Previously on Oranges to Grapes...
Ko discovers who was leaking his security code to the school, and recruits him and another student before regrouping with Camilla, Pico and Balto about the "big score..."
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As the night sky full of twinking stars blanketed Paldea, Camilla was laying on her bed in her dorm room at the Academy, let down that she couldn't divulge what she wanted to do on her Treasure Hunt before the call was cut off. Even when the line still had three ends, Pico and Balto also hung up because they had their own reasons; Pico was being hailed by his mother in Zapapico, and Balto wanted to check in with his dad in Porto Marinada.
While those ideas did inspire her to call up her grandma back in Los Platos, she decided to write down what her dream was so she could remember for the day she could set out. She sat down at her desk, took out a piece of paper and a pencil, and wrote down a single sentence.
"What I want my treasure to be is a way to help someone I love feel better."
"Ro-to-to-to-to..."
No sooner than the period on that sentence did her Rotom Phone ring. It flew up to the bunny and turned sideways before an image of her grandmother appear on the screen. "Hello, Camilla?"
"Oh, hi, Grandma!" Camilla said. "What a coincidence! I was just about to call you and say hi, but you just beat me to the punch."
"Did I?" the elder rabbit mused. "Well, I hope you're not too into your Treasure Hunt yet, because there's been some bad news happening all over Paldea."
"Bad news?"
"Apparently, a bunch of crystal domes popped up out of nowhere several days ago," the elder rabbit said, "and any and all attempts to remove them have failed."
"Wait, really?" Camilla asked, surprised.
"You didn't know?" her grandmother replied, suspicious. "How have you been traveling around the region and not seen anything?"
Uh-oh, the jig is up, Camilla thought. Better fess up if you want to save face. "Actually, Grandma... I have a confession to make."
"What's that?"
"I didn't go on my Treasure Hunt," Camilla admitted. "Right on the day before everyone was scheduled to head out, I sprained my foot real bad and had to stay behind so I could recover."
"Oh, no!" her grandma exclaimed with concern. "Are you okay?"
"I am now," Camilla reassured. "But I haven't been slacking off. While I was healing, two other students and I were studying through our classes and retraining our muscles for when we're all at 100% again."
"Two other students?"
"Yes, two other students," Camilla said. "And we've been friends ever since. But we will be going on our hunt in 3 more days, and we'll be fully healed by then."
"Well, at least I can take solace in knowing all the hard work we put in for your tuition wasn't a total bust," the elder rabbit said, "and that you've been keeping yourself safe during this crisis."
That put a relieved smile on the younger bunny's muzzle. "Thanks, Grandma."
"So, did you decide what your treasure is going to be?"
"As a matter of fact, I did," Camilla said, proud of herself. "I even wrote it down so I'll remember for when I finally set out. And that treasure is, a way to help someone I love feel better."
"Well, isn't that nice?" her grandma cooed. "Well, Camilla, I believe that you can find that wonderful treasure, or my name isn't Kotoha Otore! ...Which, it is."
"Thanks again, Grandma!" Camilla said, beaming with happiness.
But suddenly, a knock was heard on Kotoha's end of the line. "Oh, sorry, sweetie, I need to go see who's at the door. Take care of yourself!"
"Sure thing, Grandma!" Camilla said before the call was cut off. Now that she finally confided in someone what her goal for the future was, nothing could stop her from settling down for the night. She switched the light off and laid down in her bed, letting sleep finally overtake her...
-
Several minutes into her rest, however, Camilla found herself in a honeycomb of hexagons of light. Soon, she noticed one of the hexagons disconnect from the honeycomb, then become solid light with a pair of eyes. "At last... I have found another candidate," a soft, child-like voice said.
"Who said that?" Camilla asked, still in awe about where she was. "And where am I?"
"To answer both questions," the voice explained while the bunny followed it to the hexagon of solid light, "I cannot tell you my true identity, but it was I who spoke. You may call me by my working title, Terry. As for where you are, you are in a place unavailable to all but a select few, where I have summoned you."
All this was a lot to take in, but Camilla responded with, "Okay, so if I may bore down to the bedrock of my question, why am I here, Terry?"
"Because, Camilla Otore," Terry replied, surprising her that the shine knew her name, "I must warn you of a terrible occurence that will beset the Paldea region in a few days, during such, all Tera Orbs will lose their power, and no Pokemon Trainer can Terastalize their Pokemon."
"What?" Camilla exclaimed. "That's horrible!"
"Indeed so," Terry sympathized. "However, once the event occurs, there is a way for the region to be avenged. All you need is the object you gained after your hardship. That... will be the key."
"Okay, that's a lot of cryptic things to unpack here," Camilla said, "but I can probably figure this out if I don't have one of those incept dreams."
"Trust me, this will stand," Terry assured as it backed into the honeycomb again. "And now I must find one more candidate to warn. Fare thee well..."
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To be continued.