Leeana regarded the scene outside her bedroom window with a certain amount of an emotion that was almost contempt. It wasn't as though she hated the Sunrise festival, but it and the Sunset festival had started to earn her ire. The Sunrise festival took place on the longest day of summer, which also happened to be her birthday. While the Sunset festival took place on the shortest day of winter, where the sun sat in the sky earliest. Today in the Leeana's home of Kamiki, they were preparing for the Sunrise festival, which would begin the next day and end the following at sunrise.

Of course, the next day was also Leeana's sixteenth birthday, the day when she'd be old enough to become a Pokemon trainer. With a sigh Leeana sat down on her bed and thought about her plans for the next day. She knew that Professor Sakura wouldn't partake in the festival until the evening, so Leeana would head over to the Professor's lab to get her first official Pokemon. Then she'd probably hang around Kamiki and leave the next day. Leeana's sisters would have her head if she left before the festival was over.

As the girl gave a slight grumble as she hefted her back pack onto her shoulders, her Pokemon friends, Ri and Gibbs, watched from where they had made a mess in her closet. Leeana looked at the two and how they had managed to completely disorganized her only slightly organized closet.

"I hope you two clean that up at some point." The girl said as she beckoned her friends to follow as she made her way down the stairs of the house. In the kitchen two of Leeana's older sisters, Beth and Nara were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and hot chocolate disguised as coffee respectively. Nara specialize in Pokemon who weren't what they seemed, like Zorua, Zoruark, and Ditto. She was the leader of Kamiki's gym, which branded itself as the illusion gym.

"Aren't you normally helping set up by now?" Leeana asked, somewhat confused. As the youngest of the nine Namakaze girls, Leeana was only just now expected to contribute to festivals. Or at least she'd be expected to do certain things during the festival, since she wouldn't be sixteen until tomorrow.

"Nah, the only things that we have left to do is make sure you're ready for your part of the reenactment at sunrise during the festival." Beth replied with a grin. Leeana, as a girl who thanks to her odd hair that only some could see the oddity of, had been decided since a child to have been blessed by the god. The whole Namakaze family was said to have been blessed by the gods with the ability to understand Pokemon. This year, it was expected that Leeana take the role of the great swordsman Susano in the reenactment of the second battle against Orochi, the eight headed snake demon that was sealed in the Moon Cave. Every year one of the Namakaze siblings would take the role, due to it being said their family descended from Susano and therefore Nagi. This year, it was Leeana's turn, much to her dismay.

"Oh, yeah, that." Leeana muttered with slight disheartenment. Her birthday really couldn't have been worse timed. She truly wished that after she got her license and Pokemon tomorrow she could just leave. Leave and explore the world, explore Olivine past Agata Forest, go on an adventure. Not be stuck in a village that insisted she play such a role in their festivals. Leeana believed in Amaterasu and the gods, she truly did, but she was tired of her life in Kamiki. Just a few more days…

Leeana made herself a sandwich and made her way to the door of their house, "I'm heading out, be back in a bit." Leeana walked, out of the village and into Shinshu field the area around the town. Ri and Gibbs had followed her, they were her friends who understood why she wanted so badly to leave Kamiki. Passing by the Pokemon of the field, and over the river, Leeana and her friends walked into Hana Valley.

"Going to the sapling?" Asked Ri, who knew Leeana loved to spend time at the sakura saplings in Shinshu, Hana Valley, and Agata.

"Yeah, I need a nice quiet place to think," Leeana replied as they entered the cave in Hana Valley that lead to the tree.

As Leeana plopped down on the ground at the base of the tree, Gibbs smiled at her and said, "It's only a little longer until we can leave Kamiki and go on an adventure!"

"I know it just feels so long. I can barely-"

"Hey, I'm trying to paint this sapling! Why'd you just sit down there!"

"I'm sorry…?" Leeana tried to apologize but couldn't see anyone else there. Well, there was a bug that was hopping around in anger, but that was it…

"You better be!" The voice grumbled again, it was distinctly feminine, but Leeana still wasn't sure where it's owner is.

"Um… Where are you?"

"I'm right here!" The bug began hopping even more, seemingly more angry.

"A bug…?" Leeana wondered out loud, how could a bug talk? "Wait, no…" Looking closer, that wasn't a bug. Leeana gasped.

"You're a Poncle!"

"Yes, not a bug." The Poncle that Leeana previously mistaken for a bug grumbled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend in mistaken you for a bug." Leeana apologized, trying to make it up to the small artist, "I'll move."

"Thank you!"

Leeana watched from behind as the Poncle painted. The paper was bigger than the little artist, but what she could see was beautiful. When the painter let out a cheer of accomplishment, Leeana looked at the paper once again.

"That's beautiful," Leeana said, startling the Poncle, "Oh, I'm Leeana by the way."

The Poncle paused a minute before grumbling, "Ishana."

"Might I ask why a Poncle's all the way over here?"

"You already did. And if you must know, it's because I want to become a better artist. So I travel." Ishana explained, "It's hard cause everything's so big, but I manage."

"You're already a great artist, and our art always get's better, what could you hope to improve by traveling?" Leeana asked, settling down beneath the tree again as Ishana hopped to her side.

"I'm traveling the land to find my inspiration. To be a great artist, like the legendary Issun; he found his inspiration from the sun goddess Amaterasu. His grandfather before him gained inspiration the same way. I want to be like them someday. That's why I'm traveling." Ishana explained with a forlorn tone.

"I see," Leeana sighed, "I've never been past Agata forest, but soon I'm going to leave Kamiki and travel…" Inspiration struck Leeana in that moment.

"Would you like to join me?" The girl asked her small new friend.

"What?"

"In a few days when I leave Kamiki to journey Olivine with my Pokemon, would you like to join me?"

"Why are you- Why? We just met?" Ishana was confused, though Leeana could hear a lit of hope in her voice.

"It'd be easier to travel for you, and I imagine it must be lonely going around alone. The more the merrier, right?"

"I… Sure. I'll go with you." Ishana was probably smiling, Leeana decided.

"Great, I won't be leaving until the day after next, but you can hang around Kamiki until then," Ishana started bouncing again, after giving Leeana a sound of agreement. The group sat underneath the tree for hours, talking about this and that. Leeana found that her and Ishana had a fair amount in common. They both were artists who liked to paint, and they both wanted to journey and see Olivine, though for different reasons.

"I think it's getting kind of late, should you be getting home?" Ishana asked once the sun was close to setting. Leeana looked at her phone, at the time.

"Yeah, dinner should be soon," Leeana said, "Come one you three."

Ishana jumped up into Leeana's backpack, Ri and Gibbs walked at her side while she made her way back to Kamiki. There wasn't much talk on the way there. The beauty of Shinshu fields was glanced at, due to Leeana very much wanting to get home for dinner. Gibbs had said something about having seen something strange over by the entrance of Agata Forest, but Leeana ignored it.

When she reached the entrance of Kamiki, which had branched out a little further into Shinshu Field then it had a few hundred years prior, she sprinted the rest of the way to their house. The Namakaze house sat near the original entrance to town, the house, which had been passed down through their family for centuries, though there had been renovations so only the basement and part of the sitting room remained of the original house.

Stepping into the house, after removing her shoes, Leeana was assaulted by the smell of cherry mochi. A smile appeared on her face. Cherry mochi was her favorite. But why cook cherry mochi today?

"Hey you're back. You were gone a while." Beth commented from the kitchen, while Nara sat at the kitchen table. Leeana sat ran upstairs and threw her backpack in her room, then ran back down.

"What were you up to?" Nara asked, taking a drink of tea, "You couldn't have been just thinking all day."

"I wasn't." Leeana defended, "I was at the cherry tree in Hana Valley. I met a traveling artist, we talked for a bit."

"A traveling artist?" Beth inquired, setting dinner on the table. "What was their name?"

"Her name was Ishana."

Beth and Nara chuckled at this, "Sounds like the name of a Poncle," Beth joked.

"Poncles often are traveling artists." Nara agreed. That was the last of conversation as they all ate their dinner.

"By the way," Beth began, "Lea, there's cherry mochi in the kitchen."

"I thought I smelled cherry mochi…" Leeana muttered, looking up at her older sister, "But why?"

"We thought it might make you more agreeable to the reenactment." Nara commented from her spot at the table.

"Of course…" The youngest girl grumbled, "Well I'm heading up to my room." She declared as she got up from the table. Marching up the stairs she retreated to her room.

Leeana found Ishana looking at some of the little paintings that Leeana had done of small pieces of paper. "These are… wow…"

"Thank you, they're for the festival. I give them out to people." Leeana smiled. It was nice to have someone who was happy with just what she does.

"You know…" Ishana began, uncertain, "It's really nice of you to offer to let me travel with you."

"I don't think anyone should travel alone. It safer to have someone with you, and it's nice to have someone to talk to."

"Yeah…" Ishana trailed off, "Well, I'm going to hit the hay, you know?" the artist made herself comfy on a makeshift bed she'd made out of cotton balls and cloths from Leeana's craft supplies. Leeana also thought she noticed the addition of a sort of cape on the artist.

"Yeah, I think I'll paint something a little."