Cosplay: "It's My Town" Competition

Me: Well, this should be something a little different.

Ash: Hey, it's your town!

Pikachu: Chu, pika. ["Yeah, your town."]

Goh: It's "your town"?

Me: Yeah, it's "my town". I can't say much more than that, but you get the gist. 

Goh: OK, so what is this about?

Me: It's a local traditional festival that isn't really related to the world of characters, but someone had the idea to invite characters over, so here we are.

Ash: And you want me in!

Me: Of course. While we do this, however, I'd like to say that I'm also trying to prepare you for something special, but I also can't say much about this, at least for now. 

Goh: Really? 

Me: Yeah. Anyhow, because of that, I'll have to send you, Ash, with your Alola outfit. But that should be fine with you.

Ash: Why not? That's totally fine! If you're fine too.

Me: It's set, then. Now, you got to the festival, so what did you see there?

Ash: I saw LOTS of food stands! But I guess I can't eat them all, can I?

Me: No, you'll go bust and I'll go bust, if you know what I mean.

Pikachu: Pika chu. ["Understood."]

Goh: So where's the "traditional" part?

Ash: I saw and heard dances and music like that. There was also some art like that, but not much.

Goh: Well, those are good carriers of traditions, but so is food.

Ash: I did get to try a bit, and it was yummy.

Me: As long as it's within limits, then it's fine.

Ash: No worries.

Me: All right, how was the actual competition?

Ash: It was a character parade! A lot of characters were in it, even me - I think it was over 70.

Goh: You know, that's a lot. I'm afraid to say it... but there must have been a serious crowd.

Ash: You bet.

Pikachu: Pika pika. ["Very true."]

Me: Here's what I think: the organizers might have known that this festival could be sleepy today - this is actually a two-day thing from yesterday, but I'm aware there were no characters then - so they asked characters to come today, and as we know...

Goh: ...where there are characters, there are crowds.

Me: That had to be the case.

Ash: Um, I think there might have been a few people and characters who got lost in the shuffle.

Me: Never mind this festival, I think I heard the same from those who went to the convention  from last week.

Goh: You don't say.

Me: Let's move on to something that should be better: how were the results?

Goh: Tough luck?

Ash: Yeah, nothing for me.

Pikachu: Pi. ["That."]

Goh: What were the winners like?

Ash: They looked a bit spooky! But then I saw really big monsters, but they didn't win either.

Goh: Maybe they're just big for the sake of big.

Me: That could float. If they have problems moving (this is a parade, after all) then they may not be expressive enough.

Ash: Oh, but it turns out I got to talk with one of the winners (before I found out) and it seems the person who sent in the character may have something interesting - for us! I even got to help.

Goh: Really??

Me: Hey, this might be an opportunity; I'll handle the rest and get back to you. So, I guess today was kind of productive, in a way. 

Ash: I got to eat and enjoy the festival, so that was great!

Pikachu: Pika! ["Nice!"]

Goh: That's not bad, even if you didn't win. And you got our friend to connect too!

Ash: Isn't that great?

Me: Who knows - this festival and our future might become great later on for the same reasons.

One year ago: Finding Reasons to Sing and Connect

Two years ago: Justification for Writing My Blog

Three years ago: Low-Bit Fantasies with Pokémon

Four years ago: Field Research Task Reporting

Five years ago: The Myth of Shiny Pokémon

Six years ago: On Skateboards and Pokémon