It was a bright, beautiful day. The weather was clear skies, only an occasional cloud in sight. It was warm, but not hot out. The streets of Beryl Town were decorated with beautiful flowers, bright banners and packed to the brim with people. Many of the visitors had reclused themselves to the grassy hills that surrounded the stage that stood at the center of the town as they waited for the festival to begin.

The stage stood behind the Institute and was greatly overwhelmed by the size of the crowd it had. It was a small stage; put together last minute and not with the best of resources to do so. But it got the job done. Even if everyone couldn’t see the people on the stage, they could certainly hear them. The staff at the Institute were able to snag a good sound system prior to the event.

Security personnel stood as a thick barrier between the stage and the audience surrounding it. Misbehavior wasn’t expected to occur, but it was better to be safe than sorry. A tall, pink haired man made his way to the stage and stood in the center of it, standing close to the microphone. He wore black shirts and pants with a white coat, but more noticeably, had a large baby carrier that hung over his chest, but instead of a baby, a large pink and white Pokemon egg in a sealed glass container sat.

“Hello. Welcome, everyone.” Noah said calmly, with a faint smile. He detached the microphone from its stand, as it was far too awkward to lean forward speaking into it with the egg carrier. “Welcome back to our returning faces, and another welcome to our new faces. And to those of you who travelled cross seas to be here, I say, welcome…to Starre!”

A wave of applause erupted over the audience. While majority of the audience were Starre citizens themselves, many of the people standing amongst the crowd were travelers from afar - Beryl Town’s New Beginning’s Festival being a well-known starting tourist destination for trainers, coordinators, and travelers alike. It served as a helpful way to assist these groups, but also aid the Institute’s objectives as well.

“For those of you that don’t know, my name is Noah Magnolia. I am Head Professor here at The Starre Region Institute. Some of you from the Academy may remember my face from a lecture I gave. Noah said with a brief wave. While he never did too many lectures (and most were against his will), he imagined that some would remember his face from them. If they weren’t busy sleeping through the lecture itself.

“Here at the Institute, we study Pokemon. We have a variety of experts with a wide range of focuses of interest on the subject. As for myself, I-I…” He suddenly stopped, frozen stiff as a spare hand clamped over one of the Pokeballs on his belt. He tried to continue to speak but struggled. “I-I…just hold on…wait-!”

But what was coming could not wait. A sudden flash of light erupted from the red and white ball, and a Hisuian Zorua popped out onto the stage. White and red fur glistened under the bright sun as the creature oriented itself. The crowd became audibly excited at the sight of him, most notably the voices of children could be heard as they expressed their surprise and interest. The Hisuian Zorua, named Kit, calmly gazed at the crowd, but did not seem particularly impressed and began to wander the stage. Noah sighed and shook his head, but continued his speech.

“As for myself, I study how Pokemon and people interact. Pokemon and people have been living together for ages, and their history is long and complex. Just like people, Pokemon have a great impact on the world we live in…for better, or for worse.” He said, glaring at the white and red creature that was satisfied with its inspection of the area and promptly sat by its trainer’s feet.

“The Institute has obtained a variety of species of Pokemon over the years. Some only stay for a little while, but some have stuck around for quite time. And during that time, it is often that our Poke-friends leave us little gifts.” The professor said, gesturing to the egg that he was carrying. “However, how these gifts come about is a secret, I’m afraid.”

A jest, but a necessary one. Years ago, Noah made the mistake of telling the truth of how the Pokemon eggs came about and got in trouble. There were children present, and Starre sensibilities prohibited speaking about…such things! The young professor found it annoying, tiresome, and childish, but was forced to oblige.

“The tradition of handing out Pokemon eggs on this day is over hundreds of years old and it is one of Beryl Town’s most well-known.” He stated to the audience, pressing a button on the controller in his right hand as he pointed it to the large screen behind him. A picture of one of the Institute egg booths, like the ones that were currently in the town, appeared on the screen. “Today, we’ll be giving out free Pokemon eggs - one per person until we run out. First come, first serve.”

“The egg symbolizes new beginnings. Potential. Possibility.” He continued, gazing at the audience. “And what better way to start off the League season than with that? Even if you don’t plan to take on the League, Pokemon Contests, or go travelling the region at all; you can still start off this season with a new face, a new friend, and with many memories to come for both of you.”

Just then, Noah could feel movement by his feet. Looking down he could see Kit alert and gazing at something across and at the end of the stage. Suddenly, the Pokemon began to bark like crazy swiftly makes his way to that direction. Before the young professor could call after him, the crowd suddenly burst into excitement, catching Noah off guard. Turning his attention back to Kit, he could finally see what all the noise was about.

It was him.

“Well, now. What do we have here? The Starry Prince himself! What a surprise.” Noah said, visibly surprised. He watched as the tall mask figure came closer to him, with Kit in-toe, wagging his tail fervently. “I suppose you’re here to check out the future competition, yes? I imagine we have a lot of trainers here eager to take you on…”

The Prince nodded. He never spoke, not in public at least. If anyone ever heard his voice, it was in private with no recordings of it.

Standing head-to-head at the same height, The Starry Prince was in his usual attire, mask included. It was always difficult to tell his mood due to the mask, but his body posture remained formal and dignified. Kit remained ever by the Prince’s feet, pacing back and forth between their legs in excitement. Noah waited for the audience to die down a bit before speaking.

“Tell me, Prince; any of these fine trainers seem promising?” Noah asked, gesturing towards the audience. The audience got riled up once more, and Noah could hear a few individuals offering to take the Prince on there and then. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the time for that.

Reaching into his pocket, the Starry Prince pulled out a stack of small cards and began to shuffle through them. While the man did not speak, he still communicated. Often through printed out answers on a pack of small cards. Pulling one out, he handed it to the professor.

“Hm…says here…” Noah murmured, scanning the card. “He says ‘yes.’ Well, now. Isn’t that good news?”

Noah smiled to the audience as he heard the audience get riled up once more, this time more fervently than the last. The voices were louder this time, and some of them more others.

“Get ready, Prince! This year its going to be me who wears that crown!” One cried out, a young man near the front row.

“No, it’s gonna be me who beats him! I’m going to be the Starre Champion!” Cried out another, only a few rows behind him. The crowd erupted into more cheers at the prospect of a battle.

“Such enthusiasm! But perhaps we should save it for the Pokemon battles, yeah?” Noah remarked, a little uneasy at the sudden rise in excitement. He didn’t want the crowd to get too rowdy. Feeling and hearing the audience die down a little more, the professor continued to speak. “Well, now, Prince. Do you have anything else to say to these lovely people? Words of encouragement, perhaps?”

The masked man took only a few seconds this time to find the card he was looking for and promptly handed it to the pink-haired professor.

“It says here, ‘Reach for the stars!’” Noah read in an excited voice. Beside him, the Prince struck a dynamic and dramatic pose; one hand pointing to the heavens and to the very stars themselves. The audience cheered loudly once more. Noah handed the cards back to the Prince and watched him turn around and leave for the very exit he came in with. Kit tried to follow after the Prince, but Noah promptly made a quick snapping of his fingers to signal to the Pokemon to stay. Although it could not be heard over the audience’s cheering, Kit whined and whimpered his way back to trainer’s feet, disappointed.

“There he goes. Never sticks around long, does he? Such a strange one…” Noah murmured, his eyes transfixed at the direction the Prince had left in. Suddenly, a shocked looked was etched onto his face. “Oh, almost forgot. While The Institute has hosted the New Beginnings Festival many times before, we would not have been able to host an event of this size and caliber without the help from our friends at Morpheus. Everyone, please give a round of applause for Miss Cassandra Stern, their CEO!”

While nowhere near as excited as they were for the Prince, the audience gave a healthy attention and clapped for the Morpheus CEO and they all watched as she walked up and onto the stage, towards the professor.

“Thank you.” She said politely, holding a cordless microphone in her hand. Standing firm and tall, she was dressed neither too formal nor too casual. She wore a light grey suit jacket and skirt to match, with a black shirt underneath the suit jacket and black heels. Her hair was well combed and kept. There was an air of professionalism about her.

“Miss Stern, do you have anything you wish to say?” Noah inquired, turning to his honorary guest speaker. He could feel Kit digging at his legs, wanting up. But now was not the time. The little one would have to wait.

“Yes, I do.” She said, stepping forward she turned her attention to the audience. “Hello. It is nice to see so many hopeful and eager faces today. At Morpheus, we believe in the power of dreams. Not just literal dreams, but the everyday dreams as well. Hopes, aspirations, longings, desires…all of these are what shapes the world.”

“The world can be a cruel, unforgiving place.” She continued, her expression darkening slightly. “But it is dreams that keep us grounded, give us something to move towards to. Without them, we have nothing. With that in mind, it is my intention to foster these dreams. Specifically, your dreams.”

There was a slight murmur amongst the crowd. The audience watched curiously as Noah handed the Morpheus CEO the small remote that he had held on to this whole time. With it in her hand, she turned to the large screen behind them and clicked the remote, a picture of purple-themed booth with the lettering and logo “MORPHEUS” on the header.

“All around town are these Morpheus booths. Inside these booths, you will find our Starry Dream Bundles. Given out by our staff, these bundles will contain the items to help you achieve your dreams. They contain Poke Balls, Potions, Items, and the like.” She said, pausing for a moment. “Finally, we will transfer 5,000G to your account. These are available to all who desire them.”

“Oh, my. How generous. That is quite the gift. Especially to so many people.” Noah remarked, genuinely surprised at the woman’s generosity. Part of him doubted that she could truly give so much to so many people.

“It is not a gift.” Cassandra stated, not blinking.

“Oh?”

“It is an investment.” She clarified, heavy emphasis on her words. She turned to the audience. “I am investing in all of you. Investing in your willpower and determination to see your dreams come true; to cultivate a new world, a better world with those dreams. A brighter future for us all.”

“I see. Well, on behalf of everyone here, I must say, thank you. Hopefully, there will be one left for me as well.” He jested, smiling softly. He did not need the money.

“Oh? Professor, are you planning on taking on the League as well? Or perhaps, take a trip around Starre like the rest of the trainers here?” Cassandra inquired curiously, mild surprise in her voice.

“Actually, I am. Oh, that’s right. I forgot to mention. This year, I will also be journeying around Starre this League season. As your fellow adventurer, please treat me well.” He said, making a slight bow towards the audience. It was not normally in his style to tell the whole world his habits, but given he was already here and the topic came up…why not?

The audience was quiet for a moment until a loud “WHAT?!” broke from the audience. Thousands of heads turned to see the source of the noise from one frazzled purple haired and positively irate woman staring straight at Noah. It was Isabella, one of his fellow researchers who worked for the Institute. And the one who got to inherit all of his duties when leaves.

‘Ah, I forgot to tell her.’ He realized.

“Whoops…” Noah murmured, watching as the woman made her way rapidly towards him amongst the crowd. He could hear her shouting all sorts of obscenities but tried not to pay attention to them. Gingerly, he turned back to the audience. “Anyway, thank you again Miss Stern for your generosity and thank you to everyone who came here today. The food is free and for everyone; please, help yourselves. But remember to make an orderly line and wait for your turn to be served. Enjoy the event and have yourself an eggxcellent day!”

A loud, audible groan bellowed from the audience, causing Noah to flash a bright smile. Carefully and awkwardly, he bent over to pick up Kit from the ground. He looked around cautiously as he tried to find an escape route to avoid his impending doom. Determining his exit, he turned to the audience one last time.

“To new beginnings!"





Edit: Got so excited to post I forgot to tag people. RIP.

@c3p-0h
@Yankee
@GubGar
@Enzayne

---

Even within the crowd of people watching the commencement of the festival, Vinny Verdana stood out. Folks just couldn't help but have their eyes drawn to him. Vinny himself would attribute this to natural charisma, but the truth was that his hair was at least a foot tall. It was easy for someone to stand out when they had a big blond tower on top of their head basically shouting 'look over here!' Needless to say, whomever was behind Vinny in the crowd was not a fan of the Unovan reporter. There was a near-moment where the rest of the crowd may have turned against him as well, as when he saw THE Starry Prince show up, briefly or no.. Well, he was tempted to rush the stage. But even jet-lagged as he was, Vinny knew that he'd probably end up getting thrashed and then barred, instead of getting his interview.

So he watched, heartbroken, as the champ departed. But it wasn't all sour grapes. For one thing, seeing the champ in person gave him some insight on the Prince's character- slight as it may have been. And for another, it seemed that the region as a whole was really eager for tourism. A free Pokemon Egg, a Roto-Phone, and a delectable package of goodies from the Morpheus Foundation.. It was just what he needed, especially since he burnt a lot of Pokedollars already. First on advanced payments on his apartment's rent, then after that on a plane ticket here. Though maybe he wasn't as excited at the idea of getting a Pokemon Egg. Don't get him wrong, he was very appreciative that the region was so welcoming to foreigners. And the fact that they were willing to include him in their festival's traditions was great. But..

Look, Garamond was a fantastic aid. Primarily because he was loyal, but also because he was very very low maintenance. It was hard to screw up caring for a sentient trash bag. Provided Vinny wasn't cruel, he was basically in the clear. But an egg? A baby Pokemon? He.. was not so sure he was a responsible enough person to properly care for one. So he was on the fence about that. What he was not on the fence about was the idea of getting a free Roto-Phone.

So the moment the crowd dispersed, Vinny was ready to get his goodie bag. Though he slowed down halfway through his departure, sparing enough time to consider that, with the Prof himself traveling this year.. Maybe it'd be good to cozy up to him, pal around a little. See if there was a scoop there. Plus the CEO Of Morpheus was right there.. Who knew when he'd get a chance like that again? It came down to which felt like a more pressing issue. Get his hands on the Morpheus care package before supplies ran out, a guaranteed thing he knew he would receive.. Or risk it for an interview he might not get.

Ugh, screw it. He wasn't gonna win any awards by sitting and waiting for a story to come to him. An exclusive interview with Cassandra Stern was a chance he had to take. Even if he got shot down, at least he'd try. Working up the courage, he approaches the makeshift stage. Hurried, but ensuring he didn't look frantic (last time he tried to rush towards a celebrity, their bodyguard's Throh tossed him like a ragdoll). "Ms. Stern! Ms. Stern! Vinny Verdana with the Castelia Crown. Is there time in your busy schedule for an interview?" The crown was not a name anyone would recognize, as it was a two person freelance journalist 'company. One of the two was in fact listed as a Service Pokemon on the documents.

Vinny, while he did his research best as he was able, was unaware that the CEO had.. a negative view of journalists and paparazzi from prior experiences. So he was clueless to the fact that he might not be getting all that positive a reply.

---

Ugh. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea. In the boisterous crowd of young adults, children, and proud or excited elders, the icy determination with which Alex had initially set out, was now thoroughly quelled. None of her righteous anger or thoroughly thought out (it hadn't been) plan seemed to want to assemble in her head now that she stood firmly plopped in a sea of screaming people and some Pokémon, none of whom seemed to have any regard for personal space or personal hygiene. The professor's speech was hard to hear; some knucklehead bumped into her shoulder to knock her out of her lame attempt at paying attention, and it was barely possible to see with some tall yellow bush a few heads in front. Not that she cared, right? Ugh.

The thought of crawling back to Father with a phone call and asking for a ticket home sent a ripple of disgust through her spine. She could handle Father’s matter-of-factly declarations of never having believed in her, and she was already a master at tuning out her brothers glib remarks. The worst part would be her mother. Mother had guilt-tripped her for so long about this, she'd take this opportunity to never let her forget about how she couldn't follow through. If she came back now, she'd probably have to work off all the money they shelled out to fast track courses and tickets, or live with her mother having ammunition for the rest of her life. No. She would do this. It was too late to turn back now.

Alex turned around towards the booths as soon as Stern's speech - that old lady seemed familiar somehow, like more than a celebrity - ended, and hurried to walk up for these gifts that they could collect. Despite hurrying, she ended up at the back of a long line.

”So, you are also striking out as a trainer? Excited for your egg?” someone spoke out behind her. When someone touched her shoulder briefly, she realized they were talking to her. She turned to look; a young man with a bowl cut and thin-rimmed glasses. He wore a slightly oversized white coat, not quite hitting whatever lab tech look he was going for.

”...Uh. I guess so. Egg, though?” Alex muttered, vaguely recalling something about that in the speech. ”I dunno. I don't know much about this stuff.”

”Heh,” the young man breathed with a deeply smug expression, and raised a hand to push up his glasses. ”You happen to be in luck. I am one of the foremost experts in all things considered relevant for a Pokémon journey. I have watched all Institute Vodcasts and happen to have community merit badges in both Battle and Training Theory from the Institute messageboards. You see, Pokémon have a variety of attributes _that-...”

Alex tuned out the guy as the line moved forward, focusing instead on looking ahead at the people handing out eggs. Was she really going to do it? She'd never taken care of a plant, let alone an unborn Pokémon. What if she mistreated it by accident, or didn't like it, or it didn't like her? What if it was gross or stinky or annoying? She exhaled slowly and looked back at the glasses guy.

”...so what you'd want to do in that situation is to figure out what vitamins you need to alter in its diet to maximise the gains of growth, supposing an even curve of training over a period _of-...”

She glanced back to the booth. Down to her phone. Despite her muscles straining to keep still, her hand was shaking ever so slightly. Should she just call Father and admit she was wrong? Alex gritted her teeth and shoved the phone back in her pocket. To the technical droning of the glasses guy in her ear, she tried to push the doubt from her mind.

When it was finally her turn it went by in a blur. They talked a bunch of instructions at her, and lifted an orange and gray egg with yellow marks into her hands. It was extremely light and slightly warm to the touch. Alex felt a strange warmth in her throat at the same time as her brain fired on all panic channels. She mostly just stared at the egg. Damn. Comet had been a gift, but this was hers. Right? She was a Pokémon trainer now. Right? This was for real for real.

She blinked and looked up and noticed the glasses guy had gotten an egg of his own. He said something about Morpheus, and pointed to another booth. Alex quietly followed him, staring at her egg.

This was it. No going back now. No backing out. She held the egg with a little more conviction and stood at the back of the line to a new booth.

Watching as the crowd began to disperse, Noah quickly turned to make his get-away, with Kit in one arm and the other supporting the egg in the carrier in front of him. He was about to head down the stairs when he heard a loud, familiar voice ring out.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!” Isabella cried out, stopping Noah in his tracks. Panting heavily from all the running she did, Noah’s coworker proceeded to stomp her way towards him. Noah briefly considered running, but he wouldn’t get very far with the egg he was carrying.

“Ah, Isabella. I thought that was you…screaming.” Noah murmured, avoiding the woman’s gaze. He really didn’t want to have this conversation with her here, in public.

“What are you doing?” She angrily inquired, practically hissing at him.

“Well, I just finished my speech that I did for the festival,” he answered, pausing for a moment. “And now I’m about to get ready for my trip--”

“What trip? Who said you could go on a trip?!” Isabella asked, growing more and more visibly irate.

“I did, and everything has already been approved of.” The young professor explained, feeling Kit stir a little bit in his arms. The little Pokemon was eager to get down and growing more and more excited by the commotion.

“But you can’t just LEAVE.” Isabella exclaimed, her loud voice attracting the attention of people walking by.

“Of course, I can. I do it all the time. This isn’t the first time I’ve taken time off; you know that.” Noah reminded her.

“Yes, but not for so long and not during OUR BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR. What are you thinking? We need you!” The woman cried out again, this time grabbing her coworker by the shirt, as if to physically stop him from leaving.

‘More like you need me.’ Noah thought to himself, sighing heavily.

Despite her emotional quirks, Noah liked Isabella. Liked her enough, at least. Compared to their other coworkers, she was one of the few who tolerated Noah’s attitude quite well, all things considered. She did her job well, just needed some emotional support some days. Well, most days. In fact, nearly all of the time, really. But that was just a small price to pay for good work.

“The Institute will be just fine without me. It’s just for a couple of months.” He assured her.

“The busiest months we have in the year! Ugh, this is gonna be a nightmare. I can’t believe you’re just LEAVING.” She said, her thoughts running a mile a minute. Suddenly, her face darkened a bit. “No, you are not leaving. You can’t leave! Or else everything is going to fall apart. This is going to be a disaster. There is going to be so much work to do and… I can’t do this-I can’t--You can’t--”

What was once simply rage, was now befuddled by anxiety. Tears started to swell in the corner of Isabella’s eyes as she fought them back, her breathing becoming more and more irregular. She was so absorbed in her panicking that she failed to notice one of her Pokeballs going off, a bright light briefly flashing as a tall, towering Pokemon stood behind her.

“Oh, hello, Hat.” Noah said with a soft smile, knowing exactly what was coming next. He was wondering when she was going to show up.

Hearing the Hatterene’s name being called out, Isabella suddenly froze and paled, only letting out a small squeak slip out. Slowly, she turned around to see the angry Hatterene staring her down.

“H-H-Hat what are you doing out?!” She stammered nervously. But she knew exactly why Hat was out and braced herself as she watched a light blue and pink tentacle coming towards her. “Oh, no! Please, no Hat! Not again! I’ll be calm, I swear! Ahhhh!”

But unfortunately for Isabella, Hat was not feeling merciful. The Pokemon grabbed the frantic young woman by the collar and began to drag her away; somewhere where Hat could help her trainer “calm down.” On lookers watched as the Pokemon dragged its wailing trainer away, unsure of whether to step in and help or not.

“You’ll do great, Isabella. I believe in you. Don’t be too harsh on her, Hat.” Noah called out to the two of them Noah. The Hatterene paused to look at him, as if considering his words but quickly returned back to her task at hand and continued dragging the woman off somewhere. Noah knew he probably should’ve intervened, but...as the saying went, “not his Mankeys; not his circus.” Isabella would be fine. He’d let the two of them work it out.

“As for us, we have a journey to prepare for.” He said to the Pokemon in his arms. Kit promptly responded with a loud bark and a wag of the tail. Next to the little Pokemon, the pink and white egg sat silently in the carrier. Noah began making his way to town, in search of one of the Morpheus booths. He had a bundle to redeem.



Cassandra Stern watched silently as the crowd began to disperse. She had assessed that the speech had gone over well, or at least well enough. She had expected to take a moment and speak with the professor privately afterwards, but it seemed that he was…preoccupied, to say the least. Cassandra watched as the two had a very loud exchange, until she heard someone from behind her speak up and to her.

"Ms. Stern! Ms. Stern! Vinny Verdana with the Castelia Crown. Is there time in your busy schedule for an interview?"

Cassandra quickly whipped around and was taken aback to see a very tall man with even taller blonde hair. She physically recoiled at the mention of the word “interview,” struggling to register the rest of what the man had said to her.

‘No, not again.’ She thought to herself, a bit of panic beginning to rise in her chest. But as she stared at the man, she couldn’t find the PokeNational logo anywhere on him. Confused, she took a moment to process what the man had said to her.

“Castelia...Crown? You are far away from home.” She observed, staring at the man cautiously. With how bizarre the man looked, she almost wanted to dismiss him as a threat. But she knew better than that.

“As for the matters of interviews, normally I would say no. But today I am feeling generous. You may ask a few questions, and they must remain on the topic of today’s festival or Morpheus itself; anything else and the interview is over.” She stated carefully, casting a stern look in the man’s direction.

Usually, interviews were the last thing on Cassandra’s mind to participate in, but it was a necessary tool to master. She could not afford to have the media against her again and thus she needed strong control over how she was presented. This interview with the strange man alone wouldn’t’ mean much, but it would be one of many that would help cultivate an impenetrable reputation for her.

She waited for the man’s response.



The dining area of the festival consisted mostly a large array of wooden tables with booths with food surrounding it. As most of the people had gone to see the speech, it was mostly an empty venue, with the exception of the workers at the booth, and people such as Mags and Mim who got there early.

Hunched over in her seat, Mags felt like she was gonna hurl. The food they had at the festival was free, which was great, but there was no variety as it was all egg-themed dishes. Boiled eggs, deviled eggs, fried eggs, omelets, sunny side up eggs, egg soup, egg sandwiches; whatever it was, if it had egg in it, it was here. The deserts? A cake in the shape of an egg. Cupcakes shaped like little eggs. It was all too much. After having gone through eight plates of food, Mags could say with confidence that she never wanted to even look at an egg again.

“Mim, you need to eat real food, not just cake.” Mags said, groaning as she turned to her smaller companion. Normally, she wasn’t one to eat this much, but free food was free food. Besides, with how tight they were financially, it might be awhile before they could eat this good again.

Mim, who had eaten nine plates of food at this point, was not nearly as full as his human trainer and was on his tenth plate of cake. Taking the fork with his spectral black arm, he quickly stopped shoving food under his makeshift hood and pointed towards the pile of cupcake wrappers as evidence that he had eaten something other than cake.

“Cupcakes are cake, you dolt.” She chided him. Annoyed, she quickly took the plate of cake away from him. She heard some low grumbling coming from him. “I mean it. Go get an egg to eat.”

But before Mim could even get out of his chair, an older woman appeared before them and stood in his way, saying “No. You both are done.”

“What?! Why? It said the food is free!” Mags cried out, assuming that it was about money. It’s normally about money.

“Yes. It’s free...to everyone. Not just you two. If you two keep going at this rate, there won’t be food left for everyone else!” The older woman explained, shaking her head at the two of them.

“Oh, come on. We didn’t have that much. Besides, look at him. He’s a growing boy! And me? I’m just skin and bones here. Have some pity, lady.” Mags said, pointing to her thin wrist. Next to her, Mim did his best to flash a pitiful, endearing look. As best as he could underneath that Pikachu costume, at least.

“Only growing either of you are doing is outwards.” The woman retorted, not impressed by either of their vain attempts at appeal to her.

“But--” Mags tried to say, before being cut off.

“No.” The older woman said, wagging her finger at the two of them. “No more. And that’s final. You can stay and sit here, but no more food.”

“Hmph. Stupid old bag.” Mags grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest as she watched the older woman leave their table and head back to one of the food booths. “We’ll just come back towards the end and get some more, when they’ve forgotten our faces. Although, if I have to eat one more egg again I may just be sick.”

Mim quietly nodded his head as he continued eating his cake. Bored, Mags turned to one of the TVs that was nearby. It was showing video footage of the speech that was being held at the stage area. She could see a pink haired man, a professor or something or other, give a speech about the festival. It was boring and Mags tuned out most of it, but quickly got excited when something caught her eye.

Red and white and looking very fluffy was a Hisuian Zorua on the screen, out of its Pokeball and walking around on the stage. Mags recognized it immediately as a Ghost type Pokemon she had seen before.

“Oooh! Look Mim, look! A ghostie! Isn’t it so cute?! I want one of those!” She exclaimed, shooting up from her chair in excitement. Amidst eating his cake, Mim made some disgruntled gurgle noises that Mags could quickly detect a tone of jealousy in. Mags couldn’t understand Mim exactly, but she had been around the Pokemon long enough to get the general gist.

“Come on, Mim. We’ve talked about this. I can’t become the number one Ghost type trainer or become a Ghost Gym Leader with just one Ghost Pokemon. I need a team, at least! Remember how many Granny Mae has?” Mags explained, looking at her little spectral companion. “You’ll always be my number one, you know that.”

Mim continued to make more disgruntled gurgling noises, but eventually relented. Giving a small nod in understanding. Mags patted him on the head.

“Besides, you’ve always wanted a buddy to play with. You’re gonna get a new baby sister or brother! Isn’t that awesome?” She said, smiling.

Although Mags did her best to entertain Mim as much as she could, there were many times where Mags had to work and couldn’t bring Mim along or there wasn’t anything for Mim to do. So, for a lot of the time he was just...bored. Mags always told herself she would get a companion for Mim, but she just never had the time when she was in Obsidian City, working for Granny Mae. Now they had an opportunity to do that.

Mim, on the other hand, was not as sold on the idea of having a “baby sibling” to have around. Mags made it sound like it would be fun, but would it be? Mags said a lot of things that weren’t always true, after all. Gazing off into the distance quizzically, Mim was unsure how to think about the whole thing.

Mags attention returned swiftly back to the TV upon hearing the words “Pokemon eggs.” She listened as the professor continued his speech and became more and more excited with each passing word.

“That’s what we need! We gotta get one of those free eggs, Mim! And we gotta do it fast, too. He said, ‘first come, first serve’ which means they won’t last long. We don’t want to wait too long or else all of the ghostie eggs will be gone.” Mags said, turning to her little companion once more.

Suddenly, a woman with purple hair was on the video screen instead. Giving some boring speech about dreams or something, blah blah blah. But it was what she said at the end that caught Mags truly by surprise.

“Holy smokes! 5,000 Pokedollars...for free?!” She exclaimed, jumping out of her seat in excitement once more. She turned to Mim. “That’s it! Mim, finish your cake! We gotta get moving before all the chumps take the goodies.”

As Mags quickly began to clean up after them, Mim took a few rapid fork-fulls of cake and shoved them into his mouth underneath the hood. Mags quickly took their plates and dumped the contents into a trash can, and placed the plates on a tray designated for them.

“Thanks for the food!” She called out to the staff, waving them goodbye.

“Get lost!” The older woman cried out. Annoyed, Mags just stuck out her tongue at the old lady and walked off.

~~

Unfortunately for the two of them, with the Institute’s speech over, that meant that more and more people were crowding the streets. Afraid to miss out on what she was looking forward to, Mags ran through most of these people, rudely bumping into folks and gently pushing anyone who stood in her way. She stormed through the bulk of the crowd, with Mim riding on her shoulder.

To her delight, it didn’t take long to find one of the egg booths that the professor had mentioned. But to her disappointment, the line was long. Fortunately, she had a plan. Quietly, she cut the line, standing right in front of the fifth person in it; a kid.

“Hey, no cutting!” The boy cried out. He looked to be about eight or ten years old.

“Shut it, Dweeb! I was here the whole time!” Mags hissed in a harsh whisper, not trying to draw attention to herself. Fortunately for her, the two women in front of her were busy in conversation and the guy behind the kid was busy talking on his phone. None of them likely paid attention to who was in front or behind them, either. As far as the world knew, it was the kid’s word against hers.

“No, you weren’t!” the kid argued.

“Yes, I was!” Mags argued back.

“You better leave, or I’ll tell my Dad.” The young boy threatened. Mags had to hold back from laughing.

“Oooh, how scary. You know, I don’t think you’re ready for a Pokemon yet if you’re just gonna call for Daddy every time things get tough.” She argued, pointing at the kid. “In fact, do you know what people like you are called where I come from? Wimps! Wimpy wimp wimps.”

“I-I’m not a w-wimp…” The kid sniffled, his eyes beginning to water up.

“Oh jeez, don’t cry, man. Listen, you’re not a wimp.” Mags assured the child. She considered briefly on patting him on the back, but decided against it.

“But you just said--” The boy said, confused.

“...just as long as you keep quiet and get over me being in front of you. Otherwise, you’re a wimp. Got it?” Mags explained, feeling a judgmental stare coming from Mim, who still sat on her shoulder. The kid was silent for a while, thinking on what Mags had said, when he finally turned to her.

“Lady, you’re mean.” He stated, shooting her a judgmental look.

“No, I’m tough.” She corrected him.

‘And smart. Any other chump would’ve been forced to wait in that long line. But not me!’ She thought to herself.

“Seems more like you’re just mean to me…” The kid murmured, seemingly giving up on getting Mags to the back of the line. Mags suddenly felt a twinge of guilt in her heart, and started pondering if she was in fact being mean to the kid, when suddenly it became her turn to go up to the lady at the egg booth. She practically ran to the booth.

“Oh, hello dear. What can I--” The old woman tending to the booth started to say, but was quickly interrupted.

“GHOST!” Mags exclaimed, right in the woman’s face. “Ghost type, please. And let it be a cute one at that. Or a strong one. Can you tell if it’s a boy or a girl? Oh, you probably can’t. Well, then let’s just settle for a cute ghost. No, wait! I mean a strong ghost. Or do I want a cute ghost?”

The old woman tending the booth listened to Mags ramble on like this for a few minutes, patiently waiting for the girl to stop, but when it seemed like the girl was never going to shut up, she smiled.

“I see. Ohoho. I know just what you need, dearie.” The old woman said, nodding her head gently, but Mags barely heard a word she said, only to stop talking when she saw the lady leave to go to the back of the booth. A minute or two passed as Mags impatiently waited for the old woman to return. When the old woman finally did return, she held a cream-colored egg with a red dot in the middle in her arms and promptly handed it to Mags.

“Here you go.” The old woman said with a smile.

“Oh, it’s so…not purple. Like, aren’t they supposed to be purple? Or black? Maybe even orange? Are you sure you got the right one?” She inquired, looking confused as she inspected the egg. Even Mim looked confused. Mags briefly wondered if the old woman had heard her request at all.

“Sure as rain, dear. Now go on, enjoy yourself.” The old lady said, gently shooing her away. With her new egg in hand, Mags walked away from the egg booth, still very confused.

“Don’t suppose you can tell what kind of Pokemon it is, can you?” She asked Mim, who was now down by her feet.

Looking at the egg again, she couldn’t tell what was inside. Mags could see that the egg was bigger than what she expected it to be and weighed enough to require two hands to carry it. For a Ghost Pokemon, she didn’t expect it to be heavy. It was warm, too. Although that last part wasn’t as strange.

Responding to her question, Mim shook his head no.

“Figures.” Mags sighed, giving up on the subject for now. She quickly took her backpack off her back and placed the egg inside where it would be less awkward to carry. “Oh well, guess we’ll find out. Mim, get ready to be an older brother, soon! For now, lets go get our money!”



@GubGar

---

Vinny wasn't any sort of elite journalist, but he had a pretty good eye for people. And with that eye, he could tell that one Cassandra Stern's knee-jerk reaction to his question was very much negative. The quick turn-around, the recoil. Vinny winces, and braces himself to get ejected from the venue without even having gotten his freebies. He only hoped that getting the boot from the festival didn't mean his right to challenge the League was revoked. How much sway did she have? Could she pull that off? Would she? But to his surprise and relief, the CEO composes herself, and says;

“Castelia...Crown? You are far away from home.”

“As for the matters of interviews, normally I would say no. But today I am feeling generous. You may ask a few questions, and they must remain on the topic of today’s festival or Morpheus itself; anything else and the interview is over.”

Vinny responds professionally. Which for him means he looks directly up to the sky, and wordlessly raises both arms, hands balled into fists, in triumph. Like an athlete that just won the biggest game of their career. In his mind, Vinny declares; ~YES!!!!~ He had managed to score a major interview just after landfall. This was big! It was huge! If he could do well here and keep the momentum going, then the Starre Region just might manage to save his career. But first he had to make sure not to fumble at the starting line. So, after a long pause where he just held the same victory pose, Vinny reverts to his normal posture and nods in the affirmative. "Of course, absolutely! Those are more than fair terms. The Crown's no gossip rag, we're only in it for real stories."

After agreeing to her terms, Vinny rummages through his tote bag and produces a journal and a fountain pen. Most interviews were recorded, with, you know, a recorder. And maybe if Vinny had been less in a rush he'd have gotten one of those handy Roto-Phones and been able to record it with that. But he didn't, so he couldn't. No worries for him though, he could write up a storm- especially with such a nice pen. He'd gone through ten brands before finding one that felt right. "Then since you've so generously agreed to give me some of your time, I'll make sure not to waste it.." The interview was ready to start..

The art of the interview was one of give and take. If you rushed towards the heavy hitting questions, people would close up. But if you asked nothing but fluff, the interview would be nothing of value. A careful balance was needed.. You had to bait out the big stuff, especially when your subject did seem to enjoy giving interviews. "Morpheus' Dreamlink technology has been very successful.. But even the most successful companies don't throw around 'investments' as generous as the ones you have today. What is it about this League Season that's different? Is your company on the verge of a massive financial boom. Or has this season caught your eye in some way?" An valuable question, but also one designed to make Ms. Stern look good by answering. No matter how she answered, it was drawing attention to her and her company's generosity.

Most likely he'd throw out questions in a more rapid-fire format once he found his footing, but for now he was playing it safe and slow. Once interviewer and interviewee both found their rhythm, then he could pick the pace up.

New beginnings. Potential. Possibility. The professor's words resonated with many people in the audience, some more than others. Ikkou, a newbie to the region, was definitely one those inspired. He'd stood off to one side of the crowd at one of the Institute's booths, giving him an awkward viewing angle, but it also let him easily slip out of the area ahead of the rush when all was said and done.

"What a speech! Right, Rinrin?" the young man said, smiling at the sentient bell floating beside him. He had one of the Pokémon's tassels caught between his thumb and forefinger, else she would have run off somewhere a while ago. The Chingling stopped her fluttering and looked back at her friend, enthusiastically nodding in agreement. As she did, she produced a happy, high-pitched ringing sound.

They two of them had been lucky to arrive when they did, just in time for what appeared to be the opening ceremony. The road from Jasper to Beryl Town wasn't long, but in the interest of not running into any trouble right before the festival Ikkou had opted for public transport rather than walking. And with all of the excitement going around Starre, things had been pretty crowded and ran a little behind... but that was alright! He and Rinrin had made it after all. Plus they'd gotten to see a glimpse of the region's champion! They hadn't missed a thing - in fact it seemed like everything was just getting started.

On that note, Ikkou shuffled over to the nearest egg booth. He'd already gotten a few things from the regular Institute booth, and gladly so. He'd bought his first Rotom Phone ever just before arriving in Starre, if it could be believed in this day and age, so the staff's help in installing the map and Pokédex apps was much appreciated. He'd also stuffed a paper map in his bag, just to have it. The feel of paper really just couldn't be beat in Ikkou's opinion. Once his turn at the egg booth came up he happily accepted the gift, quickly making space for the next person.

"How exciting," Ikkou said to himself, pressing his ear to the dark shell. The egg was mostly black with some white spots shaped like... well, he wasn't really sure. Like bow ties, or Butterfree. He had no idea what was inside it, which he supposed was the whole appeal of this event. Rinrin, released from Ikkou's grip, floated over and landed on top of it. She peered down at it curiously and Ikkou smiled at her. "I bet you can't wait to see who our new friend turns out to be."

Rinrin trilled in excitement, jumping off of the egg and flying quick circles around Ikkou. "That eager, huh? Honestly, me too. Now, we have a few more things to do... I can't hold onto you and the egg, so will you be okay? You won't fly off, right?"

The Chingling nodded so hard that she flipped herself upside down and right side up again a few times.

"Promise?"

She hesitated, her wide mouth uncharacteristically closed as she swiveled in place and looked at everything around them. There were so many people, eggs, Pokémon, food, new sights and sounds... and she could see almost all of it with Ikkou, so she nodded again and floated up to sit in his hair. He felt her little feet tapping his head as she constantly moved around to take everything in (which also resulted in a lot of ringing that he was, fortunately, used to already), but as long as she was up there and not lost somewhere that was good enough for Ikkou.

They swiftly found themselves in another line, the longest one yet. It is really nice they're giving all this away, Ikkou thought. He glanced over to where he last saw the sponsor's, Morpheus, CEO, now engaged in conversation with a man with impressive hair. Even Ikkou had heard of their dream experiments back in Sinnoh, along with the dream science coming out of Unova. He'd always been curious about it, but... well, with his family basically running a non-profit, it went without saying that he'd never experienced it. The same would probably hold true while in Starre, but it still peaked his interest. Along with a ton of other things about the region.

Alright, after this... we'll take a look at everything we've got, figure out how to use the phone map, get something to eat... not necessarily in that order. Ikkou hummed gently as he mentally mapped out what he and Rinrin still had yet to do. I wonder if Beryl Town has any kind of history pamphlets? Maybe the Institute building does. If the festival is really a hundred years old, I wonder how it got started... Oh, and we'll have to find Kazu! Even if she's been in Starre for a little while, there's no way she'd miss something like this... I hope.

Finding one familiar face in a sea of strangers was easier said than done, but he kept an eye out anyway. His scan of the crowds, both in and out of line, led him to seeing some interesting looking people. Prospective trainers he was sure, the same as him. The thought made him smile softly.

He noted that most people seemed to be following the same order than he had, so the lines for the Morpheus booths were filling out even more. Ikkou glanced at the people queuing behind him, and those already ahead. The person directly in front of him, a girl in a cap, seemed rather stiff - which Ikkou found odd given the jovial atmosphere of the festival. Reading the look on her face as nervousness Ikkou leaned a little closer to her, hoping to give her some peace of mind.

"Pokémon eggs are surprisingly tough. It's hard to break one by mistake," he said. Someone leaving a clutch of unwanted eggs at the Foreign Building in Hearthome, whether from accidental 'compatibility' between two Pokémon or a breeder simply ending up with more than they'd needed, wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Which was why Ikkou knew from experience that they could easily survive being lugged around to all kinds of places. "So if you were worried... well, you don't have to be."

And, because it felt weird to just say that and nothing else, Ikkou shifted his own egg to a more comfortable spot in his arms and went on. Ringringring. "Just seemed like you might have needed to hear that. Ah, hopefully that wasn't rude of me." Ringringring. "...are you from the area? Seems like there are plenty of travelers here. Myself included." Ringringring!

The Chingling had noticed that Ikkou was talking to someone, so she had also turned her attention to them, wiggling in place and making some noise.

Cassandra’s composure did not drop as the man in front of her cheered silently, as if he had scored a point in a game. The man’s antics were…peculiar, but not too surprising given his…eccentric appearance. Cassandra deemed the man to be a colorful individual, to put it mildly.

"Of course, absolutely! Those are more than fair terms. The Crown's no gossip rag, we're only in it for real stories."

‘That’s what they all say.’ Cassandra coldly thought to herself. In a series of flashes, old, painful memories began to race through her mind. But despite that, she kept her composure and allowed the interview to continue. She calmly waited for the man to prepare himself as the interview got started.

"Then since you've so generously agreed to give me some of your time, I'll make sure not to waste it.."
"Morpheus' Dreamlink technology has been very successful.. But even the most successful companies don't throw around 'investments' as generous as the ones you have today. What is it about this League Season that's different? Is your company on the verge of a massive financial boom. Or has this season caught your eye in some way?"

It was an interesting starting question, but not an usual one given the strict topic limitations. There was no recording device seen on the man, so Cassandra made sure to speak clearly as possible, and with reasonable speed.

“Truthfully, this League Season is not particularly any more special or different than the others.” Cassandra answered, carefully choosing her words as she spoke. “It is true that Morpheus has been doing very well financially, and the Dreamlink technology has been quite successful. It is through that success we can be here today and invest in the people here.

“It is also true,” Cassandra continued. “That this investment is quite a hefty one and I have my doubts we will be able to do it again so generously in the near future. We will more than likely have to make some amendments to our budget, but I wanted to make sure our first investment was not a shallow one.

“And while not our main priority for this investment, we at Morpheus do have high hopes for this year’s League Season. We would love to see one of the trainers we helped sponsor be able to finally beat the Starry Prince. Our company would be more than proud to help cultivate something as monumental as that.” Cassandra said, satisfied with her answer. While she thought the bit of mentioning the Prince would provide a good enough distraction and flair for the interview, she hoped that the reporter wouldn't push it too far. Cassandra then patiently waited for the man’s response.

At first glance, it was easy to assume Kazu wasn’t paying attention. On the outskirts of the crowd, she leaned against a well-manicured tree with her hands in her pockets and a set of wired earbuds in her ears. There was no music playing. The stage was tiny at this distance, the presenters vague dots that Kazu didn’t bother trying to make out. Her eyes wandered instead over the crowd - the many hopefuls eager to start their Pokemon journeys. The competition. She wondered whom amongst them she’d actually end up recognizing by the end of all this. All the while, she listened to the voices over the loudspeaker. Astra, her little Cleffa, was nestled in the open hood of her jacket, idly swatting at Kazu’s hair. In the pockets of her jacket, her fingers tapped against each other, a quiet, hidden sign of her nerves.

A rising murmur lifted out of the crowd. Kazu’s sharp eyes flicked back to the stage. Prince. Even at this distance, he was unmistakable. His mask reflected the sunlight like a beacon, his cloak moving lightly in the breeze. She’d done some cursory research on the plane coming to Starre - enigmatic, intriguing, and startlingly competent. He’d apparently entered public view with his gimmick already fully-formed, costume and all. She wondered idly at the flamboyance of it all. What was it about these top-level trainers that made them more over the top than even contest champions? Was it all orchestrated and designed by media companies once they were identified as potential stars? Or was there just something about the brazenness with which they carried themselves that made them better battlers?

Kazu let out a small huff as the Prince struck a pose.

It was the kind of showmanship that someone could only pull off with absolute conviction. Or zero shame. Likely some combination of the two.

The cards he used to speak were a little dorky, but she was impressed by his commitment to the bit, if nothing else.

The speaker’s voice started to shift - time to wrap it up, apparently. Kazu pushed herself off of the tree. She slipped through the crowd, towards the booths meant to give out supplies. Soon enough the presentation was over, lines were forming, the booths opened, and Kazu had a heavier bag and a fuller bank account. Kazu moved through the milling crowd, slipping between bodies as she tried to not get swallowed by it all. Her earbuds were decent at muffling all the voices, at least.

Astra chirped in her ear, clinging to the back of her neck. Kazu reached a hand back to rub soothing circles on the little Cleffa.

“I know,” she murmured, “we’ll be out of the crowd soon.” Astra just nuzzled against her neck, no doubt mussing up the hair back there. She’d have to redo her bun later.

Kazu was ready to go. She needed movement, to be on her own, to do things on her own terms at her own speed for once. She was suddenly keyed up and restless now that she was so close to independence. The supplies were enough - she didn’t need an egg. She’d prefer not having one, actually. She loved Astra to bits, but minding her egg had been a formidable responsibility, and she could just go catch Pokemon of her own now. Because that’s what trainers did, right? And that’s what she was now - a trainer on an adventure, ready to make her way -

“Hey!” A high voice cut through the crowd, followed by a sharp crack.

Kazu spun around, Astra clinging to the cloth of her hood to steady herself.

A little boy, no older than ten, was on the ground. The contents of his bag was scattered, his new phone cracked, and a handful of berries already smashed. Worst though, was the egg doing a lopsided roll along the stone - revealing a small crack spiderwebbing along one side.

Kazu’s eyes widened. Soon enough, she was on the ground with him, trying to help gather his things. Trainers moved around them, berry juice leaving colorful footprints in their wake. Kazu scooped up the egg - caught off guard by how heavy it was. What the heck was in this thing? Astra hadn’t even been half this weight as an egg.

The little boy was on his feet again. Frustrated tears were springing to his eyes as he clutched his bag in front of him.

“Hey - are you ok?” Kazu’s eyes darted over him. His knees were scraped, and he was obviously having a bad start to his ‘adventure’ but nothing too bad, it seemed. He wasn’t looking at her. Instead his eyes were trained on the egg in her arms.

“…I broke it.” His voice was thick with emotion. Alarm bells started going off in Kazu’s head.

“It’s just a little crack, it’ll -”

“I killed it!”

“It’s fine!” Kazu fought to keep her voice calm as she watched tears start streaming down his face. “It’ll be ok. Look, Pokemon eggs are sturdy - I bet the little guy in here barely noticed it.”

The little boy finally looked at her, skeptical - and a little hopeful. “…Yeah?”

Kazu nodded. “I’ve got lots of experience with eggs,” she lied. She had a single experience with eggs. But hey, that meant she had a perfect record, right? “Why don’t I take care of this egg? You can go grab another one from the booths.”

“But… they’ll know I already took one, won’t they? I won’t get in trouble?”

Kazu looked around at the busy crowd, the overwhelming number of people filling the space with frenetic energy. “Nah. Just make sure you go to a different booth this time and try not to draw any attention to yourself. Let them give you the egg, say thank you, move on.” Kazu shifted the egg in her arms - she was already getting sore from carrying it. “Maybe ask for something that weighs less.”

Pink sprung to the boy’s cheeks as he looked up at her. Then he gave one last look at the egg, and darted back into the crowd without so much as a thank you. The corner of Kazu’s mouth twitched up as she rolled her eyes. Then she looked back down at the lead weight in her arms.

It was mostly brown - darker on the top and bottom, a more medium color around the middle - save for a bright green splotch in the center. The crack had formed in the middle of the green marking, making it even more visible. Kazu sighed to herself. She looked back at the various booths, overrun with crowds. Like hell she was dealing with all that.

Spinning around, Kazu’s mind worked to find a solution. Then she spotted a flash of pale pink hair and heard a familiar voice over the crowd. The Professor.

“One last stop, Astra. You’re doing good.” The Cleffa gave a soft trill in response. Kazu wove her way through the bodies, elbows, and backpacks towards the pink man. She angled her path so she ended up in front of him as he walked.

“Hi, Professor? I’m sorry, but I dropped my egg. Does it need to go back? Get special care or something?”

She'd been able to shake Jonas - the rambling guy who'd stalked her from halfway through the egg line and to the Morpheus redemption booth - after getting into line. He'd been talking about something about optimal moves for efficient training of different types of Pokémon, until someone he knew fortunately spotted him and whisked him away to his family and friends who'd been saving a spot for him in another place. Alex appreciated the peace that came with his absence. Not that she was alone by any means; people flocked behind, around and in front of her, not all deigning to stand in an orderly line while talking to friends or festival volunteers, or entertainers.

Alex of course, was more caught up with her egg. It was easier to think now, but the dread in her stomach didn't seem to want to go away. Somehow, the mere existence of this almost featherlight, relatively small and colorful egg, represented everything that might go wrong with all her 'big' decisions up to this point. How did you even figure out what Pokémon eggs needed to be cared for, or what the Pokémon needed to live later on. Or if it was even a Pokémon she could handle. Shouldn't there have been some kind of vetting process? Mother had made her jump through tons of hoops to just get to take Comet with her. She felt her thoughts racing again; so many doubts, so many questions.

"Pokémon eggs are surprisingly tough. It's hard to break one by mistake. So if you were worried... well, you don't have to be." Someone spoke up behind her, close to her ear, and she startled with a brief spook, turning her head. She turned her head towards him halfway, as it seemed he took a pause in his speech to say more. While he did, Alex took the time to look him over briefly, just as she had the last guy. A thin and slightly shorter guy, managing to look a whole lot less aggravating than the last. A bell-like Pokémon Alex had no idea about chimed a little beside him. He seemed so calm and confident, just in his manner. It was a little jealousy-inducing, honestly. "Just seemed like you might have needed to hear that. Ah, hopefully that wasn't rude of me... Are you from the area? Seems like there are plenty of travelers here. Myself included." The Pokémon chimed in again, a little spellbinding with it's mix of melodic tunes and cute appearance.

It was enough to snap Alex out of her daze. "Uh... Yeah. I'm from Diamond City. Up north." She offered back, sounding more reserved than she'd intended. Without thinking she lifted a hand from the egg - it was extremely light after all - and tucked a bit of her hair underneath the edge of her cap as she looked at him. "Where, uh, are you from then? Are you also some kind of Pokémon expert?" she asked, as it though this new young man could have any idea about the last boy and his endless Pokérant.

All the way she shuffled a little forward as the line moved (slowly), though her attention now given to the man behind her.

---

Vinny's pen worked swiftly, transcribing the CEO of Morpheus' words with practiced ease. He might not have been a top journalist, but he had experience.. And also no recording software, which meant he did a lot of writing. His penmanship was surprisingly nice as well, given the speed he was going. Not that anyone would notice that since his method would be to transcribe from the journal to his independently hosted website.

As for the answer itself.. It was good. Practiced good, she definitely had media training, but that wasn't surprising. What really itched at him was the mention of the Prince.. Something Vinny really wanted to pursue further, but decided to drop as to not offend. She already seemed to barely want to do this, he didn't want to imply she was second fiddle to the Prince. He was maybe a little shiesty, but he wasn't a jerk! Mostly. "That's a lot of faith you have in this batch of trainers! Since I'm participating myself, I'll do my best not to disappoint. Though don't go putting any money on me winning big!" Vinny said in a friendly tone as he finished writing down her words, and a few notes. In his experience, harmless chit-chat helped an interview feel more pleasant and less like an interrogation.

"Since I'm certain you've got a packed schedule and want to enjoy the festivities before you're called away, I'll try to fire off a couple consecutive questions, then I'll be out of your hair, promise." Overstaying the welcome was a big no-no when you were a guest, and Vinny wanted to part on good terms. Plus.. if he didn't get to those stands soon, they'd probably run out of Roto-Phones! Interviews came first, but if he could have his cake and eat it too, all the better! Who wanted to have cake and not eat it? That'd be crazy.

"Firstly, on the subject of the Dreamlink, I'm sure people are dying to know.. Currently valued as an fantastic piece of technology but a luxury item, there have been rumors that things are in motion to improve the accessibility of the product. Would you be willing to offer any comments on that?"

The question that every interviewer would probably ask, but it was for good reason! It was what people wanted to know the most. Vinny's intellectual curiosity was great, but the masses cared far more for questions that actually concerned them. And people wanted Dreamlink, no two ways about it.

"And to sate my readers curiosity-"

All ten monthly readers! Ten whole people who ate up his content like it was grade-A chow!

"-There have been attempts to interact with Pokemon dreams made by the Devon Corporation, and Unova's own home grown scientists. But your company has gone a different direction, and found great success in the field of human dreams. Is there any connection in Morpheus to the Devon Company or the creators of the C-Gear? And regardless, does Morpheus have any intentions of exploring the prospect of Pokemon dreams? Or are you more than happy sticking to the dreams of us humans?"

Technically the second was a bit of a two for one special, but Vinny needed to ask it. The first part, potential connections, shared inspirations, former co-workers- what have you, it made for great clickbait fodder. The second part was more of a serious question, and prompted Ms. Stern to speak on what was next for Morpheus now that they had found significant success. The question was, did she care to share? And arguably more importantly, did he manage to successfully get through the interview while giving a good impression?

Walking down the streets of Beryl Town, Noah took a moment to enjoy the scenery. The town was packed with people, most of which were lined up or surrounding the nearby booths. Eggs were everywhere, but most notably, in the hands of people of all ages. The festival seemed to be a success once again, something Noah was grateful for. He preferred leaving when things were going well. Kit, who rode on his trainer’s shoulder, did not appreciate this the same way Noah did, but enjoyed the free ride and silently watched his surroundings.

Suddenly, Noah was approached by a young white-haired woman holding a black and green egg with a noticeable crack on it. He listened to her as she spoke to him.

“Hi, Professor? I’m sorry, but I dropped my egg. Does it need to go back? Get special care or something?”

“Oof. That’s quite the crack. What did you do, try to make an omelet?” Noah said, wincing at the sight. “Just a jest. But no, there is nothing to be done. Normally, I’d just pull out some duct tape and cover it up with that, but with how close these eggs are to hatching, there isn’t any point. Fortunately, the eggshell likely took all the damage, and the little one inside should be fine. You just gave them a head start in hatching, is all. But please don’t let it happen again. I can’t say everything will be alright the next time it’s dropped.”

Unfortunately, dropped eggs were not an uncommon occurrence on this day. Researchers at the Institute were even known to drop eggs on occasions. Fortunately, all the eggs given out today were close to hatching and could afford a crack or two. But there was still a small risk of injury to the Pokemon inside, so it was still something to avoid if possible.

Looking at the young woman, Noah was reminded of the importance of being sociable in times like this. Turning to the white-haired woman he said, “It seems I’m at a slight disadvantage here. You know my name, but I don’t know yours. You are…?”



As expected, the questions of the interview became more complex, but were fortunately still in the realms of acceptable questions. Cassandra had partially expected for the man to ask something about the past, but he remained appropriate and so she returned the favor in kind.

“For your first question,” Cassandra said, speaking clear as possible for the man. “The state of the Dreamlink technology is ever changing, but we at Morpheus are working hard to expand our horizons and widen the opportunities for more people to experience it. As for the status of that goal, unfortunately, I cannot comment about that at this time.”

It was one of Cassandra’s many goals to make the Dreamlink technology as accessible as possible, but she had her focuses too spread out to truly hone in on that ambition. But it would come in time, as all her goals would.

“As far as I am aware,” She continued, answering the next question. “The only connection Morpheus has to the Devon Company or the C-Gear technology is that in the beginning, Morpheus did focus primarily on the study of Pokemon dreams. However, after our acquisition of some bright minds, we decided to forge a different path. Yet despite these differences, all three groups do share the same knowledge foundation: the information has been discovered about the Dream World and dreams themselves by scientists throughout history and all over the world.”

Casssandra considered the study of Pokemon dreams a necessary one, but ultimately lesser of the two studies. Pokemon dreams had the benefit of being a more “interesting” field of study due to the nature of how much closer of a connection Pokemon as a whole had to the Dream World compared to humans. But ultimately, things like the Dreamlink technology would be nearly wasted on Pokemon. While she was certain the creatures had their own problems to worry about, she doubted they were complex enough to be akin to human struggles.

“Currently, Morpheus remains focused on human dreams,” Cassandra said, looking at her interviewer. “But the truth is both Pokemon and humanity are interlinked in every aspect of life, including dreams. Both human dreams and Pokemon dreams occur in the Dream World, so you cannot completely segregate them. If one learns about one, they will need to learn about the other as well. Thus, Morpheus does indeed study a little into Pokemon dreams on the side, but our priority will always be on people and using the Dreamlink technology to improve their lives.”

She waited for the man’s response, hoping her answers were sufficient.



Mags and Mim had made it halfway to the closest Morpheus booth when it dawned on her that she had forgotten to redeem her free Rotom phone. The two hustled back to the Institute booth, only to find that there was an even longer line this time with a security official standing right next to it. Apparently, someone had complained about people cutting the lines…

Thus, Mags and Mim were forced to wait in the ridiculously long line. But when they got to the booth, Mags was able to acquire the Rotom Phone quickly, with the Map app already downloaded on it.

“I can’t believe they made us wait soooo long in that stupid line.” She grumbled, walking down the streets as she swiped through the screens on the Rotom phone. Mim was walking beside her and gurgled something in agreement.

“But at least we got this new Rotom phone! And it’s powered by a ghostie!” She squealed in delight, causing a few stares to come her way. “Although they said you’re not for battling. Are you sure about that? You seem plenty capable to me.”

“Zzz-zzt! Affirmative! I cannot be used for battles, whatzzzoever! As a member of the Starre Institute, my purpozzze is purely for research and academia and supporting you on your Pokemon journey! If you wish for a Rotom to be uzzzed in battles, you must catch one of my brethren in the wild!” the Rotom-possessed phone replied, floating in the air briefly.

“Tch. Figures. Oh, well.” Mags said, grabbing the phone back into her hands and quickly dropping the subject. It would’ve been nice to get another free ghost Pokemon, but that must’ve been asking for too much. “Alright, Mim. Now let’s get to that Morpheus booth--ow!”

Her attention having been so transfixed on her new Rotom phone, Mags walked straight into an unsuspecting pair of individuals who stood in line at a Morpheus booth. The impact was felt primarily on her arms as they collided and the force sent her off balance, sending her falling backwards on to her rear towards Mim’s direction. Having actually watched where he was going, Mim was able to swiftly dodge the girl’s fall and looming buttocks and was spared the cruel fate. Taking a moment to collect herself and fighting through the brief amount of pain, Mags turned her attention to the people she walked into.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going! Can’t you see there’s a baby on board here? Have some decency!” She cried out angrily, pointing to the egg poking out of her backpack.

People these days. Really.

"Diamond City..." Ikkou repeated the name, clearly unfamiliar with it. He hummed once, mentally consulting the maps he'd looked over earlier, including when he'd first arrived in Starre. Diamond City up North... Could it be the settlement near the mountains he'd read about? It was kind of far from here, if he was thinking of the right place. So this festival really was a region-wide thing then! That was interesting. He kind of wanted to ask her more about it, but grilling someone you just met on their hometown would probably just be weird.

Her second question caught Ikkou off guard, and he blinked at her before answering. "Me? Oh no, no, not even close!" he said with a soft smile, his tone indicating that he found the idea of himself being an expert funny. Although without the context of the girl's earlier interaction, Ikkou misinterpreted her words. 'Also?' Then this girl is...? he thought, his eyes lighting up in curiosity. Of course! There are probably a lot of people here who've been preparing for this a while. Years maybe. Who wouldn't call themselves an expert after that?

"But it's nice to meet one! Have you been studying them for a long time? Oh, I came here from Sinn-ow!"

With so many people around, avoiding collisions was the primary reason Ikkou had kept to the edge of the crowds. He'd figured standing in a line would also help, but with one as long as this one it was bound to intersect with the general festival goers. Not expecting the impact, Ikkou wobbled but managed to stay on his feet. Rinrin on the other hand tumbled off of her perch on his head, but since she could float she came to a stop in the air a few feet from the ground. The Pokémon shook her head (which was basically her entire body), making a particularly high pitched sound as she did. Ikkou glanced at her, checking her over to make sure she was fine, before the stranger's voice brought his attention to the person who'd run into him and his new acquaintance. Seeing a girl on the ground, he quickly gave her a flustered apology.

"I'm sorry!" he said, despite it being obvious to everyone around that it was the fault of the girl who'd run into the two would be trainers. "Are you alright? Here–"

He shifted his own egg so it was tucked under one arm. The other he held out towards the annoyed stranger, offering her a hand to help her get to her feet.

"A chef." Kazu's immediate response was dry and more than a little distracted - she'd stopped paying full attention when the professor had turned down her attempt to return the egg. She'd specifically been trying to avoid this responsibility. If the professor's go-to solution was duct tape though, the damage couldn't have been that serious, at least. Her mind spun through logistics as she looked down at it. It was close to hatching, so she wouldn't have to lug it around for too long. Seriously, what had those booth attendants been thinking giving this to a kid? "World renowned, actually," she continued as she carefully moved the egg to a single aching arm. With her free hand, she swung her backpack around to her front (she usually only wore it on one side - while sub-optimal for her posture, very convenient for times like this). Expression neutral, her indigo eyes flicked up to him as she unzipped her bag. "Omelets to die for."

And, ok, maybe she'd been a little irritated at hearing the barest hint of a lecture in his tone.

Kazu shoved her arm into her bag, trying to negotiate with her cluttered belongings for space. If she had to carry this egg around in her arms until it hatched, they were gonna fall off - she just hoped her bag straps could hold out longer. Astra poked her little pink head to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of the tall stranger (taller than Kazu, at least) through strands of white hair. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. The moment Kazu's hair parted enough that the Cleffa had a full view though, she chirped and hid back behind her trainer's neck. Kazu felt her nestle deeper into the hood of her old jacket. The corner of her mouth quirked up fondly as she finished fitting the egg into her bag. The seams pulled precariously, and her sketchpad was going to be dented in a very egg-shaped curve by the end of the day, but it would do for now. Kazu maneuvered her bag onto both shoulders, feeling the weight heavy on her shoulders. At least it supported Astra from below, lessening the pull on her hood. Maybe she'd buy a new bag and jacket with that Morpheus-sponsored cash infusion. Wouldn't that be novel?

Schooling her face into a polite, if detached, smile, Kazu looked back up at the professor.

"Sorry to hold you up. Thanks for the...y'know." Kazu waived a hand over her shoulder. "Event." Readjusting her bag, she brought two fingers up to her temple in a mock salute. "No more egg dropping." With that, Kazu turned - it was time to get this show on the road. Astra spun in the hood, finally with an unobstructed view of the professor and his Zorua. She sniffed the air again before waving a tentative good-bye. The fabric of her bag twitched as the egg fidgeted within.

---

The questions weren't any massive news-breaking answers, but Vinny wasn't expecting any. CEOs like to keep stuff close to the chest even for big names in the field of journalism, much less functional nobodies like himself. The stuff he did get, limited though it may be, was already very generous. And let it never be said that Vinny Verdana was ungrateful! He maintains at least partial attention towards Ms. Stern as he scribbles down her answers in his notebook. Once she was finished speaking, and he was finished writing, he makes eye contact(? it was hard to tell with the sunglasses), and smiles.

"Well Ms. Stern, it's been fantastic meeting you. That was a very illuminating interview, and I feel as though I have a better understanding as to what Morpheus desires as a company! And again, I appreciate your patience in humoring me. While I'm sure I could pick your brain for hours, I won't overstay my welcome any further. So, I think I'm off to enjoy the festivities your company has so generously sponsored!"

Vinny slips his journal back into his bag, and slings said bag back over his shoulder. Already he was feeling a bit of that crushing pressure of his dead-end career lessen. Sure, this one interview wouldn't change his whole life- but it was a fantastic start. Especially given that he only arrived in Starre recently!

"If you want to see the interview published, or wish to contact me about said interview, you can contact me through the Castelia Crown's website!" The Castelia Crown only had a website. There was no official place where it was published, but what Vinny was saying was technically true. He had an email linked to the account- not his personal email, but a work one, which was freely available to be reached..

He got a lot of spam messages via that decision, but one day it might pay off.

If Cassandra had anything more to say to him, Vinny stuck around to listen. And once it concluded, he departed with a two-fingered salute, wading into the festival proper. If anyone were to look, it was easy to keep track of him given how his overly tall hairdo stuck out of the crowd. Like a blond Sharpedo fin cutting through the crowd.

---

First thing on the agenda had been getting ahold of a Roto-Phone. Those things were nice, and not something you had in Unova. Xtransceivers were perfectly serviceable, but Vinny had to confess he was a bit of a trendy guy. Plus a map and Pokedex app would both be invaluable. Fortunately, the line wasn't too long, and once he was there he didn't have to jump through too many hoops. So Vinny was whistling in satisfaction as he made his way over to the Morpheus Booth, in order to get what he inelegantly thought of as a 'goodie bag.'

This line was a bit longer, so Vinny tried to start some small talk. Speaking to the man in front of him, a surly looking older fellow with a bushy beard, he asked; "Enjoying the festivities?" Only to find himself met with an irritable grumble and no further attempts at conversation. Guess that meant no, or maybe he just didn't like Vinny's look. Either way the rest of the wait was done in awkward silence, up until Vinny finally made it to the front and got his paws on the goods. He gives a cheery thanks and an over-exaggerated wink (entirely concealed by his sunglasses), and then steps off to the side to pop a squat.

Vinny sets his fashionable bag on the ground, and rummages around in it before pulling out a Pokeball. With a click, he releases the creature inside, Garamond, his trusty Trubbish manifested beside him with a "Gwah!" Vinny gives him a less exaggerated, but very genuine looking smile. "Heya buddy. You're gonna have to play assistant here while I re-organize all this. Dunno how I'm gonna fit all this and an egg in here.." Thus began the process of handing Garamond items from the bag while he put things in order, only to patiently take them from the Trubbish' sticky grasp before said Trubbish accidentally (or intentionally) absorbed them.

It made quite the sideshow for those in line, especially with the threat of Vinny's hair almost hitting those nearby as he crouched over his inventory. Given he liked to keep the contents of his bag very orderly, he'd probably be at it a while. Though part of that might be hesitance at the idea of going to get a Pokemon egg next. He really wasn't sure he was cut out to raise one.

"Well Ms. Stern, it's been fantastic meeting you. That was a very illuminating interview, and I feel as though I have a better understanding as to what Morpheus desires as a company! And again, I appreciate your patience in humoring me. While I'm sure I could pick your brain for hours, I won't overstay my welcome any further. So, I think I'm off to enjoy the festivities your company has so generously sponsored!"

"If you want to see the interview published, or wish to contact me about said interview, you can contact me through the Castelia Crown's website!"

“Of course, please enjoy yourself.” Cassandra said, giving a curt nod. “As far as the interview being published or not goes, I’ll leave that up to your discretion. But if I have any inquiries, I will be sure to contact you. Thank you. Have a good day.”

Cassandra gave a small, polite wave goodbye to the strange man and took a brief sigh of relief as she watched his ridiculously tall hair poke above the crowds as he walked off. The interview was done and she was eager to move on to other things. Suddenly, she could hear the pitched ringing of her cell phone. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled it out and answered the call.

“What is it?” She asked, calmly gazing around to see if anyone was watching her. Not seeing anyone looking her way, she continued the conversation. “Yes, go ahead and send them out. I’ll be back at headquarters shortly.”

Hanging up the phone and ending the conversation, Cassandra turned and made her way to the edge of Beryl Town, where her flying taxi waited for her.

"Sorry to hold you up. Thanks for the...y'know. Event. No more egg dropping."

“Happy to hear. Best of luck.” Noah replied, waving goodbye to the girl, whom he still didn’t know the name of. He had meant to engage in conversation with the young lady, but it seemed she had other plans in mind.

“Oh, well.” Noah simply said, letting go of that thought as he gently scratched behind Kit’s ears. He turned to the white and red creature. “Let’s go get that Dream Bundle.”

After a loud yip in agreement, the two set off for the nearest Morpheus booth. Fortunately for them, the one they found had no line. The attendant at the booth seemed a little surprised to see him there for the bundle and wasn’t sure if she should give him one, after all these were meant more for newbie trainers… But Noah just smiled and stood his ground, reminding the lady that Cassandra Stern didn’t say there were any restrictions of who could redeem the Dream Bundle.

The attendant soon relented and gave the professor his Dream Bundle. His version of the bundle came in a blue and purple colored box and was rather big in size. Noah then reached into his pocket and pulled out his Rotom Phone and turned on his bank app, and the attendant took her Morpheus themed handheld device and tapped his Rotom Phone, transferring the money payment to him.

With that done and out of the way, Noah went to the side of the booth and took off his backpack and egg carrier and placed the former on the booth’s table and the latter on the ground. The professor took a moment to take a deep breath and enjoy not being burdened by the damn egg carrier and then turned his attention to his backpack and the box.

Opening the Dream Bundle box, he began taking its contents and stuffing it into his backpack. A good portion of the box was just empty space, although it did have a lot of content as it had promised. He couldn’t have fit the box into his backpack as it was, but he could fit the contents of the box into his pack. Kit whined and dug at Noah’s feet, he could smell the berries inside and wanted to snack on them now. But Noah simply ignored the small creature and put the berries away neatly into his pack.

Once that was done, he handed the empty box to the attendant who would properly dispose of it and placed both his backpack and egg carrier back on. Leaning forward just a little bit with his arms stretched out, he was able to pick up Kit once more and placed him on his shoulder. Kit would have to go back into the Pokeball soon enough, but Noah figured he could enjoy a little more outside time before then.

Leaving the Morpheus booth, he turned around to see where to go next when he saw a strange sight. A man with the most peculiar hairdo he had ever seen in his life was squatting on the ground, organizing his belongings with a Trubbish next to him. Other people were staring, so Noah felt compelled to step in.

“Uh…Do you need help?” Noah asked the blond man, giving a small nod towards the man’s trashbag companion.

[Alex walked away from Ikkou and Mags.]

"I'm sorry! Are you alright? Here–"

Mags watched as the young man leaned over, extending his hand out to help her. She lightly smacked his hand away and made a foul face. Slowly, she got herself up off of the ground.

“I don’t need help! I can get up on my own--owww.” She winced, her lower back shooting up in pain. She took a moment to gently massage the spot before turning her attention around. Standing before her was a young man with silver hair and light blue eyes. He was a foot shorter than her, but looked roughly close to her in age. Floating next to him was some kind of bell Pokemon. Mags was about to chew out her “assailant” when suddenly she realized…weren’t there two people “responsible” for this mess?

“Where did the other person go…?” She murmured, looking around. She caught a figure looking vaguely familiar walking off into the distance but decided to let it go. It wasn’t worth chasing after.

“Ugh, never mind.” She grumbled, she turned back to face the boy. “You. You are responsible for this. You need to look where you’re going, pal. I could’ve gotten seriously hurt! And if I already did…w-well you’re gonna be paying for my medical bills! And stuff!”

Suddenly, Mags was reminded of the fact that she hated hospitals. There was no way she’d go to one. But if she had to, she sure as anything wasn’t going to be paying for it. Nuh-uh.

Mags took a moment to rub her lower back again and groaned. The pain was still there, and it hurt. She hoped she didn’t bust her booty bone. She knew of one guy back home who did something like that once; he had to sit on a seat shaped like a donut for weeks!

‘No way I could do that.’ Mags thought to herself. ‘That’d totally cramp up my style.’

After briefly pondering about donut-shaped cushions for injured bottoms, Mags realized she didn’t know the name of the “scoundrel” who “bumped” into her. She also didn’t know what that bell of a Pokemon was that he had.

“Who are you, anyway? What’s your name?” She asked, giving an irritated look and a slight huff. She glanced towards his Pokemon. “And what’s…that thing?”

Kazu wound her way through the streets of Beryl Town, taking in the sights. The little town was bustling with color and activity, themed decorations and eager participants bringing an unmistakable joy. Kazu couldn’t help but smile as she walked. She even pulled on the wires of her earbuds, popping them out and letting the festival flood her senses.

She felt… weightless. There was a giddy novelty in letting her feet carry her without thought, not worrying about schedules or obligations, or keeping an eye on anyone but herself and her Cleffa - and the new egg weighing heavy on her back. But even if her attempt to offload it had failed, Kazu couldn’t find it in herself to mind. So what, she had an egg. It was cracked, sure, but tough as nails and close to hatching. And whatever Pokémon came out of it would be hers. She had the makings of a team.

A giggle bubbled out of her as a stray piece of confetti fluttered past her nose, the colorful paper barely brushing her skin. Astra echoed a chirp, feeding off her trainer’s good mood.

An aroma wafted through the air - something sweet and fried. Astra perked up, her little nose twitching. Then she chittered excitedly in Kazu’s ear, nuzzling deeper into her hair.

“Okay, okay!” she laughed, reaching a hand back to still the little Cleffa. Kazu had largely ignored the food stalls in the town square, as crowded as they’d been. But hey, they had all the time in the world to go where they pleased. She started mapping the town in her head, trying to remember the best route back to the festival. She’d spent the past week exploring Beryl Town, getting used to Starre’s local flavor. It wouldn’t be hard to make it back to the square. “You know this means braving the crowd again, right?” Cleffa chirped in affirmation.

Keeping hold of the straining straps of her backpack, Kazu wove through the town until that sweet scent grew stronger. Soon enough she was on the outskirts of the festival again. The crowd had thinned some, and it seemed like the food stalls had been largely picked clean. But maybe there’d be something small she could grab for Astra.

But as she moved through the crowd, a voice froze her in place - a very familiar voice that she hadn’t heard in years. It was a little lower than she remembered, a little stronger, but there was still that sweetness, that upbeat helpfulness. Another voice blared out like a horn, overpowering it - but it made it easier for Kazu to find the source. Kazu spun, eyes wide as she searched. And sure enough, there was that silver hair, the blue eyes, his open, eager expression.

“Ikkou?”

When the girl smacked his hand away, Ikkou was surprised but not offended. She must have been startled by her fall, he thought. And when she drew attention to the fact that Ikkou's new acquaintance had smartly detached herself from the situation altogether before laying all of the blame on him, he became a little flustered himself.

"Sorry, I was just... um, standing in line," he said, his 'excuse' falling a little flat. This new stranger's personality was pretty overbearing, and she went right on to complaining about how she could have been hurt. That he knew very well. Even the most minor of injuries could lead to something a lot worse. He took the girl's words more seriously than probably anyone else would have, but then... "Bills...?"

Ikkou wilted under the girl's exclamations. He probably couldn't afford someone else's medical bills! How did the healthcare in this region even work? What if he had to take care of her strange Pokémon while she was recovering? What did it eat? What if he messed something up and they put him right back on a boat to Sinnoh? Oh no...!

Clearly floundering for a response, Ikkou held his new egg up as though to but a shield between himself and this girl. Rinrin's cries were progressively getting more high pitched as she sensed her partner's stress building, bobbing up and down in the air. Ikkou couldn't reply fast enough when the girl asked about the both of them, hoping to placate her with answers.

"Sh-she's a Chingling!" he said hurriedly. "And I'm—" “Ikkou?” "—Ikkou."

Huh? He'd definitely heard his name being said, even with the orange haired girl right in front of him and the ambient noise of the festival still going on around them. He turned his head, looking for the source - and spotting a familiar face. Taller, a little older, but definitely someone he knew.

"Kazu...!" He smiled in relief. She'd found him! She must have gotten his letter. Ikkou made to go over to her, but hesitated. He couldn't just blow off the person he'd bumped into. "Ah..."

He pressed his mouth shut, thinking. He wanted to link up with Kazu for sure. He sent a look over at his cousin, though his expression was hard to read. It could easily have been Wait right there! or Please come over and help me! Most likely the latter, all things considered. Then he turned back to the other girl.

"I'm really sorry, I can't afford to pay for the hospital, I just got to Starre and..." he shook his head to keep himself on track. "Um, but if you're hurt I can do some first aid? Or... or we can sort it out another way! Miss...?"

---

Garamond looked up at the approaching Noah- and his companion, Kit -with inquisitive eyes, before giving a cautious wave with his free hand, while Vinny's hair gel began to sink into the other hand to become one with the trash pile. As if he had developed a sixth sense, Vinny's hand shoots out to retrieve the hair gel just before it is consumed. Without looking up at the stranger, Vinny responds to their question; "Yeah, if you've got a time machine on hand I'd love to go tell my past self to pack a bigger bag, even if this one is super stylish." His response was a little sour, but it was clear the negativity was directed at himself in a joking manner- and not at the person who hadn't done him any wrong.

Having managed to finish sorting things out to the best of his ability, Vinny rises to his full height, and stuffs a hand in his pocket. He retrieves a candy bar wrapper- a Unova brand -which he feeds to his Trubbish, who eats it up gleefully. "Thanks for the extra pair of hands, Garamond. Anyways.. What can I do for ya, pal?" The tall-haired reporter asks as he turns to face the newcomer, only to stare right at one Professor Magnolia.

~Woah! Another big name! Looks like it's ol' Vinny's lucky day!~

Vinny hides his surprise as best as he can, and gives Noah a smile that was equal parts friendly and suspicious. Sort of exactly like how Vinny himself came across. He figured that this was an opportunity, cozying up to a Professor of the region could potentially give him a bunch of advantages going forward- plus, didn't he mention during that speech that he planned to travel too? Maybe Vinny could pick his brain for the best route. And furthermore, maybe he could figure out the least fragile kind of baby Pokemon by asking the Prof. "Hey there, you're Magnolia, right? Say, maybe there is something you can assist me with- if it ain't any trouble! Name's Vinny Verdana, and this is my buddy Garamond."

Garamond gives another wave, identical to the first. The Trubbish's cautious expression gradually thaws out as Garamond witnesses Vinny respond in a friendly manner to the strangers, but he still seemed more reserved than his owner by a large margin. For Vinny's part, he slings the now stuffed full bag over his shoulder, and performs a few emergency touch-ups to his hair to make sure it was still operating at peak style. "We're looking to take part in the League Season, but I ain't exactly what one would call.. Ya know.. The most responsible of guardians. With your Professor-y know-how, maybe you've got some tips for egg caring? I haven't nabbed one just yet."

Normally Vinny'd try for a bit of schmooze first, but he figured most smart science-y types liked to explain things they knew (from his limited interactions with them). Plus he really did need help. Another Pokemon on his team would be a huge boon for a guy who was not at all used to the Trainer life, but ensuring the Pokemon survived past the egg stage was easier said than done for a guy like Vinny. A guy who hadn't fixed his apartment's carbon monoxide detector so he could use the batteries for a video game controller instead.

‘A Ringding? Never heard of a Pokemon like that before.’ Mags thought to herself, as she listened to the boy introduce himself and his strange Pokemon. She watched slowly as he began to wilt and flounder at the mention of “bills.” When he started talking about having just got to Starre and not being able to afford it, Mags winced. Just her luck; he’s broke. She watched as another girl called out to him from a distance and the guy responded back in kind. She picked up the vibe that he wanted to go to speak to her, but Mags wasn’t ready to let him go just yet.

“The name is Magdalena Specter. But I go by ‘Mags.’ This is Mim.” Mags said firmly, gesturing to herself and then to her spectral companion. Mim made some low gurgle noises and made a brief wave towards the new people.

“But what do you mean by ‘first aid?’ Like, you touch my butt or something? Not a chance, you pervert.” Mags continued, practically hissing at the boy. “And I don’t care if you don’t have any money. You’re not getting off that easy. You need to take responsibility!”

The irony of the conversation was well lost on the girl. But as Mags opened her big mouth to go on another rant again, her attention and many of those around here was quickly cut off by the chiming of a brief tune on nearby speakers that spread throughout the town. Soon after, a voice could be heard on the speakers.

“Remember everyone, Starre can be a tough place! Don’t embark on your journey alone, go with a group! There is safety in numbers!” The voice said, presumably an Institute staff member. The same tune from earlier was played again, signaling the end of the announcement and people in the crowds began to go back to their business and their conversations. Gazing at Ikkou and his strange Pokemon, a most dangerous thing occurred - Mags suddenly had an idea.

“Mim, come over here for a sec. Huddle time.” She said, gesturing for her spectral companion to follow her. She turned back to Ikkou. “You. Stay right there. I’m not done with you, yet.”

Mim flashed his trainer a quizzical look, but followed her nonetheless. The two took a few steps away from Ikkou and “Ringding,” far enough that their conversation could not be heard, but not too far away from them.

“So, what do you think? Think we should have them join us, make a group or somethin’?” Mags inquired, squatting down so she was closer to eye level to her companion. Mim simply looked at Mags like she had three heads on her shoulder.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Mags replied, bracing for some sass from Mim. “You heard the lady - it’s safer to travel in a group. Sure, these two look wimpy, but worse comes to worse we can always ditch them later if they end up dragging us down. What do you say, bud?”

For a moment, Mim just stared blankly at his trainer. He turned to gaze at Ikkou and the “Ringding,” stared at them for awhile and then returned his gaze back to Mags, nodding his head. He was in.

“Great! Come on.” Mags said, beckoning Mim to follow her back to the other pair to deliver “the good news.” Diligently, Mim followed suit, emitting only a light, curious sounding gurgle.



Noah didn’t think much of Vinny’s initial slightly-sour remark, but he was more amused by his garbage companion nearly absorbing the bottle of hair gel. He had seen Trubbish and their evolved forms a few times but rarely watched one this close. Noah smiled. Pokemon always came with surprises.

Noah listened as the man with the strange hair introduced himself, along with his companion. Kit quietly jumped down and cautiously began to approach Garamond, sniffing the air towards the Trubbish’s direction. Recalling that Trubbish can emit poisonous gases, Noah quickly picked Kit back up. He had also known that Trubbish that were closely bonded to their trainers were known to not emit these poisonous gases, but just to be on the safe side, he kept Kit away, for now.

“Yes, I am Professor Magnolia. But you may call me Noah. This is Kit.” Noah said, gesturing to the red and white Zorrua in his arms, who began squirming, wanting to break free. “As far as egg caring goes, the individual needs honestly depend on what kind of egg it is. But the best general advice I can give is not to drop it.”

Noah briefly thought of his previous encounter with the other girl, who had dropped her egg and was left with an egg with a bad crack on it. He hoped she’d be more careful in the future.

“I wouldn’t worry about the egg caretaking too much in general, however.” Noah continued, turning his attention back to the guy in front of him. “Nearly all of these eggs are close to hatching. You won’t be egg-sitting for long.”

Pausing for a moment, Noah opened his mouth to say something when he was cut off by the chiming of a familiar tune coming from the speakers nearby. The tune came from the Institute, and signified an announcement was about to take place. The voices in the crowd around him suddenly fell quiet, as everyone listened in for the announcement.

“Remember everyone, Starre can be a tough place! Don’t embark on your journey alone, go with a group! There is safety in numbers!” The voice on the speakers said. It was a familiar voice, and Noah knew it was one of his fellow Institute employees, but he couldn’t tell who’s it was. The same tune from earlier was played again, signaling the end of the announcement and people in the crowds began to go back to their business and their conversations.

Following the announcement, Noah watched as young trainers began to come and go in groups, some big, some small. It made him a little envious for these trainers to either bond so quickly with one another or come prepared and were together prior to the event. He realized at that moment he needed to start putting in some effort into creating a travel group for himself, or else his trip would be rather lonely.

He turned to look at Vinny and thought, ‘Well, might as well start here.’ He had a feeling traveling with a guy like Vinny would certainly never be a boring one.

“Apologies if this is a bit forward or unexpected, but…” Noah murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t suppose you would be up to becoming traveling companions, even if just for a little bit? As the announcer said, Starre can be dangerous to go alone, and you seem like a friendly sort. In exchange, I can help you out with the egg-rearing. Although, you’re going to have to carry it, I’m afraid. I’ve got my hands full as it is.”

Kit proceeded to yip in protest as he continued to struggle out of his trainer’s grasp. Noah sighed as he shifted uncomfortably, waiting for Vinny’s response as he kept Kit in check. Noah lamented that he didn’t focus more on training and disciplining Kit before he decided to set out for this adventure of his.