Xebla : So! Here are we are! Our fourth episode already!

Fuzzboy : Honestly, going slower than my usual schedules. But then again, time zones.

Xebla : Still fast though. At this pace, we could finish this story in about a year!

Fuzzboy : Oh, I have no doubt about that. I helped Delta finish his story. We did twelve chapters and finished it in just one month.

Xebla : Well, if we've learned anything from our last episode, we should've started the challenge a bit earlier. So we have this episode to make up for it.

Fuzzboy : Honestly, I prefer interactions over challenges, but I can see why we should do them earlier.

Xebla : We had nearly 30,000 words last time. 'Nuff said.

Fuzzboy : Anyways, without further to do, let's get started!

(Disclaimer) : We do not own any of the Pokemon except their original personalities. Nor any content from Total Drama.


Episode 4 - Detrimental Doomsday!


Day 7 - Elimination Day (Post-Elimination)


The camera flicked on once more, showing the world the island at night, the gloomy sky and cloudy weather seemingly coming to a climax, and the hot temperature had decreased a surprising amount. The hosts were at the dock, ready to start their next recap.

"It's hard to believe it's been a week already," Mesprit said, smiling.

Her yellow-headed brother rolled his eyes, "Please, I believe it. I have the headaches to prove it."

"You always have headaches," Azelf said, "I'm sure you'll survive, considering you live with us."

Uxie growled at his brother, before turning away with a huff, "Just get this damn recap over with."

Mesprit faced the camera, smiling, "Last time on Total Pokemon Alphabetical! Using the info she had on Turtonator and Vanilluxe, Sableye came up with a plan to expose their relationship to everyone."

Uxie rolled his eyes, "And by plan, you mean she blatantly screamed at everyone that they were a thing."

Azelf chuckled, "I enjoyed that part," He looked at the camera, smiling, "On my team, Yanmega and Infernape tried to influence the others into voting out Drifblim. But instead, they set themselves on the wrong end of the stick, forcing them to run around the island like maniacs to find an idol, but to no luck."

"I feel bad for them, though," Mesprit said, showing a sympathetic look, "Yanmega was under a huge amount of stress, while Infernape…"

"During the challenge, the contestants had to find a Froslass and receive their team coloured envelope, and then place it inside the mailbox," Uxie said, "Just wish it didn't take that long to finish."

"Hey, you were the one who wanted a five-story mansion, so who's fault was it?" Azelf said.

His apathetic brother growled at him, before turning to the camera, "In the end, the biggest idiot on the island somehow won the challenge for Unique Uxie. Honestly, I say he got lucky, because nobody that dumb could possibly actually do well at this game."

"Never underestimate anyone, especially someone like Quagsire," Mesprit said, jumping straight into defending Quagsire, frowning at her brother, "He has an element of surprise."

Uxie rose a brow, "Wow, favoritism much?"

"And speaking of element of surprise, one camper seem to zone out and almost burn the whole mansion down," Azelf said, frowning.

"I told you it could've come to that if Infernape found the armory," Mesprit said, frowning, "It brought back bad memories for him."

Uxie scoffed, "Please, if the moron didn't realize he might suffer a bit from some bad memories, he doesn't deserve my pity."

"Dissing a war veteran?" Azelf said, glaring at him, "That's cold, even for you."

"Fuck off, that idiotic bastard from earlier nearly crushed my ribs! I'm a little pissed if it wasn't obvious," Uxie growled at his siblings.

Mesprit glanced back at the camera, "It was Infernape's actions that almost got himself eliminated. He even voted for himself."

"But in the end, it was actually Xatu, who gathered her teammates and told them to vote her off to keep everyone else in," Azelf said, "Not my favourite kind, but it was surprising to say the least."

"What's the point of coming onto this show, if you're only showing up to get eliminated early?" Uxie said, annoyed, "If we're doing another season, we need to be thorough with our applications."

"Season two? We can talk about that when we're near the end of this season," Mesprit gave the camera a smile, "So, we're down to twenty four contestants! Who knows what will happen next? Well, here are some important questions for you to think about!"

"Who will win a battle of wits between Raichu and Bastiodon?" Uxie said, "Here's your answer, Raichu."

"Can Octillery do the impossible and get Araquanid a girlfriend?" Azelf asked, chuckling, "Good luck with that."

"I love romance, so I'm hoping for it," Mesprit said, "And what is Chandelure going to do with his notepad filled with info regarding the other contestants? Find out on this next exciting episode of Total!"

"Pokemon!" Azelf said, smiling.

Uxie blinked, before groaning, "...Alphabetical...God, this is so stupid."


Golden Inn

Several hours had passed, and most had already gone to bed. Chandelure, however, remained in the living room, sitting on a loveseat, flipping through his notepad. Each page featured detailed information on each contestant, including Granbull and Xatu, but their names were crossed out. His eyes flickered downward, reading the lines of words on each page. Soon, he closed his notepad, and whispered, "I know what to do now."


{{Confessional}}

Chandelure: For this past week, I've been gathering information on all of the contestants here to determine who'd be my greatest asset, and who'd be my greatest challenge. For the latter, Sableye has proven to be a mighty thorn on my side. Any information she finds, she'll surely spill to the public, and by extension, the people here. Luckily, most of us have a mutual dislike of her, so her time in the competition hopefully shouldn't last. (He showed a small smile) As for the former, I've concluded my future allies should be in Ninjask and Turtonator. I believe I can put my trust in them.


Chandelure floated upstairs, glancing at Purugly, who was occupied with the arcade machine. Every time she moved the joystick, she wiggled her hips. Feeling his flames glowing brighter, Chandelure quickly looked away, mentally telling himself to keep the task at hand as his main priority.

He returned to his room, located at the furthest door on the left. He closed the door and turned around, facing the room he was in. The bedroom was a large space, with a handmade wooden wardrobe, a small collection of drawers, a balcony leading outside, and similarly to downstairs, the wall was coated in a golden paint. There were two double beds facing each other in the center of the room, with a night stand sitting beside each bed. There was also a door leading into a medium-sized bathroom, which contained a toilet, a sink, a remarkably large hot tub, a shower room, and three cupboards. The wall was covered in gold tiles.

He faced his roommate, Ninjask, who was reading a graphic novel about a teenage dragon from Johto. He floated over to Ninjask, who looked up from his book and smiled.

"Oh, hey dude," Ninjask said, "What's up?"

"Ninjask, I have a proposal to you," Chandelure said.

Ninjask's eyes widened, and held his hands up, "Dude, I'm flattered and all, but I'm not into dudes!"

Chandelure shook his head, "Not that kind of proposal. You see, for the past week, I've been watching from the sidelines; analysing you and our teammates. I was seeking a potential alliance member. After deducing my choices, I came to a conclusion by choosing you."

Ninjask's eyes became wider, "Really? Why me?"

"Loyalty could be etched into your family name, and possibly unluckiness as well," Chandelure said quietly on the unluckiness part, "However, you never gave up after being knocked down again and again. I always have admiration for anyone with that kind of strong will. It's your choice, though. So," he gave the ninja a puzzling look, "Do you want me to become your ally?"

Ninjask was silent, thinking about the offer for a second, before smiling, "I wasn't expecting to be receiving any offers to join an alliance, but yeah man, I'm in!"

Chandelure held a candle arm to his mouth, gesturing the ninja to be quiet, "Lower your voice. We don't want to risk being discovered."

Ninjask let out a sheepish chuckle, "Right, right. My bad, dude," he said in a quieter voice.

Chandelure smiled, "Splendid. From this point onward, we'll look out for each other. We'll search for the idols together, discuss the votes together, and create plans together."

Ninjask nodded and smiled, "Awesome."

"However, I am considering another ally joining us."

"Like who?" Ninjask asked.

"Turtonator," Chandelure said, "She stepped up whenever Quagsire was incapable to act as our leader."

"He did win the challenge for us, though."

Chandelure sighed, "Yes, I am aware of that," He shook his head, "His surprising victory still has me flabbergasted."

Ninjask raised a brow, "Flabbergasted? What's that? Vomiting?"

"No, it's mean surprise someone greatly. It's a verb."

Ninjask scratched his head and nodded albeit doesn't understand it, "Okay…"

"Back onto the main topic, Turtonator brought her husband along with her into this game. So, if we bring Turtonator in, Vanilluxe would surely follow."

"But isn't Vanilluxe on a different team?"

"He is, but he's well liked amongst the Mysterious Mesprit. So as far as we're concerned, he should be safe. Soon, we need to recruit Turtonator."

"Why not tomorrow?" Ninjask asked.

"Sableye," Chandelure said, "We cannot risk having her expose us."

Ninjask nodded, "Got it."

"And with that, do you have any question for me?"

Ninjask shrugged and smiled, "Not really. I guess go Awesome Shadow Strike, aka Team AS…" He trailed off, realizing the acronym, and seeing Chandelure's unimpressed stare. He chuckled sheepishly, "Let's just called ourselves Shadow Strike."

Chandelure nodded, "Better."


{{Confessional}}

Chandelure: (He showed a small smile)Now that I've obtained an ally, it increases my chances of winning. In the meantime, no one must know about us. Simply the word "alliance" can easily paint a target on our backs. From my observation, Ninjask doesn't appear to be one to announce news to everyone.

Ninjask: (His eyes beamed) Alliance. I'm teaming up with Chandelure in an alliance. (He pumped his fists in the air) Awesome! I didn't expect to be anybody's first choice, but who cares? I'm in one! It was cool of him to trust me enough to be his ally. My family taught me that team stands for "Together, Everyone Achieves More". I just hope Chandelure didn't bring me into the alliance just to use me. If so, (He brought out his nunchaku and narrowed his eyes) he'll feel the wrath of the Steel Twins! (He swung around his nunchaku, only to hit himself in the face) Ow!


In the room beside the men, Sableye was standing on her bed, using a hand drill to make a small hole in the wall. Resting beside her, Komala let out a yawn and opened her eyes midway. She looked up at her, "Are you…Doing this right now?" She asked.

"Chandelure and Ninjask could be discussing something huge in hiding," Sableye whispered, "There's no telling what they're doing in there. By drilling a hole in every room, I'll be able to eavesdrop on everyone without them knowing it."

The koala stared up in confusion at the imp, before saying, "You aren't...Only gonna be finding secrets the whole game...Right?"

Sableye stopped drilling, and slowly turned her head towards her, "If they're getting...Busy, I'll look away. But if not, I'm looking in for some golden secrets," She resumed drilling.

Komala let out a yawn, "If they are...It's good to know that we…Aren't the only people who're…Into the same gender."

Sableye shrugged, "That would be a nice thoug-Ahhh!" She was pulled down onto the bed. She glanced down at Komala, who clutched onto her chest, smiling. Sableye tried to gently push her off, "Komala, get off. I have work to do."

"We'll...Be in this room for...A couple of days," Komala said, nuzzling her on Sableye's chest, "We have time…" She closed her eyes and snored.

Sableye stopped pushing the little koala and stared at her. Seeing the small koala Pokemon sleeping on her had brought a smile on her face. She pressed her lips to the top of Komala's head, earning a pleasant mumbling from her. She laid her head back onto the bed and wrapped her arms around Komala.


{{Confessional}}

Sableye: (She snapped her head left and right, before facing the camera again) Okay, not only do Komala and I know each other, but we're dating. (She narrowed her eyes and pointed at the camera) If you have a problem with that, you'd better wish you won't become my enemy!

Komala: (She clutched onto her pink stump, smiling) Despite what...People think of Sableye... She's a good person...Once you've got her to...Open up. (She let out a yawn) She looks cold on the outside...But she's warm on the inside.


Day 8 - Relaxation Day


Beach

Another cloudy day had arrived, and so it was the perfect chance for a poor loser like Araquanid to receive his happy ending. To earn his happy ending, he sat with Octillery at the beach. He watched Octillery write down every woman's name in the sand.

"Okay, this is, like, every girl on this island," Octillery said, "We've crossed out the guys, but I'll keep them in mind just in case it could happen," she said, smiling.

The spider blinked, "Still not into guys," he began to smile at her, "But thanks for this. Honestly, having some help for this might make things easier on me."

"Totally not a problem. By the time one of us is gone, you'll totally become a new man!" Octillery looked down at the names on the sand, "Now, except for me, Xatu, and that psycho dog, we have ten ladies for you to grab. Problem is, some of them are, like, super old. So that's kinda limits your options."

Araquanid sighed, "Yeah, not gonna lie, I probably only really have a chance with people within eight years of me. Who does that take out of the equation?"

"Old hag, and the wife," Octillery said, crossing out Leavanny and Turtonator's names, "I can't tell the others' ages, but some could still be old, like in their thirties."

He shrugged, a smile on his face, "Honestly, I'd be willing to work with that."

Octillery raised a brow at him, "Seriously?" She shrugged, "Eh, I've seen kids my ages making out with staff at school. So I guess you're into that type, are you?"

The spider blinked, before tapping his chin, "I wouldn't go that far really, but I am into older women a little."

"You think you'd see yourself dating someone in their fifties?" Octillery asked, looking creeped out.

He quickly shook his head, "Oh hell no, I just mean I'm into girls only a little older than me. I'm fine with younger girls…," his face hardened in realization, "No, I don't mean it like that! God, how the hell do I make this not sound creepy?!"

"Yeah...You need a lotta work," Octillery said, giving him a deadpan look before smirking, "But that's totally fine, because I'm here to help you get outta of this nasty funk."

He let out a sigh, "Yep, I'd probably be screwed otherwise. Anyways, where should we start?"

"Well, first off, what do you like in someone? Personality and appearance are important, and so is just how good they are in bed."

His face went red, as he covered it, "You didn't need to mention sex you know."

"Sure I did! Sex is, like, super important. If you're good in bed, chances are, people will come back for more. We'll discuss that when the time has come."

"I prefer we didn't," he deadpanned, "And wait, why do you think they're so important? Have you had sex or something, because if so, both nice, and you're a little young."

Octillery nodded, "Yep. I have experience. That's what happens when you spend most of high school partying."

Ignoring this, he continued, "But yeah, really, I'd be fine with dating any of the available girls here. Not that picky right now...Except maybe Jellicent. She's kinda terrifying."

"Yeah...That girl is downright creepy. So unless you're into creepy stuff, she isn't your type right now?"

He quickly shook his head, "Yeah, no thanks. Besides maybe choking, I'm not really into anything," he realized what he said, "...I need to learn how to stop talking."

Octillery rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you need to work on how to use that mouth right," she said, crossing out Jellicent's name.

Araquanid blushed, "Okay, gonna hope that didn't mean what I think it means," he turned back to the sand, before staring at a particular name, "...How about Hydreigon first?"

Octillery tapped her chin, "Hmm...She is on our team, which probably would be easier than someone on a different team. But that girl has, like, three heads yammering on until she passes out. Why her?"

He shrugged, before smiling sheepishly, "I just think it's...Kinda cute how she acts is all."

Octillery stared at him, before shrugging, "Eh, I've seen people into weird shit. Now, the first thing you wanna do is to get her attention. If she notices you, that could easily fall into either good or bad. You wanna make sure she notices the good side of you. One look at bad stuff, and your chance of having relationship is almost zero."

He blinked, "Okay, one problem there...What exactly is my good side?"

Octillery stared at him in silence, blinking. The silence between the pair was becoming unbearable, until she finally broke the silence, giving him an awkward look, "Yeah…This is gonna be hard."


{{Confessional}}

Octillery: Coming into this, I knew it's gonna be totally hard. But Araquanid is, like, one of the most impossible people to pull off! He just screams someone who is destined to be alone forever. But, I made a promise to him that I'll find him a girlfriend. And I'm gonna get him one! (She smirked) If I can, like, pull this off, I'll be a master of shipping!

Araquanid: (He sighed to himself) And thus, there goes my hope of finding a girl. Seriously, I'm a wreck. How the hell am I supposed to get a girlfriend in this state.


Dock

Lying on the dock, Raichu had his paws on the back of his head, staring up at the sky. Despite it being filled with clouds, Raichu couldn't help but find it relaxing. Maybe it was because dark clouds meant possible lightning? Or perhaps it was to describe his current emotions. Either way, this was easily one of the more enjoyable things around here for him to do, at least by himself. Honestly, if he could find Drifblim, he'd probably prefer hanging out with him.

Little did he know, Bastiodon was standing nearby the dock, glaring at him. Espeon and Ursaring walked over to him, and then looked at Raichu.

"Bastiodon, what are you doing?" Espeon asked.

"I'm playing the role of a villain thinking of doing unspeakable things to that mouse," Bastiodon said, growling.

"Dude, all he did to you was abandon you," Ursaring said before tapping his chin, "That's pretty bad, but it's not like he left you for dead."

Bastiodon snapped his head at the pair, "He didn't just abandon me!" He whispered so Raichu wouldn't hear him, "He accused me of being a rotten actor! He also insulted me and my beloved family back home!" He leaned his head towards Espeon, "He called me a c-word."

Espeon widened her eyes before narrowing it, "Swearing is prohibited here."

"Exactly! We don't want someone to spread bad influence all over this island, shall we? After all, he was drunk out of mind. He probably didn't even want to be here! So I'm thinking, the first chance we'd get, we vote him off."

"Whoa, dude, you're not thinking of throwing the challenge, are you?" Ursaring said, looking uneasy, "I mean, it was fine with Granbull since she's a horrible person, but Raichu?" He looked at the electric mouse resting, "He doesn't seem to be a bad dude."

"Anyone who curses at someone's family isn't considered a good person," Espeon said, now glaring at Raichu. She looked back at her teammates, "It's my duty to cleanse this island of devils and demons."

"And Raichu has a lot of it," Bastiodon said, glancing at Raichu before staring at the ground.

Espeon nodded, "Don't worry, Bastiodon, we'll take care of him when our time has come."

Bastiodon looked up and gave her a smile, "Thank you. It's good to have people like you here to protect us."

Espeon returned a smile, "It is," She shot a glare at Raichu before walking away. She stopped, looking back at Ursaring, "Are you coming?"

As she said this, she didn't realize Ursaring was glaring down Bastiodon, before turning back to Espeon, "Yeah...Let's get going."

The pair began to walk away with Bastiodon on their tails. He stopped, looking back at Raichu and showed a smirk before walking away.


{{Confessional}}

Bastiodon: (He showed a smirk) That, my friends, is how you utilize acting in this game. Raichu still doesn't believe I'm a prenominal actor? Allow me to demonstrate. (He coughed his clear his throat. He started snickering before escalating to laughter, and then manically laughed like an evil villain with his head held back, his eyes filled with madness, and his front legs in the air. He stopped, took a deep breath and made a gesture across his face. He flashed a cocky smirk) And the emmy goes to...Me! Though then again, I already have so many, I'm starting to run out of space.

Raichu: Yeah, don't think I didn't see Bastiodon talking to those guys. Do I know why or what they were talking about? No, but considering how he stared at me, probably won't end well for me if I'm not careful. Guess I'm gonna have to take him out earlier than expected.


Forest

Hidden out in the middle of the forest, which spread for miles, Vanilluxe, Turtonator, and Jellicent were walking, looking around for the idol.

"So, Jellicent, if you have somehow found an idol, I'd love to hear it now," Turtonator said, looking at the jellyfish in front of her, "Yanmega spent days and nights looking for one. Since he looks so stressed, he doesn't seem to have found one."

"Unfortunately, I haven't," Jellicent said, looking inside a hole inside a tree, "I spent a long time in the forest searching through every tree to see if one was hidden inside."

Vanilluxe blinked, "Every tree?" He looked around the forest and chuckled, "Goodness me, that's a lot of trees for you to search."

Jellicent floated back to her allies, disappointed, "Yeah. I can't even mark it because I don't want to risk having the others finding one before we do."

Turtonator nodded, "Smart move."

"Say, Jellicent, what do you normally do back home?" Vanilluxe asked.

Jellicent looked at him, raising a brow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, since your eerie personality was nothing more than a facade, who are you?"

"You know, I'm curious about that too," Turtonator said, "You never told me last night."

Jellicent was silent, before looking back at Turtonator, "I couldn't risk having Sableye spying on us. Arceus knows she'll hide herself everywhere just to uncover a secret," She looked at Vanilluxe, "And as for who I am? Well, to put it simply, I'll be keeping that a personal secret for now. Right now, we only need to focus on the game. Everything outside of it doesn't matter."

Vanilluxe stopped smiling, while Turtonator frowned in suspicion. Noticing this, the jellyfish glared at the duo, "What, I never asked for your life stories. This is a game, and we most likely will never see each other again after it's over. As far as I'm concerned, you two don't need to know a thing about me other than that I'm your ally," she turned back to the path, before floating a long distance away, "Now keep searching. We need to find an idol before it's too late."

The married couple exchanged glances.

"I don't trust her one bit, Vanilluxe," Turtonator said, "We may have to get rid of her sooner than expected.

Vanilluxe blinked, before looking down, "B-But maybe she just has trust issues is all. I say we give it time," he smiled at his wife sheepishly, "After all, everyone has a little bit of good in them."

"What about Granbull?" Turtonator said, concerned.

The ice cream's face paled slightly, but he sighed, "Look, she was just misunderstood is all. Nobody's that bad. So please, just give Jellicent more of a chance, for me."

Turtonator stared at him, before looking at Jellicent and then back at her husband. She sighed, "Alright, we'll give her a chance. But if I see something suspicious, this alliance with her is over."

Vanilluxe smiled at his wife, "That's all I want," he began to fly ahead, "Now come on darling, we got idols to find!"

"Keep your voice down!" Turtonator said, eyes widened, "Don't alert everyone here!"

Vanilluxe chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry."

Turtonator rolled her eyes, but chuckled.


{{Confessional}}

Jellicent: Why does it matter letting them knows who I am? Let's face reality. If you're competing on this show with these guys, do you honestly expect to meet them again outside the game? We all have different lives to lead, dreams to chase, and our own family and friends to be with. Not to mention we all lives in different regions. Turtonator and Vanilluxe are from Alola, while I'm from Unova. To put it simply, it wouldn't work out anyways, so why even bother? I'm here to win, and nothing's gonna distract me from that.

Turtonator: Have I trusted Jellicent since we became allies? Not once. (She narrowed her eyes) She lied to everyone about who she is, and even then, I'm wary of who the real Jellicent truly is. She could easily backstab us at the first chance she gets. If that happens, I'll tell everyone about her within a heartbeat.

Vanilluxe: (He smiled) I'm so glad that Turtonator has decided to give our ally a chance. Sure, I would've like to know her better so Turtonator and I can both create a bond with her. But I shouldn't rush her. We've only been here for a week now. Some people opens up later than others. I'd like to believe Jellicent is one of them.


Clearing

The sky was beginning to darken, as the sun slowly began to set across the island. Standing in the middle of it, Meowstic had his own plans for this time. Throwing all of his energy into it, he held up a metal baseball bat, as he brought it down hard onto some kind of wooden statue, shattering the head of it into pieces, as it fell backward into the dirt, as he let out a tired huff, before falling to the ground, barely holding himself up by the weight of his weapon. All around him laid a series of wooden targets, which now laid sprawled out onto the ground in some kind of massacre, as the cat began to slowly pick himself up off the ground.

He looked at all of the destroyed wooden targets around him, and then looked at his metal baseball bat, which had a small dent, but otherwise remained in good condition. A smile crept on his face.

"Zombies won't see what's coming," he said.

As he said this though, a voice said, "Impressive, but you're putting too much stress on your body."

Meowstic snapped his head at the sound, and raised his metal baseball, ready to strike at a moment's notice. He stopped glaring and lowered his weapon, seeing Drifblim floating just above him, looking down at him, as if to assert his superior strength in some regard. He sighed, lowering his weapon even more, "Don't sneak up on me like that. I don't like surprises."

The blimp continued to stare down at the cat, as he said, "You should have heard me coming. I made no effort to disguise myself, and if you had just been paying attention, you should have realized I was here."

Meowstic blinked before slapping a hand to his forehead and groaned, "You're right. Because I've been practicing so hard, I don't have much energy left in me now," He shook his head, "I can't believe I left myself be so vulnerable."

As he said this, Drifblim floated down to him, "You seem to see vulnerability as a weakness. It truly isn't. We all have moments of it, and those experiences only make us stronger. I recommend using this as a type of learning tool for the future."

Meowstic looked in deep thought about what Drifblim said and nodded, "You make a good point. I'll remember it for my next training session."

As the cat turned to leave though, the blimp spoke up, "Though I also know of one other weakness you suffer from. One that you seem determined to never fix."

Meowstic looked back at him, intrigued, "What is it?"

Drifblim floated closer to the cat, "Your incapability of forming meaningful connections with others. A weakness that truly shows the worst kind of vulnerability in a person. The kind that does nothing to help you."

"I can't risk connection," Meowstic said, frowning before looking away, "If a zombie apocalypse happens, I don't want to be too close with people, because if they die, I could be overwhelmed with grief and leave myself exposed as a zombie meal."

As he said this though, the blimp glared down at the cat, "I'm afraid that with that kind of mentality, you'll never be as strong as you want to be. Truly a waste of your potential."

Meowstic narrowed his eyes at him, "You don't know that. The zombie apocalypse can bring out the worst in people, especially your loved ones. Everyone is capable of doing horrible things when pushed into extreme circumstances."

Drifblim's glare didn't waver, before he turned away, "Such irrational thinking shall only lead to your own failure. One day, I hope you realize that, if only so you don't make my mistakes."

Meowstic turned around and walked away, glancing at the retreating Drifblim every now and then.


{{Confessional}}

Meowstic: Irrational thinking or not, it's still necessary to create a barrier around yourselves. Some people strike as soon as they've see a weakness. If I come across the competitors in an apocalypse, they might take advantage of me. (He shook his head) Just cannot afford to let myself exposed no matter where I am.

Drifblim: Meowstic and I are very similar men...In the end, we both have similar mentalities on relationships. (He glared at the camera) But before this show, I made a vow to myself that I'd change that. Meowstic still seems to be new to the concept of having no true companions in his life, possibly only having it for the last few years at most. I want him to realize this issue before it consumes him, like it did me long ago.


Day 9 - Challenge Day


The morning sun began to rise in the distance, as the Pidgey began to chirp in harmony. As this happened, one of the birds flew down upon hearing a certain kind of whistling, landing on Quagsire's arm, as he smiled at the bird, "Morning birdies."

As the Pidgey began to chirp excitedly on the water fish, his smile grew warmer, as he walked inside the mess hall, hoping for an early breakfast. Inside the building, Furret was sitting at her team's table, writing down something in her notepad. She stopped, and glanced at the wall where the contestants' portraits were. This time, Xatu's was resting beside Granbull over 25th place. Her real name was also revealed; Xanthippe Bob.

As she stared at the portrait, she didn't even notice the water fish walk up to her, before he screamed loudly into her ear, "Morning, Furret!"

Furret screamed and fell backward, landing on the floor. She groaned and gripped her ears. As this happened, Quagsire blinked, before saying, "Oh, sorry about that."

Furret quickly sat up, picked up her notepad and pen, and then returned to her seat. She shot him an annoyed look, "Don't spook me like that. I don't like it when people shouted into my ears."

Quagsire seemed oblivious to his volume though, as he grinned, "Okay! I'll try to control my mouth better."

Furret nodded and rubbed her head, "Appreciate it."

Smiling at her, the water fish whistled to the Pidgey on his arm, signaling it to fly away. As it flew out of the mess hall, he approached the lunch line, as he smiled at Mesprit, "Good morning."

Mesprit looked up from the lines of food and smiled at the goofball, "Good morning, Quagsire. Did you have a nice night?"

He quickly nodded, "Yeah, they had a nice couch. It was comfortable considering nobody wanted to room with me."

Mesprit blinked, "Really? I thought the team likes you now."

He shrugged with the same oblivious grin, "I like to think everyone likes me. They just said they were worried I'd bring animals inside is all...I think."

Mesprit stared at him before she chuckled, "Were you considering bringing them?"

The water fish shrugged, "They're just so cute and fluffy."

"I'm sure they are," Mesprit said, smiling, "So what do you want for breakfast?"

Quagsire tapped his chin for a moment, seemingly in deep thought...Until he just continued to grin, "I'll take whatever's easiest for you to make. I'm not picky."

Mesprit chuckled. She placed eggs, sausages, toasts, and Oran Berries onto his plate and then gave it to him, "Enjoy!"

He happily took the food, before saluting the legendary, "Yes ma'am."


{{Confessional}}

Furret: (She rubbed her ears, looking concern) I hope Quagsire didn't just damaged my hearing. That would be a problem, and I have already got several problems with myself I need to deal with. (She lowered her paw) I still like him, regardless. In fact, so far, I may consider him my best friend along with Chandelure. I just want Quagsire to give me some personal space. I don't like it whenever people invade it without permission.

Mesprit: (She smiled at the camera) Ah, bless Quagsire. Always see a bright side in everything. We need more people like him in this planet. Although, I'm not sure everyone would appreciate having him bringing wild Pokemon into their homes. Azelf would've thought it'd be funny.

Quagsire: (He was now covered from head to toe in Pidgey, as he smiled at the camera) The birdies seem oddly attracted to me. (They began to peck at him, seemingly trying to get inside his head, as he looked on oblivious to the pain) Maybe it's because I have a nice whistle?


Mess Hall

Several Pokemon were enjoying their breakfast, one of which was a certain zebra, who was feasting on a large plate full of eggs, with a cup of orange juice next to him, and a select couple pieces of bacon as a treat. Zebstrika was enjoying his breakfast until he noticed Purugly was sitting beside him, batting her eyelashes at him.


{{Confessional}}

Purugly: Here's the thing, I'm very sexually active. I have sex at least once per week. (She frowned) So spending my first week here without sex was annoying. Maturbation wouldn't be enough to ease me. I've tried to advance on every guy here, but every answer I received was either that they're married, or people saying I disgusted them. (She smirked) However, if you're under sexual tension, you might change your mind.


The zebra blinked at the cat's random appearance, before shrugging, as he continued to eat his eggs.

"So, Zebstrika, you're eating eggs to build up your muscles?" Purugly asked, smirking.

He turned his head to her, before smiling, "Actually, they're just a stress food for me. My team has been going through some personal issues, so I've kinda been freaking out occasionally."

Purugly's smirk became wider, and laid her paw on Zebstrika's lower body, where his legs would be, "Perhaps, I could help you remove your stress?"

He blinked, "What, with a workout or something, because I already ran laps around the island earlier."

Purugly shook her head and slide her paw closer onto Zebstrika's belly, and leaned her head into his ears, "No, I'm talking about doing a workout in bed," she whispered.

"...I don't get it, what can you possibly use to workout in bed?"

Purugly's face dropped and slapped her paw to her forehead. She whispered into Zebstrika's ear, "I'm talking about if you wanna have sex with me!"

Zebstrika blinked, before putting up an arm, "Sorry, I don't swing that way. No offense and all."

Purugly pulled her head and blinked, before shrugging and smiled, "That's cool. Thanks for letting me know," She noticed most of the Awesome Azelf were staring at her, deadpanned. She raised a brow at them, "What?"


{{Confessional}}

Octillery: (She shuddered) Ugh! That was totally disgusting! Did she had to do that while we're eating?! (She folded her tentacles in a huff) I think I'll prefer starvation, lady!

Sableye: (She looked surprised)Zebstrika's not straight? (She shrugged and smiled) Hmm, good to know Komala and I aren't the only type here.

Zebstrika: (He blinked, before shrugging) I don't get why everyone looked so disgusted honestly.

Purugly: Not the response I was hoping for, but I'm not gonna judge him or anything. If anything, I'd say Zebstrika's hotter now. (She grinned)


Forest

Using her leaves, Wormadam swung herself from tree to tree. She landed on a branch and snapped her head in all direction, "The idols can't hide themselves forever. Sooner or later, they'll have to be found. And it'll be by me!" She puffed out her body before looking around her surroundings, "Now, if I'm an idol, I'd hidden myself in a place that it'd be almost impossible to find. So where is that impossible hiding spot?"

Seeing there weren't anything that caught her eyes, she resumed her swinging from one tree to the next. A couple of minutes later, she stopped and landed on a lower branch, peering at something on the ground. It was a pair of rock sticking out of the ground. Nothing strange about that. What caught her eyes, however, was that the rocks looked almost identical.

She landed onto the ground and hopped over to the rocks. She narrowed her eyes at each rock and then hopped around it. Once she made a complete circle, her eyes widened behind her sunglasses. Just as she suspected, the rocks looked exactly the same. Both rocks were chiseled to the same shape and dent. Feeling, she may be onto something, she hopped on top of the rock, feeling it her leaves for anything different. Finding nothing, she hopped onto the next rock and did the same.

Just when she was hitting the dead end, she looked down between the rocks. She raised a brow and hopped down. She peered at the ground and her eyes became rounded. She could've sworn she saw a tiny arrow sticking out of the ground.

No time to waste, Wormadam dug her leaves into the ground and tear away the dirt. The more she removed the dirt around an unknown object, the more excited she had become. Several minutes later, feeling the object was becoming loose, she gripped it and tugged it. Sweats trickled down her face as she kept pulling the object. Soon, it came out and sent Wormadam flying back several feet.

Shaking away the daze, she looked at the object in her leaves. It was a small wooden sculpture. On top of the podium were two different colored arrows pointing in opposite direction. One was light brown, while the other was darker brown. She turned the sculpture over and gasped happily.

"Congratulations! You've found a Swap Idol! When you play this, you can swap your number of votes with the person of your choice. Be warned. Using it wrong, and you could find yourself going home."

Wormadam let out a cheer and hopped around, holding up an idol. She was now the second person to find one.


{{Confessional}}

Wormadam: (She smiled smugly) Ladies and gentlemen of the Eterna City's taskforce, you all doubted me that I could stand chances of surviving the first elimination. (She held up a Swap Idol to the camera) See this baby? That is one of twelve idols hidden around the island, and I've found one. This baby is gonna come in handy when the time has come. I'm still going strong.


As the bug continued to celebrate though, she heard a sound from behind her, "What are you...Doing out here?"

Wormadam froze her celebration hopping and hid the idol behind the rock without thinking. She snapped her head behind her, seeing Hydreigon before her, "I should ask you the same question."

The dragon sighed, "Drifblim suggest that...I should find ways...To relax. The woods seemed like...A good place...To do so."

Wormadam turned around, raising a brow at her, "Did it help?"

The usually quiet girl slowly shook her head, "No...I'm just scared now…I apparently don't...Like the woods very...Much at all."

Wormadam's eyes softened, "Then why not fly out of the woods?"

"I can barely...Fly close to the...Ground as is. If I fly too high...I'm worried I'd lose...Concentration, and plummet...Down to the ground...And die slowly."

Wormadam hopped closer, "I understand you're worried. But if you don't try to improve yourself, how can you learn to defend yourself?" She spoke in a softer tone.

Hydreigon sighed, "I don't want to...Defend myself...I just want to feel...Normal."

Wormadam couldn't help but feel pity for the three headed dragon. That girl had three minds, therefore making it hard for her to concentrate on anything. She didn't know if it was a normal thing for a Hydreigon to go through, but clearly, this one was having it rough. She knew how it felt though, to be defenseless and out of place. She may have become a cop, but even now, she still felt like an outcast because of her species and her vision impairment.

She took a quick glance behind where her idol was hidden. She looked back at Hydreigon, "Do you want me to come with you back to camp?"

The dragon looked up slightly, before softly smiling, "...I'd like that."

Wormadam hopped forward, "C'mon. I know the way back."


{{Confessional}}

Wormadam: (She held the Swap Idol in her arms) I went back for this as soon as I left Hydriegon alone by the camp. I was damn lucky nobody had found it by then. I've gotta be careful hiding it from now on. Can't have somebody like Sableye catch me and give others a reason to send me home. (Her eyes softened behind her sunglasses) Still, I felt nothing but pity for Hydriegon. That girl probably struggled a lot back home. I know that feeling… (She faced the camera with determination) I think I should help her overcoming her main issue.

Hydreigon: (She smiled at the camera) Wormadam's a nice lady...I can see why...She's a cop...Protecting those who need...It and everything.


Campground

Just finished her breakfast, Leavanny walked out of the Mess Hall, knowing the hosts would be announcing the next challenge soon. She was making her way to the beach, when she paused, seeing Infernape walking past her, holding an empty plate. The fire monkey also stopped and looked back at her. They exchanged glances for two seconds before Leavanny turned her head away to continue her walk towards the beach, but at a quicker pace this time.

Infernape frowned a little, but took a deep breath, and walked towards the Mess Hall.


{{Confessional}}

Infernape: (He lit up a cigar with his little and then puffed it, filling the room with smoke) I can't blame her for being wary of me. I almost got her killed during the last challenge. So I've been spending some time alone to clear my head, and to give others their space. Just gotta make sure my...condition, doesn't lapse again. (He sighed and rubbed his head) I can't believe I let it happen to myself. I thought I was over it. (He puffed on his cigar) Apparently not. I should've gone home, but Xatu got herself voted out instead. If you're watching this, just know that I'm making the most of my time here. I'm still in it to win it. But if it happens again, I'm going. No matter what. I have had enough deaths in my life.


Leavanny sat on the beach and took a quick glance at Infernape, who stepped into the Mess Hall. She turned away and sighed. She tried to calm herself by staring at into the ocean, but no matter what happened, her mind kept drifting back to the armory in the previous challenge. It was understandable why Infernape acted the way he was. He fought in a war, and in wars, guns were involved. Guns he may have used in the past. Obviously, he has seen people died, and probably killed some himself. That would've traumatised any man.

But...His reaction was different. It wasn't a usual case of psychological trauma. Instead, it was something much darker. He unleashed Flamethrower at Sableye and Komala just because they couldn't help themselves falling from the ceiling. He was in a haze. It was like he couldn't understand a word Sableye said to him. She heard it, and was rather appalled by her foul mouth. He could burn the whole mansion down, and still be in a haze. That was when she connected the dots with Infernape's mental state.

The teacher felt a chill running down her spine. It was moments like these that she wished she didn't have high IQ. Sometimes, the truth would be hard to face.

She let out a sigh, "Of all the times to eliminate yourself, Xatu, you chose to do it now?" She muttered.

"You okay there?"

Leavanny snapped out of her thought and looked up, seeing Yanmega hovering above her, giving her a concerned look. Leavanny frowned and faced the beach again, "If you're here to persuade me to shift myself onto yours and Infernape's side, then save your breath. I've made up my mind."

Yanmega frowned, not happy being denied by another teammate, but dropped it almost right way and hovered beside Leavanny, "I'm not here about that. I'm just checking how you're feeling. Ya know, because of what happened in the last challenge," His eyes softened.

Leavanny glanced at Yanmega before facing the ocean once more, "My desire to eliminate your friend from the game is embedded in my mind."

"You know he didn't mean to do that. It was an accident-"

Leavanny snapped her head at Yanmega, "It wasn't an accident! I saw him myself, Yanmega. He would've killed usif his mind had snapped for just a little longer."

"Infernape would never do that," Yanmega said, frowning, "He was a soldier. His job was to protect others-"

"You've only known him for a week," Leavanny said, glaring at him, "You could be married to him for your whole life, and still wouldn't know a thing about him."

The pair remained silent, exchanging glares before Leavanny faced the ocean again, "Back home, I studied psychology so I can understand my students' behavior. See if I can display empathy more. I became fascinated by all kinds of mental behavior in our minds, so I've looked up on everything. From ADHD to PTSD. I thought Infernape had suffered from PTSD since he fought in a war. He had showed it every now and then, but what happened in the armory…"

Yanmega looked concerned, seeing fear in Leavanny's widened eyes.

"It was worse. I realized he suffered from a prolonged effect of Adaptational Personality Disorder. It's rare, but It worsened any disorder he would have. You can only get it if you committed murders."

"Infernape is a war veteran, of course he killed somebody," Yanmega said.

Leavanny looked back the dragonfly Pokemon, "I'm referring to murders outside of conflict."

Yanmega opened his mouth to argue for his friend's sake, but then closed it. The pair remained silent. Some loud feedback was heard throughout the island, "Hi, ladies and gentlemen! Mesprit is here! Please make your way to the area where the natives used to live. If you don't know where that is, it's on the other side of the island from the campground. See you there." The intercom turned off.

The pair exchanged glances, and Leavanny stood up, "At the next elimination, please let Infernape go home, not for everyone's sakes, but for Infernape's as well."

She started walking to the challenge's location. Yanmega stared at her, thinking about what she just said to him. He looked up at the the sky, before heading towards the challenge. Infernape wouldn't have killed someone...Would he?


{{Confessional}}

Yanmega: (He looked unsure) Outside of conflict? I've heard some veterans became messed up after coming back from a war, but Infernape can't be one of them. He has a family and friends to support him. Surely, the dude didn't become a psycho killer. (He stared at the camera, looking unease) Or…Did he?

Leavanny: Did I forgot to mention that smoking can worsen your mental disorder? With the amount of smoking Infernape does, I wouldn't be surprised if he starts losing his mind, if he hasn't already.


Ancient Village

"Whoa…" Furret said, eyes widened in wonder.

The area she and the contestants had arrived in was a large tribal village from ancient times. There were tents made of out of straws, woods and stones. Half of it was destroyed, though. Same case for stone walls encircling the village. Some area were overgrown due to lack of proper care. The contestants were standing by the entrance, facing the hosts.

"I've been here before," Ninjask said, smiling, "It's pretty cool learning what kind of life our ancestors were living in the past."

Araquanid's eyes widened, "Wait...You're into that kinda thing too?"

Ninjask looked at him and nodded, "Yeah! My family embraced history and cultures. It's to make sure to keep it alive to this day."

The spider blinked, before beginning to smile, "That's so cool! My family believes in the same thing!"

"Really? That's awesome, dude!"

"You girls can continue your chit-chat after we've finished explaining the challenge," Azelf said before showing a smile, "And today's challenge I'd like to call - Detrimental Doomsday!"

Meowstic's eyes widened at the word, doomsday.

"You heard my brother right, guys," Mesprit said, smiling, "Your challenge is to hide out in this village and then... Survive the apocalypse!"

Meowstic's eyes widened further at the word, apocalypse.

"What kind of apocalypse are you referring to?" Espeon asked, looking wary.

"Everything," Uxie said, smirking sadistically, "Flood, wildfires, we've got it all. And all of you have to do is to survive it until the end of the challenge," He gestured to the stone walls, "If you'd step outside the village for even a second, you'll be branded as eliminated. The team with the most members still standing or the last person standing for their team wins immunity and gets to spend several nights in the Golden Inn."

"Any questions?" Mesprit asked.

Leavanny's hand risen immediately, "I'm just concerned about the disasters you're about to unleash on us. We won't be harmed, will we?"

"The worse thing you can get in this challenge are bruises," Mesprit said, "If things become worse, we'll hold back on our apocalypse."

Leavanny lowered her hand, seeming satisfied with the answer. Meowstic raised a hand, "Are there going to be zombies involved?"

The hosts exchanged glances before looking back at the zombie fanatic.

"They're not real zombies," Uxie said, "But please refrain yourself from putting our interns to the hospital. We don't want lawyers breathing down our necks."

Meowstic nodded, "Of course."


{{Confessional}}

Meowstic: (He let out a cheer, pumping his fists in the air, laughing. When he calmed down a bit, he grinned at the camera) Apocalypse challenge? This is made for me!


"Are we allowed to remove contestants from the village?" Furret asked, raising her paw.

"All that matters is that the challenge will continue on until either you survives our apocalypses, or be the last one standing for your team," Azelf said, "Be the first team to lose everyone will face elimination tomorrow."

Furret nodded in understanding.

"Did people died here?" Jellicent asked, her eyes vacated.

Standing beside the ghost, Purugly and Sableye took a step backward from her.

"The only thing I can say to that is they all died in the end," Azelf said, feeling off-put by her question.

Jellicent stared at them, not blinking, "Did you kill them?"

"Can we get on with this challenge?" Uxie asked, uncomfortable by Jellicent's presence more every second, "I've been looking forward for this one for ages."

"So you do my like challenges after all!" Azelf said, smirking at him.

The yellow-headed brother only gave him a look, "No, they're a pathetic waste of time and energy and it disgusts me you'd even imply I'd enjoy them. No, I just like seeing the contestants in agony."

Mesprit rolled her eyes albeit smirking, "Of course you do."

"Bitch, I will-"

Quagsire's voice interrupted at a surprising volume, "Don't call her that!"

Uxie gave the water fish a look, "...Whatever. Just start the stupid challenge already."

Mesprit flashed Quagsire a quick smile, before raising her arm, "Ready, guys?"

The contestants nodded, while Meowstic gripped his arms, refraining himself from trembling in excitement.

"Go!" Mesprit said, swinging her arm down.

The contestants were either running or walking into the village. As soon as everyone stepped inside, the large wooden gates slammed shut, making more timid contestants, like Hydreigon jump in fear. The dragon in question then fell to the ground with a thud, as she just laid there, seemingly incapable of getting up. After only a moment, Drifblim had already rushed over to her and began to carry her with him.

Ninjask floated over to Araquanid, "So your family is into the same thing? What's kind of history you're interested in?"

The spider blinked, before laughing a little, "Believe it or not, while I may not look the part, I'm actually Korean. So my family usually tries to keep our traditions alive through...Well, more modern means sadly, but I usually try to stick to more classical ways of handling our cultural history."

Ninjask nodded, smiling, "It's the same with me! Except my family is more interested in keeping the older stuff around because otherwise, modern could make it disappear."

Araquanid smiled, "That's what I always try to tell my parents, but," he looked down, "They don't really listen to me."

"Bummer, man," Ninjask said before brightening up once more, "Maybe you should try to get their attention and make them listen?"

"I literally ran off to see the carnival for a few days and never told them where I went," he began to deadpan, "When I showed up after that long, they hadn't even noticed I was gone."

Ninjask blinked, "Damn. Talk about neglect issues right here."

He shrugged, "Eh, I'm used to it," he tried to force a smile, "But what about you? What's your family like?"

"My mother's family is all ninjas from the Johto and Hoenn region. But my dad was into it too! So he became one as well. I'm a ninja also, but...Not doing so hot right now," He looked down before smiling again, "But doesn't mean I should give up! I just gotta keep thriving!"

The spider let out a sigh, "Man, wish I had that outlook. Whenever I fail, I always just look down on myself and give up."

"It doesn't have to be that way. My grandpa always said that every failure is a step closer to success."

Araquanid glanced up, "I've literally destroyed my social reputation to a point of where back home, girls would talk to me just so they can belittle me...My life is literally a joke."

Ninjask stared at him in shock, "Wow...I feel pity for you, dude."

"Eh, better than nothing."


{{Confessional}}

Ninjask: I've never seen anyone my age to be that much of the downer. Even goths at my high school was brighter than him. I always look on the bright side no matter how much crap I've been put through. Maybe if I stick around with him, I could rub off my positive attitude on him, and make him feel better. (He smiled) Yeah! I should totally do that!

Araquanid: (He sighs) Well, bet I screwed that potential friendship up by making things awkward.


"Okay, so how should we approach this challenge?" Infernape asked his teammates.

"All we've gotta do is be the last one standing," Octillery said, "Meaning, I don't have to stick by you guys for this," She left the group, "Later."

Yanmega opened his mouth to stop Octillery, but close it. He looked at his teammates, "She kinda have a point. There's no need for all of us to stick together, right?"

Drifblim gave him a look, "I actually strongly recommend we stick together. Strength in numbers is best for most situations."

"While I can agree with that, what if we all get caught up in a disaster like a tornado, and it took us all out at once?" Leavanny asked, "Most of us were eliminated together in the previous challenge."

"I'd doubt our hosts would let that happen right away," Infernape said, looking at Leavanny, who looked away.

"Then maybe we could split up into pairs?" Zebstrika said, "That's way we can split up, but won't be alone, right?"

Yanmega nodded, "I can work with that."

"Yanmega and I can stick together," Infernape said, "One on the ground, while one in the sky."

Hydreigon mumbled something to herself, as Drifblim said, "I'll stay with Hydreigon. I can't let her get hurt during this challenge."

"With Araquanid and Octillery not with us, that would make them a pair," Leavanny said, "So I shall stick with Zebstrika."

The zebra saluted her, "I'll just leave you in charge of us, since you know, you kinda seem smarter than me."

Leavanny nodded at him, "Appreciate it."

"Wish you guys good luck," Yanmega nodded at them before he launched himself to the sky. Infernape walked away.


{{Confessional}}

Yanmega: I'm trying to chill out more so I wouldn't risk alienating Infernape and I from the others further. Both of us are still here because Xatu volunteered to leave. We ain't getting another chance like this. Hopefully, we won't have to worry about that once our team is safe from elimination. (He sighed) But damn it, where the hell are the idols?

Komala: (She snored as she cuddled against a wooden idol. However, it wasn't the one she found in the forest. It was a different idol. It shaped like a silver person standing on top of the podium, hands on its hips)


Meowstic looked around the village, his calm eyes beaming with joy. He paused, seeing his teammates staring at him, "What?"

"You're an apocalypse fan," Ursaring said, "What are we supposed to do in this challenge?"

"That's really depending on the disaster the hosts would unleash on us," Meowstic said, pacing back and forth, "The most common disasters are flood, earthquake, volcano, tornado, avalanche, lightning storm, and zombies."

"Zombie isn't a disaster movie, Shaun of the Dead," Raichu said, deadpanned.

"Technically, it is because disasters usually cause the end of the world. Same case for zombies," Meowstic stopped pacing, facing his teammates, looking excited, "If we come across them, go for the brain. Always the brain. It's the only place where you can guarantee a kill."

"Didn't you listen to what the hosts said?" Wormadam said, raising a brow at him in suspicion, "No killing. Or at least, no critical injuries."

"I heard every word, but that doesn't mean we should let our guards down when they'd arrive. At the very least, just make sure to avoid being bitten and scratched. You might get eliminated that way."

"Meowstic, I am concerned by the sound of the excitement in your voice," Espeon said, looking concerned, "An apocalypse isn't something you should take lightly, less so fictional ones like zombies."

"Are you kidding me?" A grin spread on Meowstic's face, and turned around to face the village, extending his arms, "This is the best challenge the hosts could've offered to me! I'm going to make the most of this!" He looked back at his teammates again, "I wanna get into some places before it starts. So here's the best advice for surviving each disaster," He started talking in faster pace, "For a flood; get to the tallest building, and make sure it's stable. For a volcano; run away as fast as you can. If you can find a place to get out of the lava or magma, take it! For a tornado, find something strong and tie yourself to it in order to prevent yourself from flying around inside the tornado. For a lightning storm, keep an eye on the storm so you can try to predict its next move. For an earthquake, get under a strong table or a doorway to avoid debris falling on you. And for an avalanche, stick with a flying person because they can help you avoid it."

Finally finished explaining, Meowstic took a deep breath and looked at his teammates, who remained silent, looking completely baffled.

Furret raised her paw, "Can you please repeat that again?"

Meowstic sighed and shook his head, "There's no time! The challenge is going to start any minute! And since only one of us is needed to win this challenge, I'm heading off alone. But…Mostly so I can find myself a flying ally to help me avoid the avalanche and, lava and or magma."

He ran off, most likely to find the best place to survive any disaster. His teammates exchanged glances.


{{Confessional}}

Furret: I have watched disaster movies before, but I've never experienced one. I can't tell if I'm going to be excited about it or not.

Vanilluxe: Despite Meowstic running off alone, the rest of us thought it'd be better if we stick together as small teams of two or three so we wouldn't be alone. (He showed a smile) This challenge seemed to be the best time to spend with my lovely wife.

Espeon: (She frowned at the camera) I never understand why anyone would enjoy apocalypse movies. It happens whenever Arceus unleashes His wrath on this world and punishes those who inhabit it. (She shook her head) My experience in this village will be nothing but unpleasant.


"Okay, we need to have a teammate by our side at all time," Turtonator said to her teammates, "There's no telling what kind of trouble we'll be facing."

"Jellicent and I should remain in the air," Chandelure said, "It should give us an advantage of avoiding disasters below."

Turtonator nodded, "That would be wise. I would like one of you to look after her," She gestured to the sleeping Komala in her arms.

Jellicent extended her large fins, "I'll take her," she said in monotone.

Sableye opened her mouth to object but closed it, watching Turtonator passing Komala over to Jellicent. She frowned at the mother, who looked at her and returned a frown.

"Sableye and I will stick together, no questions asked," Turtonator said, never taking her eyes off of Sableye, who growled at her.

"Hey, you can't bound me down!" She pointed a finger at her.

"Well, tough. I've made my decision," Turtonator said, narrowing her eyes at her.

"Fine, Mom!" Sableye said before a grin appeared on her face, "See if you can catch me first!"

Sableye ran off just as Turtonator extended her arms towards her. She watched Sableye ran off, cackling like a maniac.

"Sableye!" She shouted before snapping her head at Purugly and Quagsire, "You two stick together. Got it?"

"Sure," Purugly shrugged.

The water fish saluted the mother, "I shall follow the friendly cat with no hat."

Turtonator ran off, as determined to catch her teammate as she usually was with her children.

Chandelure looked at the rest of his teammates, "Whatever happens, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all the best of luck today," He nodded at them.

As the chandelier floated off, Quagsire smiled at seemingly nothing as he glanced around, "Hey, where's the friendly ninja?"

Purugly looked up at the dark cloud above her, "Probably got struck by lightning."

She saw the clouds flashed for a second and then saw something thin coming down. The next thing she knew, the ground exploded nearby, sending the pair flying back. Purugly crashed on her side and groaned. She rubbed her head and looked back, seeing smoke coming out of a huge gaping hole where the pair was standing a moment ago.

The water fish let out a laugh, before turning to Purugly, "We should find a pond to wait in while this passes by. Lightning doesn't affect water, right?"

Purugly snapped her head at the goofball, "Lightning does affect water, you idiot! Water type is weak against Electric!" She said before getting onto her feet and ran off.

Quagsire blinked, before he ran after the cat, "I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention to when they teached type weaknesses in school!"

As he began to leave though, the water fish heard screaming, before a certain chandelier crashed onto the ground in pain. He blinked and looked back at the dark clouds, "Bloody hell, how did they make a real thunderstorm happen?"


{{Confessional}}

Azelf: (He held up a complicated controller) This little guy can control any kind of disaster we can pull off. Whether it'd be a thunderstorm or an earthquake. We chose the village because that's where we designed the disaster area. (He winked) Expect to see that place again from time to time. (He chuckled)


Chandelure snapped his head back and forth. None of his teammates were anywhere to be found, and he mustn't be outside any longer. He looked at the large wooden hut nearby and floated towards it. He let out a yelp, avoiding a lightning bolt striking the ground nearby. He floated inside and looked around the place. For a one story building, it seemed to have one door on each side, leading to more rooms. The walls were made of woods and straws. Judging by wooden tables and chairs, along with a fire pit nearby, he appeared to be in the living room.

"It's hard to tell whether if this a genuine hut from the past," Chandelure said, couldn't help but feeling a small wonder, "If so, I'm quite impressed this place has held up for so long."

He saw two gaping holes on the wall, which allowed him to look outside. He could see Yanmega was flying in the sky, avoiding every lightning strike near him. He disappeared behind a row of straw huts, but Chandelure didn't hear any scream, implying he didn't crash into the ground like he did.

"Yanmega has definitely proven himself as a quality pilot," Chandelure said, "I would've been impressed if I wasn't annoyed at being caught off guard."

"Chandelure?" A disembodied voice was heard behind him.

Chandelure quickly turned around, seeing Furret standing by the door on the left. "Furret, what are you doing here?"

"Hiding from lightning, and to having a look around this building," Furret said, walking over to him, "I always do that whenever I'm in a new place."

"So you've never been to this area?" Chandelure asked.

"No. I didn't want to risk getting lost on this island. That, and I don't want to risk being in trouble if I end up in a place where I shouldn't be."

"I'm sure you would've been notified if that's the case," Chandelure said, smiling at her.

Furret shrugged and looked out the window, "Maybe."

The pair remained silent, watching the spectacle occurring outside. They saw Turtonator still chasing Sableye around, but Turtonator screeched to a halt, barely avoiding the lightning strike hitting the ground in front of her. She looked up, seeing that Sableye had disappeared from her sight. She groaned and continued running, but kept glancing at the sky. When she had disappeared from their sight, Chandelure looked at Furret, who removed her paws from her ears due to her dislike of loud noise.

"You know, it's been awhile since we've had a proper chat," Chandelure said.

Furret turned her head at him and nodded, "Well, I usually like to be on my own, and I'm trying to get along with my teammates on Mysterious Mesprit."

"Found any friends yet?"

"Just on my team, or everyone in general?"

"Your team."

"Just Vanilluxe and Ursaring so far. Vanilluxe is really nice, and Ursaring calmed me down during our second challenge."

Chandelure raised a brow at her, "What do you mean?"

"Well, at the time, I was anxious about Granbull. But Ursaring suggested we'd do some sand sculpting. After that, we talked a bit and got to know each other. Did you know he used to be in a band?"

"No. That hadn't come to my mind," Chandelure said, interested.

"He quit because he wanted to pursue a solo career, but unfortunately for him, it didn't work out. So now, he's been traveling across the country."

Chandelure nodded and smiled, "It's seems to me you're doing a fine job socializing with others."

Furret smiled, "Thanks. It's good to know I'm getting better at it."

"What about the rest of your team?" Chandelure asked, wanting to gather more details on other contestants.

"Wormadam and Espeon seem okay, and since they were my roommates for several nights, we learned to get along well. Not sure about Meowstic, since the only time I've really see him is during the challenges. As for Bastiodon and Raichu, they seem kinda mean. And I don't prefer hanging out with mean people."

Chandelure nodded, reminding himself to write all of it down later, "I see. What about everyone else in this competition?"

"The only one I'm fine talking to right now are you and Quagsire," Furret said, smiling, "I connected with you guys more than I have with everyone else."

Chandelure smiled at the thought of someone considering him as their closest friend. He would've been touched by it if weren't for one other detail. He stopped smiling, "Any reason on why you consider Quagsire a friend? Kind of an odd choice."

"He's a funny guy. I don't laugh often, so a kind person who makes me laugh is someone I'd want to be friends with. I wish I had friends like him back home."

Furret looked back out the window, oblivious to Chandelure's small frown. He looked out the window too. A tiny part of him now wished Quagsire would be responsible for sending his team to their first elimination.


{{Confessional}}

Furret: You know, I'm glad Chandelure is with me in during this challenge. Lightning strikes can be loud, and I don't like loud noises very much. I don't want to be deaf so soon. Plus, it feels like it makes my brain rattle. Does that makes sense to you? (Looks at the camera in confusion)

Chandelure: Furret's information on her team is proving to be useful. It lets me know where I stand with them. Perhaps forming an alliance with her now might be a good idea. People might see us as friends, so they wouldn't get suspicious of us engaging in conversation in public. There's nothing wrong with making friends on other teams. And there are several people here that I would prefer over some of my team members. (He frowned at the camera)


Araquanid cringed, watching Ninjask get electrocuted for the numerous times and then fell to the ground, smoke coming out of his body. After a moment, the spider said, "I really think we should find a place to hide so we don't die on national TV."

Ninjask shook his head and floated up albeit slowly this time, "Nonsense! My grandpa told me if I can survive a lightning strike twenty times, then I'll be able to take on anything!" He grinned, buffing out his body and then screamed, feeling the lightning bolt making contact with him. He fell to the ground once more, groaning in pain, "That's...Nu-number nine…"

After a moment, Araquanid picked up the ninja, before placing him on his back, "No offense to your grandpa, but I sorta think that's a death sentence. Let's get you inside, bud."

Ninjask opened his mouth to object, but slumped his head on Araquanid's back and groaned. Araquanid snapped his head in every direction and then stopped, seeing Octillery screaming her head off and flailing her tentacles as she avoided lightning bolts nearby.

"Fuck you, storm!" Octillery shouted, eyes widened, "Go destroy a school or politics, or, or something!"

Araquanid's eyes bugged, as he called out to her before running towards her, "Octillery, over here!"

Octillery snapped her head at Araquanid and squirmed over to him, "We need to get outta of this hell fast!"

He quickly nodded, glancing in every direction, before pointing towards a two-story hut, "Over there! Come on, let's get out of this storm from hell."

"I'm going first!" Octillery shouted, pushed past Araquanid and headed towards the hut, "I'm totally more vulnerable here than anyone else!"

As she said this, she slowly realized how slow she was running, as she noticed most of her tentacles were coming to a crawl. As this happened, the spider next to her rose a brow, "You need some help there?"

One lightning bolt creating a hole in the ground closeby was all the motivation she needed to climb onto Araquanid's back, holding up Ninjask, "Go, go, go!"

The spider quickly nodded, before rushing towards the hut, making it inside just in time, before a large flurry of lightning began to light up the entire village, as he began to gasp for breath.

Octillery slide off of him and let out a huge sigh of relief while dropping Ninjask on the floor, "Man, that was, like, too close!"

Araquanid began to breath in and out multiple times, as he relaxed his body, "Y-Yeah...God damn, I need to work out more."

"Yeah, you should. But you still managed to carry me and...Who's that guy again?" Octillery asked, glancing at Ninjask on the floor.

Ninjask lifted his head, "N-Ninjask..." He slumped his head back onto the floor.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," She nodded, "You're that ninja who gets hurt, like, all the time."

Araquanid was now leaning against the wall for support, "Actually, I've noticed that too. You have worse luck than me it seems."

Using all of his energy, Ninjask turned his body around, allowing him to lie on his back. He glanced at Araquanid and Octillery, "Yeah...It happens a lot. Not sure why, but it happens."

"Did you told the same thing to your doctors?" Octillery asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did," Ninjask said, pushing himself to his sit up position.

"So you can't, like, die?" Octillery asked, raising a brow at him.

"Everybody dies, even the Legendaries, or so I've heard," Ninjask said, rubbing his head. He looked around the place, "Where are we?"

Araquanid and Octillery looked around the building they were in. It was like the hut Chandelure and Furret were in, but there were stairs leading up to the second floor.

"Man, this place is a total dump," Octillery curled her lips in disgust, "So glad I lives in the twenty first century."

"Actually, I always wondering what it would be like living in the past," Ninjask said, eyes beaming, "So many cultures could have come to life here."

"And have no cellphone? No internet?" Octillery scoffed, "I think I'll go outside and die, thank you."

Araquanid rose a brow, "Wait, don't we usually have no internet here anyways?"

Octillery narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't remind me. It's hard enough as it is!"

The spider flinched at this, "Sorry, sorry, I'll shut up."

"Well, put it this way, err…Who are you?" Ninjask asked Octillery, who snapped her head at him.

"It's Octillery. Remember it," She pointed her tentacle.

Ninjask nodded, "Got it. Anyways, maybe you should consider this experience in another way. Spending a couple of months without internet or Netflix could give us a whole new perspective on our world," he said, smiling.

Octillery stared at him and then her eyes bugged out, looking like she was on the brink of panic, "It would totally show us how totally fucked we are without our technology!" She started squirming around the place, screaming her head off, flailing her tentacles, "I'm gonna lose it here!"

As she said this, Araquanid glanced between the two, before smiling slightly, whispering to himself, "So this is what it's like to have friends?"


{{Confessional}}

Octillery: (She inhaled and exhaled into the paper bag. She stopped, breathing heavily. She looked at the camera) Spending a week here had already been horrible! I've never, like, been this long without my precious internet! My cellphone! (She pointed at the camera and glared) Damn you, Mom and Dad! You spent all this time yapping at me to learn more! But which morons decided to bring me here? There's nothing I could possibly learn from spending a couple of months on an island with a bunch of old strangers! How am I supposed to keep going without my social network? My Twitter feed with Jacob- (She breathed into the paper bag rapidly until she accidentally inhaled it into her mouth, causing her to choke and fall out of her seat)

Ninjask: (He grimaced at the soaked paper bag in his hand) Ew! Who left this here? (He glanced at the camera) Her freak out aside, Octillery seems to be pretty cool. She and Araquanid seem to be friends, so it's nice to know the dude isn't alone here. (He smiled)

Araquanid: (He sighed happily) It's nice knowing I've made connections to people during this game. Already an improvement to being back home.


Looking out a hole from a different two story building with concern, Espeon pulled her head back inside, pressing her front paws together, and started muttering in prayers, "Oh, Lord, please let me and most of my teammates get out of this challenge unharmed. They've done nothing to wrong you," She frowned, "There is one, on the other hand, you can unleash your wrath upon."

"You're not talking about me, right?" Bastiodon asked, sitting beside her, looking concerned.

Espeon shook her head, "Not at all. I was referring to Raichu."

"Wow! Love your honesty. Really, I do," A sarcastic disembodied voice was heard.

Bastiodon and Espeon frowned and turned, seeing Raichu walking inside the room, giving the pair a deadpan stare, "It's must've felt good getting that off your chest, didn't it?"

"What are you doing here, Raichu?" Espeon asked, glaring at him.

"Yeah, this is no place for a rat like you!" Bastiodon said, glaring at him. He turned his head away and gestured his front paw to indicate the electric mouse to go away, "So walk away and play with your thunder buddies."

"You do know I can use Thunderbolt in here, right?" Raichu asked, narrowing his eyes at them.

"If you dare committed an attack here, it would be an act of sabotage," Espeon said, standing up.

Raichu stared at her before looking at Bastiodon, "So you brainwashed her. Good on ya."

Bastiodon's eyes widened and placed his paw on himself, "Me? No, no. It was all Espeon's choice to decide to put on her aggressive nature."

"Saw you guys at the dock. Didn't hear anything but I now know for sure it was bad," Raichu said, slumping to the floor, still staring at him.

"What do you expect?" Espeon said, "You insulted Bastiodon and his family with forbidden words."

Raichu raised a brow at her, "Forbidden words?" His eyes widened, "Oh, you mean swear words like shit and fuck."

Espeon flinched and took a step forward, "Yes, those! And please refrain from speaking those horrid things."

"Why would I do that? Curse words are fun," Raichu showed a smirk, "You can let off steam that way."

"Curse words are never fun. They were just meaningless words that atheist followers conjured to insult our beloved Arceus!"

"Are you referring to the Arceus who produced this show? If so, you should know they don't like ass kissers."

Espeon scoffed in disgust, "How dare you!"

"Wake up, darling, the Arceus you think they are aren't that great. Why else would I be having a crappy life right now?"

"It's because of your verbal abuse to our Lord. You have everything coming and more!"

"While you're at it, maybe your Lord should do the same to Bastiodon?" Raichu gestured to the actor, "His family must've been messed up if his son became obnoxious."

Bastidon stood up and glared at him, "Hey-"

Espeon held up a paw, "Don't, Bastiodon. I'll handle this," She walked over to Raichu, who chuckled.

"So what's your Lord's next punishment for me? Raining Bibles?" He said as Espeon stood in front of him.

Espeon remained silent and closed her eyes. Raichu opened his mouth to speak when he found himself lifted off the ground. His eyes widened, "Hey, what are you-"

He found himself crashing through the straw and wooden wall, screaming as he was flying across the village.

Espeon watched him disappear from her sight and turned around, letting out a sigh. She walked back to Bastiodon, who gave her a grateful look.

"Thank you, Espeon," Bastiodon said, smiling, "I don't think I could really bring myself to lay a hand on that rotten mouse."

Espeon nodded at him, "You're welcome," She sat down, pressing her front paws together and began to resume her praying.

As Espeon muttered her prayers, Bastiodon had a malevolent grin creeping onto his face.


{{Confessional}}

Espeon: (She glared at the camera) Nobody insults our Lord and gets away with it.

Raichu: (He looked annoyed, removing wooden and straw debris from him) This is why I don't do religion. They always have these nutjobs who keep telling us we're living our lives wrong. That's the kind of thing you'd get from terrorists! If I wanna get fucked up, I'll get fucked up!

Bastiodon: (He laughed and then smirked at the camera) I didn't even have to do much to get Espeon on my side. If Raichu keeps up his horrible attitude, I could take him out without even trying!


Using his superb ability of flight, Yanmega expertly maneuvered around the lightning bolts. He whirled his body to dodge two lightning bolts coming at him, causing it to hit each other instead and explode. He laughed as he dived towards the ground.

"You're gonna have to do better than that to take me out of the sky!" He let out a cheer, reaching the ground, only to pull up and flew past several huts. Seeing Infernape entering one of the huts, his conversation with Leavanny at the beach resurfaced in his mind. Yanmega screeched to a halt in mid-air and turned around, heading towards the one story hut.

"Infernape!" He shouted, flying into the hut.

Infernape turned around, "What?"

"I've gotta talk to ya 'bout something," Yanmega said.

"Like what?" Infernape said, walking over to him.

Yanmega opened his mouth but then closed it. He wasn't sure if it a good idea to bring it up to his friend. The conversation was still fresh in his mind, but this topic wasn't something he could easily bring up.

Seeing the uneasiness on Yanmega's face, Infernape frowned, dreadful feeling appearing in his body, "What is it?"

The sharp tone in Infernape's voice had snapped Yanmega out of his thought, and looked at him, "I had a chat with Leavanny, and there are some stuff she told me about, like what happened in that mansion."

Infernape puffed on his cigar, exhaling smoke into the ceiling, "Like what?"

"She said you have prolonged effect of some kinda weird-ass disorder," Yanmega said, choosing his words carefully, "She said you can only get it if you-"

"Killed someone outside of conflict?" Infernape finished the sentence, never taking his eyes off of Yanmega, who looked surprised and stared at the ground.

"Yeah…" Despite being a confident man, Yanmega was finding it hard to make eye contact with Infernape.

"You want to know if I did, do you?" Infernape asked.

Yanmega stared at the ground, hearing occasional thunderbolts happening outside. He didn't know whether to give him an answer or not.

"I did."

Yanmega looked back at Infernape, now seeing him staring at the ground. Despite the room being dark, he could see the old monkey's shame as clear as day. He took one last puff before dumping his cigar on the floor and stomping it out. He lifted his head and looked back at his teammate.

"The only thing I can say is that it happened a long time ago, and I regret it."

Yanmega blinked, "Why are you telling me this? You could've easily lied about it."

"I was a soldier. I have killed before that moment had came. If I lied about that, I'd be lying to myself. And God knows, I've hidden myself away for a while," Infernape turned his head, looking out the window.

Yanmega stared at him, eyes widened. Wasn't expecting the answer he expected to hear, "Does anyone else know about what you've said to me?"

"Friends, family, doctors, therapists," Infernape glanced at the camera, "And I guess the whole world too."

Yanmega glanced at the camera as well. He looked back at Infernape, "Wow, man...This is a really huge thing to say. Do you know what it could mean to you now?"

"It's possible I'll get arrested," Infernape said, turning around to face Yanmega, "But if that happens, I'll go with my head held high."

"W-What about your family?"

"My daughter is in college, and my son is going to have his second child coming up," Infernape let out a sigh, "They'll be okay."

"And your wife?" Yanmega asked, his mind went back to his fiance, Vespiquen, and her son, Combee.

Infernape let out a weak chuckle, "Still married, but we've been taking some time off. Trying to give both of us some space to clear our heads."

"Did that work?"

Infernape shrugged, "We'll leave it to the future to decide our fates."

Yanmega opened his mouth to speak more, only to hear an ear shattering crash above him. Before he could lift his head, the lightning bolt struck him, engulfing. He yelled in pain.

Infernape eyes widened, "Yanmega!" He shouted, running towards him, but the lightning bolt exploded, throwing him backward. He shook off the pain, stood up and ran out the hut. He stared at the sky in shock, watching a smoke trail, that was surely Yanmega, leading all the way to the other side of the wall.

He shook his head, baffled, "Fucking hell."


{{Confessional}}

Yanmega: (He looked annoyed. Smoke appeared from his body) Eliminated first. Great. That just gives people more reasons to kick my butt off this island.

Infernape: Do I think it was a good idea to reveal that info for the public to see? (He shrugged) At this point, I don't give a shit anymore. Despite all the shit I've seen in my life, I'd like to believe I lead a good one. Got a good family, and friends I count on. (He nodded to himself) A good life indeed...


Having just seen a lightning bolt removing someone from the challenge, Meowstic pulled his head back inside the hut and kept looking around the place, always keeping his guard up. Despite that, his eyes were filled with joy. By far, this was his favourite challenge. As an apocalypse fan, this was everything he could've wanted. If, no, when the zombies show up, he may consider today the greatest day of his life.

He paused, noticing he couldn't hear anything right now. His eyes widened, hearing an alert going off inside his mind, telling him something terrible was coming. He ran around the place, determined to not let any disaster claim him while his guard was down. Then he heard the wind coming through the window.

He took one quick peek outside and felt his heartbeat increasing its speed, discovering what the next disaster taking place was. Above the hut he was staying in, something was poking out of the dark clouds, creating an increasingly large tornado that would surely destroy anything in its path. Meowstic pulled his head back in and ran into a small room. Having already checked the place when he first arrived, he removed a straw from the wall, put it in his mouth, and then focused on the ground beneath.

He closed his eyes and extended his paws. Cracks appeared on the ground moments before breaking it, as he held up a good sized chunk of dirt with his telekinesis. He jumped into the gaping hole and lied down. He carefully put the dirt back into the hole, engulfing him underground. However, he used his telekinesis to create a small hole for him to poke a straw through. He put it in his mouth and started breathing through the straw.

Just as he flattened the ground above surface, a large tornado crashed through the room he was just in no more than a minute ago. Meowstic clenched his paws, telling himself to control his breathing, reminding himself what all his training had been about. Still, he couldn't help but be in awe, feeling raw power right above him. The ground vibrated, shaking him to his core.

After what felt like an hour had passed, even though only minutes had passed at most, he felt the ground had stopped rumbling, and the powerful wind became distant. Meowstic remained still, concentrating on controlling his breathing. He wanted to be absolutely sure he was in the clear. For all he knew, he could be inside the eye of the storm. After spending another two minutes waiting, he finally decided to risk resurfacing above ground.

Using his telekinesis, he created a hole big enough for him to climb out. He spat out his straw and took several deep breaths. He looked around the place and gasped. The hut was destroyed. Several minutes had passed, but the only thing left of the building was scattered straws all over the ground.

Hie ears perked and turned his head, seeing the tornado moving away from him, destroying another hut. A smile appeared on his face, and let out a chuckle. He then ran the other way, now confident he can survive more tornadoes.


{{Confessional}}

Azelf: (His wide eyes filled with awe, and his jaws dropped. He finally spoke a moment later) Man, that guy is good!

Meowstic: (He showed a prideful smile) That's what being a prepper is all about. It could save your life one day.


As the psychic cat ran by, he hadn't even noticed a certain blimp staring at him from behind a nearby hut. Luckily for him, his cover had been out of reach for the tornado. As he saw the large gust of wind disappear in the distance, he let out a sigh, before turning to the dragon near him, "We should hopefully be safe for now."

Hydreigon looked up at the blimp, before sighing, "The storm will...Soon return though...We must keep...Moving."

Drifblim nodded, picking up the dragon bridal style, which she oddly seemed to always be fine with. Though, it's not like the blimp cared much. At this very moment, his main goal was to survive this challenge, or at least do so for as long as possible. And at this moment, he also wanted to make sure Hydreigon made it through the challenge. She was most definitely the weakest in terms of actual skill on their team, and while he had no doubts that one of the veterans or Octillery would be the next to go on his team, he couldn't be too sure about that. The longer he knew she was safe, the less he'd have to...Did she just fall asleep?

He blinked, before glancing down at his arms. Indeed, the dragon was now sleeping in his arms, as he let out a sigh, "This will be more difficult than expected, I feel."


{{Confessional}}

Drifblim: (He gave the camera a hard glare) I know the feeling of being the weakest link. When I was only that of a mere Drifloon, I was basically incapable of defending myself. Now, I am not so weak, and along with that, much more determined. To put it simply, I shall not allow Hydreigon to leave this game just due to her own uncontrollable weakness. As long as I'm in game, her safety in it shall be considered top priority.


Running past several huts while glancing at the tornado nearby, Sableye looked behind her, no longer seeing Turtonator. But that didn't mean she should relax yet. For all she knew, Turtonator could be right around the corner. Not to mention her ability, Stall, had always made her slow. Not wanting to risk running into Turtonator any longer, she launched herself into the nearest hut. She scrambled over to the window and sat underneath it.

She didn't hear any stomping nearby, meaning she might be in the clear. She would've let out a sigh of relief, if she hadn't spotted Jellicent and Komala in the room. Even from a distance, Sableye felt a chill run down her spine from looking into Jellicent's eyes.

"Do you always do that at home?" Sableye asked.

Jellicent was silent for a moment, before speaking up, "Yes."

Sableye stood up and walked over to her, "Why? Why are you always like this? It is because you were born this way? Or you saw a traumatic experience that rocked you to your core? Or is your creepy self nothing more than a fraud?"

Jellicent remained silent, her mind telling herself to not make a single reaction for Sableye to notice. However, she kept her eyes on Sableye, who was becoming nervous again.

Sableye shook it off and pointed her finger at the ghost, "Let's say the answer is in my questions. If you were born this way, does that mean your family is like this as well?"

Jellicent didn't react, staring peering into Sableye's eyes.

"What kind of family do you have? Did they all die horribly by the hands of some psycho killer and then came back to life as ghosts?" Instead of making Jellicent sweat, Sableye felt her legs trembling, feeling Jellicent's eyes peering into her soul. One glimpse of Komala in Jellicent's arms was enough for Sableye to put aside her thought of running away, and glare at the jellyfish Pokemon, "You can't make me run away, Jellicent! You're mysterious, meaning you have secrets! You want to have a staring contest? Two can play that game!"

Sableye stood straight, glaring into Jellicent's vacant eyes, each determined to make the other tremble. Komala slowly opened her eyes halfway. She looked down at Sableye, who seemed to be glaring at her until she turned her head upward, seeing Jellicent. She raised a brow at this predicament and wondered whether she should ask them or head back to sleep. She made up her mind a second later, and closed her eyes, sending herself back to slumber land.


{{Confessional}}

Jellicent: (She glared at the camera) Out of everyone here, Sableye is the one who sickens me and gives me the most trouble by far. She's an annoying little bitch who thinks that she can get whatever she wants out of anybody just because she's persistent and determined...Well, she has another thing coming.

Sableye: (She narrowed her eyes at the camera in suspicion) Of all the secrets everyone is hiding, Jellicent appears to be withholding it the most. Everyone sees her as a creepy ghost. But is that the real Jellicent? Is she like that back home? Or is it all an act? (She slammed a fist to her hand) I am going to get to the bottom of this. And no amount of creepy as hell staring contests is gonna stop me!


Wormadam was hopping across an abandoned garden, with Ursaring and Vanilluxe following her, "C'mon! We need to get away from the tornado!"

Vanilluxe glanced behind him, seeing a medium size tornado on his trail, creating a devastating mess in its path. He gulped and looked back at his teammates, "Yikes! That is one scary tornado."

"It's a tornado!" Ursaring shouted over the gust of wind from the tornado, "It's supposed to be scary! Have you ever seen a nice tornado?"

Vanilluxe smiled, "Well, no, but I'm sure there are adorable baby tornad-"

"Focus, guys!" Wormadam shouted, glancing at her teammates, "If we gets caught, our team lose three players at once!"

Vanilluxe and Ursaring nodded, "Right!" They shouted in unison before increasing their speed, moving past Wormadam, much to her dismay.

"Wait for me, morons!" She shouted at them, hopping quicker albeit looking like she was about to pass out.

"Oh, sorry," Vanilluxe said before lowering himself and pushed Wormadam off the ground, carrying her on his heads. He smiled at her, "There you go."

Wormadam gave him an annoyed stare, "I didn't asked to be carried like a bride, but-" She let out a sigh, "Thanks."

Despite increasing their speed, it didn't seem to work as the tornado had too increased its speed. They were becoming unsure how they can get away from the tornado. Just as they ran past a hut, Turtonator stepped out and faced the tornado, glaring at it.

Seeing her in the corner of his eyes, Vanilluxe turned around and gasped, "Turtonator!" He moved towards his wife, who unleashed Flamethrower onto the tornado, engulfing the whole thing on fires. However, it seemed to be holding the force of nature back.

Ursaring, who stopped and turned around, gasped, "Whoa…"

"I've gotta help her!" Vanilluxe shouted, floating over to Turtonator, who kept using Flamethrower on the tornado, pushing it back. He looked up at Wormadam, "Wormadam, can you please get off my heads?"

Wormadam hopped off without a word. Using the pipe on one of his heads, Vanilluxe unleashed a powerful snow storm onto the tornado, creating a mixture of fire and ice on the tornado.

"Hey, that was Blizzard!" Ursaring glanced at Wormadam, eyes widened, "What are they doing?"

Wormadam looked back at the tornado she and the others were running away a minute ago. At first, she was confused at Turtonator and Vanilluxe for making it more dangerous. But she noticed that the tornado was moving backward, and it was becoming unstable, and yet…it becoming slower. Her eyes widened, realizing what their plan was. They were trying to solidify the tornado! She wasn't sure how fire and ice would stop it, but it sounded so cool! It was dangerous, but it didn't stop the married couple from taking on the tornado.

She wanted to join in on trying to stop the tornado in such an epic way! Just as she was about to step in to help the pair, the fires had vanished and tornado pushed forward, catching the married couple off guard. Before they could react, Turtonator and Vanilluxe were engulfed. Due to how loud the tornado was, nobody could hear their screams.

Ursaring snatched Wormadam into his arms, resuming their escape from the force of nature.

"What the damn hell were they thinking?" Ursaring shouted, looking baffled, "What were they trying to accomplish with the tornado?"

Wormadam remained silent, disappointed that she missed out on the action.


{{Confessional}}

Turtonator: (She looked embarrassed, not willing to look at the camera) Okay, that...Wasn't my best plan. I only stepped in because I wanted to stop the tornado from taking out Vanilluxe. But instead, I got us out. (She slammed her hand to her forehead) God, I'm an idiot.

Vanilluxe: (He was covered in soot, but smiling nevertheless) We all make mistakes in our lives. The best thing to do with mistakes is to learn from it. (He let out a dreamy sigh and stared off into nothing) She was so brave. The fact that she risked her life for me to stay in the challenge? (A blush appeared on his faces) Oh, it's just make me fall over heels for her more.


"No way, you're a teacher too?" Zebstrika said, eyes wide in shock.

Having stuck together since the challenge had started, Zebstrika and Leavanny were hiding out inside a different, albeit similar hut. Zebstrika would've been fine staying outside since the lightning storm didn't bother him. He couldn't say the same for his teammate. They were sitting in the middle of the room, staying away from the windows to avoid nasty surprises.

Leavanny nodded, "Yes. I teach them English, and Math. It's to teach them to improve their vocabulary and grammar, thus allowing them to engage in more complex conversations, and to create compelling resumes for their job interviews. Math is to help them calculate their accounting for reasonable solutions. Or at the very least, be able to count money," She turned her head towards the window, staring at the grey clouds in the sky. She frowned, "If no one can learn either subject, they won't survive in the real world."

Zebstrika blinked, "Don't you think that's a little...Harsh?"

"Regardless, harsh as it may be, it's important for the students to understand these basic skills so they'll be prepared when they graduate high school," Leavanny rolled her eyes, "If any of them graduate, I mean."

Zebstrika frowned a little, "Not if you keep giving them that attitude."

Leavanny turned to him, "How would you teach them? Insulting them without acknowledging your mistake?"

"Hey, I'm still working on that!" Zebstrika stared at the ground, "I have to. I'm already in trouble with the Board of Education."

"I'd be surprised if I still have my job afterward," Leavanny said, frowning deeper, "The first thing I'm going to do when I'd return is convince them to punish the kids who brought me here."

"Wait, so you're serious?" Zebstrika looked up at her, eyes widened, "I thought everyone here had been chosen because they wanted to compete?"

"You guessed wrong," Leavanny stood up, "But since I'm here instead of someone else who'd prefer to waste several months on an unknown island, I might as well make the best of it. Given my chances against some of the horrendous people here," Her eyes widened, thinking back to competitors like Jellicent and Meowstic, "I don't believe I shall last long."

"Hey, don't say that! You've already outlasted two players-"

"Granbull had terrorised her team to the point where they had to threw the challenge. And Xatu volunteered to leave," Leavanny's eyes softened a bit at mentioning her only friend.

Believing he can cheer her up like he did with several students back at school, albeit half of the time since he chose the wrong words, Zebstrika stood up. He was hoping it wouldn't be the case this time, "Then you shouldn't let Xatu's elimination be in vain! You can help her by staying the game for as long as you can!"

"That's implying I won't win," Leavanny turned to look at him, frowning.

Zebstrika shook his head, "No, what I mean is, it won't be easy. It's…" He paused, choosing his next words carefully, "Like you said, students have to be prepared to face the real world when they leave school. You need to do the same thing here by preparing yourselves for what's to come. At long as you're still in the game, you still have a chance to beat up all the others, and win."

Leavanny stared at him, thinking about what he'd just said to her. Word to word. She still hadn't forgotten his accidental sexist comment back on day one, "Apart from the beating up comment," She stopped frowning, but not smiling either, "You did well choosing your words."

Zebstrika's eyes widened and a grin appeared on his face, "Finally! I'm actually making progress! I can rub that in the Board of Education's faces and show them how wrong they are!"

Leavanny gave him a deadpan stare and pointed at the camera. Zebstrika glanced at the camera and stopped grinning. He groaned and hung his head, "Damn it! Why do I keep doing this?"

Zebstrika's question wasn't answered when two contestants barged into the hut. Zebstrika and Leavanny snapped their heads at them and took a step back in surprise.

"Huh?" Purugly said, tilting her head at them, surprised as well, "Guess we're not alone anymore."

Quagsire smiled, "Yay, we get to finally have company. That's nice."

Seeing the goofball, Leavanny groaned, "Great. You're here."

Quagsire happily waved at her, "Hello, friendly teacher lady."

"So what are you guys doing here?" Zebstrika asked the pair before him.

"We were running for our lives when a tornado was chasing us," Purugly said, nodding at the entrance she and Quagsire came through.

Leavanny's eyes widened, "Pardon me, did you say-"

She was cut off when said tornado arrived, destroying the front of the hut within seconds. All four of them screamed and ran the other way, heading towards the window. They screeched to a halt when a second tornado crashed through, destroying a different side of the hut and the roof.

"Fuck, we're trapped!" Zebstrika snapped his head at both tornados approaching them.

"Maybe we can attack our way out?" Purugly had to shout over both tornados' powerful wind and crashing sounds.

"You can't simply attack a tornado less alone two!" Leavanny shouted, looking frightened, "It would cancel out our movements right away!"

Quagsire blinked, before smiling at Purugly, "I have an idea."

Purugly snapped her head at him, eyes widened, "What it is?"

Suddenly, the cat felt herself get picked up by the water fish, who held her in only one hand, before throwing her over the roof, pasting the two tornados, and landing right into a bush nearby, which allowed the cat a soft landing. As this happened, he called out to her, "I hope I didn't hurt you."

Leavanny gripped Quagsire's shoulders, eyes pleading, "Throw me next!"

He smiled, "Okay, I can do that-"

Before Quagsire could finish his sentence, both tornados launched forward, engulfing the three of them. Dazed from her landing, Purugly shook her head and looked up. Her eyes widened, seeing Zebstrika flying around inside the tornado, screaming.

She also saw Leavanny flailing and screaming as well inside a different tornado until the laughing Quagsire crashed into Leavanny, now stuck together for a time's being. Purugly cringed and ran away, taking her chance while she can.


{{Confessional}}

Purugly: (She smirked at the camera) I'll be sure to give him a reward for saving me. (She licked her lips) Perhaps a special reward…

Leavanny: (She frowned at the camera) Just as I expected, this challenge was nothing more than amusement for the viewers, and most likely the hosts. (She rubbed where her ears would be) I'm still trying to regain my hearing from the tornados and Quagsire's obnoxious laughing.

Quagsire: (He smiled at the camera) Purugly's a very kind lady. She'd have done the same for me.


Loud feedback was heard throughout the village, Azelf's voice coming through, "Nice job surviving the storm and the tornados! Only eighteen of you remain! Be warned, it's only gonna get tougher for you all." He chuckled, "Have fun!" The intercom turned off.

On cue, the perimeter around the village began to raise, until it was over twenty feet tall, making it look like they were inside an arena. When the wall had stopped moving, several panels on the ground slid open all over the village. One by one, water poured out, quickly filling the village.

Seeing water coming into the hut, Chandelure gasped and floated higher, "Oh no…"

Furret cried out a bit, feeling the sudden cold water, soaking her lower body, "The water is cold!"

"Forget how uncomfortable the water is," Chandelure looked at her, frightened beyond mistakes, "We need to get to higher ground!"

Before Furret could speak up, she found herself floating in mid-air, coated in a purple outline. Chandelure was using his telekinesis to lift her. Her eyes widened, and she started to flail, "Hey, put me down! Put me down!"

Chandelure didn't listen to her begging and floated out the window. He moved onto the roof, where he set Furret down. She snapped her head at him, "Don't ever do that again unless you ask me first!" She glared at him.

Chandelure was taken aback by her aggressive behavior, but nodded, "Of course. I apologise. I just didn't want to be too close to the water."

The anger in Furret's eyes went away, but she was still frowning, "Okay. Just please ask me next time. I don't like it when people touch me or lift me without asking," She rubbed her body, checking to see if her body felt different after being lifted with the psychic move.

Small guilt appeared on Chandelure's face, "I understand. I won't do it again until I've asked for your permission."

"Thank you," Furret said, stopped frowning albeit still touching her body. She looked at Chandelure, "You're afraid of water because you'll die when your flame goes out, correct?"

Chandelure glanced at the rapidly increasing water. He felt his heart beat a little faster. He glanced back at Furret, "Yes, that's right."

Furret finally stopped checking her body, now feeling comfortable with herself again. She looked at Chandelure, "But still, how are you able to clean yourself? I'm guessing you don't take showers do you?"

"I still take showers. Drizzling won't be enough to put my species out, but it's still an unpleasant experience every time."

Furret raised both brows in surprise, "Huh, I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do," Chandelure said, giving her a small smile, "Everyone learns something new everyday."

Furret nodded, "That's right. Otherwise, people would be kinda dumb."

Chandelure chuckled, but he stopped smiling and stared at the water, which had engulfed the village in a matter of minutes.

Furret looked around the village, "So we're stuck here until the flood is over?"

Chandelure sighed, "I'm afraid so. Let's just hope it'll end sooner than one would think."


{{Confessional}}

Furret: I may not be happy about Chandelure lifting me without my permission, but I can understand why he did it. Water beats fire every time. My Mom's a fire type, but she isn't afraid of water. So the real question is, does anyone else have the same fear as Chandelure's?


Infernape groaned, climbing onto the straw roof using most of his energy. Once he had his legs at the top, he turned his body around and flopped onto it, breathing heavily. He coughed and then sat up. He sighed, seeing water now engulfed most of the village. He can also see Jellicent, Sableye, and Komala on top of the different hut nearby to his right. For some reason, Jellicent and Sableye had never stopped exchanging glares. Whatever, they weren't his teammates, therefore, not his problem.

He turned his head to the left. It was getting hard for him to see clearly, but he was sure he thought he saw Chandelure and Furret. Again, not his teammates. Not his problem. Wonder where the hell his teammates were. He hope no one else apart from Yanmega had been eliminated yet. It would put his team in a shitty situation if his team was already down to him and someone else. He wasn't planning on going back to an elimination ceremony anytime soon.

He snapped out of his thoughts, hearing splashing and crying out for help. He looked down and turned his head to right, careful not to slide off the roof. He can see Raichu flailing in the water, struggling to stay above the surface. The amount of panels pouring water out had caused the electric mouse to be carried by the current.

"Life may suck for me-" Raichu's head went underwater, only to resurface two seconds later, now looking even more frightened, "Most of the time, but I still give a shit!"

Infernape's eyes became rounded. Despite the hosts' reassurance that no one would be put at serious risk, and that Raichu wasn't his teammate, he wasn't going to let someone drown because he did nothing. He turned his body around and lowered himself down, hanging onto the edge. He snapped his head at Raichu, who just noticed him.

"Grab my tail!" Infernape shouted, wiggling his tail.

Using the current, Raichu paddled over and gripped Infernape's tail, "Got it!"

Infernape nodded and looked back at his hands. Here's come the hard part…He gritted his teeth, using every bit of his muscles to slowly pull himself. He roared, already feeling agonising pain throughout his muscles as he lifted himself onto the roof for the second time today. He breathed heavily. He impressed with himself that he was succeeded in saving someone at his age. But goddamn it, it drained all of his energy. The urge to fall asleep had increased. He growled in annoyance, feeling Raichu climbing up his tail and then slump forward, landing on top of him.

"You need to work out more," Raichu said, giving a tired look at Infernape.

"I do work out," Infernape said, giving him a tired glare, "Time is just not on my side anymore. How about a thank you for saving your ass?"

"Oh, right...Yeah, thanks," Raichu said, rolling himself off of Infernape. He stared up at the dark clouds above him, "What now, am I in your debt or something?"

Infernape rolled himself so he lied on his back as well, "Just making sure you don't go home in a bodybag."

"Honestly, that wouldn't be the worst transportation," Raichu said, resting his head on his paws.

Infernape let out a weak chuckle, "I can attest to that."

"You died and came back to life?" Raichu glanced at him, "Meowstic would probably be thrilled by it."

"I almost died at the hands of my enemies, my teammates, and my wife. Do any of them count?"

"Only if it makes you want to drink away your problem," Raichu said, giving him a smirk.

Both men chuckled. Infernape glanced at the electric mouse, "Who are you?"

Raichu looked back at the sky, let out a sigh, and smiled.


{{Confessional}}

Raichu: (He slumped against his seat, showing a lazy smile) It's always good to know there's someone out there who has no idea who I am. (He stopped smiling) After two decades, I crave it.

Infernape: (He slumped against his seat, looking like he was about to pass out from exhaustion) Ugh...Now I know how my former commander felt. Being old sucks!


"Glad you've finally calmed down, Octillery," Ninjask said, smiling.

"Water is, like, my domain," Octillery said, floating in the water, which had raised all the way to the second floor. She and the boys were inside a bedroom. Debris were floating beside them. They were by the window in case they need to escape, "Kinda brings back that sense of home," She frowned, "Though, having my parents around always makes it feel like I'm in prison instead."

"Bad relationship with your parents?" Ninjask asked.

"They're the reason I'm even here in the first place. They think they're so smart, but they sent me to an island filled with old strangers. Hello, have they heard of stranger danger?" Octillery scoffed, "At this point, I wouldn't be, like, surprised if they got married because they banged each other too soon."

Ninjask blinked, taken aback by Octillery's blunt dislike to her family, "Don't you think that's a bit...Harsh to your parents, Octillery? I'm sure they have good reasons for their actions."

Araquanid sighed nearby, "Honestly, I was a mistake myself, so it isn't the strangest thought in the world. They happen a lot more often than most people realize."

Octillery shrugged, "Meh, probably."

Ninjask stared at the two contestants, bewildered in dismay, "You guys can't think of your family like that! You don't know what they're really thinking."

Octillery gave him a lazy stare, "How do you know? You've never met them."

The spider nearby looked down, "I'm used as the punching bag for my family. If someone's in a rotten mood, they throw every insult at me only."

Ninjask stared at him, eyes widened, "Guys, I'm…" Feeling the sense of despair and indifference growing in the room, he flew out the window. He looked back at them, "I'll be right back. Just gonna check what's happening outside."

Araquanid and Octillery watched him fly upward, before turning back to their original business. Ninjask reached the roof and looked around, seeing most of the village flooded with water. He sighed.

"Man, these guys seem to have it rougher than I thought. They definitely need to cheer up. Maybe I can get that ice cream guy to help me?" Ninjask glanced around, seeing if Vanilluxe was anywhere nearby. However, one contestant had caught his eyes. To his left, he saw Meowstic had launched himself off of one hut, and landed on the next. Ninjask's eyes brightened and moved towards him, "Meowstic!"

Meowstic snapped his head at Ninjask, looking surprised seeing the bug approaching him. He had his guard up though. He still remembered how he threw him under the bus in the previous challenge. If push comes to shove, he would fight. He nodded at him, "Hello."

"You've done a great job at surviving so far!" Ninjask said, smiling at him, "Makes sense since you're kinda trained for this."

"Right," Meowstic said, showing a slight smile as he glanced at his surroundings, "It's my favourite challenge by far."

"I hope one of the future challenges will be related to history. I can totally kick butt at that!" Ninjask said, grinning as his body became straighter.

Meowstic glanced at him, "Out of curiosity, what have you been doing since the challenge started?"

"I've been hanging out with Octillery and Araquanid," Ninjask said, not noticing Meowstic's eyes widening at the mention of the latter's name, "Though, they have some seriously rough lives back home. I feel so sorry for them. Kinda makes you think you should appreciate your family more if they've been good to you."

Meowstic remained silent, taking in the facts Ninjask had told him about his friends. He and Octillery had never met, but from what he had heard, she was a slacker. Definitely would be amongst the first to die if she didn't get her act together. He had only spoken to Araquanid once, and yet he felt like he had known him for years when they talked about their common interest in the zombie apocalypse.

But he mustn't attach himself to anyone apart from his family. The less people he cared about, the less likely they would drag him down. However, his recent conversation with Drifblim was still in mind, saying how he would never truly be strong as long as he sealed himself away from other people. He didn't believe it, but if zombie TV shows had taught him anything, it was that 'united we stand, divided we fall-'

"Are you still there, dude?"

Meowstic snapped out of his thoughts and jumped backward out of instinct. He stared back at Ninjask, who looked surprised and raised his hands in defense, "Whoa, it's cool dude!"

Meowstic dropped his fighting pose and sighed. He stared back at him. Maybe, just maybe he should try it out, see how it would benefit him. But at the first sign of trouble, he would remove them from the challenge before they knew it. Plus, having Ninjask on his side would be smart, considering he needed a flying ally to survive the upcoming disasters.

"Sorry. So where are your friends?" Meowstic asked.

Ninjask pointed at the two-story hut nearby, "Over there. On the second floor."

"Would you take me there?"

Ninjask smiled, "Sure I can!" He extended both hands to him, "Just grab my hands!"

Meowstic nodded and gripped onto Ninjask's hands, doing so with a tight grip, so the second Ninjask tried anything funny, he could use the small amount of time to bring him down with him. Ninjask moved upwards, lifting Meowstic into the air, and proceeded to carry him back to the two story hut. Meowstic had his eyes on Ninjask the entire time, until they reached the building. The psychic Pokemon threw himself through the window, landing in the water, much to Araquanid and Octillery's surprise.

Meowstic soon resurfaced, gripping the window to prevent himself from submerging into the water again. Ninjask flew into the room, smiling, "Hey, guys! I brought back a friend!"

Meowstic stared at the pair before him and gave them a nod, "Hello."

Araquanid blinked, before slowly returning the wave with a smile, "Oh, hey dude. Haven't talked to you in awhile."

"I have my reasons for it," the cat proceeded to glance about in suspicion of this new environment.

"Like what?" Octillery asked.

"Preventing myself from being eaten by zombies, or getting stabbed in the back by a living Pokemon," Meowstic said, casually.

Octillery stared at him like he was growing another head, "What…?"

Araquanid blinked, "...You get this isn't an actual zombie movie, right? I mean, I'm into them and all, but I wouldn't say I was actually gonna get attacked by one."

"It's still a possibility. After all, the creation of everything is producing this show. That, and we have a trash bag and ice cream as actual Pokemon. Who's to say there isn't a zombie Pokemon out there?"

The spider gave him a look, "I mean...I guess you kinda have a point."

Octillery whispered to Araquanid, "Your friend is kind of a weirdo."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Meowstic's face was neutral.

"Then you're even weirder," Octillery shrugged.

Ninjask brushed his hand against the water, "You know, guys, as far as this disaster goes, it's really simpl-"

Meowstic pressed his paw against Ninjask's mouth, silencing him, "Don't provoke Murphy's Law!"

They heard a sudden crash nearby, and someone cried out. They looked out of the window, seeing Bastiodon screaming and flailing in the water, carried away by the current.

"Somebody-" Bastiodon's head went underwater before resurfacing again two seconds later, "Help me!" He fell into the water once more before resurfacing, "I'm a well-known celebrity-" He fell into the water again, but this time, it took longer for him to resurface. He coughed and gasped, "This can't be the end of-" He went underwater again, but he didn't come back up immediately.

The four contestants watched by, looked nervous. Ninjask glanced at Meowstic, his eyes filled with worried, "Should we help the guy?"

Meowstic held up a paw, "Hang on a few seconds. I want to see how it would go."

Araquanid looked worried, "How it would go?! He'll drown!"

"I'm gonna go help!" Ninjask was about to move to make a rescue attempt, when he saw bubbles surfacing on the water. A large sphere came out of the water, containing the panicking Bastiodon, who was banging his head against the sphere. He was screaming his head off as the sphere floated into the air and carried him away.

A loud feedback was heard, before Mesprit's voice came over the intercom, "Just to give you a head up, if any of you is completely submerged for ten seconds, it still counts as being eliminated. None of you have to worry about drowning! That is all," The intercom was turned off.

The four contestants inside the two story hut looked down at the water, before they all gripped against the window, stopping themselves from submerging. Meowstic narrowed his eyes at Ninjask, "Word of advice, don't provoke Murphy's Law in a dangerous situation like this."

Ninjask sweatdropped.


{{Confessional}}

Bastiodon: (He was shivering, wearing a towel around him. He was still soaking. He gave the camera a weak glare) Espeon, next time you put me on the roof, make sure it can carry my weight! (His eyes bulged) I almost died! Do you have any idea what kind of repercussions this show would face if I die? They'll be cancelled! They'll put a memorial of me here! Dramatic as my death would be, I'm far too young to perish! Maybe it would be a good time to write a book about my traumatic experience underwater?

Ninjask: Okay, maybe Meowstic has a point about Murphy's Law, but what if Bastiodon was actually drowning? I can't sit by and just watch! You know, sometimes, I feel like there is something a bit off about Meowstic, but maybe it's just me.

Meowstic: Despite my intention of going into this game alone, I'll try out sticking with several others in this challenge. None of them are on my team, so when the time comes, I'll sacrifice them for my team's benefit.


Using butterfly techniques, Espeon had finally reached the tall hill, one of the few pieces of land which hadn't been submerged. She crawled out of the water, slumping onto the grass, "F-" She coughed out water, "Finally…"

"Oh, it's about time I had some company."

Espeon's eyes widened, recognizing that voice. She lifted her head, seeing Purugly sitting on top of the hill, smirking down at her. She narrowed her eyes, "Oh...You."

"Yep, me," Purugly walked down, standing in front of Espeon, "Had a nice swim?"

Espeon stood up, her legs trembling. She glared at the fat cat, "I would have already gone for another if I wasn't completely drained of energy," She shook her body, splashing water in all directions.

Purugly frowned, rubbing away the water from her face. She then flashed her a smirk, "I've got a question for ya," She lied on her side, showing off her team colored buff covering most of her body, "Do I look hotter like this?" She quickly removed her buff and began to wear it on her left ear like a bandanna, "Or like this?" She removed her buff again and wrapped it on her tail, "Or this?" She removed it once more and put it over her hind legs, wearing her buff on her butt, "Or-"

She stopped smirking, noticing Espeon was no longer around. She turned around, spotting her on top of the hill, glaring down at her in disgust.

"You're disgusting!" Espeon said, "Our buffs aren't made to show off your vulgar body!"

Purugly walked upwards, "Why not? We can wear it however we want."

The Eeveelution glare intensified, "I'd much prefer if you didn't wear it in an inappropriate fashion. There are children watching!"

Purugly looked around and then looked back at Espeon, frowning at her, "Have you seen any children? I certainly haven't."

"I'm referring to these children," Espeon nodded towards the camera.

Purugly glanced at the camera and smirked, "Oh...Them!" She turned around and wiggled her butt at the camera, "Get ready for puberty, kids! You won't be thinking about cooties any longer."

Espeon gasped and ran in front of the camera, making only her face cover up the whole screen. She gasped louder, feeling her behind was rubbed against Purugly's. She snapped her head at the cat, who froze, coated in a pink outline. She screamed, as the cat was thrown off the hill and landed into the water, creating a large splash.

Purugly resurfaced, coughing. She snapped her head upwards, glaring at Espeon, "Hey, that was uncalled for!"

"No, what's uncalled for was you showing off your vulgarity to innocent children!"

"I was just giving them a sneak peek!" Purugly said, climbing out of the water.

"A sneak peek to an unnatural path of life in Hell!" A vein was popping out of Espeon's forehead.

"If there is one!" Purugly began to walk up the hill again, when she stopped, seeing Espeon's eyes glowing pink.

"If you take one more step on this hill, I will personally throw you out of this challenge for everyone's innocence!"

Purugly scoffed, "And by everyone, you mean you?"

She widened her eyes, seeing a wooden chair slam into the water beside her. She looked back at Espeon, who was using her telekinesis to hold up another wooden chair. The cat frowned and sat down, "Fine."

Espeon's eyes stopped glowing, and she put the chair down, but she kept glaring at her.

Both ladies were exchanging glares, until Purugly turned away and sat down. Espeon turned away as well, her thoughts filled with unspeakable actions against the vulgar cat she abhorred.


{{Confessional}}

Espeon: (She glared at the camera) Vile woman.

Purugly: (She glared at the camera) Strict bitch.


Sitting on top of a different hut, Ursaring and Wormadam looked around the area, bracing themselves for what was to come.

"So, what do you think the next disaster will be?" Ursaring asked.

Wormadam looked up at the dark clouds, and then down at the flood below, "It better not be a snow storm or an avalanche," She looked at her cloaks, "Even my cloaks wouldn't protect me from those!"

"Don't worry, I'll keep you warm if it comes to that," Ursaring said, giving her a smile.

"Appreciate the offer, but a true cop has to face all adversities no matter what they are!" Wormadam narrowed her eyes, and stood straight.

Ursaring shrugged, "Okay then. The offer still stands whenever you'll need it."

Wormadam glanced at him and then looked back at the area. She felt something land on her pointy nose. It was small, but it felt cold. She felt another land on her head. She looked up, and her eyes widened, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me…" she muttered.

Seeing Wormadam's unnerved reaction, Ursaring tilted his head up, feeling his eyes becoming as wide as a dinner plate. It was snow. Snow was falling from the sky! What appeared to be gentle snow at first, became violent in mere seconds. The pair cried out, feeling the cold gush of wind hit them.

The camera began to pan across the village, revealing the cast's struggles to survive the storm. Drifblim clutched onto the shivering Hydreigon in his hands, determined to find a safe place to hold up. He couldn't help but shiver as well, but dared not to show it. The wind almost blew Raichu off the roof, until Infernape grabbed his arm, gripping onto the roof with his other hand. Meowstic pulled Octillery, Araquanid, and Ninjask towards him, hugging them to bring heat between them, all while showing a blank expression.

Espeon and Purugly screamed, gripping onto the ground to prevent themselves from being blown away, but were completely exposed to the storm. Sableye jumped into the Jellicent's arms, clutching onto Komala, who returned the hug. The jellyfish flew away, trying to find a place where it wasn't completely submerged in the now pouring icy wind and now nearly frozen pool of water below.

Chandelure glanced at Furret, who was beginning to tremble regardless of her fur, "Furret, wrap your arms around me. We need to huddle for warmth."

Furret snapped her head at him, the thought of someone warming her overcoming her dislike of physical contact. She nodded and hugged Chandelure, who wrapped his chandelier arms around her. She sighed happily, now feeling at least a little warm again. She glanced up at her friend, "Thanks for asking me this time," she showed a small smile.

Chandelure glanced at her and smiled, "You're welcome." He could feel his heart beating quicker the more he embraced her.

Ursaring wrapped his arms around himself, feeling his teeth clattering. He glanced at Wormadam, who was shivering like crazy. He pulled her into his arms. Wormadam didn't object and pressed her head to Ursaring's chest.

"W-W-We n-need t-to f-find s-shelter! S-Stat!" Wormadam shouted over the strong winds.

Ursaring quickly nodded and looked down at the roof he was on. It was at a forty-five degree angle, so he would have to be careful while he walked down. He began his trek down the roof, one step at a time. He was halfway through when a huge gust of wind blasted his back, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. He cried out, falling off the roof and landing in the water.

Feeling the harsh cold in the water, Wormadam squirmed out of Ursaring's arms and swam to the surface. She coughed, now shivering more than ever. There were icicles hanging off her nose, and on the top of her head. Ursaring resurfaced as well, also have icicles stuck to his face. They were about to start swimming to get out of the water, when they cried out in pain, feeling a sharp pain throughout their body. They then saw something ahead.

The rapidly decreasing temperatures had caused the falling snow to become hail. But it wasn't that they noticed. It was the debris filled flood changing it's color from a clear blue to white. Their eyes became larger just as the water they were in had become frozen, trapping them.

Ursaring cried out in shock, "We're trapped!" He jerked his body left and right, but nothing had changed.

"I can see that, Captain Obvious!" Wormadam shouted, feeling her heart slamming against her chest, realizing she couldn't move any of her body, "We need to get out of here!"

No amount of shaking was enough to even make a crack in the ice. The pair froze, feeling themselves engulfed inside a clear sphere coated in a purple outline. It lifted them, causing the ice around them to break into pieces. They stared at the sphere in bewilderment as it carried them over the village and disappeared behind the wall.


{{Confessional}}

Wormadam: (She was wearing a blanket, covering her whole body except her face. She was still shivering) I-I d-despise t-this s-show.


Drifblim growled to himself, as he pushed himself through the storm slowly, holding Hydreigon close to him in order to give her warmth. While he may have a bit of a delayed reaction to most physical actions, he couldn't deny the weather was getting to him. His outside, normally pushable and soft, was now hard, as he growled to himself, "Dammit...This is starting to go too far! Most normal men couldn't last ten minutes out in this frozen hellhole."

The dragon in his arms shuddered, as she pulled the blimp closer, "P-Please c-calm...D-Down D-Drifblim…"

He glanced down at her, before huffing, as he continued to fly through the snowstorm, slowly beginning to shiver, before spotting three figures in the distance. He couldn't recognize any of them on initial appearance, as he called out, "Hey! Are all of you okay out there?"

The largest figure paused and turned around. Seeing somebody else out in the storm, the figure approached them, revealing themselves to be Jellicent, Sableye, and Komala, the two little Pokemon still clutching each other, their teeth was now clattering. Even Jellicent shivered, dropping her nightmare fuel act.

"N-No!" Jellicent shouted over the storm, her eyes filled with worried, "W-We need to f-find shelter!"

Drifblim blinked, before looking her down, "Your voice, it's...Different."

"S-Shelter! N-Now!" Jellicent shouted, wanting him to drop the subject before someone else wouldn't notice, especially not while a person with a desire to spill other people's secrets was resting in her arms.

The blimp's look did not deter, as it morphed into a glare, "Yes, in fact...A lot about you seems different. Your mannerisms, your posture, your tone, you don't seem like how you've been presenting yourself."

Jellicent turned around and moved away, not wanting Drifblim to accuse her any further. The blimp continued to glare at her, before beginning to fly away towards a wooden building in the distance. As far as he was aware, the jellyfish hadn't noticed it herself, as he was left with his thoughts. He glanced down at Hydreigon, "Are you still okay?"

She slowly nodded, as she snuggled closer to his body, "Y-Yes I-I...A-Am."

Drifblim allowed a small smile to form, "Good, and do not worry, we are almost at a place where you can warm up."


{{Confessional}}

Jellicent: (She was wrapped in a thick blanket, shivering) I couldn't maintain my act during a snowstorm. I'm not a world class actress! (She groaned, looking worried) Drifblim was getting suspicious. He knew I wasn't acting like my creepy persona. I had to get away from him. He wasn't on my team, and Sableye was resting in my arms! She's the last person that needs to know about this! (She sighed) I can only hope she didn't hear our conversation.

Sableye: (She was also wrapped in a thick blanket, shivering) I didn't hear everything, but Jellicent's voice...She sounded kinda different. Then she turned away, and left Drifblim and Hydreigon behind. You don't do that unless you're hiding something. (She stopped shivering, a smirk crept on her face) I have a pretty good feeling which theory is a fact.

Drifblim: (He glared at the camera) If there is one thing I hate more than a rotten brute like Granbull, (he growled) it's a liar.


Still sitting on the roof, Infernape and Raichu hugged each other to keep each other warm, albeit only a little. Because Infernape was a fire type, neither of them were coated in snow yet.

"I can think of worse places to die, but being hugged by an old war veteran in a snowstorm?" Raichu shrugged, "Eh, probably one of the worst."

"Oh, I can definitely think of worse places to die," Infernape shouted over the storm, "We need to keep each other warm. There's no telling how much longer this snowstorm can last."

"Have you done this before with your old team?" Raichu asked, glancing at him.

"Sometimes, we have to do whatever it takes to survive the natural weather around us," Infernape's face became neutral.

"You mean you huddled with other soldiers naked?"

Infernape glared at the electric mouse, "Most of us are always naked!"

The rat shrugged, "It's hard to tell when I live in a place where Pokemon wear fancy clothes."

"I'd never bother with it. I'd just end up burning it all."

Raichu chuckled, "Trust me, I would much rather watch everything I own burn."

"Shitty life?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Mostly shitty." Infernape said, smirking.

"Well, we're in one hell of a shitty situation now."

"Yeah."

"If I have a beer right now, I'd raise it in the air, and say, 'here's to shitty life!'" Raichu said, grinning.

Infernape laughed, "Here's to shitty life!"


{{Confessional}}

Raichu: (He was wearing a thick blanket around him) Why is it that all my friends here are on different teams? Can I switch over to one of them?

Infernape: (He was wearing a thick blanket around him. He chuckled) Guess the world's smaller than I thought.


On top of the hill, Espeon was lying on the ground, her teeth clattering as she wrapped her arms around herself, but it didn't stop her from moaning in despair. She shut her eyes, "Dear Lord, p-please provide safety for me to get t-through this terrible s-storm. I have always p-prayed to you wherever I go, ever since I was a m-mere child. I have always treated you with the utmost h-hospitality. I have always retaliated a-against those who o-oppose you. I have always r-respected you, and never asked you for a-anything unless it's important. I know this storm isn't r-real, and it's nothing more than an e-endurance challenge for all of us. But p-please! Please spare me from this horrendous cold!"

"A-Are you done?"

That voice had immediately brought a frown upon Espeon's face, and looked up, seeing Purugly stood before her, shivering.

"W-What do you want?" Espeon shouted over the storm.

"We need to h-huddle to keep ourselves warm." Purugly felt her teeth clattering.

"Absolutely n-not!" Espeon shot her a glare.

Purugly returned a glare, "Hey, you a-asked God for warmth! Here I am!"

Espeon opened her mouth to argue more, but then closed it. She did ask Her Lord for a way to provide warmth to her. If this rotten cat was her only salvation, then she must accept it. She slowly sat up and gave her a small nod.

Purugly moved over to her, sat down and wrapped her front legs around Espeon, who reluctantly did the same. A few seconds later, both ladies couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, feeling the warmth of each other's fur against one another.

"T-That's better, don't you think?" Purugly glanced at her.

"As long you don't t-think of this as r-reconciliation between us!" Espeon glared at her. She became wary when she saw a smirk creep onto Purugly's face.

"Don't worry, that ain't g-gonna happen!" Purugly said before whispering into Espeon's ear, "Why? Because I used to be a porn star."

Espeon snapped her eyes open.

"It's like a movie star, but I get to have sex in every film," Purugly's grin became larger, as she whispered more, "With men...And women."

Horror began to appear on Espeon's face. She trembled not because of the cold, but because of the horrendous revelations regarding Purugly. She glanced down at Purugly's back and then felt the front connecting to her. Her body, her disgusting body had been touched in places where she would've been sent straight to hell. Her mind went to diseases, diseases which had spread throughout her innocent body, corrupting it by minutes.

She let out a wail, one that would have echoed throughout the village regardless of the storm.


{{Confessional}}

Espeon: (She was rubbing a sponge all over her body, all while showing pure disgust) Oh, this is revolting! In that moment, I'd rather die than lay a finger on her vile body!

Purugly: I didn't said all that to freak Espeon out. (She flashed a mischievous smirk to the camera) Okay, I totally did. And it's true, I used to be a porn star. (She get into a more seductive position) So people should know that I'm a professional.


Finally having found a place to hold up that wasn't submerged, Jellicent, Sableye, and Komala huddled inside a two-story hut. They were inside what appeared to be a master bedroom, sitting on a double bed made out of hay.

Sableye looked up at Jellicent, giving her a suspicious glare, "Y-You've been l-lying to us!"

Jellicent's face remained still, forcing herself to get back into her role.

"I h-heard you and D-Drifblim!" Sableye shouted, "You've b-been acting more normal t-than usual!"

Jellicent looked down at her, her eyes vacant, "What is truly normal?"

Sableye didn't deter, and kept on glaring at her, "You w-were running away f-from Drifblim! It proved he was r-right! You're a f-fake!"

Jellicent kept staring at her, showing no emotions. The little gremlin growled, "I'm t-telling everyone about this, y-you know. Drifblim c-can verify for me!"

Jellicent looked up, staring through the window, but still showed no emotions. However, it was getting harder for her to keep her face straight. "You're g-getting uncomfortable now, a-aren't you?" Sableye gave her a smirk, "You can k-keep it up, but the truth s-shall prevail!"

Jellicent was reaching her breaking point. The urge to strangle the life out of the gremlin was getting higher. Her eyes replaced vacant with frustration when she felt a rumble.

"So what are you gonna do-" Sableye felt Jellicent's fin slap over her mouth. She attempted to pry it away, until she felt a larger rumble. She paused, wondering what was it. Feeling the rumbles get louder and louder, Jellicent floated over to the window and poked her head out. Hearing it on her right, she turned and her eyes widened, her face becoming pale.

A triumphant gleam appeared in Sableye's gem eyes, now believing Jellicent was indeed pretending. She would've shouted in triumph if it wasn't for the thundering rumble to her right. She looked at where Jellicent was staring, and felt small herself. Komala, on the other hand, continued to snore, not acknowledging the oncoming danger approaching them at rapid pace, burying everything in its path.

"Avalanche!" Sableye cried out, just as Jellicent squeezed herself out of the window and floated away, determined to outrun the avalanche.

Sableye screamed as Jellicent kept moving forward, dropping her character for her safety. She felt the avalanche was getting closer. She made a quick glance at Sableye and Komala. These two know too much. Well, maybe not Komala since she was sleeping through the whole thing. The thought of her ditching her teammates to give herself more speed had appeared in her mind. But being a liar and a ditcher would only make things worse.

Just as she dropped that thought, the next thing she knew everything went black. Everything was silent. No word had been spoken for what appeared to be several hours when it was actually ten seconds. The three contestants were pulled out of the snow, now trapped inside a similar sphere, branding them as eliminated. All of them were shivering, coated from head to toe in snow. The only thought in their minds right now was their desire to feel warmth. They were taken over to the other side of the wall.


{{Confessional}}

Jellicent: (She was wrapped in a thick blanket, shivering. She had her face on her fins) No, no, no! Sableye knows now! (She stared at the camera, worried) I need to find a way for her to be quiet!

Sableye: (She was wrapped in a thick blanket, shivering while smirking) While we were waiting for the challenge to be over, Jellicent tried to shut me up, but I told the others to ask Drifblim. (She grinned) Another big secret is about to come out!


Loud feedback was heard, as Uxie's voice came through, "Four disasters have passed, and twelve of you are still in," he sounded surprised, but then the contestants could feel his expression change into a smirk, "Good. It means more disasters will come into play. That is all," The intercom shut off.

Chandelure frowned at Uxie's announcement. He noticed the cold gusts of wind had vanished, as if someone had flicked a switch and suddenly turned them off. Well, considering the hosts were controlling the disasters, it didn't sound too odd to him. He looked up and saw dark clouds remained in the air, but no more snow had appeared. His eyes fixated on them, but his mind focused on his embrace with Furret. Her fur...It was soft and warm. Like a brand new carpet his mother would put in front of the fireplace. He rubbed Furret's back in slow motion. So soft…

"Chandelure!"

He was snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at Furret, who was pushing herself against his body. She gave him an uneasy look. "Chandelure, please get off of me," Furret said, her mind told her she had spent enough time hugging someone.

Chandelure quickly opened his chandelier arms, allowing his friend to free herself from his grip, "My apologies. I was distracted by the lack of a snowstorm."

Furret raised a brow at him, "Then why were you rubbing my back?"

Chandelure's eyes widened a little, before bowing to her, looking a bit embarrassed, "Again, I apologize. It's quite hard to remove myself from you, b-because you gave a lovely hug," He gave her an odd smile.

Furret stared at him, but gave him an uneasy smile, "Thanks for the compliment. But if there's a next time, try to refrain yourself from rubbing my back without my permission."

Chandelure stopped smiling and nodded, berating himself in his mind, "Of course."

Furret turned around, her mind replaying the moment when Chandelure rubbed her back, but looked around the village, "It's not even that cold anymore," She looked back at her friend, "Do you think the volcano will show up next as some kind of irony?"

Chandelure chuckled, "I wouldn't be surprised if that's the hosts' next move."

Furret remained silent, looking back at the village. Her ears perked up, hearing a rumble, which increased in it's sheer power every second. She snapped her head downwards, seeing the roof she stood on was trembling. Chandelure's eyes widened, watching multiple cracks forming in the ice, as water began to leak through the cracks.

He looked at Furret, "Furret! It's an earth-"

Since the hut wasn't designed to withstand an earthquake, the building had crumbled down. Furret screamed, plummeting into the ice and broke through, landing inside the ice cold water. Bubbles came out of her mouth as she screamed, feeling herself getting carried away by the current.

"Furret!" Chandelure shouted, floating downward to reach the water, but not enough so it could splash on him.

Chandelure stared down at the broken ice, trying to find Furret in the water, but he saw no signs of her. He unleashed a Flamethrower onto the ice, melting it into water immediately. He was about to move forward to resume his search for her, when he heard something approaching behind him. He didn't have enough time to turn around when the wooden debris slammed into him, knocking him into the water.

Finding himself in a watery pit of darkness, he froze, feeling the energy of his body slowly vanish. He had never been underwater before, since he would've died.

...Dying…

That word replayed in his mind over and over again like a broken record player. He didn't watch his flames go out, but it felt like it. Perhaps he was sent to the afterlife, where the first place he would wake up was at the place where he died. Being underwater...It was a strange sensation. It felt more solid than he'd ever-Solid?

He blinked, finding himself out of the water and staring up at the sky. He blinked again, and rubbed against the solid sensation beneath him. He turned, seeing his chandelier arms making contact with some kind of odd orb, realizing he was now inside it. He faced forward, seeing Furret in the sky over the village. He could see her curling into her lap, shivering. Chandelure's eyes widened. He didn't die. This orb had saved him!

Still, it was hard to process that little fact, as his mind filled with thoughts of his near death experience and Furret's well being. They were moved over the wall, eliminating them from the challenge.


{{Confessional}}

Furret: (She was wearing a thick blanket, shivering. She stared at the camera, eyes widened) T-That was horrifying! I have n-never felt so cold and h-helpless in my life! I h-honestly thought I was going to d-d-die! (She shut her eyes, muttering to herself) Window seat. Window seat. Window seat. Window seat. Window seat. (She opened her eyes and let out a huge sigh) Whenever I'm on the brink of panicking, I mutter "window seat" five times to myself in order to calm down. It works every time. (She curled into her lap) But still...I'd prefer not to go through that again. Please?

Chandelure: (He stared at the camera, eyes widened) I almost died. (He looked down in disbelief) Why? The logical thing is to leave her, because I know the hosts wouldn't let her suffer in a perilous situation. So why would I go out of my way to risk my life for someone who wasn't even on my team? I'm not in crucial need for new allies. (His eyes widened in realization and looked back at the camera) Wait a minute...Before Furret fell into the water, she looked quite uncomfortable after we broke off from our hug. It must've been when I gave her a compliment about her hug after I…(He looked uncomfortable) Rubbed her back. (He looked away from the camera once more, looking ashamed) Oh, my goodness...I can't believe I did that. It was so inappropriate of me. I should've been better than that.


Throughout the village, the remaining players faced the same perilous situation. Espeon and Purugly screamed, before the former quickly pushed the latter off of her, shuddering in disgust. They both stood up and ran around the hill, avoiding the cracks forming.

Araquanid, Octillery, Ninjask, and Meowstic had broken apart from their hug, escaping through the window, and stepping on the ice. Seeing cracks forming beneath them, Meowstic snapped his head at the bug next to him. "Ninjask, fly!" he shouted, grabbing Ninjask's right hand.

Making no objection, Ninjask flew upwards, pulling Meowstic into the air when the ice broke underneath Araquanid and Octillery, as they fell into the water.

"GAH!" Octillery shouted, flailing in the water, splashing some of it onto Araquanid, who shivered due to the cold temperature, "This is way too cold!" She quickly climbed onto her friend's back, oblivious to his discomfort. She sighed, "Better."

Araquanid glanced at the hut he and his friends were in seconds ago, and screamed. He swam away just as the two story hut crumbled into pieces and fell into the water, creating a large splash in all directions. The water types cried out, feeling cold water landing on them. Octillery wrapped her tentacles around herself, now shivering as well.

"T-totally not better!" She snapped her head at the pair above her, "Why d-didn't you help us?" She asked.

"You both are on an opposing team," Meowstic said, glancing down at them, "And you're both water types. Makes perfect sense to me."

"So what now?" Araquanid asked them, "You're ditching us?" He sighed, "Well...That friendship was nice while it lasted."

Meowstic didn't even had enough time to open his mouth when Ninjask spoke up, "No way! We're sticking together!" He smiled at them, "We've survived this far!"

Araquanid and Octillery smiled in relief and appreciation, while Meowstic's face remained neutral, staring out at the village, watching as the new disaster unfolded before him and the others.

The roof Infernape and Raichu occupied on was a moment away from collapsing. The monkey was about to jump off the hut and make a run for dry land, when Raichu grabbed his tail, still lying on the roof, "Might as well take someone out with me!" Raichu shouted, flashing him a lazy smirk as the hut started crumbling beneath him.

Infernape snapped his head behind him and narrowed his eyes at the electric mouse, "You son of a bit-" He shouted before feeling his tail tugging him down, causing the two the land in the water. Bubbles appeared on the surface, but neither competitor was coming up. A few seconds later, a sphere flew out of the water, containing a pissed off Infernape strangling Raichu, choking the life out of him.


{{Confessional}}

Infernape: (He was wearing a thick blanket around him, looking annoyed) Raichu probably would've make a good member of my team.


As the chaos continued down below, a certain two were flying through the air above, as the larger male growled to himself, "Damn...There goes that idea."

The dragon in the blimp's arms blinked, before saying, "Drifblim...I feel your...Growing weakness. You need to...Rest."

Drifblim glanced down at the girl, before sighing, as he continued to fly, "No. Regardless of my condition, I need to stay in the air. It's too dangerous down there, and if I put you down to relax, I won't be able to defend you from the mayhem. I can take it."

She gave him a worried look, "But what...If I'm just...Stopping you from...Succeeding?"

He stopped in the air, before raising a brow at her, "What do you mean by that?"

Hydreigon sighed, before looking down towards the disasters below, "Well...I'm not really...Worth putting so...Much effort into...Keeping safe. I'm not...Very useful."

The blimp's expression softened slightly, before turning his face away from her, continuing to fly forward, "You can consider that your opinion, but to me, I couldn't forgive myself if I allowed you to get hurt in this hellhole. I'll be keeping you safe, whether you approve or not."

As he said this, he seemed to not even notice the dragon's face lighting up with red, as she tried her hardest to cover her face.


{{Confessional}}

Hydreigon: (She was blushing furiously, before whispering to herself) ...This is so...Embarrassing.


Espeon hopped over the newest crack forming in front of her. She screamed, skidding to halt in order to prevent herself from falling into the gaping hole in the ground. She moved around it, only to trip over a small crack. She let out a yelp, falling down the hill. She hit Purugly, who was staring out at the disaster before her, sending her rolling down the hill too. They flew over the cracks and crash landed at the bottom with Espeon landing on top of Purugly's back. She shook her head and glanced down at her. The cat's recent confession replayed in her mind, causing Espeon to groan, stand up, and step away from her as if she was a disease.

Purugly rolled her eyes and stood up, "Oh, grow up."

"I need to grow up?!" Espeon glared at her, disgusted, "You expose your body to strangers for money! That's branded you as Lust! One of the seven deadly sins!"

Purugly turned around to face her, "We all have sins. Pretty sure you have some skeletons in your closet."

Espeon opened her mouth to retaliate, when she noticed something behind Purugly. Her eyes widened, "The water is decreasing…"

Purugly snapped her head behind her and noticed it too. With all the new cracks forming all over the village, the water was decreasing at quick pace, "No wonder we didn't fall into the water," She looked back at Espeon and flashed her a smile, "See ya!"

She walked down the hill, where it was once submerged only minutes ago, when she felt a different rumble, "Oh, now what?!"

Hearing and feeling a larger rumble behind her, Espeon turned around, as her face became pale, "Dear Arceus..."

Purugly snapped her head behind her, and her eyes widened in terror, "What the fuck…?"

Somewhere in the village, the other two groups shared a similar reaction, watching a large mountain raise high enough for everyone to see. As it raised up, Drifblim was just barely able to get out of the way, as he growled at the mountain, "Looks like we might have more of a problem than initially expected," he quickly began to fly as far away from it as possible.

The water where the four contestants were was drained, allowing Meowstic to remove his grip on Ninjask, dropping himself to the ground. Shaking his arm in pain due to hanging onto Ninjask for long, he stared at the raising mountain, eyes widened.

"We're terrified, but it is wrong that I'm terrified and excited at the same time?" Meowstic asked the others, who were moving backward.

"Hell yeah it is," Octillery said.

"Maybe the mountain's coming up because it has deep insecurities from it's height?" Ninjask asked, showing a sheepish smile to the others.

Araquanid gave him a look, before chuckling slightly, "Um, sure. Who knows what those kinds of things would think about...You know, if they were actually alive."

The top of the mountain exploded, unleashing lava onto the village. A split screen between the eight remaining players was shown. All of them screamed except for Drifblim, who remained focused on trying to keep him and Hydreigon safe, and Meowstic, who laughed at the spectacular sight.

"We need to run for it!" Ninjask shouted, watching the lava heading towards them at a surprisingly quick pace.

"I just need to outrun you guys!" Meowstic said, already running away.

Ninjask flew forward, "Meowstic! We've gotta stick together!"

Araquanid looked at Octillery, "Get on my-OOF!" He said before Octillery quickly climbed on his back again.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Octillery shouted at him before slapping his behind, "Go, damn it! Go!"

The spider blushed slightly, as he began to run ahead, "...Please don't slap me there of all places!"

"If it makes you move faster, I don't care how many time I have to do it!" Octillery said, slapping her friend's behind to prove a point, "Faster!"

He yelped, as he cried out, "I need an adult!"

Purugly and Espeon ran down the hill and moved across the field. The former grunted and looked behind her, now seeing the lava swamping the hill she and Espeon stood on a few seconds ago, "Shit!" She put more energy into her running, while berating her unappealing body in her mind.

Espeon glanced behind her, seeing Purugly attempting to close the gap between them, but it made the psychic want to run more. But then a thought appeared in her mind. That woman had confessed to exposing her body to men. That was horrible enough. What's worse? She exposed herself to women as well! It was unacceptable! She had been spreading her horrifying diseases to who knows how many people. These diseases can decrease your life expectation. You can get cancer, give birth to deformed children, and have your relationships destroyed.

She glanced behind her again, seeing the lava was catching up to them, no matter how fast they were running. The lava showed off an illusion of Purugly' running in hell. Running for all eternity, but knowing the agonizing pain of lava pouring onto her vile body horrified her.

She narrowed her eyes. Purugly's victims need to be avenged. She had to be punished. For everyone's sakes! Her eyes glowed pink, stopping Purugly in mid-freeze, much to the fat cat's surprise. When she felt the lava was close enough, she removed her telekinesis on her, causing her trip over herself. A look of terror appeared on Purugly's face. Before she could get back onto her feet, the lava enveloped her.

Seeing the demon had been vanquished, Espeon allowed herself to show a satisfied look. Her eyes widened, seeing Purugly appearing in the lava. Rather thanscreaming in agonising pain, she coughed, and then she was...Licking the lava off her face?!

She was so focused on Purugly that she didn't acknowledge a large crack on the ground ahead of her. She tripped and let out a yelp of surprise, sending herself rolling onto the ground. She cursed herself for letting herself get distracted. She closed her eyes, knowing there was no time for her to get back on her feet. She felt the lava envelope her. It was hot, but it wasn't boiling. It felt like she could be in a hot bath.

She raised her head over the lava, coughing it out of her mouth. She then licked it off her face. Her eyes widened at the similar taste, "Tomato soup?" Espeon said, watching the lava continue to spread throughout the village, but she wasn't carried away like the flood would have done.

A loud feedback was heard, "That's correct, ladies!" Mesprit's voice, one could tell she was showing a reassuring smile, "You two were never in harm's way! The 'lava' was actually nothing more than my homemade tomato soup! A certain soup you may have during dinner! However, because you guys made contact with my 'lava', you guys are out of the challenge! As for everyone else, you'll be fine! Good luck with winning!"

The intercom had shut off. Espeon sat up and let out a sigh of relief. She froze, feeling her fur sticking up despite being coated in tomato soup. She turned around, facing Purugly. But rather than facing a disgusting prostitute, she was facing a person who looked like a demon had taken over her body. 'Lava' dripped down her face, veins popped out of her forehead, and her eyes glared down at her as if it could kill. Espeon felt her body tense up, ready to retaliate at the first chance she got.

"You wanna bring hell?" Purugly leaned her face towards Espeon's, growling, "I'll bring you hell."

Espeon returned the glare, watching Purugly turn around and walk away. Despite her hatred for her, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. She knew what it was though. She had that same feeling whenever she confronted Granbull. She must be taken down.


{{Confessional}}

Purugly: (She glared at the camera) She left me to die! If that was actual lava- (She growled) I played dirty for fun. (She showed a smirk) I think it's time to show how dirty I can get in this game.

Espeon: I did what I thought was right. Purugly had to be taken down. I thought at best, she would've been pulled out of the game like what happened to Granbull. But it's appears the Lord had other plans for me. (She narrowed her eyes at the camera) She challenged me, meaning I have to be prepare for our upcoming battles. It won't be easy, but with the Lord on my side, I have faith I shall succeed.


Drifblim had by this point almost completely run out of energy, as he was barely able to keep afloat now. It had gotten to a point of where he was barely even floating above the lava, as he began pant heavily, trying desperately to stay floating in some shallow attempt to remain in the game, "I...Have...To...Keep...Going…"

As the blimp continued to push himself to his limit, the dragon in his arms gave him a worried look, "Drifblim, you...Look very...Hurt at the...Moment. We should...Find somewhere for...You to...Lay down."

He let out a gargle of muttered words, as he said, "No...I can't...Lay…"

Suddenly, his eyes went blank, as he began to fall through the air and towards the lava. Hydreigon's eyes widened, as she got out of his grip, and attempted to fly again. It began to work for a moment, as she was barely able to grab onto the blimp. The two only remained in the air for a moment though, as her wings soon gave out themselves the moment she lost full concentration on the task. Soon enough, they had landed in the substance below, eliminating them from the challenge.


Meowstic continue running, hopping over any obstacle like debris or any cracks in the ground. He ran around the broken hut and skidded to a halt, seeing Ninjask flying in front of him. He narrowed his eyes at the bug and got into a fighting position.

Ninjask's eyes widened and raised his hands in defense, "Whoa, dude! I'm not here to fight!"

"Then why are you following me?" Meowstic asked, glancing at the area he came from, making sure he didn't get engulfed in tomato soup while his guard is down.

"I told you, we need to stick together!" Ninjask said.

"There's no need to. We're in the endgame now. For all we know, we could be the last two left-"

Araquanid and Octillery arrived, with the former gasping for breath, "I-If I keep this up...I'm gonna pass out…" Sweat trickled down his face, and his legs were trembling.

Octillery climbed off of her friend and shook her head, "I wouldn't, like, do that. You're totally doing a good job carrying me around," She gave him a smile, "Girls like that."

Still breathing heavily, Araquanid showed a weak smile, "Good...To know…"

Ninjask looked at Meowstic, smiling, "We're not the last two."

"But you are the last four," Uxie's voice was heard from the intercom, causing the contestants to look around, "You've reached the endgame. Get ready for the final disaster. Don't disappoint me," He warned them before the intercom shut off.

The remaining contestants exchanged stares in shock, "W-We're the last one?" Araquanid asked, eyes widened, "Even Infernape and Drifblim are out?"

"Sometimes, the last survivors are the one you'd least expect," Meowstic said, looking at all of them.

Araquanid nodded, "Yep. That's sounds spot on for me."

"So now what?" Ninjask asked, looking at them.

"It's like I've said before, Ninjask, there's no need for us to stick together now," Meowstic said, taking a step back. His eyes began to glow pink, "The temporary alliance served its pur-"

A girl's scream cut him off. The boys snapped their heads towards her voice, and their eyes widened. They watched Octillery being pulled inside the large crack nearby, flailing her tentacles about for anything to stop herself from entering the crack. "Octillery!" Araquanid shouted, running towards her, only for her to disappear inside the crack. He moved over to the crack, peering into the hole, "Octillery, are you-" Three decayed limbs popped out of the crack, almost grabbing onto Araquanid, who screamed and jumped back.

"What the heck are those?!" Ninjask said, staring at several Pokemon climbing out of the crack. When they had gotten on their feet, they started shambling towards the remaining boys. But there was something about the Pokemon that felt off. Their eyes were red, a crimson liquid splattered all over their pale bodies, and there were chunks of flesh missing.

Meowstic's eyes stopped glowing pink and looked around, seeing more Pokemon coming out of whichever crack was big enough for them to appear. He stared back at the crowd in front of him.

"No way!" Araquanid said, "They're-"

"Zombies!" Meowstic raised his arms in the air, grinning.


{{Confessional}}

Meowstic: (He waved his arms in the air, grinning like an idiot) Zombies!


"I thought you're terrified of zombies?" Ninjask asked, surprised by Meowstic's excitement over the creatures.

"Just because I'm a zombie apocalypse prepper doesn't mean I'm afraid of zombies," the cat said, not taking his eyes off of the zombies.

Araquanid rose a brow at the cat, before refocusing on the horde, his eyes slowly widening in fear, "Um, guys...They're closing in on us pretty fast."

"We need to get outta here!" Ninjask said, reaching for for Meowstic's hand, but the psychic stepped forward.

"No. This is the endgame. One of us needs to emerge victorious for their team," Meowstic glanced back at the boys, a crazed grin spread across his face, "Let's go all out, shall we?"

Before either Ninjask or Araquanid could respond, Meowstic's eyes glowed pink and extended his arms out, blasting Psychic at the zombies in front of them, sending them back flying. Two zombies closed in on him, only to receive a flying kick to the chest for Cubone, and an elbow blow to Bayleef's neck. Meowstic already moved to the next zombie when the undead pair hit the ground. He delivered a sideway kick to the back of the Tsareena's leg, causing it to let out a groan and fall. He grabbed the nearest two zombies by their backs, and then slammed their heads together. Mudsale and Mudbray moaned and hit the ground as well.

Ninjask and Araquanid stared at the cat taking down the zombies one by one. They could hear them muttering about how they weren't paid enough to become Meowstic's victims. They exchanged rounded eye glances. The spider continued to stare at the carnage, before raising a brow at the ninja, "So...Do we...Help him?"

"Yeah, we should," Ninjask said, swinging a fist at an undead Heliolisk's face. He floated towards Meowstic, "C'mon!"

The spider blinked, before running towards them, "H-Hey! Wait up! I'm not as fast as you two!"

Ninjask delivered an X Scissor tp a pair of zombie Banette and Weavile, starting a domino effect with other zombies behind them. He unleashed Sand Attack onto several zombies closing in on Meowstic. They cried out and rubbed their faces to remove the sand, but it gave the cat enough time to knock them all to the ground. Meowstic glanced at Ninjask, who smiled and gave him a thumb up before using Sand Attack on more zombies. The psychic faced forward and extended his arms sideways, creating a Reflect around him.

Araquanid had finally caught up to the two, as he began to breath heavily, only to suddenly yelp as he struck the zombie that had attempted to grab onto him. He quickly threw a Leech Life at Lopunny, before rushing over to behind his allies, "So, any ideas guys?"

Meowstic swung his elbow at Poliwhirl's face, "I told you!" He slammed his leg into a zombie Machamp's groin, causing it to groan and fall to the ground, gripping its poor groin, "This is everyone for themselves!" He stomped on a Nuzleaf's feet, lifted him up, and threw him at a Vivillon, knocking them to the ground, "Might as well have some fun while you're at it!" A grin appeared on his face.

The spider rose a brow, "...You get these are just underpaid interns, right?"

"What do they expect us to do, run?" Meowstic flipped backward, narrowly avoiding an undead Ivysaur, Charmeleon, and Wartortle extending their arms at him, "I never run from a good fight," He blasted a Psychic at them, sending them back onto the zombies behind them thus creating another domino effect.

"I'm cool with having fun as long as no one is sent to the hospital." Ninjask unleashed another Sand Attack at several zombies closing in on Araquanid, who quickly dodged off to the side, seemingly trying his hardest to actually avoid fighting them, instead constantly throwing Leech Life at each of them.

"Trust me, if they're real zombies, no hospital can save them!" A dangerous glint appeared in Meowstic's eyes, causing the zombies in front of him to pause, looking hesitant on whether to approach him or not. They didn't get their answer, finding themselves flying in the air thanks to Meowstic's Psychic. They landed onto zombies, who tried to catch them, but some of the heavier zombies knocked them down instead.

Araquanid was currently struggling with the zombies around him, but soon began to notice they had decreased in overall speed and were now lacking energy, most likely due to the Leech Life taking effect. Smiling to himself, he began to throw more of them into the crowds surrounding Meowstic and Ninjask, as he laughed, "Wow...This is actually...Kinda fun."

Hearing the nerd, Meowstic showed a smirk, "Glad you're seeing things my way," He jumped and swung a flying kick at an undead Cofagrigus, only to have his leg gripped onto by it's multiple arms. His face became pale. Before he could react, the Cofagrigus pulled him towards it, ready to bite him and finally pull him out of the challenge. It let out a scream, feeling an X Scissor slam into its face, causing it to lose its grip on Meowstic, who was caught in mid-air. He snapped his head upwards, seeing Ninjask smiling down at him.

"Told you I've got your back!" He put him back on the ground, now floating beside him and Araquanid as the zombies began to circle in on them. He unleashed another X Scissor at the undead Clefairy, laughing, "You're right, dude! This is awesome!"

Araquanid let out a small chuckle, "Yeah...It's absolutely terrifying and a little morally wrong if you look to deep into it, but hey, it's fun...But now all I'm thinking about is that we're attacking interns."

Meowstic glanced at the two guys in shock, watching them taking out a zombie Onix together, all while smiling and laughing. He looked back at the zombies in front of him, throwing a series of Shadow Balls at some undead Garchomp and Pikachu approaching them, knocking them backward, but this time, the zombies behind them pushed them forward, keeping them in the battle. Nevertheless, everything began to slow for Meowstic, thoughts appearing in his mind. Why did Ninjask save him? He could've let him be eliminated, thus sparing his team from elimination. Not to mention it would've been good payback for eliminating him in the previous challenge. And yet, he still saved him. For no reason but sticking together like a team.

Team...

Meowstic's eyes glowed pink and blasted Psychic at the zombies in front of him, this time sending them flying back. As it happened, a flashback appeared in his mind.


Drifblim floated closer to the cat, "Your incapability of forming meaningful connections with others. A weakness that truly shows the worst kind of vulnerability in a person. The kind that does nothing to help you."

"I can't risk connection," Meowstic said, frowning before looking away, "If a zombie apocalypse happens, I don't want to be too close with people, because if they die, I could be overwhelmed with grief and leave myself exposed as a zombie meal."

As he said this though, the blimp glared down at the cat, "I'm afraid that with that kind of mentality, you'll never be as strong as you want to be. Truly a waste of your potential."

Meowstic narrowed his eyes at him, "You don't know that. The zombie apocalypse can bring out the worst in people, especially your loved ones. Everyone is capable of doing horrible things when pushed into extreme circumstances."

Drifblim's glare didn't waver, before he turned away, "Such irrational thinking shall only lead to your own failure. One day, I hope you realize that, if only so you don't make my mistakes."


Meowstic glanced back at Ninjask and Araquanid behind him. He could've sworn he thought he saw them smiling back at him before resuming their battle against the horde of undead. A small gentle smile creeped on his face.

"I understand now, Drifblim. The value of teamwo-" Meowstic thought, before he felt a Mandibuzz's bite on his two tails. He let out a scream and felt his tails yank him backwards, bringing him to the ground. The zombie Machamp picked him up and wrapped his arms around him, preventing him from escaping. Meowstic cursed to himself. All it took for him to be defeated was one second, and he gave him that. If these were real zombies, he would've use his final moment to unleash everything he had on them.

"And Meowstic is out!" Mesprit's voice was heard from the intercom, "That means the Mysterious Mesprit will be sending someone home tomorrow!"

Araquanid and Ninjask snapped their heads at Meowstic, seeing him get carried away by a sea of undead, "Meowstic!" They shouted in unison.

The spider behind the ninja stuttered slightly, "O-Oh man! What are we supposed to do now?!"

"Don't worry, I've got a plan!" Ninjask glanced at him.

Araquanid rose a brow, "Um...Okay-"

The next thing he knew, he felt a sudden burst of pain on his underbelly and found himself being launched into the sky, screaming the entire time as he flew towards the clouds. After a moment, his voice had completely vanished. Ninjask smiled, as his arm stopped glowing from using Slash. He disappeared amongst the horde before being lifted up in the air, ensuring he wouldn't escape.

Araquanid continued to scream as he fell towards the ground, bracing himself for impact...Before he suddenly found himself floating in the air, as the intercom came on, Azelf's voice cheering, "Araquanid is the last one standing! That means his team, the Awesome Azelf, are the winners of Detrimental Doomsday!"

The spider blinked, "W-Wait...I won?!"

By the village's entrance outside, having just witnessed Araquanid's victory from the monitor, the rest of the Awesome Azelf cheered, while the Unique Uxie stared at the monitor in surprise at Ninjask's sacrifice.


{{Confessional}}

Araquanid: (He was staring directly at the camera, before beginning to smile) I-I...I won...I won! I can't believe it! I finally won something in my life! (He began to cheer excitedly to himself) Nothing can ruin this for me- (The confessional suddenly collapsed on him)

Ninjask: (He sat in a newly repaired confessional) The dude needed a win. From what I've heard from him so far, he has had it bad his whole life. I thought by making him the reason his team won, he would gain some confidence. (He smiled, before rubbing the back of his head) I hope that worked, 'cause I'm not sure how my team is gonna react to missing out on the Golden Inn.


Araquanid was back by the village's entrance, where his team cheered, before running over to him. Yanmega patted his back while Octillery wrapped a tentacle around him, cheering.

"Hell yeah! Back to the Inn, baby!" Octillery said. The spider laughed slightly at this, before beginning to cheer along with the octopus.

"Well, Awesome Azelf," Azelf said, smiling at them, "Congrats. You're safe for another day, and get to spend several nights in the Golden Inn."

The team was pleased while the other two teams applauded for their efforts.

"Unique Uxie," Uxie said, "You didn't win, but you're spared from elimination. So you can rest easier than usual."

Said team glanced at Ninjask, who gave him a sheepish grin. Quagsire smiled at the bug, before pulling him into a hug, "That was so nice of you! Good job, buddy."

"Yeah," Sableye said, glaring at Ninjask, "Good job."

"Mysterious Mesprit, I'm sorry, but one of you will be leaving tomorrow night," Mesprit said to the team, looking sad, "You did so well, though! Super close! Oh, and Vanilluxe? You have to vote this time."

Vanilluxe stared at the ground, but nodded. The team didn't looked thrilled at all, especially after all they've been through. Meowstic remained silent, but he glanced at Araquanid and Ninjask every now and then.

"Jellicent was pretending to be a creep!" Sableye burst out, making several Pokemon jump. The jellyfish in question glanced at her, trying her best to not show any emotion.

"What are you talking about, Sableye?" Chandelure asked, curious of Sableye's accusation.

Sableye pointed at the jellyfish, "This so-called creep was pretending to be...Well, a creep! Everything she's done has been nothing more than a series of lies! I saw her true self during the challenge!"

"If you did, you'd be wishing you were dead," Jellicent said in monotone, her eyes urging her teammate to shut up.

"Enough! I shall not allow you to continue this behavior!" Jellicent, along with the rest of the cast flinched backwards, before turning to see Drifblim, his usually stoic face now completely overcome with unstoppable rage, as he floated towards the jellyfish, "Come clean, now!"

Jellicent looked at him, not wanting to answer him. However, everyone was staring at her, and she still hadn't forgotten what Drifblim did to Granbull. That was a fate she wouldn't want to risk having. She let out a sigh and looked at everyone, now dropping her nightmare fuel act.

"Fine, fine, it's true! I lied, okay? This is the real me! I only did it because I wanted to see how it would work out during the game. It worked every now and then, but I knew it wouldn't have lasted long," She glared at Sableye and Drifblim, "I would rather explain this on my own terms though, instead of by force."

"If you knew your phony act wasn't gonna work, then you're just making it more trouble for yourself!" Sableye said, grinning at her.

"Oh, shut up!" She shouted at her.

Drifblim continued to glare at the jellyfish, before stating, "Consider this strike one...Try to not get to strike two."

Jellicent's eyes wavered a little, before resuming her glare at him. Soon, she noticed everyone else, especially her teammates, were now giving her glares...With exception of Quagsire, who just looked really confused. This had finally made her feel like a prisoner.


{{Confessional}}

Jellicent: (She had her face in her fins, before letting out a frustrated groan) Well, that could have gone a lot better for me.

Sableye: I could've blackmailed Jellicent into helping me get through this game, but then I would be delaying the truth. And besides, (She pulled out two different idols Komala had found, grinning at the camera) I have a few tricks up my sleeves. (She cackled maniacally)


Golden Inn

Thirty minutes after returning to the campground, the Unique Uxie reluctantly left the Golden Inn with their luggages in their hands. The Awesome Azelf stepped in as soon as Ninjask flew out the door, shooting Araquanid a quick smile, before joining his teammates. As the bug flew out though, the spider in the doorway couldn't help but look at him in the process, seemingly paralyzed from a feeling of appreciation.

"Hello...Araquanid."

The spider let out a yelp and jumped forward a bit from the sudden noise, before turning around, seeing a certain dragon in front of him. After blinking several times, he began to smile slightly, "O-Oh, h-hey Hydreigon. Um...What's up?"

She seemed to just stare at him for a moment, before smiling, "I just wanted...You to know that...You did a great...Job today."

He began to blush slightly, before awkwardly laughing out loud, "Yeah, I guess I...Kinda did. Thank you."

The dragon let out a small giggle from the spider's awkward display, before flying inside the Golden Inn, "Anyways, have a...Good day, Araquanid."

As she floated inside, the spider continued to awkwardly laugh, before suddenly stopping, "...God I suck at this."

"It's still progress," Octillery squirmed over to him, carrying her luggages, "At least you talked to her."

He blinked, before scratching the back of his head, a slight sheepish smile beginning to form, "Yeah, I guess I did."

"And besides, you showed off, like, several good sides today," Octillery said, giving him a smile, "You carried me around without complaining."

He gave her a look, "Well, didn't like when you started slapping my butt. By the way, we need to set some boundaries on that."

Octillery moved inside the Golden Inn, putting her luggage down, "No promises," She looked back at him, "It's not just about carrying me though, you made actual friends. You can't be a complete loser if you have friends backing you up."

He blinked, before smiling to himself, "...I did...Wow, I literally just realized I have friends now! I'm not a complete mess!"

"Don't get totally hyped, we still have a lot of work to do before we can achieve the impossible," Octillery gestured towards Araquanid's whole body, "But you made friends, so we're not in a rut anymore."

After a moment, the spider mumbled, "H-Hey, Octillery...Thanks for sorta setting me up on this little path. I probably wouldn't have any friends here at all without you."

Octillery smirked at him, "Like I've been telling you, stick with me long enough, and you'll totally be throwing your old self away like a trash."

He blinked, "Well, I don't really want to throw my personality away, just the awkward stuff."

Octillery gave him a dismissive wave, "Details, details," She picked up her luggages, a grin appeared on her face, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my tub!"

Araquanid watched Octillery squirm over into the hot tub room. After a moment, he chuckled slightly, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling she'll marry that thing by the end of the season."


{{Confessional}}

Octillery: (She smirked at the camera) I'm bringing that tub with me, and nobody is gonna stop me!

Hydreigon: (She smiled at the camera) Araquanid is very...Sweet. I'm glad that...He helped us...Win today. Though, I admit...His look made...Me slightly uncomfortable.


Day 10 - Elimination Day


Mess Hall

The sun was beginning to lower, indicating the day was approaching afternoon. A few members from other teams were sitting by their team's table, but they often glanced at the Mysterious Mesprit's. Everyone on that team was there, eating what will be their last meal for one of them in this game. Furret glanced at the wall filled with contestants' portraits, knowing another would change soon enough.

Ursaring and Vanilluxe looked nervous, watching several people exchanging glares. Sitting across the table, Bastiodon and Raichu faced each other. Never ceasing his glare, Bastiodon slowly put cabbage into his mouth and chewed audibly. Raichu, on the other hand, was flipping over his meal with a folk, while resting his chin onto his fist. He gave Bastiodon a lazy glare, albeit feeling a bit uncomfortable from Espeon's piercing stare.

"Okay, I'm easing the tension now," Wormadam said, getting tired of the three of them exchanging glares non-stop since they've entered the room, "Who are we voting for tonight?"

Bastiodion and Espeon pointed at Raichu immediately. Raichu pointed at Bastiodon afterward before sticking a potato into his mouth.

"Nice to know I'm not a target this time," Furret said, relieved that nobody considered putting her on the chopping block.

"Why would you be?" Meowstic said, glancing at her, "You lasted a long time, unlike certain teammates," He gave Ursaring and Vanilluxe a stern glare, much to the pair's dismay.

"You're talking about Raichu, right?" Bastiodon said, wanting to give his teammates more reasons to vote off his enemy, "I agree! He was terrible yesterday."

"I outlasted you," Raichu said, pointing a folk at him, "And I took out someone from the other team. Meanwhile, your Christian minion here almost took me out because she couldn't handle the truth about her hero," He gave Espeon an annoyed glare.

Espeon scowled at him, "Lies. All lies."

"But the dude is telling the truth about him outlasting Bastiodon," Ursaring said, narrowing his eyes at the stubborn actor, "He did better than him in the last two challenges."

"He didn't even reach the halfway point in either challenge," Furret pointed out.

"Neither of that was my fault!" Bastiodon said, snapping his head at her. He pointed at Raichu, "This rodent here took me out in the haunted mansion challenge!"

"Hey, who here decided to lower their guard to insult me?" Raichu said, sipping his orange juice.

Bastiodon growled at him, considering making a dramatic scene for the viewers' pleasure.

"The most important fact here is that we've now know who are tonight's candidates," Meowstic said, gesturing to Bastiodon and Raichu, "The real question is, who should we side with?"

"Me!" Bastiodon said, pointing at himself, "I'm a well-known actor! Do you honestly want to get rid of someone like me so soon?"

"I was a well-known actor as well," Raichu said, "I'm tolerable to be around though, unlike an idiot like you."

"'Tolerable' isn't a word I would use to describe a deplorable person like you," Espeon said, glaring at the electric mouse, "You treated Our Lord as if He was a piece of garbage! I will not stand for that!"

"Say what you want, I don't care," Raichu said, shrugging, "Religion haven't done any good for me. If it don't work, it don't work."

A vein appeared on Espeon's forehead, and her eyes glowed pink, "You-"

"That's enough!" Wormadam said, glaring at Raichu and Espeon, silently telling the pair to calm down.

"Yes, please," Vanilluxe said, looking uncomfortable with the tensions spilling out, "All this arguing will create nothing but conflict and despair."

"One of us will be gone tonight," Espeon said, glancing at Vanilluxe before looking back at Raichu, "I would much prefer to be someone who doesn't treat Our-"

"Our Lord. I get it!" Raichu said, giving her an irritated look, "You don't need to keep blabbering on about it."

Espeon seethed, resisting the urge to use her telekinesis to throw the rodent off the island.

"We need to consider every factor on the table," Meowstic said, looking at his teammates, "Whoever we vote off will have an impact on us for the rest of the game."

"That's right," Furret nodded, "Last time, we all agreed to throw the challenge to get rid of Granbull. But we don't have someone like her on our team now. This time, we should vote for someone based on abilities, social skills, level of threat-"

"I'm sticking by my vote for Raichu no matter what any of you say," Bastiodon said.

Espeon nodded, "Same."

"That's two votes," Raichu said, rolling his eyes, "Not enough to send me home unless everyone else has decided to give each other a vote each."

"That would be interesting," Furret said, stroking her tail, looking curious.

"But we're not doing that," Wormadam said, glancing at her before looking back at the others, "We're agreeing on either Raichu and Bastiodon, and I'm voting for Bastiodon," She glared at the shocked actor.

"Me?" Bastiodon said, eyes widened, "Why?"

"You're annoying as hell. And while Raichu often sets bad examples as an adult, I'll admit I admired him when I was a kid. I used to like that show called Pokemon Adventure."

Raichu's eyes brightened, "Oh yeah, looking back on that now," He frowned, "I was annoying as hell," He shrugged and smirked at Bastiodon, "But hey, that's two for two."

"Make that three for two," Ursaring said, glaring at Bastiodon, "I'm voting for Bastiodon. You can't spread lies about someone behind their back. It's wrong!"

"I wasn't lying about Raichu! Everything I've said was the truth!" Bastiodon slammed a foot on the table, causing his teammates to grip their meals to stop it from spilling over.

"It's look like I have more friends than I expected," Raichu said, smirking at the frustrated actor.

Espeon looked at Ursaring, shocked that her friend sided against her, "Ursaring, you cannot possibly consider siding with that drunken-"

Ursaring looked at her, "Bastiodon was lying to you. He's only said that so Bastiodon would have a better chance sending Raichu home."

Espeon looked at Bastiodon and then looked back at Ursaring, "But he wouldn't speak about his family like-"

"Are you even friends with Bastiodon?" Wormadam asked, "I didn't see you two become buddies until recently."

Espeon remained silent, staring at Wormadam, before looking back at Bastiodon, whose eyes were begging her to not fall for their trick. She stared down at her meal, now looking unsure.

Raichu smirked at Bastiodon, "Another point for me. Wish I had a drink now to cheer for that."

Bastiodon remained silent, glaring at him.

Raichu looked at Vanilluxe, Meowstic, and Furret, "What about you guys? Whose train are you hopping in?"

"I have my thoughts, but I'd prefer to be secretive about it," Meowstic said.

"Same," Vanilluxe said, looking a bit guilty, "I don't want to make either Raichu or Bastiodon feel worse if I explain my vote."

"You're rich, aren't you, Raichu?" Furret said, looking at the electric mouse, who looked surprised by her unexpected question.

"Come again?"

"I'd speak your full name, but I don't want either of us to breaking our contract. Nevertheless, you're the same person who received an opportunity of a lifetime twenty-two years ago. Since then, you became our mascot people had grown to love throughout the last two decades. With all that fame from TV shows, movies, commercials, and video games, you'd be rich even when you banished your career."

The team stared at her and they slowly turned their heads to Raichu, who now felt like his terrified ten-year old self when a spotlight shined on him for the first time. "Err…" Raichu trailed out.

"Furret made some excellent points," Meowstic said, as Furret smiled at from his praise, "I'm well aware you're famous, but it's never occurred to me how much money you currently own. You're a millionaire, aren't you?" Meowstic asked.

Raichu blinked, but shrugged, "I think so. I haven't really checked my account since I evolved."

"Whether you still own all that money or not, you're still the richest guy out of everyone here," Furret said, gesturing to her team.

Raichu stared at her, raising an eyebrow, "So?"

"So?" Bastiodon said, pleased to finally receive an edge in this conversation, "There are people in this world who would've put that money to good use, and not waste it all on alcohol, drugs, or prostitutes," He scowled at him.

Espeon resumed her glare at Raichu, while Ursaring, Vanilluxe, and Wormadam looked unsure. Furret continued playing with her tail. Meowstic stared at him, while Bastiodon showed a tiny smirk on his lips.

"What, do you need money?" Raichu asked.


{{Confessional}}

Vanilluxe: (He looked deep in thought, albeit looking a bit guilty) Bastiodon or Raichu. Oh...I dislike having to make this decision! Whoever I vote for will play a part in sending someone home. (He looked at the camera) Would the person I vote for be the one sent home? (He sighed) This is going to be hard.


Elimination Ceremony

The eight members of the Mysterious Mesprit were sitting on the logs for the second time, but with different reasons this time. They stared at Mesprit who was floating by the podium in front of them. Uxie and Azelf were sitting in the back, while the other two teams on the bleachers sat even further back.

"Welcome back, Mysterious Mesprit!" Mesprit said, smiling at them, "I'm really sorry to see you guys in this position again so soon, but rules are rules," She held up a silver platter with seven Oran Berries, "You know how this works, but this time, I'll be giving out the Oran Berries one by one to increase tension. But before we get to that, I'm going to ask you a question that will be part of the routine. If anybody have an idol you want to play, now would be a good time to use it."

Wormadam remained still, knowing she left an idol in her luggage, but didn't feel the need to use it. Seeing her team remained still, Mesprit nodded, "The first person to receive an Oran Berry is...Meowstic!"

Meowstic nodded and walked over to Mesprit, taking his berry. He ignored a thumb up from Ninjask, who gave the glaring Sableye a sheepish smile.

Mesprit remained silent for a moment before speaking up, "Wormadam." The plant smiled and hopped over, eating the Oran Berry Mesprit gave her.

"Vanilluxe." The ice cream flashed a smile at his remaining teammates, before floating over to the others. He smiled at Turtonator, who looked relieved to see her husband safe for another day.

"Espeon." The psychic smiled and muttered a thank you to Her Lord, before joining her safe teammates.

"Ursaring." The bear let out a sigh, walked over to the others, and threw the berry into his mouth, enjoying the flavor.

"Furret." Despite knowing she wasn't a candidate, the writer let out a sigh of relief, pleased to know she wasn't blindsided.

Mesprit stared at the remaining two contestants. Bastiodon was sitting straight, while Raichu was slouching in his seat, looking like he doesn't even care who would be eliminated. It didn't stop him from exchanging a glare with Bastiodon.

"It's about time to have a man to be eliminated next," Mesprit said, smiling, "Bastiodon. Raichu, you both have good reasons to be in this position. Bastiodon, you're here because of your poor challenge performances, and your stubbornness may have annoyed several players on your team. Raichu, you're here because despite your surprisingly good performances in the last two challenges, your bad attitude and the revelation of your wealth may have put off some people." The rat shrugged and resumed exchanging a glare with Bastiodon.

"One of you have more votes than the others. So, the final Oran Berry goes to…"

Bastiodon stopped glaring at Raichu and looked at the Oran Berry in Mesprit's hand. Raichu glanced at it as well, but didn't look nearly as nervous. "...Bastiodon," Mesprit said, smiling.

Bastiodon's eyes widened before letting out a triumphant laugh, moving over to Mesprit, grabbing the Oran Berry, and then walking back to the stoic Raichu, looking just as bored and uncaring as before. He showed off his Oran Berry to the electric mouse, "See this? This proves that I'm superior to you!" He threw the berry into his mouth.

"No need to rub it in his face, dude," Ursaring said, glaring at the actor.

"Nah," Raichu said, getting off the log and stretched, hearing his back crack, "If he wants to boost his ego, let him. It makes him more embarrassing than me."

Bastiodon stared at him, baffled, "Embarrassing?!" He glared at him, "My victory in this battle against you is not-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Raichu said, walking away, "I lost. You're still here. That's all everyone needs to hear. Enjoy your borrowed time before your inevitable elimination."

Bastiodon's face reddened, "You can't have the last laugh! That belongs to me! So haha! HA!" He stormed out of the area, not wanting to give Raichu any satisfaction by taking away his last laugh. All the while, the rat simply gave him a strange look, before shrugging nonchalantly.

Mesprit watched Raichu walk past her, heading towards the dock. She looked back at the others, "If anyone want to say goodbye to Raichu, aka Randy Lloyd, now would be a good time to do so. If not, head back to the campground. Goodnight!" She smiled at the contestants before she and her siblings left the area.


{{Voting Confessional}}

Bastiodon: (He smirked at the camera) Raichu, I hope you ordered alcohol in advance, because you'll be needing it to drink away your sorrows from failing to defeat me. But don't feel ashamed. You get the honor of becoming the first of my many victims in this game.

Espeon: (She glared at the camera) You insulted Our Lord more times than I will tolerate. You must leave the island, Raichu, for everyone's sakes.

Furret: I'd find it unfair if a millionaire like Raichu stuck around when there are other contestants here that need the million dollars more. I vote for Raichu.

Meowstic: The thought of eliminating Bastiodon had appeared in my mind, but Raichu has no need to compete when he already has enough money to buy himself three good quality zombie bunkers. I vote for him instead.

Raichu: So I'm loaded. Not a big deal. I'd be surprised if I've still got any money left after I went on an epic bender. (He looked deep in thought) Come to think of it, that's probably why I applied for this show. (He narrowed his eyes at the camera) Bastiodon gets my vote. If anything I said to him didn't drill into his giant thick skull, why should I waste another breath on him? Either way, we'll go our separate ways, and I couldn't be happier.

Ursaring: Personally, I can see right through Bastiodon's lies about Raichu. The guy is either clearly exaggerating, or just lying about how much he deserves to leave. Even if he is rich, I still say he deserves a chance too. Besides, between the two, Raichu's a better roommate, while Bastiodon mostly either complains or snores in his sleep. (His eyes widened in surprise) I don't even get how he can form a complaint in his sleep. Either way, I'm voting for Bastiodon.

Vanilluxe: (He looked guilty) As much as I don't like to do this, I'm voting for Raichu. It's only because he's already a millionaire. Turtonator and I would like to have that money to make our children's lives easier. I'm sorry...

Wormadam: (She glared at the camera) Raichu may be rich, but Bastiodon is a constant annoyance, and from what I've seen with that little comment of his on prostitutes earlier, a potential criminal! He's going down!


Dock

Raichu arrived at the dock, his tail dragging on the ground. He was about to step onto the Wailord parked beside the dock, when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around, seeing Drifblim, Hydreigon, Infernape, and Vanilluxe standing before him. He raised a brow at them, looking slightly surprised, before his face became deadpan.

"If you're all here for an autograph, the only thing you're getting is this," Raichu showed a middle finger.

Hydreigon blinked, before shaking her head, "No, I'm here...Because I'm your...Friend."

Raichu lowered his paw, blinking, "Huh...Friend is a word I don't hear much anymore. And when I do hear it, they always end up being fake friends."

The dragon smiled, "Well, you can...Consider me a real...One."

Raichu stared at her, replaying Hydreigon's words, "I've never met anyone like you. Like ever. And I've seen a lot of different kinds of people," A small smile appeared on his face, "Maybe that's why I believe you."

As he said this, he suddenly felt himself get pulled into a quick hug by the three headed dragon, before just as quickly letting go with a small embarrassed look on her face, "S-Sorry," she quickly began to wave, "But goodbye...I'll miss you."

Raichu chuckled and then looked at Infernape, who stepped forward, "I'll always remember you because of this," He pointed at the two faded bruises on his neck.

Infernape couldn't help but show a smirk, "That was a hug compared to what I did to my old team."

"I have to meet them," Raichu said, smirking, "Sound like my kind of folks."

"Be careful what you wish for," Infernape said, chuckling, "Otherwise, the next thing you'll remember is the training, and you'll be wishing you'd have killed yourself earlier."

"That's exactly why I wanna meet them!" Raichu said, smiling.

Infernape and Raichu laughed, as Vanilluxe floated forward, looking guilty, "Raichu, I'm sorry. I was one of the voters who voted for you. It's nothing personal! It's just that-"

Raichu held his paw up, interrupting Vanilluxe, "Don't get too hung up about it. I don't really give a shit about this show anyways. At least I'll finally be reunited with my favorite bar," He showed a smirk.

Vanilluxe smiled, relieved that his eliminated teammate wasn't too upset. However, soon enough, he felt a dark presence behind him, turning around to see a certain blimp looking down at him, "Please move out of the way. I have some words I wish to speak to Raichu."

The ice cream blinked, before quickly floating out of the way of him, allowing Drifblim to float next to the rat in front of him, "It's a shame you had to go so soon you know. You had a lot of potential hidden inside that depressed mind."

Raichu raised a brow, "Potential? I thought that died when I was a kid."

The blimp shook his head, "No, there is plenty of it still inside of you. Instead of just lying around hating what your life became, how about you actually move on? Simply enjoy it to the best of your ability, and don't care about how the media treats you."

Raichu stared up at him, thinking back to the first day where he arrived to the island, drunk off his ass. He had to be carried around by the blimp throughout the rest of the day. Since then, the pair developed an unlikely friendship. The kind of friendship you would get if you became a regular customer at a nightclub. The one where you could engage in conversations with a bodyguard while trying to get away from the disturbing customers, Despite this, he felt dark thoughts creeping into his mind, telling him he wasn't worth saving.

"How? How can I move on? Even when I'm not the famous Pikachu anymore, I'm still famous. Any privacy I could get had died with my childhood. People won't leave me alone," He stared at the floor.

He shrugged, "That's on you to figure out. All I know is that the only one who's making you depressed, is yourself."

Raichu looked at him again, feeling the dark thoughts decrease, but never disappear. Drifblim may be right. While he often blamed everyone for ruining his life, a small part of him had always told him to live his life better. He thought it was about partying hard everyday, and making tons of money, but they weren't the answers. It was about living a life to benefit himself, and himself only.

He gave him a firm nod, "I'll try. I doubt it'll work, but I'll certainly try."

The blimp smiled, "And that's all I could ask for. Good luck."

Raichu jumped onto the Wailord and looked back at the others just as the large Pokemon began to move away from the island. He smirked and gave them a lazy wave before slumping onto his back, wanting to give himself some rest. The contestants on the dock continued to wave until the Wailord had vanished from the horizon once more, claiming another contestant.


Several minutes had passed, and the three hosts were now occupying the dock.

"I'm gonna miss that rodent," Azelf said, disappointed, "The dude was hilarious to be around."

Uxie deadpanned, "He was a drunk deadbeat who actively hates life, how is that funny?"

"He spitted out witty quotes," Azelf said.

"He's not my favorite, but I didn't want to see anyone on my team be eliminated," Mesprit said, upset at having a second member of her team out already.

"You didn't like Granbull," Uxie said, frowning, "So you're a hypocrite."

Mesprit rolled her eyes and smiled at the camera, "Well, that's concludes another epic episode! Will our future challenges even top Detrimental Disaster?"

"Can Bastiodon become even more annoying now that Raichu is gone?" Azelf asked, smiling.

Uxie rolled his eyes, "Will Quagsire finally get what he deserves when Chandelure sends him hom-"

Mesprit floated in front of Uxie, interrupting him, "Find out on the next thrilling episode of Total!"

Uxie glared at his sister, before scoffing, "...Pokemon."

"Alphabetical!" Azelf shouted with a grin.


{{Vote Count}}

Raichu : Five votes (Bastiodon, Espeon, Furret, Meowstic, Vanilluxe)

Bastiodon : Three votes (Raichu, Ursaring, Wormadam)


Unique Uxie - Chandelure, Jellicent, Komala, Ninjask, Purugly, Quagsire, Sableye, Turtonator.

Mysterious Mesprit - Bastiodon, Espeon, Furret, Meowstic, Ursaring, Vanilluxe, Wormadam.

Awesome Azelf - Araquanid, Drifblim, Hydreigon, Infernape, Leavanny, Octillery, Yanmega, Zebstrika.

Eliminated - Granbull(Greta), Xatu(Xanthippe), Raichu(Randy).


Xebla : Okay, this chapter took a lot longer to finish than I expected. How the hell did we surpass thirty thousand words?

Fuzzboy :Don't know, but I won't question it.

Xebla : Anyways, our newest eliminated contestant is Bojack Mouseman- I mean, Raichu! Back when I was doing the original TPA, I originally planned for him to be a newbie in a future season. And technically, he was a newbie here. Fuzz and I knew he wouldn't last long in storytelling terms though. We all know Pikachu as our main mascot for the franchise. For that reason, we've hardly seen their species in any TPI story. The one thing it had got me wondering was, "What if everything Pikachu was doing was his job? And how would it affect his life? Well, I had this idea where he received an opportunity of a lifetime and became a worldwide star. But fame's ugly side corrupted him into the person he is today; a drunken has-been celebrity. And before you ask, no, he wasn't an expy of Bojack Horseman. I created this dude before I got Netflix.

Fuzzboy : Either way, regardless of his origins, the dude's story is over, and we won't be seeing much of him from here on out. But hey, he lasted longer than how we originally planned, considering he used to be the first boot.

Xebla : Good thing we changed that. It allowed us to get to know him more. And because of that, I'm going to miss him.

Fuzzboy : Eh, I won't probably, but I can't deny it, things won't be the same without him here to make things slightly more depressing.

Xebla : That was his main role!

Fuzzboy : And he did it well, so seeya Randy!


Raichu: Read and review, folks. (He shrugged) Or whatever. You're not getting paid for this.