"Welcome back, Sage! I hear you were on a roll out there!" the gym staffer said amiably once Astrid (with Mimi and Toast still in tow) approached the front desk again. "A big congratulations from me for successfully clearing the gym test!"

"Th-thank you," Astrid said softly, keeping her head down.

"You've now earned the right to challenge the gym leader," he kept on with a grin. "Are you ready to challenge Gym Leader Katy, the Sugarbug?"

Wordlessly, she nodded.

"Very well. Allow me to show you to the battle court."

She perked up again as he stepped out from behind the desk, somewhat surprised but not voicing such. The building making up the gym wasn't small, but apparently, there were no battle to be held in it. She was a bit stymied by such, for gyms in Johto had plenty of battles taking place inside them, and making one's way to the gym leader to fight them in their gym was just part of the course. Sure, they could leave the gyms, but if a challenge was to take place, there was no question about where it was taking place. Paldea was different, that was for sure.

Nonetheless, they made their way to a familiar sight- Soapberry, the bakery that Toast had made his hectic appearance to Astrid and Mimi, and the two little critters certainly seemed to perk up. The pastries were still lovely, the air still smelling pleasant… and Astrid had to wonder if that was part of the strategy. She couldn't help but to recall one particular misadventure when she'd been a Dartrix in a different world, clashing with the cutesy but freakishly strong Team Sweetheart after they'd been driven mad by Nihilego poison, and the enemy team cleric, an Alcremie named Millicent, used the move Sweet Scent as a disorienting tactic. Seeing as the staffer was leading her to a battle court atop the bakery, Katy's Pokémon were probably used to the delicious aroma while her competitors would get distracted by it…

… Or at least, maybe that would've been the case had this not been the very first gym, Astrid finally figured. Either way, she wasn't going to let that be a distraction, but rather an advantage.

"You guys smell that?" she said softly, looking down at her Pokémon, who eagerly looked back up at her. "If we win, you both can have another."

Mimi perked right up and Toast stopped for a moment, giving a happy howl of "Doooouuuuuugh!" that made the gym staffer laugh a bit.

The battle court was situated atop the bakery, and some of its customers had apparently hurried up to witness the gym battle- Astrid wasn't particularly fond of having an audience, and the fact that Arashi wasn't there for her to hide behind from all the watching eyes set her slightly on edge… but there weren't too many. This was only the first gym, after all- competitors coming in and winning or losing probably wasn't anything to get worked up over. Nonetheless, Astrid decided the moment she took it all in that she'd find herself a nice pair of sunglasses, or a hat with some manner of face cover, before taking on any gym where it would be a spectacle to see its leader lose. Maybe she wouldn't get quite that far before they found a way home, but a fake name only went so far.

It wasn't hard to guess who her opponent was. On the other side of the court was a pale woman with pale green hair wrapped in an elongated bun off to one side, a chef beret and dainty chef jacket both in pale pink, dark brown tights, a dark brown tie around her neck, and a chocolate brown apron with a white emblem akin to a spider web to the right side. She chuckled as she held a little treat up, which a Fancy-patterned Vivillon happily munched on.

"Eat up, my cute little Vivillon!" she said happily. Quickly, though, she took note of Astrid approaching and turned around as the flying one next to her downed the last of the treat and said, "Oh? What a lovely trainer you are."

"H-hi," Astrid softly replied, stopping at her position on the court.

"Thank you very much for your skillful olive rolling. It was quite impressive," she said, smiling.

Astrid merely nodded, looking downwards.

The one talking to her, though, gave a small jolt and said, "Oh? Did I forget to introduce myself? Forgive me. My name is Katy, and I am the owner here at Patisserie Soapberry."

At that, Mimi perked right up, standing on her hind legs and wiggling her ears, while Toast crouched down and wagged his tail. They knew 'Soapberry,' alright, which Astrid couldn't help but to be slightly amused at.

Katy seemed to notice it too, for she clapped her hands together before keeping on, "Oh? That's right, I'm not in my shop- I'm on duty as leader of the Cortondo Gym right now!" Toast gave a little yap, jumping slightly, and Mimi went back down on all fours, still flicking her ears.

"Forgive me. Ahem," Katy kept on, looking a bit amused herself. "My name is Katy, and I am the Gym Leader here in Cortondo. My main line of work is crafting sweets as a pastry chef. Little sweets that bring happiness with just one bite, Bug-type Pokémon hiding in foliage… Both are small and yet very powerful."

She got the point, but Astrid couldn't help but to think of all the bugs on the world she'd come from that weren't small in the slightest. Sure, there was Adnea the Orbeetle, the Coalition's researcher, who was undoubtedly tiny, but she was about the only one. Azure the Golisopod and his hulking claws would have still towered over her if he hadn't been locked away, Seth the Scizor of the Gnarly Brigade wasn't small at all, Giga the Buzzwole (formerly Fourteen-Five before choosing a proper name) of Team Sweetheart had muscles bigger than a Machamp's, and Carlita the Pheromosa (formerly Sixty-O-Three before her christening too) of the Gnarly Brigade might've been stick-thin but she certainly wasn't small. Then again, none of them save for Adnea could've hidden in foliage, so maybe Katy was merely referencing her own team.

Maybe Katy could tell Astrid was studying her, for the next moment she said, "Don't let your guard down unless you would like to find yourself knocked off your feet!" before grabbing a ball and stepping back.

Astrid didn't respond and instead simply said, "Mimi, you're up. Toast, stay by me."

Mimi didn't protest, flicking her ears and scurrying onto the court while Katy took out a ball and tossed it. The little Pawmi crouched down slightly as if waiting to pounce, her eyes locked on Katy's ball as it opened.

Katy smiled as her own little one started to take form on the field. "Don't take my Bug-type Pokémon lightly. You will be in for a world of pain if you do!"

"Wasn't planning on it," Astrid said, not fazed at all.

The one exiting the ball was a Nymble, letting out a little squeak and flicking his folded back legs as he touched the ground. Mimi started to grin slightly, studying the one opposite her and rubbing one cheek, and the little bug gave a few eager hops in place. This one was quick and acrobatic- he'd be a nuisance, so hitting hard when the opportunity arose would be important, Astrid figured.

"Charge, Mimi," Astrid called.

"Struggle Bug, Nymble!" Katy hollered.

Sure enough, Nymble was nimble about it- he was almost hesitant in his moves, staying light on his feet and keeping a bit of distance as he bounced closer to Mimi. A yellow-green sphere of energy started to take form on his head between his eyes, Mimi narrowed her eyes while she rubbed her cheeks with both hands. She found herself getting bowled over without standing on all fours, but Nymble didn't directly make contact with her- he used his hind legs to propel himself, albeit around her and not at her, while the energy he'd collected instead shot off and hit her. A somewhat disgruntled look graced the little Pawmi's face, her cheeks sparking a bit as she locked eyes with her opponent again when he landed back on the other side, but she was keeping it together just fine.

"That move lowers special attack! I learned that from my friend!" one of the onlookers cried.

"This challenger better be careful!"

They were right, Astrid knew, but she wasn't too bothered seeing as the Charge was going to boost the next move anyway. At her side, Toast gave an encouraging yap to his fluffy orange friend.

"Double Kick!" Katy called.

"Thunder Shock," Astrid instructed.

Mimi gave a little nod with a shake of her ears, standing up on two legs again with sparking cheeks while Nymble propelled himself, this time at her. The jumping bug flipped and went to strike with his back legs while in the air, but he certainly looked like he wished he could stop himself in time as she let the sparks fly- a powerful direct hit that there was no avoiding.

"Miiiii," the orange creature said with a determined grin as he got only the first hit off, apparently issuing a challenge.

Nymble squeaked some more and fell in a haphazard heap as Mimi shocked him, sparks still surrounding his figure even after she'd let up- paralysis. Mimi stumbled a bit and went back down on all fours, but Nymble was able to get back to his feet after a moment.

"Struggle Bug again, Nymble! Keep your distance!"

"Quick Attack, Mimi!"

Astrid wasn't going to waste the opportunity, and Mimi certainly wasn't either, dashing off right as Nymble crouched to jump. That was apparently all it took- with another squeak, he was in a haphazard heap again, his back legs twitching for a moment before he went limp.

"She took one of Katy's out!" cried an onlooker.

"That was smart with the Quick Attack!" cried another. "Katy was trying to play it safe and that didn't work!"

Toast yapped some more at Astrid's side, wagging his tail and darting back and forth excitedly. Katy herself, however, looked a bit flustered for a moment, but she nonetheless recalled Nymble with a smile still on her face. "Okay!" she said, grabbing another ball. "Maybe this strategy hits the sweet spot instead!"

Another bug graced the court, but not one that was nimble and quick- a Tarountula, her body covered in a thick layer of string even more than the wild Tarountulas they'd seen traipsing around. Her legs were wrapped up too, only the tips of them peeking out, and her head partially was as well with only her eyes and mouth peeking out. That string wasn't weak, Astrid knew- she had a shield covering the majority of her body that would be hard to strike through. Physical hits would probably just bounce off, and special ones might not have been as effective as they otherwise would have.

Mimi seemed to recognize it too, for she tilted her head to the side as she studied the new bug with her ears wiggling. "Miiii," she said, more puzzled and inquisitive than anything.

Astrid blinked, but she wasn't going to fumble around and waste time. "Charge, Mimi."

"Bug Bite, Tarountula!"

The little orange one stood on two legs again, rubbing her cheeks furiously and creating sparks. She only moved quickly to store up more power, though, seeing as Tarountula sure wasn't moving quickly- as wrapped up as the bug was, she couldn't move quickly. With haphazard steps, the one in the web traipsed over, Mimi eyeing her but not concerned enough to move.

"Thunder Shock, Mimi," Astrid called. "Don't let her touch you."

Mimi certainly didn't intend to let her, for she let the sparks fly with distance still between her and Tarountula, but Tarountula wasn't fazed at all when the attack hit and, surprisingly to Mimi, gave a little jump into the air to avoid taking the brunt of it. The little Pawmi wasn't going to simply sit there and went to scurry out of the way, but Tarountula straightened her legs out as she dropped, the sticky web wrapped around them snagging Mimi like unsuspecting prey into an arachnid's web. A hapless cry of "Miiii!" escaped Mimi as she realized she wasn't scurrying anywhere for Tarountula's sticky extremities, but she certainly tried to shake her foe off while making a flurry of sparks. Tarountula didn't seem too bothered, instead curling her legs in and grasping Mimi more firmly to give her a bite on the forehead.

"Oooh, Mimi's in trouble!" an onlooker exclaimed.

"Those webs are acting like a shield!"

She was, and they were, Astrid knew. With Mimi entangled in Tarountula's web-covered legs, she wasn't getting away easily, and after taking a few hits, she wasn't looking as lively. Surely, there was a benefit to Terastallizing… but all the same, there wasn't any telling what Katy would send out next, and the gym leader had three balls in her possession. There wasn't any point trying to outlast their opponents- Tarountula had her exactly where she wanted her, and the little bug was certainly going to be the last one standing. Astrid grabbed Mimi's ball and withdrew her, Tarountula giving a squeak of dismay at no longer clutching her target.

"Toast, you're up," Astrid said, the Fidough at her side giving a yap and darting onto the field. "Go for a Lick!"

"Oooh, she's switching! She knew Mimi couldn't hack it!"

"Bug Bite, Tarountula!" Katy called. "Don't be sweet about it!"

There wasn't any point trying to snare Toast in her sticky extremities, Tarountula and Katy both soon figured out- the Fidough bounded right towards her like she was a sweet pastry and gave her a big Lick right upside the face. Maybe Tarountula tried to bite him, but that was soon a moot point- her movements were even slower for the paralysis bestowed by Toast's move. Her eyes narrowed and her countenance became flustered, but Toast simply wagged his tail and yapped, sticking his tongue out again and giving her another Lick. The poor bug recoiled, squeaking in protest while Toast simply studied her playfully.

One of the onlookers laughed. "Typical canine!"

"Ohhh, that Fidough is just too sweet," Katy remarked, still smiling but looking slightly flustered herself. "Assurance, Tarountula! You can do this!"

"Tackle, Toast!"

Tarountula was trying to get a hit off, but she simply wasn't going to outmaneuver Toast with her status. The Fidough yapped and plowed right into her side, getting partly stuck to her sticky coverings, but he didn't seem to mind, and hapless Tarountula wasn't oriented in a way where she could hope to strike. Her legs skittered, and it looked like she was trying to come out of her coverings entirely, but Toast simply yapped contentedly while shaking himself around. Finally Tarountula came free, bouncing across the court like a ball and squeaking in protest all the while, to which Toast crouched down slightly and yapped in playfulness.

Astrid couldn't help but to grin slightly at Toast's antics- he was certainly full of energy and enjoying himself, alright. She had to take note of something, though, for when he crouched down, he seemed to get a slight pink glow for a second that he hadn't displayed before. He was a fairy, after all, and pink glows weren't out of place, but she had a sneaking suspicion what it entailed.

"Play Rough, Toast," she called.

The little canine certainly didn't have to be prodded. That pink glow returned in moments, albeit stronger, and again he was plowing into Tarountula, albeit with much more vigor. He'd learned a new move, and he was happy to show it off, much to the annoyance of his opponent, who squeaked haplessly before her eyes drifted shut.

The onlookers were buzzing again. "That little guy is a handful!"

"Look at the little fella go!"

In moments, Toast was yapping again, for Katy had recalled Tarountula and reached for another ball, leaving him alone on the court for a moment. He turned to Astrid and crouched down, yapping happily with his wagging tail in the air, and she smiled back.

Katy too had to look to Astrid. "Oh? You're quite good, aren't you," she remarked. "How should I roll things out from here?"

Toast yapped some more, pouncing in place, then turned back to the other side of the court as Katy sent out her next- a Teddiursa. She certainly wasn't a bug, but with Terastallization, Astrid knew, that didn't mean a thing. The little ursid stuck one paw to her mouth and licked it nonchalantly, while Toast simply wagged his tail.

Katy giggled some more, exclaiming as she pulled out a Tera Orb, "Now, my little Pokémon! Time to break free from your cocoon and come into your own!"

Astrid wasn't going to waste time either. "Toast, you up for it too?"

A yap was her answer, and she too grabbed her own Tera Orb. The court was shortly sparkling with dissipating particles of light in yellow-green and pink, crystalline sheens overtaking the two Pokémon out on it. Maybe she'd never Terastallized Toast before, but it was obvious enough what his Tera type was- he was a fairy through and through, a glamorous winged heart situated upon his head. Teddiursa had apparently metamorphosed into a bug, for a pair of crystalline antennas sparkled atop her head. That was perfect, Astrid figured- Toast resisted Bug-type moves, so Katy's Terastallization was a moot point, but Toast, on the other hand, was much better equipped to deal with his foe.

The little Fidough was as content as could be. "Doooouuuuugh!" he howled happily.

"That's not so sweet, is it, Teddiursa?" Katy apparently recognized such. "But don't you worry! You're still my shining sweet bug decoration! Fury Swipes!"

"Play Rough, Toast!"

The two on the court rushed at each other, Teddiursa taking her paws out of her mouth to flash the claws at their ends and Toast barreling towards her with a happy expression. A flurry of pink sparkles filled the air as Toast did indeed Play Rough, Teddiursa letting out a little grunt as he plowed into her and swiping him with her claws in rapid succession. The little canine yelped a bit in surprise, but he was still doing alright while Teddiursa seemed flustered.

"Lick, Toast!"

"Fury Cutter, sweetie!"

Teddiursa swiped her claws again, but Toast also gave her a happy Lick upside the head, immediately slowing her down with paralysis. Her flustered expression turned outright annoyed, and she tried to get another hit off, but she just couldn't move fast enough.

"Play Rough, Toast!"

"Fury Swipes, Teddiursa!"

There was hardly any point to Teddiursa trying, but try she did, albeit for only a moment or two before Toast was bowling her over again and she was staring up at the sky with stunned eyes. In moments, with a flurry of yellow-green sparkles, Teddiursa was losing her crystalline sheen and sparkling antennae, still seeing stars. Toast yapped some more, as if expecting her to get up, but she was not.

Katy gave a jolt, recalling Teddiursa shortly and exclaiming, "All of my sweet little Pokémon dropped like flies!" with a surprised expression.

With no one else on the field, Toast turned back to Astrid and darted over, the shy lass kneeling down to catch him as he jumped into her arms. His crystalline decorations faded too with a burst of sparkles, and he licked Astrid's face happily.

She giggled, stroking him as she straightened herself out. "Good job, Toast.~"

"She just beat Katy!" an onlooker cried.

"She won!"

Katy straightened herself out, strolling over as she noted, "Your strength rose during our battle like a nice bread in the oven. I feel that I may need to work on my own strength as well!"

Astrid shyly looked up, mustering an awkward smile and stammering, "N-nice battle."

Katy chuckled before keeping on, "Congratulations! You passed! As proof of your victory against me- the gym leader- allow me to present you with this Gym Badge. I hope you'll enjoy it alongside a heaping serving of some of my deluxe handmade treats!"

She held one hand out, which contained a lovely metallic piece- a green beetle-like emblem surrounded by sparkling silver accents with a rim of gold like an olive branch circling it. Astrid gingerly reached out and took it with Toast under one arm, the little Fidough wiggling until she held it closer for him to see and sniff.

Katy grinned at the little pup. "I see you have quite the appetite as well! How about a little TM as the frosting on this cake?" She held out a small disc, which Astrid likewise took as the gym leader turned to her. "That contains Pounce- this little sweetie should have no trouble learning it if he wants to. Once you've found a TM during your travels, you can then use a TM machine to make copies of that TM. You did know that, right?"

Wordlessly, Astrid nodded.

Katy smiled some more. "I wish you luck in your future adventures. May they be as sweet and lovely as a good dessert."

Another nod followed, Astrid sheepishly saying, "Th-thank you."

"Off you go, then. Until we meet again!"

Astrid certainly wasn't going to stick around amongst a crowd of unfamiliar faces any longer than she had to, thus she put Toast down and scurried back down from the court with the little canine bouncing along behind her.

"Well, I promised treats, so time to let you guys pick them out," the shy lass noted, glancing at Toast and patting Mimi's ball.

Her phone buzzed, and out it came with a message from Raijin on it. "You and these little ones work well together. That was a pretty clean victory."

She smiled. "They aren't our team, but… they're a pretty good team."

Down she went right back to the bakery's counter, where Toast and Mimi both took great enjoyment in scoping out the cakes and pastries. Mimi might've been tired from her part of the battle, but she perked right up the moment she started munching on her goody, and Astrid had to keep Toast from scarfing the little Pawmi's down too as soon as he scarfed down his own. All in all, they were content, and Astrid was certainly happy to have the little ones around.

Dylan groaned as he flopped down on the bed in his dorm room. Aurora looked up from her meditation in surprise, Esmerelda staring at her Trainer with intrigue as well. "I take it being back in school wasn't fun?" Aurora asked.

"You and I both know I actually enjoyed school back in our own world," Dylan replied. "It's the fact that all of the subjects are related to Pokémon is what's bothering me. I mean, I know that this world seems to be more centered around them than our own, but it almost feels like everyone is a Poké-Maniac in some way, shape, or form."

"And that's not considering people who unironically use that title here as well," Aurora hummed. "Surely it can't be that bad? From what I've looked at in the textbooks, most of the classes here are elementary level at most."

"It made me realize that I hate math class," Dylan frowned. "So, the question was if I have 1000 Poké-dollars, and a Poké Ball costs 100 Poké-dollars, how many Poké Balls can I buy?"

"Well, that's a simple answer. You can buy ten balls," Aurora answered.

"You'd think that's the answer, but apparently since you get a Premiere Ball as a bonus gift for every ten balls you buy, the answer is actually eleven," Dylan said.

Aurora blinked, closing her eyes and humming. "Well, I guess that is technically correct, seeing as your end total is having eleven balls… but you only specifically paid for 10 of them. The question perhaps could have been clearer on if the answer should include all Poké Balls obtained from the transaction, or specifically about the standard Poké Balls you were buying."

"…It's still a stupid question," Dylan grumbled. Esmerelda jumped up onto the bed and rubbed her face against his, the human giving a sigh of relief. "The Pokédex was correct about Sprigatito giving off soothing scents. Thanks, Esmerelda."

"Now that you're back from class, perhaps we can visit Delphi's drama club now?" Aurora suggested.

"Sure. I could use something else to get math class off my mind," Dylan nodded.

With that the trio left Dylan's dorm room and headed down to the school's theater room, which was a backstage classroom off of the main auditorium where Guayaba Academy held indoor assemblies and concerts. Inside the classroom was an open space with some chairs scattered about, the walls lined with posters of past productions and props. Delphi was present in the room alongside three students, two boys and one girl.

"I was wondering whenever you would decide to drop by, dearies," Delphi said, turning to face Dylan. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, you know, dealing with dumb math questions," Dylan shrugged.

"Do you know this student already, Ms. Delphi?" a rotund student with honey-orange hair asked.

"Indeed, Hohma. Dylan and I go back to one of my previous teaching jobs outside of Paldea," Delphi replied. "Well then, class, let's make our introductions so we can finally start on our lesson."

"I'll go first! Hohma, member of the school news department!" Hohma introduced. "Me and Quaxwell are always hunting for the next big scoop!"

"Quaxwell!" his partner called, the Practicing Pokémon striking a pose.

"So that's an evolution of Quaxly… I've never seen one before, but my friend Ashton picked one as her starter when we came to the academy," Dylan noted. "I picked Sprigatito myself."

"That was my starter when I came to Guayaba Academy as well," said another student, a tall boy with long blue hair that had yellow tips. "The name's Aliquis, currently partaking in the gym challenge. My Meowscarada and I dream of being able to defeat Nemona in a battle on day."

"Meow…" the Pokémon standing next to him said, being a bipedal cat that had a magician theme about them.

"Sprigatito!" Esmerelda gasped, the smaller cat's eyes going wide at seeing her future evolution.

"You're excited to get to evolve into that form one day, aren't you, Esmerelda?" Dylan chuckled.

"That leaves me next…" said the last student, a girl with brown hair that had red highlights in it. "I'm Ohara, a flute player in the school's orchestra. My partner Pokémon is Fuecoco."

"Coco!" the little crocodile cheered.

"Nice to meet you, Ohara," Dylan smiled. "As Delphi said before, my name is Dylan, and I come from… Unova, where I'm a Champion Rank trainer. My partner here is Aurora, a special form of Lucario called the Ancient Guardian Lucario."

"It is nice to meet new faces here at the academy," Aurora said, giving a bow. The other three students jumped back in shock at a talking Pokémon."

"Yes, yes, be amazed by the talking Lucario," Dylan chuckled. "I did say she was special, didn't I?"

"Hm… Know that I've seen you next to that special Lucario, I think I've seen you battling in gym class before with a wide assortment of Pokémon," Aliquis hummed.

"Oh yeah! The news team had me do a story on the new battlers here at the academy, and I saw you using Pokémon that aren't even native to Paldea!" Hohma realized.

"It's a shame I can't bring out my full team outside of the school due to wildlife concerns, but I'm glad the academy at least lets my team run wild in battle," Dylan said. "So, if you three are here, I'm guessing you'll be a part of the drama club?"

Ohara nodded. "Yes. My friends and I won a video presentation contest during our last semester, so Director Clavell asked us to help out the new drama teacher with her stage production."

"With my filming skills, Ohara's music, and Aliquis' battling prowess, we're sure to make the next production a big hit!" Hohma cheered.

"Well, I do have some experience in the contest scene myself, so that should be useful as well," Dylan said.

"Yes, I remember that gym battle you had with Elesa very well. It was so much fun!" Delphi giggled.

"How would contest skills help out in a gym battle against Elesa?" Aliquis questioned.

"It was a bit different from her normal gym battles…" Dylan covered for himself. "Anyways, have you all decided what we're going to be performing for the school play?"

"I already have some ideas," Delphi replied, pointing to various drawings she had done up on the whiteboard in the room. "Imagine this: full-scale Pokémon battles on a live stage, the drama of an unrequited love, startling revelations about the heroes' relationship to the villain, and capping it off with a climatic showdown against a mechanized monstrosity- and it's a musical as well!"

The quartet of student all stared at the notes on the board in confusion. "Uh, Ms. Delphi? Not to be mean, but these ideas all seem…?"

"Out of the depth of what our school could reasonably do," Aliquis finished the thought. "I mean, fighting a robot as the final act of the play? Where would we get the budget to even make one of those that's reasonably good looking?"

"Not to mention the time it would take to compose all-new songs…" Ohara muttered.

"It just doesn't seem practical for what resources we have, Delphi," Aurora stated.

The disguised Delphi hummed. "Well, I guess I may have been a bit over ambitious on my end… but I would still like to put on a grand stage production as my debut as a teacher! Surely we can all come up with an idea before the deadline, right?"

"We do have about a month before the Director expects us to give him the pitch, so why don't we ask around the student body to see what they'd like to see?" Hohma suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. If the students want to see it, then the Director will have to approve it," Dylan said.

"Maybe there are some stage play books around school that could help give us ideas…" Ohara suggested.

"And I'll ask the other gym challengers if they could lend us some Pokémon to help out with the stage battles when the time comes," Aliquis finished.

"It sounds like the sparks of inspiration are starting to flare up! I'm interested to see what you all come up with," Delphi giggled. "Well then, I don't see a reason to hold you all up here. Go out, find ideas, and bring them back to me by the end of the week. I'm sure we'll be able to make something spectacular from what you find!"

"Yes, Ms. Delphi!" the kids said together. As they left the room, Aliquis stopped Dylan in the hall.

"I've seen you talking to Nemona before. Are you two friends?" he asked.

"Well, I think Nemona is more Astrid's friend than mine, but I guess so," Dylan shrugged.

"Hm… If possible, could you train with me to get stronger? It's my dream to be able to beat Nemona in a battle one day, and training with another Champion Rank trainer will get me prepared for taking on my own Gym Challenge and beat Nemona one day," Aliquis explained.

"Sure, I can help with that. But don't expect me to hold back!" Dylan warned with a laugh.

"I would be disappointed if you did," Aliquis smirked.

Author's Note

Azakael: Let me just say… I can handle spiders, scorpions, and snakes with zero problem and have seen plenty of gross crap whilst working in healthcare, so it's a cold day in hell when Azakael gets squicked out, but… freaking Nymble and Lokix are based on my least favorite critters on the face of the earth, and I will be forever pissed off that we couldn't go ten generations without having a freaking grasshopper. Whenever I played Scarlet and Katy sent out Nymble, I just had to sigh and stare at the wall for a bit. I hope whoever designed them drops their toast and it lands butter side down on an unswept kitchen floor. Yeah, not fond of those two. At all. Undoubtedly my least favorite 'Mon of all freaking time.

TheDragonSaver: We knew we needed to give Dylan his own subplot for this story since he's staying at the academy, so I thought making Delphi the drama teacher an adding in a stage play production would be a good idea to give Dylan something to do. The other three students in the club are from the "Paldean Winds" anime that was posted to YouTube last year, since I wanted Dylan to have his own little cast to interact with whenever Ashton, Astrid, and Arashi aren't around. Delphi's first idea for a play is actual in reference to the imfamous "Pokémon Live!" stage production that 4Kids put on in 2000, MechaMew2 included. Of course, the play is only part of Dylan's storyline, as he'll be taking on the DLC of Scarlet and Violet in the future as well.