Keep in mind that most (not all, but quite close) of the ideas for the television show came from the television show (well, shows) that I watch on a weekly basis. But because that show isn't really known outside the country it plays, I doubt that any of you readers will know what show I'm talking about. I'll be very surprised if any of you know it. So, for most of you, this whole Dex Holder television show's events would be quite new.

Category: SR.

Chapter 4: Dex Holders' Challenge Ep. 001: Introduction

Celadon City, 11 am…

Platinum, Diamond, and Pearl arrived at the designated meeting place (in front of the Celadon hotel). The heiress noticed that no other Dex Holder have arrived yet. She sat on a bench nearby and began to check over the stuff in her bag. As ordered by Blue, she had brought a silk dress (which she had no choice but to cram in her bag) and a set of clothes that the heiress would wear for physical activities (so no skirt).

Platinum hoped that she would not have to do anything physically straining. Her legs were still quite sore from the multiple forced (failed) attempts at the 3 Paths… Diamond and Pearl didn't know about the 3 Paths yet, and as per Red and Green's orders, the heiress didn't tell them either.

Within a few minutes, Crystal arrived along with Emerald. The Johto girl waved at the three Sinnoh Dex Holders and sat on the bench beside Platinum. Her legs still ached a little, and in case she had to do some physically straining activities later in the first episode of the new television show, she was going to rest her legs.

Soon the rest of the Dex Holders gathered around in front of the Celadon hotel. Once everyone was there, Blue turned to face them.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, I'll tell you some specifics about the new television show," she started. "The show will be called The Dex Holders' Challenge. First… every one of us will have 4 people following at all times during the recordings that are free-for-all style: a main cameraman, a secondary cameraman for different angles, a program director, and a lighting staff. Second, we should be prepared to run anytime, anywhere. So dress appropriately. Third, we must never swear or say anything suggestive." Blue looked at Gold. "That means you, Gold."

Crystal glanced at the goggled boy and looked at her senior. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything."

"Fourth, we should keep all private matters private. As in, don't say anything about what you do off-camera. Fifth, be polite. That means you again, Gold. And Sapphire too. And lastly, keep in mind that everything is recorded and edited before the show airs. So, if we said something or did anything that we don't want people to see, we can always ask the PD to edit that part out."

"When's the first recording?" Red asked. "As in, what time?"

"It's today at 10," Blue replied.

Green glared at her. "If the recording is at 10, why are we here right now?"

"Well, for the majority of us," Blue started. "This will be the first time we'll be on television. So, to make sure that we won't mess up again and again and get all of the recorded parts edited, we'll be practicing with the president of the Talents Agency. She's been on television and live events quite a few times, or so I've heard anyways, so she'll be showing us the basics. She'll be acting as the main PD as well, and will be following the MC."

Later that day, 10 pm…

The 13 Dex Holders stood in a single line, facing the cameras. The girls were wearing dresses while the others wore suits. They had to look nice and formal for the opening and introduction. Blue was right in the middle, as it was decided that she would be the MC. It was either her or Green or Red, and… Green didn't like the idea of the show to begin with, and Red… wouldn't know what to do or say. From left to right, the Dex Holders stood in random order. Red was at the far left, then Crystal, Pearl, Emerald, Platinum, Green, Blue, Sapphire, Yellow, Diamond, Silver, Gold, and Ruby at the far right.

"Hello, everyone," Blue said as she bowed to the camera. The other Dex Holders mimicked her motion. "It's time for the very first episode of Dex Holders' Challenge!" As she said the show's name, she turned to her side and extended her right hand towards the camera, as if she had a Pokéball in her hand (the designated pose). The other Dex Holder mimicked her motion again. "We'll start with a basic introduction. I'm Blue from Pallet Town of Kanto," she said as she bowed to the camera again. She looked over to the far left at Red.

The Kanto champion glanced at her and looked at the camera. "I'm Red from Pallet."

The basic introduction continued and ended with Ruby, who finished with a not-so-basic introduction. "I'm Ruby from Littleroot of Hoenn. Remember, if you see me and my beautiful Pokémon in a Contest, vote for me. Vote Ruby!"

"Ruby, stop with your Contest advertisements," Sapphire said. "You suck with the whole 'beautiful design' thing anyways."

Ruby cleared his throat. "Well, Sapphire, if I can make you look beautiful with the clothes I made, I dare say that I'm a pretty good designer."

Sapphire's eyes twitched, but she couldn't think of a response so remained silent. Ruby delivered a v-sign of victory to the camera with his fingers.

"Yo, Fashion Boy, can you make Super Serious Gal look beautiful?" Gold asked. "Or is that an impossible feat even for you?"

Crystal glared at Gold. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ruby looked at the Johto girl and shuddered at her deadly glare. "With that kind of glare, I don't think it's possible. She's too… scary."

"Not you too, Ruby…" Crystal muttered with a groan. Then a thought occurred. "What about Sapphire? She glares at you all the time!"

"She's not scary. But you look like you're ready to kill me," Ruby replied.

Blue clapped her hands. "Anyways… what are we doing today?" she asked the main PD.

"Today, you will divide into 4 teams and will play a series of simple games," replied the PD. "But first, let's move into the hotel. The indoor pool has currently been vacated for us, and we'll be using the pool for some of the games."

"Alright then! Let's go!" Blue yelled as she raised her hand in the air.

30 minutes later…

All 13 Dex Holders stood by the pool edge in their regular clothes except for Blue and Platinum. The Kanto girl had changed into a sky blue T-shirt and matching shorts. The heiress had changed into her training gear, which consisted of a black sleeveless shirt and matching shorts that weren't any longer than her skirt. The training attire had been suggested by Crystal, who claimed that wearing a skirt wasn't that good for running and other physical activities.

Each Dex Holder had a small microphone attached to their shirt so that they could be heard by the cameras without them yelling.

"So, what are we going to do here?" Blue asked.

The main PD handed the Kanto girl a small piece of paper. Blue looked at the paper and noticed that it had the words "Today's Mission" in big letters on the top.

"What's that?" Silver asked.

"Today's Mission!" the Kanto girl read out loud. "Tug of War Supremacy! Hey, that sounds cool. Divide by regions and stand on different edge of the pool. Kanto Team must be on opposite end from the Johto Team."

The other Dex Holders glanced at one another before they moved to form the teams. Yellow noticed that the Kanto Team had 4 members and chose to step aside. Even though she wouldn't be able to exert enough power to make any difference, the other teams would surely argue about the 4th member of the Kanto Team.

"Wait, how are we going to play Tug of War when the other team is on the other side of the pool?" Blue asked.

"It's very simple," the PD replied. "You'll be given a really long rope, and the leading member of your team will be 1 step away from the edge of the pool. Whichever team loses the Tug of War will fall into the water."

"But… it's cold!" Sapphire complained.

"Sapphire, why are you complaining?" Ruby asked. "We'll win. With you on our team, we can't possibly lose."

"Yeah. It's a good thing that a monster like you is on our team," Emerald said from behind.

Sapphire glared at him. "A what?"

"I mean… someone with monstrous strength such as yourself."

Pearl looked at Diamond then at Platinum. "Dia, Miss Lady, I think we're screwed."

Platinum nodded. "I do believe that senior Sapphire can overpower all three of us."

"Alright, let the games begin!" Blue yelled.

Round 1…

Red, Green, and Blue grabbed onto the long rope with Blue in the lead while on the other side, Gold, Silver, and Crystal did the same, with Crystal in the lead. Yellow walked around the pool and made sure that the leading Dex Holders were exactly 1 step away from the edge of the pool. Once she was sure, she walked to the side of the pool and clapped her hands once.

"Begin!" she yelled out.

The two teams began to pull on the rope with all their strength. But because both Red and Green were on Kanto Team, the Johto Team was on the verge of losing. Crystal clenched her teeth and tried her absolute best. But she was inching towards the edge of the pool…

Silver knew that winning was hopeless. But he really didn't want to get soaked… Seeing as how he was behind his teammates, he decided to strike first. He simply let go of the rope.

But at the same time, Gold had let go as well, as he wanted to watch Crystal fall into the pool without falling with her. But unfortunately for him, Crystal let go of the rope immediately upon realizing that her two 'teammates' have already done so. She almost fell into the water in the split second before she let go, and was now on the verge of falling.

"Gold, help!" she yelled out.

The goggled boy snickered and gave the Johto girl a slight nudge on the back. "Oops."

"GOLD!"

Crystal shrieked as she hit the water. Even worse, she did a belly flop, and it sounded really painful. And to make things even worse, the water was very cold. It wasn't that deep, so Crystal was able to stand on her feet. She groaned and brushed her hair out of her face. She turned and glared at Gold.

"Hey, Crys! How's the water?" Gold asked while laughing.

"Why you!" Crystal growled through clenched teeth.

The goggled boy was busy laughing to notice what was about to happen to him. Silver quietly walked behind him and simply pushed. Crystal quickly swam backwards to avoid getting hit by the falling Gold, but unfortunately, the goggled boy made quite a splash that hit her directly in the face.

"Silver!" she yelled in between coughs.

The two soaked Johto Dex Holders soon climbed out of the pool and the next game started. The 3 Hoenn Dex Holders grabbed onto the rope and looked ahead at their juniors. Sapphire was leading the Hoenn Team, and Pearl was leading the Sinnoh Team.

The plan for the Sinnoh Team was very simple. Even though Sapphire was ridiculously strong, she was quite light. Therefore, if the Sinnoh Dex Holders catch her off guard, then they could pull her into the water before she can exert enough force to yank all three of them into the pool. There were quite a few problems with the plan though. Sapphire had very good reflexes. Ruby and Emerald would have slightly more time to react to the Sinnoh Team's plan, and with Emerald and his Magic Hand Extensors, he would be able to hold on to the rope a lot longer without falling off, giving Sapphire ample time to get back into the game if she were to lose balance.

The moment Yellow gave the signal, Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum pulled as hard as they could. Sapphire was caught off guard, but she didn't fall into the water. She lost balance, but Ruby held onto the rope tight. Sapphire quickly regained balance and gave the rope a single tug. Pearl fell into the water from that single pull. With both her hands, Sapphire yanked on the rope. Platinum shrieked as she stumbled forward.

"Pearl, please move!" the heiress shrieked out before she fell into the water. Unfortunately, Pearl had just resurfaced and didn't have enough time to get out of the way.

The hasty Dex Holder had barely enough time to look up before Platinum fell on top of him. Luckily the heiress was very light and as such it didn't hurt. But the moment he resurfaced again, Diamond fell on top of him.

The Sinnoh Dex Holders soon climbed out of the pool and the final round began. The Kanto and Hoenn Teams took their position and prepared.

"Wait, what happens to the team that wins?" Sapphire asked.

"Well, the winning team gets to pick whichever team will be stuck cleaning this place after we're done," Blue replied. "This is the first episode, so the penalty is light."

Yellow checked the two teams and gave the signal to start. Sapphire yanked on the rope as hard as she could as soon as she saw the signal. The Kanto Team didn't have enough time to react properly. Red and Green didn't have good grips on the rope yet, and as such, the rope simply slid out of their hands. Blue, on the other hand, had a firm grip and as a result, was pulled along with the rope. The Kanto girl hit the water with a rather painful sounding splash. In an attempt to hide the embarrassment from losing the round so quickly, Blue pretended as if she didn't know how to swim. She was at the deep end, so her feet didn't touch the bottom. She was expecting someone to join in on the act and try to save her, which (she hoped) would result in every Dex Holder in the pool. But unfortunately, the other Dex Holders simply looked at her.

"Blue, we all know you can swim," Green said after a few seconds.

The Kanto girl went completely underwater before resurfacing. She glared at Green and Red. "The idea was for you two to save me."

"Well… we know you can swim, so… it's kind of pointless, isn't it?" Red asked.

Blue sighed. "It's called a situational act, you dense fools," she said as she climbed out of the pool. "If you guys joined in on the act, it would've progressed into something fun!"

"Really?" Green said. "In that case, let's see what happens." Without warning, he pushed Blue back into the pool.

Blue shrieked as she hit the cold water again. But she tried to climb out as soon as possible. "Now the act's not going to be fun!"

"Oh, come on!" Red said as he tried to force her back into the pool. "You should at least give it a try!"

"No, no, no! Let go!" Blue yelled as Green joined his friend in trying to push her in.

Eventually, the Kanto girl fell into the water. With a pout, she swam to a different side of the pool where the Sinnoh Team was standing. Platinum helped her senior climb out of the pool, but the moment she was out of the water, the heiress grinned. Seeing how she was on a variety show…

Platinum simply pushed Blue back into the pool. "Sorry, senior!"

"Not you too!" the Kanto girl yelled out before she hit the water.

For the next few minutes, Blue kept trying to climb out of the pool from multiple sides, only to be pushed back in by her friends and juniors. Only after she got betrayed by all four teams did the others let her finally escape. Soon, all 13 Dex Holders stood facing the cameras in the same order as last time.

"Okay… the Hoenn Team wins!" Blue said as she looked at the Hoenn Dex Holders. She applauded them and the other Dex Holders joined. "So now you get to pick whichever team would get the penalty."

"Could we just pick any 3 people for the penalty?" Sapphire asked.

Blue shrugged. "Sure, why not? Okay then, Sapphire, who do you pick?"

The Hoenn girl grinned. "You, Blue."

"… Oh, so that's why you didn't want to pick a team," the Kanto girl said. "You wanted me but not Red for the penalty, huh?" Sapphire nodded. Blue sighed. "Fine… Ruby, who do you pick?"

"Gold," the ex-Johto boy replied.

Gold groaned and Crystal started to laugh. "Good pick, Ruby!"

"And I pick Crystal!" Emerald said with a grin.

"What?" Crystal yelled. "Why me?"

"Ha, take that, Super Serious Gal!" Gold yelled with a laugh. "Good pick, Odd Boy."

"Well, we have all three members for the penalty," Blue said with a sigh. "So everyone else gets to go home!" She looked at the camera. "We'll see you next week, everyone!"

All 13 Dex Holders bowed to the camera and while shouting the show's name, did the designated pose to signify the end of the show.

No, SR will not be updated once a week. The "see you next week" thing is only for the show airing in SR.

Note: the Sapphire vs. Everyone part had been cut out for the sake of flow, and… it didn't really have the humor I expected. But the completed part is in the What Could Have Been (WCHB, from the MISC of SE #024: The Set Up II). The WCHB for SR chapters with the show is now the "Edited Parts".

For the chapters with Dex Holder's Challenge, Yellow will only participate in games that are free for all or are already unbalanced. For the other games, she'll act as a referee/score-keeper.

And for those chapters, relevant reviews will also act as comments for the show itself, but magnified by 100. As in, if there is 1 review saying that Platinum should be removed from the show, it would be considered in SR as 100 people telling her to get off. If it happens a lot and frequently, then she will be removed. Why I used Platinum as an example, I'll never know…

The removal of a Dex Holder from the show is purely for enjoyment. It's not fun to have a show with super serious characters. Platinum is cheerful, but not funny. With all the formality and overall seriousness, she's not fun at all and won't be unless I give her a fun in-show character. Those in-show characters will be developed over time.

What Could Have Been/Edited Parts:

"But before we start cleaning up, there's one thing we should do first," Blue said. She looked at Sapphire directly beside her. "In our tug-of-war game, I got a firsthand experience at how strong you are. I mean, I knew you were strong, but I didn't know you were that strong."

"Here's a demonstration!" Sapphire said. She walked over to Ruby and without warning, lifted him high above her head with one hand.

"Hey, hey, hey! Sapphire, what are you doing?" Ruby exclaimed as he flailed his arms and legs in the air.

The Hoenn girl tossed him in the air like a ragdoll and after catching him, set him back down on the floor. Ruby looked a little dazed as Sapphire returned to her place beside Blue.

"So Sapphire, if we were all to grab onto one end of the tug-of-war rope and you were to pull the other side, do you think you could actually pull all of us?"

"Um…" The Hoenn girl glanced at all of the other Dex Holders before looking at Blue. "How much do you weigh?"

Blue narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to tell you that!"

Next up:

4 way team battle! Kanto team vs. Johto team vs. Hoenn team vs. Sinnoh team! The winning team gets to spend 2 nights and 3 days at the most luxurious hotel in Kanto, all expenses paid (or will be paid) and all-you-can-eat food. The team that comes last… gets to pay for the expenses in the hotel.