(I'm so sorry for not updating the story - on here, that is! Alright…as usual, I don't own Pretty Cure, Toei does, and can we please get Azuma a Pikachu? Thanks for reading!)
Episode 3: The Innocent Spark of Lightning, Cure Dolce! (雷鳴の無邪気な火花 キュアドルセ! Raimei no Mujakina Hibana, Kyua Doruse!)
It's been a couple of days since Homura joined us on our quest, and we're still feeling the adrenaline! The next member shouldn't be too hard to find, r-right? I sure hope not...
A few kids are walking to school. They seem to be in elementary, based on how they're not in uniforms.
"I haven't walked to school with you guys in forever! I'm so glad that fever's gone!"
"Same here! Although, we're missing someone…"
That's when a young girl with bright yellow hair and glasses runs towards them. "Here I am~ Sorry I kept you waiting! I overslept…" This is Raimei Azuma.
"That's alright, at least you're here! Didn't wanna get left in the dust, didja?"
"No way! And boy, did I run fast! Victory~" She does a V-sign (a small wave of thunder appearing between her fingers), cutely winking before walking with the others to their school.
(Opening theme)
(Title card: Azuma holds a diamond-shaped topaz in both hands. It glows bright yellowish-orange and fills the screen as she lets go. Chibis of Cure Dolce and Warun appear, and between them appears the episode title. "The Innocent Spark of Lighting, Cure Dolce!")
At Azayaka Kaika Elementary, Class 6-2…
The teacher, Ms. Shizue, walks in. "Alright, class, sit down." The kids do just that. Some of them on their desks, some on the floor, one actually at a desk, and one standing with crossed arms and closed eyes.
"On your chairs, this time."
After they're properly sat down, the teacher grabs a stack of papers, straightening them, then sits at her desk. "Since it's nearing the end of the year, we'll be doing something different! Telling each other about our dreams! Who'd like to start?"
One by one, each student tells what their dreams are. "My dream is to save all the endangered species from going extinct!"
"My dream is to be a game tester! It'd be so fun!"
"My dream is for world peace! It's just as possible as getting an 'A' on a test with 30 questions!"
Ms. Shizue adjusts her glasses, very intrigued. "How ambitious, all of you! Anyone else?"
Azuma gets up, her hands on the desk. "So wrong!!"
"…Raimei-san, something wrong?"
"World peace is impossible!" She crosses her arms, a look of disdain showing on her face. "Only little girls would try to get that to happen!"
The student that said world peace, Kita Haruka, gets annoyed. "Of course it's impossible!…only if a person believes it is! It'll only be possible if you believe!"
"Hmph! Even if I didn't believe, it's still impossible."
A surge of lightning appears between them as they're glaring.
The teacher snaps her finger. "Girls! That's enough!"
That seems to get their attention.
"Raimei-san? Kita-san? No fighting in this class, got it?"
The girls nod and sit back down, bowing their heads. "Sorry, Ms. Shizue."
"So now that we're all done sharing their dreams, we can move onto the lesson." She grabs a textbook and starts reading from it.
"Hmph." Azuma thinks, a pencil in her hand. "World peace being possible… Gimme a break!"
Back in Yakedo Abyss, Tenten is raging out about his loss…yet again. "Those girls!" He throws a small rock into a lake, it skipping a few times before ultimately meeting the bottom. "Cure Shimmer, Cure Flare… I can't stand them!! This is the second time I've been defeated!"
Two silhouettes - one of a short humanoid raccoon-like being, and one of a delinquent kappa - watch as he grabs another stone, throwing it into the lake and using his leaf fan to make a small whirlpool where it lands...it explodes, however.
He puts his leaf down, still somewhat enraged. "They're so gonna pay for what they did to me!"
"Oh, Tenten…" The short raccoon - Araiguma - steps forward, a sinister gleam in her eyes. "Let me have a crack at 'em! After all, I am a kunoichi." She holds a kanata made of birch.
"How could you possibly do it? They're so powerful… and - might I add - taller than you! Hahahahaha—!"
"Oh, cram it, birdbrain. They don't seriously expect a cute li'l raccoon like myself to be so vicious, do they? I think not!" She swings her sword about. "They'll be mincemeat when I'm done with 'em! Just you wait!" She teleports out.
After school, Azuma returns home. The moment she enters, her phone rings. "Hello? Oh, hey, Mom!"
While on the phone, she sets her shoes near the door and goes to the couch. "Again? This is the third night this month that you've had to work late… Oh well…"
A worried look appears on her face. "No-no, it's fine. Both my parents working late, I'm sure I'll be fine… I'm responsible, right? Ah, I forgot about that… Can I stay with one of the neighbors for a while until you guys are back? Alright, thanks! Bye!"
She puts her shoes back on and leave the house.
Back at the Kibouteru's, Chise is helping her mom fix dinner. Then there's a knock on the door.
"Oh! Chise, can you get the door?"
"Mm-hmm!" Chise runs to the front door and opens it. "Oh, h-hey! Who are you…?"
"My name's Azuma." She bows. "So nice to meet you. See, my parents are working late again. For whatever reason, they don't trust me to stay home alone, after what happened last time. Can I come in?"
"Of course! Nice to meet ya, Azuchi!"
Azuma walks in. "Hey, what's that smell?"
"That's dinner. It's almost finished." Chise whispers into her ear. "Just between you and me… Mom's not the best at cooking."
"Haha, neither am I…"
During dinner, everyone is eating. Azuma seems a bit upset. This doesn't go unnoticed, though.
"Hey, Azuchi?" asks Chise. "You good?"
"Hm?" Azuma looks up. "Um, yeah…"
A few seconds later...
"Alright, I'll spill! I got into an argument at school…"
"What happened?" asks Aimi.
"Our teacher asked what our dreams are. This one kid said world peace, but…I don't think world peace is possible."
After finishing, Chise speaks up. "Yes, it is! Azuchi…it's not completely impossible."
Azuma finishes as well, listening to what Chise says.
"It's only impossible if you believe it is! Just like… if you believe you'll pass a test, you'll end up passing it! You've just gotta believe!"
After a moment of silence…
"You don't get it, do you…?" Azuma gets up. "World peace is impossible. It doesn't matter what a person thinks, it's unattainable all over creation… Only little princesses would ever try to get something like that."
Chise wants to convince her again, but decides not to as not to start a fight. "Suit yourself… Hey, maybe we can play some games or something? You're our guest here, so a better question would be, 'what would you like to do'?"
A while later, they're both in Chise's room. Chise lays on her bed, playing a game on her phone. Azuma's at the desk, drawing something. Curious, Chise sneaks up from behind and surprises her. "Azuchi…?"
"Aaah! Ch-Chise! Don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry…Whatcha drawin'?"
"Ahaha, you're curious? It's not finished yet." Azuma picks up the pencil she was using.
Chise peeks over her left shoulder. "You need help?"
"Nope! I got it."
Next, she peeks over her right one. "Are you sure?"
"I'm absolutely sure!"
To Azuma's dismay, Chise keeps peaking over her shoulders. Azuma gets so annoyed that..:
BZZZZZZZT!!
Having been shocked, Chise falls to the ground. Her pigtails are now (temporarily) frizzy. There are small surges of electricity in her hair as she gets back up.
"Azuma…?! What was that for?!"
"There we go, all done!" Azuma puts the pencil down and sees Chise. "Oops, that must have been quite the shocker, huh?"
"Ya think?" Chise pouts. Her hair quickly returns to normal as she sees the drawing. "That looks so good, Azuchi!"
Azuma winks, feeling pretty proud of herself. "Hehe, of course it does! It looks positively…decent." As her smile fades, she picks the paper up, about to crumble it up and throw it away, but is stopped by Chise.
"Azuma, what are you doing? You can't do that!"
"Yes, I can. It's terrible. I want it to be great!"
Chise puts her hand on her shoulder. "But, it is!"
"How? What's so great about it?" Azuma looks at her drawing. "It's just a stupid magical catgirl drawing."
"Wait-wait-wait! Did you say 'catgirl'? Now you have to keep it!" The magenta-haired girl's eyes sparkle as she turns to her friend. "You like magical girls, don't you?"
Azuma gets out of the chair. "Yeah, why?"
"Here's the thing!" Chise closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "You are a…Pretty Cure!"
"Hm?" Azuma tilts her head, confused. "I'm a 'Pretty Cure'? Is that some sort of artist subcategory?"
"Nope, it's a magical girl! And I happen to be one of them!"
"Hm. That sounds fun. But…" Azuma's smile fades a little. "…How would I - out of all people - be a Pretty Cure?"
Chise starts counting. "Let's see… You've got yellow hair - relevant for later - you're very confident, you've got sparkly-cool lightning powers, as demonstrated a bit ago… That's about it."
"And, you're one of them~rurun," says Warun, who's once again on Chise's head - that must be its favorite spot. The sight of Warun intrigues Azuma, who looks at it while adjusting her glasses. "Are you a dragon?"
"I sure am~rurun?"
"Are you lost? Where's your family?"
"H-Hey~rurun!" Warun is slightly offended. "I'm not lost, I live here~rurun! My name's Warun~rurun."
"Okay…" Azuma crosses her arms, still kind of suspicious of Warun. "What did you mean by 'one of them'?"
It grabs its phone and pulls up a picture. "By 'one of them', I meant a reincarnation~rurun!"
"A re-in-car-na-tion? Never heard that word before."
"That's right, you look kind of like Bad End Peace, an evil copy of Cure Peace~rurun."
The image shows Bad End Peace doing peace signs similar to Azuma's, lightning surrounding her as she stands on a giant flower. "She is a firm believer that world peace is impossible, and only little girls would try to get it~rurun. She's also a prankster~rurun."
"How am I anything like her…?" After a few seconds, Azuma continues. "I mean…I do think world peace is impossible, and I do love a good prank…"
"Sparkly-cool!" Chise closes and opens her eyes, then points at her. "Raimei Azuma. I choose you! Join me and Warun, and our latest member Homura, on our riveting quest to save Gemmeland from falling into a long-lasting despair!"
"I dunno too much about it, buuut…" Azuma nods. "I can do it! I'll try anything!"
"Alright, welcome aboard~rurun!" Warun hops into the smiling Azuma's arms. "So exciting! We'll all be superheroes together! Victory~" Just like before, she does a V-sign, small yellow waves of thunder surging between her fingers.
"I almost forgot…" Chise snaps her fingers. "Tell me, Azuchi about those powers of yours! I was gonna ask about it earlier, but I forgot."
"Oh yeah, my powers! See, I've had them since I was very young." Azuma scratches her head. "Ahaha, I'm still trying to control them."
"Hey, maybe you were born from a gem like me and Homura!"
"Born from a… of course! That may explain why I've got have thunder powers. What powers do you have, Chi-san?"
"Huh? No, I don't think so…" Chise shakes her head. "I wish I did… I know Homura does…"
Much later that night, Azuma lays in bed, replaying the conversation with Chise from earlier in her head. "Being a magical girl…I'm cut out for it… right?"
(First Eyecatch: Azuma's Prism Mirror opens. She grabs its brush and taps it on her cheeks, then on her eyelids. She wears gold eyeshadow and blush as Warun jumps in her arms. Behind them is the logo and a topaz.)
(Second Eyecatch: In a field of flowers, most likely at night, Azuma lands on a giant orange flower and bounces a few times. She holds her Prism Mirror and winks and, in a flash of thunder, becomes Cure Dolce. Behind her is the same topaz from before, and the logo.)
The next day, after her parents leave for work, Azuma goes in her front yard, clad in a yellow tracksuit and white sneakers.
"To prove that I'm cut out for this 'Pretty Cure' thing, I've gotta train a lot! I've got the entire weekend to do that. Lemme start with…speed training! If I can make it from here to the park in…about five minutes, I pass!"
She closes her eyes, adjusts her glasses, and takes a deep breath. After opening her eyes, she takes off running…very fast. It takes about three minutes to get there.
Once she's there, Azuma stops and checks her phone. "…Two minutes to spare…Heh, not too shabby…" She puts her phone up, not looking fatigued at all.
"Azuchi!" Chise runs up to her. "What's up?"
"Just…getting in some training…" Azuma pants as she speaks. "…Speed training."
"For what?"
"Magical girl training."
"That sounds fun! I wanna train with you, but I…"
She's interrupted by Azuma running off, taking Chise's hand, making her run as well. "Alright! I know just the place!"
Minutes later, they arrive at a flower garden.
"Azuchi? Why are we here? I guess you meant the trampoline park? It's a few feet from here if you wanna go." Chise looks around.
"Nah. Maybe when we're done, I'll consider it. But for now…"
"You said it! Time to relax!" Chise plops down on a bench, but Azuma stands in front of her.
"Uhh…Azuma? You're kinda-sorta blocking my view."
"No rest until our training's done…Wait…!" She snaps her finger and sits down.
"Alright, Azuchi!" Chise's glad that she's taking a break. "There ya go!"
"We can train ourselves to be calm, cool, and collected, even in tight situations!" The blonde girl kicks her feet up.
"I…I guess?"
Elsewhere, Araiguma watches them from up in the sky. "That's right, foolish girls, relax…and watch me redecorate this place! Hehe… I'm all for flowers, sure, but these bright colors are…killing my eyes!"
She gets a Yami board and snaps her finger. A few passersby fall to the ground, and the sky is now a dark green. A wisp floats out of one of them and into her board, as the summoning process begins.
"Yamishin, come from the abyss!"
The planchette touches the eye symbol, as a Yamishin emerges. Rather than one with red eyes and the '風' (wind) symbol, it has green eyes and the '木' (wood) symbol.
Azuma is the first to notice, and gets Chise's attention. "Chi-san? Why did the sky just turn green?"
"Wh-What do you mean? The sky didn't just turn…" Chise turns to the sky and gasps. "Holy crap! What…in the world…happened…Must be one of Akumai's goons!"
"Not another one~rurun!" Warun panics.
"Warun, who is this?"
"That's Araiguma, another member of the Obake Trio, from Yakedo Abyss~rurun. Despite the way she looks, she's real strong, especially in ninjitsu~rurun. If I were you, I probably wouldn't underestimate her~rurun."
Chise grabs her Prism Mirror and Opal Charm, about to transform when…
"Chise!" It's Homura.
"Homura, you're here! I was gonna transform so I can kick some raccoon butt!"
"Yeah, no, you're not doin' this without me!" Homura grabs her Mirror and Ruby Charm.
"Make up!"
"Dress up!"
"Pretty Cure, Twilight Chance!"
After their transformation sequence…
"The star of miracles, the jewel of hope! Cure Shimmer!"
"The flickering sun, the jewel of friendship! Cure Flare!"
Upon seeing her friends transform, Azuma's in awe. "They just…"
"Well, well, well. Shimmer and Flare. Heard a lot about ya from Tenten," says Araiguma. "So, I heard you've been picking on him. Why don't I teach you a lesson?" She aims her sword at them, sending the Yamishin to attack. "Let's show 'em, Yamishin!"
Shimmer and Flare exchange glances. "Let's fight!" They jump upward, the wind rushing past them. "Alright, ghost-face, you're goin' down!"
When Flare tries to punch it, it dodges. She tries to do it again, swinging her fist to ensure it hits harder, but it dodges once again.
"Oh, crap! This guy's tougher than the last one!"
"Don't worry, I got this!" When Shimmer tries to punch it, it dodges that as well. She does it rapidly, like an uncountable amount of times. "These dents do nothing!!"
Shimmer looks down at the ground, getting a little scared. "F-Flare…?! The ground's so small from up here..! I think I'm gonna faint…"
"Just try not to…look down…" Flare gets worn out. "That's how you get…a fear of heights…"
"Ufufufufufufu…Kyaaaaaaa!" Yamishin swings its fist and punches them, knocking them back on the ground. Watching this happen, Azuma is horrified. "Oh no…"
"Oh, what pretty flowers there are!" She looks to her right, seeing Araiguma near a large flowerbed in the center of the gardens. "Such a shame that they'll get tainted once I'm all done with them! Now, give me your energy!"
She raises her sword and waves it around like a wand. The flowers start to lose their color, some wilting. She drains the negative energy and sends it to her Yami board, which gives Yamishin more energy. "Didn't know it could do that, didja?"
The Yamishin rushes towards the Cures, about to deliver the final blow. "Ufufufu… You're both finished! Bye-bye!"
This makes Azuma so mad, she quickly jumps between Araiguma and the Cures, befuddling the former. Shimmer and Flare see this.
"Wha…I don't believe this!! Stand aside, little girl!"
"I won't! You're hurting everyone! The flowers, my friends… And it's all wrong!" Azuma looks very mad. "I won't let this happen! No, I may not qualify to be a Pretty Cure yet, but… I'll do my best to keep them safe from bullies like you!"
Electricity surrounds her as yellow light bursts in the area.
"What the—?!" This shocks Araiguma. "It can't be!!"
"Well, it be!" responds Shimmer."
Azuma floats in midair, continuing. "Something good will only happen if you believe it will… I might not have believed that at first, but after some convincing, now I do… Now, I try believe that I can do whatever I need to do to protect the things and people I care about!"
"Azuma, Azuma~rurun!" Warun appears, very excited. "I knew it, you're definitely cut out to be a superhero~rurun!"
"Huh. Must've been 'cause of my training…"
"That or you've realized that not all things are impossible…like world peace~rurun?"
"It's only possible if we believe it is!"
A Prism Mirror with a yellow bow and a yellow Arcus Charm appear in a flash of light. Azuma grabs them. "What are these?"
"An Arcus Charm and Prism Mirror~rurun!" says Warun. "C'mon, put it in~rurun!!"
Azuma nods, then opens her Prism Mirror and inserts the Charm. She knows exactly what to say after having seen the others transform.
"Make up!"
"Dress up!"
Azuma takes a deep breath, then recites the phrase, "Pretty Cure, Twilight Chance!"
After having transformed, Azuma - now Cure Dolce - begins her introduction, looking quite cute. "A shiny bolt to your heart! The jewel of innocence, Cure Dolce!"
The other Cures gasp, seeing this new form of hers. "No way! She's…"
"Wowee…" Dolce admires herself, realizing her hair's in large twintails. "What a makeover…" After remembering why she transformed, she points at Araiguma. "Alright, raccoon girl, you are so going down!"
"Good luck with that!" She sends the Yamishin to attack Dolce, who charges at it and jumps upward. Unlike the other two, she's not afraid at all. She does a front flip and bounces off its head, then carries out several punches infused with thunder. Fueled by her determination to protect the things/ones she cares about, these punches make lots of dents.
"No, no, no!! I'm losing! I just can't lose!" The raccoon ninja freaks out. "C'mon, Yamishin! Ya got this!"
"Dolce~rurun!" Warun shouts. "Use an attack, finish it off~rurun!"
"But how?!"
"With enough energy from various attacks - like punching and kicking - you can activate your special move, a finisher~rurun!"
"Thanks, Warun. I must gather more energy, then!" She continues, this time putting all her effort into it. Just then, her Prism Mirror exits her bag and opens, the yellow star glowing.
"What's going on? Why's that glowing?!"
Warun uses a small telescope to better watch the action. "That's enough energy, now use an attack~rurun!"
The Yamishin gets the upper hand and uses its tail to knock her down. She falls, but suddenly stops, now floating. "Um, what? No, I'm gonna save my friends! We're not doing this…!"
Her fingers glow a bright yellow as she starts her attack. "Pretty Cure…!" After waving her hands around and jumping, she finishes the phrase and does her attack. "Dolce V-Leap!"
Bright yellow and magenta thunder emits from her fingers, charging toward the Yamishin and shocking it. A burst of light appears where it stands as it's purified.
"Oh my god…" Dolce flies down, landing on her feet as the thunder leaves her fingers. "I can't believe this… I actually defeated it!"
Shimmer, Flare, and Warun jump, very excited and proud of her. "Alright!"
Araiguma is a mix of shocked and angry. "That wasn't cool! I'll get you, ya little lightning brat, if it's the last thing I ever do!"
She teleports out, as everyone wakes up from their "slumber", unsure of what happened. The sky and flowers have returned to normal.
"Dolce, that was sparkly-cool!" says Shimmer, still in awe. "You really are a superhero!"
"Yeah, ya did awesome!" says Flare. "Prob'ly better than what we did…!"
"Stop it…" Dolce gets flustered by their praise. "It was nothin'… Hahah, you got me! But yeah, I think we all did pretty good!"
The girls and Warun do a group hug.
"How do I transform back?" asks Dolce.
"Watch this." Flare grabs her Prism Mirror and touches the center of its bow. Shimmer does the same.
"Oh, I see!" Dolce does this as well.
"Come ta think of it, I never got your name," says Homura.
"Azuma. Let's be friends, okay?"
"Gotcha! I'm Homura." She runs towards the exit. "C'mon, let's go home. Race ya there!"
The girls are running home, with Chise in dead last. "Girls, wait!! H-Hold on a sec…!"
"That was super electrifying! We gotta do that again sometime! Victory~" Azuma jumps while doing her signature "thunder between fingers" V-sign.
Passing by is the same green-haired girl from before, who sees them run off. "Easy for you to say. That 'victory' was probably a fluke... No matter. I may not know you, but… best not to mess with me if you don't wanna get stomped on…"
End episode.
(Preview)
Impossible! There's a school concert comin' up and one of the Light Music Club members…got sick and can't perform?! It can't be real! Who's gonna be our lead vocalist?!
Wait, I gotta do it?! But…I'm not very good at singing! I'm not sure I can handle both singin' and guitar, but I have to try! I can't disappoint them, no! Episode 4: The Substitute at the Light Music Club! Like ambitious flames, let's continue burnin'! See ya!
(End preview)