Previously on Oranges to Grapes...
The domes around Paldea have been brewing something sinister inside them: a group of hive-minded beings called the Diamants who command armies of Diademons, and they all plan to usurp the ability to Terastalize from the Paldea region!
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Finally, as the sun crept up from the east for the umpteenth time, another day began in Mesagoza, and the Academy as well.
Inside the aforementioned building, Camilla, Pico and Balto were so anxious to get their test packets that they were already dressed and groomed, eager to clear the only thing standing in their way of going on their Treasure Hunt at long last.
Ko was also up and about, but for a different reason. He couldn't keep still from having so much information he gathered on his mystery that he woke up during the wee hours of the morning to put together a folder of his findings to email to the front desk. At last he was finished compiling the info, and with a few taps on the keyboard of his laptop, the email was sent.
"Hoiiib..." he groaned sleepily. "It's taken the better part of six or seven days, but I finally finished. Now I can catch up on some winks until I have all 40." And with that... he flopped back down on his bed and went back to sleep.
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Meanwhile, Camilla was the first student to hear a knock on her door. Almost forgetting herself in her anxiety, she collected herself and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's Ms. Tyme, sweetie. I'm here to give you your test packet."
"Coming," the bunny called before she answered the door. As mentioned, there was her homeroom teacher holding a short stack of papers stapled together at the corner.
"Good morning, Camilla, sweetie," Ms. Tyme greeted with a smile. "Are you ready to give the FWR-PAPAR the best you got?"
"I sure am, Ms. Tyme," Camilla confirmed, "and I am confident that I can pass, because I've studied for hours for this before I went to bed last night. Who knows, maybe I could get higher than a passing grade, but not a perfect score because there's no such thing as perfect, and I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I could get higher than a passing grade- oh, wait, did I already say that? Sorry, I guess I'm a little anxious for this, can you tell? Hey, is that a wool cardigan you're wearing? I like wool. I haven't left the school in ten days!"
"My, you sure are excited," the Academy's math teacher said. "Do you want to walk around the halls before you start, or-"
"No, thanks," Camilla said, starting another ramble. "I've been letting my Sprigatito, Rosie, roam my dorm room outside of her Poke Ball, and she's been great company. Plus, her natural scent has been helping my nerves for this mellow out and relax, but not so much that I zone out. I've been keeping the atmosphere balanced so I can be the right amount of prepared for this."
"I see," Ms. Tyme said. "And how's your leg? Is it all better?"
"Back to full functionality, yes."
"Well, that's good to hear, sweetie," Ms. Tyme said with a smile. "Now, before I hand you the packet, I just need to go over the standard instructions. You just need to sign your name and today's date at the top once you begin, answer the questions as best as you can, and once you're finished, turn the packet in to the front desk to recieve your score and the EXP Candies you've earned. Do you understand?"
"I do," Camilla said.
"Then here you go, and best of luck, sweetie!" With those last words, Tyme handed her student the packet and left to return to her classroom, and once the door was closed, Camilla sat down at her desk, placed the packet in front of her, took a deep breath... and began the test.
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Needless to say, a similar scene happened with Pico and Balto when their homeroom teachers came to drop off their packets. Pico explained to Miss Miriam that he was suffering a bit of cabin fever... or rather, dorm room fever, and showed her that his tail was long enough that you could hardly tell it was broken off. Balto, true to his dog nature, was watching through the peephole of his door as he waited for Mr. Salvatore to come, and when he did, his tail was practically FLAILING all over the place once he opened the door, and he flashed a big smile that showed off his repaired pearly whites. After the teachers gave the same speech Camilla got, the lizard and husky accepted their packets, waved goodbye, then got to their desks to begin the test.
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But while our three students were pressing their noses to the grindstone, Mesagoza's western Pokemon Center was housing four other anthros who crashed from their 'girls' night out.' As the sky began to turn lighter, one by one the Hell-Sent girls were rousing from their late-night power-nap, stretching and yawning.
"Hoommm... Ah, that was a nice snooze," Rosita said, feeling refreshed. "Good morning, everybody!"
"Good morning, Rosita," Jessica said. "And you are right, those chairs the Pokemon Center have are real comfy."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Dina chimed in. "It's a good thing the people who run these kiosks are very accomodating to visitors."
"It's also a good thing that we don't have to stay in them forever," Eartha added. "Speaking of which-"
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the real reason we came to Mesagoza," the caracal said. "Now that a new day is upon us, it's time to carry out the rest of the trip. Now that we know the domes haven't caught this city, our next stop is also sure to be a safe zone. All we have to do is climb a few staircases and a hill, and we'll reach our true destination."
"The Pokemon League building," Dina said, "where we'll ask for permission to enter the Great Crater and reach Area Zero."
"To get to the bottom of this dome crisis," Eartha added.
"Exactly," Rosita confirmed with a snap of her finger-beans.
"Not to put a damper on the plan or anything," Jessica cut in, "but as far as I remember, no one who's asked for permission to enter the Great Crater has ever been told 'yes,' so what makes you so sure we could?"
"Because I'm going to do the exact polar opposite of what got me a fail the last time I tried to enter an important place," Rosita answered. "I'm going to play by their rules, and if they tell me to stop, I will stop."
Not having enough time to get answers to the questions that raised, the others trusted Rosita's judgement yet again as they left the Pokemon Center to start the uphill climb to their destination...
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To be continued.
