I make my way from Cabo Poco to Mesagoza, scaling the many, many, MANY stairs to the Academy, pushing open one of the doors leading into the entrance hall, where an unfamiliar woman is standing, waiting for something.

  She brightens as she looks eyes with me.

  “Hm? Are you…? Oh, you must be! You’re one of the students chosen for the school trip, aren’t you? And your name was…?”

  I blink, a little caught off-guard by how vivacious this strange dy is.

  “Um, I’m Carmina, ma’am!”

  The dy nods thoughtfully, still beaming. “Carmina, huh? Well, aren’t you a polite one. You’re positively dazzling! Oh, and you even have a Tera Orb!”

  She notices the crystal sphere at my belt, nestled alongside my Pokéballs.

  “I guess Paldea is rich enough in resources for that sort of thing to be a common sight at school… unless that’s not the case? Are you perhaps an especially exceptional student?”

  I try to get a word in edgewise, but the dy cps a hand to her forehead.

  “Oh, but here I go on and on, and I haven’t even introduced myself! Call me-”

  Professor Jacq hurries over, shouting, “Ms. Briiiar! I’m so sorry I’m te! Oh, hello to you too, Carmina! What a lucky scamp you are, getting to take part in a school trip like this, in your first year since transferring here, too!”

  Ms. Briar clears her throat, getting my homeroom teacher back on track.

  “Ahem! Well, as Mr. Jacq so kindly stated for me, my name is Briar. I’m a teacher over at Blueberry Academy.”

  I tilt my head. “You mean, the sister-school to ours, over in the Unova region?”

  “That’s right! I’m in charge of the curriculum there. This year is Blueberry Academy’s turn to run our joint school trip and supervise the students. That’s why I came here to collect you. We’ll be heading… to Kitakami, a nd known for its picturesque fields and rice paddies. The pce has a rustic feel, but there’s also something rather mysterious about it you see, the same energy present in Paldea’s Terastal phenomenon has been detected there! I’m hoping to do some digging into the matter myself- in between my supervising duties.”

  She turns to my homeroom teacher, hands csped over her chest. “Though I’d ALSO appreciate the chance to take a good look around the Great Crater of Paldea…” she bats her eyeshes at him.

  Mr. Jacq coughs awkwardly. “ah, yes, well, there’s… not much I can do about that without permission from the Pokémon League and Director Cvell…”

  Ms. Briar sighs, “Oh, I know. I’ve already put in all the proper applications. I trust I’ll get a favourable response soon?”

  I feel bad for Mr. Jacq. He’s clearly out of his depth against a woman like Ms. Briar.

  “Ah… well… hmm… Oh!”

  He blinks, turning back to me. “Sorry, Carmina! Forgot all about you for a moment there! Anyway, the school trip. Think of it as a chance to continue your Treasure Hunt on a grander scale- to search BEYOND Paldea’s borders! I’ll even provide you with a special update to your Pokédex app. If you’d get your phone out?”

  I pat my pocket, and my Rotom Phone flies out, as Mr. Jacq’s does the same, and a file is transmitted over. I accept the data and download it, updating my Pokédex to register anything I encounter in Kitakami.

  “And… there we go! All done! Now you can go wild catching all the Pokémon you find around Kitakami too!”

  He turns and heads off at an uncharacteristically-fleet pace. Ms. Briar watches him go. “Haha! Your Mr. Jacq is quite charming, isn’t he? Delightfully direct when he wants to be. Now then, Carmina… it’s quite a trip to the nd of Kitakami. I hope you don’t mind flying. Or long bus rides. Let me know as soon as you’re ready to set out, won’t you?”

  I nod. “Let me go and say goodbye to my friends first, okay?”

  I dart off, heading to say goodbye to Arven and Penny, the Team Star bosses, and Nemona, making sure to promise to bring her a souvenir.

  I wonder what she’d like… maybe a rare Pokémon or two?

  Meeting up with Ms. Briar again, I confirm my readiness to leave, and wait for the rest of the students to arrive before we depart. Then, Ms. Briar asks me a question I hadn’t expected.

  “By the way, Carmina… do you know of the Scarlet Book?”

  I carefully keep my face pcid.

  “Uh, no? what’s that? Never heard of it.”

  Ms. Briar looks a little surprised. “Really? Well, that’s unexpected. I’m quite sure at least one copy was donated to this school. The author of the Scarlet Book, Heath, was in fact an ancestor of mine. I even have his original manuscript.”

  Why am I getting such a bad feeling about this? She’s giving me REALLY weird vibes…!

  She pulls out a copy of the Scarlet Book, and I try not to back away like she’s insane. “Look, here- these are the pages that were bcked out and made illegible in the published version of the book.”

  She turns to a specific page and thrusts it in my face. There’s a drawing that looks kinda like a weird omelette, with writing on the opposite.

  A Disk Pokémon?

  While separated from the research team in the crater’s depths, I found a strange… entity.

  Whether it was a Pokémon, or even alive at all, I know not. It bore a shell of overpping hexagons, and gleamed brighter still than gemstones. Viewed as a whole, it resembled a mysterious, brilliant disk.

  I have tentatively named this creature Terapagos.

  I suspect that its very body is made up of the key material that causes Pokémon to shine brightly and crystallize.

  Briar pulls the book out of my face. “The Pokémon depicted on these pages is called Terapagos. It’s a mysterious Pokémon that Heath allegedly encountered when he delved even further into the depths of Area Zero… not that the general public believed him.”

  She closes her original copy of the Scarlet Book, holding it to her chest.

  “It’s my dream to find Terapagos and prove that Heath’s records were all true. Though I haven’t yet been able to secure permission to enter Area Zero, unfortunately… but that’s fine! It’ll all be fine. All I need to do now is focus on the work that’s in front of me.”

  Three other students, who I don’t recognize, approach. “Ms. Briar! We’re ready to go!”

  Ms. Briar turns to give them that beaming smile. “Ah, looks like the gang’s all here. Alright, everyone! To the nd of Kitakami!”

  The trip takes almost a full day and night, and the jet-g is already setting in when we nd and make our way to a small bus-stop near the vilge we’ll be staying, the cool night air a welcome change from the warmer nights of Paldea.

  Ms. Briar grins as a couple of students compin about numb butts and sore feet.

  “Hahahahaha! Well, you all survived the long trip! And we haven’t lost anyone along the way?”

  “ALL HERE!”

  Ms. Briar gestures dramatically. “Then welcome to the nd of Kitakami! This is the stage for all the new experiences and learning opportunities you’ll have out in nature!”

  I drink in the sights, rolling rice fields and hills of green.

  Ms. Briar adds, “It’s actually my first time here, too. Why, the rice paddies and fields really are just dazzling! Up ahead is Mossui Town. That will be our base of operations for the duration of the trip!”

  She gestures to a small, idyllic-looking hamlet just up the road. One of the students has gone pale, and raises a shaking hand. “M-Ms. Briar… I don’t feel so good…”

  The teacher gasps, “Uh-oh! All that travelling must have given you a dose of motion sickness, hm? Why don’t we pause here for a moment and take in the sight of these fields?”

  As the student perches on the seat at the bus-stop, looking a little green around the gills, Mms. Briar turns to me. “Now, Carmina… I have a little request for you. Could you run ahead to the community centre in Mossui and let the caretaker know we’re here? It would also be great if you could expin that one of our students is feeling unwell.”

  “I’m on it!” I nod, and start jogging off in the direction of the town. I don’t feel safe letting Rairai out with Professor ‘My-grandfather-wasn’t-crazy’ on the loose.

  As I enter the town and start looking around, I hear a voice from outside the building ahead of me.

  “Sis! Look! There’s one now!”

  A short boy with untamed bck hair, wearing an all-white tracksuit, is standing next to a taller girl with bck hair with red streaks in it, wearing a navy- blue tracksuit. She turns and the pair come sprinting right at me. I stop, as they skid to a halt in front of me. The girl is taller than me, which I’m a little irritated by. She seems to be going out of her way to loom over me a bit.

  “So… you’re one of those students who came from the Paldea region, huh?”

  The boy peers around her, shyly. “Whoa… way cool…” he murmurs, and she interrupts. “Shush, Kieran.”

  She looks me up and down. “I’m Carmine.” She pronounces it ‘Car-myne’.

  She starts waving her hands at me in a ‘nope’ manner.

  “Sorry, but I can’t just let an outsider like you wander into Mossui Town. If you insist on coming in, you’ll have to battle me first.”

  Kieran steps out of the way. “C-c’mon, sis… you just wanna battle. Makin; this big fuss over nothing…”

  Sis? She must be reted to him.

  She stares at him, wide-eyed with frustration, her yellow irises almost bzing. “I told you to hush, Kiki!”

  She shrugs at me. “Just ignore my little brother.”

  Kieran slumps. “Aw man…”

  Brushing a strand of her long, two-tone hair out of her face, Carmine focusses. “Alright, let’s do this. Get in position.”

  Sensing that I’m not going to be able to get around this, and being well-acquainted with my girlfriend’s battle-mania, I give in and get ready. Carmine starts smirking. “Oh, I’m going to have some real good fun with you…”

  She sends out a Poochyena, a dark-furred Pokémon that looks like a dog. My Garchomp takes up the challenge, and I snap my fingers.

  “Dig, Garchomp!”

  The Poochyena uses Howl, but Garchomp’s sneak-attack punts it across the street as Carmine releases her next team-member.

  It looks like a Polteageist, a Pokémon native to my home region of Gar, but, instead of a purple sentient fluid inhabiting a teacup, this one’s green, in a ceramic jar with a face on it.

  Carmine grins. “Poltchageist, ready!”

  I go with Earth Power, and the Poltchageist fires off a Thunder Shock, paralyzing my ndshark.

  I switch it out for Iron Valiant, causing Carmine to tense up at the sight of the mechanical Pokémon. I command, “Psycho Cut!”

  Bdes of glowing pink energy ssh through the air, taking the badly-damaged Poltchageist out of the running. Next up is Vulpix, a small fox with five tails, and I select Moonbst, and Iron Valiant’s attack decks the small fox. Carmine’s jaw hangs open.

  “You… who ARE you?!”

  I shrug. “Just a Trainer from the Paldea region.”

  Kieran starts. “Wowzers! You went and beat my sis?!”

  I shrug. Carmine’s started shaking. “I can’t believe it… there’s no way you should have been able to beat me!”

  I smile. “Oh, yeah… I should probably mention, I’m a Champion-ranked Trainer. That means I beat the Elite Four and the Top Champion to stand as one of the best Trainers in the whole of Paldea.”

  Carmine huffs. “Ugh… Fine, I guess you pass. Barely. Seems I’ve got no choice. I’ll let you into town, but only if you become one of my grunts and do every little thing I-”

  A man’s voice yells, “OI! What do you think you’re doing, causing a ruckus out here?!”

  Carmine clicks her tongue. “Tch. Here comes trouble… c’mon, Kiki. We’re out of here.” She starts sprinting off. Kieran stammers, “B-but I… wait up, sis!”

  He follows as Carmine vanishes around a corner. The old man, cd in a purple uniform with a stylized Pokéball with horns, embroidered in golden thread on the pel, approaches me.

  “Well, hello there, stranger! You must be one of the students from that Paldean academy, right? I help run the community centre here in Mossui Town- and a fair few other things besides! I’ll be looking after your group during your visit. I hope those two kids weren’t giving you any grief just now… were they?”

  I shrug. “Nothing I couldn’t handle, sir. I think she just got a little caught up in all the excitement.”

  The old man shakes his head. “I hardly know what to do with the two of them… especially that Carmine. Always been a handful, that one. I apologize if she gave you a hard time.”

  I smile, and fill the caretaker in on the situation with the sick student.

  “What’s that?! A member of your group fell ill down by the bus stop?! I’d better get over there and give them a hand so they can make it into town! I’ll take care of everything. You go ahead and get yourself settled in at the community centre. We’ll catch up with you soon!”

  He rushes off, with more vim and vigour than a man half his age. I shrug and head inside, as everyone else trickles in to join me. the caretaker expins, “So, the pn was to have you and the students from Blueberry Academy stay here together, but it turns out this space is going to be all for you- our visitors from Naranja Academy! So in you come! Don’t be shy!”

  Inside, it’s lovely, clean and well-lit, with various books and small dispys, reting to the history of Kitakami.

  “Nice, isn’t it? This pce is newly-built, so it’s as good as anything you’d find in one of your big, fancy cities!” the caretaker proudly beams.

  “This here is the lounge. You can watch TV, chat, or rex however you’d like. The cafeteria is that way, and toilets are down that hall. When you want to get some sleep, the rooms are through those doors and down the hallway. We’ve got enough space that each of you can have a private room to yourself. So I think that about covers everything! But, if you run into any trouble at all, don’t you hesitate to talk to our fine staff here at the community centre!”

  Oh thank Arceus! I was NOT looking forward to sharing a room with anyone.

  Ms. Bria smiles at him. “Thank you for the tour, sir. Alright, kids, do you have anything to say to the staff who’ll be taking such good care of us?”

  I join in the chorus, with a “Thanks for having us!”

  The caretaker smiles. “what a bunch of well-mannered students! I can already tell you’re going to be wonderful visitors. So, you just think of this pce as your home away from home, and rex!”

  Ms. Briar nods at all of us. “You must all be tired after such a long day. I know it’s still a bit early, but why don’t we have dinner, then call it a night?”

  The caretaker chuckles, “We’ve got plenty of food ready for you all, so I hope you’ve brought your appetites!”

  We all head to the cafeteria, where stuff like tempura, sushi, miso soup, and mountains of fluffy steaming white rice are on offer. I eat as much as I’m comfortable with, since I didn’t eat anything on the pne. Airline food is notoriously sketchy, after all.

  After dinner, Ms. Briar tells us all, “You’re free to spend the rest of the evening as you like in the community centre. But remember that tomorrow, the program will officially be kicking off. Don’t stay up too te, or you might oversleep!”

  I nod and make my way to an empty corner. Pulling out my phone, I check the signal. “good, I can still make calls. First…”

  I contact my mum, telling her about my first day in Kitakami, and letting her know I’m okay. Then I choose another number from my contacts list.

  Ro-tot-to-to! Ro-to-to-to!

  “Hello? Carmina?! Hi! I miss you already!” Nemona’s voice rings down the line as she answers. My heart aches with the desire to see her again soon, and I smile as she starts asking if I’ve gotten into any battles yet.

  “Actually, yes. A girl challenged me earlier, about three hours ago? It was right after I got to town to find the community centre. Don’t worry though, I beat her soundly!”

  “Good! Serves her right, picking a fight with my girlfriend! And what about the Pokémon she used? Where there any cool ones?”

  I smile. “Yeah, actually! She had a Poochyena, and a Vulpix, but there was this one that seemed sort-of familiar. Like, I come from Gar, and we have a ghost-type called Polteageist. But THIS one was called PoltCHAgeist. Maybe it’s green-tea themed or something?”

  “Oh, cool! I’d love to see for myself!”

  “Yeah, maybe I’ll be able to catch one and bring it with me! I mean, it’d be a shame not to try and improve my team, right?”

  “I’m so jealous! You HAVE to try and catch me something awesome, okay? I can’t wait to see you again, and battle, and kiss, and hear about all the cool things you did on your trip! Hold on, someone’s at my door… who is- HEY! Ack, Penny, wait-!”

  I stifle a giggle as Penny’s breathless voice comes through the speakers. Apparently, she’s managed to steal Nemona’s phone off her.

  “Carmina! You went on that trip, right? Um… if you could, would you pick me up some local snacks? I’ll pay you for them, just tell me how much they cost-ah! No fair, Arven! Don’t make me climb you!”

  Arven’s ughing voice comes through as well, as he shouts, “I just rescued your girlfriend’s phone, no worries! I think Penny’s serious, though… Hey, gerroff, you Eeveelution-crazed nerd! Cut that out, that tickles!”

  I can’t help but giggle quietly, trying not to disturb anyone else’s free-time. At least everyone’s doing okay. I calm Penny down and get her to stop scaling Arven like a cliff-face by promising to buy her snacks from Kitakami, and Nemona finally gets her phone back, and we share a goodbye that would probably make people want to retch at how sickeningly cute we’re being. Then, I head for my room and get ready for bed. Tomorrow, my Kitakami adventure begins in earnest!

  In the morning, we all assemble outside of the community centre, and I blink when I spot Kieran and his sister Carmine waiting. Ms. Briar greets us all.

  “Good morning, everyone! Did you sleep well? Starting today, you’ll be joined by our two students from Blueberry Academy! Go on, kids, time to introduce yourselves!”

  Ohhh, no. they’re going to be part of this? Can I never get away from the crazies???

  The two-toned girl csps her hands and bounces cheerfully. I don’t buy that act for a second.

  “Hi! I’m Carmine! It’s a pleasure to meet all you outsiders- I mean, visitors from Paldea! Hee hee!”

  Yep, there it is. Called it!

  Her younger brother looks at his feet and mumbles, “I-I’m… Kieran…”

  The caretaker expins, “Carmine and Kieran actually grew up here, so ask them for help if you need anything.”

  Giving the pair some serious stink-eye, he adds, “And you two had better be of real help, you hear me?”

  Carmine nods. “aye-aye.”

  Kieran mumbles again. “R-right…”

  The caretaker smiles at the rest of us. “Now that that’s settled… why don’t I tell you all a bit about what we have pnned for you? This school trip of yours will be an exercise in orienteering! First, we’ll have you split into pairs. Then each pair will be tasked with finding three signboards located around the nd of Kitakami. On each signboard, you’ll find snippets of an old folktale passed down here in Kitakami. Read them all and learn a bit about our home. To prove you’ve completed the task, we ask that each pair take a snapshot together in front of these signboards with their phone or camera. Once you’ve done that, your mission will be complete! It’s a self-guided tour of Kitakami! Learn all about its rich history!”

  The caretaker smiles. “Much better than sitting around and listening to me ramble on and on, eh?”

  Ms. Briar appuds. “Wonderful! What an innovative idea for a group activity!”

  The caretaker holds up a hand to prevent us from running off just yet.

  “Oh, and I’ve got a gift for each of you as well!”

  He hands over an object that I don’t recognize immediately. Then it hits me. It’s a Roto-Stick! It attaches to the back of a phone and extends your reach by a good couple of feet, allowing for wider angles when taking selfies!

  “I hear these are all the rage in the big cities. Use them when you take those photos! I’ll even teach you a rad pose I came up with all on my own!”

  He poses, and Ms. Bria coughs awkwardly. “Ah, yes. Real… rad… ahem! Remember that one of the goals of this trip is to deepen the ties between our schools it seems like having someone who knows the area well would be a big help. That being said… let’s try to maximize the number of interschool pairs, okay? Time to mingle!”

  I approach the two Blueberries. Carmine chews her bottom lip pensively. “You’re Carmina or whatever, right? So, how does it feel to steal someone’s name?”

  I raise an eyebrow. “How old are you, exactly?”

  Before she can shush him, Kieran answers. “Sis is 17!”

  I snrrk. “I’m 19. So, if anything, I should ask YOU that, Carmine!”

  Spluttering a little, Carmine changes the subject. “Whatever. Let me guess- you want to pair up with one of us poor, lonely Blueberry students?”

  I shrug. “I mean, yeah? This IS a joint school trip, after all.”

  Carmine smiles, sickeningly sweetly.

  “Gosh, it’s so nice of you to go out of your way like that. What would we ever do without you? Oh, yeah.”

  Carmine’s tone becomes a little more sardonic. “My little brother here has been all googly-eyed over you since yesterday. He wouldn’t stop talking about you- even at home. I seriously couldn’t get him to shut up.”

  Kieran squeaks, “S-sis! What’re you tellin’ her that for, dummy!”

  Carmine clenches a fist, raising it slightly. “HEY! Watch who you call “dummy”, if you know what’s good for you!”

  Kieran flinches a little. “Aw man…”

  I can’t help but feel kinda bad for the poor kid. With a sister like this, he probably never gets a break.

  Carmine smiles again. “Look at him, being all shy… see, my brother’s no good at talking to people.”

  Yeah, no wonder, Carmine! I can’t imagine why!

  “He’d probably never work up the nerve to ask you himself, but he’d really like a battle with you.”

  I think for a minute. “I’m okay with that, if you want to, Kieran?”

  Carmine snorts. “Well, what do you know- turns out you’re sorta nice. This’ll make my brother real happy. Chin up, Kiki! You get your wish!”

  “What?! W-wowzers, really?! You don’t mind?!”

  I smile. “Not a bit. Come on, then. No time like the present, yeah?”

  Carmine begins chivvying everyone aside to make space for us. Kieran and I take up positions, and I smile encouragingly at him. “Let’s have us a fruitful battle, okay, Kieran?”

  “I-I got this!”

  He sends out a fat-looking flying-squirrel. A Sentret, quite a rare Pokémon from Johto. I’ve never seen one before. This could be interesting!

  “Come on, Garchomp! You’re up, go with Dragon Rush!”

  Sentret gets fttened by a speeding ndshark, and Kieran sends out a Yanma, the huge dragonfly disturbing me a bit. I’m not a fan of Bug-types…

  “Galde, come out! Garchomp! Return!”

  I switch my partner out and go with a Sacred Sword, Galde’s extended arm-bde glowing as it sms into the huge bug, catapulting it several metres, and out of the fight.

  Kieran gasps, “Wowzers…you sure are strong, Carmina!”

  Carmine joins her younger brother. “Yeah, you’re really not half bad. Kiki’s nearly as strong as I am, you know.”

  Kieran looks at his feet. “I dunno about that…”

  Carmine ignores him. “This orienteering thing… we’re supposed to group up in pairs, right? You should go ahead and pair up with Kiki, then.”

  Kieran’s head rockets up. “What?! No, sis, don’t-!”

  She shrugs. “Don’t what? It’s not like WE can pair up. Or were you hoping to pair with some other rando outsider instead of Carmina?”

  W-well, no, but… aw man…”

  Carmine smirks at me. “Don’t worry, he’s just being shy. I’ll go find some other chump to pair up with. Watch out for my little bro, you.” She heads off and I smile at Kieran, hoping he’ll be able to come out of his shell a little without his sister breathing down his neck.

  The caretaker approaches, smiling. “oh, you’ve paired up. Wonderful! Now, let’s go ahead and mark where you’ll be going on those Rotom phones of yours!”

  The data comes through, and the caretaker waves us off. “Now then, go do some exploring! Oh, and if you feel the need for some Potions or Pokéballs or anything, head on over thataway and stop by Peachy’s! they’d be happy to set you to rights.”

  Kieran coughs shyly. “U-um… so it looks like… we should probably start with the signboard at… Loyalty Pza… that’s out past the apple orchards on the west side of the vilge… it’s close by. And I figure it might, um, make sense to… y’know… visit them all in order… I’ll probably just get in your way if I stick too close, so I’ll just… follow you from a safe distance!”

  He jogs off towards the West, and I sigh. “Oh dear lord Arceus, he’s broken…”