Chapter 71 - The Family of Traditions

After some warming up and refreshing with water bottles and soda pops, Rico and his group decided to head east of the valleys to the house of the farming relatives of Emerson for a visit. The path there was not that far from the center of the valley district, but however, they have to traverse the stairways on the way there. The said stairways are wide and very accessible, so they had no problem in taking a trip on foot. The trip only took them around 11 minutes, and they had arrived there just before lunch time. Upon entering the front yard of the old and rustic farmhouse, Emerson's nephew and niece, Jon Wyatt and Cecilia Candy, and their Pokémon ran from the living room and to their professor aunt, hugging her in embrace. They are in their indoor clothes, but do work most of their time at the farm, where their only grandfather, Emerson's father-in-law, was a farmer, while their father, Emerson's brother-in-law, was a crafter of traditional, handcrafted household items, including pottery. Their mother, meanwhile, was at the festival overseeing its progress and status. The two kids then said to Emerson, "Aunt! You had come to visit us." Comforting them and wiping their sweats using a soft, small towel, Emerson responded with a smile, "Yeah, I know, it's nice to see you again." The rest gazed at the farmhouse with amazement.

"Wow, this place looks nice and very big."

"Yeah, this place is quite rustic-looking and not that extravagant."

"Hmm, this one is very cozy and quite decent." Jon and Cecilia then looked at Rico, Juan, Campillo, Trevor, and their Pokémon with mild curiosity, and then asked their aunt, "Who are those people?"

"Oh! Those are my friends," Emerson responded back positively. Rico and the rest then greeted them with friendliness. They then all come in.

Inside the big, traditional farmhouse, in the living room, Jon and Cecilia's father is carving a Pokémon figure out of a tree log, which was sliced into 6 pieces from a full-sized one. Upon seeing their children with the others, he interrupt his work and greeted his sister-in-law and the others, welcoming them into the house. And as they settled down on the maya blue sofa and armchair, Emerson came from the kitchen with a tray of glasses of pineapple juice with ice cubes for some refreshments. After sitting down on a dark oak wood chair, Emerson introduced her family to Rico and the others, including Professor Campillo and Detective Trevor. In response, Emerson's brother-in-law, niece, and nephew introduced themselves to them and exchange handshakes with them.

The exterior of the farmhouse was both decent and traditional. It is made of traditional materials like stone and wood, particularly dark oak wood. It had windows with painted wooden windowsills, with the paint matches the aesthetic colors of the house itself. It is two storeys high with an extension for a shed and indoor farming. In the backyard, there are fields of soil for farming and a sloped view of the valley districts at a reasonable height. The doors are rustic as the rest, and the porch and front yard are as lovely and welcoming as their surroundings, which were full of forestry and small streams of fresh water. Inside the house in the living room, it had wooden flooring and maya blue sofa and armchair, oak wood end tables and bookshelves, a nice chandelier hung in the center of the room, a patterned forest green, cinnamon brown, pewter grey big rug under a dark oak coffee table, and a stone fireplace opposite of the sofa across the coffee table. It seems that the room was lightened by modern forms of lighting like light bulbs. For decorations, the living room had decorative house plants, paintings made by Emerson's sister and her children, a bunch of vases and pottery made by Emerson's brother-in-law, and finally, picture frames of Emerson and her family and friends

Later, as time passes after 12 in the afternoon, the family discusses about the harvest festival and its features. Jon and Cecilia's father explained about the valley district's long history of crafting artisan goods and cooking traditions as parts of the festival's purpose of getting people from all over the region together in one harmonious festival, as well as the festival's date being in the middle of the harvest season, making food as one of the key themes of the special event. Jon and Cecilia went further by telling the newcomers about their lineages of being the pillars to the community of the valleys by being farmers and leaders in assembling the festival. Emerson then concluded the discussion by telling them about the feast that is about an hour away from being served, and the dish is: Macaroni Vegetable Soup. It turns out that dish was one of Rico and Juan's favorites, but they were willing to try the valley version of it. Meanwhile, Emerson's father-in-law was at the district market selling his crops to earn money, but he promised to be at the festival in time for the big feast. After all that discussion, it seems that Rico and his group had learned from Emerson's family, and they were acknowledging their way of life. In the same time, Rico and Juan promised to Jon and Cecilia to have a Pokémon battle with them after learning that they are also Pokémon Trainers like them.