Previously on Oranges to Grapes...
Eartha ends up inside Groundblight Shrine where she meets her soon-to-be spirit partner, Anton. After rejoining Rosita and Jessica and recieving her own Sealing Ball, she realizes that her Rotom is still unconscious and needs medical attention...
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Meanwhile, back at the Academy, Camilla, Pico and Balto finished their classes for the day, but had to return to their dorms for different reasons: Camilla wanted to get into one of her sandwiches for dinner, Pico had some catching up to do on some texts he recieved from his mother, and Balto... had to go see a man about a Rapidash, let's say.
But, as soon as they reached the doors to their rooms, each of them looked down and saw a small slip of paper with writing on it. They each picked it up, and saw what was written on it... but reminded themselves why they came to their rooms in the first place.
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(Scene transition: Academy crest)
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Back down at the entrance, (or "libratrium," as someone put it,) Ko was sitting at the studying desk in the northwest corner of the first level with a small stack of papers at the ready. A few minutes later, the bunny, lizard and husky approached him, but he raised a finger-bean to stop them before he turned around. "Neither a Sawk nor a Throh can produce an egg without a Ditto," he said.
"That's because there are no females," the three said together, as if they'd rehearsed it.
"Okay, good, you all got my notes," the bear said in relief. "That means I picked the right rooms."
"So, now that all that's established," Camilla said, "I take it we're here to talk about what you were saying in the cafeteria earlier?"
"That is correct," Ko confirmed. "More specifically, about how I'm participating in the independent study project. But, before I get into it, let me ask you this: are any of you familiar with... the seven school mysteries?"
"I think I have," Balto answered. "Isn't that one of those things where some shifty kids sneak into a school building after hours and make one of them investigate seven strange occurrences there as a test of courage so they get considered as cool?"
"Exactly," Ko said with a snap of his finger-beans. "And, as it turns out, the Foremost World-Renowned Pokemon Academy of Paldea only has one school mystery... but it's a big, fat, HONKIN' one, and I have decided to make the answer to that mystery my treasure."
"And just what exactly is this big, fat honkin' mystery?" Pico asked.
"Simply put," Ko said, "I have given it the title: The Mystery of... They Who Come and Go During Shift Change."
After a short pause to let it sink in, Camilla responded with, "Um... why is it called that?"
"I thought no one would ever ask!" Ko answered as he picked up the stack of papers on his desk, ready to tell the story...
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(Color turns sepia)
"You see," Ko explained, "during the day shift, the libratrium of the Academy is filled with bright, cheerful Pokemon that coexist with the students and faculty; adorable Fidough huggaboos, Rookidee chirping happily on the banisters, and the carefree Psyduck at the front desk.
"But, later in the day, when the sun goes down and the moon comes up, things... turn. The Pokemon and students are somehow replaced by ones that are more... dark and dreary. Sableye and Mimikyuu roam the corridors, Murkrow and Drifloon cruise the air, and a mischevious Gengar is at the front desk instead.
"And it's not just here in the libratrium. Every area of the Foremost World-Renowned Pokemon Academy of Paldea is affected by the Mystery of... They Who Come and Go During Shift Change. Classrooms, common areas, even the indoor schoolyard has different Pokemon and students between daytime and nighttime hours.
"No one knows where the Pokemon coming come from, where the ones going go... or even if the two groups are aware of the other's existence. All of that... is what I intend to find out."
(Color returns)
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"So, now that I've shown you how deep the Bunnelby hole goes," Ko said as he restacked the last page, "any questions?"
"I've got one," Pico said. "Do you have any idea how you're going to find out?"
"Actually, yes," the bear answered. "At first I thought I could stay in one of the rooms until after sundown, but that would take too long to find all the corners of the mystery's answer. But, now that there's some extra... anthro-power? Does that register as a thing?"
"Maybe?" Camilla guessed.
"Now that there's more anthro-power in the mix," Ko continued, "each of us can take a room and put a bigger dent in the workload."
"Wouldn't four students raise suspicion if they're staying behind until after sunset?" Balto asked.
"That's why I've implemented that security phrase," Ko explained. "If a fellow student doesn't respond with the authorized response, they don't need to know what's going on."
"What if a teacher is the suspicious one?" Pico asked.
"Then go with Plan B; leave the room, but come back later and set your phone's camera to record."
"Sounds like you've thought this through," Camilla said. "So, which rooms should we check first?"
"Easy," Ko said. "Since each of you has a different homeroom, you could start with those while I survey the cafeteria."
"Sounds like a plan," Balto said, fully on board. "Good thing sundown's coming up soon."
"Alright," Ko replied as he stood up from his seat. "And... break!"
And with that, the four students left the entrance to start the plan...
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To be continued.
