Hideo listened as the crowd enjoyed the illusory view. There was an irony that these illusions could only work off sight - something he wouldn't be able to enjoy - but the descriptions he got from his Pokemon made them worth it in his mind.

Within the crowd, one of his Pokemon noted someone in distress: a child, probably half Hideo's age, looking over the "edge" of the illusion.

"No need to worry!" Hideo said, walking over towards the edge. "It might look like an edge, but it's still all part of the ground! Watch!" He knew where the edge was - that much his Pokemon informed him - and he fearlessly walked over it. "These only change how the place looks. It's still the same ground and same sky, but it just looks different."

"Buuuuut that doesn't mean we can't do anything to it! Watch this!" He forward up as far as he could, which wasn't very far, and grabbed the open air; as he pulled his hand back, a clump of stars went missing from the cloud.

He walked over to the girl, opening his palm, revealing the small clump of stars he'd grabbed. "The stars are prettier up close, aren't they?"

Cheer up a distressed kid

Elinor Anderson

The child happily took some of the stars, in awe at the little bright lights she now carried. She tried to feel them, but they simply moved around her hands, like trying to pick something out of a glass of water. Little details like these were easy to do with a simple illusion like the ones his Pokemon were using now.

One even notified him of a Pokemon that was approaching: small, furry, long tail, big ears. The description narrowed down what Pokemon it could be, but not the exact one. Regardless, he lowered his hand so it could watch. "Everyone can watch the show," he said, "small or tall! Check this one out!"

He took a pinch of stars out of his hand, tossing them up. The stars flew through the sky, a trail of light following them. The shooting stars caught the crowd's attention, his Pokemon's performance earning quite a few "ooh"s and "aaah"s.

He offered some stars to the Mincinno, if it wanted to try that too. The girl he'd helped already tossed her stars in the sky, their bright trails for all to see.

Play a part in a carnival performance

Elinor Anderson

Hideo's own Pokemon watched the display, keeping Hideo aware of everyone's enjoyment of his little performance - which effectively had himself watching his own display through multiple eyes (or at least by their descriptions).

Soon, other members of the audience took the initiative, walking off the "edge" and grabbing clumps of stars on their own, tossing them about or sharing them with others. "Stuff like this goes on almost every day at the Littleroot!" Hideo boasted, unaware if anyone actually listened or not. "We're always open to new challengers - as long as we got time in the schedule~ But if you wanna just watch these displays, we always welcome people watching the matches live!"

Crowd suitably enthralled, his attention went back to the small Pokemon he'd just shared stars with. "Now then…you just wander in here outta the wild, little guy? Or you someone's friend? Either case, you're free to come too if you want~"

Granted, he'd yet to have any wild Pokemon actually watch his Gym battles, but there wouldn't be much trouble letting a small one in, would there?

Watch a carnival performance

Elinor Anderson

Unfortunately, a camera couldn't catch the same experience as a human or a Pokemon could; the illusory effects were considerably less clear, almost like a faint overlay over reality. The Psychic Terrain would be much more obvious, as well as the Psychic Pokemon helping maintain the illusion. The Orbeetle floating above Hideo would be clear to see, its attention on the boy and the Pokemon he was talking with.

Though Hideo couldn't see the Pokemon shake its head, his Orbeetle informed it of its answer - and who it was pointing to. It was a woman, though one the Orbeetle didn't recognize.

Just in time to hear a small *click* from above him, his Rotomdex choosing that time to take a snapshot of him interacting with the Pokemon. He could already hear his Orbeetle chiding the Rotomdex, even as it flew away, sharing the image as a reply to Elinor Anderson 's, sharing the #funtasia tag.

"Cute Pokemon you got here!" Hideo said, in the direction of the lady. "Seems like they really like to play with stars!"

Share your Carnival experience on a social media of your choice under #Funtasia

Elinor Anderson

Hideo could feel glad that his Pokemon had gotten the right person on the first try. There'd been more than one time his Pokemon jumped to the wrong conclusion about who a Pokemon belonged to.

"Well, there's plenty of shiny stuff to go around here!" Hideo said. He reached up to the "sky", a handful of stars seemingly descending right into his hand (courtesy of the now-hidden Orbeetle). He knelt down, offering them to the small Pokemon.

Maybe after he was done here, he could get a snack to eat. He wanted to try and find some more of those cinnamon pretzels when he was at the carnival with Eris Halla . He wasn't sure how much longer until he got a break. Hopefully soon.

His Pokemon, meanwhile, were already clued in to what he wanted to get - and one of them got exactly what he'd wanted. The illusion kept the box of pretzels hidden as they were floated over towards him, until the Orbeetle could hold them and drop one right into his other hand.

For everyone else, it'd look like a cinnamon pretzel materialized out of stardust in his hand. Alas, only Elinor and her Pokemon would notice the display, everyone else preoccupied throwing their own stars around.

"...alright." Hideo muttered, taking a bite out of the pretzel. "You know, these things are pretty good. Either of you want any?" The offer was extended to both the trainer and the Pokemon before him.

Eat a Festival Treat

Elinor Anderson

Just as the Minccino hoped, the stars did indeed react when hitting each other, flying off in random directions like billiard balls, trails of light behind them. At least one even exploded into stardust when hit by a star considerably larger.

Hideo gladly gave the Minccino one of the pretzels, readily devouring one of his own. "These are really good," he said, his final offer to the trainer. "Hope I can find these when the festival's done."

He stood back up. "I'm Hideo, by the way. Gym leader here, if you didn't already know. What's your name?"

Elinor Anderson