Hello, all you beautiful, smart, intelligent, amazing, cool, special, unique people (I'm attempting to see if flattery gets me more reviews :P). I'm back for another episode of PCI after a really long wait from the last one. I've been having very little time to write for the past couple of weeks, but I think after this, I'll be back up to my usual one chapter every week to week and a half-ish.
Anyway, here it is! I've got rid of another character, another one who I really wasn't expecting to get rid of so early. But it makes sense if you watched the real show...that's the only hint I'm giving you.
Time for my usual Q&A session that I started...last episode, I think. All right, here goes:
From MRYOSHI2002:
Can readers vote?
Well, yes, I've made a poll for you to decide who you think should win the show. Just vote for your favorite characters there. I only have 8 people total who have voted in my poll, but I really want to get everybody's opinion. Voting there will literally take a minute, so I'd highly advise it if you want to have any say in who wins the series. You can vote for up to fifteen, and the poll is on the top of my profile page.
Also, if you want to say something, like an idea for who to get out next, next episode's challenge, etc., just put it in a review. I can't always do exactly what you suggest-it is my story-but I want to know what everyone out there thinks. I'll seriously consider anything in a review before saying yes or no. Anyway, thanks!
No other questions or suggestions? Darn it. :(
Well, regardless of that, here it is!
Episode 6:
"Hello, people…ahem, Pokemon! Welcome to this next episode of PCI!" shouted Duskull, the smiling ghost host.
"Pokemon Challenge Island," added Totodile helpfully.
"Last episode, we had a Halloween maze! We got rid of Qwilfish, the snobby fish from the Perilous Palkia team!" said Duskull. "Then, we had an epic Halloween party made by me!"
"I helped!" complained Totodile.
"Yes, you did. Now go away," said Duskull.
"I get no respect," muttered Totodile in anger.
"Okay! So this episode, we'll be…well, we're going to wait to reveal the challenge to you as soon as we reveal it to the campers. So, see you later, it's 8:00 now and we're starting at lunch."
Suddenly the camera angle zooms and focuses on the ground.
"What's going on?" demanded Duskull. "Who turned the camera when I wasn't looking?"
…
"I had nothing to do with it," says Totodile in the confessional, grinning.
…
"I'm glad we're having a meeting-we haven't had one for such a long time!" said Minun cheerfully to her teammates, Plusle and Pachirisu.
"Yeah, I think it's been since the second episode," said Plusle thoughtfully.
Pachirisu was chugging a cup of coffee and eating tons of candy, which she always did so she'd continue being hyper.
Plusle looked at Pachirisu in curiosity. "Where do you get all that stuff?"
She grinned at him. "There are some things in life you'll never know…and this is one of them. I could get you some too, if you like!"
"I don't-" Plusle started, but Pachirisu had already zoomed away to get treats for him and Minun.
…
"I don't know where that girl gets her energy," said Plusle, shaking his head. "Well, obviously from coffee and sugary candy, but still…where does she get that?"
…
"I like Pachirisu!" says Minun happily. "She's awesome! She finds ways to get us candy and stuff. It's pretty cool."
…
Kirlia had been drawing in her cabin. She wanted to draw pictures of memorable events at camp if she could, because she loved art. She had always been talented at it too. Her latest picture that she was working on was one from the maze, when Kricketune had pushed her out of the way from Chandelure's fire.
She felt a gentle tap on her back and turned around to find Whimsicott behind her.
"Hey, Whimsicott! What's up?" asked Kirlia lightly.
Whimsicott returned that with a small smile, then spoke. "Could you come into the woods with me? We need to talk…it'll just be for a few minutes, I promise."
Kirlia hesitated-she had wanted to finish the picture, and going into the woods seemed a bit suspicious. But she trusted Whimsicott-the two of them had become good friends during the time they had spent here.
"Uh…okay."
"Great!" Whimsicott's face lit up. "I'm glad you're coming…it's really important."
…
Kirlia sits on the chair, legs crossed. "I really like Whimsicott. She's smart and has a great sense of humor. What she's asking me to do is a little strange…but she's one of my best friends here."
…
In the woods, Whimsicott found a few fallen trees and sat on the trunk of one. "I called you here today to form an alliance. Well, if you want to," she said, embarrassed.
"I'd love to!" Kirlia said, and she meant it. She had wanted to be in an alliance for a while, but she wasn't sure who she'd want to join. She was just glad somebody had asked her. "We're friends, after all."
"Okay, great. So, uh, is there anyone else you want to invite into the alliance?" asked Whimsicott curiously.
Kirlia thought for a second. She considered Swellow, but Swellow spent so much time with Zorua, Makuhita, and Marshtomp that she thought they must be an alliance. She liked Sneasel, but didn't really trust him. Finally, the answer came to her, so obvious that she could have smacked herself in the head.
"How about Kricketune?" she asked. Whimsicott considered it, then nodded.
"I'll ask him later," she promised. "But we might have to wait until after the challenge-I think it's starting at lunch."
"All right, cool. See you!" Kirlia called, leaving the forest to head back to the cabin.
...
Whimsicott smiles and lets out a sigh of relief. "I'm happy I could get an alliance with Kirlia…and hopefully Kricketune. Alliances are always looked at as a bad thing, but they're not, really-just friends getting together for meetings and agreeing not to vote for each other. I don't even care if Kirlia votes with me as long as she doesn't vote against me. And I don't think she will."
…
Froslass drifted into a deeper area in the woods where Gothorita and Porygon were waiting for another meeting of Team Frost.
"What's up?" asked Porygon, not taking his eyes off the computer screen, on which he was playing a video game. Gothorita turned her head and watched him curiously.
"I don't see the point in this game," she said flatly, and then turned to Froslass. Froslass gave her a light smile.
"Well, it's really very obvious. You're the one with the-" Porygon started, stopping as soon as he saw Froslass look like she was about to talk. "I guess you can talk, Froslass. I'll tell Gothorita about this later."
"I don't want you to tell me about it later," she said.
"Fine," said Porygon mockingly. "But you're missing out."
"Oh, I'm sure."
…
Gothorita sighs. "Porygon is so annoying!"
…
Porygon frowns. "Gothorita understands nothing about video games. At least Froslass has played a couple."
…
"Eh-hem." Froslass cleared her throat. Gothorita and Porygon looked at her.
She continued speaking. "I've discovered today's challenge. And I think, if we work together, we can win," she said, whispering the challenge to Gothorita and Porygon.
Porygon shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand how working together will help us win this challenge. This seems like something we should all do solo."
"Not unless I know where to look. Which I do," said Froslass, smiling darkly.
…
Froslass laughs. "I might have peeked at the list of where they're keeping things. Maybe a little bit."
…
Buneary sat in her room, talking to Maractus, who was her friend despite being on the opposite team. They had been talking about a variety of things, but the topic now turned to Buizel.
"Honestly, Buneary, I'm so jealous! I don't know how you managed to get, like, a totally hot guy like Buizel when I still don't have anybody!" Maractus said, smiling.
"I don't, either," said Buneary dreamily. "He liked me from the very first challenge!"
"I wish I could go out with, like, Monferno or someone. But he's not even as good-looking as Buizel," said Maractus enviously.
"I know, right? Ooh, I've gotta go-Buizel said he'd meet me at the beach!" squealed Buneary.
"Oh my Arceus, that's, like, super awesome!" exclaimed Maractus. "Have fun, Buneary!"
"Bye, Maractus!" the Rabbit Pokemon shouted back.
…
"Buizel is so hot…" Maractus gushes.
…
"I really like Buizel. He's so nice," says Buneary. "Really polite too. The only thing that's strange about him is his other friends…he hangs around with Liepard and Onix, and he used to hang around with Qwilfish too. OMA, do you think he's cheating on me for Liepard? What if he is?"
Her face suddenly calms. "Now I'm just being silly. He's my boyfriend, and he'd never ever do something like that!"
…
Duskull floats around in the confessional. "OMA? That stands for 'Oh My Arceus,' right? Not 'old mushroom anguish?' That's what Totodile said, but you can never trust him…"
…
Totodile has his arms crossed. "Well, it could be true. If you don't know what do with old mushrooms, you have old mushroom anguish…" Then he bursts into laughter.
…
Monferno came down to the lake for a drink of water. As he did, he watched Buneary kissing Buizel and felt a stab of envy.
…
Monferno blushes. "Buneary's really cute and all…I don't know how she trusts Buizel. There's something wrong with that dude, I know it."
…
Buizel laughs. "Buneary is so childish…she'll believe anything I tell her. It'll be incredibly easy to get her to vote with our team…"
…
Mawile looks at the camera seriously. "Why is everyone coming to this confessional? Seriously, there have been people coming and going for the past half hour."
…
"So…what exactly do we do at team meetings?" asked Tropius awkwardly. Team Autumn had just arrived for their first meeting.
"It doesn't matter, really," said Haunter, who had been elected leader. "We can just talk about stuff…that's partly why we made the team."
"I brought some games!" said Wigglytuff cheerfully, removing three board games from her backpack.
Misdreavus's eyes lit up! "Oh, Wigglytuff, I love that game! Want to play?"
"Sure!"
…
"What do you suppose the challenge is going to be?" asked Mawile curiously to her alliance.
"A battle tournament, I hope! I wanna beat the *#%! out of some of those Palkias!" said Machoke.
Honchkrow rolled his eyes. For an immensely strong Pokemon, Machoke was very stupid. At least Mawile and Sneasel were more reasonable. "Excuse me, but I'd say the battle tournament won't be until we have 32 Pokemon remaining, most likely."
Machoke raised an eyebrow, and Sneasel finished for him. "32 would give us an even tournament so that everyone would be facing against one partner per round and we wouldn't have any automatic advances."
"Oh," said Machoke.
Sudden silence, which Mawile broke. "Who do you guys want to vote off?"
Machoke was the first to volunteer. "Plusle, Minun, or Pachirisu."
Sneasel contributed one more. "Uh, how about Munchlax?"
"Maractus," said Mawile. "She's so annoying!"
Honchkrow raised his wing, and the other three stopped talking. "Now we don't know for sure that we're going to lose. But if we do, we'll need a plan. I'll help you decide…"
…
Honchkrow's mouth twitched. "We need to get rid of someone weak-they were all good choices. I want someone gone who can't help us win."
…
"I don't like keeping such a secret from Sneasel," whispered Mawile. "He deserves to know about Glameow…except I voted for her. I can't tell him…"
…
"Honchkrow's team is really cool," says Sneasel. "I'm glad I joined up with them. I'm sorry Team Claw couldn't stay in, but I'll try to win for Glameow with this team instead."
…
Duskull and Totodile laughed as they watched this, picturing Glameow's face on Pokemon Loser Island.
…
"Hey, everyone! Get to the center of camp!" shouted a voice over the speaker system. Duskull.
"Why?!" asked Marshtomp, who had finally been able to sleep in.
Zorua poked her playfully. "Come on! I heard that this challenge was going to be easy!"
"Yeah, right," grumbled Marshtomp. "We'll see about that."
Marshtomp slipped out of bed and put her feet on the floor. As she did that, she felt something beneath her foot.
"Zorua, look at this," she called to the Tricky Fox Pokemon. "It's a golden ring."
"Cool, do you think it has something to do with the challenge?" asked Zorua.
"I don't know," said Marshtomp. She pushed the ring under her bed so it wouldn't be seen by everyone.
…
"Welcome, everybody, to the sixth episode and fifth elimination of Pokemon Challenge Island!" Duskull shouted enthusiastically to the remaining thirty-six campers. Totodile rolled his eyes.
"Let's explain the challenge, shall we, Totodile?" the Ghost-type boldly continued. Totodile started speaking.
"Sure, whatever. After the last challenge, Duskull hid 1000 rings around the camp," started Totodile. "Some of you might have seen them around…they're not all that well hidden, Mr. Host," said Totodile pointedly, looking at Duskull. The host glared back.
"Anyway," continued Totodile. "These rings are hidden around camp-in the cabins, in the forest, in the trees, everywhere you could possibly think of. Duskull and I know where they are, but Lickitung and Roselia do not, so don't ask them because they can't help you."
Totodile smiled as he saw some Pokemon's faces small. Many of them had been hoping to ask Lickitung and Roselia for hints, he assumed.
...
Totodile grinned. "Oh, come on! We can't make it that easy!"
…
Totodile resumed speaking. "We're giving you from now…" He checked his watch. "...that is, noon, until 6 P.M., which is when we'll count your rings over dinner. If you don't want your rings stolen, you bring them to the cafeteria, where they are safe and can't be taken or Lickitung will beat you with a spatula. Harshly. But before you get there, your rings are fair game. At the end of the episode both teams will go to the elimination ceremony, and the person with the least rings gets eliminated, and everyone else gets invincibility. The winning team will be the team that does not have this person. Any questions?"
Sentret's hand shot up. He was standing next to Munchlax and Torchic. Duskull called to him.
"Well, um, Torchic didn't want me to tell you this, but it's his birthday…maybe he should get a ring or something?" suggested the small brown Pokemon helpfully, gesturing to a shaking Torchic.
"You didn't have to tell them…" said Torchic.
"It's fine," Sentret assured him. "You deserve something on your birthday."
"Yeah!" Munchlax chimed in. Torchic smiled gratefully.
"Thanks, Sentret. And you too, Munchlax. You guys are the best."
"Eh-hem." Duskull cleared his throat. Everyone's eyes shot back to him. "All right, we've taken this into consideration, and we're giving you one ring…and a cupcake from Lickitung."
Duskull tossed over the ring, which Torchic caught, and the cupcake, which he did not. It landed on the ground in front of his feet.
Torchic, annoyed, said: "Really?" Duskull shrugged.
"Pssst…do you want that?" asked Munchlax. Torchic's head shook. "Didn't think so…I'll take care of it, then."
Munchlax shoved the remaining pieces of the cupcake into his mouth. "Now I'm done."
Duskull rolled his eye and started the challenge. "Get ready…get set…go!"
And everyone was off.
…
Pikachu sits in the confessional. "I'm so excited for this challenge! I am amped!"
Suddenly he lets out a jolt of electricity. "Yeah, it gets literal when you're an Electric-type."
…
Mightyena sits in concentration. "If I'm thinking right, this is going to be a very competitive challenge. If two Pokemon see the same ring, they'll probably both go after it, and that will result in a fight. And your rings can get stolen before you get to the cafeteria, so…this will be a dirty competition, I think."
She growls fiercely. "I'm ready."
…
Porygon's voice is calm. "Froslass is going to help Gothorita and I find rings…she's given us a couple locations to look where there are a lot of rings."
…
Marshtomp's face is almost blank, but one corner of her mouth twitches in a smile. "One ring down, 999 more to go. Whoop."
…
Monferno looks anxious. "If Totodile put many of the rings underwater, I'm dead." He gulps.
…
Tropius smiles casually. "I'm working with Meganium…I'll look for rings in the treetops, and she'll look for ones on the ground. We'll split our rings evenly."
His look gets even more distant. "She's such a great girl. She's kind, funny, and beautiful. I'm really glad she's my girlfriend."
…
Makuhita frowns. "Swellow and I were planning to go with Zorua and Marshtomp, but we can't find them. Although, honestly, that might be a good thing. A big group would mean we'd have less rings to go around. Now, I'll only have to split between me and Swellow. I hope we all stay in…Swellow said she'd try to get us to the merge, and hopefully the finals."
…
Froslass laughs cruelly. "This is so easy! They're all fools!"
…
"Come on, Marshtomp!" called Zorua, who had already arrived at the cabin. Marshtomp got there a few seconds later, and they found the ring Marshtomp had pushed under the bed.
"You have it," said Zorua. "You found it."
"Cool," said the Mud Fish Pokemon. "Now let's go find you something."
…
"Here, little rings!" said Kirlia jokingly. Kricketune, who had been collecting rings nearby, smiled at her, while Liepard bared her teeth.
Suddenly, behind a bush, a flash of gold revealed the presence of a golden ring there. Kirlia was tempted to shout out, but she kept it secret. If Liepard tried to steal it from her, she'd probably succeed, so it was better to keep it hidden. She put it in her backpack.
…
"Got one!" exclaimed Makuhita triumphantly. Swellow gave him a look of approval.
"Now we each have a ring. Come on, I think there might be some around Roselia's office," suggested Swellow. "Let's go there."
…
Around the campfire, campers were discovering rings practically under every seat. Dragonair had 3, Buneary had 1, Tropius and Meganium both had 2, and Buizel also had 3.
"Why'd they put so many over here?" asked Meganium.
"They probably thought that it was such an obvious location, no one would look here," Dragonair said in her soft voice.
"Or Duskull was too lazy to wander into the forest and put away rings."
Duskull's voice came over the loudspeakers. "HEY! I HEARD THAT!"
Then the voice becomes Totodile's. "Yeah, good job Buizel!"
"HEY, WHAT THE-"
...
Buizel is snickering, paying no attention to the camera.
…
Froslass smiles. "We've been doing well. There are lots of rings hidden out here…I have 9 now, and you each have 8."
Porygon looks around, mystified. "There are a lot more rings out here than I could have ever pictured."
"Of course," says Froslass. "You just have to know where to look. By the way, Gothorita, see that hole in the tree? There's one in there."
Gothorita reached into the tree and pulled out a golden ring. "How do you remember all this?" she asked.
"I have good memory," said Froslass evasively. "Come on."
…
At the moment, Honchkrow was working with Machoke to find rings. He had been collecting ones at the tops of trees (so far, four) while Machoke had been collecting ones hidden in the trees (giving him a total of five).
"I see another one!" Honchkrow called to his partner. He dove for it and got it. This competition was easy, and he hadn't seen any other teams with more than 3 rings total. Too bad for them! They couldn't fly.
…
"Got one!" said Whimsicott, holding up a ring. Unfortunately, she noticed that Mawile had been doing the exact same thing with the ring that she was holding.
"Hey! That's mine!" exclaimed Mawile.
"Uh, I found it first…" said Whimsicott.
"No, I did," said Mawile. "You went after it after you saw that I was trying to get something."
"No, I didn't!" Whimsicott protested hotly. "We can get an agreement. How many rings do you have?"
"Three," said Mawile icily. Whimsicott nodded. "Me too."
"Then we'll battle!" says Mawile, launching herself at Whimsicott while using a Bite attack. Whimsicott was about to use Protect when suddenly both of them were launched into the air, and the ring was knocked out of Whimsicott's hand. She just had enough time to look and see Onix's tail disappearing behind some trees.
…
"AAAAH!"
Zorua turned around and saw Whimsicott and Mawile lying in the clearing, dazed. Zorua had been looking for another ring-one that would give her a total of three. She was pretty sure that the two girls had not been lying there before.
"Are you okay?" she asked. They both nodded, so she walked away.
As she left the clearing, she noticed a glittering on the ground. It was a ring. "Sweet!"
…
Five hours later, all the campers had found at least twenty rings. Much of the camp was in chaos.
At the moment, Pachirisu and Onix were fighting for the ownership of a ring, and Maractus was attacking Makuhita for more rings since she had a low amount.
Sneasel of the Dialgas and Wigglytuff of the Palkias were injured at some point during the event, so they were taken to the infirmary and given invincibility. Since Sneasel had already been healed but had lost a good deal of time, he was sitting in a lawn chair watching the event with Duskull, Totodile, and Lickitung.
Suddenly, Sneasel had an idea. "Uh, Duskull, Totodile…since I'm not participating in the challenge anymore, could I give my rings to someone else?"
The two hosts looked at each other. Duskull slowly nodded. "I guess that'd be acceptable."
"Yeah, sure," Totodile shrugged.
Sneasel grinned.
…
"I had 15 rings," he explains. "So 5 will go to Honchkrow, 5 will go to Machoke, and 5 will go to Mawile. That might put them in the lead…except for maybe Froslass, Gothorita, and Porygon. They've been doing really well, somehow."
…
Wigglytuff sits in the confessional, smiling. "They told me I can split up my rings, just like Sneasel! I had 17 when I got out, so I'll give 5 to Meganium and 4 to the other members of Team Autumn!"
…
Tropius turned around, startled to hear a voice on the loudspeaker. Unfortunately, he tripped over a root and fell into a tree full-force.
"Ow," he muttered.
Duskull's voice stopped talking and asked a question. "Uh, Tropius, you okay? I saw that on the camera. If you want to go to Roselia's office, that's fine."
"No, I'll be fine," he said through clenched teeth.
"O-kay, then. If Honchkrow, Machoke, Mawile, Meganium, Tropius, Haunter, and Misdreavus could report to the center of camp? We have a gift for you. You'll appreciate it. Duskull out."
Tropius wondered what kind of gift Duskull could have given them, but decided not to ask. Instead, he made his way back to the center of camp.
…
Haunter arrived at the center of camp, realizing that he was the last one to do so. All six other Pokemon that had been called had arrived. He noticed that all of Team Autumn had been called except Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff was sitting in a lawn chair by Duskull, Totodile, and Sneasel.
Duskull began talking. "All right, campers, I've called you here-"
Wigglytuff interrupted. "Hi, guys!" she said, waving at her teammates.
Duskull continued with an annoyed edge to his voice. "I've called you here to give-"
Wigglytuff interrupted again. "This lawn chair is comfy!"
Duskull's eyes flashed, but he boldly continued. "I have called you here because Sneasel and Wigglytuff are-"
"What? Who said my name?" asked Wigglytuff, confused.
"SHUT UP!" yelled Duskull, turning and staring at Wigglytuff.
For a few seconds, she looked scared, then her face relaxed. "Oh. It was you."
"Can I talk now? Okay, thanks," he continued without a pause for answering. "All right, Sneasel and Wigglytuff have both been injured in some way during the challenge, but they each had a few rings. And, since you guys are their friends, they're giving the rings to you in return for invincibility! Isn't that nice?" he asked. "Totodile, pass out the rings."
Totodile pulled out a sheet of paper with the amount of rings and name of who would receive them on it. "Honchkrow, Machoke, Mawile, and Meganium, come up here and get five rings. Tropius, Haunter, and Misdreavus, that leaves you with four each."
The Pokemon all came up to collect their rings. Team Shadow all left, but Team Autumn (minus Wigglytuff) converged for a quick meeting near the woods.
"How many rings do you have?" asked Haunter quickly. "I've got 35."
"36, thanks to Wigglytuff," said Meganium happily.
"I've got 38," said Misdreavus. "Oh, am I winning?"
"Yeah, I only have 34," said Tropius.
"We're all doing well, then," said Haunter, relieved. "I've seen some Pokemon who still have 25 or 26, and I think some have less."
...
"I only have 23 rings!" panicked Shieldon. "I should have more than this!"
"Calm down," instructed Riolu. "I have 27, so you can have 2 of them. We'll each have 25, then. Okay?"
"All right," said Shieldon, relieved. "Thanks, Riolu, you're an awesome friend."
Riolu smiled. "I appreciate it. Come on, let's go find more rings. Oh, have you seen Pikachu yet?"
"No," Shieldon admitted. "Otherwise I would have asked him how many he had."
"We'll try to find him," said Riolu. "He's got good eyesight and he's smart, he'll do fine."
…
After seemingly forever, it was almost the finishing time.
"Why did I have to lose Plusle?" Minun asked. "I guess I'll go return my rings to camp."
She opened her backpack and realized that all of the rings she had were gone-and she had only left a few rings at camp.
"Oh, no! What will I do?" she cried frantically.
In the bushes, Liepard grinned, then rushed away.
…
In a different part of the camp, Maractus was lying on the ground. Under Machoke's fist.
"Give me all the rings you have with you," he said. She trembled-she hadn't gone back to camp for a long time. She gave him the rings she had.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blue form knocked into Machoke. He dropped some of the rings, but he still fled into the forest, not wanting further punishment.
Maractus got up and saw who the Pokemon was. It was Dragonair, from the Palkias.
"Wait, Dragonair? You're, like, a Palkia, right? Why would you help a Dialga like me?" asked Maractus.
Dragonair gave a gentle smile. "We're not mortal enemies, you know, being on opposite teams. Machoke seems like a threat to both teams. And you didn't deserve to be punished by a bully like him," she said. "Don't let yourself be pushed around. Stand up for yourself."
And with that, the Dragon-type made her way back to camp, and Maractus collected her few remaining rings.
…
Haunter was making his way back to camp when he saw a ring lying on the ground. He picked it up and went to put it in his backpack when he noticed a hole.
He cursed. "I should've known not to use this old backpack," he muttered. "Oh, well, most of my rings are back at camp. I hope I won't get out, though."
…
Machoke laughs a booming laugh. "I hope that Maractus idiot gets out."
…
Liepard smiles, then flashes her claws. "I cut open the bottom of Minun's backpack, as well as Haunter's. That should put me well ahead of where I need to be. I hope Minun gets out-Haunter's on my team, and he's at least fairly competent at whatever he does."
…
Whimsicott frowns angrily. "This challenge really turned some Pokemon into jerks. I had to fight with a lot of Pokemon today, and some were on my own team! Really, what is this?"
…
Makuhita's face is neutral. "I've got about an average number of rings. It's really high compared to the number of some Pokemon's rings, but others…how the heck did Froslass, Gothorita, and Porygon get as many as they did?"
…
Sneasel sits with his hands folded behind his head. "Being out gave me invincibility, and the opportunity to both relax and to help out my team. Thanks to me, they're all pretty much guaranteed to be saved.
…
Pachirisu sits drinking a cup of coffee. "Oh my Arceus, this is good!" she says rapidly. "I think I did super-awesome in today's challenge 'cause I had lots of coffee beforehand, and I'm also super-quick and stuff! Go Team Spark!"
…
Minun's eyes are downcast. "It's going to be me going home…"
…
Maractus is sobbing. "Please don't let this, like, be it or anything…"
…
Haunter's determined. "I don't want to get out, but honestly? I've played a good game. If I do go home, I'll say goodbye to Tropius, Meganium, and Wigglytuff…" He smiles slyly. "…and give Misdreavus a kiss and tell her how I feel."
…
Duskull pulled out his megaphone and shouted into it. "WELCOME TO THE 5TH ELIMINATION CEREMONY OF TOTAL POKEMON ISLAND! WHEN I READ YOUR NAME, COME GET A RIBBON. THAT MEANS YOU'RE SAFE. GOT IT?"
Totodile rolled his eyes. "They've been doing this for four episodes, genius."
Duskull scowled. "They might forget it. You never know. Anyway, I get paid for this, might as well talk as much as I want to."
"You just like to hear your own voice," muttered Totodile.
"First ribbons go to: Froslass, Gothorita, and Porygon!"
The three Pokemon with the most ribbons got up to claim them.
Duskull read three more names. "Honchkrow, Mawile, and Machoke…you guys all got donations."
Team Shadow (minus Sneasel) went up to claim their ribbons.
"Nextly…Liepard, Misdreavus, and Munchlax," said the Ghost-type.
"Nextly?" asked Totodile.
"It should be a word," said Duskull, shrugging. He stared at Misdreavus for a while before Totodile slapped him and asked Munchlax a question.
"Uh, Munchlax…sorry for asking, but how did you get such a high place?" asked Totodile.
"The rings smelled a bit like cookies!" he said matter-of-factly.
Kricketune held one up to his nose. "Actually, they do," he confirmed.
"Okay, that's really weird…anyway, come on up, Dragonair and Meganium!"
The two Palkia girls went up and claimed their ribbons.
"Tropius!" Duskull called. The giant Grass-and-Flying-type went up and claimed his ribbon.
"Buizel and Swellow!" he called. Both of them confidently received their ribbons. Buizel winked at Buneary, who started getting dizzy and falling over. Monferno and Pikachu caught her.
"Pachiris-" Duskull started, but she had already sped up and claimed her ribbon before he could finish her name.
"Next up…Kricketune, Makuhita, and Zorua!" The three Dialgas went up to claim their ribbons. Makuhita and Zorua sat down next to Swellow. Marshtomp noticed them giving her a worried glance, so she lazily held her hand up and waved.
"Whimsicott and Marshtomp!" Marshtomp mouthed an 'I told you so' before going to sit with her team.
"All right…after this, we're down to the last ten of you," said Totodile ominously. "There are fourteen of you left sitting here…which four are not in the last ten?"
"Sentret, Pikachu, Kirlia, and Mightyena, come up and get your ribbons!" he announced. The four Pokemon's faces visibly grew happier as they went up to claim the ribbons.
Riolu, Shieldon, Plusle, Minun, Haunter, Torchic, Onix, Monferno, Maractus, and Buneary remained. They all sat on the edge of their seats. Duskull read three more names.
"Monferno, Riolu, and Shieldon, you're good. Come on up." The three of them went over and sat by Pikachu, who welcomed them to sit next to him.
In the remaining seven, there was lots of chatter.
"Darn it, it's not Monferno!" Onix growled. Maractus and Torchic edged away from him.
Plusle and Minun quietly talked in back. "I lost some of my ribbons, Plusle! I have way less than you do!" Minun whispered frantically.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" demanded Plusle. "I would have given you some!"
"I only just got here before the campfire ceremony began, remember?" she asked. "I only had time to sit down!"
"Let's hope it's somebody else," said Plusle, worried. "I don't think it'll be me…but Haunter and Maractus don't have many.
Duskull let them have the long break before announcing two more. "Torchic and Plusle!" The pair walked over to the 'safe' side, with Plusle casting a regretful glance at Minun.
"Onix and Buneary…you had the least rings out of the people that nothing happened to. It would have been one of you going home if these three hadn't been so unlucky. Either way, take your ribbons," Duskull announced. The three remaining Pokemon sat rigidly, barely moving a muscle.
"The third last ribbon goes to…Haunter." The Ghost Pokemon sprang up and went to sit by his team. They all celebrated as he came close to them.
Maractus and Minun sat alone. Maractus whispered. "Sorry if you, like, go home. I didn't want it to be, like, me versus you. You're a decent Pokemon," she said, giving a shaky smile. Minun returned it and said, "Thanks, you too."
"The final ribbon…of episode five…goes to…"
He drew the whole line out, before finally saying the last word.
"Maractus, who had just one more ring than Minun. Sorry, Dialgas, but this one goes to the Palkias! Minun, last confessional in a few minutes."
…
Minun stared in shock, and she felt as if the world was spinning. She wasn't ready for elimination.
"Minun…are you okay?" Plusle asked, concerned and sympathetic.
"I'm fine," she said, straightening up. She saw Plusle, Pachirisu, Maractus, and many others of her friends staring at her.
"I'm, like, seriously sorry," said Maractus. Her eyes were sympathetic. "It, like, could have been anyone…"
"It's fine," insisted Minun.
Suddenly, Pachirisu slammed into her. "Minun! Why?! You shouldn't have to go home!"
"I'm…fine…get off me, please," she commanded. Pachirisu let go of her friend.
"Look, you guys," she whispered to Plusle and Pachirisu. "You've been awesome friends. Just keep close to each other-you can still be Team Spark without me. If it wasn't for this automatic elimination, I'd still be here, right?" she asked. "You need each other to protect you. I probably wouldn't have been voted off if not for this twist in the elimination ceremony, and you guys are really my best friends. Do it for me, okay?" she asked. A tear formed in her eye. She turned to Maractus.
"Maractus, thanks for…well, being nice to me after my elimination. I hope you do well, too," said Minun. She stuck her hand out for Maractus to shake it, and Maractus accepted. "Thanks. I hope you, like, have an awesome time on PLI."
"PLI? Pokemon Loser Island?" questioned Minun.
"Uh, yeah," said Maractus. "It just sounds nicer when you say it without the, you know, loser part."
"Oh…well, thanks," said Minun.
Minun also said goodbye to Sentret, Torchic, Munchlax, Kirlia, Kricketune, Buneary, Pikachu, Zorua, Meganium, Tropius, and several others. A lot of campers didn't think that she deserved to go home, and she had quite a few friends. Finally, she made her way over to the confessional.
…
There are tears in Minun's eyes as she speaks. "Uh…I really don't know what to say. Honestly, when Plusle and I got on this show, we didn't expect for either of us to make it past the fourth episode. I didn't make it far past, but it's an accomplishment, and I've had a wonderful time here."
She pauses. "This game isn't as hard as you'd think. I've made friends, and doing just that is a lot of what keeps you in the game for a long time. Arceus knows, I'm not the most talented Pokemon, but I've made some friends, and that's good enough for me."
"I'm rooting for Pachirisu or my brother to win. Team Spark can do this! If not, Maractus, Sentret, Torchic, Munchlax, Kirlia…they're all nice Pokemon. I won't be disappointed if almost anyone wins, though…except whoever it was that put that hole in the bottom of my backpack and stole my rings. Whoever that is needs to learn to play fair!"
"I've had an amazing time here, had a great time with my brother and my best friend, and I've done some really cool stuff. I'll really miss you, Pokemon Challenge Island!" she finishes.
…
Minun boarded the boat after collecting her luggage and saying her final goodbyes to Pachirisu and Plusle. She waved to everyone on the island, and most of the campers waved back. She eventually disappeared over the horizon, and after watching her go, most campers left to go to sleep. But a few who weren't ready to go stayed out and watched the moon reflecting on the water.
…
"Wow…this looks nice," admitted Minun to the four Pokemon in front of her: Mothim, Numel, Glameow, and Qwilfish.
"I know, right?" Glameow purred. "This place is a resort…the information they hold from you. I can only imagine what kinds of secrets Duskull and Totodile are holding from the campers still at camp."
"Dude, he's a tough host," Mothim agreed.
"Minun, your room is Room Number 5," said a waitress, a Flying-type Pokemon whose name she couldn't remember.
"Alright, thanks," said Minun.
Numel yawned. "It's really nice here…you don't have to do anything."
"True!" exclaimed Qwilfish. "Plus their bubble baths are not to be messed with."
"…'Kay then," said Minun slowly.
"It's almost better than winning the million dollars…you get a long stay at a fancy resort for free," said Glameow. "Anyway, you might as well get adjusted. Go explore, and if you need anything, just ring the bell for a waiter or waitress,"
"Got it," said Minun, smiling. "This might not be so bad!"
…
Here we go! Minun got out in the fifth elimination, just as Katie did in the real TDI. Which leaves Plusle/Sadie in for a while.
I wanted to do a part at Pokemon Loser Island for a bit, so I decided to do it this episode since Minun is the first genuinely likeable character I've sent here since Mothim. Was I sad about getting rid of Minun? Eh, maybe a bit. But Plusle is going to kick (Liepard's) butt after he finds out that it's her fault that his sister was eliminated.
Kirlia and Whimsicott are about to ally with Kricketune. Will he accept? Who knows.
I have a general plot structure for the next few episodes planned out, but it's subject to change. Just let me know what you'd like me to do and I'll see if I can do it.
Dragonair sticks up for Maractus, who's on the opposite team. For a character who's talked roughly four times in the entire thing, Dragonair's turning out to be a more interesting character than I thought she'd be.
Next time on Pokemon Challenge Island: Prepare to be knocked out as the Pokemon get involved in a dodgeball challenge! Who will stay in and who will get knocked aside? Hit me with a review and help decide!
Bad dodgeball puns. Bad, bad dodgeball puns.
Anyway, please review! Minun will give you a hug, and who wouldn't want a hug from Minun?
Minun: Review! Do it for me, and Plusle, and Minun, and your favorite character! Unless your favorite character was one of us, but you still have to review either way!