Episode 16 - Miracle☆Baton Touch

Miracle☆Baton Touch (ミラクル☆バトンタッチ) is the sixteenth episode of the Aikatsu Stars! Anime Series. It aired on July 28, 2016.

Summary
It is the second day of the Summer Festival, and Laura Sakuraba will stand on the stage as the representative for the first years from the Flower Song Class in the very same location where the CM was shot. The schedule for Laura's performance was supposed to be on time, but there is trouble with the equipment. It is impossible for Laura to leave the set, so how will Laura be able to get back to the school after her turn--!?

Plot
One early morning Laura is filming a commercial for the Miracle! Felici-Taiyaki. Everyone compliments her job well done, with Kaoru apologizing for making her get up so early to film it on her day of Summer Fest. As they chat a staff member runs forward to inform them of some bad news, which she repeats to Anna moments later. A camera is faulty and won't record, so she's stuck there waiting for a replacement part to arrive. She isn't sure if she will be back on time but she's going to try her best. She hangs up and Yume expresses concern, leading Anna to explain the sudden issue. For now all they can do is think of the worst-case scenario.

Kaoru apologizes to Laura and offers to wait another day to film, but she refuses. Just then the replacement things arrive as she takes note that Song Class will be starting their part of the event in an hour.

In class, Anna explains what happened to Laura and everyone is concerned. However, they think Hime will be fine to cover things on her own, but Hime rejects this ideal. Recent events have been encouraging their fans, and things are more exciting than usual. She can't surpass the others without a partner; so she will have Yume replace Laura if she's unable to show, as the second best student. Yume is bewildered by the news and she is congratulated as she gets up to follow Hime to another room for a meeting on their upcoming performance. She is very anxious over this sudden change.

With filming done everyone celebrates their success and efforts. Laura thanks everyone for working so hard as they begin cleaning up, and Kaoru offers to drive her back to school.

Hime, Anna, and Yume hold their meeting but Yume can't focus- she really wants Laura to perform because it was her role first, and she wants her to go on if she makes it back in time. She rushes outside to the entrance to wait for Laura, passing by Theater Class where Ako and Tsubasa are chatting before the audience. Ako puts on a cute and nervous act instantly winning over the crowd and Tsubasa's respect, which makes Ako very happy, taking a moment to admire her older classmate, and they go to perform.

By this point Laura is stuck in traffic due to an accident up ahead. She notices the time and how she would have been in last rehearsal right now, and she gets out of the car to board the nearby train.

Yume continues to wait around, but with Laura not in sight she worries further. Koharu joins her and they hear that Theater Class has finished their portion of the event.

As it turns out, the train will be delayed for some time, causing Laura to sadly contact Yume and reveal what happened. She can't make it in time, so Yume will have to take her place. Yume tries to convince her to reconsider and refuses to take her place since she worked so hard, but Laura dismisses this, then she tells Yume to raise her hand. Yume does as told and Laura goes on to explain how she trusts her because of the efforts she puts into everything. She hangs up and sits back down to wait.

Encouraged by Laura, Yume runs back inside to find Anna and Hime. She explains to them that she is ready to do this, and will use the spare time remaining to rehearse. She continues working hard for both her sake and Laura's, and she uses her trust in her to imagine Laura training with her, allowing her to gain the strength and faith in herself to push forward.

With ten minutes left before the performance begins, Yume remains at top form. Hime happily brings up that she felt as though Laura was with them as well. When the show arrives, Anna goes out on stage to explain how Laura won't be performing due to an unforeseen accident, so someone will be replacing her. As this is going on, Yume is shocked to see that some classmates have prepared a banner to cheer her on. She thanks them and heads off, only to bump into Mahiru, who has also come to wish her good luck. Yume reunites with Hime again and they change into their chosen coords, appearing on stage to perform Start Line!

Once the performance ends, Laura arrives to school to find everyone has been left with feelings of amazement over how well the performance went. Everyone cheers for Yume and Laura observes the scene, going on to congratulate Yume.

With things wrapping up, Hikaru takes the stage to announce which student has won the event. Ako is shocked to see that she and Tsubasa have come in last, followed by Haruka and Yuzu. When it's revealed Hime is the winner everyone cheers and continues to congratulate Yume, who happily finds Laura waiting for her. She goes on to claim that had she been the one on stage, she would have won by a landslide- then she starts teasing Yume to ask that she share the lunch vouchers she won with her. Yume agrees and embraces Laura.

Later, Hikaru watches as S4 host a segment on the event. Each of them promise they will win the next time and he shuts his computer, thinking about Yume and wondering just what her talent may be while observing a picture.

Characters

 * Laura Sakuraba
 * Yume Nijino
 * Koharu Nanakura
 * Hime Shiratori
 * Tsubasa Kisaragi
 * Yozora Kasumi
 * Yuzu Nikaidō
 * Ako Saotome
 * Mahiru Kasumi
 * Anna Hibiki
 * Hikaru Moroboshi
 * Haruka☆Ruka

Trivia

 * The Aurora Butterfly Coord and Sweet Flower Fairy Coord make their debut in this episode.
 * This is the second appearance of Miracle Felici-Taiyaki.