Alright…

000

After Shiinotic's elimination, things around the hotel became noticeably calmer, only a miniscule amount though, as things had already been averagely calm already. The week went by without much of anything happening. Tuesday, everyone just hung out in their own rooms for most of the day, only coming out to eat or get some fresh air. Wednesday was when a few of them messed around and tried playing some games together with mixed results. Thursday was when most of them spent the day on the seventh floor just watching television, exercising, or playing video games.

It was Thursday night, 11:12 PM, and mostly everyone was either still up and about or heading back to their rooms.

000

Pyukumuku had turned in at 9:00 PM, as he liked sleeping for long periods of time. He was feeling very content with his situation in the game so far. He was doing a bit well socially, he helped his team a bit in the previous challenge, and he got to sleep as much as he wanted with only two challenges a week.

He was an introvert for most of his life, generally uncomfortable and uninterested in social gatherings. He felt that it would serve no point because ultimately, if he formed a friendship with someone, he would be forgotten. However, after fifteen therapy sessions, he finally gained a better outlook. He struggled to make friends whenever he decided to participate in parties or gatherings. Either he was ignored or they talked about things that he knew absolutely nothing about.

He had signed up for this show to see if he could just make friends. He didn't care about the money at all.

It was currently 3:33 AM and his innards kept entering and exiting his body as he snoozed. Suddenly, his door was kicked open, startling him awake. Bewear entered his room, causing him to groan to himself.

Bewear had become his best friend in the game, but his excessive need to burst into his room in the middle of the night and carry him to the seventh floor was getting annoying. Bewear walked toward the Sea Cucumber and picked him up, placing him on his head.

"Bewear, why do you do this?" Pyukumuku asked groggily.

Bewear didn't respond and just walked out of the room, causing Pyukumuku to sigh before dozing back off, initially difficult due to the light of the hotel.

000

Incineroar was still on the seventh floor, playing a Halo match against someone else. His eyes were bloodshot from being up for longer than usual, his tail was swishing across the carpeted floor like mad, and he had raided the mini-fridge and pantry in the buffet area, snagging a six pack of soda as well as numerous Twinkies and bags of cheese puffs. He had the lights dimmed down so that the only light came from the larger television.

As of right now, he was getting his ass handed to him against his fiancė, who had called the hotel to make this match happen.

"COME ON!" Incineroar roared as he threw his controller down; the match ended 32 - 78. The phone next to him started to ring, making him growl before picking it up. "Fuck you…"

"Aw...how cute. My kitty's all angry…" a rather meek toned voice retorted over the phone.

"You're not supposed to be better than me!"

"Well, when you're not here unplugging my controller, bumping me, or grinding in my lap to distract me, let's say that I'm pretty adept at this game…"

"Hmph, you didn't complain did you~?" Incineroar replied with a smirk.

"There was no point, especially since it almost always ended up in the same way~" the voice replied playfully.

Incineroar blushed. "You're lucky I love you…"

The voice chuckled over the phone. "I love you, too. And don't worry, when you get back home, I'll be sure to let you win~"

Incineroar purred. "I love you so much…"

"You just said that...and I'm glad to hear it again…" the voice said before chuckling. "Well, I'm gonna get some sleep. You should too, hun…"

"Alright, night, or uh...morning, babe…" Incineroar replied before hanging up the phone with a smile. He took a deep breath before starting to stand up, close his eyes, and stretch. When he opened them, the lights were on. He turned around and his eyes widened, seeing Bewear with Pyukumuku still asleep on his head. He twitched before looking down at the phone and growling.

"How long were you there?" he growled.

Bewear just blinked, choosing not to respond. Realizing that he wasn't going to get an answer, Incineroar stomped towards him with a glare. "Not...a...word…"

Bewear just blinked again, still not responding.

Incineroar groaned in exasperation, his intimidation factor not working. He yawned unintentionally, and when he closed his mouth, Bewear still stood there, unfazed. He sighed and just walked past him. Not even all of his sharp teeth were enough to scare him. Then again, the bear barely showed any emotion to begin with, so it probably wasn't that big a deal.

Once he pressed the elevator button and entered, Bewear headed toward his same location. He placed Pyukumuku on the weight stand before picking up two 200 lb weights and starting to lift them. Bewear wasn't really scared of anyone, so he felt that Incineroar's actions were a bit strange.

He hadn't heard anything, as he and Pyukumuku had arrived just as he stood up to stretch, which was when he turned the lights on. He was a bit confused, but he decided not to question anything and go about his routine.

He actually felt a bit better about his and Mudsdale's encounters. Ever since Monday, she'd been all over him! She'd always come close to him and kiss him, nuzzle him, let him ride her, let him ride her. It was a great improvement from the way she'd been treating him. He really loved her and would never get why she even decided to treat him poorly in the beginning.

He looked up at the television and saw that it was off. He looked around and saw the remote next to Pyukumuku on the weight stand. He dropped one of the weights before grabbing the remote and turning on the television, which was still on soap operas. He picked up his dropped weight again and started pumping and watching, as he usually did.

000

Five hours passed

000

Dhelmise was hanging on his wall, asleep. He had taken a nail from his couch and nailed his pillow to the wall before hanging himself up by his wheel. He didn't use his bed due to feeling uncomfortable on his back.

He snorted before waking up abruptly, looking around before groaning. "I'm still here and the money isn't mine yet…wonderful…" he muttered.

He floated off of the nail and looked at the clock next to his bed. "8:40 AM...great…"

He turned on the television and saw the legendaries Raikou and Keldeo fighting, with Raikou completely pummeling Keldeo, with Suicune watching with a smile.

"Ugh...these legendaries are always doing something that doesn't matter…" Dhelmise stated. He floated over to his window and looked out, seeing nothing of much interest.

He floated to his bathroom to wash up. Once inside, he floated into his shower and turned on the water with his weedy tendrils.

"Okay...I need to learn more about these others to properly screw with them…" Dhelmise said to himself. The last challenge and these past few days hadn't really helped anything, but the truth or dare before the previous challenge did help a small bit. He now knew that Pyukumuku was practically a pushover, and Lycanroc filled him in that Incineroar was submissive and Passimian liked Hakamo-o.

Both of those things shocked him, but he knew that he was going to have fun exploiting them. He needed to know more though, as that was just three people out of the twelve that were left. He didn't care about the teams, so he was going to be sure to get everyone. The dilemma, though, was who to mess with first.

"Hmm…" he hummed quizzically. "I guess Passimian's crush can be exposed...that way it makes things awkward for both of our teams self-proclaimed 'captains'."

He turned off the water and floated out of the shower before using a blow dryer over his body. He didn't concentrate it all on one spot, instead he made sure to get it just about all over so that nothing became too brittle or flaked off.

He phased through the floor twice, making it to the buffet area. He saw that Togedemaru had a large stack of pancakes with bacon, eggs, Oran Berries, sausages, and syrup all over them. He rolled his eyes at her gluttony before floating over to the island with all of the food. He got a plate and grabbed two waffles and a bowl of oatmeal; he didn't eat a lot.

Once he was done, he floated out of the room, passing by Hakamo-o as she was coming in. He stopped immediately and chuckled to himself before turning back around.

"Hey, Hakamo-o…" he started, getting her attention.

"What?" she asked, her tone signalling that she didn't want to deal with anyone just yet. However, he didn't care.

"Oh I just thought that you'd like to know that Passimian likes you…" he said haughty before continuing on with his plate. "Enjoy breakfast…"

Hakamo-o twitched after hearing that. She didn't know whether to be flattered or angry. She never had a guy like her before. However, she was unsure about whether she should believe Dhelmise or not, knowing his sarcastic nature. He could be lying for all she knew. But, what if he wasn't?

She growled to herself.

000

"Fucking Dhelmise. That was NOT something I wanted to hear today!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "I don't know what to do with that! This has never happened before and frankly, I don't really care for the situation!"

"Sure, Passimian's decent looking, but why the hell would I want a relationship in a competition? Especially if we're on opposing teams!?"

000

After receiving that news, Hakamo-o immediately went back up to the third floor, banging on Lycanroc's door. Certainly she had experience with this.

After a while, a groggy Lycanroc opened the door, rubbing her eyes. "What's up Haka?" she yawned.

"Dhelmise just told me that Passimian likes me…"

"WHAT?!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "Damn it, Dhelmise! I told him not to tell anyone."

"Wait...you KNEW?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Well...yeah", Lycanroc said, rubbing her left arm. "Y'see, me, Dhelmise, Pyukumuku, and a few others from the other team played truth or dare before the last challenge. The bottle landed on him and I asked him his opinion on all of us girls."

"And…?"

"He...just so happened to say that you were his type", she revealed. "He said that he likes feisty and serious chicks…"

Hakamo-o couldn't help but blush, folding her arms. "Well, you tell him that I'm not interested…"

"Wait...what?" Lycanroc queried. "This could be your chance to have a boyfriend for once! Why are you gonna push it away?!"

"We're in a competition! We're not here for relationships!"

Lycanroc groaned. "Get in here and wait…"

"Wait for what?"

"Just do it…" Lycanroc said as she left her room and Hakamo-o entered.

She took a seat on Lycanroc's couch, which was now completely shredded, with cushioning and fabric scattered all over the floor. A few minutes later, Lycanroc returned with Oricorio, who was in her Baile Style yet again.

"Uh...why'd you bring Oricorio?"

"Because we need to have a girl talk about this…" Lycanroc stated as she sat on the floor in front of her; Oricorio stood next to Hakamo-o on the couch.

"What is there to talk about?" Hakamo-o asked abrasively. "I'm only here for the competition, not for a boyfriend!"

"Bueno, and why do you have that mindset, chica?" Oricorio asked.

Hakamo-o scoffed in disbelief. "Why don't you girls have this mindset?!" she countered.

"Because we're here to have fun, too", Lycanroc answered. "What's the point of being in the competition if you're not gonna try to at least have fun while you're here?"

"Well I'm sorry, but I'd rather just focus on winning, okay?" Hakamo-o replied. "I may not have watched most of these shows, but I'm smart enough to know that relationships cause issues and show weakness…" she stated, folding her arms.

Oricorio and Lycanroc exchanged looks.

"And uh...where are you procuring this knowledge?" asked Lycanroc. "Because based on the shows that I've seen, a relationship is the strongest thing you can have in these games…"

"How?" Hakamo-o replied. "Has anyone ever won while being in a relationship in these games? As in it AIDED them the entire time?"

"See, now you're just pushing it…" said Lycanroc stated. "Yes, numerous females have won these competitions while they're in a relationship...in that same competition. Sometimes the guy gets eliminated, leaving her alone, but she can still do it."

"Si, you make it sound like having a man will drag you down…"

"Do you girls even hear yourselves?" asked Hakamo-o. "Don't you know how dumb and risky it is to try and be in a relationship with someone you hardly know? In the shows I've seen, some of the players get into relationship in just four episodes as if they know everything about each other and start proclaiming their love and all of that other crap. It isn't natural!"

"No one said you had to be that way with him!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "You can easily get to know him if you guys just take it slow and talk first. THEN if you gain interest, you guys get together. It's simple."

"Simple to you…" Hakamo-o said, crossing her legs. "I just don't see things working out…"

"You don't know if you don't try…" said Oricorio. "And chica, you are going to try…"

"WHAT?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed. "No I'm not. We're on opposite teams; he hasn't said anything directly to me regarding this and I'm not interested!"

"You'd better fake it to make it, girlfriend…" Lycanroc replied. "We're not gonna let you blow this chance…"

Hakamo-o growled. "How'd you girls like if someone forced you to go out with someone you didn't care about?"

The two exchanged looks. "Well, that's already happened to me twice…" Lycanroc stated. "So...I already have experience."

"And I've been pursued by complete losers in my life outside of this game…" Oricorio stated. "So, I know it's not pleasant."

Hakamo-o facepalmed before her stomach growled. She hadn't even eaten anything; as soon as Dhelmise told her about Passimian, she came right back up.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast", Lycanroc said. "While we're down there we can go over some etiquette for when you and Passimian start talking…"

Hakamo-o sighed in exasperation.

000

"Mudsdale, you are NOT going up there", Gumshoos said, blocking the door to her room with her arms folded.

"Why not?" Mudsdale asked with a glare.

"You've been all over Bewear since MONDAY!" Gumshoos exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure you're fucking pregnant by now. You need to stop!"

Mudsdale growled, but decided to give in for now. It was true, she and Bewear did have sex fifteen more times since Monday. She had just forgotten how good he was and she just yearned for more. His touch, his size, his forcefulness...she wanted. No, she needed it.

"Mudsdale?" Gumshoos asked, seeing that Mudsdale had drawn a blank and was just staring at the door. She was really worried about her, but also confused. She still couldn't get why Mudsdale was suddenly acting like a nympho regarding Bewear when she practically acted like the guy was a piece of shit prior to the last challenge! She wanted to know more about Mudsdale, but she still wouldn't answer her.

She then gained an idea. She was standing in the way of Mudsdale getting what she wanted, so maybe she could get the info now in exchange for her leaving the room.

"Okay, Mudsdale...I'm gonna cut you a deal here…"

"What kind of deal?" Mudsdale asked, raising a brow.

"You tell me what the hell was going on between you and Bewear in the past and what's brought all of this back up...and I'll let you out of here…"

Mudsdale gave her a look. There she went again, trying to pry into her private life. "Why does this matter so much to you? What are you going to get out of it?"

"I'm only curious due to your former abrasiveness and current amorous behavior towards Bewear", Gumshoos explained. "Since I'm going to be a lawyer and criminal investigator, I'm going to ask questions about things I'm unsure about…"

"Well I'm sorry, but it ISN'T a crime to want to be pounded…" Mudsdale stated. "So, if you'll excuse me-"

"Mudsdale…" Gumshoos said, standing firm in front of the door. "Tell me. What's...going...on?"

Mudsdale growled. "Fine! We used to fuck when we were kids. I ended it when I evolved. He kept following me and scaring away all of my potential new boy toys. I signed up for this show and he did, too, apparently. There…"

"Wow...that's uh…"

"Yeah…" Mudsdale said with a glare. "Now if you'd be so kind to let me out…"

"Okay...but at least be careful!" Gumshoos said. "You're not even supposed to be having sex here! And remember-"

"Pregnancy equals elimination", she said, with Mudsdale saying it at the exact same time.

"I get it…" Mudsdale said as Gumshoos moved out of the way. She exited the room and Gumshoos sighed.

000

"I wish Gumshoos would just mind her own business. What me and Bewear do is our business...even if it gets explicit at times!" Mudsdale said.

000

"Well...at least now I know…" Gumshoos stated. "She needs to lay off the bear meat if she wants to stay focused in the game. She's gonna end up getting voted out or eliminated if she doesn't!"

"It doesn't help that she chooses not to listen to me…"

000

Incineroar was snoozing in his bed, a tent pitched, with a wide smile fixed on his face as he purred. After the conversation with his hubby-to-be earlier, his dreams had been a LOT more vivid. Just vivid enough for a certain someone to benefit…

Drampa, who had been peering through everyone's windows as they slept, caught a glimpse of the tiger's condition and licked his lips. "Tasty morsel…"

He opened the window from the outside and pushed it inside, allowing him to enter silently. Incineroar rolled onto his side, facing away from the pervy dragon. Drampa chuckled to himself and prepared to climb into his bed when-

"CONTESTANTS!"

"AH!" Drampa yelled, falling back just as Incineroar jumped awake from the sudden bluster. He saw Drampa on his floor and growled ferociously as the announcement continued. Drampa quickly made his escape back out of the window as Incineroar attempted to kill him.

"I REPEAT! 10 O'CLOCK AM! That is all…"

Incineroar looked at the clock and saw that it was 9. He growled and started punching the air. He wanted to actually finish his dream this time! The other times this week he was be fine, but talking to his fiancé made him extremely libidinous. He slammed his window shut and locked it from the inside this time. He groaned, rubbing his face.

He was gonna have to get him out of his mind now; it was just about challenge time. He was definitely going to pummel Drampa to a pulp when he saw him again, though. He entered his bathroom to take care of his usual business, and after about ten minutes, he exited and headed to down to the buffet area for breakfast.

-000-

Once he was down there, he immediately saw Drampa going in. He growled angrily and ran toward him, pouncing on him and pinning him down. "You sick FUCK!" he roared as he used Flamethrower, which didn't do much to him due to his Dragon-typing. He used Throat Chop shortly after, causing Drampa to choke, gasp, and cough.

"Incineroar, what are you doing?" asked Lycanroc, not really showing any concern for Drampa, who Incineroar was still angrily straddling and punching.

"This bastard broke into my room!" he growled, wrapping his arms around Drampa's throat, unknowingly arousing the Placid Pokemon. He soon realized this, however.

"What the hell!?" Incineroar exclaimed jumping off of him. Drampa blushed before getting back on his stomach, gasping for air with a small smile. "You are a sick freak!"

Drampa shrugged. "You're the one who started it. You shouldn't just randomly choke people anyway, you might not know what they're into…" he said with a wink before slithering out of the door.

Incineroar clenched his fists, wanting to go after him and teach him a lesson, but he was pulled back by Lycanroc.

"He's not worth it. You may even end up getting him off more…" Lycanroc said.

"Remind us again...why the hell did you decide to keep THAT over Shiinotic?" Hakamo-o asked. "They're both disturbing, but a sexual predator over a freakshow that was spouting nonsense!?"

"Blame Passimian", Togedemaru said, still stuffing her face. "He insisted that we keep him in because Drampa convinced him that he does more than most of us on the team just because he won us the first challenge and helped us out in the second…"

Oricorio raised a brow. "Uh...sadly that's a valid reason…"

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know molestation and perviness was excused due to helping with two challenges…" Incineroar retorted, folding his arms as he sat down.

"It's not, but if he's helping your team, I can see why he wanted to keep him in…" Hakamo-o stated. "Can't let what happens outside of the challenges cloud your judgment…"

"So you'd keep him on your team?" asked Togedemaru, giving her a look.

"Well...no, after one time, he'd have been gone immediately…" she replied, folding her arms.

"Exactly…"

"Well, speaking on Passimian, let's get going…" said Lycanroc, standing back up.

"Uh...where are you going?" asked Incineroar as Oricorio took flight. Hakamo-o still sat.

"Well, Dhelmise spilled the beans about Passimian having a thing for Hakamo-o, so we're get them to start talking…" Lycanroc explained.

Incineroar looked at Hakamo-o, who had her arms folded with an aggravated look on her face, along with a blush. He chortled. "Well, good luck with that…" he laughed.

"Come on señorita…" Oricorio urged, nudging her out of her chair.

Hakamo-o groaned. "Fine", she said, standing up. "But I'm not gonna like it!"

The three of them headed out of the area, making Togedemaru roll her eyes as she continued eating.

000

"These morons seriously think that finding a relationship is going to do that bitch some good…" Togedemaru stated before sighing. "This is so fucking stupid…"

000

Passimian was upstairs playing Grand Theft Auto with Pyukumuku, who apparently knew nothing about it. His player, a Scrafty, was currently taking a Gardevoir's car.

"See", said Passimian. "You can pretty much do whatever you want, little guy…"

"Oh…" Pyukumuku said, as Passimian put the controller down in front of him. Pyukumuku's innards came out, and he used one of the fingers to press a button. Immediately, the Scrafty fell over, with the word 'Wasted' appearing over him as he fell over.

Passimian's eyes widened. "Well, uh…"

"Did I do good?" the Sea Cucumber Pokemon asked.

"Um…."

The elevators dinged and Passimian turned around, seeing Lycanroc and Oricorio heading in his direction with small smiles. He grew suspicious. He understood Lycanroc, but Oricorio? He thought nothing of it and decided to just keep watching Pyukumuku play.

The little guy had moved the analog stick and ended up getting hit by a car, getting the 'Wasted' screen again.

Passimian sweatdropped, but Pyukumuku seemed to be enjoying himself, so he just let him be. However, as he did that, Lycanroc and Oricorio ended up right behind them. He felt a pair of furry arms wrap around his neck and he sighed before standing up straight, lifting Lycanroc up with him. The 6 foot lemur looked at the wolf from the corner of his eye with a neutral expression that asked 'Why?'.

Lycanroc dropped down with her same smile. "So...how you feelin'~?"

"Uh...I'm fine…" Passimian replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Why do you ask?"

"Well...we have someone that we want you to talk to…" Oricorio said with a smile.

"Talk t-" Passimian started before giving Lycanroc and vexed expression. "I thought you said you weren't going to talk about it…"

"Hey, blame Dhelmise, not me…" Lycanroc retorted. "He's the one who blabbed to her…"

Passimian sat down with a groan, his head in his hands. "Do we seriously have to do this? Like I fucking said, I wasn't interested. I just said that she's my type!"

"Do you hear yourself, dude?" Lycanroc asked. "That's like me saying, 'Man, I love cake', but then when someone asks me if I want some, I say no!"

"Órale chico, you need to try", Oricorio stated. "Hakamo-o es the same way! She thinks that relationships deter progress in these competitions…"

"Uh...I actually sorta agree…" Passimian said. "That's why I'm not interested. I'd rather focus on myself than someone else that I barely know…"

"THANK YOU!" they heard as Hakamo-o walked forward with her arms folded. "I'm glad to hear you say that", she said with a smile. She turned to Lycanroc and Oricorio, who exchanged looks of exasperation. "Now do you two see that this was hopeless?"

"It's not hopeless in the slightest…" Lycanroc said. "You two are gonna end up getting together by the end of this competition. I guarantee it…"

"I sincerely doubt that…" Hakamo-o said, her tone signifying that she was adamant. She started heading back towards the elevator and the two couldn't help but notice Passimian's eyes going to Hakamo-o's backside. They exchanged small smiles before seeing him huff and turn back to Pyukumuku.

000

"They want each other. It's all too obvious…" Lycanroc stated.

000

Oricorio sighed. "Amour...muy sincello, yet muy difícil…"

000

Passimian chuckled. "Those girls are crazy. Sure, Hakamo-o's cute and everything, but if she's that adamant about not getting with me, why push?"

"If she comes to me about it? Okay. If not, okay. Like I said, most relationships hinder rather than help out in these things…"

000

Hakamo-o was blushing. "I told them there was no point, but they went with it anyway…"

"I was hoping that Passimian wouldn't actually try it, but...now I don't know if I should feel glad that I'm right, or upset that I was right…" Hakamo-o said, fiddling with her claws.

"Aw screw it. There's a challenge in about nine minutes and I don't have time to worry about this BS…"

000

Bewear and Mudsdale were in a vending room on the fifth floor. They had just finished up their sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth rounds this week and were now cleaning up the mess that they'd made. Well...Mudsdale was, happily.

Bewear was sitting against the wall, watching Mudsdale cleanup. He was completely tuckered out now. She didn't completely drain away his strength, but he was still tired from the three consecutive rounds. He saw her demeanor and behavior and was surprised, but also not surprised that she was still up and able. She did have the Stamina ability after all…

He rose up and started to leave the area, remembering about the challenge.

"Bewear~"

The Strong Arm Pokemon stopped and turned around to see the Draft Horse directly behind him with a smile on her face. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Challenge…" Bewear stated simply.

"Challe-" Mudsdale started, initially confused before coming back to reality. "Shit, the challenge! We definitely need to go. Hop on!"

Bewear climbed onto her back and she started rushing toward the elevators.

000

Everyone else had already it to the terminal, where Solgaleo was waiting. The only ones left were Bewear and Mudsdale and the Sunne Pokemon was getting impatient.

Soon enough, massive stomping was heard and felt. Turning around, Mudsdale came up with Bewear on her back.

"About time you all arrived…" Solgaleo stated with a glare.

"You're not gonna give a penalty are you?" Dhelmise asked, feigning fright.

"Y'know just for that sarcasm, I just might…" Solgaleo threatened, causing his teammates to glare at him. He groaned. "Now, onto business…" he continued.

The ferry pulled up behind him just as he said that. "The next challenge will be held on Ula'Ula Island."

Hearing that, Incineroar's face lit up and his tail began swishing energetically. "And uh...you said that we have twenty minutes if we just so happen to be around our homes, right?"

"...Yeah…"

Incineroar's smile grew wider and his body shuddered slightly out of excitement.

000

"YEESS!" Incineroar roared, his arms raised.

000

"Alright, if there aren't any other questions, comments, or concerns, come aboard. No wasting time…" Solgaleo said as the ramp of the ferry dropped. The contestants all followed him on with haste, most of them wanting to hang at the pool.

-000-

Unlike the last time they were all on the boat, all of the competitors met around the swimming pool and playing area in the ferry's middle.

"Who wants to play two truths and a lie?" Dhelmise asked, wanting more info.

"Nah, who wants to play Marco Polo!?" Lycanroc suggested.

"Oh, oh, me!" Pyukumuku urged enthusiastically, raising his innards-hand.

"Oh come on, that's not productive!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"Who cares?" Togedemaru countered. "Just let them have their little fun…"

Dhelmise groaned as Lycanroc covered her eyes and tried finding Pyukumuku, who was just sitting like a stone at the bottom of the pool. "Marco…"

"Polo!" Pyukumuku said, but was slightly inaudible underwater, only bubbles coming to the surface.

"Marco!" Lycanroc repeated.

"Polo!" Pyukumuku returned.

The others, seeing where this was going, just remained silent and exchanged looks of annoyance. This game was going to take a while...a long while. After about ten minutes, everyone had started getting annoyed at hearing and seeing the same interactions with no progress. Lycanroc was circling the pool with her eyes closed, not getting close to Pyukumuku at all.

Pretty soon, everyone started to leave the pool, leaving the two alone.

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

"ULA'ULA OFF THE STARBOARD BOW!" Solgaleo roared from the terrace above the captain's quarters, similar to the first ferry ride.

"Dang it…" Lycanroc said as she opened her eyes and saw that everyone had left. "What the-HEY!"

She looked down underwater and saw Pyukumuku sitting at the bottom of the pool. She facepalmed.

-000-

Everyone was at the bow, watching as the ferry got closer to the island. Lycanroc, with Pyukumuku sitting on her shoulder walked up, both wet.

"Gee, thanks for just leaving us there, guys…" she commented, folding her arms.

"Gee, thanks for assaulting our ears and brains with your repetitiveness", Dhelmise countered.

"We seriously watched you circle the pool for ten minutes trying to tag Pyukumuku, who was sitting at the bottom of the damn pool the whole time…" Togedemaru replied. "Needless to say...it got annoying…"

"You could have just told me!" Lycanroc said, walking next to Incineroar, who had a dreamy look on his face as he stared at the approaching island. Seeing this, she raised a brow and nudged him.

"What's up, Big Pussy?" she asked.

Upon hearing that, Incineroar's expression immediately changed to one of somberness. "Really?" he asked, giving her a look.

Lycanroc shrugged. "So spill…"

Incineroar looked around and saw that they were surrounded by others. He wasn't going to risk it. "I'll tell you later…" he whispered to her.

Seeing this interaction, both Dhelmise and Togedemaru grew suspicious.

000

The ferry stopped at Ula'Ula Island's Ferry Terminal and the ramp lowered, allowing the remaining competitors and Solgaleo to climb off.

"What? No 'majestic' leap this time?" Dhelmise queried.

"Seaweed, do not make me burn you…" Solgaleo growled.

"You're not a Fire-type…"

Solgaleo used Flamethrower, knocking the Sea Creeper Pokemon out immediately, leaving the others either entertained, frightened, or indifferent.

"Any more sass?" Solgaleo question with a solemn tone.

Nobody replied, which he expected. "Good. Now, we're gonna teleport to Po Town and-"

"Wait!" Incineroar exclaimed, interrupting Solgaleo. The lion glared at him. "What?"

"Can I uh...have my twenty minutes?" asked Incineroar, his legs quivering like jelly. "My apartments are down near Tapu Village…"

Solgaleo just stared at him. "I just said that we're teleporting…" Solgaleo stated harshly. "And, if you recall what I said, the twenty minutes only count IF we go to or pass your city. We're going to PO TOWN, not Tapu Village, so…"

Incineroar twitched, clenching his fists with a growl.

"Now that we've got that settled…" Solgaleo said. "Let's get going…"

000

Incineroar huffed with his arms folded. "Bastard…"

000

Solgaleo, along with the twelve contestants, appeared in front of the Po Town doors on Route 17. It was raining rather heavily, with no sunshine visible at all.

"All right…" Solgaleo said. "It is time for your first challenge…"

"In the rain!?" Gumshoos exclaimed. "We'll end up getting sick!"

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to really care?" asked Solgaleo. "It's called a challenge for a reason."

"And by doing this, you'll be at risk of getting us colds or worse, pneumonia…." Gumshoos replied. "And if we become fatally ill, we will be able to sue you for abuse of a minor…"

Solgaleo gave her a look. "Viruses and bacteria cause pneumonia, not rain, Miss Know-It-All…"

"No, but the resulting cold and develop into pneumonia, which will-"

Solgaleo gave her a death glare.

"Gumshoos. Stop...talking…" Passimian said, noticing his glare.

"But this is-"

"You act like some of us didn't play in the rain as kids", Togedemaru stated. "It's fine. Now, what's the challenge, Mufasa?"

Solgaleo gave her a look. "I don't appreciate that comparison considering that he DIED, but...fine."

The Sunne Pokemon kicked the doors open as thunder boomed. Looking inside, there were numerous hurdles lining down the middle of the road. There were two rows of hurdles, seven in each that increased in size until they reached an old, rusted red truck.

The shrubs and hedges were still lush and green, compared to the rather shoddy condition of the rest of the town. The Pokemon Center was still standing, but it had a bit of graffiti of it. Graffiti also covered the path all of the contestants were on. The street lights weren't on and a few were broken. There were a few houses there as well, but they appeared to be condemned. The only one that looked suitable to live in was the one at the far end of the town that resembled a large mansion.

"Now, the first challenge is fairly simple; a hurdle race", Solgaleo started. "Two at a time, one player from each team will have to run and leap over each hurdle. You will continue this until each player from your team has reached the red truck. The first team to have all of their players at that truck will get an advantage in the second challenge…"

Both Hakamo-o and Passimian gained smiles.

"Alright...I'll give you all a few minutes to get yourselves situated…" Solgaleo stated. "Then the challenge will begin…"

Both teams immediately separated.

-000-

"Alright, so who's going to go first?" Hakamo-o asked enthusiastically.

Nobody said anything. Instead, they exchanged glances. Dhelmise only groaned. "Is there even a point in us trying?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Pyukumuku.

"...YOU!" Dhelmise exclaimed. "You are smaller than all of those hurdles, while the rest of us are bigger and able to jump."

"Oh...right…" Pyukumuku said glumly.

"Aw, don't worry Pyukumuku, we'll figure something out…." Lycanroc said with a smile.

"So, after him, who do we have?" asked Oricorio, hiding underneath Dhelmise to avoid the rain.

"I think that as long as Pyukumuku is first, we'll be fine…" Hakamo-o stated. "Like Dhelmise said, he's the smallest…"

-000-

"Alright, we need full power to go first, so I'll go first and get us a good lead", Passimian said. "Anyone willing to go after?"

"It doesn't really matter to me…" said Mudsdale. "So, I guess I'll go next."

"Okay, and after her?" asked Passimian.

"I'm going last…" said Incineroar, his arms still folded in vexation because he couldn't go home for a while.

"Uh...okay?" Passimian replied, a bit confused by his decision. "Why, though? That'd make you the scapegoat if we lost!"

"I know what I'm doing, man…" Incineroar replied with a serious expression.

"Uh...okay…" Passimian said, still confused, but unwilling to continue pestering. "Any other place requests?"

"Um...I guess I'll go fourth…" Gumshoos stated.

"Third place for me!" Togedemaru stated quickly.

"Well...looks like I'm going fifth…" Drampa said before getting hit with another Throat Chop by Incineroar.

"Fuck you…" he growled.

000

"Alright, are both teams ready?" asked Solgaleo, alerting both teams that their time was actually up.

Both teams came back over.

"Yeah", Oricorio replied. "But, uh...un pregunta. Are we allowed to help teammates?"

"No…" Solgaleo stated.

"Crap…" Hakamo-o muttered.

"Any more 'preguntas'?" asked Solgaleo.

"No…"

"Good. Now let's get started. Whoever's going first...get to your places…"

-000-

Passimian got situated first and soon enough, Pyukumuku hopped over. Passimian frowned at this, expecting to face someone that was actually a challenge. No offense to Pyukumuku.

"Well…" Solgaleo started as thunder boomed once again. "This is...rather uneven…"

"Just get it over with!" Incineroar exclaimed, now standing in the doorway to avoid getting wet. He had tolerated enough rain. Oricorio followed his example and flew over to stand there as well.

Solgaleo rolled his eyes. "In 3...2...1...GO!"

Passimian took off running in an instant, leaping over the hurdles like nothing. Pyukumuku, using his innards hand, jumped up slightly, grabbing onto the first hurdle before flinging himself over.

Passimian continued his way over the hurdles of increasing height. He jumped up and hurled himself over, landing on all fours. He sauntered over to the truck and leaned against it, only to slip off due to the rain.

"Okay...next Lunala!" Solgaleo said as he stood in front of the disheveled Pokemon center to view the entire race.

Hearing that, Mudsdale immediately started rushing toward the first hurdle. Despite her tremendous weight, she jumped up high and soared over the first two hurdles, causing a miniature earthquake.

Pyukumuku was jostled about as she continued jumping over the hurdles. Now, her weight did begin to hinder her when the hurdles reached five feet. When she jumped, her hooves started knocking over the hurdles instead of clearing them. She didn't let it stop her, though, and she continued. Eventually, she made it to the end after plowing into the final hurdle.

"That's not fair! She knocked them over!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"Didn't say it wasn't allowed…" Solgaleo stated. "I just said that you couldn't help teammates…"

The Solgaleos all groaned.

000

"Why...is always our team...that gets FUCKED OVER!?" Hakamo-o exclaimed angrily.

000

Pyukumuku was regaining his composure as Togedemaru started her turn. She jumped over the first hurdle with a bit of difficulty, as her large breakfast was starting to come back and haunt her. Her stomach growled and she groaned as she tumbled on the ground before the next hurdle.

"Next Solgaleo!"

"Wait, what?" Incineroar asked before not seeing Pyukumuku anywhere. "Oh that's bullshit! There's no way!"

"You shoulda been paying more attention to him…" said Dhelmise. "Oh, wait, nevermind. You can't risk the rainfall…"

"What?!" Incineroar growled, stepping back into the rain.

"Wet pussy...a delicacy among most men…" Dhelmise commented as the tiger began getting drenched again.

Incineroar growled.

"Well, time for me to go since gluttony is hindering your team…" Dhelmise said. He turned back around and saw that both Bewear and Oricorio had gone while he antagonized Incineroar. It was good thing, but it wasn't like him to be that unfocused.

"GO!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"Okay, okay...geez", Dhelmise said as he decided to amuse Solgaleo by floating over each hurdle individually, his anchor touching the ground each time. Usually ghosts and psychic-types couldn't use their abilities or they'd get called out, so he thought he'd just cut out the middleman.

Lycanroc immediately went next, jumping over the first two hurdles with ease. She grabbed onto the top of the next one and helped propel herself over. She grabbed onto the top of the next one, with it wobbling a bit before she cleared it.

Meanwhile, Togedemaru was just getting on the fourth one.

"COME ON TOGEDEMARU!" Passimian exclaimed.

"DON'T YOU THINK I'M TRYING?!" she shouted back with a glare as she climbed up and dropped from the hurdle.

Lycanroc did a flip off of the final hurdle, almost losing her balance. Luckily, Bewear caught her.

"Gee...thanks dude", she thanked.

Seeing this, Mudsdale cleared her throat with a glare. Bewear, seeing this glare, immediately dropped her, causing Lycanroc to yip upon hitting the ground.

Hakamo-o decided to take her time, seeing as they still had more players left. She hopped over the first hurdle easily and the second one followed. She watched Togedemaru struggle with the fifth hurdle and giggled to herself as she continued leaping over the hurdles on her side. She almost slipped going to the sixth one, but she recomposed herself and continued forward.

She jumped over the sixth one before climbing up the side of the final one and jumping off upon making it to the top. She dusted her hands off with a smirk.

"AND THE SOLGALEOS WIN!"

The Solgaleos all cheered, while the Lunalas all groaned.

"Now, let's get to the Shady House for your next challenge…" Solgaleo directed as everyone started heading to the house at the other side of town.

000

"Well...that wasn't part of my plan, BUT at least we have a possibility to lose again…" Togedemaru said. "Gotta thank my gut…"

Her stomach grumbled, causing her to groan once again. "Nevermind…no thanks…"

000

Everyone approached the Shady House. The large mansion, up close, looked much shabbier than initially thought. It was covered in grime and graffiti, with a few broken windows and rotting wood blocking a few in a poor attempt to fix them. There was a terrace above the door that had paint oozing from it.

Solgaleo pushed the blue doors open and entered, with the other contestants following suit. Once inside, they either started drying themselves off or waited for further instruction, the water not causing them discomfort.

Lycanroc got on all fours and started shaking to get the water out of her fur, unintentionally wetting the others around her in the process.

"Watch it, bow wow!" Togedemaru exclaimed, most of the water splashing towards her and Gumshoos.

Lycanroc giggled. "Sorry", she said, rising back to her feet.

Solgaleo entered his Radiant Sun Phase and easily evaporated the water off of his body, as well as few others' bodies who were close to him. "Okay. Welcome...to the the Shady House, or Shady Chateau as some call it…"

"...Yawn…" Dhelmise stated. "This place just looks like the stereotypical frat house that gets trashed after a huge party."

"Thank you for the unwanted input…" Solgaleo replied with a glare. "Now, your challenge…"

"It'd better not be hide and seek or something…" Incineroar stated, folding his arms.

"Well, it's kind of like that…" Solgaleo said. "However, you guys will only be seeking. Your challenge is to find evolution items around this place…"

Everyone gave him a look. Solgaleo, seeing these looks, groaned and rolled his eyes. "What?"

"You've already had us looking for stupid Z-Crystals in the first challenge, now we have to search for evolutionary items in this dump?!" Mudsdale questioned with a glare.

"Hey, you can choose not to do it and both teams can lose a player if you guys feel so-"

There were immediately exclamations of rejection and interjections that took back their complaints. Solgaleo grinned. "That's what I thought."

Everyone was silent, but a few of them had expressions on their faces that spoke for themselves.

"Now, like I said, you must find as many evolutionary items as you can around here. However, there is a catch. Each evolutionary item requires you to do something in order to retrieve it", he continued. "There are also traps laid out around this place that will hinder your progress. Along with that, there are two other Pokemon somewhere in this house that will be hunting you all down and stealing items from you…"

Everyone stared in surprise and shock. This was nothing like the first challenge, as they initially thought.

"Wait wait wait...you're saying that our goal is to collect as many evolution items as we can…" Passimian started.

"Yes…"

"But each one is pretty much hidden or unavailable until we do something to retrieve it…" Passimian continued.

"That is correct…"

"And there are other traps that will get in our way, as well as two random Pokemon that we don't know stealing the items that we get…" he finished.

"Precisely…"

Passimian groaned, holding his head.

"Well, this es going to be un largo dia…" Oricorio said exasperatedly.

"Yes it is…" Solgaleo replied. "Now. You have exactly five hours to fully explore this house and find as many evolutionary items as you can. Be sure to watch your backs as well, as you ARE allowed to steal from the other team. Not saying that it'd be a good choice, but you are able to…"

They all exchanged glances.

"The challenge begins...NOW!"

000

The Solgaleos started heading upstairs upon seeing the Lunalas scatter about the bottom. There was a fallen chandelier on the right set of stairs following the first set, so Bewear picked it up and swiftly tossed it towards the front door, causing it to be embedded inside.

"Uh...I don't think that was-"

"Come on!" Hakamo-o shouted from upstairs, regaining everyone's attention as they rushed up.

-000-

One of the doors further back down the hall creaked open and a sparkle-shaped eye was seen, staring at them.

-000-

"Alright...do we need to split up or not?" asked Dhelmise. "In this type of challenge it's practically required. "Traps and only two Pokemon that are trying to steal from us? It'll be much easier."

"Yeah, that sounds about right, Haka…" said Lycanroc. "Splitting up for this sounds like it'll be more efficient…"

Hakamo-o groaned. She really didn't think splitting up would do them any good. If they got caught in a trap after getting an item, someone from another team or one of the thieving Pokemon could get to them.

"Let's just find a few together before we do that…"

"That raises the chance of us getting robbed!" Dhelmise exclaimed.

"How?" Hakamo-o retorted. "With more of us, we're able to defend ourselves better. Going alone is much more of a risk…"

"Both ideas have defectos, so let's just focus on the main challenge instead of arguing…" Oricorio stated.

"I agree", Lycanroc said. "If we're going to win, we've gotta reach an impasse and just proceed…"

"You all can proceed, but I'm going alone...:" Dhelmise stated as he started floating away. "That way at least the Pokemon after us can only go for one of us…"

"There's TWO!"

"Yes...one per team. I thought that'd be obvious…" Dhelmise said as he floated back downstairs.

Hakamo-o growled at his defiance, but she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Well. At least we know who to vote for if we end up losing the challenge…" she said calmly, causing the others to exchange looks.

Hakamo-o turned back around and the others just stood there, waiting. She rubbed the back of her head before looking at the door next to them. "Come on, let's check this room out first…"

Bewear punched through the door abruptly, causing a few of them to jump. Pyukumuku sighed and sweatdropped. "Bewear. There's a knob there…" Pyukumuku said as Bewear looked at it and retracted his arm.

He opened the door, revealing a room full of beds. There was a glass case concealing a yellowish crown-shaped rock in the middle of the room. There was a bit of an odd atmosphere in the room, as if they weren't supposed to be there. This was amplified as some of the paint peeled off of the back wall. The removal revealed scratches that spelled out specific instructions, or actually...just numbers.

"2, 4, 1, 3…" Pyukumuku read from the wall. "Huh. What does that mean?"

Bewear went towards the case and attempted to break it. It didn't break at all, so he shrugged and took a step back.

"Well, apparently that case is indestructible…" said Lycanroc.

"Amigos! What if the numbers have something to do with the beds?" Oricorio asked, flying onto one of the beds. Upon landing on one, she felt something sharp under her feet, as if there was no mattress there at all. "Ooh...this bed feels weird…"

Pyukumuku went to another one of the beds and climbed up, falling through the sheets, revealing large spikes and wires. Following where the wires went, Lycanroc saw that they led under the bed Pyukumuku was on. There, she saw a rectangular shape that had buttons and a red timer ticking down. Her eyes widened.

"It's a bomb!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Hakamo-o exclaimed as she rushed forward and flipped the bed over, showing the bomb in all of its glory. It was counting down and was currently on 4:30, 4:29, 4:28…

"W-What are we supposed to do!?" Pyukumuku blustered slipping from under the now flipped bed.

"Are all of these beds bombs is the better question..." stated Oricorio, not showing as much panic as the others, minus Bewear, who was just standing there, unfazed.

Hakamo-o checked the rest of the beds, and they all had identical set ups to the first. Spikes and wires with a bomb underneath.

"Okay, we need to do something before these things explode and impale us!" Hakamo-o exclaimed.

"That's the thing, we don't know what that something is!" Lycanroc exclaimed. "We just have four random numbers on the wall!"

"Okay, maybe we can-"

While the others started weighing their options, Pyukumuku decided to investigate the bomb of the bed he was initially on. Closely inspecting it, he noticed that the white buttons underneath the timer had faint numbers that blended in with the white. The numbers? 1, 2, 3, and 4.

He had an idea of what needed to happen. He looked back up at the wall. "2, 4, 1, 3…."

He pressed the buttons in that sequence and, unsurprisingly, the timer stopped. He smiled and hopped down from the first one. He shuffled over while the others continued talking.

"Guys…"

They continued.

"GUYS…"

The little guy was still being tuned out. He sighed.

"GUYS!" he exclaimed as loud as he could, finally getting their attention.

"What, Pyukumuku?! We're trying to-"

"Press the buttons in the order on the wall!" the Sea Cucumber exclaimed.

Hearing that, Lycanroc raised a brow and walked over to another bed, while the others remained in their places.

"What are you talki-" Hakamo-o started.

"Wait, he's right. There's four buttons and four numbers…" Lycanroc said, eyeing the next bomb. She pressed the numbers in the sequence and the timer stopped. Her eyes widened before realizing that the bombs were probably going at the same time. The one she was currently at had 1:31.

"Guys, hurry! It works!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

Wasting no time, Oricorio flew to the one furthest back and Hakamo-o took the one next to Pyukumuku's. They both pressed the buttons in the sequence, effectively stopping the timers. Suddenly, a rapid ticking sound was heard, shocking them all.

"Hit the deck!" Lycanroc exclaimed as she jumped to the floor, covering her head. Pyukumuku just faced a small corner, while Oricorio flew out of the hole in the door created by Bewear.

Hakamo-o knew that her scales would protect her rather well, but she was still rather afraid. So, like Lycanroc, she hit the floor, covering her head. Bewear remained still.

Soon enough, the beds rumbled before faded out of existence. "Anticlimactic…" Bewear stated.

The others rose up, seeing what happened.

"Well...at least no one got hurt…." said Oricorio said.

The case covering the King's Rock popped off, with the case hitting Pyukumuku before rolling off.

Pyukumuku didn't say anything, as if nothing had happened.

Hakamo-o grabbed the King's Rock. "Alright, that's one…"

"Now...we have to watch ourselves…" said Lycanroc said.

"Si…"

000

The Lunalas were currently in Room 3 on the first floor, the room right to the left of the staircase. As soon as they entered, they noticed numerous tables, boxes, and chairs scattered about, as well as buckets of paint and pictures that were framed., some ruined by pink and green paint. There was a fire place against the back wall that wasn't lit. Atop the mantle, though, was a glass case holding an orange stone with flames inside. It was locked in the case, needing a key to retrieve it.

At the moment, all of the contestants on the Lunalas were trying to decipher their 'instructions' on the wall written in pink and green paint. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, smoke in lungs, chip no rust was written in the pink paint. The words Noitce lfer were written in green paint underneath the first statement.

"What the hell does this shit mean!?" Togedemaru exclaimed, reading over it for the fifth time.

"Notice Ifer…" Incineroar read before groaning, holding his face. "Who the hell is Ifer in the first place?!"

"I'm more concerned about the first part…" Mudsdale stated. "I understand the 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust' thing, but the rest of it is random…"

Drampa read the riddle to himself. Like Mudsdale, he understood the 'Ashes to ashes' part, he just needed to interpret the rest of the statement. He'd expected to Gumshoos to come up with the answer immediately since she was apparently the 'intelligent' type, but after looking around, he saw that she was entering the next room. He growled. If they lost again and they decided to put him in the bottom like they did last time, he was going to be pissed.

"Smoke in lungs…" Passimian stated. "So...does it have to do with cigarettes?"

"Cigs actually sound pretty good about now…" Incineroar stated, sitting on a table with his face sitting on his hands.

"You smoke?" asked Mudsdale.

"Yeah. I'm just not addicted…" Incineroar replied.

"Come on guys, we need to keep focus…" said Passimian. "Hmm...any ideas Gumshoos?"

He got no reply from her. "Gumshoos?" he asked before turning around and seeing that she wasn't there. "Whoa...where'd she go?"

"Oh, you mean the one that you think should actually start helping the team more? She's gone into that room…" Drampa said, pointing to the door to the far right of the room.

Passimian groaned. "If she doesn't stop sneaking off and actually try to help, she's gonna end up getting eliminated. We don't need any slackers!"

"Um...don't worry guys, I'll handle it…" said Mudsdale. She didn't want Gumshoos to be eliminated, but she also wouldn't mind because then they're be no one getting in the way of her and Bewear. "Ugh...think with your head, not your cunt…" she said to herself.

"Well hopefully you speak some sense into her…" Passimian said. "Hey, maybe you two can search that room together and see if there's anything in there…"

Mudsdale nodded before heading to the door.

-000-

The next room, rightfully dubbed 'Room 4', was completely empty. It resembled a pantry. There was a cabinet in the left corner, with a sink to the right of it. There were numerous kitchen racks around and a couple of empty, transparent fridges. There was a silver table in the middle of the floor, where Gumshoos was looking through a box sitting there. There were other boxes around near the table as well.

"Gumshoos, what are you doing?"

"What?" Gumshoos asked, continuing to look through the box. "I'm looking for more evolution items…"

"Oh…" Mudsdale said. "Well, you coulda told us! The others think you're still just being lazy…"

"Why? The statement is simple to understand, so I just came in here to try and look around early…"

"Simple? That's not simple"

"Yes it is…" Gumshoos replied. "All you have to do is-"

Before she could say anything, the box she was looking through yanked her inside before sealing her inside.

"What the hell?!" Mudsdale blustered out of shock.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE! IT SMELLS LIKE EGG SALAD!" Gumshoos exclaimed, punching the box with no effect.

"Ugh...this was probably a trap…" Mudsdale said as she attempted to go back out of the room. The door wouldn't open.

"Are you kidding me!?"

She backed up before charging forward; the door swung open, but she realized too late and ended up charging straight into the opposite wall of the room, knocking over a few of the boxes.

-000-

Incineroar stifled a laugh. "What the hell was that?" he asked.

Mudsdale groaned as she reversed and shook her head to clear it out. Passimian went over to check on her, while the others either watched or continued trying to figure out the message on the wall.

"You okay?" he asked, wiping her head of a bit of dust

"Yeah…" Mudsdale started. "But Gumshoos is trapped!"

"What?!" Passimian exclaimed.

"Huh, she shoulda just stayed in here…" Drampa stated, not caring about her condition. He was still peeved about her talking him down before their elimination ceremony.

"For your information, perv, she already knows what we have to do in here!" Mudsdale stated with a glare. "She just went in that room to scope it out and see if there was anything in there…"

"Oh, so instead of telling us the answer so that we ALL can get the stone and move on together, she left us here to figure it out ourselves and went to look alone", Togedemaru reasoned. "Some teammate…"

"Guys, she meant well", Passimian stated, believing Mudsdale. " We can't fault her for getting trapped…"

"How do we know she's not just covering for her, though?" asked Drampa. "Those two have been buddy-buddy for most of the time here. What if she had just gotten trapped and Mudsdale came here to tell us that lie so that we can just help her?"

Mudsdale glared at him. "Come on…" she said as she started walking towards the room again.

-000-

Inside, Gumshoos was still fighting to get out of the box. "Ugh...this is bull! The one time that I'm actually able to show some usage and I get trapped in a damn box…"

The door opened and Mudsdale, Passimian, and Drampa entered, while Incineroar and Togedemaru just waited. The box that Gumshoos was trapped in constantly moved inch by inch before finally falling onto the floor. "Ow!"

"See!"

Passimian picked up the box. "Gumshoos, are you okay?"

"Sorta…" she replied. "Not much oxygen in here…"

"Well don't worry, we're gonna get you out…"

"Eventually…" Drampa muttered.

Passimian attempted to break the box, but he only ended up causing Gumshoos pain. Blow after blow caused dents to appear on the box.

"Stop!" Gumshoos exclaimed, which Passimian promptly did. "Just...get Incineroar to use his claws…"

"Yeah, that makes more sense…" Passimian said as he placed the box down. "Drampa, get Incineroar."

Drampa groaned, rolling his eyes. He exited the room. "Incineroar! You are need in Room 4…" he stated.

A couple of seconds later, Incineroar entered the room, and upon seeing the dented box, he laughed. "Wow...didn't know she liked to box…"

"That's not funny!"

"Says you…" Incineroar retorted, sitting against the table. "So, what am I here for?"

"Use your claws to open this damn box!" Gumshoos exclaimed.

"Hmm...I don't appreciate your tone…" Incineroar said teasingly.

Passimian sighed and put his hand on Incineroar's shoulder, making the tiger blush faintly. "Dude...just do it…"

Incineroar growled. "Fine…"

The tiger walked up to the box and used his claws to puncture holes in the box, tearing it open and releasing her.

Gumshoos fell on the ground and groaned before standing back up. "Thanks…"

"Alright, now that you're out, how about helping us with whatever the hell the message in the other room is supposed to mean?" asked Drampa.

Gumshoos glared at him.

-000-

Togedemaru was just sitting on a table waiting for the others to come back out. After a while, they finally returned, with Gumshoos leading.

"About time…" Togedemaru muttered. "How was your package deal?"

Gumshoos glared at her. "No box jokes. I would've had a panic attack if I was claustrophobic…"

"But you're not, so…."

"Alright, enough…" Passimian said. "Now what's the solution to this?" he asked, pointing to the wall.

In response, Gumshoos headed toward the fireplace. She began looking inside and felt around the ash and wood. To her surprise...nothing was there.

"Wha-I could have sworn…"

"What?" asked Passimian. "What's supposed to be in there?"

"Well, the wall is essentially pointing to the fireplace!" Gumshoos said, standing back up and dusting off her hands. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, smoke in lungs, chip no rust…"

"Oh...well...now it makes sense…" Incineroar said propping himself against the wall while rolling his eyes.

"Hold on...if there's nothing there...that means that she was wrong and it was pointless worrying about her!" Togedemaru exclaimed with a glare.

"It isn't pointless to help a teammate…" Passimian said, folding his arms.

"It is if she's the most useless one…" Drampa added. "Hell Shiinotic was more useful!"

"Um, excuse me, but I was the one who figured this out!" Gumshoos exclaimed.

"Nothing's there. Hence, you're wrong…" Drampa replied.

Gumshoos growled before going back to the fireplace to look again. She noticed that something was off, as if it had already been disturbed before she first looked. How could she tell after already looking the first time? Years of study and memory.

She got back up. "I think someone stole what we needed to get…"

"Nice try…" said Drampa. "Solgaleo said the thieves were after the evolution items, not the crap leading up to us retrieving it."

He turned to Passimian and Mudsdale. "So, you two were helping a bad player…thanks…"

"Hey! She knows what she's talking about", Mudsdale stated with a glare. "Just because you're pissed that she called you out for being a pig doesn't mean that she's worse than you!"

"Oh, but what about what jockstrap said last time about chances and her being useful?"

"She's actually trying, while you're bitching about it…" Incineroar chimed in.

"What have you done?!" Drampa exclaimed, glaring at him.

"I helped her out of the box, duh…"

Drampa groaned.

"Okay LOOK!" Passimian exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "We will deal with this when the challenge is over. We've wasted too much time in here. Let's just try another room…"

"Fine by me…" Togedemaru stated, hopping off of the table she was on. "This place is starting to smell bad anyway…"

"It's probably Drampa's breath…" Mudsdale stated as she started walking towards the door.

Drampa started to fake gag. "Didn't I say that I was allergic to fish? Learn to clean yourself…"

Mudsdale growled.

They all left the room, with Incineroar closing the door behind them.

000

Dhelmise was on the first floor in Room 1. The room had numerous shelf racks strewn about, with boxes all around them, some partially opened and others not. There was a glowing large cubical figure in the middle of the room with a dome on the top of it covering a silver cylinder jar.

"What the hell is thi-"

As he floated closer, he unknowingly crossed a barrier around the figure. The object glowed brighter and silver tiles started covering the entirety of the room. Pretty soon, he was in a completely metallic room.

"What the fuck…?" he asked, looking around.

"Hello-"

Dhelmise was startled and looked around for the source of the voice. The voice sounded cyber, so he was a bit confused as to what was going on.

"Hello. Dhelmise…" the cyber voice stated.

Dhelmise looked at the glowing cube and saw a grey circle with a curved line above it. "Hello. Dhelmise…." it repeated.

"What kind of science fiction nonsense is this?" Dhelmise queried, completely weirded out.

"I am the obstacle for the item that you require: Metal Coat", the voice replied. "To receive this item. You must answer three questions…"

"Oh joy...more trivia…"

He heard banging on the door, like someone was trying to get inside. He didn't need to, but he just wanted to heckle whoever it was.

"Sorry! Occupied!"

"Let us in, bastard!" he heard Incineroar roar.

"Nah, I'm pretty secure in here…" Dhelmise retorted. "Why don't you go and check out another room, instead?"

"It's fine. We'll just wait for you out here…" Mudsdale stated cockily.

"Whatever you want…" Dhelmise replied as the pounding on the door started again. He chuckled before turning back around. "Alright, now what three questions are we talking about?"

"General knowledge…"

"Okay, I think I can handle that…" Dhelmise replied. "Lay them on me…."

"Okay. First question. Name all of the Ultra Beasts…"

"...That's not a question…" Dhelmise stated stoically. "But, fine. Uh...Celesteela, Kartana; Guzzlord; Nihilego, Xurkitree, Buzzwole, and Pheromosa."

"That is...correct", the voice replied. "Next question. The band 'Coldplay' consists of what four members?"

Dhelmise twitched. He very rarely listened to music, so he didn't know anything about any bands.

"Uh...pass", he stated.

"Okay. Third question. The fear of insects, the fear of darkness, and the fear of spirits are common weaknesses to what type of Pokemon?"

"Psychic", Dhelmise answered immediately.

"Correct", the voice repeated. "The band 'Coldplay' consists of what four members?"

"What? I thought I said to pass that one!"

"I have been assigned three questions depending on who enters this room", the voice explained. "The questions are done differently for each player…"

"So, what happens if I don't know a question's answer?!"

"You receive painful stimulation…"

"Welp, I guess it's time for me to go…" Dhelmise said immediately upon hearing that.

Before he could leave, the metal around the room glowed a bright white before forming a large ball above the cube. Dhelmise tried to escape by phasing through the floor and the wall, with both of them failing.

"Oh fuck me…"

-000-

The Lunalas were actually waiting for Dhelmise to come out of the room so that they could steal whatever item he had gotten. A loud boom was heard and the door bucked a bit. A couple of seconds later, it toppled over, with a fainted Dhelmise lying against it.

The others peered into the room and saw the cube. "Hello…"

They exchanged nervous looks.

000

The Solgaleos were now in Room 3 on the second floor. The room had three televisions sitting on stands and numerous stools scattered about. There was an untouched, dusty bookcase with a bottle of liquor on top of it that looked new in comparison.

Bewear was sitting in a chair with large circular ring around it. The ring was at about neck level when sitting and there were spikes around the inside of it. There was a blue stone hanging from the ceiling above him. His arms were weighed down by strong, stretching bands. The bands were connected to the ring, which would shrink whenever they were stretched.

The others, upon seeing this contraption and watching what was supposed to happen on the television, were skeptical, but Bewear decided to do it anyway. The instructions were to grab the stone without getting 'punctured'. If someone did, someone else had to try until someone grabbed it.

"Uh...I'm not so sure about this…" Pyukumuku stated.

"This looks like some bullshit Jigsaw would pull…" Lycanroc commented as she wore the King's rock, walking around the trap Bewear was in.

"Well…" Hakamo-o started as she touched one of the spikes and saw that they were made of rubber. "At least it's fake. You ready Bewear?"

"Okay…" he replied.

"Alright big guy, go for it!" Lycanroc exclaimed.

Bewear looked up at the Water Stone above his head and waited a few seconds before reaching up and snagging it with ease; the ring barely moved. The others just stared in shock before Bewear turned to them. The chair and ring faded away, making Bewear fall flat on his butt.

"Welp...just like last time...that was anticlimactic…" said Hakamo-o, folding her arms.

Lycanroc opened the door and they started heading out. "I guess we should just have Bewear do everything physical and just be done in seconds…" she commented.

"Si, that would be mu-y…" she stopped as she flew out and noticed a large arthropod staring and waiting directly outside of the door.

"Uh...I think this is a problem…" Pyukumuku stated.

"Okay...maybe if we just back away and uh...check the first room that we missed...we'll be fine", said Hakamo-o as they started walking back.

They started heading to the first room, but the Golisopod followed them. Noticing this, Lycanroc thought about what she could do. She was strong, but also weak against it. She jumped up and used Rock Slide, knocking the Hard Scale Pokemon back. This gave them enough time to run and enter the first room.

-000-

"Well, now we know what one of the Pokemon after the items is…" Hakamo-o said.

"Yep...a very very scary Golisopod…" Pyukumuku said, trembling a bit.

"Well, the beast hasn't gotten any of our items, so we're good for now…" Oricorio commented.

The door began getting banged against, presumably by the Golisopod. Bewear was standing in front of the door and being hit by the door.

"Okay, that just may change in a few seconds…" Lycanroc said, moving away from the door. Bewear swiftly opened the door and punched the Golisopod, which was waiting behind it. It fell onto the ground and Bewear closed the door.

"Okay…" he stated afterwards.

"Uh...I'm not sure if that really did anything, but let's see if we can get this next item…" said Hakamo-o as she turned back toward the room.

The room had a bed against the back wall next to a window. Both a Lapras and a Skitty plush sat on the bed. A calendar hung over the bed and there was a small dresser with a lamp next to it. Next to it was a table with a chair pushed under and a laptop on top. The rest of the right wall was taken up by shelves and cabinets. It was likely the cleanest room the entire place.

"Wow...nice room…" said Pyukumuku, actually acknowledging the new setting they were in.

"Yeah, it almost reminds me of my room…" Hakamo-o replied. "Now...the issue here is that...there's nothing standing out."

"What do you mean, chica?"

"In the other two rooms, there were things that were easily noticeable", Hakamo-o explained. "Here, there's nothing. It's just a normal room."

"You think there's nothing here?" asked Lycanroc as she went over and sat on the bed.

As soon as she sat down, the laptop on the table sprung open, revealing just a blue screen for a few seconds before words began appearing on it.

"Haunted computer!" Pyukumuku blustered.

"No, pequeñin, it's probably for the challenge…" Oricorio explained.

"And you are right in that regard, Oricorio…" Hakamo-o said as she sat down in the chair. Lycanroc, Oricorio, and Pyukumuku all gathered around, while Bewear acted as the bodyguard for the room. The door was hit harshly once more, so he turned around and opened the door. He promptly kicked the Golisopod in the goods, apparently hard enough for its hard scales to not offer protection, and closed the door as it slumped to the floor.

"Okay, so apparently there's a Dawn Stone somewhere in here", Hakamo-o said, looking at the computer.

"And the task to retrieve it is to...have a male and female lie in the bed together…" Lycanroc read. "Huh. Sounds easy enough. I'll do it…"

"And since Bewear is handling the Golisopod, Pyukumuku, you're gonna have to do it."

"Oh, uh...okay", Pyukumuku replied as Lycanroc lied on the bed. He hopped over and, using his innards-hand, got up onto the bed. "I've never been in bed with a girl before…"

"Well, it's a first time for everything…" Lycanroc giggled.

After a few seconds, they noticed that nothing was happening. It said a male and a female had to lay in the bed.

"Why isn't it working?" asked Oricorio.

"I dunno…" Lycanroc said. "I hope they don't mean have sex because I have no idea how that'd work and I'm not really interested...no offense."

"None taken!" Pyukumuku said cheerily.

"Well, maybe it has to be a certain one of us…" Oricorio said as Lycanroc got up and she took her place.

Again, nothing.

"Huh...this is strange…" said Oricorio.

"A male and a female in bed…" Hakamo-o repeated. "I mean, if it's not working, it's either talking about something else or…"

She turned to Pyukumuku with a shocked expression on her face. She went towards him a crouched so they were at eye level. "Pyukumuku...are you...a girl?"

"No", he replied.

"Well, that was easy…" said Oricorio.

"Uh...let's just test this out real quick…" Hakamo-o suggested. She believed that something with up with Pyukumuku since Lycanroc and Oricorio were both definitely female. "Bewear! Come get on the bed, I'll guard the door in the meantime…"

Pyukumuku hopped off of the bed; Bewear started walking to the bed and laid on his back once he was there. Again, nothing happened.

"What the hell?" Hakamo-o asked as she saw no effect once again. She sat back down at the computer to read the details. "A Dawn Stone is inside of this room. To retrieve it, have a male and a female lie in bed together very closely. Tip: Not a fork, but a…?"

"Well, the opposite of a un tenedor is usually un cuchara, if not un cuchillo…" Oricorio reasoned.

The others just stared at her, causing her to sigh. "Spoon…"

"Wait...what does a spoon have to do with lying in bed?" asked Pyukumuku. "And why isn't anyone blocking the door?!"

Hakamo-o remembered that she was supposed to take Bewear's place, but she went to the computer when it didn't work out. The door was kicked open and the Golisopod entered, using Blizzard.

The room immediately started to freeze, with snow covering the ground and walls and ceiling turning icy.

Bewear used Hyper Beam, blasting the Golisopod back out of the room before it could grab the Water Stone that was sitting on the table. Afterwards, he got out of the bed and walked toward the door to slam it shut.

The snow that came from the Blizzard was one-and-a-half feet high, so he went back over and saw a few pink tips jutting from the snow. He picked up Pyukumuku and placed him on the bed.

Hakamo-o, despite being weak to Ice, was still standing and was currently shivering in the bed. "Well this is j-just g-great…" she stated, shivering with a scowl.

Lycanroc shuddered from the cold as well, while Oricorio was unfazed due to being a Fire-type. "We need to get this stupid Dawn Stone before the bastard gets back here…" Lycanroc stated.

"W-well I'm s-staying in this bed…" Hakamo-o stated as she started getting under the covers, still shivering.

"Hey, sharing is caring…" Lycanroc said, getting under the covers as well, albeit on the opposite end of the bed. Bewear recalled what the tip was and immediately walked back to the bed, looking back at the door ever so often.

"Bewear, what are you doing?" Hakamo-o asked as Bewear got into the bed as well. He got behind her and pulled her close against him, making her gasp and blush. "BEWEAR!" she exclaimed uncomfortably.

The calendar over the bed rose up like a panel, revealing the Dawn Stone. Oricorio gasped. "Haka, it worked!"

"What?" Hakamo-o questioned before sitting up and looking on the wall behind her. There was a small compartment where the Dawn Stone was sitting. "Wait...ho-"

"Oh...I'm guessing they were talking about that type of spoon…" Lycanroc giggled. "Lucky you, Haka…"

Hakamo-o growled with a blush.

000

"Never...again…" Hakamo-o growled.

000

"Get out of bed!" Passimian exclaimed as Togedemaru lied in bed. The Lunalas had procured the Metal Coat thanks to Gumshoos helping them out, much to Drampa's annoyance. They were currently in Room 2, still on the first floor. The room had three rather large beds with a nightstand between two of them. Togedemaru had gotten tired due to eating so much earlier and having to exert more energy than usual in the last challenge.

"Okay, I think we should split up about now…" Incineroar suggested. "We've got an item now, so whatever's going to try to steal from us is likely coming now. "

"Yeah, that actually sounds like a good idea", Mudsdale said, nodding in agreement. "With two groups, it'll be less likely that it'll have success…"

Passimian thought about it for a while. There were six of them, so it'd be pretty even defense. He sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll stick with Drampa and Togedemaru. You guys go on and search somewhere else…"

Drampa glared at Gumshoos, but after turning to look at Togedemaru, he smirked to himself; it was a smirk that exemplified creepiness.

"Fine by us…" said Gumshoos. "The farther that creep is away from us, the better…"

Drampa blew a Razz Berry in response. The three of them exited the room, leaving the three of them alone. As soon as they were gone, Drampa rested his head on Passimian's shoulder. "So...how do-"

"If you try anything, I swear, I'm beating the absolute dogshit out of you…" Passimian interrupted.

"Will you let me fucking finish!?" Drampa exclaimed angrily. "Jeez, you keep threatening me before I can even finish what I'm trying to say!"

Passimian groaned. "Fine. What?"

"I was trying to ask how do we know if something's even in here?" Drampa asked. "There's nothing outstanding in here other than these beds and the sexy little tot sleeping in one of them."

"Yeah, you're right about that…" said Passimian, looking around. "Other than the part about Togedemaru being a sexy little tot. There has to be something else here…"

"I doubt it…" Drampa said as he prepared to get in bed with Togedemaru. Passimian pulled him back and tossed him against the wall. He groaned. "Leave me alone!"

"You're not gonna mess with her while she's asleep!" Passimian exclaimed.

Drampa growled. "Fine. But she's not supposed to be asleep anyway..."

Passimian sighed. "True enough, but I doubt waking her will do any good…"

"If there's nothing here, let's just check somewhere else…" said Drampa. "Wait...do you still have the Metal Coat?"

Passimian removed his melon helmet, showing the Metal Coat, before placing it back on.

"Okay good...let's hope that whatever the hell is supposed to be after us goes for the other group…" Drampa stated, heading for the door. Once he opened it, his eyes widened as a slender lizard was standing in the doorway licking its lips. It was dark gray with a purple underside, and three pink markings. It also had five fingers and toes.

Drampa was frozen, completely mesmerized initially, but the look in its eyes and the curvaceousness of its body signalled to him that it wasn't young. So, immediately, he lost interest. Passimian, on the other hand, was drooling at the sight of the Salazzle.

She beckoned for him to come closer, and Passimian did so. She gave him a brief kiss on the lips, arousing him further as he picked her up. The Salazzle stroked his head before kissing him again, while a smile appeared on Drampa's face.

Passimian carried the Salazzle to the nearest bed and they proceeded to 'make it rock'. Drampa's tail swished erratically out of excitement.

000

"This...is a good time…" Drampa said, chuckling.

000

Dhelmise was searching the boxes in Room 3, the room that the Lunalas couldn't understand. He had started searching the boxes that were inside and eventually found a mirror with a key inside of it.

As soon as he saw that the Fire Stone needed a key, he instantly went to the boxes. He completely ignored the writing on the wall, as he figured that it would be common sense to check the boxes.

Checking, he found a mirror. He looked back toward the wall that the words on it. He floated over and placed it in front of the message. The 'Noitce Ifer' turned into 'Reflection' and it began glowing green.

A key was created from the glowing word and Dhelmise picked it up. He chuckled. "Easy…"

He picked up the key and used it on the case, retrieving the Fire Stone. Once he grabbed it, he decided to head to the next room, Room 4. Entering, he noticed boxes on the ground. Going over, he peeked inside each of them and saw an egg-shaped white stone inside of one of them. "Wow...this is WAY too easy…" he said.

As soon as he retrieved it, he turned back around to see a Golisopod behind him. "Oh fuck…"

The Golisopod used Shadow Claw, knocking Dhelmise into the wall. The Golisopod grabbed the Oval Stone.

"Ugh…" Dhelmise groaned as he floated up and saw that the Golisopod was gone. "Are you KIDDING me?!"

000

"Note to self", Dhelmise started. "Never get on a Golisopod's bad side…"

000

Dhelmise floated back out of the room as Gumshoos, Incineroar, and Mudsdale entered the room. He quickly made himself invisible in order to see what was going to happen.

Incineroar was tossing a Leaf Stone up and down. "That was easy enough. Didn't think smashing plants would work…"

"Guess your anger helped us out…" said Mudsdale.

"Okay, can we stop using the word help?!" Gumshoos exclaimed. "I've heard it enough, today…"

"Aw, don't let Drampa get you down", said Mudsdale. "If we lose. He's definitely getting eliminated next, no matter what…"

Gumshoos smiled. "Thanks."

"Uh…" Incineroar started, looking at the mantle. "Girls, looks like someone else figured out what we couldn't…"

The other two looked at the mantle and saw that the case was open and the Fire Stone was gone. Gumshoos growled.

"NO! I knew what to do! I don't know what the hell happened!" Gumshoos exclaimed.

"Well…" Incineroar started, looking at all of the overturned and scattered boxes. "My guess is that the key was in one of these boxes and that message meant jack shit…"

"Fuck…" Mudsdale growled. "Let's check upstairs and hope that the other team has been getting hit by whatever is stealing from them…"

The three of them exited the room, with Incineroar tossing the Leaf Stone yet again. As soon as the door closed, Dhelmise made himself visible. "Looks like they're about to be less one Leaf Stone…" he said as he made himself invisible and started following them.

000

The Solgaleos were entering the other side of the building through the window. It didn't really make any sense initially, but seeing the Golisopod head up the stairs in their direction made it non-neogotiable.

They had to climb through the open window and maneuver across the balcony to get to the other window. Hakamo-o climbed in first, with Oricorio followed, heating up her feathers to evaporate the rain. Bewear, Pyukumuku, Lycanroc came in after, with Lycanroc shaking herself dry yet again, unintentionally getting the others more wet and dropping the King's Rock.

"Sorry…" she apologized as she got back on her feet and placed the crown back on her head.

"Well, that was a dumb thing to do…" Hakamo-o said, looking out of the window. "We should've just attacked the damn Golisopod instead…"

"How long have we been in here?" asked Pyukumuku.

"I have no idea…" Hakamo-o replied. "But I think five hours is way too long. There aren't that many rooms to really search…"

"How many evolutionary items are there anyway?" asked Lycanroc. "Maybe we missed some things…"

"Let's check this last room, first. before we worry about anything else, amigos", Oricorio said, looking at the last door across from them.

They all went toward the room, but as they did, Bewear noticed that the Golisopod was staring at them from Room 2. He fired another Hyper Beam at it, blasting it back into that room before joining the others into the last room.

-000-

The room, labeled GO's Room was about the same size as the others. There was a bed tilted diagonally, with a throne directly across the door. There was a bookshelf near the back with a few vases sitting on them. To the right of the throne was a treasure chest that looked rather empty.

As they entered, Hakamo-o noticed a white note on the bed. As she went to pick it up, however…

"Well, well, well...what do we have here?"

Turning to the doorway, they all saw Incineroar, Mudsdale, and Gumshoos.

"Oh great…" Lycanroc muttered. "Though I'll admit, I expected this…"

Incineroar went to the note and snatched it from Hakamo-o before looking at it and ripping it apart.

"What are you doing?!" Gumshoos exclaimed, confused by his actions.

"I looked at it already, I know what to do…" Incineroar replied as he went up to the throne and sat down in it. Immediately, he was strapped to it and he started getting electrocuted.

He shouted in pain as he sat in the electric chair. The chest next to it slowly creaked open, revealing numerous evolutionary items. These included a Dusk Stone, Upgrade, Dubious Disc, Protector, Magmarizer, and Electirizer.

"Grab them!" Lycanroc exclaimed, rushing to the chest. Gumshoos did as well, due to Mudsdale immediately charging at Bewear.

Lycanroc quickly grabbed all of the items, but dropped the Magmarizer, which Gumshoos promptly snagged. "Mudsdale!"

Mudsdale was busy kissing Bewear, much to the surprise of everyone besides Gumshoos. They hadn't really seen the two of them this way, so this was strange.

Incineroar growled and used his heel to hit the button against the bottom of the purple throne, releasing him. He got out and picked up Lycanroc with a smirk. "I guess I'll be taking these objects…" he said, taking the King's Rock from her and placing it on his head before grabbing the Electirizer. With her now empty hand, and knowing his 'situation', she grabbed his crotch area, causing him to freeze and immediately dropped her with a large blush appearing on his face in the aftermath.

Once she was free from his grasp, she happily took the King's Rock back, as well as the Electirizer, before kissing his cheek. "Nice try~"

The Solgaleos started rushing out of the room, while the Lunalas, mainly Gumshoos, tried to get a few of the items back from them. She ended up losing them, but she looked at the Magmarizer in her hands and sighed. She looked back at Incineroar, who was now twitching, much to her confusion, and Mudsdale, who was 'bumping' against Bewear.

She facepalmed.

000

"Oh yes...and I'm the useless one!" Gumshoos exclaimed, folding her arms.

000

Passimian woke up abruptly, still in Room 2. He was halfway under the covers, and, looking around, he saw that Togedemaru was awake, and Drampa was against the wall, supposedly unconscious. He sat up, rubbing his head. He recalled what happened earlier and gained a small smile.

"Uh...do you mind telling me what the hell is going on!?" Togedemaru exclaimed upon seeing Passimian's smile.

Drampa groaned and sat up, blinking rapidly. "I can tell you…" he said. "Your lazy ass fell asleep in the bed and we were about to leave you and go look for other objects, but a Salazzle was at the door. Passimian decided that it needed a good pounding, and proceeded to do so while I watched…" he started.

"Wait, you WHAT?!" Passimian exclaimed with a growl.

"You heard me, 'Great Cunt Crusader', as you call yourself..." Drampa said, causing Passimian to glare at him. "Anyways, you went three rounds with the slut lizard, and when she pretty much drained you, she lifted your helmet and took the Metal Coat. I tried to stop her, and I got hit with a fucking Dragon Pulse to the face…"

Togedemaru groaned. "Well, that explains why I saw a grey and black tail leave through the door when I got up…" she stated before turning to Passimian. "You SERIOUSLY fell for a freaking Salazzle?!"

Passimian didn't say anything initially. "It was worth it…" he said without regret.

"You may have just cost us the challenge, you idiot!"

"Bitch, you fell asleep! You don't get to complain!" Drampa retorted, taking up for Passimian.

"Fuck this…" Togedemaru said as she got off of the bed and started leaving the room.

Drampa and Passimian exchanged looks as she left before getting up and following her.

-000-

The three of them left the room and immediately turned a corner, going down a hall and through a door there. Going out of the side, they saw both a claw-shaped, and fang-shaped object sitting around the other side of the gazebo-like area. "You two wait here, I'll get the Razor Claw and Razor Fang. We may actually have a chance..."

She went out there as the two guys waited at the door. She picked up both objects and immediately and a clanking sound was heard as a cage dropped on top of her.

"Oh for FUCK'S SAKE!" she exclaimed.

Passimian and Drampa both went outside to help her out. Passimian tried to break it, but it didn't work. Drampa attempted to use Flamethrower, but it didn't work either.

"What the hell is this?!" Drampa exclaimed. "Is this thing fireproof or something?"

Suddenly a slam was heard and the three turned around to see that the door they left from was shut.

"Oh fuck!" Passimian exclaimed as he rushed back to the door. He attempted to open the door, but it was locked. He started ramming into the door, hitting it with his shoulder. It still didn't work.

"Don't tell me we're locked out here!" Togedemaru exclaimed.

"Okay, I won't…" he said, coming back over before turning to Drampa. "We're locked out here…"

Togedemaru groaned. "Well, go around front!"

Drampa and Passimian decided to go around to the front door.

-000-

The lemur and dragon crossed through the hedges and made it to the front door. Passimian tried opening the door but he realized that the chandelier that Bewear threw was making the door hard to open.

"Damn it!" Passimian cursed. Drampa looked up at the balcony and roof, seeing open windows.

"Hey! The windows are open up there!" Drampa stated, looking up.

Passimian took a few steps back to see for himself. To his relief, Drampa was right. "Okay. Fly me up there and get back to Togedemaru. I'll make it down and unlock the door for you…"

Drampa nodded as Passimian climbed onto his back. Drampa unknowingly moaned to himself, causing Passimian some unease.

"Uh...Drampa?"

Drampa regained focus and flew upwards. Passimian jumped off of his back and onto the balcony before going into the right window.

Drampa did as Passimian instructed and headed back to Togedemaru.

-000-

Passimian popped his back before shaking his fur dry. "Stupid house…" he stated as he headed to the stairs. As he did, the door across from the window opened and a few members of his team started leaving.

"Guys?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Well…" Gumshoos started as Mudsdale and Incineroar followed. "Mudsdale got distracted with Bewear and Lycanroc cupped Incineroar's junk, making him freeze from the sexual contact…"

Passimian groaned, facepalming.

"Yeah…" Gumshoos explained. "We got a Magmarizer and a Leaf Stone, though. The Solgaleos took everything else…"

Suddenly, Dhelmise rose from the floor, taking the Leaf Stone before phasing back through the floor.

"Oh come on!" Passimian exclaimed.

"CONTESTANTS! TIME IS UP!" Solgaleo roared. "RETURN TO THE FIRST FLOOR!"

"FUUUUCK!"

000

All of the contestants returned to the first floor, with the exception of Togedemaru and Drampa, who Passimian had to let back in.

"Alright, now that we're all technically back…let's count up what we've got…" said Solgaleo.

Passimian, Togedemaru, and Drampa started coming back from the hall. This time, Drampa's tail brushed against a plant, causing flour to be dumped on the three of them. The Salazzle came from a rotating wall, snatching the Razor Claw from Drampa while he was coughing and dusting the powder away, before rotating back.

The others watched in surprise.

"HOW WAS THAT REMOTELY FAIR!?" Incineroar exclaimed.

"I call BS…" Mudsdale stated.

"Hey, they don't call this the Shady House for nothing…" Solgaleo explained. "Plus, I warned you about traps. So, like I said before. Let's count up how much we've got…"

Lycanroc proudly placed their haul onto the floor in front of Solgaleo. Gumshoos placed the Magamrizer in front of him as Togedemaru came forward and placed the Razor Fang down.

Solgaleo looked at the difference in size and chuckled. "Well, this...was pathetic. The Solgaleos win!"

The Solgaleos cheered and the Lunalas all groaned.

"Alright, now let's head back to Akala Island so we can see who's getting the boot…" said Solgaleo as he used teleport.

000

"Ah...and so it begins…" Togedemaru stated. She held up a a slip of paper, a Prism Scale, and a Metal Coat. "It was tough hiding these things, but it was worth it."

"When all of those idiots went to help Gumshoos, I went to the fire place and snagged the paper that was there", Togedemaru stated. "I still can't believe that those morons didn't understand it."

"Then, when we went into Room 2, I saw the Prism Scale on the bed, so I just hurried up and jumped onto it…"

"I woke up after Drampa's perverted ass hit the wall and I saw the Salazzle with the Metal Coat. I used Zing Zap and took the the Metal Coat back before using Thunder and dragging her out of the room. The bitch was heavy, but I got it done before the bastard woke up", Togedemaru explained. "Easy as pie…"

000

After showering to get the flour off, Passimian, Drampa, and Togedemaru went up to the seventh floor with the rest of her team.

"Alright guys…" Passimian started. "Today; today was rough."

"VERY rough…" Incineroar added. "We only got two fucking items after all of that!"

"Well, I think it's obvious that-"

"If you say my fucking name, I will hit you with a Dragon Pulse so fucking quick…" Drampa stated.

"Hey, today we ALL screwed up, so it means that you can be eliminated without issue…" Mudsdale stated.

"Uh huh…" Drampa started. "How was your banging session with the player on the opposite team?"

"Fine. How was watching Passimian fuck and getting blasted by a Salazzle?" Mudsdale countered.

"I got blasted because I was trying to get the fucking Metal Coat BACK…" Drampa replied. "I feel like I was one of the only ones who didn't really screw up today!"

"Oh please…" Gumshoos said, rolling her eyes.

"Bitch, Togedemaru fell asleep during the challenge; Passimian fucked a Salazzle, passed out, and got the Metal Coat stolen, YOU got trapped in a box and lied about knowing anything about the message in Room 3; also, according to you, Mudsdale fucked Bewear instead of knocking back the Solgaleos to take the items that were there and Incineroar got his junk cupped and was apparently immobilized!" Drampa exclaimed.

They all exchanged glances.

"Meanwhile, what did I do that fucked us over in some way?" Drampa asked rhetorically. "Oh right, NOTHING!"

Passimian sighed.

"No", Togedemaru stated. "I'm tired of that sigh already. He may be 'helpful', but as a person, he's a piece of shit."

"WHAT I DO IS MY OWN BUSINESS!" Drampa exclaimed.

"Guys, we can't vote him out if he has a fair point", said Passimian. "He's been the most helpful on the team and I know that we're all fucking sick and tired of his antics. But…" he turned to Drampa.

"Drampa...you'd better not do ANYTHING perverted to US ever again. This is going to be your final chance…" Passimian said. "You're getting amnesty today...can we all agree on that?"

They all exchanged glances.

Incineroar took a deep breath. "Fine. But come in my room again, and I will end you…"

"I...guess I can let it go…" Togedemaru said through grit teeth.

"You guys cannot be serious!" Gumshoos exclaimed. "This prick could be arrested for sexual assault outside of this game and you're letting him stay?!"

"Shut up…" Drampa growled. "I get my ass handed to me every time I do something."

Gumshoos growled.

"LUNALAS! COME ON DOWN!"

000

The Lunalas all came down, with Solgaleo looking a bit better than he usually did around the time.

"Alright, you guys should know the drill now…" Solgaleo suggested. "Get in the confessionals and cast your votes…"

000

"Drampa…" Gumshoos stated.

000

"Drampa", Mudsdale stated. "Fuck him…"

000

"Gumshoos…" Drampa said. "That bitch needs to go."

000

"Gumshoos is smart, but she's not being useful. Sorry…" Passimian stated.

000

"Gumshoos is a threat with her intelligence...and I don't like threats..." Incineroar stated.

000

"I'd vote Drampa…" Togedemaru started. "But, if he keeps distracting the others on this team and the other team, it can work in my favor. So, Gumshoos the smartass goes…"

000

Solgaleo came out of the hotel, where the others were waiting. "Alright...it seems like the one going home is…

…

…

…

…

…

…

...Gumshoos!"

Gumshoos sighed. "You guys just made a huge mistake…"

"Getting rid of a useless bitch isn't a mistake at all…" said Drampa. "So...you get out of here!"

Gumshoos growled.

000

Gumshoos went to the terminal, where the boat was waiting.

"Alright Gumshoos, you were a decent contestant. Sadly, you didn't really do anything useful…" Solgaleo stated.

"I helped out today! I got them the Metal Coat, but ugh...they just kept Drampa…" Gumshoos replied.

"Yeah, these competitions aren't fair, but you gotta deal with it…" Solgaleo said as Gumshoos got on the boat. "So long…"

The driver, the same Simisage, drove off.

Solgaleo turned to the front. "And that's the end of that", he stated. "Gumshoos is gone and Drampa is still in somehow. What will the Lunalas do? Will the Solgaleos keep this streak? FInd out next time on Total Pokemon: Alola!" he said before teleporting away.

000

And there goes Gumshoos. Geez, Drampa is on his legs. Togedemaru actually did something? Wow...I wonder what she's planning. Mudsdale is definitely getting too much Bewear time. And without Gumshoos being there to regulate, things are going to get a bit...overdone. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time on Total Pokemon: Alola. See you guys, BYE!

000

"Review, I guess…" Gumshoos stated.

000

A Gumshoos was seen adjusting a camera before moving to the center of the room she was in. The room had black walls with a wooden floor. There was a window on the back wall with a desk in front of it. A rolling chair was situated at that desk.

Next to the desk was a large cabinet with a large television on it. A small bed was next to her.

"Hello. My name is Gumshoos and I'm auditioning for Total Pokemon: Alola. I have 4.8 GPA and I am SADLY just number 2 in my class…" she explained. "I am auditioning because I require money for law school since these damn schools don't want to give me full tuition."

"I hope that if I am accepted, I am placed on a good team and the challenges allow me to show my intelligence…"

"Thank you for your time…"

000