Previously on Oranges to Grapes...

Rosita and Jessica take the scenic route to Porto Marinada, where the end up seeing not one, not two, but three more crystal domes. Back at the Academy, Camilla gets a surprise sandwich delivery from Ms. Tyme...

-

Back at Area One of the West Province, Rosita and Jessica stopped to rest at the Pokemon Center to reevaluate their plan.

"So, here's what we know so far," Rosita said as Conner listened intently. "I'm partnered with a snail that can create vines to climb. Jessica is partnered with a weasel that can breathe ice. Together, they make ice slides to get down from ledges quickly. But, every time they use their powers, it takes away some of their energy and requires feeding them certain Berries to recharge them. Did I get that right, Conner?"

"That is the gist of it, yes," Conner agreed.

"And not only that," Jessica added, "we're both on a mission to gather two more spirits and their partners for a reason that has still not made itself apparent... has it, Leopold?"

"Well," Leopold said, "not yet, but we may have an idea. You see, about four years ago, more or less, someone else did try to gather us all before, but at the time..."

"Well, that'll have to wait," Rosita cut in. "Right now, our priority is to ration our Berry reserves until we can restock at Porto Marinada, which means we'll need to hold off on using our partners' powers unless we absolutely have to. Now, according to the map, there's a low ledge we can slide down to get to Asado Desert, but it'll be dangerously close to the crystal dome over Cascarrafa, so we'll have to act fast. It's not our best option, but it's the only one we have. After that, we'll just go through the desert to get to Porto Marinada, procure the Berries, and if necessary, stay the night there. Any questions?"

"None whatsoever, Rosita," Jessica said with confidence, "because even without Leopold, I'm prepared for anything."

-

Further down the path.

-

"Here we are," Rosita said. "The ledge we'll need to slide down."

"Ho, boy," Jessica said. "How are we going to do this without breaking a leg?"

"Guess we'll just slide left, then slide right off the next ledge," Rosita said after she hopped off the ledge, "but if it makes you feel better, we can just use our claws for purchase if we need it."

"Okay, I can do that," Jessica said as she followed suit. "I get up and down high places for a living, I can do this. Prepared for anything. Prepared. For. Anything."

By that point, Rosita had almost reached the bottom and was waiting for Jessica to meet her there, but as soon as the snow leopard had reached the first stop, she had almost lost her balance and locked up out of sudden surprise!

"WREER!" she yowled. "Ah! I wasn't prepared for this!"

"Come on, Jessica, you're only halfway down!" the caracal encouraged. "You've just gotta slide right! You said so yourself, you get up and down high places for a living!"

"Oh, boy," Jessica breathed to try and calm herself down. "Alright, here we go on three. One... two... three!"

All it took was a slide down to the right... and Jessica found herself on solid sand!

"Yay! You did it!" Leopold cheered.

"You see? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Rosita said after catching up with her fellow cat-girl.

"Well, apart from that one second where I almost lost my footing," Jessica reasoned, "I kind of enjoyed that, strangely enough."

"Splendid," Conner said. "Now we can right our course to Porto Marinada, which is just a Hoppip, Skiploom and a Jumpluff across Asado Desert."

"Right. Let's boogie!" both girls said, and they continued on their way.

Just then, the winds in the desert suddenly picked up, causing a sandstorm to blow. While it didn't exactly stop the girls, it did make their vision obstructed by dust devils. That, coupled with the wild Pokemon that called this particular neck of Paldea home, made them turn a few corners, but they still carried on until finally...

"Look! Over there!" Rosita said, pointing to an opening in the rock walls where the expanse of sand ended and the dirt road began on grass.

"Alright! We made it to the exit of Asado Desert, so we're almost to Porto Marinada!" Jessica said happily. "Nothing can stop us now!"

As soon as those words fell out of the snow leopard's fuzzy muzzle, a Brambleghast had tumbled into the crystal dome over the Quaking Earth Titan's den, and after the poor tumbleweed Pokemon vanished on contact, five Diademons had appeared with round semispheres on their heads, each adorned with a Bramblin Twig!

As soon as the horde of Diademons started chasing after the girls, Rosita told Jessica, "Rule number one of journeys, Jessica: even if it looks like things are going great, never say 'nothing can stop us now' because saying that makes something try to stop us!"

-

To be continued.