Episode 26 - Friends Gathered♪ Autumn of Aikatsu☆

Friends Gathered♪ Autumn of Aikatsu☆ (フレンズ集合♪アイカツの秋☆) is the twenty-sixth episode of the Aikatsu Friends! anime series. It aired on October 4th, 2018.

Summary
The Brilliant Friends Cup begins! Pure Palette's in high spirits as they stand before rivals from all over Japan. However, in stark contrast to these feelings, Aine and Mio are starting to develop a slight disconnect between each other...

Plot
It's time for the Brilliant Friends Cup to begin and Aine and Mio excitedly anticipate the start of the Tournament. Aine's family and friends excitedly chatter among themselves while waiting for the program to begin when Coco appears on a large screen on the stage. After wondering who will take home the win she calls all of the Friends entrants onto the stage. First, she calls last years runners-up Baby Pirates, followed by a pair from Hokkaido known as the Snow White Maidens, a dance pair from Okinawa by the name of Double Hibiscus, long-distance friends Nako Nico Collection, or NaNiColle for short, and lastly, the winners of the previous tournament, Pure Palette. Aine happily greets Nako and the two units chat with each other until Coco introduces Reflect Moon; with only Kaguya arriving so that Sakuya could do something else at the moment.

Baby Pirates are granted the first turn due to being runners-up, and confidently they exchange words before changing and appearing on stage. They put on a brilliant performance that excites the crowd; with Maika nor Ema that surprised.

Backstage, Aine sits with Mio and shows her the unique collectibles she got as presents commemorating her friendship with her fellow Friends units. She shows Mio her Friend Book, which is filled with a page from each Friends unit, and with that everyone takes their turn until eventually, Nako's turn arrives. She nervously waits by the side of the stage and is discovered by Aine and Mio, who ask about the missing Nico. Nako explains that something came up and she had to go deal with it in the meantime, but she's very nervous since she's never been to such a high-talented competition. Aine is able to calm her down by bringing up that everyone's power has its limits, but with friends by your side, you can push past those limits. She even claims that Nako and her friends are the reason she made it as ar as she did, and she's sure Nako has it the same. Suddenly Nico returns with a present for Nako, a friend shrimp bento. She went to get one for her because Nako said that eating one prior to a performance is a sign of good luck. Nako is touched by this gesture and happily thanks her, only to get flustered when Nico teases her Nagoya-accent slip afterward.

With Nako feeling better the two take off for their performance as Aine and Mio remain in the room. Aine wishes them luck and the girls change into their coords, then put on a performance. Aine and Mio listen as the crowd cheers for the girls, and from their spot in the crowd, Maika brings up that while everyone is proving that they deserve to be on this stage, Baby Pirates is still miles ahead of them. Ema points out that Aine and Mio are next though, and they know from experience that they'll nail it.

Hearing the crowd cheer for them, Aine and Mio prepare to head to the stage and change. Aine stops Mio momentarily though, and she promises to stand by Mio's side. While she knows her own skills don't match hers, she will use every ounce of strength she has to keep up. Mio is touched, but she warns Aine not to stress out and to just be herself- no matter what she'll continue to pull her along. Equally touched by these words, Aine trails behind her and they change into their Friends coord. They reappear on stage and perform "Everyone Everyone!".

After the performance, everyone cheers for Aine, including her friends and family, and a super-excited Ema whose unable to express herself until Maika calms her down. She's convinced they might very well stand a good chance at winning.

As Marin and Rinna anxiously discuss how well the duo did, Aine and Mio exchange hands and words as they leave the stage. But known to them, Mirai and Karen watch from nearby. The duo takes off to find a concerned Kaguya and Mushiro trying to convince Sakuya to exit her room. She was unhappy with the divining reading she got and she locked herself inside, refusing to come out. She did it before the show, which is why she was busy earlier, and when she looked up how the Cup's results would turn out, Sakuya was very shocked. She refused to speak about it, but Kaguya can tell that her behavior that it was a bad reading. Mushiro also feels badly for being unable to speak to Sakuya and try to make her feel better, and Aine hurriedly tries to convince Sakuya to come out after Mio reveals that unless she does, they will be disqualified.

It's then Kaguya gets a text from Sakuya, but she refuses to say anything. Kaguya asks if there's anything they could get that would reverse her bad reading, and to her confusion she is told to get a wood carved bear statue and a shisa. Suddenly, Aine remembers having these objects and she fetches them for her, and they take a picture to send Sakuya. This is followed by Sakuya saying their lucky animal is a penguin, so the trio rush back to Aine's place and take a picture with Penne. Kaguya refuses to give up and asks if there is anything more while Mio awaits at the doorway.

As this goes on more Friends perform and Sakuya brings up that there is a lucky food item: Basilico Spaghetti loaded with Basil. To the girls shock, Mushiro is easily able to make the food for Kaguya to eat as Aine takes a picture. Kaguya dislikes basil but she refuses to give in, quickly devouring the food before they run outside to offer tissues to various passerby's. She also does ten pull-ups, and seeing how miserable she is Sakuya begs her to stop.

Outside in the hallway, Mio asks Sakuya if something else is wrong knowing that she isn't selfish. She would never let a bad divination stop her from performing, but Sakuya refuses to relent. Mio pleadingly asks that she tells her, and Sakuya reveals that the reading foretold that the moment she stepped on stage a horrible misfortune would befall Kaguya. She could never risk losing her beloved sister, so she refuses to step foot on that stage.

Characters

 * Aine Yūki
 * Mio Minato
 * Sakuya Shirayuri
 * Kaguya Shirayuri
 * Ema Hinata
 * Maika Chōno
 * Karen Kamishiro
 * Mirai Asuka
 * Coco
 * Nako Ebihara
 * Niko Nishina
 * Marin Manami
 * Rinna Shinkai
 * Eru Ayukawa
 * Chihori Kumano
 * Shīna Yamahara
 * Mika Shishimaru
 * Mushirō Haryū
 * Tamaki Enjōji
 * Ken Mayuzumi
 * Chiharu Hachiya
 * Momone Yūki
 * Suzune Yūki
 * Yoshitsune Yūki
 * Kazune Yūki
 * Masamune Yūki
 * Nene Yūki

Trivia

 * This episode premiered on the birthday of Karen Kamishiro.
 * As of this episode, The Thing That's Only There and Pride replace Thank You⇄It'll Be Alright and Believe it as the Opening and Ending Theme songs.
 * The Happy Revolution Coord, Art Revolution Coord, Rose Heroic Coord, Rose Cheerful Coord, Love Destiny Coord, Soul Destiny Coord, Diamond Wish Coord, Diamond Dream Coord, Glamorous Pirates Coord, Girly Pirates Coord, Pastel Crossing Coord, and the Luxury Bordeaux Coord make a cameo appearance in this episode.