Previously on Oranges to Grapes...
Our heroes watch the end of the stage show before they go back to Mossui for the night. That's it.
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The next day, Camilla, Pico and Balto re-emerged from the community center, rested and ready for another day of their field trip in their school uniforms, as they each held bundles of clothing to give back to Samuel. For that, Camilla led the two boys down the road to the house below the large one on top of the hill. "Here it is," she said as the three stepped up to the sliding glass door. "This is where my cousin lives, so you both get to be privy to my family history." After three knocks...
"Hm?" Samuel asked as the blinds were opened, then when he saw who it was, he cleared the rest of the way before opening the door. "Oh, hi, Cammie. What can I do you for?"
"Hello again, Sammy," the female bunny replied before she gave back the green jinbei. "Pico, Balto and I were just about to wrap up our field trip assignment here in Kitakami, but before that, we wanted to give these back."
"Thanks again for lending us these jinbei, Samuel," Pico said as he handed back the white one.
"We really appreciated these," Balto added before giving back the blue jinbei.
"Hey, don't mention it," the male bunny said after he accepted the returned outfits. "I wanted to help out my cousin, and any friend of Cammie's is a friend of mine."
"Oh, that reminds me," Pico said. "How's your paw... and Mightyena?"
"Much better, thanks for asking," Samuel assured the lizard. "A quick trip to the Pokemon Center kiosk fixed my Pokemon right up, and I've been treating my paw with care and gave it two days to heal."
"Good to know," Balto said. "Sorry we can't stay to be certain that Mightyena and Ariados forgive Pico as well, but your cousin here is insistant that we stick to our itinerary... which is to get a photo in front of the last signboard, and possibly ask the caretaker for a small favor if we can squeeze it in."
"And that last signboard is located..." Camilla said as she pulled up the map on her Rotom Phone, "...at Loyalty Plaza."
Those last two words echoed in Samuel's head before he stopped the group with, "Wait. I'm not trying to get in the way of your assignment, but if you want to get that last photo, you'll need me along. There's something two of you should know about that place."
"Why just two-" Camilla started before she stopped her sentence short. "Oh, no, they're still there?"
Samuel nodded before Pico cut in, "What are you talking about? Who's they?"
"I think I can guess who," Balto said with his ears flattened with worry. "We were told that there would be people who would stubbornly not let go of the fact that Ogerpon was the good girl and the Lousy Three were the bad guys, and not the other way around. And if my suspicions prove correct, they're what stands in our way of that last photo. Am I right, Samuel?"
"How do you know all that?" the male bunny questioned, impressed that the husky was right on the money.
"Never underestimate the perceptions of a dog," Balto said simply.
"Nobody is answering me here!" Pico interjected. "Who is this 'they' you two were talking about!?"
"A small group of Pokemon Trainers who idolize Pecharunt and his retainers," Camilla explained. "So much so that they refuse to accept they were the villains of the legend, and see red fire when someone so much as suggests otherwise. That group's name... is Team Fetter."
"I'm going to take another wild guess," Balto added, "and say that this 'Team Fetter' gang claimed Loyalty Plaza as its base of operations?"
"Exactly," Samuel said with a snap of his finger-beans. "But they only frequent the plaza during certain hours, so we can only come if they're gone. However," he added as he took out his own Rotom Phone and displayed the clock at 9:58, "I happen to know their off hours, and in just two minutes, they should be leaving for their brunch break, which lasts exactly 30 minutes. We can use that time to get in, get the last photo, and get out."
Hmm... 2 minutes to wait, then 30 minutes to rush, that's not a lot of time. Let's see how things are going back in Paldea to help ease the tension.
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...On second thought, never mind. There's something more important than that.
Further ahead from Apple Hills was a certain Academy student on crutches hobbling up the path as he said to himself, "Okay, finally time for me to get the anchors out of my pants and get on the assignment. Ms. Briar's right, I can't spend my whole stay in the land of Kitakami holed up in a room, and I'm not gonna! Not if I can help it!" Soon, Gari approached the signs at the fork in the path, and decided to take the right. "Alright, first signboard, here I come."
Further up that way, Gari came to the red gate to Loyalty Plaza... but something was off. The gate was covered with purple chains and a sign that said, "Team Fetter Only!"
"Well, this is unsettling," Gari said to himself. "But I've already come too far to just turn back."
But just three hobbles closer to the gate, a voice called out, "Hold it right there!" Gari stopped, and when he looked up at who spoke, there were two gangsters in black leather decorated with purple chains, and on the back of their jackets was a picture of a purple chain curled in the shape of a capital F. "Who are you, and what are you doing here on our turf?" the male gangster demanded.
"Easy, there," Gari tried to reason. "I'm just passing through, not trying to start trouble. I just came here to get a picture with the signboard under the tree. Just let me do that real quick, and I'll be out of your hair."
"Oh, you want a photo with the signboard, huh?" the female gangster asked. "Well, why didn't you say so? We can arrange that."
"Right this way," the male gangster offered, letting Gari hobble under the tree to the aforementioned signboard. Both gangsters waited patiently as he read the engraved words. "Long, long ago, a Pokemon named Ogerpon and her trainer came to the land of Kitakami. The two made their home in the mountain behind the village, and made friends with the people there. One day, Ogerpon came down from the mountain in a terrible rage, causing great fear in the village. That was because Okidogi, Munkidori and Fezandipiti tried to steal Ogerpon's masks for Pecharunt. The four Pokemon had their lives taken by Ogerpon, but the ignorant villagers let their fear exile her away. In their ignorance of the situation, the people of the village bestowed upon the felled retainers the title 'the Loyal Three.' Their remains were given a proper burial, and statues of the three were erected above the site."
Gari then took out his Rotom Phone, snapped his photo, then sent it to Briar before saying, "Okay, I'm done. Thanks for being patient with me, I appreciate that."
"Don't mention it," the male gangster said. "Now, we'd better be going. It's time for our brunch break."
"Yeah, so just... get out of here," the female gangster said indifferently. "Leave."
"Don't have to tell me twice," Gari said as he hobbled out of the plaza. "I don't plan on staying here any longer than I need to." And with that, Loyalty Plaza was vacated without much incident... but certain others didn't know that.
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To be continued...
