Author's Note

The race BEGINS! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- I just realized something.

Delta: What's that?

Only a week ago...FMTDA was still a thing, and we were creatively lost, having basically stopped writing. Now...Here we are.

Delta: Yep, with an entirely new concept, some new contestants and...Muffins. We really hit the jackpot this week.

Well, with that said, best not to keep the readers waiting, eh?

Delta: That's right! Let's kick it into high gear!

Hell yeah! Enjoy the chapter, people, we're gonna go do our own version of Top Gun!

Delta: ...Wha-

TOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP GUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!


The streets of Auckland were...Unusually calm that day. Not a lot of traffic, while there were people about it was overwhelming in any way, the usually swarms of Wooloo that often overtook any chances of doing business were out in the fields instead of invading their city like usual. It was honestly pretty nice out.

However, this was soon interrupted, as the populace couldn't help but recoil in fright as they heard what sounded like an entire group of people storming towards them at that moment. For a moment, they were almost positive the Wooloo were returning, as a nearby mother cradled her children in her arms out of fear that they'd be carried away.

Within seconds though, these fears were swept away...As an even more horrifying sight came from running down the street, as over thirty-six young adults came through, seemingly destroying everything that stepped in front of their path. Cars were sent flying into the sky, stops signs were sent flying, people were crushed or thrown, and more as they ravaged everything in their path like a horde of zombies.

A few minutes passed, and as soon as the crowd was gone, the denizens could only look around in horror, as they saw the once beautiful Queens Street now looked straight out of an apocalypse. Everything was silent, as the mother looked down at her kids, "This is why you don't go on TV sweetie. Things are bound to go wrong."


Jane frantically looked from side to side, not daring to look into the camera as she stuttered out, "I-It was so h-horrifying...I...I d-didn't know s-so many people running could be s-so disastrous!"

Placing her paws over her ears, she whimpered, "I...I couldn't take it! I...I…" Looking down in shame, she mumbled under her breath, "...I have a l-lot of catching up to do…"


Moving out from behind a dumpster, Jane slowly exited the ally she was hiding in to see...None of the players were around. Frowning to herself, she shook her head while walking forward, "W-Why did I hide...I'm probably last now, and I-I don't know where to go…"

While moving forward, her body slowly began to shake as her gaze shifted to the three different streets in front of her, causing her eyes to twitch in unease, "O-Oh no...Oh no, oh no...W-Where do I go...W-Where did the others g-go?" Taking a tentative step back, she continued to look between the roads, "W-What do I do-"

As she was saying this, a loud crash was heard not too far behind, causing her to instantly jump in fright. Quickly turning around, she saw a certain shiny Umbreon and Delcatty, the former hunched over a fire hydrant as let out a few coughs. Staring at the fallen fox in concern, Jane took a few steps towards them, "E-Excuse me, but...D-Do you need help-"

"S-Shut up, she-dog!" The Mightyena flinched back from Penny's words, "Y-You know...Cause a she-dog...Is a bitch! T-That's the joke." With a chuckle, she muttered out, "M-Man, I'm like...S-So clever."

Looking down in shame, the hyena was about to respond, only for Kaden to pipe up, "Y-Yeah just...just g-go away, cause we...W-We don't wanna s-see your face!" Pushing himself off of the fire hydrant, he fell ungracefully to the floor with a low thud, "...U-Unless you got some b-booze on you, then maybe you can stay...Maybe.."

Flinching once more from his words, Jane took a few steps back while mumbling, "I-I'm...I'm gonna go…" Turning away from the two, she quickly ran off towards a random direction, not daring to look back at the two.


Staring into an empty beer bottle, Kaden threw it off to the side with a groan, "T-This sucks! Like...L-Like what t-the Hell are we even supposed t-to do?"

Penny let out an obnoxious burp soon after, as she patted his back, "W-Who cares, d-dude. You just d-do you, man…"

Chuckling lowly at this, he nodded, "Y-Yeah...Yeah, I d-deserve to do me…" However, his words trailed off as he fell forward, though after a moment soft snores rumbled from him. However, as he did this...Penny seemed to instantly snap out of her trance, giving the Umbreon at her feet a look, before smirking at the camera. With a toast of the vodka bottle in her paw, she soon after began to chug it.


Running through the sidewalk, Hazel slowed his steps down while panting out a few breaths of air, "S-So much...R-Running…" Walking towards a nearby building, he leaned against it while attempting to fan himself with his wand in his paw, "Those people never mentioned so much running before...Ugh!"

Letting out a low huff of annoyance, he mumbled under his breath, "...This will not ruin me...I am the amazing Hazel, therefore I do not lose!" A few pedestrians walking by gave him strange looks as he said this, causing him to give them a look of his own-

"That's wonderful." The Fennekin blinked at the sudden voice, looking up to see a somewhat familiar looking Lilligant standing in front of him, as she gave him a small smile, "I wish you all the luck with winning." Gently patting his head, she waved him off before turning to leave while humming a cheery tune to herself.

Blinking at the gesture, the fox placed a paw on his head while turning to watch the girl walk away. After a moment, he narrowed his eyes before standing up to his feet, pointing his wand towards her, "Hey you...Stop!"

Franci immediately stopped in her steps, slowly turning her head to give him a questionable look, "Yes-" She stopped herself midway upon seeing the fire-type charge towards her, though before she could say something fully, he had already jumped onto her, nearly causing her to fall back as she yelped, "E-Excuse me?"

Climbing over her shoulders, Hazel respond with, "You're excused." Ignoring the girl's bewildered expression, he settled on top of her head while saying, "I'm tired of running, and you seem somewhat dependable...I hereby elect you as my personal taxi!"

Looking up at him in confusion, the plant was silent for a moment, before forcing a smile as she stared up at him, "Okay, I have no issues with that."

Patting the flower on her head, he pointed forward, "Let's go then! We have no time to waste!" The Lilligant gave him a thumbs up, before quickly running forward once more...Only to trip over her own feet soon after as she stumbled down onto the ground.


Franci simply smiled while gesturing up at the Fennekin curled up on her head, "I'm really enjoying Hazel-" The fox in question let out a series of fake coughs at this, causing her to instantly clear her throat, "Excuse me, the amazing Hazel's presence."

Smirking at this, the fox sat up from his spot, "Yeah, I'm sure anyone would love being around me, so you have lucked out." Her smile grew at this, as he added, "But, only if you make sure we win. If you cost us this game, then you are not worthy of being near me."

Quickly nodding at this, she didn't seem to notice him gripping onto her flower, as she said, "Of course, I'll make sure we both do well."

Blinking for a moment, Hazel muttered under his breath, "Next time...Make sure you don't move your head so much."


Setting her sights up at the tall tower ahead, Sage noticed there didn't seem to be any other players ahead, causing a small grin to form, "Looks like I'm the first one here." As she grew closer to the tip box, she was about to reach over to press the button, only to retract it soon after upon feeling a large gust of wind blast by, "What the Hell-"

"Sucker!" The Grovyle growled lowly from this, before looking up with a scowl. Now far further ahead then the gecko, a certain Gliscor kept his eyes on the prize, as he sped towards the front of the tower, and soon enough, he made out the image of a tall yellow box with multiple black stripes going down the sides of it, "There it is!"

With another laugh, Akira flew even faster, and within seconds, had already reached the box, and slammed his claw down onto the button. A small piece of paper was instantly dispensed, as he pulled the clue out, revealing to have the same color scheme as the box, being yellow with a single black stripe going down it's right side. With a smirk, he mockingly said, "Ha! Even in something as simple as a race, nothing can stop me!"

He began to break down into laughter, not even noticing the crowd of people approaching him, as he looked over the clue...Only to become confused, "Hope you kept your pace because this is the beginning of the race. If you wish to go far, be prepared to search hard, for your next clue lies outside a…" He began to growl, before screaming out, "Where the Hell are these places?! And more importantly," he held up the card, "What the fuck is a 'Detour'?!"


Holding up a microphone, Amber smiled at the camera in front of her, "A 'Detour', is where the player has a choice between two challenges, and only has to complete one of them," pausing for a moment, she added soon after, "Under most circumstances at least."

Snapping her fingers, she resumed with, "In this case," the scene then cut away to a large, dark cave, that was only illuminated by beautiful, shining blue Wurmples, "They can either spelunk through a cave, and using the lights of one of the nation's popular attractions, must try and find one of the many clues hidden inside."

Smirking at the camera, she said soon after, "Or," the scene cut away to an open field full of wooden huts, wherein the middle of it, a huge group of fighting types, possibly around a hundred of them, were doing a traditional intimidation dance, "They can make their way over to the local Māori people's tribe, and using cards given to them, try and find someone with identical facepaint to the one shown on the card."

Clasping her paws together, she finished off with, "Upon completing either activity, they may continue the race."


Akira stared at the clue card in front of him in growing anger, as nearby, Sage, Izaya, Thunder, and Brick all got their own cards, the former of which muttering, "There are eighteen taxis waiting for all of you, and they won't leave until two people get into the cab, and only half of them will go to the caves, while the other half goes to the trib-"

"Seeya suckers!" Akira blasted ahead, not bothering to read the rest of the clue as he zoomed forward. Within seconds, a row of eighteen bright white taxi cabs came into view, with half of them having a blue logo of a worm, while the other half have brown logos of Māori face paint. And without even thinking, he zoomed straight into the taxi most in view, in the form of a blue worm taxi. He quickly screamed at the cabbie, "Drive, woman, drive!"

He began to laugh mockingly to himself once again...Only for the cab not to move at all. Narrowing his eyes, he growled out, "What the Hell are you waiting for-"

The taxi's door suddenly flew open, revealing a certain Grovyle narrowing her eyes down at him, "Move over, idiot." Ignoring his glare, she scoffed, "The lady won't drive unless there are two people sitting back here, so either move over now, or I'll find another taxi partner."

The Gliscor let out a growl...But reluctantly moved to the other seat, "I'm only doing this so we can get moving. Don't expect any-"

Scooting into the open seat, she simply closed the door while muttering, "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

As the taxi began to drive away though, a few more contestants arrived and began getting into the cabs in duos, including Brick and Thunder, Izaya and Casper, Isabel and Kanaya, and finally Merle and Walter.


Kanaya Wells and Isabel Flame, Currently Tied for 7th Place(Heading Towards the Māori Tribe)

Looking out the taxi's window, Kanaya stared at the passing surroundings in awe, turning towards her girlfriend soon after with a bright smile, "Isn't this place amazing, Isabel?" Leaning back into her seat, she added, "One day we should come back to enjoy the scenery more."

Rolling her eyes with a small smile, she quickly turned her attention away, "We can think about that later. For now, we should really discuss strategy."

Glancing back at her with curious eyes, the psychic muttered, "What strategy? We're in a taxi, we should at least wait until we get there, right?"

This caused the bug to give her a look, before explaining, "Kanaya, it was already explained that if we get there last, we may get eliminated. Regardless of if we're in a taxi or not, we need to think of how we can make it isn't either one of us who ends up there."

Staring at her for a moment, the Gardevoir let out a low sigh, before smiling softly at her with a nod, "Okay...I trust you."


Rubbing the side of her arm, Kanaya glanced up with a sigh, "I do trust Isabel, a lot...It's just," biting her lip in thought, she eventually mumbled, "It's the first day here, and she already wants to talk strategy. I want to win with her, I really do...It's just a bit much right now."

Shaking her head, she gave the camera a small smile, "Even though it's a little unsettling, Isabel has never been wrong before, and she's a great leader so...I'm going to do whatever I can to help our game."


Alia Gates, Currently in 28th Place

Playing a soft tune on her guitar, Alia glanced down at the Bastiodon she was on, "How's it goin' down there, Benny?" Noticing the dinosaur in question was breathing quite roughly, she sat up from her spot on his back to peer down his face, "...Benny?"

Benson was currently running rather slowly, and yet, despite this, was breathing very heavily, as he forced out, "I-I'm d-dying here, Alia!"

Flinching slightly from his words, she patted the top of his head, "Come on, dude, you can take a break. I don't want you passing out in public, that won't be cool at all." He threw up a scowl at this, as she followed it up with, "Oh, and I don't want you dying either, but still."


Benson stared down the camera with an annoyed look, "If I had known this was going to be a race, I wouldn't have signed up. I don't know if you people get this, but you try being over three hundred pounds and having feet less than fifteen percent of your body...In case you don't know, that means I'm slow."

Alia rose a brow at him, before shrugging with an easy grin, "You're not that slow, Ben...You're like…" Thinking for a moment, she snapped her fingers, "You're kinda like those miniature ponies that are like super fun to ride on."

This only succeeded in making him angrier, "...You mean the ones that don't even go one mile per hour?"

Letting out an amused snort, she turned away while covering her mouth, chuckling softly, "I-I'm sorry, dude. I'll just stop talking now."

Rolling his eyes, he groaned out, "No, you won't." This was followed up by the cat beginning to laugh again.


Nedrick Kite, Currently in 29th Place

Nedrick, due to his incredible speed, would realistically probably be someone you'd expect near the front of the pack...However, there was one small thing keeping him near the back, "Alfred, come on!"

Lagging behind by a considerable amount, Alfred was currently really struggling. Despite his height and how many legs he had, it doesn't really change the fact that by his species statual standards, he wasn't very fast. Add in that he wasn't at too high of a level, and he was in no way keeping up with his competition, "I-I'm trying, Ned…I'm really trying."

As the spider kept going as fast as he could, the cicada forced himself to slow down just so he could keep his ally within eyeshot, all while trying to suppress the worrying thoughts going through his head.

However, while the nerds struggled, a certain Glaceon's voice spoke up, "So, while the boys struggle to even make it to the tower," it cut away to the tower itself, revealing Doc and Mimi now getting inside the twelfth taxi(specifically a glowworm one), before it drove off, "Over twenty-four other competitors are already on their way to their detour challenges. In fact, how about we check in on some of them."


Minty Mendoza and Cynthia DeLucca, Currently Tied for 11th(Heading Towards the Caves)

Minty let out a yawn to herself as she laid against the comfortable backseat of the taxi, as she turned to the Ninetales next to her, "So...What's up?"

Glancing away from the window, Cynthia gave her a small smile, "I'm just waiting to reach our destination." The other girl gave her a strange look at this, causing her to tilt her head in confusion, "...Did I say something strange?"

The fox let out a little laugh, saying, "I don't know, just sorta put off is all." The fire-type continued to stare down in confusion, "I mean, you're the Cynthia, so...Woulda thought you'd have something neater to say than that."

Raising a brow at this, the Ninetales let out a small giggle, "You know of me?"

Letting out a laugh, the shiny Zorua said, "I mean...I'm on the show you were on. Of course I do, dude. And you were, like, amazing last time. Sucks you didn't win."

Flinching at this, Cynthia glanced off to the side, "...Yes, it was disappointing…" Letting out a low sigh, she turned back towards the window while muttering, "But...It was for the best. In the end, I'm...Satisfied with how the results were."

She shrugged at this, saying soon after, "Eh, you still lost though. So that's gotta suck." The Ninetales twitched at this, though didn't respond as she turned her attention back towards the window.


Wyatt Oldring and Axel Droog, Currently Tied for 21st(Heading Towards the Caves)

Leaning back into his seat, Wyatt hummed along with the music emitting from the taxi's radio, "Man, I love this song!" Turning to look up at the large Scolipede by him, he grinned, "What about you? You into this kind of music-"

"I don't like music." The Vigoroth flinched back at this, as the Scolipede stared out the window, keeping his eyes on the other taxis.

Looking up in silence, the sloth grumbled while turning away, "Alright, I get it...Just trying to make some small talk-"

He turned towards the sloth with an irritated glare, "Then you got in the wrong cab."

Wyatt twitched slightly, though glanced up at him, before immediately looking away upon meeting his glare, "Okay, sorry dude...I'll leave you alone." Looking back to his window, he grumbled under his breath, "Jerk." Slowly looking back, he jumped a little upon seeing the bug's scowl, as he raised his arms over himself in defense.

The centipede rolled his eyes at this, as he went back to looking out the window...Only for his eyes to widen, as a certain two ghosts passed by in their taxi while giving him a smirk, "Wait…" He turned towards the cab driver with a scream, "How the Hell did they pass us?!"


Doc let out a snicker to himself, before explaining, "We told the cab driver we'd pay him if he passed all the other taxis in five minutes."

Nodding at this, Mimi deadpanned, "Instead of kicking us out like any sane person would do...He actually agreed to break several traffic laws in order to get paid...Idiot."

He began to laugh even harder to himself, before sighing, "Luckily we didn't even end up paying him. Poor sap crashed like...A mile from the caves, so we ended up getting away without needing to pay." He gave the camera a smile, "I wonder if there's a lesson to learn from this.


Ashley and Ace Kauffman, Currently in 25th and 26th Place Respectively

"There it is!" Running up towards the tower, Ashley turned back towards her brother with a large grin, "Come on, Ace. The tip box is right there, we can finally move on!"

Letting out deep breaths, the Vaporeon in question trudged behind as she moved on ahead, "Finally...God, I have not done that much running since high school…" He watched as the Whimsicott tapped onto the button, as he breathed out, "What...What's it say?"

Looking over her card, Ashley looked up with a wide grin, "It says we're going to explore some glowing caves!"

Raising a brow, he shook his head while making his way towards the box, "...You didn't answer my question." Tapping onto the button, he pulled out his card before scanning over it, "You didn't bother telling me we had a choice between two places?!"

Giving him a sheepish grin, she simply shrugged, "I mean...Come on, the cave is fast and simple-"

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he groaned, "Yes, but you can also get lost in there, especially with this kind of game. It's easier if we choose the other option." His sister gave him a look at this, as he sighed, "Look, my memory is pretty good. I promise I can finish it fast-"

Quickly interrupting him, the Whimsicott asked, "I get that, but what about me-"

"Good job, Benny, 'ya made it!" The two siblings turned to see a certain Alolan Meowth and Bastiodon, the latter of the two walking up to the box as the cat on top of him pressed the button, "See, I knew you wouldn't die on me."

As the clue was dispensed, Benson grabbed it and quickly looked it over in exhaustion. After a moment, he let out a satisfied sigh, "Thank God for cars…" He looked up at her, asking, "Caves?" She gave him a thumbs up in response, as he quickly ran off towards the nearby taxis soon after.

While the two ran off, Ashley twitched while gripping onto her card, before letting out a low sigh, "Alright...We'll do it your way, Ace." Her brother gave a nod in confirmation, as the two quickly ran off towards the taxis, as Nikki slowly walked up to button at a snail's pace, and lazily pressed the button.


Adjusting his glasses, Ace gave the camera an annoyed look, "Ashley's my little sister, and because of that fact it's plainly obvious that she should trust me, right?"

Shaking his head, he grumbled, "I understand I might not be the most athletic between the two of us, which is why if we went into the caves, I would have slowed us down. At least with this, I can use my actual brain instead of my legs to secure victory for us, and we'll be back on top in no time...She'll see, I'm always right in the end."


Akira Herodotos and Sage Casentini, Currently Tied for 1st Place

The taxi came to a screeching halt at the edge of the sand, as both Akira and Sage exited the car. Upon slamming the cars doors shut, it sped off, with another taxi arriving only moments later. The two turned to see that they were mostly surrounded by plantlife and rocky terrain, with a large mountain nearby, and a huge cave right in front of them, with water going from the edge of the sand and all the way into the cave.

As Brick and Thunder got out of their taxi, the other two immediately ran towards the cave, though Akira immediately sped ahead, screaming out, "Later!" With a laugh, he didn't dare look back as he disappeared from sight into the pitch-black cave.

The Grovyle growled lowly from his laughter, though as she did this Brick and Thunder had somehow run past her, the latter of the two laughing out, "Seeya at the finish line, slowpoke!"

As the Electivire's laughter echoed throughout the cave, Sage gritted her teeth in annoyance while seething out, "You think I'm a slowpoke, huh? I'll show you who's slow!" Another growl erupted from her, as she quickened her pace, nearly catching up to the electric type, who glanced back with evident shock.

A moment later, a shrill scream escaped from the gorilla's mouth, as he ran away from the fuming gecko. As this was happening, Brick ran at a moderate pace behind them, rolling his eyes at the scene with a small scoff.


Folding his arms over his chest, Brick gave the camera a shrug, "It may have been six years ago, but I still remember everything from last season. I was on the same team as Sage, and I know how she gets. Was I willing to see her mood swings again? No, no I wasn't, which is why I kept my mouth shut."

Glancing off to the side, he grumbled, "Though I do have to admit, I kind of feel bad for Thunder. He's new, he probably didn't watch the show, I don't know but...He's an idiot. That's all I can say."


Kashiwagi Izaya and Casper Kroll, Currently Tied for 5th Place

The taxi took off as it dropped off Casper and Izaya in the middle of a field, where nearby, they distinctly saw a rather large, isolated village. There were at least three dozen wooden buildings of varying size and quality, and at the very center of it...Were over a hundred male Fighting-type Pokemon, each a different species, but all of them were prominently either overweight or very buff.

Immediately they took off towards it, though Izaya, in particular, zoomed past Casper, immediately making it to the village in a matter of seconds due to his incredible speed. Upon arriving at the tribe, he looked out at the crowd and saw that the species on display were predominantly Hariyama, Hitmonlee, Lucario, Poliwrath, Breloom, and Emboar...And more importantly, they were all doing the same thing.

The Pokemon in front of him was doing some kind of chant, screaming it at the top of their lungs as they made a variety of vigorous movements with their hands, occasionally slamming their hands against their chest, arms, or knees, and stomping their feet to the ground. Oddly enough though, they were chanting in a sort of rhythm, all of them being perfectly in time with one another, which mixed in with their precise movements, caused their dance to look almost intimidating.

The Crobat simply stared on with a determined expression, before noticing another tip box nearby. However, this one was light brown, and on the front of it was a traditional tā moko face tattoo. Slapping the button with his wing, a clue was dispensed, revealing the tattoo on the front to be similar to that of a dripping goatee, as the bat rushed forward, with Casper arriving at the box soon after. And not far behind him, Isabel and Kanaya had just arrived.


Casper rolled his eyes as he gave the camera a confident smirk, "Honestly if a bunch of overweight fighting-types really think they can intimidate me with a little dance, they've got another thing coming."

Holding up the clue in his hand, he let out a small giggle, "I'm basically guaranteed the win here. I know faces, girl, and while none of those boys would usually catch my attention with how ugly there's were, I certainly have an eye for detail."


Penny Marchi and Kaden Pastel, Currently in 35th and Last Place Respectively

Squinting his eyes, Kaden nearly tripped over himself as he clung onto Penny near him, as he let out a low groan, "A-Are we there yet?"

The Delcatty rolled her eyes, as she faked a slur, "I-I don't know, d-dude...I-I ain't a living compass."

Grumbling something inaudible, he mumbled, "God...S-So tired…"

As this was happening, Penny couldn't help but smirk to herself, as she asked, "W-Want me to lay you down somewhere for a second, b-bud?"

Responding with a burp, the Umbreon pondered to himself for a moment, before eventually muttering out, "...W-Whatever...Sure…" The Delcatty placed him on the ground and against a building at this...Where he quickly fell unconscious from exhaustion.

A grin formed on her face at this, as she abruptly ran away from the scene, whispering to herself, "Seeya 'bud'."


Nedrick Kite and Alfred Hill, Currently in 30th and 31st Respectively

Alfred let out a harsh cough, as he muttered out, "I'm sorry, Ned...Really letting us down here."

Nedrick simply shook his head as he flew slowly alongside his friend, "Dude, don't even worry about it. I'm not mad."

The Araquanid couldn't help but look away at this, "I-I just know that-" However, his eyes widened upon seeing something in the distance...The tip box, "T-There it is!"

In an instant, the cicada paled, as he instantly took off towards the tip box, "Come on!" As soon as he said this, Alfred immediately picked up his speed, as they ran towards the tip box. However, little were they aware of the Delcatty running towards them, quickly picking up speed upon noticing a certain Noivern in one of the taxis waiting.

As the three ran ahead though, a certain Lilligant ran through an alley completely separate to the other teams, as she lazily moved towards the tip box...As a Fennekin laid on her head, screaming out, "Hurry up!"

Jumping from this, Franci quickened her pace while saying, "Sorry, I got a bit tired from earlier." The fox merely gave her a look, as she ran towards the box.


GLOWWORM CAVE DETOUR

Current Participants: Akira, Brick, Cynthia, Doc, Mimi, Minty, Sage, Thunder

Cynthia and Minty ran into the caves...Only for the latter to come to an immediate as she was looking up, "...Woah."

While the Ninetales ran ahead, the shiny fox stood back, looking on in shock at the sight before her. The cave, while mostly dark, was being illuminated by glowing, blue worm Pokemon climbing along the ceiling and walls of the cave, causing the entire thing to have a slight blue tint over it. Along with that, the cave was shining brightly from the water covering the ground, and the cave itself seemed to be layered, being nearly four stories tall in total, with the environment itself, with time, seemingly having formed a natural ecosystem and home for everything inside…

Which the contestants were quickly disturbing, as they all flew or ran through the cave, looking for any signs of a clue within the dark cave. Brick was moving and turning basically every rock he could see, which was sadly only every third rock or so, while others like Akira were practically tearing entire chunks of stone out of the walls, before throwing them in any random direction over his shoulder, his anger clearly growing by the second.

Minty continued to look on in silence for a moment, before smacking the side of her head, as she ran inside, muttering to herself, "Okay dude, you can do this. You've had these types of dreams all the time when you were a kid...You're just looking for a piece of paper this time instead of sheep." Letting out a sigh, she muttered, "I wish I was chasing sheep…"


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participants: Abigail, Casper, Isabel, Izaya, Kanaya, Merle, Sylvia, Walter

The Māori's Haka chanting could practically be heard across the entire field, as it seemed to grow louder with every contestant's arrival. While Merle and Walter got their cards from the box, the others...Weren't having too much luck.

Due to just how many Māori people were in the tribe, it made it hard actually getting through the closely fit group at all, let alone trying to figure out what their face paint was. Izaya in particularly was having a lot of issues, mostly due to his size. He was simply too big to squeeze into the narrow lines between each of the Māori below, so he had to resort to flying just inches above it to even get a glance at the face paint on their faces.

As he was flying overhead, his large shadow flew right over Abigail as she was looking over some people, causing their face paint to blend in more. The Absol crushed the clue in her paw at this, before screaming out, "Hey bat boy, watch it! You aren't the only one here."

Izaya only rolled his eyes at this, as he continued to look over the crowd. Even from only inches up, he could not make out most of the details on their faces, "How the Hell am I supposed to-" However, his eyes widened as he saw Casper leading a Poliwrath towards the judge, a Hitmontop, nearby.

The Roserade pushed the water type forward, before smirking at the judge, "So, am I right, or am I right?" Holding up his card, the judge looked it over, and then the Poliwrath, whose eyes were painted black and along with the sides of his stomach.

The judge looked him over in silence...Before smiling and pulling out a card, which Casper quickly swiped with a smirk, "Knew it." Looking over the card, he rose a brow, "...Hobbiton?"


"Yes, Hobbiton." Walking out from behind an ancient, almost medieval building, Amber cast the camera a bright grin as it panned outward, revealing a beautiful little town, seemingly straight out of both the past and fantasy, "Out in the middle of New Zealand, this little town acts as one of it's most popular tourist attractions."

It began to cut to a variety of shots, including the houses, a stone bridge going over a creek, and a pub, "Originally constructed for a movie franchise we don't have the rights to saying outright, it was eventually remodeled into an actual town, and nowadays, multitudes of people come by to take pictures, meet the occasional actor, or even just grab a drink at the local bar."

It then cut to a mat where Aubrey and Coonie were standing, continuing with, "And upon reaching this mat, the contestants will be checked in if all requirements were met in the challenge itself. But if they're the last to arrive, their time in this race...May end up cut short."


Shrugging to himself, the Roserade began to run down the nearby hill, as the rest of the cast looked on in annoyance at this. Walter, in particular, seemed about ready to burst a blood vessel, "Are you kidding me..." Gripping onto his card, he let out an aggravated growl, "How did he get it first? I should have been the first to finish!"

As he shook in place, he noticed a certain Garchomp nearby give him a look, before shaking his head and resuming his search. However, this only made the Litten grit his teeth in annoyance, before turning towards the fighting Pokemon in front of him, "If you would all stop with the weird dancing, then our work here will be done much quicker." This caused a Hitmonlee to come to a sudden stop at his words, "Ja, just like that-" He was cut short once the fighting-type grabbed onto the scruff of his neck.

Within seconds, Walter was thrown off to the side with a scream, causing most of the players in the area to glance his way, before ultimately turning back to their own work, as he laid on the ground with a low groan.


Walter gave the camera a look, "I just want to finish already. I'm already way behind and knowing that someone else is in first place...It doesn't sit well with me at all."

Standing up from his seat, he quickly said, "No matter, I am a clear underdog in this race, so I will find the guy with my facepaint, and then I will catch up and eventually claim the number one spot, the only spot where I will be standing...Für Deutschland!"


Casper Kroll, Currently in 1st Place

Walking through a small town, seemingly right out of some mystical fantasy setting, Casper couldn't help but feel almost enchanted by the environment around him. The flowing water, the simple though well-designed houses, the nice little flute music-

This caught the grass type off guard, as he looked forward a bit more, and noticed that right outside a small staircase leading up to the wooden door of a familiar looking house, Aubrey and Coonie were waiting for him on a mat, which had New Zealand's flag on it, and just behind them were a group of Dittos wearing what resembled suits, and were playing music for all who approached.

Running up to the mat with a grin, the two hosts glanced at each other in shock, as the Flaaffy beside them bowed to the Roserade, "Welcome to New Zealand."

The Magmorter blinked for a moment, before slowly shrugging, "Eh...I didn't expect this, but...I'm fine with a hot chick coming in first." Noticing the looks he was receiving, he rose a brow, "What-" He was abruptly smacked against the side of the hide, as he held onto it with a pained groan.

Rolling her eyes, Aubrey turned to the still grinning Casper with a smile, "Congrats Casper, you're the first player to finish."

Coonie grumbled under his breath for a moment, before giving the Roserade a nod, "Yep, you are officially the first person to be...Well, in first." Looking down at a single index card, he read out, "It also means that you're awarded with…" His eyes widened as he looked up at the Blaziken in shock, "Is this right?" Upon receiving a nod, he gave turned to give the plant a wide grin, "Congrats kid, you just won yourself a thousand dollars for coming in first!"

The Roserade's expression changed very little at this...Though eventually, he rose a brow, "...Is that it?"

Twitching at his response, the fire-type grumbled under his breath, "Ungrateful little bra-" He was once again smacked in the back of his head, as he growled out, "Stop hitting me!"

Finished Cast: Casper


Casper giggled to himself, as he relaxed into his seat, "So...Am I surprised I won? Not really, no. I basically said as much the second I got here. And I got a grand out of it too, though I was sort of expecting more than that. That's essentially a week's worth at my job."

Shrugging, his smile returned to him, "Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. Still free money, and it's not like this'll be the last leg I win, so I got plenty more money I'll be making from this game." He turned to the camera with a smirk, "Look out world...Cause Casper's coming to take you down."


GLOWWORM CAVE DETOUR

Current Participants: Akira, Brick, Chad, Cynthia, Doc, Droog, Freya, Lorraine, Mimi, Minty, Sage, Thunder, Wyatt, Xavier

A low whistle echoed through the cave walls, Lorraine floated through with ease, though she didn't bother looking around for any clue just yet, instead she stared up at the glowing ceiling above with a smirk. While inspecting the walls, a low chuckle escaped from her, "I wonder what would happen if I brought in a little fire…" In an instant, two wisps of purple flames sprouted from the ends of her arms, "Where to plant these bad boys at…"

Nearby, as she was concocting her plan, Xavier was less focused on the challenge as well, and instead was analyzing one of the glowing Wurmple up close, "Fascinating…" He got a bit closer, an eerily large grin forming on his face, "It seems that the unique climate of New Zealand led to a new subspecies, one that required their glow to contact one another."

With a snicker, he began to write this down in his notebook, muttering out, "This shall make a good college paper-" As he was saying this though, the Wurmple abruptly jumped onto his face, "...Why does this burn?"

On the other side of the cave, Chad, Freya, and Wyatt were currently going through a small pile of rocks, each of them seemingly glowing an unnatural purple light. Holding one of them up, the former lets out a whistle, "Man...These things look so cool!" Turning to the Vigoroth nearby, he asked, "Dude, how much you think I can make off this kind of thing?"

Wyatt looked over at the rock, before letting out a low chuckle, "Um...Hate to burst your bubble dude, but probably not much-"

He interrupted with an excited, "But it's sparkling!" With a chuckle, he said, "Sparkling stuff is always super expensive."

Letting out a weak laugh, the sloth muttered, "Well-"

Freya spoke up with an annoyed, "Look, I know guys like talking and all, but if you are, can you please at least move."

The two seemed confused at this, as Chad was about to speak up, only to be interrupted by Wyatt saying, "Of course, I didn't mean to inconvenience a pretty lady such as yourself." Nudging the Machoke, he began to walk ahead, "Come on, dude, let's keep moving." The Machoke didn't put up much of a fight as he was pulled along, but his face gradually became more and more confused.

The Furret gave the two boys looks as they walked away while rolling her eyes...Only to raise a brow, as what sounded like screaming got closer and closer, "...What's that sound-"

And before she could say anything else, Xavier ran right into Freya, sending both of them flying into the pile of rocks. Ahead of them, Wyatt looked back in confusion from the noise, "Hey, what's wrong…" His words trailed off as he noticed the two, causing him to instantly turn towards them while saying, "Oh shoot, are you guys okay-" Abruptly, a ferret's paw jumped out of the stone, revealing a handful of clues in her paw, "...Woah."

Chad quickly ran over and threw the rocks off of the Furret and Wobbuffet, revealing that underneath the rocks, the Furret had roughly two clues, as she groaned out, "...I hate this challenge."

Snatching one of the clues from her grasp, Wyatt stared at it with a wide smile, "Hell yeah! Finally, no more running, no more searching...I can finally be done with this!" Letting out a cheerful laugh, he turned and ran away from the group without another word, as he waved the clue up in the air with pride.

Chad and Freya simply looked on as the Vigoroth ran off, as the former said, "...Does he realize you didn't mean to give him that."

The Furret's eyes narrowed, "Apparently not."


Jane Callies, Currently in 35th Place

Walking up to the tower with a pant, Jane managed a small smile as she approached the tip box, "I-I made it...I...I finally made it!" Once she got to the box, she pressed onto the button, instantly grabbing onto the card, "I hope I'm s-still in the game…"

Looking over the card, she turned to make a run towards the taxis...Only to come to a sudden stop upon realizing there's only one taxi left, as her eyes widened in fear, "I'm...I-I'm last…" Her ears drooped down at this, as she made her way towards the vehicle in shame, mumbling under her breath, "I...I'm slow...I'm such an inconvenience…"

Reaching the sole taxi, she opened up the door while quickly saying, "I-I am so sorry for making you wai-" However, no one other than the driver was inside, causing her to blink rapidly, "...Um…"

The driver glanced back at her with a bored look, "You're the first one to reach my cab, girlie." The Mightyena's eyes widened at this, as the driver turned forward once more, "You'll have to wait here for the last player, or not, I don't care, I'm getting paid either way."

Flinching slightly, she glanced around for a moment, before slowly moving into the back seat, "I-I'll wait...They um...They shouldn't b-be too long…"


Kaden Pastel, Currently in Last Place

Snoring softly, Kaden let out a low grumble upon feeling a poke against his side, causing him to curl up as an annoyed voice grumbled out, "Come on, get your lazy butt up."

Flinching at this, the shiny slowly opened his eyes, looking up before quickly covering his face from the sun with a small groan, "W-What the..." Slowly opening his eyes, he barely managed to make out a figure looming over him, as he narrowed his eyes, "W-Who the Hell are y-you?"

The Pinsir in front of him glared down at him, "I'm the manager of the store you decided to snooze in front of, drunkard!" Poking him once more with his broom, he growled out, "Now get out, you're ruining business!"

Growling lowly under his breath, the shiny Umbreon slowly rose to his feet, staggering a little as he moved away from the building, before placing a paw against the side of his head while glancing around the area in confusion, "...Where...W-Where am I?" Stopping in his tracks, he muttered soon after, "...W-Why am I a-alone?"


Penny Marchi and Nikki Thunderman, Currently Tied for 31st Place

"Wait...I thought you were drunk."

Penny nodded, a relaxed grin on her face, "Nah, I have insane alcohol tolerance." She began to smirk, "But I knew the Umbreon didn't after he staggered a bit from one drink at the airport. So...I basically gave him so much alcohol that it'd make actually accomplishing a challenge near impossible, meaning he'd get out, and I guaranteed make it to the next round without needing to rush things."

Nikki was silent for a few seconds, before humming out, "Huh…" Shrugging, she glanced out the window while muttering, "Congrats, you deliberately screwed someone over...Though I gotta admit, that was a pretty genius plan."

The Delcatty giggled slightly at this, she moved a bit closer to the bat, "Thanks...Whoever you are…"

Looking down at her with a raised brow, she immediately froze as the cat pushed her body against her. Looking away from the cat, she slowly turned her attention forward...Only to see the driver was looking at them from the rear view mirror, only to instantly turn back to the road upon meeting her gaze.

Twitching slightly, the Noivern muttered, "...Someone, please end me-"

"And bored now." The Delcatty threw herself away from the bat and began to rest against the car, seemingly falling asleep instantly.

Staring at the sleeping girl in silence, Nikki eventually shook her head while turning her gaze back towards the window, grumbling under her breath, "Weirdo…"


Nikki looked on with a bored expression, "I would have preferred having someone less freaky in a cab with me, but whatever. Though after hearing about what she did to that Umbreon, it basically helped me confirm what kind of person she is..."

Shuddering slightly, she glanced off to the side in annoyance, "...I'd rather not be near her...Especially in closed up places."


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participants: Abigail, Isabel, Izaya, Kanaya, Merle, Sylvia, Veronica, Violet, Walter

Sylvia looked between the various people in concentration, occasionally flying up to get a better look, only to have no luck. Humming in thought, a small smile formed at a thought, as she landed back on the floor before holding up her police badge, "In the name of justice, will everyone please put a pause to their activities?" However, no one budged at this, as she hung her head low soon after, "...It was worth a try."

Veronica strutted up to the bug, placing a paw on her shoulder as she gave her a smile, "Too bad you have to rely on a little badge to get a boy's attention."

With a laugh, the Liepard walked towards the group of men, while the Scizor could only flinch from the comment, as she quickly exclaimed, "I-It's not like that!" As she said this, the cat didn't respond, causing her to look down with unease.

Nearby, Isabel looked over the crowd in annoyance, before looking down at her card, "...How the heck am I supposed to find this on any of them?" She held it up, revealing it resembled...A Lucario's mask...In a crowd where roughly a sixth of them were Lucarios, and none of the other Pokemon from what she could see had anything even close to that.

Kanaya stared up at her card for a moment, humming in thought, "Well that one is rather...Challenging." She was about to speak up once more, but stopped herself as she noticed a familiar Meowstic walking up, "Violet, hey! How are you doing-"

While she was saying this, however, Violet approached a very specific one of the Pokemon, a Hitmonlee with barely noticeable blacked bags under and above his eyes, and grabbed onto him, "You're it, let's go." The fighting type seemed shocked at this, noticing she didn't even have with her.

As she approached the judge, they stood up with a glare, "You don't even know if that was the one you would have gotten."

The cat stared through him for a moment, before turning back to Kanaya, "Press the button, please." The Gardevoir immediately nodded, pressing a hand against the button before grabbing onto the card soon after. Looking down at it in shock, she slowly presented it to them...Showing the same exact pattern on it, "...May I continue, now?"

As the judge reluctantly let the girl pass soon after, Isabel simply stared on, before looking down at her card. Looking up again, she noticed someone...A Lucario with seemingly no face paint on...But the black parts of his face seemed darker than usual. Smirking to herself, she ran forward and grabbed the Lucario, "Come on, I have a challenge to win."

Watching her go with a smile, Kanaya let out a soft cheer, "Yay, congrats on finding him, Isabel!" A moment later, her smile faltered slightly as she looked down at her own card with a hum, "Now...It's my turn." As she said this, she saw Izaya had finally found his guy in the form of an Emboar, as she began to shake in worry, "And I better hurry."


Wyatt Oldring, Currently in 2nd Place

Running up to where the two hosts stood, Wyatt skidded to an immediate stop while pumping a fist up, "Woo! I made it!" Snapping two finger guns at the hosts, he chuckled, "So, am I the first one here?"

The two hosts looked to each other for a moment, as Coonie placed a single arm over his mouth to stifle a snort, before shaking his head, "Nope...Sorry not sorry, but you're the second one here."

The Vigoroth blinked at this, though nonetheless puffed his chest out with a grin, "Eh...I'm not too sad about that. I can't really complain about second place-"

"Actually, you're not even getting that." The sloth flinched at the interruption, as he slowly looked up at Aubrey who was staring him down, "The challenge was to find your own clue. You stole yours."

Coonie's chuckles grew louder at this, as Wyatt frowned, quickly stuttering out, "N-Not true! I did find mine...I-It was just that someone else was...Holding it."

This immediately caused the Magmorter to burst out laughing, as he pointed a cannon at him while saying, "Oh my god, this is hilarious! Y-You're stupider than me!"

The sloth twitched in annoyance, though before he could respond to this, he noticed a familiar Furret approaching the mat, causing his eyes to widen in slight fear upon noticing her expression, "O-Oh no...Oh no, oh no…"

Coonie began to laugh once more, as he waved an arm at the girl, "Welcome, Freya to…" Turning away, he burst out into a fit of giggles, before waving her off, "Y-You know what, just ignore me. Go ahead and wring the sloth's neck-" He received a smack against the back of his head, as he held it with a low growl, "Dammit, I was just trying to have fun!"

Wyatt swallowed back, before letting out a groan, "So if you guys won't let me be in second, then...Am I in third-"

"Two-hour penalty." The Vigoroth flinched back at this, as Coonie chuckled lowly, "You better hope the others are slow, or else you might be regretting your actions." The fire-type began to laugh once more, as the sloth could only slouch back with a groan.

Finished Cast: Casper, Freya

Penalty: Wyatt


GLOWWORM CAVE DETOUR

Current Participants: Alia, Akira, Benson, Brick, Chad, Cynthia, Doc, Droog, Lorraine, Mimi, Minty, Sage, Thunder, Xavier

"Got one!" Chad cheered out as he held up one of the clues, before beginning to run out of the cave, notably limping slightly due to one of his legs.

Nearby, as this was happening, Thunder narrowed his eyes, growling under his breath, "Come on, there has to be something around here..." Moving past a certain Grovyle, he slammed his fists against a nearby rock while saying, "Seriously, I was here before that guy!"

Giving him a look at this, Sage rolled her eyes, "Boohoo for you, just keep looking and you'll find something. You don't see me complaining yet." The electric-type replied with another growl, before continuing to punch at the nearby in aggravation.

As he did this, she turned away from him to look around her area, pushing back a stone...Only to see a card stuck beneath it. Smirking to herself, she continued to push the stone back, before grabbing hold of the card, "Huh...Guess I have no reason to complain yet." Nearby, she could hear Thunder's annoyed growls, as she quickly ran off.

On the opposite side of the cave, Doc and Mimi were...Looking at a Wurmple stuck to the wall, as the former said, "...You know, it's kinda funny." The Mimikyu turned towards him with a raised brow, "You're the exact same height as these things, at least with the costume on."

Staring at him for a moment, she deadpanned, "Am I supposed to be flattered by that comment?"

He shrugged, saying, "Short stuff is cute." The smaller ghost twitched at this, a notable blush settling on her face, "I literally just compared you to a worm, and I can still make you blush."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she shook it off while grumbling under her breath, "I sometimes wonder how I put up with you-" The cave's walls trembled for a moment, instantly causing her to tense up before scooting closer to the larger ghost, "...Nevermind."

Leaning against a nearby stone, Alia held onto her guitar while watching the Bastiodon in front of her repeatedly slamming his face against the wall, as she cheered out, "Yeah, you can do it, Benny! Use that big head of yours and get us those sick looking cards from those pointy things up there!"

On cue, the camera panned up to reveal that, latched onto a stalactite, three cards were hanging from them. Benson slammed his head into the wall again, trying to loosen the rock above, as he growled out, "I'd appreciate literally any help."

Blinking at his request, the cat glanced up for a moment, before giving him a sheepish shrug, "Sorry, bud, but I don't really have anything helpful." Glancing down at her guitar, she gave him a mad grin, "Well, maybe I have one idea…" Without another word, she strapped on her instrument and was about to strum.

Benson's face paled, as he screamed out, "Wait, Alia, don't-" However, he was cut off by the sound of a loud guitar riff echoing throughout the cave, causing the entire area to shake from the sound. As the cave shook, the Wurmple shook with it, with several of them falling off the top of the cave.

Soon after though, Alia stopped, throwing her paws up in fear, "S-Sorry dudes!" She gave a sheepish smile, as everyone around her was currently ducked on the ground, glaring at her as she let out a small laugh.

Benson glared at the cat, seething out, "What were you-" As he was saying this though, the stalactite from above landed on the ground...Right in front of his face...At an angle. The two looked up, only for their faces pale, as they noticed...All of the worms staring down the contestants, as the color of the cave turned from blue...To red.

The two glanced at each other...Before Alia grabbed the two cards and got on Benson's back, "Go, go, go!" The two started screaming as they ran out of the cave in fear.


Droog narrowed his eyes in irritation, "If I see those two again, I will personally make sure they don't survive that leg of the race…"

As he was saying this though, he began to smirk, as he pulled out a clue card, "But...I'm not the type to complain about being rewarded for doing nothing, so...I'll let it slide." He once again formed a glare, "For now."


Lorraine folded her arms together while giving the camera an annoyed look, "The cat and dinosaur actually managed to anger not only every competing player in this cave but also the bugs…"

After a moment, her face formed into a wide grin, as she let out a loud laugh, "Oh my god, I totally wish I would have thought of doing something massive like that!" Covering her face, she waved the camera off, "The funniest part is...They actually got their clues in the end and left! Ha! My goodness, it is going to be tough topping that one!"


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participants: Abigail, Ace, Ashley, Kanaya, Merle, Sylvia, Veronica, Walter

Looking down at his card, Ace's brow twitched in annoyance as he muttered, "What am I actually looking at?" Looking up at the fighting-types ahead of them, he adjusted his glasses to get a better look at their faces...Only to immediately groan, "They all look the same."

Beside him, Ashley was staring down at her card in concentration, before turning towards him with a look, "No they do not. The patterns are way different on all of them." Glancing up at the men, she was silent for a moment before shaking her head while turning away with a small cough, "Yeah, all of them are super different."

Giving her a look, her brother deadpanned, "...Please tell me you did not just check them out-"

Moving past him, she quickly said, "Come on, let's try and get closer, bro!"

As those two struggled through, Abigail pushed through the crowd of men, grinding her teeth and progressively growing more and more annoyed, "Move it. I will seriously cut your dicks off if you don't move!" This caused the men to subtly ease up on the haka as she walked by.

Pushing past another Emboar, she ended up spotting a certain Breloom with a tattoo that caused him to almost have the face of a spider. Smirking at this, she ran up to him and tackled him to the ground, pinning him and growling out, "Found 'ya, you sneaky little-"

As she proceeded to go on a rant, Merle grabbed his own guy, a Hitmonlee with a skull-like pattern, and ran towards the judge in a rush, passing by Kanaya, who was still trying to look for her own guy, as she just looked over a Hariyama before letting out a dejected huff, "...Still nothing."

Looking through the men, the Gardevoir glanced back to see Isabel was standing off to the side, waiting for her as she gave her a small wave...Before quickly turning back to the men in worry. Giving a gentle pat to the side of her head, she muttered to herself, "Come on, come on...I can find him...Just a little more time!"

Nearby, Walter was looking through with a low growl, "I've been here for too long...Come out of hiding, you…" He stopped himself upon noticing a particular Poliwrath in the crowd, as he stared at the man's face for a moment, before turning his gaze down at his card, "...Aha!" Pointing a single claw at the fighting-type, he called out, "You, you're mine!"

The Poliwrath turned towards him with a raised brow, only to instantly fall back once the Litten tackled him to the ground.


Sylvia leaned back with a small sigh, "I don't know why I'm struggling with this part...I'm a cop, I should know this kind of stuff!" Shaking her head, she gave the camera a weak smile, "I'm not losing hope yet, though. I'm not giving up, and if I keep trying then I'll surely win!"


Jane Callies, Currently in 35th Place

Sitting silently in the backseat, Jane listened to the soft sound of classical music coming from the radio, twiddling her claws while nervously looking out the car, "Where could they be...A-Are they lost?" Thinking to herself for a moment, her eyes widened in fear, "W-What if they got hit by another taxi, o-or what if they couldn't wait on me and went off on foot...Oh my goodness, what if I am in last place-"

As she was saying this, she didn't seem to notice the car door opening up on the other side of her, before jumping up from the loud slam, causing her to quickly turn to see Kaden, who looked more angry than drunk this time. She was about to speak up, only for him to immediately growl out, "Drive!"

The taxi instantly drove forward, as Jane glanced over at him in worry, "Are...Are you okay-" The Umbreon turned with a heated glare, causing her to flinch back while mumbling, "S-Sorry…" Letting out a low scoff, he turned to look out the window with a scowl.


Kaden growled lowly at the camera, "That...That two-faced, manipulative, lying skank!" Breathing out a few deep breaths, he continued with, "How the Hell was I so stupid to accept free drinks from her on the first day here?!"

Scowling to himself, he grumbled, "I'm not gonna allow anyone else to screw with my mind...I'm not out of this yet, and she's gonna regret crossing me."


Benson Isotope and Alia Gates, Currently in 12th and 13th Place Respectively

The two hosts watched as a Bastiodon and Alolan Meowth came to a stop in front of them, as Coonie let out a soft snicker, "Congratulations to Alia and her personal chauffeur."

Blinking at this, Alia leaned against Benson's head while giving the host a thumbs-up, "Thanks, dude. It was tough, but we managed to get here completely fine." Looking down at her partner, she gave him a pat on the head, "You did some good work there, bud."

He let out another harsh breath, before groaning out, "I...Did...All...The...Work…"

Finished Cast: Casper, Freya, Violet, Izaya, Chad, Sage, Droog, Abigail, Merle, Walter, Benson, Alia

Penalty: Wyatt


GLOWWORM CAVE DETOUR

Current Participants: Alfred, Brick, Cynthia, Doc, Lorraine, Mimi, Minty, Nedrick, Thunder, Xavier

Alfred and Nedrick ran screaming inside the cave, narrowly avoiding about a thousand stray String Shots, as they ducked and covered behind a rock right beside Brick and Thunder, as they began to breathe heavily. Soon after, the former asked, "W-What the heck is going on?! I thought these were peaceful!"

Twitching at the question, Brick grumbled out, "Try asking Alia and Benson that question, I'm sure they'd love answering it."

Looking out from behind the rock, Thunder growled lowly, "That gothic cat couldn't have waited to screw things up until after I got my stupid clue?!" Noticing the other's looks, he narrowed his eyes, "What? I'm already behind schedule enough as it is, and now we have angry, glowing worms to deal with-"

A loud boom nearby had interrupted his words, as the group instantly ducked down, but not before noticing a certain Ninetales was sent literally flying out from where the explosion came from before she landed against the nearby wall with a notable thud. The four boys let out screams of terror at this, Nedrick crying out, "I'm not ready to die!"

Another explosion was set off near them, as the sound of maniacal laughter was heard soon after with Lorraine floating up from the smoke below, holding up a card with a large grin, "It wasn't as great as cat girl's performance, but it certainly did earn me a flashy way out of this dump!" Letting out one last laugh, a wisp of fire emerged from her free arm, as she slammed it down to the ground, before ultimately floating off with her laughter echoing throughout the cave.

As this was happening, Xavier and Minty were on the top level of the cave, hiding behind another rock, as the former turned to the latter, "Dull fox, do you have any skills I can abuse to get out of here?" She rose a brow at this, as he groaned out, "I want to sacrifice you so I can leave-"

Abruptly the Zorua pushed the psychic type out of hiding, causing him to immediately be bombarded with String Shots as he was stuck to the ground. As he began to scream out in pain, Brick and Thunder heard this, as the former held up his clue, "Now's my chance…"

Glancing over at him, the Electivire did a double take at the clue, "Wait...When did you get that-" The Kommo-o simply stood from his spot and made a dash for it, as he let out a low growl, "Dammit!"

As Brick made a break for the exit, he felt a push down against him, and upon looking back, he saw Minty was clinging onto his back with a clue of her own in her teeth, "Go, dude, go!" The dragon gave her a questionable look, though didn't bother arguing as he quickened his pace.


Thunder slammed a fist against the nearby wall, growling out, "I was one of the first ones here, so how have I not found a clue yet? I should have been completely done a long time ago, but somehow everyone else around me is finding their clues first!"

He panted out a few deep breaths, before slapping a hand against his head with a low groan, "...I'm gonna get it...I'll get my clue soon and when I do...Ain't nothing gonna stop me from getting first!"


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participants: Ace, Ashley, Kanaya, Nikki, Penny, Sylvia, Veronica

"While the other group deal with their little worm problem," the scene cut to Ace and Ashley wandering around aimlessly, completely clueless, "The Māori tribe group seems to be having even worse luck."

Raising her card up beside a Breloom's face, Kanaya inspected the two, before pushing her card down with a low sigh, "Nope, not you either…" Clutching onto the card, she stared it down while moving on to the next fighting-type near her.

As the Gardevoir walked by, Sylvia zoomed through the men with determination, grabbing ahold of a Lucario's face, she pulled him closer to her to look over the face paint with a low mutter, "You don't match…" Noticing his look, she immediately pushed him back with a sheepish smile, "S-Sorry, sir-"

The Scizor soon after got pushed right into the Hitmonlee's chest, which quickly caused the fighting type to start blushing. As she pushed herself off him, she looked back, and saw Veronica escorting a Hariyama to the judge, as she smirked at her, "Oh come, I just helped you meet a guy who's just your type…" She looked away with a chuckle, "At least in terms of looks."

Pulling herself back from the Hitmonlee, Sylvia watched the Liepard with an annoyed expression, quickly grumbling out, "At least she's out of my sight for now..." Noticing she was still near the fighting-type, a small blush rose to her cheeks, as she gave an awkward pat to his chest while stepping away, "S-Sorry, I'll um...I'm gonna go…" Without another word, she quickly flew over to another area.

As this was happening, Nikki looked down at her own card with disinterest, before looking up at the group of Fighting-types, "...Oh joy, this is gonna take forever-" As she was saying this, Penny passed her by...Having somehow already found her Emboar, as she gave the Noivern a wave.

Blinking for a moment, the bat waved back at her with a slightly peeved off expression, "...I have a feeling I'm going to hate that girl."


Isabel looked off to the side for a moment, continuing with, "So...Kanaya has been...Struggling a bit with the challenge. And honestly, I really should have realized this wouldn't be the best for her. She doesn't have the best memory, so at least if we had done the cave it'd probably be simpler."

Shaking off the worry, she quickly formed a smile, "But I also know she's not gonna give up, and besides, not too many people have passed us. I just have to have faith in her."


GLOWWORM CAVE DETOUR

Current Participants: Akira, Alfred, Cynthia, Doc, Mimi, Nedrick, Thunder, Xavier

Hiding behind a large rock, Cynthia was currently looking under the smaller stones and near the wall for any signs of a clue, as she let out a low huff. As she did this, she noticed two shadows passing by from the wall, as she turned to look out from her hiding spot, only to notice Doc and Mimi were both exiting, a pair of clues floating right beside them as they scurried off.

Watching them leave with a twitch, Cynthia shook it off while turning to search for her own, whispering under her breath, "There has to be one around here somewhere…" Narrowing her eyes, she quickly began to look some rubble, "Stay calm...There is no point of-"

"Argh!" Glancing up from her spot, she noticed Thunder nearby, who was currently grabbing onto a nearby rock, throwing it down while growling out, "Still nothing! How long have I been here?!" Falling to his knees, he groaned, "My god, I think I'm actually going crazy!"

As the Electivire continued to whine, Cynthia turned back to the wall in front of her with a low sigh. Staring at it with a hardened expression, she moved to attack it...Only to stop once a single card fell down from the ceiling and onto her nose. Grabbing hold of it, she looked up to see Akira swiftly gliding down from the roof of the cave, landing against a stone and taking cover behind a rock, having a clue of his own in his claw.

Staring at him for a moment, Cynthia clutched onto her clue with a low sigh, before glancing back over to a still struggling Thunder. After a moment, she blew out a few embers of fire near the gorilla just as he stepped back, stepping onto one of the flames as he instantly jumped back while holding his foot in pain, "Ow! What the fu-" A single bug suddenly latched onto his face, as he let out a high-pitched scream of fright, before running away from the attacking bugs.

Noticing the opening, Cynthia rose up from her hiding spot, quickly turning to sprint out of the cave while muttering under her breath, "Sorry about that...But I need to finish fast." As she said this, she soon heard the sound of...Laughter ahead. Raising a brow, she looked up to see the Gliscor from earlier, "Is there a reason why you're laughing so loudly?"

He continued to laugh heavily, his eyes seemingly shining from tears of joy, "Oh nothing...I just found how easily you screwed over that pathetic ape hilarious." The fox narrowed her eyes at this, "Truly, you're the only person in this race I respect in any context by this point."

Frowning at this, she shook her head while running past him, "...Excuse me, I have a race to finish...And so do you."

As the two left though...A certain two nerds poked their heads out from the rocks with clues and noticed Thunder currently being the focus of the Wurmple. Nedrick smiled at this, turning to his friend, "Dude, this is our chance, we have to go-"

A String Shot splattered against the rock next to him, as the jumped up from their hiding spot and booked it towards the exit, Alfred screaming all the while, "Oh yes, thank you so much for saying that out loud, Ned!"


Cynthia breathed in for a moment, before giving the camera a look, "As I stated before, I am in this to win. I don't mean any harm towards anyone, I just...Need to do what's right for me in order to achieve victory."

Looking down for a moment, she mumbled, "And there isn't anything I wouldn't do to reach that goal."


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participants: Ace, Ashley, Franci, Hazel, Kanaya, Nikki, Sylvia

Walking towards the judge, Nikki pulled the Poliwrath with her, muttering under her breath, "Well, I guess that didn't take as long as I thought it would."

As she did this, she passed by Sylvia, who was looking over the fighting-types still, as she hummed to herself in thought, before ultimately pointing her pincer at the Hariyama in front of her with a victorious grin, "This time I have found you!"

The large fighting-type blinked at this, as she cleared her throat while tugging on one of his hands, "I-I mean...Please, follow me, sir."

As the bug led her guy away, Ace squinted his eyes at the men in front of him, Ace let out a low growl, before stopping his gaze at a nearby Hitmonlee, as he turned his attention back to his card, "I...I think I found him!"

Ashley glanced down at his card, slowly looking up to where he was looking, before shaking her head, "Nope, that guy is clearly missing a dot on his left...Cheek?" She scratched the side of her face in confusion, as her brother let out an annoyed groan.

As the siblings struggled, Hazel was looking down at his own card in annoyance, before looking down at the Lilligant he was on with a groan, "I can't see anyone with this marking!"

Looking up at him, Franci gave him a small smile, "Well, maybe you'll have better luck if you go closer-"

"You go closer." The plant blinked at this, as the fox handed her his card, "Also, find my match too. I can't understand it, so I'll leave that to you."

The Lilligant looked between the two cards for a moment, before muttering, "Well...I suppose I can try that." In response, the Fennekin curled up on her flower with a small yawn, as she looked between the fighting-types nearby.

Walking past the group of fighting-types, Kanaya mumbled helplessly, "I can do it...He's here somewhere-" She let out a small yelp upon bumping into a Breloom, as she nearly fell back though caught herself as she gave him a sheepish smile, "S-Sorry about…" Her words trailed off upon him turning around, as she stared at his face paint in silence.

After a moment, she let out a loud squeal, before jumping into the flabbergasted Breloom's arms, wrapping her own around him as she cheered, "I found you...I actually found you, oh my goodness, what a relief!" Holding onto the blushing grass type tighter, she yelled out, "I did it!" In the background, she could distinctly hear Isabel also cheering.

While the Gardevoir and Breloom made their way towards the judge, Kaden and Jane arrived at the scene, the former of the two growling out, "Godammit!" Trudging down towards the box, he grumbled under his breath, "That witch better not have finished this race already…"

As he walked ahead, Jane swallowed back, before slowly following after him while whispering to herself, "I can do this...I can do this…"


Wyatt Oldring, Currently Undergoing a Penalty

As the latest two players walk off, Wyatt continued to pace in place, before turning towards the two hosts with a helpless expression, "Is my time up yet?"

Rolling his eyes, Coonie scoffed, "When we say your time is up, then it'll be up." The Vigoroth groaned at this, before ducking his head down. As he did this, he glanced up once he heard more footsteps coming, lifting his head up in curiosity, his eyes immediately widened at the sight of someone approaching the mat.

Their beautiful face...Their long legs...Their petite body...In an instant, Wyatt had been absolutely starstruck. The Leavanny was absolutely gorgeous, and he couldn't help but continue to stare, seemingly not even noticing the Gardevoir running towards him alongside the bug.

He instantly straightened his posture as she got closer. Moving a hand to lean against the side of the stairs, he gave the girl a charming smile, "Hey-" His words choke up once his hand slipped, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud, "...I'm okay!"

Kanaya came to a stop at this, walking closer towards the fallen normal-type in worry as her girlfriend moved on ahead, "Are you alright?" The Vigoroth merely mumbled something incoherent in response.

Aubrey smiled at the two, saying, "Congratulations...You two didn't lose," however, this smile was quickly replaced by a fierce scowl, "Seriously, you got twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth place...That's pathetic."

Flinching at this, the Gardevoir lowered her head down, "W-We're...I mean, I'm sorry-"

Isabel spoke up with a scowl, "No, don't apologize." The psychic instantly stopped talking, as she turned towards the two hosts, "I don't care how long we took. We're still in the game, deal with it."

Rolling his eyes, Coonie folded his arms while muttering, "After your performance today, you probably won't be for long-" He immediately stopped himself upon noticing the look the Leavanny was giving him, as he cleared his throat, "...I-I mean...Congrats on not being last!"

Finished Cast: Casper, Freya, Violet, Izaya, Chad, Sage, Droog, Abigail, Merle, Walter, Benson, Alia, Lorraine, Brick, Minty, Veronica, Penny, Akira, Doc, Mimi, Cynthia, Nedrick, Alfred, Nikki, Sylvia, Isabel, Kanaya

Penalty: Wyatt


GLOWWORM CAVE DETOUR

Current Participants: Thunder, Xavier

Finally, the Wurmple had calmed down, now having gone back to their bright blue color, and more or less just putting up with the last contestants in the cave. Laying on the ground in pain, Thunder let out a low groan as he slowly pushed himself up from the floor, "D-Damn insects…" Looking around the area, he narrowed his eyes before growling out, "...W-Where is everybody?!"

Falling back down with a thud, he grumbled, "...I'm probably the only loser in this dump…"

"Help me, you swine!"

Raising his head up, he looked around, "W-Who said that?!" As he searched the area, he noticed a body was encased in a cocoon of String Shots, causing him to blink rapidly, "...What the Hell?" Rising up to his feet, he made his way to the string while knocking a fist against it...Only to immediately retract it with a grimace, "Okay, ew…" Shaking his head, he grabbed onto the string, quickly tearing it down to reveal a familiar Wobbuffet.

Spitting out the last of the String Shot in his mouth, the psychic screamed, "Let me out! Now!"

Twitching at this, the Electivire gave him a look, before growling out, "Oh Hell no...No one bosses the Thunder around." Placing the String Shot back over his face, he began to walk away from the psychic while scoffing out, "Good luck, I guess. I still need to find my stupid clue in this place, so maybe I'll seeya near the finish."

The Wobbuffet's eyes darted around at this, "W-Wait…" The electric-type came to a stop at this, "I-I have two clues!"

Shaking for a moment, he glanced back at the other man with a skeptical look, "...How do I know you're not trying to trick me?"

The genius blinked, before smirking, "Cause if I'm not, then you can skower this cave for hours and hours and never find a thing, or you can take a chance and leave right now." The Electivire growled lowly at this, "Your choice, gorilla boy."

Thinking for a moment, Thunder let out a low groan, before reluctantly making his way towards the cocoon once more, "...You better hope you have those clues on you."

The cave went silent in that moment as the two stared each other down with stone faces...Though after a moment...Xavier reached inside his coat pocket and handed him a clue, before giving him a mock salute and beginning to run, "You may now consider me an ally, electric brute!"

Watching the psychic type for a moment, he looked down at the clue with a growing grin, "Finally...I'm back in the game!" Letting out a loud laugh, he instantly left to run out of the cave.


Xavier let out a chuckle to himself, as he explained, "I actually found the clues relatively early on, near the back of the bottom floor. I wanted to keep examining the Wurmple subspecies, and of course, I wanted to have the power to give anyone I wanted the pass."

He slumped against his seat soon after though, growling under his breath, "Of course, that obviously didn't happen...But at the very least, I'm now semi-allies with the gorilla. His strength could prove most effective...If controlled at least."


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participants: Ace, Ashley, Franci, Hazel, Jane, Kaden

Moving away from an Emboar, Ashley turned to the Vaporeon nearby with a look, "Oh yeah, we finished real fast, didn't we?" The water-type twitched at this, as she grumbled lowly to herself, "Oh wait, that's right...We still haven't finished yet-"

Interrupting her, Ace quickly growled out, "I get it, Ashley." Letting out a low huff, he continued to search through the men while muttering, "Don't worry, we'll get it done before any of the others here."

His sister could only roll her eyes, as she went back to her search. Near them, Jane furrowed her brows in thought at the crowd around her, "I-It has to be around here s-somewhere…" As she looked through them, she saw a Hitmonlee out in the distance, as she stared at him for a moment, before glancing down at her card in silence.

Pulling along an annoyed looking Lucario, Franci hummed a low tune under her breath, as she glanced up at the Fennekin on her head, "Now we just need one more, then we can move on."

Hazel nodded, looking around himself for any signs of the other face paint, "As fast as possible, so…" Patting his paw against her flower, he said, "Hurry up, I don't want to be the last one there."

The Lilligant glanced up at him, before giving him a smile, "Don't worry, I'll find your guy next." The fox rose a brow at this, as she blinked, "...Or, my guy."

Grinning at this, he pulled out his wand while saying, "Maybe with a touch of magic, we can find our-"

"Oh, I think I found him." The Fennekin blinked at this, as Franci began to quickly walk towards a Poliwrath, pointing ahead with her free hand, "His face definitely looks like the one on our card."

As the two walked off, Kaden was pushing past the fighting-types with a low growl, "Come on, where the Hell is this stupid…" He stopped himself upon noticing a certain Mightyena walking up to the judge with a Hitmonlee, causing him to twitch in annoyance, "...You have got to be…" Breathing out for a moment, he shook his head while turning back to look with a low groan.


Jane Callies, Currently in 30th Place

Jane ran towards the mat, a look of surprise set on her face as she stared at the two hosts ahead, as she muttered under her breath, "I-I'm not last...I'm not last…" She began to smile slightly as she continued her pace, "I did it-"

"Move out the way!" The hyena was abruptly pushed to the side, as Thunder ran past her with a rowdy laugh, "No offense, girl, but I ain't gonna be stuck even lower than I already am!" Once he was closer to the hosts, he jumped up, landing right on the mat as he gave them a victorious smirk, "I'm done."

Coonie blinked at this, before shrugging, "Congrats, you're near the bottom of the pack-" He was cut short by receiving a swift smack against his head, as he groaned, "What? It's true!"

The Magmorter narrowly dodged another hit, as Jane reached the mat with a harsh breath, as she sat down with a sigh, "I...I'm here…" Looking back for a moment, she blinked at the sight of two figures players coming out from the distance.

Looking out several steps across from them, Franci managed to smile as she pointed forward while glancing up at the Fennekin, "L-Look! We're so close!"

He nodded at this, looking forward with a wide grin, "Yes, we're finally here." Glancing down at her, he muttered, "Although, I would have preferred it if we were here much earlier."

The Lilligant rose a brow, before letting out a low giggle, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not very fast."

Hazel hummed at this, tapping his chin with his wand in thought, "You are rather slow…" Snapping his fingers, he quickly said, "I have a solution!" Hopping off of her head, he looked up at her while stating, "Without my extra weight, you should be a little faster."

The plant stared down at him in confusion, placing a hand on her free head while mumbling, "Well, I don't think that was the issue…" Her words trailed off as the fox ran ahead of her, as she quickly chased after him, "O-Oh, wait for me, please!"

Finished Cast: Casper, Freya, Violet, Izaya, Chad, Sage, Droog, Abigail, Merle, Walter, Benson, Alia, Lorraine, Brick, Minty, Veronica, Penny, Akira, Doc, Mimi, Cynthia, Nedrick, Alfred, Nikki, Sylvia, Isabel, Kanaya, Xavier, Thunder, Jane, Hazel, Franci

Penalty: Wyatt


Wyatt placed his head in his hands, before muttering under his breath, "A two-hour penalty...That's way too long!" Looking up from his hands, he groaned, "So many people have come by, and I'm pretty sure there's only like, less than a handful of players left."

Leaning back, he grunted, "I just have to hope my time's almost up...And that no one else gets ahead."


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participants: Ace, Ashley, Kaden

Gripping onto his card in annoyance, Ace nearly placed it over his head. After a few seconds of silence, he moved the card back while muttering lowly, "Okay...I have gone through most of them...I am bound to find my guy soon." Noticing the Whimsicott by him shoot him an annoyed glare, "I'm going to help you too, Ash. You know I won't leave you here when I find mine."

Giving him a look, she simply shook her head before giving him a wide grin, "It's fine, I get it. I wouldn't leave you here either if I found my guy." The Vaporeon nodded at this, as she suddenly pulled out a Hariyama from the group, "Oh, by the way...I found my guy."

His eyes widened at the sight of the fighting-type, as he adjusted his glasses, "Wait...What?" Giving her a look, he muttered, "...How?"

Raising a brow at this, she deadpanned, "Oh, yeah thanks for congratulating me, bro." The water-type groaned at this, as she turned away from him, "Look, I'm gonna submit this dude in, but I'll wait for you...Just try and be a little quicker."

Letting out a low grumble, he watched as his sister left, as he sighed, "...This might not have been my greatest idea…"

"Finally!" The Vaporeon glanced up at the noise, turning to the side to see Kaden was grabbing onto a Lucario's paw, a victorious grin on his face as he pulled him towards the judge.

Ace stared on in silence, taking his glasses off for a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose, "Last place...I'm the last one here…" Letting out a groan, he placed his glasses back on, blinking his eyes for a moment before looking down at his card, "...Come on, I can do this...He's here somewhere."


Ace slammed his head against the side of the wall for a moment, before letting out a low groan, "First I was forced onto this show by my sister, and when I do participate...I basically don't do too well in it."

His brows twitched for a moment, as he turned towards the camera with a glare, "I was the second player to leave last season, and I sure as Hell will not drop down to being the first one to leave."


MĀORI TRIBE DETOUR

Current Participant: Ace

Looking through the remaining fighting-types, Ace took a short glance off to the side, noticing his sister was giving him a look while gesturing towards her wrist. Giving her a look, he turned back to the group with a low sigh, "He's here...I can feel it."

Searching through the men, he twitched in annoyance, as he gradually grew more and more annoyed by the second, "God, why do they all look so similar?" Glancing back down at his card in annoyance, he growled, "Seriously I have been through everyone here!"

Looking up from the card, he noticed an Emboar across from him, his face paint looking...Familiar. His eyes began to widen at this, as he turned to look down at his card once more, before looking back towards the Emboar once more, "...I found him…"

Running towards the large fighting-type, he got a closer look at his face as he slowly began to grin, before placing a paw on the Emboar's large hand, "You're coming with me." As he did this, Ashley let out a relieved cheer, as he quickly pulled the man with him.


Ashley let out a sigh, before leaning back in her seat, "Finally. I don't mean to be mean, but my brother can be a little...Full of himself sometimes." Shaking her head, she muttered, "If we would have gone to the caves, we might not be in dead last, but no, he had to choose something he thought he'd do good at...That didn't work out too well."

Letting out a small huff, she managed to give the camera a smile, "Oh well, I can nag him about that later. For now, I'm just glad he managed to finish, so now we just have to do the next task...Insanely fast so one of us doesn't go home."


Wyatt Oldring, Currently in 33rd Place

Letting out an annoyed groan, Wyatt looked around the area for a moment, before turning towards the hosts, "Okay, my time has to be up by now. It's actually felt longer than two hours!"

Giving him an annoyed glare, Coonie growled out, "As I said before when your time is up, I'll say your time is up-" A soft chime emitted from his phone, as he glanced down at it with a hum, "Huh...Well, I guess your time is up."

Throwing his arms up in the air, the Vigoroth cheered, "Yes, finally. I'm still in this game!" His smile faltered a little, as he grumbled out soon after, "I would have preferred second place then."

Snickering at the normal-type, the Magmorter poked his shoulder, "Instead, you got penalized for stealing something from a girl." The sloth twitched in annoyance, as the host let out a loud laugh, "And now, you've fallen down to thirty-third! Hahaha!"

Wyatt could only let out a grumble under his breath, before walking forward with his head hung low. As he did this, a shiny Umbreon was currently running towards the hosts, a relieved grin forming on his face upon noticing the two from afar, "Almost...A-Almost there!" Releasing a few breaths of air, Kaden continued forward, narrowing his gaze in determination while muttering under his breath, "Once I get there, that'll show that manipulative little-"

"There's the finish!" The Umbreon flinched at the loud voice, taking a glance back to see a Whimsicott and Vaporeon over the horizon, both players rushing after him.

Glaring at the two, Kaden growled lowly under his breath before turning forward once more, quickening his pace as he stared ahead, "Oh, Hell no!" Gritting his teeth, he growled once more, "I'm not gonna allow her to win...I'm not gonna lose!"

Hearing this, Ashley narrowed her eyes at the shiny, "Yeah, well we're not gonna lose either!" Turning towards her brother, she noticed he was breathing heavily, as she quickly said, "Hold up, Ace, I'm going to grab you!"

Ace looked up at her with a raised brow, only to shake it off by giving her a confused expression, "Wait, what-" He yelped upon being lifted up from the ground by the grass-type, as he cried out, "A-Ashley!"

As the Vaporeon continued to yell at his sister, Kaden was nearing the mat, narrowing his eyes at the sight of it as he reached over, "I'm...I'm safe-" He immediately cut himself off as a flash of brown sped past him. His eyes widened as he watched Ashley jump onto the mat just inches away from him, Ace tucked under her arm.

Soon after, Ashley turned to give the shock Umbreon a wide grin, "That's what happens when you try to outrun a Kauffman!"

Pressing his paws against his glasses, Ace muttered, "N-No...Not usually." Shaking his head, he gave her a look, "Now, can you please let go of me-" The Whimsicott had released her grip on him, causing him to instantly fall to the ground with a small groan, "...Thanks."

"My God." The group turned to see Coonie staring at them with an unreadable expression, "That...Was...Awesome!" His expression instantly changed as he gave the players a goofy grin, "That's the kind of action we need in this show! Everyone racing to the finish, none wanting to be the last one here, even if it meant...Death-" He was cut off by a smack to his head, as he let out a whine, "I'm joking!"

Kaden slowly walked up to the mat, an evident look of shock on his face as he mumbled, "L-Last…" Slowly looking up at the hosts, he muttered, "Please tell me I'm not…"

The two hosts exchanged glances before Aubrey said with a stern, though sorrowful look, "Kaden...I'm sorry to tell you...You're the last one to arrive."

The Kauffman siblings couldn't help but flinch upon hearing this, as they awkwardly walked away from the mat. Meanwhile, Kaden let out a defeated sigh at this, slowly shaking his head, "N-No...No I can't be in last. I...I was deceived and left to rot-"

Raising an arm up, Coonie quickly interjected with, "To be fair, you accepted the alcohol on your own terms."

Flinching at this, the Umbreon looked away with a frown, "...Whatever...I didn't expect to make it far anyway." Gritting his teeth in aggravation, he growled to himself, "I can't believe how stupid I was for actually trusting someone! F-For actually signing up on this show for some type of do over...O-Only to be the first one out...Again."

The hosts were silent at this, as the Eeveelution lowered his head down, "Whatever I guess...It's done, and I guess I'll leave..." Turning away from the two, he began to trudge away...Only to hear something from the Blaziken.

"We didn't say you were eliminated, you know."

The fox came to a stop at this, his eyes widening slightly as he turned to look at the two, "Wait...I'm not eliminated?"

Smirking at him, Coonie chuckled, "We didn't say that either- Ow!" Rubbing onto his sore shoulder, he turned to the younger male while grumbling out, "No...You're not eliminated."

Looking between the two hosts, Kaden shook his head slowly, "But...You guys specifically said the last player to make it here goes home-"

Aubrey interrupted with, "We said they may go home. Not that they would." She crossed her arms...But nonetheless gave him a small smile, "So congratulations, you're still in the race."

He stared up at her in silence, before falling forward with a relieved sigh, "Oh my god...I'm safe, I'm still here..."

Coonie rolled his eyes, saying, "Yeah, that's what we just said-" He was pushed to the ground by the Blaziken, causing him to instantly cry out, "Stop it!"


Kaden stared at the camera in front of him, his paw placed on his chest as he let out a deep breath, "I'm safe...It's honestly hard to believe that I'm still here...That I was given another chance." He slowly began to smile at this, as he mumbled, "I'm not the first one out...I can still try and do better here."

At this, he narrowed his eyes, "That also means that I have to get serious. I can't afford to pull the kind of crap I did today and expect another miracle." Keeping his gaze on the camera, he added, "So watch out, because from here on out...I'm going to be giving it my all."


The three hosts stood in front of the contestants, as Amber stepped forward with her usual smile, "I'm glad to see each and every one of you has arrived in one piece." Clasping her paws together, she soon asked, "Now that the day is over, did you enjoy your time here in New Zealand?"

Some murmurs were exchanged within the group, as Brick gave her a look, "We were too busy to even enjoy the place."

Snapping her fingers, she pointed at him, "Of course you were, which is why we'll be staying here for the next twelve hours." The players seemed surprised at this, as she nodded, "You are all permitted to rest during these hours. You can sleep, socialize, relax...Do whatever you want, as long as you're prepared for the flight schedules to come."

Coonie looked down at her with a raised brow, "Wait...The boss never mentioned this-" He flinched upon feeling a smack against his mouth, as he covered it with a whimper, "I bit my tongue!"

As the Magmorter whined, Amber's brow twitched for a moment, before she gave the cast a smile once more, "Anyways, I do hope you will all enjoy the rest of your day here, and also…" Giving them a look, she added, "Spend your time wisely, because once you board the flight to the next leg...Expect anything to happen."


The camera cut to a shot of a long, wooden pub, with roughly four windows on the outside of it, one large door, and an enormous tree set right outside of it that had grown to cover a portion of the outside. A stone and mud path led to the front entrance, and two wooden tables with flower pots in the center of them were left outside for guests to sit at. The grass was trimmed though bright, and it seemed regularly watered, along with the flowers and garden outside.

Inside the pub, it was surprisingly roomy. It was well lit, with two large chandeliers on both sides of it, and nearly twenty square tables, each being capable of seating about four people, were set up throughout the building. There was a bar in the back, which held a surprisingly large number of different types of drinks and the like, and on the opposite side of the bar, a large fireplace was set up, where a fire had already been set thanks to the large collection of wood right next to it. Contestants were seated throughout the pub, drinking and partying among themselves after having made it through their first day in the race.

Grabbing onto a large mug of beer, Thunder held it up with a large grin, "Here's to none of us going home today!" The small bar erupted in some cheers from the players, as he laughed out, "Yo, if anyone can outdrink me, I'll buy everyone in here a shot!"

Brick rose a brow at this, as Chad let out a laugh, "Dude, you really shouldn't make promises like that. You could seriously wreck your stomach."

The Electivire turned towards the two, his gaze settling on the Machoke as he let out a small laugh, "Trust me, my stomach has been through worse. Besides, it's not like anyone can top me-"

A mug slammed down onto the table in front of him, causing the gorilla to flinch back, before looking up to see a certain Delcatty giving him a wicked grin, "Still willing to stand by that bet? Cause trust me...You're not winning against me."

Thunder stared between her and the mug, giving her a grin of his own, "I never back out of bets."

"Hey!" The two turned to the side, watching as Kaden walked up to the cat with a dark scowl, "You...You purposely had me get drunk and then you just left me on the side of a building!"

Giving the Umbreon an unimpressed look, she shrugged to herself, stating nonchalantly, "Yeah...So what?" The shiny growled lowly at this, "You seemed like you didn't even want to be here, so why waste everyone's time? People want to win this, you obviously didn't, so don't go blaming me for jack."

The fox gritted his teeth, before seething out, "That doesn't excuse the fact that you intentionally screwed me over. Hell, if I wasn't here, you would have just done it to someone else, and you know what…" Walking closer to her, he growled out, "I'm still here, and you just made one Hell of an enemy."

Raising a brow, she asked, "You mean one that almost got out first twice in a row?" He flinched at this, as the others around him began to laugh, "Now run along little fox, I got a thing of shots to win."

Giving her one last scowl, Kaden swiftly turned and stomped out of the bar, ignoring the others as they watched him leave. Watching on from her spot on Benson's back, Alia whistled out, "Wow...That was pretty intense." Looking down at her friend, she grinned, "I'm surprised there weren't any claws or fists thrown in there. It looked like the dude wanted to murder her."

The Bastiodon shrugged as he approached the bar, stating, "Are you surprised? She screwed him over. If he didn't get lucky, he would've gone home."

Shrugging herself, the Alolan cat poked his head with a smile, "True, which is why I know for a fact that you wouldn't do something like that to me." Blinking to herself, she smoothly added, "...I mean, you like having me chill on your back and telling you some wicked fun jokes."

Rolling his eyes, he said, "Yeah, sure." The cat stared down at him with a raised brow, "Relax, I wouldn't do that to you. You already knew that."

Looking on in silence for a few seconds, she gave him a weak grin, "Y-Yeah, I totally know that, Ben." As the bartender approached, she looked off to the side with a sigh, "Yep…"


Staring out from the bar with a smile, Alfred turned to his partner with an optimistic look, "Dude, this is so exciting!" Turning back to the small town before him, he happily exclaimed, "This is an actual movie set, for one of our all-time favorite movies!"

The Ninjask nodded at this, looking away awkwardly, "Yeah...Our."

With a squee, he began to run down the path, screaming out, "Come on, bud, we gotta treat every second like it's our last!"

With a twitch, the bug screamed out, "Wait...Now you run?!" Flying after the spider while screaming, a certain Noivern looked on, hearing Alfred's laughter and Nedrick's undefinable rage. Nikki stared on at where the two once were, slowly shaking her head with a small laugh, "Nerds."


Staring at a certain Leavanny from afar, Wyatt held onto his camera while letting out a deep breath, "I can do this...I've talked to lots of girls before, I can totally handle her…" Smoothing out his tuft of red fur, he puffed his chest out, before making his way towards the bug. As he approached her, he smiled to himself upon noticing no one else was around too close, as he held up his camera, "Hey, uh...You probably remember me from earlier, but...I'm Wyatt."

After a moment of seemingly not noticing the normal type, she turned to him with a look, before giving him a smile, "Oh, hey."

A hue of red settled on his face, as he gave her a dopey smile, "Y-Yeah that's...I-I mean, um…" Holding up the camera, he let out a weak chuckle, "I uh...W-Wanted to know if I can get a picture with you...I-I'm doing it for memories and stuff."

"Ooh, pictures?" The Vigoroth rose a brow as a Gardevoir walked up to them with two drinks in her hand, before leaning against the Leavanny with a small smile, "Mind if I get one too? I adore pictures."

He blinked for a moment, looking between them for a few seconds, before shrugging with a weak grin, "Sure, why not." Humming to himself, he muttered, "Well, I guess you two can get one together, then me and-"

Kanaya swiftly interrupted with, "That's perfect!" Placing the drinks on the nearby counter, she turned to her girlfriend with a grin, "How should we pose, Isabel?"

The Leavanny seemed both confused and entertained by the psychic's actions, as she let out a small giggle, "Kanaya, I really don't-"

The Gardevoir cut her words off by placing her lips over her own, as the sound of a camera flash went off almost as instantly. Pulling back after a few seconds, she turned towards the Vigoroth with a smile, "Was that a good one?"

The sloth stared at the two with his mouth agape, his eyes never blinking as he continued to stare off with a notable blush on his face. The two exchanged looks, before Isabel asked while slightly annoyed, "Um...You okay?"

Blinking his eyes rapidly, he stared at the two for a moment, before quickly nodding, "O-Oh, yeah...Y-Yeah, I am completely fine, just uh…" Glancing down at his camera, he held it up with a weak laugh, "I-I was just amazed at how...Great the picture came out. I'll see if I can uh...Get these printed out and give them to you...Both of you."

Kanaya smiled at this, clapping her hands together while saying, "That would be great. Thank you so much!"

Letting out a weak laugh, Wyatt muttered, "Y-Yeah, no problem…" Giving them a meek wave, he turned and walked away from the two, before lowering his head with a low groan, "Of course that happens with my luck…"

As he walked on, his ears perked up once he heard one of the girls, "Hey, did that guy seem a little...Weird, to you?"

Frowning at this, Wyatt gripped onto his camera while walking away, muttering under his breath, "I'm not weird...And I definitely don't give up on what I want..." Smirking to himself, he spared one last glance back at Isabel, before ultimately turning and walking away.


Holding up her glass of water, Sylvia took a sip out of it, before looking over at the other players in the building. Noticing most of them were still drinking, she rose up from her spot while speaking up, "Hey, guys, you should probably take it slow with the alcohol. We're going to have a long day in just a few hours." A few players glanced over at her, though they instantly went back to their activities, as her head drooped down, "Or...You could not listen…"

Though as soon as she said this, a familiar laugh was heard nearby, as she turned around to see Veronica at the table behind her, "How is it that somehow the more I spend time with you, the more pathetic you get."

Frowning at her words, the Scizor placed her cup down on the table, standing up soon after to give her a look, "I'm sorry, but did I do anything to offend you in some way?" Her shoulders slumped slightly, as she muttered, "Ever since we got on the plane, you've been pretty mean to me."

The Liepard couldn't help but smirk at this, as she got up from her seat with a single shot in her paw, "If I told you that, it'd ruin all the fun I'm having." The bug flinched at this, as she looked down once more while the leopard walked away, "Have a nice night, loser."

Sylvia watched as the leopard walk off, before letting out a soft sigh...Only to hear another voice say, "She does it because you're an easy target you know." Lifting her head up, the metal bug almost did a double take upon noticing a certain Furret standing by her table, "I should know...It's basically why everyone back home makes fun of me."

Looking at the ferret, the Scizor glanced off to the side, "I just...I don't know what to do about it. I'm not stooping to her level, but if I allow her to keep pushing me…I won't be setting a good example for anyone." Letting out a slight huff, she glanced back at the normal-type, "What...What did you do?"

Though as soon as the bug asked this, she immediately regretted doing so, as Freya answered with, "Accept that all my hopes and dreams were meaningless and that I'm destined for failure in everything I do…" The steel-type stared down at her in horror, "But I'm probably not the person you should be asking anyways."

Staring at her in disbelief, Sylvia slowly shook her head, "...Admittedly, it's not the answer I would have liked, but...Thank you, for just...Talking to me." Turning back to her water, she mumbled, "I don't really know anyone here, and...It's nice to talk to someone who isn't going to laugh at my face. So, thank you."

Giving her a look, the ferret stood up from her seat, muttering, "Don't worry about it." The bug seemed to smile a little at this, "You'll probably make better friends than me sooner than later though."

She looked on as the girl walked away, before slumping in her seat while mumbling to herself, "...I didn't expect this when I got here…"


Jane stared out of the window of the bar, an uncertain expression set on her face as she sighed, mumbling to herself, "...I came here to get over being scared and pressured, but…" Placing her head on the table in front of her, she sighed under her breath, "I-I think it just got w-worse…"

"I can see that."

Her head instantly snapped up at the voice, looking up...Only to immediately recoil in shock upon seeing Merle standing near her, leaning against the nearby wall. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, as she immediately started scooting her seat back, "W-Wow you are...S-Super big and s-scary and…" Shaking her head, she looked down while stuttering, "I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to intrude on your alone time!"

The Garchomp rose a brow at her, soon stating, "I'm not going to hurt you." The Mightyena froze at this, as he deadpanned, "It'd be a waste of time and effort."

Wincing from his words, the hyena looked down with a frown, "S-Sorry-"

Giving her a look, he interrupted with, "And stop apologizing." The dog clamped her mouth shut, as he grumbled, "If you keep doing this, you'll never get over your little problem."

She flinched at this, turning away from him while mumbling, "B-But...How? H-How do I get s-stronger?"

The landshark stared at her for a moment, before moving to walk away from her table, "That's something you have to deal with on your own." She looked down as he said this, though he added, "It's fine to worry about things, just don't act like you can't overcome them."

Jane watched as he walked away, before turning her attention back to the window while mumbling, "O-Overcome it…" Frowning slightly, she leaned her head against the window, "T-That's easier said than done…"


And with that, the first leg of the race has been completed, and soon we'll be soaring away from New Zealand...But to where?

Delta: Unfortunately, it'll be somewhere without Wooloo...They will be missed...Even if we only saw them for a brief moment.

Oh yes, that reminds me. Time to introduce a NEW segment for these episodes...CUT THE CONTENT, where we basically go over what things were cut, whether they be characters, plotlines, areas, or challenges relating to this episode and previous projects. Starting with...

The Shemozzle Wooloo: A third part of the challenge was intended to be part of the episode, serving as an introduction to another part of the race, which involved contestants attempting to steal Wooloo from a pen being guarded by Shemozzle racing dogs, who booby-trapped the pen with a variety of traps relating to these Shemozzle races. However, this was cut because it was simply too repetitive, even more so than the Māori tribe challenge, as at least that developed plotlines. This one would have done nothing, which sadly led to it being cut.

Halena Keily the Flaaffy, the Tough Mood Swinger: You'll see more of said Flaaffy in the opening parts of the next episode, but basically, she was an unused character from another project, that involved bringing back the Warring Nations concept, which fell through. BASICALLY, she was a tough explorer girl who loved getting herself in trouble and then getting out of it...Sometimes. Other times, she was completely out of her mind, or depressed to a point of comedy. Her entire personality morphes depending on the mood she's in...Which won't be represented here. She never did make it past the concept stage though, so...Eh, no big loss.

Delta: I love sheep...New Zealand just made me love them even more, especially the Wooloos...I can't get over them.

Yeah, and here's another segment...FACTS ABOUT THAT COUNTRY! Basically anything we couldn't fit into the episode in some way we're putting here.

There is exactly seven sheep for every ONE person in New Zealand. That means there is a sheep population of thirty-three million, five hundred fifty-eight thousand sheep!

The Sky Tower, where the cast found their first tip, is actually the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, and the twenty-fifth tallest building in the world overall.

The reason Auckland is known as the "city of sails", is because a massive portion of the population of the city owns boats, and they regularly hold a sailing race called, "The Regatta".

It's the home to the world's steepest residential street, Baldwin Street, rising from 30m to 100m, and frankly...Apparently being very terrifying to walk or even drive down.

New Zealanders are called "Kiwis". They got this name from the type of bird of the same name, a native flightless bird. In fact, prior to humans coming to it, the only native mammals in the country were bats, and it was primarily made up of a multitude of birds, including one that was over twelve feet tall!

Several major franchises are actually filmed in New Zealand, including Power Rangers, and especially Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, which is where the town, Hobbiton, came from. It was originally a film set made for the latter movies, and upon completion of them, were made into an actual town and is now a regular tourist destination for visitors.

Delta: Just wanted to say that those facts are super awesome, and this episode alone made me really like New Zealand. There's so many cool places there and everything about it just seems pretty neat...I can only dream of one day seeing it in person, because that would be awesome.

I hope to induce that same feeling in all the countries we'll be visiting on this journey around the world. I'm super passionate about exploring other cultures, and this series, while we may struggle a bit, is definitely a passion project, and we hope to keep you engaged for the rest of the race to come.

Delta: We hope that all of you enjoyed this episode, and please feel free to take a cookie from us. We have plenty, so we want you all to enjoy yourselves after reading all this and being supportive of us.

...Wait, where the hell did you get cookies?