Oh dear......in addition to a Erika faceclaim we've got a Beatrice faceclaim.
Hm? I don't see it in the trainer cards and Ctrl+Fing the update for "blonde", "blond", "breasts", "cackl", and "best girl" turned up nothing.
Let's go over it with a fine-toothed come to find character trivia, then.
"Come in, please take a seat. This is Cornelia. Cornelia, go practice later. We have a guest." Erika invites you in, bringing out a book from her bag and sitting on her bed. "We'll do this according to the seven main subjects of the academy; Natural Sciences, Math, History, Pokemon Studies, Battle Studies, Arts and Languages. So, let's begin."
Cornelia is named for a minor character from Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, one of Erika Furudo's magical assistants. Why does The Detective have magical assistants? It's called cheating, deal with it. She's something of a barrier/duct tape expert, which I guess is referenced by being a bulky Carbink here.
Oh, and Kitakami is from the ScarVi DLC. It's an isolated Japanese-themed location built around a small town with legends about a local "villain" that are wildly objectively incorrect. In the final story update it's the site of a freak outbreak of magical mind control delivered through toxins from an entity of myth.
No idea why *rika Furu*'s family is from there, nope.
"I have no idea what you mean. I wrote an essay on Tera Energy, not Type Energy, after all." Erika tersely replies. Leaf's grin gets even bigger, if it's somehow possible. Erika stares her straight in the eye and continues. "Type Energy is an outdated term from when our understanding of both Terrastalization as a phenomena and the energy that Pokemon used was incomplete. It wasn't until recently that we actually found out they were one and the same, merely in different states—"
This doesn't really have a Trails or Pokémon equivalent, but the constantly updating science and engineering among Orbal sciences in Trails is always a delight, as is seeing smart characters argue with each other over it, and I wanted to call it out.
"You could regularly talk with a Great War veteran but you never asked them why the war started?" It's just you and Erika in her room now. Both Cornelia and Roland got bored and are now sparring in your room. You hope they don't make too much of a mess.
So the Great War obviously doesn't have an equivalent in Pokémon, and I'm positive it doesn't have an exact equivalent in Trails - wars happen, but they tend to be rather temporary occupations or flareups of the established Erebonia/Calvard cold war. Or memes that last an afternoon because the heroes are good at their job. The Evil Team (Cipher) and superweapons here are based on the plot of Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, just scaled up into geopolitics, but the war itself seems to be an Arvis Original to set the tone.
So it's you, Wiggly and Theodora's maid who actually cook. The maid doesn't seem to get along with any of the Pokemon except for Wiggly.
I don't know if this is a specific Trails character but if I've learned anything from Trails and a certain other set of references Arvis continues to make, it's this:
Never take your eyes off the maid.
"I literally don't think it's ever going to be relevant to know what a trompe-l'œil ceiling is," Erika desperately pleads with you.
"We're so close, please let's just get through this and we'll be done with it for the day. If you want, we could relax and watch a movie or something on your laptop," You bargain with her. For some reason, Erika looks away, her face red, and says it's not necessary. Is she tired? If she's sick, she could just tell you.
1. Apparently they're all over the place
2. Gay
"For an Andosin, you're surprisingly articulate," Erika says, almost absentmindedly.
This is a reference to the fact that immigrants can be racist. Or, my dad, if you want to be specific.
You idly return conservations with a dark-skinned girl with dark blue hair during breakfast. Apparently, she's the latest arrival for Class VII; you really didn't catch her name.
I have no idea who this is, although the fact that Mariana seems to be actually incapable of registering her in memory is interesting/suspicious.
They introduce themselves as Giacomo, a 2nd Year and the current Student Council President. You nod at their instructions, having already known where to go. With that done, you leave the poor guy to his task and head to Felipe Hall.
Another would-be member of Team Star. Surprisingly adept DJ and responsible for some incredible bangers apparently being diegetic. He's...probably better at that than being Student Council President.
I do think this solidly sets this quest as being "before" the events of Scarlet/Violet by about two years at the moment, although whether that's meaningful at all in the AU, I'm not sure (I'm also not 100% sure Nemona should be here but then again, she's exactly the kind of person who would miss Operation Star happening because she was busy battling).
As you enter the Hall, you are met with beautifully sculpted spiraling columns that draw the eye upwards to the various religious frescoes on the ceiling, depicting scenes from the Geomantic Testaments, art of Fairy Pokemon considered near divine during that time and trompe-l'œil paintings of what people believed Xerneas' garden was supposed to look like.
I'd need more detail on Geomantic Testaments to guess (it's probably a parallel to Trails's Septian Church), but the latter two references point to religious influence from Kalos, setting of Pokémon X/Y, who I believe is established as our neighbors.
Now that I think of it, Paldea doesn't have Legendaries with Actual Legends, besides the Ruin Quartet. The box art guys, as much as we love them, are just normal-ass Pokémon from the distant future/past, and the real vaguely-divine entity at the end of the DLC is entirely unknown.
The Auditorium proper is massive and extravagant, intricately covered in gold filings and a trompe-l'œil ceiling. It's been host to a large number of famed opera performances, orchestras and musicians throughout the years, recent among them the world famous Portomédio Opera Company and its lead singer Dorothea Casagandra. Recently, it also hosted a performance by the Rimean Theatre Group Arc en Ciel under invite from the eccentric Prince Carlos.
Arc En Ciel is a
pair of disaster lesbians recurring theater troupe from the Trails games, located in Crossbell...which I guess is Rime here. I'm not getting any hits on the opera company or Dorothea, so that's probably a changed set of names or we're pulling in references I'm unfamiliar with.
Rather than her typical pigtails, her blue hair is straightened and flat. She gives you a look all but begging you to ignore it, which you gracefully comply with.
Faito, Erika. Mii nii-pah, or something.
You can not for the life of you pay attention. The topic itself has already been covered by your handbook, but there is something in how the speaker, who is apparently Deputy Director Henry Ayala, talks that just lulls you into boredom. And you're not alone in this; Ostia's dozing off and Erika spends most of the speech staring at you, likely trying to apologize again.
I have no idea who this guy is.
"…now, if I may, I'd like to say a few words in closing about this academy's illustrious history." You're snapped back to attention by the sound of a new voice speaking. You turn your gaze back towards the stage, and see a tall, thin, reedy man. He has a well-groomed mustache and wears a military uniform denoting his rank as a General of the Army.
This one, however, talks and is mustachiod like the canon principal from Trails of Cold Steel, General (ret.) Vandyck, although I wouldn't call him thin or reedy. He seems to be on the same page, though.
