Lotus and Stone (Steven Stone x OC)

6. Midspring Festival pt. 2

The inauguration of the Midspring festival took place in Jubilife city, Sinnoh's capital. And then there would be a second moment of inauguration at the battle frontier. Palmer, the battle tower legend, would join her for that. She wasn't sure which inauguration she would see Steven at but had a feeling he meant the battle frontier one.

The whole region was in festival mode, everywhere she walked she saw flowers and ribbons and Pokémon decorations on every building and fountain and lamppost. Even tiny Twinleaf town was decked out in festival décor. She had decided to walk to Jubilife city. It was about an hour on foot, and she would be able to see if there were already people in Sandgem town visiting the silky soft beaches there, or perhaps people on their way to the Ramanas park.

Sure enough, when she got there she spotted Bertha of the elite four on a walk with a bunch of children at her side. She caught her eye, and Luna jogged over to her.

"Ah champion. Good morning. These are my grandchildren, Rocco and Keith." Bertha said, patting the kids on their shoulders.

"Wow!! So you're the champion! One day I'm going to beat you, you know! Better get ready!" Keith said, challenging her. Luna chuckled and kneeled beside the kid.

"Don't worry. I'll be ready when you are!" Luna said confidently. She stood up again to face Bertha.

"You're on your way to Jubilife's inaugural ceremony? How are you feeling?" Bertha asked. Bertha was so sweet, always caring for Luna and helping her adjust into her champion title. She had helped so much during the festival preparations, despite her age.

"I'm feeling...good. It will be good." Luna sighed, hyping herself up. She had to be perfect. She had worked so hard for this.

"You'll be amazing dear." She patted Luna on her cheek affectionately. "Take deep breaths and show everyone what you're made of."

Luna said her goodbyes to Bertha and continued on towards Jubilife city. She was so wrapped up in nerves and thoughts and anxiety. She couldn't help thinking about how she had left Steven to eat dinner alone last night. Was that...a date? Surely not, Steven was a colleague, and was merely here to support her and enjoy his time during Battle frontier season. Why was she still thinking about him? Why was he so damn attractive too? It just made everything worse. Luna admitted it to herself. Steven was attractive, she knew it. He was Hoenn's golden boy after all. Luna shook her thoughts away. There was no time to think about that now.

Jubilife appeared in her sights, as the route turned in to the outskirts of the city. Music played in the streets, and children ran around playing with each other. It was truly a lovely Sunday morning. Crowds had already gathered near the main square in front of the town hall, and some cheers arose as she approached. People greeted her as she passed, and Pokémon yipped happily. She entered the town hall and was greeted by the mayor.

"Champion! You're early, wonderful." She said, Byron and Roark were there too, they waved. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, everything should proceed as planned." The mayor clapped in excitement.

"Wonderful!"

-

The inaugural speech in Jubilife had gone well. The massive crowd celebrated the beginning of the festival. She called out her Driftblim and set out for the battle frontier on battle island. She hadn't seen Steven in the crowd, but there were so many people so she couldn't really tell if he had been there or not.

Battle island was positively buzzing. In the resort area, people swarmed the stalls for food and gadgets and trinkets, the stage was gorgeous, and people awaited the first performer of the day. Meanwhile at the battle frontier, the plaza was full of strong trainers from all over the world. Luna didn't recognize anyone, even some Pokémon were completely foreign to her. There was a small pedestal in the middle of the plaza where Luna finally took the small stage, security Machamp surrounding her. She tapped the mic for everyone's attention.