Previously on Oranges to Grapes...
Ko has a terrible nightmare back at the Academy involving a friendship with Camilla, Pico and Balto gone sour, attracting the attention of Miss Miriam who offers to hear his troubles out...
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(Dome 1: Olive for Dessert)
At the South Province's Area 2, Pico, Balto, Jessica and Dina had just exited Mesagoza's west gate, the former two eager to get their Treasure Hunt underway.
"So," Pico asked as the four made their way up the hill to the Pokemon Center at the top, "as someone who's been cooped up at the Academy for more than a week now, traveling alongside someone who has been around Paldea during most of those days, I have to ask: what can we expect to see besides the domes we were given an objective to remove?"
"Well, off the top of my head," Dina offered, "perhaps we may catch a glimpse of some small, possibly harmless Pokemon along the way, seeing that this is a beginning route."
"Also," Jessica added, "because we're approaching Cortondo, we'll be closing in on the Grand Olive Orchard, one of the Ten Wonders of Paldea."
"Right," Balto interjected, "but first, let's have a look at what we're really in for, shall we?" Right when the group reached the top of the hill, they could see the orchards Jessica was talking about... right past the peridot dome covering Cortondo. "So, how exactly are we supposed to get rid of that?"
"I have no idea," Dina said simply.
"Me neither," Jessica added, "but I do know this, whatever you do... don't ever touch it!"
"Why's that?" Pico asked. "Because it could suck us up and we'd never return or be the same if we did?"
"Well, that," the snow leopard admitted, "and, that's how the Diademons get made from Pokemon! People, however, just get trapped."
"Well, that helps not at all," the husky huffed.
"Oddly enough, we did find that it doesn't absorb Pokemon if they use projectile attacks, though," the axolotl offered.
"That could work," the lizard said as he took out his Poke Ball. "Go, Apple!"
The ball was thrown, and in a flash of white light, Pico's Fuecoco appeared and turned a small circle. "Fue!" it trilled.
"Alright, Apple," Pico told his partner, "this is our first battle outside of the Academy, and I need you to pay close attention. Now, our target is that dome over there, but don't use any physical moves on it, got that? Special moves only!"
"Fueco!" the fire croc Pokemon confirmed.
"Alright! Apple, head up to the dome, but keep your distance and use Incinerate!"
Apple followed the order given, rushing down the hill towards the giant peridot bubble with Pico following close behind. "Hey! Wait for us!" Jessica called out, and she, Dina and Balto chased after the two reptiles.
As soon as Apple was within range, it opened its mouth and blew a straight line of flames that impacted on the dome's surface. But after five seconds of fire... there wasn't even a char-mark when it stopped.
"Don't give up yet, Apple!" Pico encouraged. "That dome can't hold out forever, so keep using Incinerate until it doesn't!"
"Pico, wait!" Jessica said, but Apple was already spitting more fire at the dome. "Those domes are incredibly tough, along with physically untouchable! One of my teammates tried to deal with a dome of a different color, and she ended up seriously hurt even without touching it!"
"Then how are we supposed to 'beat the domes, save our home and please the Top!?'" Balto asked with the latter part of his sentence in song.
"Wha?" Dina asked, confused.
But while the group was fretting on one side of the dome, another side was unfortunate to have a Combee chasing a Smoliv with a Diglett tunneling after them. All three of the poor little Pokemon ended up crashing into the dome, resulting in them being absorbed. But what really happened was the Pokemon were forced into their shrunken states as some of their Materials were shed from their bodies, freezing them in crystal. As the Pokemon remained trapped inside the shell, the Materials seemed to be pushed towards the side of the dome where fire was being spat, and along with the dollops of Smoliv Oil, Combee Honey and Diglett Dirt, there were also several Cyclizar Scales left over from the first time the peridot dome was touched.
While Apple still kept using Incinerate with foolhardy obedience, small masses of crystal gathered on the surface of the dome and popped off around them, quickly morphing into humanoid figures with elongated shoulder spikes that Pico, Balto, Jessica and Dina instantly recognized as...
"Diademons!" all four of them said together.
However, Balto noticed something. "But these look different somehow, yet I can't put my finger-bean on it..."
"They're also peridot," Pico pointed out, "and they have daisies on their heads! Don't know what the point of that is, but never mind! Apple, look out!"
The Fuecoco stopped spitting fire and looked up, and there were the Diademons looming over it. "FUE!!!" it squacked in surprise and fear before it tried to make a break for it, but the Diademon adorned with Combee Honey tensed up, and its body shone with a burst of chartreuse squares, then it sprayed streaks of chartreuse energy from its hand at the fire croc Pokemon!
"Apple! Dodge it!" Pico shouted just in time, and his partner jumped out of the way of the streaks before they crashed onto the ground in chartreuse sparkles and square confetti.
"Whoa!" Balto exclaimed with his muzzle agape, unable to believe his own eyes. "What just happened!?"
"That's another thing about Diademons," Dina explained. "They're able to use attacks based on the Pokemon whose Material is on their diadem, and if the type of the move matches the type of the dome they come from, it's even stronger and flashier!"
"Nice try, Diademons!" Pico taunted as the sparkles cleared. "I managed to beat one of your kind before, so don't think I won't try again if I have to!"
That got a laugh from the Diademons, but as soon as Pico produced his scepter, their tone shifted from incredulous to livid as they tensed and shone all together!
"Ay, basura..."
"Okay, time to step in!" Jessica said as she and Dina brought out their Sealing Balls. "Hang tight, Pico, we're coming to save you!"
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Jessica and Dina raised the Sealing Balls over their heads and shouted together, "Precure Ruination!"
Leopold and Bea dissipated into snow and flames, and it swirled around the girls and made their clothes turn into colored light... then they started changing!
First, their torsos were surrounded in snow and flames and collected into their tops.
Next, more snow and flames collected around their waists and became their bottoms.
Then, even more snow and flames collected around their limbs until they became their arm and leg covers.
Finally, they threw the Sealing Balls in the air as more colored light poured from their heads and became their hair, then the balls got on their chests and became their adornments.
"Antithesis of love, Cure Hatred!"
"Antithesis of gratitude, Cure Envy!"
"Answer for your injustices! Hell-Sent Precure!"
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Balto was witness to the whole thing, and the overload of emotion that resulted made him faint then and there. "Oohhh..." he moaned as his body went limp and he flopped on the ground.
But there was no time to think about that, for Cures Hatred and Envy were focused on rescuing Pico from the uprise of ticked footsoldiers about to shatter him and his Fuecoco. While Hatred extended her ice-blades, Envy took a few steps forward before she darted away and left another exploding afterimage that was a safe distance away from the unconcious pup.
The sound of the blast did break the Diademons' focus and stopped their Bug-type blitzkrieg, saving Pico and Apple when...
"Hello," Cure Envy said in the middle of the crowd, making the Diademons focus their efforts on getting rid of her. But just when they were about to try again... "Bye-bye." Envy darted away, and another explosion caught the crowd in the blast, snapping off pieces of their bodies!
"Whoa!" Pico exclaimed in surprise and awe. "She thrashed them!"
"Fue!" Apple agreed.
"We're not out of the woods yet!" Cure Hatred reminded him as she still had her ice blades at the ready... which was good, because she used them to bat away some shrapnel flying at her.
"Heheheh..." one of the Diademons said as it limped up in strained agony. "You think just because you have the powers of the Treasures of Ruin, you can prevent Paldea's comeuppance from happening!?"
"Well, ya won't!" another taunted. "Niether hot nor cold will get this land off the hook scot-free for their crimes against the light!"
Cure Envy narrowed her eyes at that, then shot her teammate a knowing glance. "Then how about hot..."
"AND cold?" Cure Hatred finished for her.
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Cure Hatred rushed forward and elongated her ice blades, right towards half of the Diademons!
"This is the punishment for your crimes! Precure... Icerend..."
She thrusted the blades forward with all her might, and they impaled the Diademons clean through!
"MINCER!!!"
She flailed the blades all over the place, slicing and dicing the Diademons into bits!
"You have issues!" the Diademons seemed to say before they were shattered into diamond dust.
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Cure Envy ignited into flames and ran at full speed towards the rest of the Diademons!
"This is the punishment for your crimes! Precure... Firescourge..."
She crashed into the Diademons multiple times, forcing heat energy into their bodies and making them hotter and hotter!
"INFERNO!!!"
With a snap of her fingers, the Diademons exploded spectacularly in a massive blaze of glory!
"You have issues!" the Diademons seemed to say before they was shattered into diamond dust.
-
"They did it!" Pico cheered.
"Fuecoco!" Apple cheered.
Balto, however... drooled a little on the dirt.
"Don't get cocky, we still gotta get rid of the dome!" Cure Hatred warned.
At that point, something mysterious happened. All the diamond dust that was kicked up from the fight started to shimmer, spiral and swirl all around Pico... then it started to flow into the sphere portion of his crystal scepter, causing it to glow brighter and brighter until the light reached a point where it was hurting everyone's eyes!
"Ah! I can't see!" Pico shouted as he pointed the scepter away from him to stave off the light... right towards the dome covering Cortondo when a thick pillar of white light shot out of the sphere and onto the surface, causing the dome to glow and crack. The brighter it shone, the wider the cracks got until finally-!
TRSSSHHH!!!
At last, the peridot dome was broken, and all of Cortondo was awash with fresh air and freedom once again. The Pokemon trapped in the surface instantly returned to their active size, but they were still unconscious... and the people didn't move either.
"So, Pico," Jessica said after she powered down, "the only thing that can break the domes is by charging that scepter of yours with Diademon debris and firing off a beam of energy once it's full enough. Good to know."
"Good job, friends!" Dina congratulated after she powered down. "One dome down, and nobody got hurt!"
"Wait," Pico stopped. "Where's Balto?"
"He's resting under that tree, he is," the axolotl pointed out.
"He'll be okay," the snow leopard reassured. "Right now we need to check on the town and see if nobody did get hurt when the dome shattered."
"So!" a voice suddenly called out, grabbing the anthros' attention. When they looked up, they saw a chartreuse, sentient kimono with a dragonfly pattern hovering there. Around its waist was an obi of a similar color and pattern... but what really surprised the group was instead of a head, what was placed through the neck-hole was a Bug Tera Jewel, where the hexagonal gemstone seemed to be its face!
"What the!?" the anthros asked together, but the kimono-whatever spoke again as it raised a sleeve.
"So you are the ones who came to my home,
And shattered my beautiful peridot dome.
What you all just did was a massive mistake,
So you better prepare for more than you can take!
I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,
For I am the Monarch Diamant, see!?"
"Monarch Diamant?" Jessica asked. "So, would it be safe to assume that you're the boss of the daisy-head Diademons we just shattered?"
The Monarch Diamant answered with,
"You wanting context, I would expect.
But on that assumption, you'd be correct.
But my body is cloth that can also go flat,
So shattering me's not as easy as that.
Yet the essence of Bug-types is what I do bring,
So on that note, I say... Prepare for the sting!"
With that, the sentient kimono held up both sleeves, where shimmers of light appeared before they started firing off sparks of light-green energy that seemed to make beelines for the anthros, forcing them to take evasive action!
"Look out!" Pico shouted as he kept running through town, his constant movement making the sparks miss him and hit the ground as they exploded on impact into sparkles like an upside-down fireworks show finale. "Ay, papi, que locos!"
"Oh, you do that, too?" Dina asked in the background before more sparks chased her off! "Woop-woop-woop-woop-woop-woop-woop!"
"Dina! Stop being pointless and help me save Balto!" Jessica chided, and the two females ran back to the husky... leaving the poor lizard in the lurch!
"?!Que!?" Pico exclaimed as he was abandoned with the Monarch Diamant still blasting. "Gah, fine! I'll do it myself, then!" Thinking quickly, Pico looked around the town with frantic feet until he spotted the staircase of the Patissierie Soapberry, then got an idea. He ran up those stairs as fast as he could, dodging tables and chairs as well as more sparks until he reached the Battle Court on the roof, then threw Apple's Poke Ball at the floating kimono! "Apple! Use Incinerate and make it a good one!"
In a flash of white light, Apple appeared after having returned on its own when the dome was broken, and... "Fue... COOOOO!!!" The fire croc Pokemon blasted another bar of fire at the attacking garment that was too busy firing off sparks until...
FWRRRSSSHHHH!!!
"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!" After being swallowed up by the flaming blaze, the kimono was reduced to ashes, and the Tera Jewel began shining bright for three seconds... then exploded in a dazzling flash!
Then, all of Cortondo was showered in glittering light that covered the people and Pokemon in the area, and it restored their energy as well as reversed the damage that was taken. Fortunately, Apple returned on its own again, and Pico was treated to a mysterious sight. "Pico Hatsuki. You have defeated the influence of the light over the Bug-type, which has earned you the respect of the community of Cortondo. Now, accept this Prime Tera Jewel as a reward, for it shall provide you with more power to help you in your quest. But take heed, for there are many other obstacles ahead of you, and each obstacle is more taxing than the last." After the voice finished its speech, the small Tera Jewel floated closer to Pico, but instead of angry eyes, the hexagonal gemstone displayed a group of semicircles in the shape of a bug; the Bug-type logo.
As soon as the lizard pocketed the jewel, someone walked up the stairs to see him... none other than Gym Leader Katy herself. "My, my, who do we have here? An Academy student, I trust?"
"That would be me," Pico confirmed. "My name is Pico Hatsuki, and it's nice to meet you... but if you're wondering why I'm up here-"
"Oh, there's no need to explain," Katy said, cutting him off. "I saw what happened from the back of my pastry shop, and I have to say... thank you for getting Cortondo out of that stuffy dome. We were all trapped inside that thing for who-knows-how-long with no way to get out, having lost our want-to to try and get out ourselves. But you came to our rescue, bringing back our freedom as well as our spirit. So, while I can't give you a free Badge due to League protocol, if there is anything else I can do to thank you, you just let me know, okay?"
"Well, thank you, Katy, I really appreciate that," Pico said, but after thinking it over... "Actually, there is one thing."
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(Monarch Diamant defeated!)
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To be continued.
