It was a usually chilly day in the Frozen Heart region and a small group of girls were heading for Snowflake City in order to attend the annual festival that was put on during the light show that appeared every year. It was a huge tourist attraction and Ally and Maria wanted a chance to see it while Cecilia and Vivian wanted to show their newly made friends the best spots in the region. As the two made their way to the city, they chatted, making jokes, and just getting to know each other in general.

Although Ally and Maria were friends beforehand and Vivian and Cecilia were sisters, the four had ended up meeting each other through a pen pal program. The four began corresponding and when the chance to go to the Frozen Heart region came, Ally and Maria both jumped at the chance, partially to attend the winter festival there and partially to be able to meet up with their newfound pen pals. After a little more correspondence, the four had set up a place and time to meet, leading back to the moment at hand.

"Wait... so you're telling me you two have six other siblings? And here I thought that having two other siblings was a lot." Ally responded with a soft, slightly surprised laugh when Cecilia and Vivian mentioned that they were the oldest of eight.

"Um... I don't wanna sound rude, but how do your parents get the money to provide for all of you?" Maria asked a bit nervously.

"Well, our mom's a Pokemon nurse while our dad runs one of the shops here, so they both make quite a bit. Though, it also helps that Vivian and I are both working part time now to help out with some of the expenses... not to mention we're also both planning to move out soon, so that'll hopefully ease off a bit of the strain on them since they won't be having to cook and buy groceries for ten people all the time." Cecilia responded with a grin. "So, what about y'all's families?"

Ally was the first to speak up. "Well, there really isn't anything interesting with me. I have a dad and two older brothers who are pretty protective of me. Took me forever to convince them to let me travel out here with Maria for the festival." Ally stated with a soft laugh.

"Yeah. Meanwhile I'm an only child and my parents are pretty lax on what I do or where I go. As long as I'm not causing any trouble, they're happy." Maria chimed in.

"Pfft, like you'd cause any trouble. If anything, your parents should be worried about me dragging you into trouble." Ally retorted teasingly, causing Maria to playfully roll her eyes in response. Cecilia and Vivian burst into soft giggles at the antics between the two, with the four girls soon arriving at Snowflake City.

Upon arriving, Ally and Maria stared in wonder at the festival that was set up. There were plenty of beautiful lights strung up and a plethora of tables with a multitude of different foods to choose from. Of course, there was also a number of people in attendance, both residents of the city and region and tourists from elsewhere. Cecilia and Vivian both let out soft laughs in response to seeing Maria and Ally's awestruck faces.

"C'mon, we need to be able to get a good spot to watch the lights before it gets too crowded around here. We can get some food and play some games afterwards. We just need to have a little setup where we want to be." Cecilia said, beginning to lead the girls through the crowd, searching for a spot that was relatively clear and would give them a good view of the sky.

"They usually turn off all the hung up lights a few minutes before the lights in the sky appear for a better experience, so you'll know when it's about to begin." Vivian chimed in as the four found a fairly clear and relatively secluded spot in an open area and set their stuff up, with them each letting out their Pokemon to relax and make sure no one took the spot. Afterwards, the girls headed over to the buffet table and began to get some food for themselves as well as their teams.

As they returned to their spot and began to eat, the four continued to chat, this time not really about anything in particular. They also kept an eye on their teams to make sure that they were all playing nice and getting along, which they were. Though Cecilia's Luxray seemed to be doing his own thing as most of the other Pokemon had formed their own little groups and were happily playing together.

"Hey, uh, is your Luxray always like that?" Ally inquired towards Cecilia, gesturing towards the Pokemon, who was currently plopped a ways away from the other groups of Pokemon, simply glaring at them.

Cecilia sighed a bit and nodded. "Yeah, he is. He just kinda does his own thing. I can barely even get him to listen to me. I've no idea why, though and it hasn't been too big of a problem, so I've just been giving him some space and hoping he'll warm up eventually. Though, it's been years since I've had him and he's still like he was as a Shinx. I've been doing my best, but I guess he's just naturally stubborn and stand-offish" she responded, a bit of a saddened look overtaking her features.

"Hey, everybody has their problem Pokemon. For me, it was my Umbreon. He was extremely wary of me when I first got him and extremely protective of his sister as well, so he wouldn't let me get near him or her, even to just feed or brush them. Not to mention, he would refuse to listen to me if I could manage to get him into battle. I just gave him some time and space and after a few months, he was perfectly happy to be on my team. I'm sure your Luxray is the same way. He just may need to take a little longer to be comfortable around you. You seem like a great trainer, so I'm sure he'll warm up to you with some more time." Ally responded in a confident tone. Maria and Vivian nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm sure Bolt'll warm up to you soon, Ceci! You're so nice and pretty cool, too!" Vivian chimed, a bright smile on her face.

"Heh, meanwhile your starter Pokemon warmed up to you pretty much right away, Vivi. How did you do it?"

"Oh, I didn't really do anything. He just kinda chose me, remember? We did go to get our starters together, after all."

"Oh... right... I guess I did kinda force Bolt to be on my team while you let Snowy choose whether or not he wanted to be on yours... that may be part of the reason he's so stand-offish..." Cecilia responded, a bit of a guilty look overtaking her face. Her Luxray stayed where he was, quietly listening to the conversation.

"Hey, I'm sure that's not the only reason, Ceci. As you said, he might also just be that way naturally and just needs some more time to warm up to you." Vivian assured her.

"I know, but still... I shouldn't have just chosen him without really knowing if he wanted to be my partner or not..." Cecilia responded, though she was interrupted by her Luxray suddenly trotting over and laying his head in her lap. "Oh, uh... hey buddy." Cecilia spoke towards the Luxray in a surprised tone, hesitantly scratching behind his ears. The Luxray let out a content sigh, closing his eyes and soon falling asleep.

Ally let out a soft laugh. "Well, it seems he's already warming up to you a little more." she spoke with a bright grin.

Cecilia grinned as well and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. He's never done this sort of thing before." she spoke, grinning down at the Luxray.

"Ooooo, girls, the lights are appearing!" Maria suddenly spoke up, her voice full of excitement. In response, the other three girls turned their attention to the sky, watching with wonder as it was lit up with a beautiful array of colors.

Ally's eyes practically sparkled with wonder and awe as she took in the sight. "Woah, they're so pretty! I've seen pictures, but those definitely don't do the real thing justice!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with awe. Cecilia, Vivian, and Maria nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Vivian and I always try to make it to this festival every year. This sight never gets old." Cecilia responded, a soft smile on her face. Vivian nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I'm always impressed by how pretty they are each and every year." Vivian chimed in, snapping a couple photos, though she soon got an idea. "Hey, everyone squeeze in together so we can get a picture while the lights are in view!" she instructed, with the girls doing just that. Vivian snapped a quick photo, smiling brightly at the results.

"Well, of course the lights aren't as great as they are in person, but the photo turned out great! I'll send it to y'all so y'all can save it for yourselves." she spoke, doing just as she said.

After a while, the lights had finally faded from the sky and the girls called their teams back, getting up from where they were sitting, beginning to head out of Snowflake City and part ways.

"Well, that was fun. Thanks for showing us that spot and watching the lights with us!" Ally spoke up, grinning towards Cecilia and Vivian.

"Hey, no problem! Y'all are gonna be leaving in a couple days, right? Why don't we meet up tomorrow and the next day as well and just explore this region before y'all leave?" Cecilia suggested.

"That'd be great!" Ally responded, Maria nodding in agreement.