"Hello, everyone! Welcome aboard the craziest show you'll ever see–Total Pokemon Island!" enthusiastically announced a robust purple Pokemon. He had an enormous grin and a pair of squinted red eyes. "I'll be your host, Gengar!"
A tall, beautiful Pokemon appeared next to him, waving at the camera. "I'm the co-host, Gardevoir!" she stated with a dramatic flourish of her arms. "Together we'll be hosting all sorts of challenges here on this island. Twenty-two selected Pokemon will compete in these challenges against each other to win."
"But to win what?" Gengar asked rhetorically. He flashed the camera an exaggerated grin. "Money, of course! The grand prize for the winner of the show is one million Poke! And only one Pokemon can walk away with the title of champion. So who will it be? Let's find out here on Total Pokemon Island!"
As Gengar finished his dramatic introduction, the camera panned to the right of the two hosts. A long wooden dock was shown, and in the distance a small summer camp was visible. The camera settled on a view of the very end of the dock as Gengar and Gardevoir walked over to remain in view.
"In today's episode, we will be introducing the contestants who will be staying on this island," Gengar explained. "Once they've arrived, they will be split into two different teams. Those teams will compete against each other in each of the subsequent challenges until the teams become too small to manage. At that point in the game, the contestants will be merged, and it will be every Pokemon for themselves!"
Gardevoir gestured to an area off-camera. "It looks like the first Lapras is coming in with our contestants!" she exclaimed. She turned to face the camera. "Our contestants are being brought to the island by the Lapras Ferry Service, a highly reputable ferry service consisting only of Lapras!"
A brief advertisement for the Lapras Ferry Service flashed on screen before the show resumed. Gengar and Gardevoir patiently waited as the Lapras slowly stopped at the end of the dock. Its passenger, a purple monkey Pokemon with a hand-like tail, hopped off excitedly and grinned at the two hosts.
"Hey! The name's Aipom!" shouted the little monkey. She extended her tail to the hosts as a greeting. "Nice to meetcha!"
Gengar hesitantly shook Aipom's hand...tail. "Uh...nice to meet you, Aipom!" he said, regaining his composure quickly. "You're the first contestant to arrive!"
"Does that mean I win a prize?" asked Aipom, bouncing up and down energetically.
Gengar laughed. "Nope!" he said. "It means absolutely nothing."
"Well, that sucks," Aipom said, her attitude suddenly changing to one of disappointment. "And after all that trouble I went through to be the first one here. Phooey."
"Er...yeah. Anyway, moving on," Gengar continued, "it seems that our second contestant approaches! That's the second Lapras I see on the horizon, indeed!"
As the second Lapras pulled up to the dock, its passenger flapped off frantically. "Whew. Nice to be on land again," he muttered. The second arrival was a small blue bat Pokemon. He had pointed fangs and appeared to lack eyes. "I'm not a big fan of the ocean. Uh, I'm Zubat, by the way."
"And you signed up for a show that takes place on an island?" Gardevoir asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a chance to win money!" Zubat protested in defense. "You don't just say no to that!"
"Fair enough, my friend. Fair enough," said Gengar, nodding his head. "Why don't you head on over by Aipom while we wait for the rest of you to show up?"
"Sure," said Zubat. He fluttered over to Aipom and turned in her general direction. Aipom couldn't tell if he was looking at her or not, because he had no eyes, but she waved at him eagerly anyway. Zubat smiled.
"Ahem. Excuse me," came an unfamiliar voice. Gengar glanced around in surprise, but saw no one. The third Lapras was already pulling away from the dock, having dumped its passenger on the island unnoticed. "Down here."
Gengar glanced down and saw a short acorn Pokemon standing on the wooden boards. He had two stubby feet, a gray acorn cap, and a pair of tired looking eyes. "I'm Seedot. It's a pleasure," he said in a voice that didn't convey any real excitement.
"Welcome to the island, Seedot," Gardevoir greeted him, covering for her partner. "You can take your place with the other campers."
Seedot nodded and joined the first two campers. Aipom peered over at him with big eyes while Zubat didn't pay him too much attention.
The fourth Lapras was quick to arrive, and it dropped off a different Pokemon that also looked like a monkey. This one was mostly orange in color and had a bright flame burning at the end of its tail.
"Monferno," the fourth camper greeted the hosts politely, extending a hand formally. Both of the hosts shook it and Monferno gave them both a subtle smile. "Thanks for letting me compete."
"We're glad to have you," Gengar told him. "Head down to the end of the dock and wait for everyone else to arrive."
"Will do," said Monferno, giving Gengar a mock salute and walking over to the others. He stood a short distance to Zubat's right, giving the bat enough room to flap his wings without hitting anything.
"Hey, are you edible?" asked Aipom, poking Seedot with the end of her tail. She had been wondering that burning question ever since he arrived on the island, but she couldn't keep it to herself anymore.
"Excuse me, what?" asked Seedot, having an appropriate reaction to being asked such a question.
Aipom decided to articulate further. "Let's say someone tried to consume you," she explained in more detail. "Would you have any nutritional value? Maybe you contain a lot of protein, or…?"
Seedot turned away and did his best to pretend that didn't happen.
Gardevoir tapped her foot on the dock impatiently as she waited for the next Lapras to arrive. The boards of the dock creaked each time she tapped them. She furrowed her brow in mild irritation.
The fifth Lapras did arrive several minutes later, dropping off a tiny pink berry-like Pokemon. Her main body consisted of one berry, but a second, smaller berry was connected by a stem that sprouted from her head.
"Hey. I'm Cherubi," she said, smiling as she walked over to the hosts. "It's nice to meet y–"
She was cut off abruptly as the planks she was walking over somehow collapsed underneath her weight and she fell through into the water.
"I told you we should have gotten a better dock," Gardevoir complained to Gengar.
Gengar scoffed. "Yeah. And you also told me that we should have bought an indoor bowling alley for our cabin, but we all know how that turned out."
"Okay, we don't talk about that," Gardevoir said hastily. She cast nervous glances at the camera. "Not on TV. Later, maybe."
"Fine, whatever you say," said Gengar smugly, smirking after winning their little argument. His face froze in confusion. "Wait, weren't we doing something?"
A loud sputtering sound came from beneath the dock as Cherubi pulled herself out of the water. Monferno jogged over and held out a hand to help her up. She took his hand and he pulled her up.
"Oh yeah, that was it," Gengar said. He gave Cherubi a big smile. "Welcome to Total Pokemon Island!"
"Yeah. Hi," said Cherubi, putting up a front of false enthusiasm. Her mood was dampened, quite literally, after falling through the dock.
"Are you okay?" asked Monferno, showing some concern.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. This kind of stuff happens all the time," said Cherubi with an awkward laugh.
Monferno raised an eyebrow. "It...does?"
"Oh yeah," Cherubi said, chuckling. "All of my mail from this past week got burned in a horrific traffic accident. I got robbed two weeks ago and lost pretty much everything. And three weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a rare disease that could potentially kill me at any moment."
Monferno laughed awkwardly after a moment's hesitation. "Ha...um, you're joking. Right?" he asked, trying to tell whether or not she was actually being serious.
"Well, I was kidding about the rare disease part. But I do have notoriously bad luck," Cherubi said. "Wait, hang on a sec."
Cherubi set down her bags and opened her suitcase. She pulled out a mirror that had been shattered into countless pieces. "Looks like my mirror broke again," she sighed. "Good thing I packed extras."
Cherubi pulled out five more broken mirrors. "Uh...well, that's thirty-five more years of bad luck," she counted mentally. "Which means I'm due for slightly over a thousand years of bad luck now. That's a pretty big landmark."
"Okay, get out of here, you screenhog," said Gengar, pushing her aside. Cherubi stumbled and accidentally fell into the water again. The sixth Lapras coasted alongside the shore and its passenger, a nimble yellow mouse Pokemon, hopped off and landed on the dock.
"What's up? Name's Raichu!" she shouted. The newcomer glanced over at the previous five arrivals and gave them a cocky grin. "Might as well quit now and save yourselves the effort, because I plan on walking home with that money!"
"Don't we all, sweetheart," Seedot droned. Zubat snickered.
Raichu cast a defiant glare at Seedot and took her place in the crowd. "You think you're funny, huh?" she asked, confronting Seedot. He stared at her apathetically. "It won't be too funny to you when I send you home first."
"Go ahead, be my guest. I'd love to see you try," Seedot offered. "As long as we're on opposite teams, of course."
Raichu scowled and turned away from him. It probably wasn't worth starting rivalries on the very first episode. Especially with someone like him.
The seventh Lapras showed up and a much larger Pokemon than the previous contestants stepped off of his Lapras. He was a scaly blue alligator Pokemon with yellow eyes, a strong jaw, and intimidating claws. But to the hosts' surprise, all he did was give a friendly wave.
"Welcome to the island! And you are...Feraligatr?" prompted Gengar. The croc nodded and glanced over at the other campers. Monferno was watching him curiously and Aipom was clapping her hands together and dancing around in silly ways because she felt like it. Feraligatr simply blinked.
"You can take a spot over by them, you know," Gengar offered. Feraligatr gave him a thumbs-up and marched over to the others. Cherubi was drying herself off with a towel that Raichu had offered her, so Feraligatr gave them some distance.
"You don't say much, huh?" asked Raichu, initiating a conversation with Feraligatr. "Strong, silent type? That what you're going for?"
Feraligatr shrugged. "I just don't have much to say," he replied.
Raichu tapped her foot on the dock. "Makes sense," she said. "I'm Raichu, by the way. In case you missed that."
Feraligatr nodded and gave her a smile. Cherubi returned Raichu's towel just as the eighth contestant arrived at the island.
The Lapras paused at the dock to give the contestant some time to carry their bags off of its shell. The contestant was a relatively small yellow Pokemon with squinted eyes and a long tail. She floated in midair, but had no wings–most campers were quick to recognize that she had psychic powers that allowed her to levitate.
"I'm Abra," the yellow Pokemon introduced herself. "It's really cool to be here."
"Welcome aboard, Abra. Why don't you head down that way?" Gengar instructed her. She gave him a nod and took a spot somewhere between Monferno and Zubat.
"Are you real?" asked Aipom as Abra settled in by the others.
"Um, yes. I consider myself real," Abra confirmed. She gave Aipom a quizzical look. "Are you?" Abra retorted jokingly.
"Good question!" Aipom shouted. She punched herself in the gut with her tail. "OW. Okay, that was real. Definitely real. Oof." Abra frowned and faced the other way.
"Here comes number nine," Gardevoir announced. The next arrival stepped off of his Lapras with a smile, twirling a cane and tipping his top hat to the hosts.
"You may call me Politoed," said the small green frog in the hat. "I am quite grateful to have been accepted onto this show. So, a token of my appreciation."
Politoed tapped his cane once on the dock and a bouquet of flowers popped out of the end of the cane. Politoed plucked the flowers from the tip and handed them off to Gardevoir. "For you, milady," he said, winking. Gardevoir stared at him in surprise.
"And for you, sir," Politoed said, turning to the other host, "I also have a surprise."
"It's not flowers, right?" Gengar asked. "I do have mild allergic reactions to some kinds of flowers."
"Ah, I had prepared something different for you," Politoed said. "It wouldn't have the same effect otherwise. You might want to check behind your ear right about now."
"Huh?" grunted Gengar. He reached behind his ear and pulled out a shiny silver coin. A greedy smile slowly spread across his face. "I like this guy," Gengar commented. Politoed smirked.
"Wait, he gets money and I just get a bunch of flowers?" Gardevoir protested. "What am I supposed to do with these anyway?"
Politoed glanced back. "Ah. Were you perhaps hoping for a shiny silver coin as well?" Politoed asked.
"It would be nice," said Gardevoir, fiddling with the flowers in her hand. "Not that I don't appreciate flowers."
"Well, I just so happen to be fresh out of coins at the moment," Politoed said. He winked at Gardevoir. "But I'll see what I can do."
The other campers stared in bewilderment as the magician took his place among them. Politoed tipped his hat to Seedot, who had his eyes fixated on the frog with a look of distrust. Seedot didn't care much for magic; it was all a bunch of hogwash and mind tricks to him.
"So you do magic, huh?" Abra inquired. "That's cool. I know a bit of magic myself!"
"Hm. It's not really magic, though, is it?" asked Politoed, a twinkle in his eye.
Abra laughed casually. "No, I guess not," she said. She stuck out a hand. "Abra."
Politoed shook her hand and the two of them continued to have a polite conversation as the next contestant arrived. She was completely hidden by a cloth that was draped over her body; the cloth had been folded so that it was shaped like a Pikachu, and a crude face that resembled a Pikachu's had even been drawn on the front.
"Hi! I'm Mimikyu!" announced a muffled voice from underneath the cloth. "And this is Pikachu! Say hi, Pikachu!"
The fake Pikachu head wobbled back and forth. "Hi, I'm Pikachu!" said Mimikyu in a goofy voice, shaking the Pikachu head around to make it seem like it was talking. "It's nice to meetcha!"
Raichu cracked a grin. "Heh. She's like a ventriloquist, except you can't tell which part the puppet is," she said with a chuckle.
Mimikyu waddled over to the other contestants. "Hi, everyone!" Mimikyu introduced herself again. "It's nice to meet you all! And Pikachu's glad to meet you, too!"
"Oh, yeah! I love meeting people!" said Mimikyu in Pikachu's voice, wobbling the puppet head.
"That's not a real Pikachu," said Seedot, preemptively bursting the bubble that Mimikyu was building up.
"I sure am!" said Pikachu, wobbling back and forth. "Look at me! I can even talk!" Seedot sighed.
"A puppeteer. How quaint," said Politoed, a smile on his face. Cherubi also gave Mimikyu an approving look. Feraligatr watched her from a distance with a look of curiosity.
"Oy," a new voice rudely interrupted. Gengar and Gardevoir whirled around to see a lizard Pokemon with sagging pants standing there, looking annoyed. "We don't have all day, do we?"
Gengar pretended to look at a watch on his wrist. "No, we've got plenty of time," he joked, looking at the newcomer for his response. The lizard's eyes narrowed and he scowled. Evidently he didn't care for Gengar's sense of humor.
Gardevoir cleared her throat, and the eleventh contestant set his gaze on her. "You would be Scraggy, correct?" she asked.
"That's right," he stated. He cast glares into the crowd of contestants who were already present. "Is this it?"
"Well, obviously there are more who haven't arrived," Gengar stated. "But you're the eleventh one here, so we're actually halfway through."
Scraggy glared at Gengar and sauntered over to the other campers. They all gave him a wide berth, noticing his sour mood. Aipom, however, crept up behind Scraggy silently and decided to startle him.
"BOO!" screamed Aipom, jumping in front of Scraggy and waving her arms wildly for added effect. Scraggy jumped back with a shout, but he regained his composure moments later and glared daggers at Aipom. She just stuck out her tongue with a blank look on her face.
"What the hell," Scraggy muttered, shaking his head. "There's something wrong with this place."
The twelfth contestant arrived shortly after Scraggy, and Gengar greeted him with his usual toothy grin. "Welcome to the island!" shouted Gengar.
"Hey," the newcomer replied casually, waving a claw. He had brown spikes on his back and dark blue eyes, and he resembled a shrew. "I'm Sandslash."
"Great! Why don't you take a seat by the others?" Gengar suggested, pointing Sandslash toward the other campers with a dramatic sweeping gesture of his arm. "Or you could stand. That's also a perfectly valid option."
"I'll stand, thanks," Sandslash said, frowning at Gengar. He walked over as he was told, and Mimikyu wiggled her puppet at him playfully.
Zubat's ears twitched as Sandslash approached. "Hey, that's the twelfth one, right?" he whispered to Monferno.
"Uh, yeah," Monferno said, glancing back at Zubat.
"So that's over half of us," Zubat muttered. "Cool."
The thirteenth Lapras didn't take long afterward to arrive. Its contestant, a round purple Pokemon, floated down onto the dock gracefully. She had a yellow X marking about where her mouth would be.
"My name is Drifblim," she told Gengar in a surprisingly deep voice. "Thank you for having me."
"Any time, Drifblim. Why don't you head down that way?" Gengar told her. Drifblim blinked in response and floated over to the others. Abra gave her a quick wave, and Drifblim nodded at Abra in acknowledgment.
The fourteenth contestant, a pink fairy-like Pokemon, stepped onto the dock in quick succession. "I'm Clefable," she told the hosts. Her voice was soft and pleasant to listen to. "It's nice to finally meet both of you. You're Gengar and Gardevoir, I take it?"
"That's us," said Gengar, smirking. "You're the first contestant who seems to recognize us! Congratulations!"
Clefable laughed softly. "Am I really? Well, clearly I'm the only one who came to this island prepared," she said, chuckling. Gengar smiled at her.
"Number fifteen's coming in. Clefable, you can head over to the other campers," Gardevoir informed the other Fairy-type. Clefable smiled at the co-host and walked over to the others, giving her fellow contestants a pleasant smile. Mimikyu waved to her with her Pikachu head and Feraligatr also gave her a friendly wave. Cherubi figured that Clefable looked nice enough and made a mental note to talk to her later.
Gardevoir helped the fifteenth contestant off of her Lapras. The newcomer was an icy white fox Pokemon with bright blue eyes and wavy fur. "Thank you," said the fox as Gardevoir took a step back. "My name's Ninetales. I'm not late, am I?" she asked, noticing the other campers.
"Nope! You're in the right place at the right time," Gengar said. "Welcome to the island, Ninetales!"
Ninetales gave Gengar a quick smile before joining the others. Raichu perked up as Ninetales drew closer. "Hey, you're one of them Alolan Pokemon, aren't you?" asked Raichu.
"That's correct," Ninetales said. "I'm from Alola, but I actually live in Kanto now."
"Fascinating," muttered Seedot sarcastically. Raichu shot the acorn a nasty glare. Ninetales gave him a disapproving look as well.
The sixteenth contestant to arrive was a brown mole Pokemon with a drill-like helmet of steel and sharpened claws that looked strong enough to pierce through solid rock. He marched over to Gengar formally and stuck out his hand. "Excadrill," said the mole in a serious tone. "Good to meet you, sir."
"Thanks. You can drop the 'sir,' by the way," Gengar informed the mole. Excadrill nodded curtly and marched over to his fellow contestants. Sandslash eyed him suspiciously but said nothing.
Gardevoir watched as the seventeenth Lapras stopped to let its passenger off. A small ghost Pokemon with what appeared to be a pointed horn on his head flew off. He looked to the hosts nervously, not knowing what to do.
"Your name?" Gengar prompted him.
"Uh, Shuppet. That's right," he mumbled nervously. "This is, er, my first time on TV."
"Really? I couldn't tell," said Gardevoir sarcastically. Gengar chortled and the two hosts smirked at Shuppet mockingly. The ghost flew over to the other contestants, looking embarrassed.
"Excuse me."
Gardevoir jumped in surprise as an unexpected voice spoke. The hosts looked down to see that the eighteenth camper was also there. She was a small round bug Pokemon wrapped in a leafy cloak.
"Where's your Lapras?" Gengar asked her dubiously.
"He was drunk. Had to hitch a ride with Shuppet," explained the bug. "I'm Swadloon, by the way."
"Good to know. We're almost done with camper introductions, so you can wait over there for a little while," Gengar explained to her. Swadloon nodded and sort of rolled herself over to the others. Scraggy scowled as she accidentally bumped into him.
"Whoops. My bad," Swadloon muttered.
"Yeah. Watch it," Scraggy threatened. Drifblim turned to face Scraggy, her expression unreadable. Granted, her expression hadn't changed during her entire time on the island. Perhaps her range of facial expressions was just very limited.
Swadloon rolled her eyes, not seeming fazed at all by Scraggy. The nineteenth Lapras (eighteenth, technically) dropped off its passenger. She was a blue serpentine Pokemon with beady black eyes.
"Ah, you must be Dragonair!" Gengar said. "Welcome!"
Dragonair nodded at him silently and also acknowledged Gardevoir before slithering over to join the campers. Clefable stepped aside to make room for her at the end of the dock.
"Only three contestants remain to be introduced," Gengar stated. "And here comes one of them now!"
"Hi," said the twentieth contestant flatly as he got off of his Lapras. He was a floating blue metallic Pokemon with two arms and dark red eyes. "I'm Metang."
"That's great! Now go stand over there," Gengar said. Metang shrugged and did as he was told.
Waves gently crashed against the shore of the island as the hosts waited for the remaining two contestants. A Lapras slowly swam up to the dock, and a burly looking scorpion Pokemon hobbled off. She looked around at everyone warily before approaching the hosts.
"My name is Drapion," said the scorpion in a raspy voice. "This is Total Pokemon Island, isn't it?"
Gengar nodded. "Good, good," murmured Drapion. She twitched suddenly. "I would hate to have been on the wrong island. Then again, I could swim back to the mainland on my own. I could swim an entire ocean if I had to."
Gengar glanced at Gardevoir uncertainly as Drapion continued. "It's survival of the fittest out there! Had I been on the wrong island, I'd have probably been better off! Living on my own in the wild, using my survival skills to make my way to the top of the food chain…" Drapion went on. "I would have changed the laws of nature itself!"
"Ooookay," said Gengar, a little weirded out. "Well, you're on a TV show, which is the next best thing to surviving in the wilderness. Why don't you go stand over there?"
Drapion twitched and gave Gengar a shaky nod. She hobbled over to the other contestants, who tried to avoid making eye contact with her. Drapion's claws fidgeted as she stood there. Cherubi watched her, partly curious and partly wary of the newcomer.
"Uh, howdy there!" came a new voice. The hosts turned to see the final Lapras pulling away. A blue amorphous Pokemon with a spiky spiral-shaped shell wiggled his way over to the hosts. "I'm Omastar! Nice to meet you!"
"Congratulations, Omastar! You're the last contestant to arrive!" Gengar told him.
Omastar's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Whoa, really?" he gasped. "That's so cool!"
"No, it's not. It's just the same as arriving third or seventeenth. Except you arrive last," said Gengar, quickly raining on Omastar's parade.
But Omastar was not to be disappointed so easily. "Yeah, but now I get to meet everyone right away instead of having to wait for them to arrive!" Omastar pointed out. He turned toward the other campers and waved at them like a maniac. "HI, EVERYONE! I'M OMASTAR!"
"Hi, Omastar!" called Mimikyu.
Her Pikachu puppet bobbed its head back and forth. "Yeah, hi, Omastar!" it said in that same goofy voice. Mimikyu giggled from under her cloth.
Omastar laughed. "Whoa, a puppet! Neat!" he said, grinning happily.
"Why don't you go over by the others so we can wrap things up here?" Gardevoir asked him, pushing Omastar gently toward the others.
"Ha ha! Okay!" Omastar said happily. He walked over toward the others and settled in by Mimikyu, beaming radiantly at anyone who so much as glanced his way.
"Ugh. He's so positive it's sickening," Seedot said, pretending to gag. Swadloon chuckled.
Gengar clapped his hands together and got everyone's attention. "Okay, everyone! Now that you're all here, we'll take this into camp so you can finally see where you'll be staying!" the host announced. He waved his hand toward the campsite. "Follow me!"
Gengar and Gardevoir led the pack of campers away from the dock and across the grassy ground until they reached the campsite. The campsite was surrounded by woods on all sides except the one where it connected to the shore. Excadrill surveyed the camp for any important details. There were three cabins in the camp, a cafeteria, and some other building that he couldn't quite figure out.
"We're staying in those cabins, right?" Ninetales asked, speaking up.
"Correct! Each cabin is divided in half, and there's one side for each team," Gengar explained. "The cabin on the left is where the male campers will be staying, and the one on the right is for you ladies. Once we divide you into teams, you'll know which side of the cabin you'll be staying in."
"Over here is our confessional feature," Gardevoir said, gesturing to an outhouse. "In it, you can–"
"Wait, hold up. We're doing confessionals in an outhouse?" Swadloon asked, making a face.
Gardevoir put her hands on her hips. "And you'll like it."
Metang stared at the outhouse with a disappointed look on his face. The confessional feature he'd been excited to use did not live up to his expectations.
"If anyone wants to go in now and use it, you're more than welcome," Gengar said. "Just try not to hold us up for too long. We still have to split you all into teams today."
Monferno shrugged and took a step inside the outhouse. He closed the door and turned on a camera that was mounted on a wall.
####
Monferno tapped his leg awkwardly. "So I guess I'm the first one to use this confessional," he said. "It feels weird. The whole island, I mean. I guess I'm not about to turn down a shot for a million Poke, though."
####
"So...I'm not off to a great start," sighed Shuppet. "I don't know. I haven't made any friends yet, and I feel like the hosts think I'm a complete pushover."
He stared at the wall blankly. "...am I really a pushover?"
####
Raichu smirked confidently and leaned against the wall. "This'll be a piece of cake," she said. "Those other campers will see what I can do and they'll run. It's just as well, as I don't plan on losing anyway."
####
Politoed twirled his cane around and then glanced at the camera. "Well, I must confess I had higher hopes for this show. Using an outhouse like this is...creative, but demeaning for everyone involved," he said. "Ah, well. I'll make the best of it."
####
"The other campers seem nice enough," said Dragonair quietly. "I'm not much for socializing, but maybe I can make a friend or two while I'm here. I've heard that alliances help in these shows."
####
"Aha! Just as I thought. There's mold in this outhouse," said Drapion, peering at a spot that was indeed covered in mold. "And mold is like nature's way of saying 'You're too old! Die already!'" Drapion cackled and punched the wall of the outhouse. Her eye twitched again.
####
Metang stared at a dent in the wall that was in the shape of Drapion's claw. "Okay, then," he said, not seeming perturbed about that. "Well, allow me to say…"
Metang let out a deep sigh. "...that this show is massively disappointing in every way and this is one summer I'm never getting back," he groaned. "Can't believe I went through with this. It's ridiculous. There's no way I'm winning that money."
####
"This seems swell!" said Omastar optimistically. "They've got it all! A summer camp! A confessional! An outhouse! And they actually combined the outhouse and the confessional! Cool!"
####
"Flattery seems to be effective on the hosts. That's good to know," Clefable said, laughing. "It seems I played my cards the right way, then. I don't need to be the best at the challenges as long as the hosts like me."
####
"What do you think of the island, Mimikyu?" mumbled the Pikachu puppet.
"I think it's pretty cool! Although I haven't seen much yet. Some of the contestants are kind of scary, though," Mimikyu admitted. "But some of them are nice. How about you, Pikachu?"
"I'm just a puppet!" said Pikachu with a laugh. Mimikyu laughed too.
The camera filmed Mimikyu laughing to herself for several more minutes.
####
"Okay, I think that's everyone that wanted to use the confessional for now!" Gengar stated. "Let's continue the tour, then!"
The campers followed the hosts to the cafeteria. Gengar held the door open while Gardevoir led the contestants inside. They entered single file and began sitting down at the tables in the cafeteria. Gengar and Gardevoir walked to the front of the cafeteria to address them.
"It's time to split you into teams now!" said Gengar, slamming his hands down on a cafeteria table. "Whether you like it or not, the Pokemon you're teamed up with are the ones you're stuck with for the next few weeks!"
Abra was taken aback by the host's sudden change in attitude. Gardevoir held up a list in front of her and began to read it aloud. "Our first team will consist of…" she began.
"Abra." The psychic perked up and began to listen for her other teammates.
"Scraggy. Cherubi." Scraggy scowled and kicked his feet up on the table. Cherubi didn't react, but she didn't seem upset at the very least.
"Zubat. Excadrill." Zubat smirked as he heard his name called. Excadrill nodded silently and glanced over at his teammates.
"Clefable, Ninetales, Sandslash," Gardevoir continued. Clefable smiled at the hosts pleasantly while Ninetales and Sandslash exchanged a wordless glance.
"Omastar. Aipom." Omastar beamed at Aipom, who gave Omastar a high-five and cheered loudly. "And finally Politoed."
Politoed tipped his hat to the co-host and looked around at his teammates. Sandslash was giving Politoed an uneasy look, while Aipom was bouncing in her seat from the excitement.
"Did everyone catch that?" asked Gardevoir. The Pokemon whose names were called all nodded. "Good. On to the second team, then."
Gardevoir passed the list to Gengar, who began to read off the names of each of the members of the second team. "The second team will consist of…" Gengar began.
"Shuppet." The ghostly puppet's eyes flitted back and forth between the hosts.
"Mimikyu, Seedot." Mimikyu wiggled back and forth in her seat. Seedot blinked in boredom.
"Drapion, Dragonair." Drapion slammed her claw on the table in approval and Dragonair glanced at Drapion with a look of concern.
"Monferno. Feraligatr," Gengar continued. Monferno shrugged and Feraligatr crossed his arms. "Drifblim."
Drifblim glanced at each of her new teammates as their names were called. "Raichu. Metang." Raichu grinned cockily and Metang tapped his arms on the table impatiently. "And finally, Swadloon."
"Saved the best for last, eh?" Swadloon asked with a sly grin.
"Only time will tell on that, Swadloon. Only time will tell," Gengar said. "Now, you can get acquainted with your teammates if you'd like. Or you can completely ignore them. But regardless of your stance on your team, they're the ones you'll be working with in challenges."
"Wait, we're not getting team names?" asked Shuppet. "I thought these shows always did that sort of thing."
"What do you mean, 'these shows?' This is a completely original concept!" Gengar said unconvincingly.
Shuppet blinked. "Um, okay. But do we get team names?"
Gengar sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. We'll give you team names. Your team is hereby known as the Screaming Watchogs!"
Rather than applauding the name, the Screaming Watchogs looked at each other in confusion. Watchogs were not known for screaming, but rather for their spectacular eyesight. The team name didn't make much sense, but they weren't going to argue it.
"And your team…" Gengar said, pointing at Abra, "...is now the Killer Basculin!"
"I can get behind that team name," Zubat agreed.
"Hey, that's not fair! They got a better team name!" Metang complained. "Watchogs don't even scream!"
"Oh, yeah, they do. Trust me," Gardevoir said. The campers all stared at her awkwardly for a few moments. "What?"
"Well, do you want a new team name? How about the Sucky Spindas. There. It's official now," Gengar said, put off by Metang's complaining.
"That's not any better," Metang pointed out.
"And whose fault is that?" Gengar huffed. He turned to the rest of the campers. "Okay, everyone! It's time for cabin assignments! Follow me again!"
The campers all filed out of the cafeteria after Gengar, this time trying to get used to who their teammates were.
####
"So we're the Sucky Spindas now," Metang groaned. "That's just great. Me and my big mouth."
####
"I would have much rather been a Watchog than a Spinda," Dragonair mused. "But alas, fate has decreed that I am now sucky."
####
"There's no way the other team can win with a name like the Sucky Spindas!" Aipom said, giggling. "Heh heh...that's funny."
####
"As previously explained, each cabin is divided into two parts. On the left side, the Basculin members will stay. And on the right, the Spindas will stay," Gardevoir told the campers. "Does everyone understand that?"
"Yes, ma'am," Excadrill said, saluting her.
"Okay," said Gardevoir. "That's good. Everyone should unpack then and get a good night's sleep. Your first challenge will begin tomorrow!"
The campers began to disperse and file into their cabins, beginning to recognize their new teammates as they did so. Raichu and Seedot made eye contact and Raichu scowled. Seedot was on the same team as her after all.
####
"I was really looking forward to making an example out of him in front of the other campers," Raichu said, crossing her arms. "But I guess I'll just beat the other team to a pulp instead. That'll teach him some respect."
####
"I feel like I've made an enemy already," Seedot sighed. "It is what it is. She'll give up on this soon."
He blinked. "I hope," Seedot added.
####
In the Sucky Spindas' side of the male cabin, the guys were unpacking their belongings. Metang set down his suitcase on the bed above Feraligatr's.
"So...hi, everyone," Monferno said, waving to everyone else. "I hope we all got off on the right foot. I'm Monferno, in case we haven't met yet."
"I'm Feraligatr," said the big croc, holding out a clawed hand to Monferno. Monferno shook it hesitantly, still a bit intimidated by Feraligatr's size, but Feraligatr's warm smile was reassuring.
"And, uh, I'm Shuppet," the little blue puppet intervened awkwardly. "Hiya."
"Boy, we're having a blast already," Seedot said sarcastically, sitting down on a lower bed. "Isn't this so much fun. Woohoo."
"I wonder what the first challenge is going to be," Metang muttered. "You guys wonder about that?"
"Of course," Monferno said. "It's pretty much the only thing that's been on my mind since I got here. Hopefully it's not too hard."
"Prepare for the worst," Seedot said. "If you're expecting the absolute worst possible scenario, your expectations will always be surpassed."
The other guys stared at him. "That's...deep," Metang said awkwardly.
####
On the other side of the cabin, the Killer Basculin guys were getting settled in. Sandslash kept an eye on Politoed as he unpacked, half expecting him to pull a Buneary out of nowhere. But he didn't.
"So, we're like teammates now, right?" Omastar asked excitedly. "That's cool! I've never been part of a team before. Or been on TV, for that matter!"
"Me neither," Zubat admitted. "I'm not sure what to expect yet."
"I suspect the first few challenges should be somewhat simplistic in nature," Politoed theorized. "I believe they may try to save the more difficult and arguably more interesting challenges for later."
"That's usually how they do things," Sandslash agreed. He kept his gaze on Politoed. "You seem to know a lot about these kinds of shows."
"I've seen my share of them," said Politoed, giving Sandslash a pleasant smile.
"Hm. So you have," Sandslash murmured quietly. "Well, so have I."
"Good. Then our team should be prepared for what's to come," Politoed stated brightly.
"Heck yeah, dudes! I'm so ready for this!" shouted Omastar.
"Do try and control yourself," Excadrill said, tapping Omastar's shell. "We need to act as one unit during these challenges. Loose cannons can't be tolerated."
"Ha ha! Loose cannons? Whaaat?" Omastar laughed.
Excadrill narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Loose cannons. Much like yourself."
"All right, guys, keep it cool," Sandslash said.
Scraggy leaned up against one of the bunk beds, crossing his arms. "Who made you the leader?" he scoffed at Sandslash.
Sandslash turned to face Scraggy irritably. "Excuse me?"
"No thanks, pal. I'll do what I want," Scraggy argued. "Why don't you stop trying to manage our team and just let them work things out on their own?"
"That's not what I'm doing," Sandslash said, his temper building.
"That's what it looks like to me," Scraggy said, keeping a steady tone; the intent behind his words was still evident.
Politoed tapped his cane on the floor twice. Scraggy and Sandslash turned to face him. "Gentlemen, please," said Politoed, "we're all on the same team here."
Scraggy scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. I'm not listening to some guy who dresses up like he's from the last century," he sneered.
Politoed maintained a level gaze on Scraggy. "Ah. So that's how it is," said Politoed, keeping a cool head. "What a shame." He turned away and continued unpacking his bags.
####
"Yeah, so the teamwork among my new teammates? Not looking so good," confessed Zubat. "Yikes. Hope I didn't get the wrong team."
####
In the other cabin, the Killer Basculin females were also conversing among themselves. Aipom was hanging from the top bunk of a bed by her tail, swinging back and forth. Ninetales set down her bags next to Clefable's.
"So...bunk beds, huh?" Ninetales observed. "I haven't slept in one of these since I was nine, probably."
"You'll get used to it again," Clefable reassured her. "Want to bunk together?"
"Sure," Ninetales agreed. The two Fairy-types continued unpacking their belongings as Cherubi and Abra also entered the cabin.
Abra tossed her suitcase onto a bed and exhaled a big breath. "Whew. I'm just glad that intro stuff's out of the way," she admitted. "I hate being in the spotlight."
"Why are you on TV then?" Clefable asked, giving Abra a frown.
"Because...money?" offered Abra weakly.
Ninetales smirked. "That's why I'm here, honestly," the fox laughed. "Isn't that why we're all here?"
"Pretty much," said Abra, gaining a little confidence again after having Ninetales back her up. Clefable made a face at Abra and turned away again.
Cherubi set her suitcase down onto one of the lower bunks gently, but the bed immediately collapsed as soon as her suitcase touched it.
Cherubi sighed. "Typical." Abra patted her consolingly.
"WHOOOO! FEEL THE RUSH!" Aipom said, swinging around. She went cross-eyed. "Uh-oh. Blood's rushing to my head." Aipom fell off the bed and hit the ground head first. "Ow."
####
The Sucky Spindas girls were unpacking their things on the other side of the cabin. Raichu was setting up some posters by her bed to make it feel more personal. Drifblim had finished unpacking and was scribbling in what everyone else assumed was a personal journal.
Drapion set down her two suitcases, and they caused a resounding loud thud. Raichu glanced over and shook her head.
"What's in there, dumbbells?" joked Raichu.
The corner of Drapion's mouth twitched. "No. Of course not," Drapion said. She opened her suitcases, and inside were small shelves packed to the brim with various foods that didn't look very appealing. "It's my rations for my stay on the island."
"You know they're serving us food, right?" Swadloon reminded Drapion. "That's why they have a cafeteria."
Drapion's eye twitched. "Fool! You don't know what they put in that food! They could be controlling your MINDS with that stuff!" Drapion spat. "This is the only way to ensure that I maintain my free will!"
"Fair enough," Swadloon said, clearly amused by Drapion's...eccentric behavior.
Dragonair slithered past Drapion, who was locking her suitcases with three sets of locks each. "If I catch anyone stealing from my rations, I'll cut off their right hand," Drapion said, her eyes wide.
"Question!" said Mimikyu. "What if the Pokemon in question doesn't have a right hand?"
"I also do not have a right hand," Swadloon reminded Drapion. "It'd be a shame if you tried to cut my right hand off, only to realize I don't have one."
"Then I'll skewer you with my rapier," Drapion hissed.
Swadloon looked slightly more concerned to hear this. "Rapier? What rapier?"
"As if I'd tell you where I hid it," Drapion said, her eyes twitching madly.
"Let's just agree not to steal from her," Dragonair suggested. "Can everyone agree to that?"
"Sure thing, Dragonair!" said the Pikachu puppet, its head wobbling. Swadloon chuckled at Mimikyu's act. Dragonair smiled at her.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don't keep me up tonight. I got to be at the top of my game tomorrow," said Raichu firmly. "We're not losing the first challenge on my watch."
####
Gengar rubbed his hands together vigorously. He stood with Gardevoir just outside the third cabin, which was reserved for the hosts and other crew members to stay in.
"Think the campers are going to be ready for the first challenge?" Gengar asked, looking to Gardevoir.
Gardevoir chuckled darkly. "Ha ha. Not if we have anything to do about it," she said, a mischievous look on her face.
"That's what I like to hear," cackled Gengar. "Let's get to it!"