A Thousand Little Lights [Falkner and Volkner]
It there was any event worth experiencing in Violet City, it was the Summer Festival. Planning began nearly half a year in advance, and every citizen tried to get involved in some way. People came from all over the Tojoh region to watch, especially for the amazing fireworks display towards the end.
They were down to the last several hours before the festival commenced. All throughout the city, stands were being set up, food was being prepared, banners were flying, and families were digging through their closets for their finest yukatas. The monks at the temple were polishing the floors and burning incense to ward off the usual resident spirits for the night. And amongst it all, Falkner was doing his best to direct ‘air traffic’. It was much easier (and anxiety-relieving, to many mothers) to instruct the Gym’s birds about where to hang streamers than it was the students of the Trainer’s school.
The blue-haired trainer frowned as he looked at the jumble of lights at his feet. Normally they were among the first things to go up, so that no one tripped over the strands as they went about their work. However, the lighting was also usually very basic. A history of electrical fires left many residents hesitant to put up more lights then necessary, under the insistence that it ruined the mystical atmosphere of the festival.
Perhaps some greater power disagreed with this rationale, or perhaps it was a happy accident, but this year Falkner was presented with a solution. It was neatly written in the middle of a festival invitation mysteriously left on his kitchen table, signed only with a tiny paw print. The entire incident was peculiar to the bird keeper, but on that invitation he found an answer.
Volkner.
The man had a gift was electrical systems and, if it interested him, the drive to work. He might be able to do something to make the festival night special. After speaking with a few organizers, Falkner gave the Sinnoh Gym Leader a call to see how willing he might be.
One thing was certain: Volkner was sure to receive a hero’s welcome upon arrival.