Previously on Oranges to Grapes...

Rosita and Jessica arrive at Soccarat Trail where they encounter a fennec fox named Eartha Crust. Their meeting starts off a little rocky, but she's reassured that they mean no harm and invites them for a picnic lunch...

-

The three girls sat down at the picnic table Eartha set up, and she opened up the orange toaster oven to reveal its contents: a pair of two slices of bread topped with a light sprinkling of curry powder, toasted to a delicious-looking golden brown.

"Incredible," Rosita remarked.

"I'll say," Jessica added. "I know you said to let you have the first bite, but this looks and smells delicious! ...Also, how does this thing work if it's not plugged in?"

"Patience, my friend, patience," Eartha answered as she picked up one slice of toast. "All will be revealed shortly, but first..." She then opened her nubby, little muzzle as wide as she could, and... "Homp!"

Chrk!

The fennec chewed her bite of crunchy, seasoned bread as the caracal and snep watched her in anticipation, waiting for the news. After panting a bit from the mild spice, she smiled and stated, "Mmm, not bad."

"That's good, right?" Rosita asked eagerly.

"Alright, alright," Eartha said as she saw the two felines waiting, their tails swaying side to side like pieces of seaweed in the ocean. "There's one other piece left, and I can share with you two." She then picked up the other slice of toast and broke it in half, giving one to each of them.

"Thanks, Eartha!" both of them said at the same time without meaning to. They both bit into their toast-halves and let the spice hit their tongues, then smiled from the taste.

"Mmm," Rosita praised before swallowing her bite. "This IS good!"

"Mmm-hmm!" Jessica added before following suit. "I'd say this experiment would be a success... if it made a sandwich."

"Actually, this was just a beta-test," Eartha corrected, "but now that I've recieved approval from a third party, I can build a sandwich with these next time!"

"Great," Jessica said, "but I still didn't get an answer to my question. Did someone invent the cordless toaster oven and leave me out of the loop?"

"You'll have to forgive Jessica, Eartha," Rosita said. "Apparently, once she has some subject buzzing around in her head, she can't drop it."

"Hey, I have an inquisitive mind," the snow leopard defended. "And it helps me with my job."

"Well," Eartha said after swallowing another mouthful, "technically, yes and no. Yes, the 'cordless toaster oven' was invented, and no, you're not out of the loop. Okay, Rotom, show yourself!"

At that moment, the toaster oven shook a little, rattling enough to catch the girls' attention. Then, it was surrounded in a red glow before two oval eyes and a toothy smile appeared on the top of it, then it sprouted two jagged arms with mitten-shaped hands from the glow and floated in midair!

"Bzzt, bzz-bzzt!"

That took the fennec's guests by surprise, because the toaster oven that served them the curry toast they were eating... was actually a Heat Rotom!

"Surprise!" Eartha said. "I can't take all the credit for lunch today, because Rotom cooked it!"

"Wha..." Rosita said.

"Well, that answers one question," Jessica supposed. "But how do you explain the armful of berries, and the campfire, and the smell of cooking before we officially met?"

"Who said the berries were for the picnic?" Eartha replied. "And the campfire's actually a bonfire for the rejects... thus the smell."

"Oh, right, yeah, that registers."

"And if we're going to grill each other on arrival," the fennec followed up with, "why don't I ask what you two are doing on Soccarat Trail in the first place?"

"Because," Rosita answered, "in case you haven't noticed, there's a big, shiny crystal dome right slap in the middle of the lake, and we were hoping to find someone here who could help us in dealing with that and any others around Paldea."

"Actually, I have noticed!" Eartha said. "I have noticed all those big bubbles of sparkly rock! And the ones that covered the major cities are the reason I can't buy decent supplies of sandwich ingredients to make decent sandwiches! They're also the reason I'm actually thankful for my girl scout training! And I wasn't always like this, but when the world throws you these kind of curveballs, you either evolve into someone who can cut it or die because you can't!"

"We're not saying you can't cut it," Jessica reasoned. "But what we are saying is we would like you to join us to help deal with those domes, because there's more to them than cutting everyone off from grocery shopping."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Like making Pokemon vanish on contact and spitting out humanoid crystal monsters with shoulder spikes the size of your ears, for one," Rosita said. "But Jessica and I didn't come here alone, because we also have a way to combat those monsters. Conner! You can come out now!"

"You too, Leopold!" Jessica called out.

"Who are Conner and Leopold?" Eartha asked, but a swirl of leaves and grass answered on half of her question as the snail formed before her.

"I am Conner, formerly the spirit of Wo-Chien," Conner introduced, "and it's nice to finally meet you."

"Um, hi?" Eartha said. "Well, there's one, but where's the other?"

"Well," Jessica said, "let's answer your question... with another question. By any chance, does your Rotom have access to its Frost Form?"

"Actually, yes," Eartha said as she reached behind her sash... and produced her own Rotom Phone! "Because now, if you want your Rotom to switch between forms to utilize its fullest potential... there's an app for that!" She then tapped an icon that looked like five different-colored scribbles arranged into a star, and tapped a purple zigzag on the screen.

Suddenly, the toaster oven started to move, and its components began to shift around until it transformed into an orange mini-fridge, and the glow around it shifted from red to purple. The doors of said mini-fridge then opened up as the cold air inside coalesced into frost that morphed into the shape of a weasel!

"Happy birthday!"

"And this is Leopold, formerly the spirit of Chien-Pao," Conner introduced.

Rosita and Jessica then took out their Sealing Balls to show Eartha. "And you already know our names, but this bears repeating," the caracal said. "We are their bearers, Rosita Verdes..."

"And Jessica Winters," the snow leopard added. "And together we are..."

"Hell-Sent Precure!"

"Whoa..." Eartha said in awe. "I think I need to sit down, because this is a lot to take in..."

-

To be continued.