his house, but he had grown into them. His black tennis shoes, accented with red, had been recently bought a few towns back, but had been well worn-in. A drab green travel bag was slung over his left shoulder, and rested on his right hip. On the underside, under a strategic flap of cloth hooked in place by Velcro, were five of the eight Johto badges.
After almost an hour of straight riding, the moonlight broke through the trees. Cole tapped the front right leg of Stantler with his hand, and he slowed down. They trotted out of the trees, and Cole patted Stantler's neck. They were on a sloped hill, leading down into a valley beneath them. Star Valley. The valley below them was empty, save for the Coliseum and the fountains. But they were all closed off. No one could get into the Coliseum until the organizers opened it in the morning. Cole looked down at the Pokégear strapped to his wrist, the clock function still plugged in. The clock read 11:54, meaning in about five minutes, the cars would roll in. Cole dismounted Stantler, and looked at the creature's back. He was currently wearing a red blanket to save Cole's legs, which his trainer pulled off quickly. The antler pokemon responded with a whinny of happiness, and then turned to lick the young trainer's face. Cole giggled as the soft, moist tongue laped at his face, and he petted Stantler softly.
"Good job today, boy," Cole folded up the blanket and opened his green messenger bag. He stuffed the blanket in and retrieved a small, brown container no bigger than a soda can with a screw-on lid. He unscrewed the top and emptied three treats onto his palms. Two red and two green cubes fell out onto his palms. They were pokéblocks, a nice "candy" for pokemon. He slipped Stantler the green cube, and gave him another soft pat.
Cole's green eyes scanned the valley below, and his ears picked up the sound of cars pulling in. The front of it was headed by a large semi-truck loaded down with building materials, all either gold or silver, and was followed by some regular trucks. They had probably arrived by ferry, and a very large one by the looks of it. Several smaller cars followed, most likely little ones owned by the vendors. Cole smiled. His childhood friend, Kal, had told him to show up early if he ever went to the Festival of Stars. He could watch the set up that way. The large semi-truck pulled out into the center of the field, where three paved roads had already been laid. Cole could see the gleaming, gold fountains arranged around the center where the stadium would soon be. Workers jumped out of the back of the Semi-truck, and began to haul bits of the building over to the center. They lined them up quickly and efficiently, until they formed a ring in the middle. A few of them stood in a line and waved their arms towards where they had entered the valley from. A few more trucks entered, with huge pieces of wood and metal strapped to their tops. It wouldn't take long for them to set up the stadium.
Cole snapped a small orb, about the size of a ping-pong ball, off of his belt. It was red on the top and white on the bottom, a black dividing line running down the middle. In the center was a small white button, outlined by black. He held it up to his Stantler, who shook his head quietly. The Stantler lowered itself to a laying position on the ground, and Cole rolled his eyes.
"Well," He said with a sigh. "I guess we'll sleep here until the morning." Cole laid down on the grass, and leaned his head back against Stantler. Cole punched in an alarm time for his pokégear. 7:30. The air around him was warm and crisp, not dictating a blanket necessary. He counted his breaths, and was soon out like a light.
-------
The slow beeping and vibration of his pokégear woke Cole slowly, the sun shining overhead. The air had warmed up slightly from the night before, but not much. He looked down at the Festival, and already saw people lined up around streets and making finishing touches. However, one street seemed bare. A few cars pulled up, and he saw some people get up and move. Cole sat up straight and stretched. With a yawn, he stood up on his feet and gave Stantler a nudge with his shoe.
"Come on boy, it's festival time," He coaxed. The Stantler groggily raised its head, and blinked a few times before looking at Cole. Slowly but surely, Stantler got to his feet and shook his head. Cole started to walk down the hill, but gravity dictated he run. So Cole, along with a tired Stantler, began nearly sprinting down the hill, and ran for a good sixty yards before slowing to a stop. He was in front of the more bare street, but cars were lining up in their designated lots. One pulled up right next to Cole, and the driver inside pushed out the side. He was a light-skinned man with ginger hair, and he waved happily before pushing out a brown table with snack bars on it. Cole walked over, and pointed at a chocolate one.
"How much?" Cole asked, reaching for his wallet.
"100p, my good sir," The man had a Sinnoh accent. Cole pulled out a very dark red wallet, and retrieved a 100p bill. He slapped in on the table with a proud smile and took the bar. "Pleasure doing business with you." The man said. Cole gave a half-hearted salute, and felt his fingers touch the bandanna. He pulled off the piece of cloth and slipped it in his pocket along with his wallet. Cole walked away happily, Stantler clopping slowly behind him. Pulling back the shiny interior of the wrapper, Cole munched on the bar immediately. He held it back, and felt Stantler take a bite from the bar as well. He turned to his right, and saw a man busily trying to push up the last wall on his building with a rented Bobcat. Cole smiled, taking in the sites of the streets. As he walked, he soon found a vendor with a piece of machinery on his counter. Cole walked over and picked it up.
"It's a pokélauncher," the man behind the counter said with a Kanto accent. Cole looked at the stout, black-haired man. "100p for a go." Cole shrugged.
"Why not?" He asked with a smile as he retrieved another 100 from his pocket and handed it to the man. The owner slipped a regular pokéball into the gun, and pulled a bar on the left back until it clicked. The thing was white, and looked like a 22, but with a wider barrel that had been chopped in half. Accidentally, Cole's hand slipped on the handle and fired the ball off into the crowd. Somebody, sounding like a 15 year old boy, yelped. He reached into his pocket and slapped a 100 on the counter again. "For the ball." Cole put the gun down and ran out into the street. "Sorry!" Cole called ahead of him. "Who'd I hit?"
Open to the public. But Cody posts next. After that, whatever.
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