Previously on Oranges to Grapes...
Ko gathers Camilla, Pico and Balto together at the Academy's libratrium (entrance) to discuss a mystery the school holds, the answer of which he claims his treasure is going to be. With the three on board due to not being allowed to go on their own hunt yet, the four go on standby until sunset to enact their plan...
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Back on Soccarat Trail, near Casseroya Lake, the Hell-Sent girls still had their own issue. Now that Eartha joined Rosita and Jessica's group officially with her own Sealing Ball, she still had to get her Rotom to a Pokemon Center to be healed. But there was only one problem...
There were no Pokemon Centers near Casseroya Lake!
"Hold on, let me try something," Rosita said as she took out her Rotom Phone.
"What are you gonna do?" Eartha asked curiously as the caracal pulled up her map.
"She's going to look for Pokemon Centers nearby," Jessica guessed. "Any luck?"
"Well, I did find one," Rosita answered, "but it might be a bit of a workout to get there. Hopefully we can use the distance to see what kind of new powers Anton has along the way."
"Well, why wait?" Anton said, trotting past Eartha as he spoke. "I happen to know for a fact that right outside of this here chasm is a moat filled with water, and I know a way past that moat."
"You do?" Leopold asked, wary of his fellow spirit.
"Now, now, let's hear him out," Conner reasoned. "Perhaps he may be on to something here. So, how exactly can we pass the moat, Anton?"
"If I can call upon my powers of earth, I can help us all clear the moat!" Anton explained. "But rather than tell, how about I show?" And the moose galloped off up the ramp and out of the chasm, prompting everyone else to follow. He stopped right near the bank of the creek and said, "Okay, now this next part is a little tricky. Eartha, give yourself a running start, and when I say 'now,' jump!"
"What's that going to do?" Eartha asked.
"Trust me!"
That answer didn't provide much context, but the fennec fox decided to go along with it. She primed herself up, and took off straight ahead towards Anton, until just before she reached the bank...
"NOW!"
With a stomp of his earthen foot, Anton bashed a piece of ground out, and it catapulted Eartha into the air as she sprung up and over the moat. She then landed on dry land, thankfully on both feet.
"Whoa! That was incredible!" she exclaimed before she turned around. "Rosita, Jessica! Did you see that!? I can super-jump now!"
"Yes, that was amazing!" Jessica said as she and Rosita walked along a quick ice bridge Leopold whipped up with one of his ice-sighs. "But now we have a bit of a hiccup here."
"You mean how am I going to cross the moat without melting into mud?" Anton asked. "That's okay, I can just make a new body on the other side now that Eartha has her Sealing Ball."
"Glad to know that you understand how that works," Rosita said. "But not that kind of a hiccup. Jessica means that since you used your powers, you're gonna need a certain Berry to replenish your energy like Conner and Leopold do."
"And we only have Kelpsy and Qualot Berries on hand," Conner continued, "because we didn't have the foresight to include any future recruits. Sorry about that."
"Oh, fiddle-faddle," Anton said before his body crumbled into a pile of dirt. He then reformed with new soil on the other side of the moat next to Eartha and said, "I've got some news, and it's bad."
"AIPE!" the vulpine girl yipped. "How did you do that?"
"You weren't here for this," Rosita said as she and Jessica finished crossing the bridge before it broke, "but TL,DR: Sealing Ball."
"Anyways," Anton continued, "my news, which is bad, is that was the only super-jump you'll get to do unless I have a certain Berry after I stomp, and these two cats don't have the one I need."
"Well, let's take a look at the ones I have," Eartha said as she took off her backpack and rummaged through it. "Maybe I have the one you need. Let's see..."
She then produced a Hondew Berry, which caught Anton's eye! "Oh! That one! I need that one!"
"Oh, here you go then," Eartha said as she offered the fruit to the moose, and he chomped through the rind to gorge on the juicy flesh.
"Mmm, tasty," Anton said, "and now I have the strength to keep stomping! Thanks, Eartha!"
"Great," Rosita said. "Now we know what we'll need to stock up on next time we go gathering."
"Now, let's keep going," Jessica said. "At the rate we're at, we'll be lucky if we make it to the Pokemon Center before nightfall."
"Right!" Eartha said, and the group continued out of the orange grass and onto the green...
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Meanwhile, back at the Academy.
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Ko had already positioned himself in the cafeteria, ready to put the plan into action. So were Camilla, Pico and Balto, positioned in Classrooms 1-D, 1-A and 2-G, respectively. All four of them had discreetly turned on their Rotom Phones and waited for the day shift to pack up and leave. As their cameras were watching the last few minutes of daylight tick away, their owners were gathering information... footage of the day shift to show to the night shift to see if they knew about each other.
So far, no teachers had tried to impede their progress, and the students had already completed their classes for the day, so they had no reason to. Now all they could do was wait...
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To be continued.
