I have made my decision. I'll finish the Desire series before working on Season 2. I want to give that series some love. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon will be delayed though. Check my profile to see the change in scheduling.
Reply to Reviews
Parousia45
Your analysis of Rhyhorn is spot on. I want to defy the stereotypes of the Rhyhorn line. Hence, why I make him smart. What you said about his friends is also correct.
I agree with you. I'll reboot Desire Tunnel immediately after this is done. My third story will be pushed. I plan to overhaul certain things about DT to make it look less contrived. The ending now will be slightly different. Don't have too much hope for our protagonist though.
Fallenstreet01
I'm not a fan of gore. Rather, I'm a fan of tragedy. Gore or not doesn't matter. I'll show the identity of the psychic in Desire Land. Read it to find out.
Worma-Sir
Rhyhorn is a character that I don't expect most to like. Honestly, I don't expect him to get any love at all. The purpose of his character is to be a big mystery. Actually, you got three correct. Lucario got ninth place. Your predictions are decent.
Octoriter
You can root for the interns. There might be more cases where they get chances to earn bonuses by making things more difficult for the contestants. The trick to being a good planner is to keep thinking, keep visioning. I think about my stories every night before I sleep.
Dark Arcanine 33
I'm glad that you like Rhydon. It's such a relief. He's such a risky character to write. I want my show to be fair when it should be fair. No rigging votes for the elimination. Still, I like the unfair element sometimes. The Skarmory Shop for example is extremely unfair. Meowth gets all the discounts.
InfernoMaster64
Do I really need to PM you? I'm pretty sure that Wave can just read chapter 24. I'm pretty sure I can contact Ursaring to give you one of the dummies. Told you I have many curveballs planned. Lucario got his comeuppance in the end. Everyone seems happy. That's good. I like the fact that all of you manage to look past that and show some sympathy. The ride toward the finale can be shaky. Who knows? Drifblim might suddenly be eliminated this episode and the finale might be between Heracross and Darmanitan.
SunBurst429
Thanks for your support. I really appreciate it. Yeah, it's fitting and ironic for the professional athlete to get medically evacuated.
Episode 25: Valentia Visitation
Skarmory dawdled over his coffee lonelily before lifting his eyes at the camera.
Skarmory sighed. "Well, today is the loved ones visit day, viewers. All eight contestants will get to see their very own 'loved one' after squabbling over trivial matters in the previous two episodes due to our coupling twist. Oh, if you haven't watched, spoiler alert by the way." He threw the redundant warning out of nowhere before sipping his coffee.
"Last time, a few contestants sabotaged their teammates. Mainly, Rhyhorn and Nosepass. Drifblim broke down into tears while Lucario punched Nosepass in the nose. Two polar opposite reactions. In the end, Rhyhorn evolved into Rhydon and severely injured Lucario. No one could see the professional athlete getting medically evacuated coming. More so than that, Rhydon got disqualified from the entire competition. On a brighter note, Team High Expense got their new makeover with cardboard crowns. I bet they're jumping in joy right now. Go, generous me." Skarmory said sarcastically before eyeing the cameraman (Raticate) glumly.
"She probably won't come. Wrap it up." Skarmory ended hopelessly.
Raticate was about to stop the recording until…
Furret suddenly appeared behind Skarmory, emerging out of a mysterious beam of light. She sneaked behind him with a box of chocolate.
"What the *beep*?! I need a raise after this heart attack." Raticate exaggerated, startled. The unprofessional intern nearly knocked the camera down. The host gave him a puzzled look.
"Why do you-ow." Skarmory winced as the box of chocolate smacked his head.
"Surprise!" Furret shouted, jumping in front of him before handing the box over.
Skarmory rubbed his head before widening his eyes, rubbed his eyes and rubbed them again. He had a stupid smile on his face.
"You're here!" Skarmory exclaimed. "Where have you been? I thought that I'll never see you." His eyes showed a mix of relief and joy.
"Silly, did you think that I'll really leave you all alone for the loved ones visit day? I went to Toucannon Island to buy this special treat, just for you. Alakazam helped me with the surprise." Furret explained with an endearing, exquisite expression.
"I don't know what to say… I'm so thankful. I love you." Skarmory pulled her in for a hug.
"I love you too." Furret reciprocated the loving gesture.
Raticate recovered and closed the camera before things got too heartfelt and lovey-dovey.
Farfetch'd opened his eyes and closed them before opening them again, regaining his consciousness slowly.
Farfetch'd yawned, pushing his blankets away. "Mr. Stalk, excited to meet Swanna?" He soon felt his skin crawling from the newspaper in his left wing. "Mr. Stalk? Where are you and why am I holding a newspaper?"
At first, only slight unease presented in his mind as Farfetch'd believed that he probably accidentally dropped Mr. Stalk down. No big deal, he could pick him right back up.
Farfetch'd got off his bed and looked around on the ground. He found nothing. Now, his heart raced with anxiety a little.
"Mr. Stalk, call out to me so I can find you. You must be nearby somewhere. Did Mr. Newspaper kidnap you?" Farfetch'd glared at the newspaper accusingly before continuing his search.
Farfetch'd raked underneath his bed, sweeping the dust out with the newspaper in hopes of rescuing his precious partner.
"This isn't funny anymore, Mr. Newspaper! Tell me where you keep Mr. Stalk or else I'll force you to eat more dust." Farfetch'd threatened, panic settling in.
Mr. Newspaper kept his lips sealed. Farfetch'd sweated.
The desperate duck rummaged through his bed, throwing pillows away and messing the bed sheets up. He scrambled around the room, searching endlessly and tirelessly.
"I lost Mr. Stalk? B-but how?!" Farfetch'd shook his head in denial and regret. He blamed himself for this foolish, unforgivable mistake. How could someone abduct Mr. Stalk right under his nose? It shouldn't be possible considering their life-long familiarity with each other. Mr. Stalk was a part of Farfetch'd. Stealing him is like taking his wing off.
Farfetch'd crumbled the newspaper, slowly twisting it until it ripped in half.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: He cried in the confessional. "Boohoo, I'm sorry father…" What had his father involved with any of this?
Farfetch'd looked all over the camp, running from place to place.
In the mess hall…
"Chef Drapion, did you cook Mr. Stalk for food?!" Farfetch'd accused.
"Are you trying to frame me? Get out!" Chef Drapion demanded.
"Not until you release Mr. Stalk!" Farfetch'd refused.
The camera transitioned to the outside of the mess hall. A few seconds later, Farfetch'd got kicked out and the door slammed closed.
Up on top of a tree…
Farfetch'd balanced himself on a shaky branch, looking around for Mr. Stalk.
"Mr. Stalk, where are you? Left, right, down, up, east, west, south, north. Give me a clue." Farfetch'd looked around, shading his eyes from the eye-burning sunlight. Unfortunately, the branch snapped and Farfetch'd fell down.
"Ouch, ow, argh, ugh, ah…" Farfetch'd made a wide variety of noises as he hit branch after branch on his way down. It was one rough landing at the end.
In the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin…
Farfetch'd ransacked for Mr. Stalk relentlessly. He threw all the pillows outside, removing all the bed sheets and basically caused a gigantic, disorganized mess.
It wasn't long before Darmanitan passed by his own cabin and saw the searching storm. He widened his eyes, flustered at the appearance of his bed.
"Homie, what the hell are you doing?" Darmanitan questioned with consternation. "You're frightening me."
"Did Mr. Stalk come here for a sleepover with your guys? Why didn't you guys send him back after the night's over? Did you drug and lock him up in a basement somewhere?!" Farfetch'd shook Darmanitan's shoulders infuriatingly.
"Calm down, homie. I don't even understand what the hell you're talking about. Please, speak slowly so your boy can understand. Like did you lost Mr. Stalk or something?" Darmanitan removed Farfetch'd's wings from his shoulders and asked nicely.
"Yeah… Sorry for causing the mess by the way. I need to find Mr. Stalk. Please tell me anything you know about his whereabouts. I'll do anything if you manage to find him for me. Please, I beg you!" Farfetch'd implored desperately, clasping onto his arms.
"Homie, no need to do this. If I would know, I would've told you. However, I don't know where it's right now. Maybe, check the confessional?" Darmanitan suggested randomly, scratching his head sheepishly.
"Confessional? I'll go and check." Farfetch'd left in a hurry.
Darmanitan looked with concern at Farfetch'd as he nearly tripped himself on the way to the confessional, sighing. The guy picked up his pillow and was about to enter his cabin until he heard a voice.
"My, my, what kind of ravenous thief would raid our humble housing?" Meowth gawked at the mess.
"Farfetch'd lost Mr. Stalk, homie. He got a bit… crazy." Darmanitan explained.
"Oh, I see… I entrust that you clean this mess up. I'll go and organize our breakfast. How does that sound?" Meowth managed their housework roles.
"Sounds good, homie." Darmanitan gave a thumb up before cleaning up the entire cabin all by himself.
Meowth smirked as he left for the confessional.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: He opened the door, scanning the entire stall. "Mr. Stalk isn't here." He sounded disappointed as he closed the door.
Meowth: "I need to find his valuable, priceless leek stalk. This might be my rare opportunity to strike a deal with Farfetch'd since Aromatisse is isn't so keen on working with me at the moment. Who knows? This might clean my image and put me back on the good graces of many contestants."
After a long, hopeless search…
Farfetch'd stared long and hard at the door leading to the girls' restroom, females' most private and sacred sanctuary. Would he dare to profane it with his male presence?
Farfetch'd took a deep breath. "Anything for Mr. Stalk." He resolved and entered recklessly, opening the door slowly and closing it quietly.
The camera didn't invade inside, filming only the exterior of the restroom. A sound of showering was heard from one of the stalls.
"Mr. Stalk, why are you showering inside the girls' restroom? Quickly get out!" Farfetch'd acted impetuously without thinking clearly.
A bashing sound was heard. Most likely, Farfetch'd… went inside the shower stall.
"What the *beep* hell are you doing here?! Get the *beep* out, Farfetch'd!" Heracross swore, sounding extremely pissed off. Judging by her voice alone, it seemed like she wanted to murder Farfetch'd.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Farfetch'd tried to defend himself.
"*beep* die!" Heracross yelled, cutting him off. Sounds of beatings and agonizing cries were heard immediately after.
Confessional
Heracross: "*beep* pervert. Back where I live, he would already be lynched. He got lucky that it's against the rules to severely injure a contestant."
Farfetch'd: He made a series of noises indicating pain. They were mostly incomprehensible whimpers. He got bruises and bandages all over his body. "It still hurts, even though I took bitter medicinal herbs. Huarghh." He clutched his searing injuries.
Farfetch'd rested on the infirmary bed. The physical pain might make him moaned and groaned. However, it was the mental agony from the loss of Mr. Stalk that made him cry.
"Mr. Stalk, Mr. Stalk…" Farfetch'd repeated in a weak voice.
Eventually, there was a knock on the door. Farfetch'd hid under the blanket, fearing that Heracross would infiltrate his safe and sacred sanctuary in revenge for more payback.
"It's me, Aromatisse. Can I come in? I'm not here to beat you up. I just want to talk about Mr. Stalk. Maybe I can help." Aromatisse stated her good intention.
"Come in." Farfetch'd permitted entry, relieved that it was someone else. Still, he pulled his blanket up a little nervously as the door creaked opened. Upon seeing the worried look on her face, he lowered the blanket down to his neck.
"Your face doesn't look good. It must hurt, doesn't it?" Aromatisse asked in concern. Farfetch'd nodded in reply, seemingly uncomfortable.
Aromatisse noticed his uneasy expression and frowned a little. "Farfetch'd, I'm not mad at what you did. 'll probably be mad if I'm on the receiving end. But that's not the point. I just want to help you find Mr. Stalk in return for saving me at the conveyor belt station."
"Err…" Farfetch'd was still processing everything. He was honestly surprised that Aromatisse would help him, let alone forgiving him.
While Aromatisse awaited his reply, an unexpected guest arrived.
"Aromatisse, why are you helping this perverse idiot? He deserves what's coming for him." Duosion glared at Farfetch'd coldly. Farfetch'd returned the glare.
"Come on, go easy on him. He just wants to find Mr. Stalk. He already got punished by Heracross. Not need to rub salt on his face." Aromatisse appeased.
"Go easy? Why should I? To me, it all seems suspicious. If he truly and only wants to search for his 'long-lost' partner, then he should ask any of the girls for help if he truly believes that a brainless leek stalk has somehow magically hid itself in the girls' restroom. Either he has an ulterior motive or he's a completely crazy and delusional idiot." Duosion degraded harshly.
"Don't call Mr. Stalk brainless!" Farfetch'd seemed very offended. "You can insult me however you want but not him. He's smarter than you after all."
"Fine, I guess you need a non-living object to look smarter than me after all, huh? Mr. Stalk is a genius and you're a brainless idiot that lacks any circumspection or common sense. Happy now?" Duosion sneered, sounding a bit personal.
"Stop, both of you!" Aromatisse intervened. "Duosion, why are you even here? To make things worse? Playing with him mentally? This is unlike you, girl. You aren't Skrelp. Houndour is about to return today. I thought that you'll be in a jolly and forgiving mood." She said in a disappointed tone, shaking her head in disapproval.
Aromatisse's words struck Duosion's where it really hurts. She turned silent, averting her eyes and quickly left.
"Don't mind her." Aromatisse turned to Farfetch'd. "Although, she has a point. You're smart, Farfetch'd. It's unlike you to make that kind of mistake. Why don't you ask me for help if you want to search inside the girls' restroom?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm just used to doing things alone, excluding Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd answered, refusing to look at her eye to eye.
"Farfetch'd, it's not a crime to ask for help. I'm willing to help you!" Aromatisse didn't understand his reasoning.
Farfetch'd looked uncomfortable with this conversation. He felt like he was being incriminated. The flying type stretched his wings out and slid his legs down the infirmary bed only for Aromatisse to hold him back.
"Where are you going?" Aromatisse asked worriedly, seeing the rush in his eyes.
"Finding Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd replied simply, jerking himself away from her only to collapse on the ground.
"Argh." Farfetch'd groaned in pain.
"Farfetch'd, are you alright?!" Aromatisse pulled him back up, returning his body to the infirmary bed.
"I need to rescue Mr. Stalk…" Farfetch'd persisted stubbornly to get off his bed, only for Aromatisse to stop him.
"For beauty's sake, listen! You aren't in the condition to find Mr. Stalk. If you continue to push yourself at this rate, you won't be able to compete in the challenge. You might even miss the chance to see your loved one." Aromatisse alerted, trying to knock some sense into him.
Farfetch'd lay down onto the bed limply, staring sorrowfully at the ceiling.
"Farfetch'd, I'll go and try to find him. Just take a beauty sleep and I'll come back to bring you the good news." Aromatisse smiled consolingly before she left.
Truth be told, Farfetch'd had a reason as to why he was always hesitant to make friends or ask for help that he preferred to not disclose.
It wasn't pride, arrogance or pure stubbornness. Rather, it was because of Mr. Stalk…
To Farfetch'd, asking for help was no different than diminishing the importance and value of Mr. Stalk. His trusty partner would always come through for him. Only if he got Mr. Stalk by his side, he wouldn't make such asinine mistakes like entering the girls' bathroom. He grew reliant on the leek stalk to function physically, mentally and emotionally.
Therefore, how could he make Mr. Stalk jealous by requesting unnecessary external help? Mr. Stalk was all he needed. Mr. Stalk was his perfect friend. No one would understand. The others would only see him as a delusional anti-social freak with an imaginary friend. As a result, he couldn't say everything outright, could he?
However, this time was a special exception. Farfetch'd didn't have Mr. Stalk by his side. Anxiety overwhelmed his mind, forcing his body to retreat deeper into the blanket. Now, all he could only do was praying and hoping that Mr. Stalk would return to him safely. 'How' didn't matter to him. The 'when' was all he could think of.
Confessional
Aromatisse: "I don't get Farfetch'd sometimes. I know very well that his strategy is to work alone since we talked to each other during the returning trip. Still, he should learn to socialize with the others a bit more."
Farfetch'd: "What will Swanna think of me when she sees me in this pathetic shape? Even worse, what will she say when she finds out that I lost Mr. Stalk? All of this is Mr. Newspaper's fault!" He blamed furiously, the tone of his voice shifted significantly at the end.
In the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin…
"Oh, I get everything now, girl. If you plan on turning Farfetch'd into a perverted idiot, it sure works." Heracross nodded.
"Not the perverted part but I have intended to weaken him." Drifblim clarified, hiding her amusement behind her cool and composed face.
"What's next? Eliminate him? I'll gladly rally up our numbers because I'm still *beep* pissed!" Heracross asked eagerly, volunteering for the job with a reddened face.
"No, he's weak. No point getting rid of him now. Meowth is the real threat that we need to deal with immediately." Drifblim told. Although, she didn't sound urgent at all. It was as if she didn't actually consider him as a threat.
"Everything is good and all girl but what are we going to do if Nosepass betrays us? He's just like that new kid on the block a couple streets away, you know? New to this stealing business. No telling if he'll snitch. Just putting in my two cents, girl. No offense to your plan." Heracross cautioned wisely.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm keeping my eyes on him. I never let my guard down." Drifblim assured. "Heracross, I expect you to worry about yourself more than me. Many of the others don't like you and I can't carry you all the way to the finale either. Keep that in mind." She returned a warning of her own.
"I'm sure you won't keep me in the finale, girl." Heracross laughed with a snort. "I mean I got my awesome might. No one want to face me at the end. I suppose you want to keep Nosepass and take the million like taking a candy from a baby."
Drifblim chuckled at her attempt to look smart. "You're wrong about that, Heracross. The thing with Nosepass is that everyone wants to keep him until the finale. They all see him as a goat (a contestant that you want to bring to the end), this makes him dangerous in his own way. If I lose immunity in the final three and Nosepass is next to me at the elimination ceremony, I can kiss my butt goodbye."
"No matter who you're bringing to the end, I wish you luck. I appreciate the fact that you're real with me, girl. Your knowledge is also rubbing off on me. I'm absorbing it like a sponge. If I'm gone, you're my pick for the million. Remember to give your poor friend one percent of it, eh? An early birthday present to Heracross." Heracross nudged half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"Sure." Drifblim rolled her eyes before contorting her face in a comedic manner, saying it with the fakest voice ever. Both of them broke out in laughter.
Suddenly, an unwelcomed guest interrupted, pushing the door open forcefully.
"Celebrating your successful careers as thieves, I surmise. Just like evil businesses will be punished by law, it'll soon be your turn to pay the fine." Meowth proclaimed, upholding the justified look in his eyes despite the slight hypocrisy.
"Get out, Meowth! You're no longer our boss. After Lucario's gone, you're nothing." Heracross tried to shoo him away.
"Get lost, Meowth. I find it hypocritical of you to suddenly play as police." Drifblim stared sternly.
"You two will regret embezzling the advantage from Meowth & Co. as well as committing other crimes." Meowth gave them an intimidating look of confidence before he left.
"Empty threats they're." Heracross scoffed.
"Still, we can't lower our guard. Meowth is a dangerous opponent, only a few levels below me. While I'm confident that we can beat him, I don't want to underestimate him like I did to Rhydon." Drifblim said warily. The humiliation from yesterday resurfaced on her face vividly. However, she quickly shook it off.
"Are you okay, girl?" Heracross eyed her face worriedly.
"I'm okay. Go and make sure everything goes according to plan." Drifblim ordered, looking increasingly worried.
"Alright." Heracross obeyed, stretching her muscles as she exited the cabin. "Take care, girl." She said before she really left. Drifblim lightened up with a smile.
Confessional
Drifblim: "Heracross really brought up a good point about the finale. Who should I bring to the end? Honestly, I'm still contemplating it to this very day. I want to compete against someone that can put up a fight and be fairly challenging to beat. I want it to be exciting, nail-biting and down to the last play kind of thing. Obviously, I still want to win. That's why I eliminated threats like Lucario. Threats that I barely have any chance to defeat." She suddenly shook her head.
"I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. This is only the final eight. It'll be quite a long while before the finale. I should keep my head in the present. Otherwise, I might make another mistake. Yesterday could have turned out differently. I should feel fortunate to still even last in this game."
Heracross: "I gotta show Drifblim that I can pull my own weight. She doesn't need to carry me to the finale. I can make my way there myself."
Meowth: "In case I incur any losses trying to recruit Farfetch'd, I have a back-up plan to keep Meowth & Co. afloat." He smirked.
Nosepass hummed to himself as he took a stroll around the forest area. He tried to free himself from his guilt and nervousness as he breathed in the fresh scenery.
However, his turbulent thoughts didn't cease to rampage inside his puny mind, forcing him to constantly reassure himself over and over again. He entered a paranoia state and soon broke down.
"Since when I turned into this kind of horrible Pokemon? The nightmares started haunting me again… Will everyone hate me? Will Rhydon be disappointed in me? Will Hickery-o stop liking me? What should I do now?!" Nosepass cried.
He went over the few options he had. First, confess everything so that everyone can hate him and vote him off. Second, keep it a secret and live pitifully for the rest of his life. Actually, the second option wouldn't work as everything will be aired sooner or later. Still, Nosepass didn't have any courage to confess his wrongdoings. Perhaps, he rather waited for everyone else to find it out by themselves like the coward he was.
"Nosepass, why are you crying?" Aromatisse asked, crouching down to check on him.
"I miss Rhydon." Nosepass covered it up.
"Oh, everything will be okay. You'll see your big brother again. I mean you invited him over, didn't you?" Aromatisse asked, thinking that the answer was pretty obvious.
Nosepass immediately turned away, avoiding eye contact and the fairy type altogether.
Aromatisse got the message and stopped bothering him with the question, standing up properly.
"I'm sure you got your reasons, Nosepass. I won't pry too much into it. Anyways, if you find Mr. Stalk, please return it to Farfetch'd. He's really, really… desperate. Desperate enough to enter the girls' restroom and get himself hurt. It'll mean the world to him if he reunites with Mr. Stalk once again." Aromatisse emphasized.
Nosepass looked down on the ground guiltily, covering his face in shame. Luckily for him, Aromatisse didn't have any suspicions. She soon left, continuing her search.
Confessional
Nosepass: "Why must she butt in someone else' business? I'm already suffering enough. Does she want to guilt trip me, making me feel even more worthless?"
Aromatisse: "Did I say something I shouldn't? Maybe, the Rhydon thing? He might still be traumatized from yesterday. I shouldn't have brought it back up."
Meowth: "As the CEO of Meowth & Co., I must apologize for our guests' dissatisfaction regarding lost personal belongings. Two of our employees misappropriate them without us knowing. We'll deal with the issue with utmost haste. We implore our dear guests to give us more time as there are certain… technical difficulties." He acted as if he was a hotel manager.
"Contestants, please make your way to the dock. You're about to see your loved one. Isn't it exciting?!" Skarmory made an announcement.
Nosepass was a bundle of nerves, trembling.
Duosion looked overwhelmed with excitement and joy. She couldn't keep still, floating back and forth. Yet, a feeling of perturbing uncertainty lingered inside her mind.
Aromatisse looked mildly excited but nothing out of extraordinarily.
Meowth rubbed his hands together dexterously with a slick smile.
Drifblim glanced at the other contestants' reactions before facing the approaching boat.
Farfetch'd didn't arrive yet.
Darmanitan looked the calmest and chilliest. Of course, he missed Machoke. However, there was no need for him to fret fidgetily or run around wildly like a fool when the special visitors were literally in their sight.
Miltank jumped off the boat and landed on the dock first with a grin on her face. Heracross ran over to her, giving her friend a hi-five before pulling each other for a hug.
"Miss you, girl. Time to destroy these losers!" Miltank shouted inconsiderately.
"Yeah, let's destroy them with our might!" Heracross agreed.
Many Pokemon gave them dirty looks, especially Swanna. She soon ignored them, darting her eyes around for Farfetch'd.
Houndour ran energetically toward Duosion, maneuvering his way through the crowd of Pokemon on the dock. Nearing her, he leaped up for a hug. The two dropped down to the sand.
"Duosion, it feels like a century waiting to see you again!" Houndour nuzzled.
"Easy there." Duosion pushed him back a bit. "It should be me saying that."
As the two cuddled for a while, the camera cut to the boat.
The Nidoking was dressed neatly in a black suit with a yellow checkered necktie, carrying a black suitcase. He offered a hand to Florges, helping her landing safely on the dock.
"Thanks, hunky." Florges blew him a kiss. Nidoking blushed.
Meowth frowned at the scene, staring at his assistant critically. Nidoking noticed and immediately hastened over to his boss.
"Sorry, boss. Err, I got a bit… distracted." Nidoking bowed down in apology.
Meowth was about to scold Nidoking until he saw the fairy types direct disgusted looks toward him.
Meowth faked a forgiving smile. "No, you did the right thing, assistant. Helping our lovely lady guest. Anyways, did you bring what I asked for?"
"Of course, boss. I don't disappoint." Nidoking lifted the suitcase up. Meowth had a mysterious grin, glancing at Aromatisse for some unknown reason.
"Wow, so many contestants from different walks of life. Can't believe that I get to see them in person." Ariados (Drifblim's loved one.) eyed everything enthusiastically. He approached Heracross with a flare of interest in his eyes.
"You fit into the physically strong but dumb contestant category really well. I bet you got casted as fodder to create hilarious failing moments for the viewers to enjoy." Ariados analyzed from her mannerism.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?!" Heracross shook the dock with her mighty stomp, raising her right fist.
"Hey, calm down! My opinion is purely subjective. No need to be angry. The dock is pretty delicate, alright? I bet the host won't like it if you destroy his property." Ariados placated.
"Ariados, what are you doing?!" Drifblim rushed over in a hurry with a worried expression. The two diverted to her.
"This loser is your loved one? Seriously? Girl, did all of your friends decline and he's your last pick?" Heracross questioned mockingly.
"Hey-" Before Ariados got a chance to say anything else, Drifblim covered his mouth.
"Ha-Ha, yeah." Drifblim forced a laugh before dragging Ariados away. He made muffled sounds, resisting feebly.
Nosepass took a deep breath, gathering his confidence. His face melted in sweat as Hickery-o smiled at him.
"Hello, Hickery-o." Nosepass tried to sound natural, waving gawkily.
"The same to you, Nosepass. Why the sweating face? Am I so hot that you're about to Nosepass-out?" Hickery-o joked.
"Yeah." Nosepass went with it.
"Look at that, girl. The coward got a girlfriend. I bet he has paid her to act as one. Hahaha…" Miltank mocked and Heracross joined.
"No, he isn't a coward! He once saved me from two bullies like both of you. He deserves your respect!" Hickery-o shouted assertively for Nosepass, who seemed touched. However, it only spiraled down into guilt at the end.
"Whatever, girl. We'll see who's the coward in the challenge." Miltank got up on her face before leaving with Heracross.
"That's not chill of them. Are you alright?" Darmanitan came to check.
"I'm perfectly fine. What about you, Nosepass?" Hickery-o turned the attention to him.
"Fine." Nosepass lifted his face up and replied simply before looking down once again. Hickery-o looked a bit concerned. However, she shrugged it off for now.
"Nice to meet you. Are you Nosepass' friend?" Hickery-o started a conversation with Darmanitan.
"Err… no. Here is the thing. I got a very, very scary friend. Well, he used to be my friend and role model. No one wants to be friends with me because of him. He's gone now though." Darmanitan explained. "Still, nice to meet you."
"Oh, I see. Sorry to bring it up." Hickery-o looked apologetic.
"No need to be sorry, homie." Darmanitan assured.
"Darmanitan, I'm back with more techniques to show than ever!" Machoke landed last, running straight to Darmanitan.
"Homie, great to see you again. Like whoa, you gain more muscles." Darmanitan commented, touching them out.
"Yeah, a really nice Passimian made me some muscle food. I think that's what they're called." Machoke told, unsure. "Hopefully, I can be useful now."
"Contestants, the challenge won't start for a while. Enjoy your time with your loved one for now." Skarmory publicized after everyone but Swanna got to see their loved one.
Confessional
Duosion: "Just perfect! Time for us to catch up on the details. I want to know what is going on in Loser Island lately. I'm sure that Houndour will be interested to know what's going on around here as well. Right, Meowth?" Duosion asked rhetorically.
Swanna: "Where are they? Something bad must have happened to them." She seemed anxious.
Florges: "Honestly, I don't care about Total Drama-rama whatever. I only grace this dirty island with my beautiful presence to see some top tier guys. Why else would I risk my fabulous face? Did you see Aromatisse's face? Like, ew. If I'm her, I would put a paper bag over my face."
Duo Confessional of Drifblim and Ariados (for this special occasion only)
Ariados: "Why did you lie? I'm the first one you called." He looked upset.
Drifblim: "If you want me to say the truth then, stop embarrassing me." She looked upset as well.
Ariados: "Come on, relax. I know you'll win after looking at all of your competitors. You come here to have fun, not to work, my fiancée. Remember?"
Drifblim: "Why did you tell them that I'm your fiancée?! I lied that I'm single." She looked even more upset.
Ariados: "What? Why?!" He had a shocked expression.
Drifblim: "Because I don't want to hurt my chances of being accepted into this show. They usually cast single girls and boys."
Ariados: "Seriously? You lied about your own fiancé just to improve your chances? I know how important this is to you but come on, this isn't all you have in life. You shouldn't feel the need to roleplay someone you obviously aren't."
Drifblim: "Haha, sure." She laughed sarcastically. "Let the viewers see a weird, boring crazed superfan that gets eliminated extremely early on. I'm pretty sure they will love that." She rolled her eyes.
Ariados: "I'm engaged with Drifblim early at the age of 18. How? During that time, a show called The Mole got canceled. I consoled her and proposed to her shortly after and it worked! Our relationship has been smooth for well over a year now. We plan to marry next year when we both reach our twenties." He informed happily.
Drifblim: "Why did you tell them that?!" She questioned angrily. "It's personal."
Ariados: "So that the viewers will get to know you more as a Pokemon. So that they will see you more than just a villain. My fiancée, I don't want you to get hate for any of this. I personally know you the best. I know what fuels you with motivation. I know what drives you to tears. I know what propels you to happiness. However, the viewers don't know any of that."
Drifblim: "So what if I get hate? I'll gladly accept it. Compare to certain contestants, I'm sure that I'll get more fans and less haters than them."
Ariados: He sighed. "Hope you're happy with it."
Aromatisse and Florges approached Swanna, who darted around randomly to find Farfetch'd.
"Swanna, looking for Farfetch'd? We can help." Aromatisse offered.
"Thank you, kind fairies. I'm wondering why he disappeared in the first place." Swanna stared at her inquisitively, seeing the knowing look in her eyes. "Do you know by any chance?"
"I guess." Aromatisse sounded unconfident. Florges fiddled with her nails to pass some time.
"Please tell. Any help is appreciated." Swanna requested in a polite tone.
"Well, my best guess is that he's scared of seeing you because he has lost Mr. Stalk." Aromatisse informed.
Swanna widened her eyes, gawking in a trance.
"Swanna?" Aromatisse waved her left hand in front of her, snapping her back into reality.
"Oh, sorry. It's just that this is really serious. We need to find Mr. Stalk immediately." Swanna spoke in an urgent tone.
"Is it really that serious? Like more serious than a facial injury?" Aromatisse asked.
"Ridiculous, Aromatisse. Nothing is more important than the face. It gives you money, it gives you fame and it gives you boys." Florges listed with her three fingers. Basically, her entire hand.
"I beg to differ. To Farfetch'd, Mr. Stalk is the most important. More than money, more than his professional titles and more than myself even." Swanna stated.
"Duh, that's because he's a boy. I'm talking about girls; I stand correct. Listen." Florges focused on such small technicalities. Swanna scowled at her in annoyance.
"Florges, I think that's enough. We are here to help. It's not fabulous to argue over something this insignificant." Aromatisse said in disapproval.
"Fine, whatever." Florges rolled her eyes, going back to fiddling with her nails.
"Here is the thing." Swanna continued, addressing Aromatisse only. "Mr. Stalk might seem like an object to you. Farfetch'd might seem like a weirdo for talking to him. However, he has a good reason for it. The truth is that Mr. Stalk is the name of his father." She revealed.
"What are you trying to say? Is Mr. Stalk Farfetch'd's father? That's impossible." Aromatisse looked baffled.
"Biologically, no. Technically, yes. Mr. Stalk is the last thing his father left before disappearing since his birth. Farfetch'd only lives with his mother alone. He never sees his father with his own eyes. Mr. Stalk is like a father to him at first. Eventually, he turns to something much more. Mr. Stalk is now an inseparable part of him. You could say that Mr. Stalk is Farfetch'd." Swanna clarified. Aromatisse looked stupefied.
"Please believe me. I swear that everything I said is the truth." Swanna said with sheer sincerity.
"I think I believe you. Where is his biological father though? Is he dead?" Aromatisse assumed rather inconsiderately.
"No, what makes you think that?" Swanna shook her head, frowning.
"Sorry, I don't know." Aromatisse apologized.
"It's okay. This is just a rumor so, take it lightly. I don't believe this and Farfetch'd certainly doesn't believe this either. It's possible that his father might… find a new woman." Swanna rumored. Aromatisse gasped.
"Are we done yet? Ugh, let's do something already." Florges complained.
"Florges, please-" Aromatisse was about to rebuke her friend until Swanna stepped in.
"Your friend is right. You two are on the giving end. I shouldn't make it difficult for you two to help. Let's search for Mr. Stalk and Farfetch'd now." Swanna suggested.
"Excuse me ladies, my boss has a word for one of you." Nidoking interrupted, retreating back and let Meowth step forward.
"What is it, Meowth?" Aromatisse said in an unfriendly tone. "Can't you see that we are busy?"
"Of course. However, I believe my matter is of equal importance. Aromatisse, what would you say if my assistant offers to fix your face for free?" Meowth offered with a smile, snapping his fingers. Nidoking opened the suitcase to show a special, hi-class cosmetic kit.
"You aren't offering it for free, Meowth. You can't trick me." Aromatisse didn't buy it. "Besides, I'm currently helping Farfetch'd and Swanna."
"About that, I prefer if you accept the treatment. I don't accept help if it's unbeneficial to the helping party. It isn't fair to you girls that way." Swanna encouraged.
"Are you sure? I don't think I'll accept the treatment regardless." Aromatisse seemed reluctant.
"Come on, why are you hesitating? Accept it, Aromatisse. Just think about it, money, fame and boys!" Florges tried to persuade her.
"Yeah, boys." Nidoking chuckled. Meowth gave him a critical look. The assistant turned silent immediately.
Aromatisse sighed. Thinking about it, she wanted to fix her face. After all, it would impress Decidueye…
"Fine, Meowth. However, if I catch you performing any dirty tricks, I swear I'll…" Aromatisse said threateningly.
"No need to threaten me, Aromatisse. The whole world is watching. I can't afford anymore negative publicity." Meowth assured.
Aromatisse eventually accepted the treatment after Machoke and Darmanitan came and offered to help Swanna instead.
Confessional
Machoke: "With my Secret Stalking Mr. Stalk Searching Technique, I can find him for sure. I mean I got pretty lucky, right? My Pyukumuku Pursuit Technique works so this should work as well. Frankly, I'm not good at finding things. I remember that I lost my pencil one time, only to find out that it was right in front of my face the whole time. Hopefully, my technique can pull through for me."
Aromatisse: "The treatment actually went smoothly. I'm impressed." She pushed the fur around her face back, framing her face for the camera. "Still, this doesn't mean that I'll suddenly ally myself with Meowth. I appreciate what he did but I won't return the kindness until he can prove it to me that he changes for the better."
Nidoking: "One of the many benefits I get from working for Meowrendezvous is that I get to test out new product samples like beauty cream and stuff. I sure attract the ladies. I advise everyone to work there. You get good insurance, sick leave and many other fringe benefits. I'm not forced to say this by the way." He sounded nervous at the end.
Swanna: "Besides those two hooligans, I find everyone in this island to be very kind and helpful."
Houndour: He sighed. "I heard everything from Duosion. I'm not going to blame what happened to Lucario on her, Rhydon, Meowth or Lucario himself. Although, I really do wish that we can avoid the incident. I left thinking that everything will change for the better. I guess it might be my fault after all."
Duosion: "Whenever I study history, my teacher reiterates time and time again that we study past events to learn from them and avoid making the same mistakes our ancestors made. I really hope I learn from those mistakes."
The three searchers split out. Swanna chose the forest area. Darmanitan took the gym area and Machoke went with the mountain area. The challenge was about to start soon. They unfortunately didn't have time to search any further from the areas around the first intersection.
"Secret Stalking Mr. Stalk Searching Technique, activate!" Machoke announced dramatically. He lifted a rubble up, spreading his legs, twisting his waist and threw it. The rubble collided with the rock that blocked the entrance to Rhydon's secret base.
Machoke jogged over to check, glancing around the rock.
"Dang it, I found nothing. Just this stupid and dumb rock." Captain Oblivious strikes again.
Confessional
Machoke: "Well, my technique didn't work. I guess I'm unlucky. Well, I can't really say that. I'm pretty lucky. I mean my Pyukumuku Pursuit technique works for real. Although, I can't tell if getting my butt poked by spikes counts as being lucky."
Nosepass guided Hickery-o around the camp, showing her various places.
"This is the mess hall." Nosepass pointed. "Chef Drapion's food is so horrible that I would Nosepass-out because of it."
Hickery-o giggled. Nosepass smiled, proud of his own famous pun.
"Anyways, are there actual interesting places beside the camp facilities?" Hickery-o asked curiously.
"Of course, there is the secr-" Nosepass halted, realizing that he wasn't supposed to say it.
"What is it, Nosepass? Is there something that you can't tell me?" Hickery-o questioned.
The guilt pulled Nosepass back into the shadowy abyss once again. He eyed Hickery-o with pain and conflict, pondering intensely. On one hand, he wanted to come clean. On the other, he feared her reaction.
"Nosepass, are you okay?" Hickery-o asked with concern, touching his heated face.
"Hickery-o, what I said is due to my impulse. My impulse is my worst enemy. It forces me to do many things that I regret like joining a camp that pushes me out of my comfort zone or to a serious extent, hurt someone." Nosepass told the truth while being indirect and vague.
"I see… Nosepass, I can totally relate to that. I paid someone to act as my boyfriend because of impulse as well. During that time, I couldn't think properly because I was peer pressured. Everyone around my age already hooked up with someone except for me. Here is the thing, Nosepass. I don't regret it at all. Because if I regret it, I'll never get a chance to love you." Hickery-o empathized, caressing his face. Nosepass was speechless, he didn't expect her to reply like this…
"I know that you regret many things. You suffered a lot in the past, didn't you? You feel like everything you did are all mistakes that turned out badly one way or another. However, you shouldn't be. Remember when I give you the push you need to take the escalators?" Hickery-o evoked.
"Yeah." Nosepass answered, wondering what that had to do with any of this.
"Does it feel great at the end? To overcome your fear and step out of your comfort zone." Hickery-o asked. Nosepass nodded. It was one of his proudest moments.
"Do you regret going on a fake date with me? Do you regret standing up for me? Even if all of them are impulses." Hickery-o asked more questions.
"No." Nosepass answered genuinely. During the fake date, he felt like he had an actual place in the society. He felt like Luca and Chamel were his actual friends. He enjoyed the food. He cherished Hickery-o! He felt like a brand new Pokemon, albeit temporary.
"Then, there's nothing to regret! Nosepass, be confident in yourself! You're very brave in my eyes. I don't believe that everything you have done so far are just impulses. You might have done a few bad things. So, what? I lied and hurt others before too. If you don't want to tell me what you did, it's okay. I'll wait. However, the truth always limps behind the lies, Nosepass. If you don't tell now, you might end up like me. I got exposed for faking a date." Hickery-o knocked Nosepass back to his senses.
Hickery's words… They washed all of his guilt away. They shined the light to his newfound path. A path that was neither brave or cowardly.
"Thank you s-so much. I don't know what to say. Your words mean a lot to me." Nosepass' feelings were indescribable. He cried tears of joy.
"It's okay. I'll be there by your side no matter what." Hickery-o patted Nosepass' back.
Confessional
Nosepass: "I have made my decision. I'll return Mr. Stalk to Farfetch'd tonight after he sleeps. I'll place Mr. Stalk in his arms and act innocent. When the show airs and the truth is revealed, he won't be able to hurt me in revenge because I'll disappear from his sight forever. This is the best solution for a coward like me. I'll never come clean completely because that is just impulsive. Hickery-o didn't come clean either, so I won't."
Swanna flew above the forest area, looking down for any signs of Farfetch'd. She soon found him leaning on a tree, resting after a fruitless search for Mr. Stalk. She covered her mouth, horrified to see him covered in bandages.
"Farfetch'd, are you okay?!" Swanna descended down to check on him in a hurry.
"Swanna, I'm so sorry. I have lost Mr. Stalk and I was also stupid enough to enter the girls' restroom thinking that he was inside there and got beaten up by Heracross." Farfetch'd cried on her chest. Swanna caressed the back of his head consolingly.
To Farfetch'd, his girlfriend was the only one that truly understands him. He was constantly given a lot of flak for talking to a 'non-living' object since his early childhood by his friends, his teacher and even his own mother…
"It's okay. We'll find him together. Don't cry. Ms. Stick comes to visit, see?" Swanna gave a random fallen tree branch on the ground to him.
"Who is Ms. Stick?" Farfetch'd asked, sniffling.
"She's Mr. Stalk's long-lost sister. She comes to visit." Swanna made it up.
"Really? I never know that Mr. Stalk has a sister before." Farfetch'd stared at the stick in amazement. "Ms. Stick, want to find Mr. Stalk together? Aha." He nodded. "She wants to help me find Mr. Stalk!" He sounded really happy, smiling. Swanna shared the smile.
"Contestants and loved ones, the challenge is about to start! Alakazam will teleport you to the location soon enough. Get ready." Skarmory prepared them.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: He rubbed Ms. Stick caringly. "While she might not be a multi-talented professional like Mr. Stalk. I'm pretty sure she'll be a huge help in finding him. Ouch, a splinter." He yelped.
Alakazam teleported the loved ones to the mess hall, the contestants to the plain white room inside the haunted mansion.
Each Pokemon sat on a chair with a table in front of them. The table included a mini whiteboard, a marker and a whiteboard eraser. Attached to the ceiling of each room was a monitor.
Suddenly, Skarmory's face appeared on the monitor. "Contestants, today's challenge will be split into two parts. In this first part, you'll be competing for an advantage in the second part. The first part will be a game called Telepathy Quiz. Very simple, you just need to give the same answer as your partner to score a point. There will be five rounds. If you get three or more points, you'll get the advantage." Skarmory explained. "Any questions?"
No one asked anything. Therefore, Skarmory's face got replaced with a question right away.
Confessional
Ariados: "I know Drifblim since I was three. Besides, I won quiz shows before. This will be easy."
Nosepass: "I don't know Hickery-o that well. I don't know what kind of answer she will give. This is bad."
The following question appeared on the monitor screen: "Do you prefer money or happiness?"
This one was a very easy question. Pretty much, a warm-up question. Even Nosepass who didn't know Hickery-o that well answered without any hesitation. The results showed up on the screen.
Nosepass: Happiness Hickery-o: Happiness
Duosion: Happiness Houndour: Happiness
Aromatisse: Happiness Florges: Happiness
Drifblim: Happiness Ariados: Happiness
Farfetch'd: Happiness Swanna: Happiness
Darmanitan: Happiness Machoke: Happiness
Meowth: Money Nidoking: Money
Heracross: Money Miltank: Money
"Heracross and Meowth, you two choose money? That's sad." Aromatisse remarked.
"Hey, I'm poor." Heracross defended.
"Money is happiness to me." Meowth equated.
Confessional
Meowth: "It's a fallacy that money doesn't bring happiness. Without money, how can we survive to feel happiness in the first place? As an heir of a corporate giant, I witness the physiological needs of my employees. Money means the world to them."
The second question was the following: "What do you like more between playing sports and reading books?"
Confessional
Duosion: "Personally, I like reading books more but I know that Houndour like playing sports more. Knowing him, he will probably choose what I like."
Nidoking: "The boss likes to count money the most. Unfortunately, that isn't an option. I guess he will choose playing sports because he sees me hit the gym a few times."
Nosepass: "Hickery-o likes playing sports so I should go with that."
Ariados: "My fiancée used to be really athletic because of a gameshow called Wipeout. Ah, I still remember the time she requested me to build an obstacle course for her. However, she now adopted a sedentary lifestyle due to her blog and adult responsibilities. You see… she no longer lives off her parents. She earns money through advertisement on her blog and paid podcast subscriptions." He looked a bit concerned.
"I think it affects her health and mentality a bit. Watching gameshows is now more than just her passionate pastime. It becomes her source of income. It becomes an unremovable part of her life. Obviously, she enjoys it. However, she starts to take things more seriously…"
Swanna: "Even though I like to read books more, I should pick playing sports no matter what. Farfetch'd really values baseball and skateboarding. His father starts out as a street skateboard player. He changes to playing baseball instead because his wife was a fan of it. Unlike some Pokemon, I refuse to believe that a man like him would cheat on his wife and abandon his son. I'll lose all faith in this world if that is the reality."
Farfetch'd: "Ms. Stick suggests that I should pick reading books because Swanna will pick it. I think I can trust her."
The result was shown. A few looked unsatisfied.
Nosepass: Playing Sports Hickery-o: Playing Sports
Duosion: Reading Books Houndour: Reading Books
Aromatisse: Reading Books Florges: Reading Books
Drifblim: Reading Books Ariados: Reading Books
Farfetch'd: Reading Books Swanna: Playing Sports
Darmanitan: Playing Sports Machoke: Playing Sports
Meowth: Playing Sports Nidoking: Playing Sports
Heracross: Playing Sports Miltank: Playing Sports
Abruptly, the third question popped up in the screen alongside an image of Grovyle. Triple G had waves of electricity surrounding him alongside a pair of angelic wings and a halo. He smiled at the competitors charmingly, lending a supportive hand to them.
The question was the following: "How will you describe him with one word?"
Confessional
Duosion: "Well, this one is pretty obvious for the contestants. I'll just write good down."
Nosepass: "Show-off, egotistical, jerk, untrustworthy, sneaky, horrible, bad, selfish, scary. There are just so many words to choose from. Sadly, I can't choose good. Hickery-o won't get it."
Ariados: "Unlike all the other non-contestants, I know some of the big personalities this season really well because Drifblim told me spoilers. I don't mind them. Coming here is already a spoiler anyways."
The non-contestants struggled a lot more than the contestants to answer. They hesitated, erased their answer and vacillated between multiple options. Soon enough, everyone was done.
Nosepass: Helpful Hickery-o: Kind
Duosion: Good Houndour: Good
Aromatisse: Pretty Florges: Handsome
Drifblim: Good Ariados: Good
Farfetch'd: Good Swanna: Angelic
Darmanitan: Good Machoke: Good
Meowth: Skillful Nidoking: Godly
Heracross: Gecko Miltank: Good
Confessional
Heracross: "What?! Why did Miltank answer good? We usually call him gecko boy. I don't get her."
Aromatisse: "To me, Grovyle is bottom tier. He's right around Bisharp's level. I answered pretty because well Florges likes to judge boys by their appearance alone."
The fourth question appeared alongside another contestant. This time, Bisharp folded his arms, smiling awkwardly at the competitors. The question asked them to rate his handsomeness out of a maximum score of 10.
Confessional
Drifblim: "These questions are starting to stray off into irrelevancy. I can understand why Skarmory did it though."
Houndour: "The dude is pretty handsome. He deserves a nine."
Aromatisse: "Ugh, this bottom loser again. Zero."
Farfetch'd: "Swanna looks like a two so I'll go with that I guess. What do you think, Ms. Stick?" He shook her a little and nodded to himself. "A two it is."
Nidoking: "That Bisharp doesn't use Meowrendezvous line of beauty products so I should give him a zero."
Hickery-o: "I don't want Nosepass to feel jealous so I should go with a low score like a three."
All the contestants had a hard time guessing their partner's answer. Everyone had their own method, logic and reasoning. After everyone locked in their answers, the results appeared. Many didn't look happy.
Nosepass: 3 Hickery-o: 3
Duosion: 9 Houndour: 9
Aromatisse: 0 Florges: 10
Drifblim: 1 Ariados: 2
Farfetch'd: 2 Swanna: 6
Darmanitan: 7 Machoke: 8
Meowth: 4 Nidoking: 0
Heracross: 5 Miltank: 4
Confessional
Duosion: "I know that my boyfriend is nice. He will probably give Bisharp a high score."
Nosepass: "Bisharp isn't handsome. I mean just look at him. He has blades everywhere!"
Aromatisse: "I know that Bisharp probably looks handsome to Florges but I can't delude myself into giving that bottom tier guy a fabulous ten. It isn't my style at all."
Florges: "Bisharp is my dream man. I hope he isn't taken." She daydreamed.
Nidoking: "What?! Florges likes Bisharp? What does he got that I don't have?" Jealousy flared in his eyes.
Current Scoreboard
Nosepass & Hickery-o: 3 (advantage guaranteed)
Duosion & Houndour: 4 (advantage guaranteed)
Aromatisse & Florges: 2
Drifblim & Ariados: 3 (advantage guaranteed)
Farfetch'd & Swanna: 1 (can no longer get the advantage)
Darmanitan & Machoke: 3 (advantage guaranteed)
Meowth & Nidoking: 2
Heracross & Miltank: 2
The last question surprised everyone. A video was played on the monitor for the competitors to view. They watched… Larvitar's audition tape.
Seemingly, he was inside his bedroom. All the stuff got cleared out, leaving a giant dumbbell plush on the ground and a poorly stuck together picture of a muscular Machamp's body with Larvitar's head on the blue wallpaper.
"You should accept me into your show because I'm the best, I'm the strongest, I'm the smartest, I'm invincible, I'm the supreme overlord and I got many minions. My minions are just losers that I beat up all the time. A loser is here in this room right now." Larvitar addressed the cameraman 'minion'.
Suddenly, a giant red arrow with the word loser pointed at Larvitar got edited in.
Heracross cackled while Miltank snorted. Aromatisse giggled, Nosepass broke into laughter. Drifblim snickered, pointing at Larvitar mockingly. Ariados chortled. Machoke chuckled.
"I'll show you how strong I can be." Larvitar lifted the dumbbell plush up and started doing his work-out.
"One, two, three…" Larvitar sweated.
Nidoking laughed, looking at his muscles proudly.
"Five, six, seven…" Larvitar started grunting and struggling.
Meowth chuckled in light amusement.
"…Ten!" Larvitar sighed, wiping the sweat off his face. His poor arms barely made it out alive.
Florges tittered at his unmanliness.
"This isn't all. I got more amazing accomplishments. Minion, show them the footage and edit all the bad parts out. That includes what I just said!" Larvitar ordered.
A sick Cubchoo girl sneezed at her sandwich. She opened her mouth widely, about to eat it. In a flash, Larvitar came and snatched it. The Cubchoo girl cried.
"This is mine now, loser." Larvitar took a big bite of the sandwich. He choked afterwards.
Farfetch'd, Swanna and Hickery-o laughed at his comeuppance.
Larvitar glared at a picnic of happy kids with jealousy. He tried to throw a rock at them, only for it to bounce back from a tree and knock him out.
Duosion had a suppressed laugh.
Larvitar dug a pitfall. However, he soon realized that he couldn't get out.
"Minion, help me!" Larvitar called out but the cameraman carried the camera away. The word 'The End' showed on the screen.
Houndour laughed a bit at the end.
Skarmory appeared on the monitor, looking ready to deliver the results. "This round, everyone except Darmanitan and Machoke gets a point. You both just need to laugh."
Confessional
Darmanitan: "I guess I'm too chill for my own good." He rubbed his head sheepishly.
Nosepass: "Why am I scared of that loser in the first place?"
Heracross: She rolled on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. "Larvitar sucks. I can watch the audition a million times over. Hahaha…"
Drifblim: "Larvitar should thank his 'minion'. Otherwise, I doubt that he will ever make it into this show."
Everyone gathered around Skarmory Shop, waiting for him to explain the second part of the challenge.
"The second part is a team battling challenge." Skarmory revealed.
"Yes! Prepare to get crushed!" Heracross shouted, punching thin air. Miltank had roughly the same reaction. The others gave them looks.
Skarmory continued after they stopped making loud noises. "You're allowed to use moves obviously. Here is the catch, if the contestant is knocked out, the loved one is eliminated automatically."
Nosepass quivered until Hickery-o held his right hand firmly.
"I'll protect you." Hickery-o reassured. Nosepass lightened up, feeling secured.
"If your team have a score of three or higher, you get an advantage. This means everyone except Farfetch'd and Swanna, come and get your envelopes." Skarmory instructed.
The teams all rushed to get the envelopes enthusiastically. Each pair opened it and read the content in secret.
"Oh, I nearly forgot. Only the loved ones can use the advantage. If they get eliminated, well too bad." Skarmory added another layer of strategy.
Nosepass and Hickery-o looked stunned to see their advantage. It must be extremely powerful.
Drifblim and Ariados read theirs and observed the other teams' expressions.
Darmanitan nodded, looking chill. Machoke grinned, spreading his arms wide.
Houndour and Duosion looked very pleased to see theirs. They got the maximum score after all.
Florges blushed after she read hers. Aromatisse teased her friend a bit.
Meowth nodded in satisfaction. Nidoking rubbed his hands together.
Heracross ripped the envelope opened. Miltank smirked after she read it.
Farfetch'd looked disappointed. "It's my fault." He blamed himself.
"It's okay, Farfetch'd. We still have a chance. This is a team game. If one of us makes a mistake, we are all responsible for it." Swanna consoled. Farfetch'd felt a bit better.
"Spread out. We'll start shortly." Skarmory initiated after he finished his explanation.
Confessional
Heracross: "This is our challenge. Without Lucario, the two of us are the strongest."
Miltank: "Time to crush those pipsqueaks." She stomped the ground, twisting her right foot.
Florges: "I never really fight before honestly. I don't want to get dirty or any injuries that make me look ugly."
Aromatisse: "Great, another barbaric challenge. However, I won't give up just because it isn't my forte. The damage that Pyukumuku left on my face taught me to become stronger. We need to play this smart."
Nosepass: "I hope no one go after us first. Hickery-o looks strong but can she take down the likes of Nidoking, Heracross and Miltank?"
Duosion: "I think the common strategy that everyone will use is to target the contestant, not the loved one. That means I need to play it safe and let Houndour approach our opponents. He can play risky, especially with our advantage."
Darmanitan: "A battle, homie? This gives me the flashback of yesterday…" He looked extremely miserable for a second. "Hopefully, everyone can keep it chill and safe."
Nidoking: "The boss picks the right man for this occasion. I believe that I'm the strongest. I used to work in the warehouse, carrying heavy goods. Although, I don't think I can hurt that beautiful Florges. The boss is going to kill me for this…" Nidoking gulped.
Machoke: "Man, the advantage suits me really well. I gotta practice this new technique out." He made an X shape with his arms, fingers curled into fists. Afterwards, Machoke spread his arms wide like a wall.
The challenge started for real.
Drifblim and Ariados decided to hide inside the haunted mansion, camping out until the competition becomes thinner. Ariados wore a black headset. He tapped his feet and shook his head rhythmically as if he was listening to music.
The camera transitioned back to when they read their advantage.
Spider Sense
You're gifted with the ability to track the location of your clueless preys and manipulate space.
Level 1 (3): Alakazam will alert you whenever your opponents are nearby (Passive).
Level 2 (4): You're given an additional ability to teleport your team away from danger once. You may choose the place (Active).
Level 3 (5): You're given the ultimate ability to manipulate the location of every Pokemon once (Active).
Note: Passive skills activate automatically while active skills don't.
"What kind of music are you listening to?" Drifblim asked curiously.
"I told Alakazam to open the Whodunnit theme." Ariados answered.
"Not a bad choice. Whodunnit is a great show. It only lasts for one season, sadly." Drifblim said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, controversy brings it down." Ariados agreed. "Drifblim, I want to tell you that…"
"What is it?" Drifblim raised her right eye.
"Don't blame yourself if Total Skarmory Island gets canceled due to low ratings, alright? It's not your fault. You did everything you could." Ariados expressed his concern.
"Ariados, do I look like I'm worried about the ratings? It'll turn out great. The pre-merge of this season is great while the merge will blow the viewers' expectations away. Even if it gets canceled, there are still other Pokemon that create Total Drama content. I'm fine. You look like Scolipede all of a sudden." Drifblim gave him a reassuring smile. Ariados chuckled, amused by the comparison.
Ariados widened his eyes.
"Drifblim, Houndour and Duosion are nearby." Ariados alerted.
"We need to be careful. They got a level three ability. Hmm…" Drifblim reminded, looking deep in thought.
"Do you have a plan?" Ariados asked after reading her facial expression.
"Remember what we did as little kids in a game of hide and seek?" Drifblim smirked mischievously.
"I never forget it, my fiancée." Ariados returned the look.
Confessional
Ariados: "Drifblim used to be a very shy Drifloon girl. She didn't talk to others much until she started watching Total Drama. Since then, she made 'alliances' and competed in 'challenges'. They made her braver and more sociable. One of the challenges is hide and seek. She approached me, the Spinarak boy and asked if I could wrap her around with my strings. I was surprised but did so anyways. In the end, she won. It was around that time that we started to hang out with each other. Ah, such fond memories." He recalled.
"Another one of the challenges is an eating con-… She's going to kill me if I tell you viewers this so just ignore it, alright?"
The hunt began as Heracross and Miltank ran around the forest area like predators. With their might combined, they posed a huge threat to those preys that shall be crushed.
Apparently, they found their first set of victims under the giant tree in a clearing. They belonged to the chill species of herbivores. This consisted of a chilly ape and a hairless technician, both meditating and unaware of their inevitable demise.
Heracross and Miltank glanced at each other, smiling knowingly. These predators communicated through their eye contact. They soon linked their arms before revealing their intimidating presences to those preys.
"Prepare to get crushed, homie boy! Let's go, Miltank!" Heracross charged with her hunting partner.
The preys activated their defense mechanism immediately. Darmanitan took deep breaths, charging energy through the move Focus Energy. Machoke used the move Meditate that Darmanitan tutored to him. They boosted their critical hit rate and Attack respectively.
"Meditation won't save you weaklings from our might! Wake-Up Slap!" Miltank shouted, charging her hands with fighting energy.
"Megahorn!" Heracross rammed at them with her mighty horn.
Machoke opened his eyes first, flexing and beefing up his muscles. "Machoke Bulky Bodyguard Technique!" He called out an unnecessarily long name.
Miltank and Heracross targeted Machoke as he was vulnerable from setting up too much.
"Chill out, homies." Darmanitan stopped meditating and shot a Fire Blast at both of them. Unfortunately, due to his low Sp. Attack, it didn't do much damage to Heracross despite the effectiveness. At the very least, this gave Machoke more time to set up.
"Overworking Machoke Working Hard Technique!" Machoke referred to the move Work Up. He increased his attack again. His body reddened from overflowing amount of energy.
"Are you stupid, beefcake? Why do you have three moves that basically do the same thing?" Miltank questioned after she recovered from the attack.
"You're wrong if you think that they all do the same thing. Other than increasing my attack, one of them increases my concentration, the other increases my Defense and the last makes me all worked up!" Machoke ran toward them, raising his right arm straightforward into the sky.
"Killer Move, Machoke Mad Karate!" Machoke aimed to chop Miltank's head for super-effective damage.
However, Heracross lifted Machoke up with her horn and threw him away before he could hit Miltank.
"Thanks, girl." Miltank seemed grateful.
"No problem, time to crush them with our might!" Heracross clenched both fists in a determined manner. She then sprinted at Darmanitan with Close Combat.
"Zen Headbutt." Darmanitan charged psychic energy on his forehead and tried to combat her ruthless, unrelenting punches.
"Hyayayayah!" Heracross pummeled Darmanitan rapidly, overwhelming the Zen Headbutt.
"Argh!" Darmanitan groaned in pain as the attack pulverized him.
"Body Slam!" Miltank crushed Machoke with her weight.
"So… heavy." Machoke muttered. Luckily, Miltank didn't hear it.
"Homie, I'm here to help!" Darmanitan quickly came to Machoke's aid and knocked Miltank away with Zen Headbutt, lifting the technician up.
Machoke widened his eyes in fear as Heracross rushed toward them with another Close Combat.
"Legendary Guard Wall Technique!" Machoke activated their advantage instantly, performing the action that he practiced multiple times.
Super-Secret Legendary Machoke Guard Wall
You're the legendary technician with many hidden techniques. Made an X shape with your arms and spread them out like a wall to activate your technique.
Level 1: Your opponents will face disqualification if they try to attack you for five minutes. However, the protection technique will wear off if you attack your opponents (Active).
Level 2: The effect lasts for ten minutes.
Level 3: You may attack your opponents after activating the technique.
"Attention, Machoke and Darmanitan are protected for five minutes! Don't attack them unless you want to face disqualification!" Skarmory announced and Heracross immediately stopped her move.
"Cowards." Heracross insulted as the two fled in a hurry, spitting on the ground.
Confessional
Machoke: "We barely made it out alive there. Those two are scary strong."
Miltank: "We are the strongest. Nobody can beat us. Those lightweights don't hella know what's coming at them."
Heracross: "I beat Darmanitan all the time. The homie boy is weak."
Darmanitan: "If I want to beat those homies, I have no choice but to activate Zen Mode. However, it isn't easy to do so. Only a select few Darmanitan can reach that level of chilliness."
In the auditorium…
Nosepass looked underneath all the seats, searching for something.
Hickery-o combed the backstage for something as well.
Hickery-o exited the backstage and Nosepass looked up.
"Found anything?" Nosepass asked, hopeful. Hickery-o shook her head.
Confessional
Nosepass: "We need to find it if we even want to stand a chance of winning."
Farfetch'd and Swanna wandered around the forest area, trying to find their opponents and Mr. Stalk at the same time. Without an advantage, they needed to proceed more carefully than the others.
"Mr. Stalk, where are you?! Where are you?!" Farfetch'd repeated, focused on finding Mr. Stalk. He pushed a branch of a tree away only for it to come back and hit his eyes.
"Ouch." Farfetch'd fell down to the ground, covering his eyes.
"Are you okay?!" Swanna dropped down to check on him.
"Why didn't Ms. Stick warn me about her friends?" Farfetch'd questioned with sore, watery eyes.
"Sticks don't stick together I suppose. She's probably too busy trying to find Mr. Stalk." Swanna replied.
"Oh, my. My guests, how are you all faring? Interested to hire a few bodyguards?" Meowth suddenly interrupted. Nidoking stood next to him, holding a freezing gun with both hands.
Bodyguard Bullets
You're the replacement bodyguard of an opulent heir. Use your freezing gun to protect him at all costs (Active).
Level 1: You have one bullet.
Level 2: You have two bullets.
Level 3: You have four bullets.
"Are you going to attack us?" Farfetch'd growled, holding Ms. Stick in an offensive stance.
"No, Farfetch'd." Swanna held him back before he could make a rash decision. "They said something about hiring bodyguards. May you please clarify."
"Oh, I just want to make a deal. I help you to win the challenge and you give me your vote. Sounds good?" Meowth offered.
"You better accept the deal fast. It's limited, popular and in the trend." Nidoking persuaded.
"No, I won't. I plan on planning this game solo for Mr. Stalk and my girlfriend!" Farfetch'd refused stubbornly. Swanna smiled proudly at him.
"Fine, your loss. Let's leave, Nidoking." Meowth turned back one last time before he left for real. "If you change your mind, feel free to find me anytime."
Confessional
Swanna: "I don't like that cat. Good deeds should be done without any incentive for reward."
Meowth: "Tough customers. I need a more powerful bargaining chip. Something that Farfetch'd holds dearer than his life…" Meowth had a sneaky grin on his face. "I need to delegate an order to Nidoking."
Heracross and Miltank found their next preys: Farfetch'd and Swanna.
"You two don't have an advantage. Just give up now and make it easy for us, will ya?" Miltank said overconfidently.
"Farfetch'd, I'm going to kill you again." Heracross stared daggers into Farfetch'd's eyes. The duck looked really apprehensive, tightening his grip on Ms. Stick.
"Farfetch'd, stay back. I'll deal with those hooligans myself." Swanna resolved, stretching out her wings. Farfetch'd nodded, gazing into her eyes cheeringly.
"Hooligans, huh? Fine, we'll play like hooligans." Heracross cracked her knuckles. "Attack!" She signaled by raising her right fist.
Miltank started off by lifting up and rock and threw it at Swanna, trying to get a cheap super-effective hit. The swan shot it down with Water Gun.
"A weak move." Heracross commented as she charged at her with Close Combat. "Now, this is a real move!"
Farfetch'd lifted a tiny rock up before looking at Ms. Stick. "You ever play baseball before?" He looked disappointed. "No? This is bad. Mr. Stalk is the one who is good at baseball. I'm only his helper."
Swanna charged up Wing Attack, prepared to counter Close Combat. At first glance, it seemed like a foolish move until she struck the ground and propelled herself up into the air instead.
"Mirror Move!" Swanna copied Heracross' Close Combat and targeted Miltank. The cow wasn't prepared and took major damage. Additionally, she got knocked into the tree hard. Miltank groaned in pain.
"Miltank!" Heracross shouted worriedly. "You'll pay for this!" She charged up another Close Combat.
This time, Swanna sidestepped and retaliated with Wing Attack repeatedly. Since it was a weak move with low base power, it could be used with little to no cooldown. Heracross took quadruple effective damage, falling down on the ground.
"Impossible." Heracross said in disbelief.
"Your hooligans should learn to use your brains. A fight isn't all about who got the strongest move or the most strength. It's also about reading your opponent and learning to respect their strength." Swanna lectured.
"Shut the *beep* up!" Heracross swore out of rage. How could she fall so easily in front of a weak, dainty, delicate swan like her? She wouldn't accept this humiliation. She pushed herself off the ground and used another Close Combat.
Swanna flew away and dived down with Wing Attack. Heracross survived the attack with Endure. The repeated uses of Close Combat weakened her severely,
"Watch out, Swanna!" Farfetch'd alerted the incoming rock from Miltank. Swanna couldn't react fast enough. The rock collided with her face.
"It's still a two against one. Don't get so cocky." Miltank cast her a contemptuous look.
"No, it's not a two against one." Farfetch'd batted the rock with Ms. Stick. However, it only reflected against a tree and returned to knock him out.
"Pfft. Pathetic." Miltank dismissed. "Larvitar's bad luck is probably rubbing off on you or I guess you no longer have that dumb leek's luck, huh?"
Miltank walked over to Farfetch'd with a giant rock. "Good night."
"Farfetch'd!" Swanna cried desperately. She tried to help him but Heracross pinned her down. It was too late.
"Farfetch'd out, Swanna out." Skarmory informed everyone.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "I'm nothing without Mr. Stalk." He felt like a failure.
Houndour gripped the doorknob of the haunted mansion with his left, front paw. He itched to open it.
"Duosion, should I open it now?" Houndour asked, feeling impatient.
"Be careful. I don't know what lurks inside." Duosion warned. Houndour nodded and slowly opened it, peeking through a tiny gap.
Houndour found spider webs that Ariados spun all over the place. The chandelier in particular became a stringy mess.
"It's a trap!" Houndour yelled.
True to his words, Ariados blasted chairs and tables at them with Psychic. Houndour acted on instinct and closed the door, blocking the projectiles. Houndour opened the door again and burned all the webs on the ground with Flamethrower.
"Not bad. I'm impressed. So, you're the Houndour that Drifblim talked about." Ariados praised with acknowledgement.
"You aren't bad either, dude. What is your relationship with her?" Houndour asked casually.
"Talking to your opponent in such a friendly way during the competition? How nice of you. I see why you got selected. Anyways, I'm her fi-friend. Yes, childhood friend." Ariados nearly blurted something he shouldn't out.
"Awesome, dude! Great to see a nice, long and healthy friendship." Houndour said in a friendly tone.
"Err… Houndour, we are competing in a challenge here." Duosion reminded.
"Oh, sorry." Houndour scratched his head sheepishly. "Shall we continue?" He readied himself for the fight.
"Of course." Ariados shot a string from his rear toward the chandelier and swung himself at Houndour, charging Poison Jab.
Houndour jumped back and Ariados missed. The canine breathed Flamethrower at Ariados from close range. Duosion amplified the attack with Shadow Ball. However, the gameshow aficionado was prepared to counter the combination of two powerful attacks. He used Psychic to drop the chandelier down, using it as a shield. The collision created a cloud of smoke. Utilizing this opportunity…
"Shadow Sneak." Ariados extended his shadow and struck Duosion from behind.
"Ah!" Duosion screamed in pain.
"Duosion, I'll help you!" Houndour hurried to her until Drifblim suddenly appeared and used Constrict on him. Constrict—one of the weakest moves in terms of damage—immobilized your opponent extremely well.
"What? Drifblim?! I was wondering where you were." Houndour was shocked to see her.
"Surprise! I hid above the chandelier. You wouldn't see me because of the strings though." Drifblim explained.
"Farfetch'd out, Swanna out." The announcement was heard by the four.
"Sorry, man. Nice talking to you but you're dangerous, especially with a level three advantage. At least you aren't eliminated first. No hard feelings. See you later." Ariados waved.
"I guess this is it…" Houndour's ears drooped down, looking at Duosion apologetically. There was another subtle message through his eyes that only she could understand. She returned him a look of dismay before taking the chance to escape.
Ariados finished Houndour off with countless Poison Jab as Drifblim held him in place with Constrict.
"Houndour, out." He got teleported away.
Confessional
Drifblim: "I'm curious about his advantage. Why didn't he use it? Maybe, he couldn't. Maybe, there are sets of requirements that he need to fulfill. I'll probably know when I watch the show at home."
Aromatisse picked up two roses from a bush. Upon examining it, she honestly couldn't tell which one was better. They looked identical to her. Drifblim was right. She would pick a bad, ugly rose instead of the pretty ones that Decidueye would love. Thinking about it made her feel pretty guilty. She felt like Ledyba's elimination was her fault.
Yet, Aromatisse imagined that if Ledyba was here, she would disagree. Honestly, if it was anyone's fault, it was Meowth's. Aromatisse couldn't forgive him despite the treatment. She knew how dangerous he can be.
"Aromatisse, why are you staring at the roses in a trance? Girl, got a problem?" Florges asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"I'm just thinking about a boy. We should focus on the challenge now." Aromatisse answered vaguely.
"Oh, that totally hot Decidueye guy? I get you, girl. Anyways, what's our plan again?" Florges asked for a reminder.
"Well, we need to lay low and try to find a team that is willing to work with us. A team like Machoke and Darmanitan." Aromatisse gave an example.
"Girl, look behind you." Florges pointed. Aromatisse turned around to see Darmanitan and Machoke walking over to them. Machoke looked tired, running out of breath while Darmanitan seemed fairly fine.
"Heracross and Miltank did a number on us. We ran away as fast as we could." Machoke told, panting.
"Homies, we are not here to start a fight. Hope you know that." Darmanitan assured.
"You poor boys need a rest. The berry garden is nearby. You should heal up there. We'll lead the way." Aromatisse suggested, willing to help them.
"Thank you." Machoke said gratefully.
Aromatisse led the way to the berry garden. However, upon arrival, they found out that the healing spot had been occupied by Miltank and Heracross.
"I ain't healing with my milk. This is our place. Get out, or else we'll beat you all up!" Miltank tried to shoo them away.
"Yeah, get the *beep* out!" Heracross shouted profanely before taking another big bite of the Sitrus Berry.
"Well, we won't. It's a four against two. Are you sure that you can beat all of us?" Aromatisse asked, feeling quite confident.
"Numbers mean nothing. Only our fists have meaning! Get them, girl!" Heracross declared another battle.
Heracross and Miltank charged recklessly at the four. Darmanitan and Machoke stood in the front while the two fairies provided support from behind.
Aromatisse blasted Fairy Wind at Heracross while Florges shot Magical Leaf at Miltank. The two shrugged both weak attacks off like they were nothing.
"Super Machoke- Argh!" Machoke didn't even get a chance to say the name of his technique as Miltank punched his face hard. Aromatisse and Florges both recoiled at the damage.
"Homie boy, you won't chill anymore when I'm done close combating you." Heracross used the same move once again. Darmanitan ran away, trying to avoid the attack at all costs.
Constantly, Aromatisse and Florges used their long-range attacks. However, they barely dealt any damage to the two mighty Pokemon.
"Take this, puny muscle boy." Miltank used Body Slam on him once again. Machoke struggled desperately as the weight flattened him. Soon enough, he fainted.
"Machoke, out." His pancake body got teleported away.
"Homie, no!" Darmanitan shouted, disheartened.
"Get wrecked, homie boy!" Heracross attacked Darmanitan with Close Combat when he was distracted by the announcement.
"No, Darmanitan!" Aromatisse looked horrified as he yelled out in pain.
Darmanitan lay idly on the ground, battered and tenderized.
"Haha, we are the strongest! Nobody can beat us, especially you, homie boy. You're just Lucario's pet. Always following him blindly. Weak and pathetic." Heracross degraded. Miltank soon joined in.
Darmanitan closed his eyes, blocking all of their gloats and insults out with the power of zen.
"Time to finish you off." Heracross prepared another Close Combat.
Miltank sat on the two fairies, flattening their hopes of escaping. Aromatisse closed her eyes, she couldn't watch as Heracross was about to end Darmanitan.
Darmanitan entered the perfect state of zen. He was calm, collected and chill. A leaf of a berry tree fell on his head. Suddenly, his body changed shape. His red fur turned into the chilly blue color and his eyes were blank. He sat in a meditative, immobile position.
Before Heracross could punch him into oblivion, Darmanitan used Psychic to overwhelm her.
"Ah! What is this pain?! *beep*!" Heracross clutched her head, rolling and kicking on the ground before she fainted.
"Heracross, out." Wait…
Mighty Spirit
With your formidable might, you shall crush everyone in your path.
Level 1: Link arms with your partner to swap your spirits. Miltank turns into the contestant and Heracross turns into the loved one instead (Active).
Level 2: If the contestant is eliminated, the loved one won't be eliminated (Passive).
Level 3: You gain an additional passive ability. All opposing active skills have no effect on the both of you (Passive).
Miltank lifted her heavy butt off Aromatisse and Florges, celebrating. "Haha, take that homie boy. Our ability is the best!"
"Is your ability active or passive?" Aromatisse asked.
"Active, of course. Our ability is great, isn't it?" Miltank lifted her head high. Unexpectedly, Florges kissed her forehead.
"Miltank, out." Miltank gaped stupidly before she got teleported away.
Fairy Kiss
With your charming beauty and soul-sucking lips, you can breeze through the competition with little to no need for dirty, physical fights. Kiss the forehead of your opponent to nullify, remove and obliterate all of their active skills.
Level 1: You can use Fairy Kiss once (Active).
Level 2: You can use Fairy Kiss twice (Active).
Level 3: You gain an extra ability. You'll be given a list of all the abilities at the start of the challenge (Passive).
The plot twist didn't end here. Two unexpected guests arrived after watching from afar.
"Chill out, Darmanitan." Meowth snapped his fingers and Nidoking froze the Zen Mode Pokemon with the gun.
"Finish him off, assistant." Meowth commanded.
"Nidoking, please don't do it. For me, pretty please." Florges blinked twice flirtatiously. Nidoking hesitated.
"Job or love? Choose one." Meowth sounded deadly serious.
"Job." Nidoking lowered his head as he went to Darmanitan and finished him off with Earthquake.
"Darmanitan, out!" Darmanitan reverted back to his normal form before getting teleported away.
"Meowth, how dirty of you." Aromatisse said with spite, eyeing him with disgust.
"Sorry, my precious customers. However, it's already late at night. My store will close down. Let me show your way out. Assist!" Meowth borrowed Nidoking's Poison Tail and leaped up in the air, swinging his tail to knock Aromatisse out.
"Aromatisse out, Florges out." Florges folded her arms in a huff, refusing to look at Nidoking. The assistant sighed, looking down on the ground.
Confessional
Nidoking: "The story of my life…so many heartbreaks." He sobbed.
Florges: "Actually, I never really like him in the first place. Bisharp is my man."
Nosepass and Hickery-o headed deeper into the haunted area after an unsuccessful search in the auditorium. Nosepass clung on Hickery-o all the way to the haunted mansion. Hickery-o thought that Nosepass was cute.
"Ah, skeletons!" Nosepass freaked out because of a Charizard Skeleton.
"Silly Nosepass. It's fake. Touch it." Hickery-o pulled the claw over to Nosepass. The coward trembled all the way through until he reluctantly touched the claw of the skeleton. It was made out of plastic.
"See? Not so scary now, isn't it?" Hickery-o beamed, delighted that Nosepass conquered another fear.
"Y-Yeah." Nosepass felt a teensy bit braver. He couldn't ask for anything more other than spending time with Hickery-o. There was something special about her presence. When Nosepass stayed with Rhyhorn, he felt like he could rely on his big brother. However, every time Hickery-o stayed by his side, he felt like he could rely on himself.
"What's up, lovebirds? Took you two long enough." Ariados emerged out of the fog.
"Indeed, enjoy your spooky date here? Many ghost Pokemon like it." Drifblim floated behind Ariados.
"Yeah. You aren't going to hurt us, right?" Nosepass pleaded with his sympathetic eyes.
"Nosepass, stay behind me." Hickery-o directed and he obviously followed. "How did you know that we are here? With that headset?"
"Yes, our special ability. What's yours?" Ariados asked, not expecting an answer.
"Something extremely powerful. You don't want to mess with us." Hickery-o looked and sounded serious.
"Well, we are the curious type. Too bad. Shadow Ball!" Drifblim blasted Shadow Ball at Hickery-o. She had no option but to block the attack with her arm scales as Nosepass hid behind her. Dodging would result in him getting hurt.
"Shadow Sneak!" Ariados extended his shadow toward Nosepass.
"Run!" Hickery-o shouted urgently and Nosepass ran for his life. The shadow curved around the spooky black trees, racing to catch him.
Hickery-o charged Dragon Claw and aimed it at Drifblim. Ariados stopped the Shadow Sneak attack and tried to parry the claw with Poison Jab. Unfortunately for him, Hickery-o knocked him over successfully. Drifblim rose to the sky and used Fly. She swooped down and traded blows with Hickery-o's Dragon Claw. Both received similar amount of damage despite the type advantage on Drifblim's side.
"You're strong." Drifblim praised.
"I haven't even used my ability yet." Hickery-o smiled confidently. Was it a bluff?
"Drifblim, Duosion is coming." Ariados alerted. "What should we do?"
"I guess it's better to play safe. We don't even know her ability. Teleport us out of here." Drifblim decided.
"Alakazam, teleport us to the desert area." Ariados talked into the microphone of the headset.
A wondrous beam of light warped them away and Hickery-o sighed in relief.
Confessional
Hickery-o: "Things might turn out badly if we continue to fight. Luckily, they fall for my bluff. We can't use your ability yet."
Drifblim and Ariados rested inside Chef Drapion's Grill for a while. Drifblim ordered some sushi for them to eat with her Skarmory tokens.
"Ariados, does anyone accept your gameshow idea yet?" Drifblim asked leisurely.
"Sadly, no. They all got a stick up their butts." Ariados answered, lowering his head a little.
"When will you freaking find a job?! If no one accepts your idea then you better start weaving stuff for sale like all the other Ariados." Drifblim clearly looked upset.
Ariados sighed, dropping the sushi down on his plate. "You know how much I want to be a game show host. If my idea gets accepted, you'll get to be the co-host as well."
"But we can't continue to live like this, you know that. If you truly want that day to ever come, then you need to find a job." Drifblim referred to their marriage. Ariados looked depressed.
Confessional
Ariados: "To all the viewers out there, I hope that you don't misunderstand Drifblim. Even though she lied about being single and can be harsh to me at times, she really loves and cares for me. She feeds and takes care of an unemployed man like me. She never puts any make-up on just because she wants to please me. I hate girls who wear make-up because of The Bachelor. So many *beep* in that show." He teared up a little.
"She works day and night to save up for our marriage. If she wins this show, it'll make her dream comes true and our dream comes true."
Alakazam told something to Ariados that made him widen his eyes.
"What is it? Duosion, Meowth and Nidoking or Nosepass and Hickery-o. Is it all of them?" Drifblim asked, coming up with multiple scenarios in mind.
"Houndour and Duosion." Ariados revealed.
Angelic Resurrection
May gods bless a kind-hearted Houndour like you even after the end of your days (Passive).
Level 1: Revive for ten minutes.
Level 2: Revive for twenty minutes.
Level 3: Revive permanently.
Ariados and Drifblim exited Chef Drapion Grill to meet Houndour and Duosion outside.
"Ready for the rematch, dude?" Houndour addressed Ariados.
"Any day, anytime." Ariados stretched his legs a little.
"Drifblim, you outperformed me last time. This time it'll be different." Duosion talked leisurely before the battle as well.
"Show me, girl. Enough talk. Let's do this!" Drifblim initiated the battle with a Shadow Ball aimed at Duosion. The psychic stopped the attack with a Shadow Ball of her own.
Ariados shot a string out, aiming for Houndour's legs. Houndour leaped into the air and blasted Flamethrower at him.
Ariados shot a string out from his rear this time, connecting to the door of the restaurant. He used it to pull himself away from the vicinity of the attack.
"Great trick, dude." Houndour praised before charging at him with Flame Charge, building his speed up.
"You aren't bad either. I usually compete in 'challenges' back at home, it makes me strong." Ariados maneuvered from building to building in the desert town with his strings as Houndour chased him with Flame Charge, gradually increasing his speed. Seemingly, the canine tried to distance the spider from Duosion.
"Trick Room." Duosion smirked, creating a room that reverses speed. With Houndour gone, this worked in her favor.
"Smart, Duosion. However, I have more than just speed." Drifblim shot another Shadow Ball at her.
Duosion floated away quickly and countered with a Shadow Ball of her own. Drifblim took the full hit. She tried to grab Duosion and used Constrict on her. However, it was a losing battle with Trick Room in play.
Duosion shot another Shadow Ball. Drifblim used Minimize to dodge it. However, they kept coming and coming. The ghost couldn't dodge them all.
"Ariados, help me!" Drifblim saw no other choice than calling for help from her fiancé.
"Ariados, out!" Unfortunately, Houndour boosted his speed so much that Ariados could no longer avoid the inevitable Flame Charge.
Houndour rushed over to help Duosion. He used Bite on Drifblim while his girlfriend blasted another Shadow Ball at her.
"Drifblim, out!" Now, only six remained.
"We did, Duosion!" Houndour celebrated, hugging her.
"Yes, that was a good fight." Duosion embraced his warm body.
A clapping noise was heard from nearby. The two turned to face Meowth and Nidoking.
Meowth stopped clapping. "Houndour, you remember this place, right? The desert town. It was then I decided to abandon you. Precisely, after you refused to make a deal with me."
"Meowth, I still see you as a friend… I don't understand. Why?! Why must you do all those things to Dedenne, Scolipede, Ledyba and the others? I didn't accept that deal because I care about you." Houndour made an emotional appeal.
"Simple, you refuse to work with me. As a business owner, I hire those willing to work for my business, willing to maximize my sales. However, we have conflicts of interests. We are just too different from each other. Someone like Lucario is more suited to be my partner. You aren't." Meowth explained, averting his eyes at end. Houndour looked hurt.
"Don't listen to his words, Houndour. We should just take this corporate monster down. Now!" Duosion urged. Houndour nodded slightly, showing a pained smile to Meowth.
"Listen to her. Let's end this!" Meowth refused to look at him straight on the face, using Pay Day to start the battle. He continuously hurled coins at his opponents.
"Accept my money before it gets confiscated." Meowth grinned as the attacks connected against both of them. The coins soon disappeared.
"Ah, enough of your dirty money!" Duosion used Psychic on Meowth, lifting him into the air.
"Duosion, you're the most productive and valuable employee of our company. You're smart, intelligent, perfect. You're the star. The ladder that we need to rise to success. Without you, Meowth & Co. and Treasure Trio are nothing." Meowth used Flatter to counter Psychic. Duosion became confused and freed Meowth. Although, he raised her Sp. Attack as well.
"Ah, the headache!" Duosion screamed in pain as she started banging her face against a door of Chef Drapion Grill.
While Meowth and Duosion fought, Nidoking battled Houndour.
Even though the speed boosts from the previous battle wore off, Houndour still had the clear speed advantage.
"Catch me if you can." Houndour challenged, running circles around Nidoking.
"Earthquake!" Nidoking didn't even bother catching him. He just created a massive earthquake that knocked Houndour down. The assistant ran over to Duosion during this time and finished her off with Megahorn.
"Duosion out, Houndour out!" Houndour showed another pained expression to Meowth before he left.
The businessman slumped down on the ground, swiping the sand aimlessly.
"Boss, are you… alright?" Nidoking asked with concern.
"I'll be fine. It's just unfortunate that I need to close Treasure Trio down. It's just a small business with three members yet… It means little to nothing to me now. Let's find Nosepass and end this." Meowth lifted himself off the ground and headed out the desert area.
Confessional
Nidoking: "Boss acted a bit weird honestly. I never really see this side of him before. Maybe He's always like this. I don't know. I'm just his assistant. I doubt that qualifies as his loved one."
Houndour: "I know that Meowth has heart. I heard the things he did for Lucario and for the others as well like sharing food. However, he can also be a cold-hearted business owner at the same time." He acknowledged.
"Hickery-o, I found it!" Nosepass showed the pocket watch he found inside the garage. Apparently, it was hidden inside the Pikachu driver skeleton's ribcage. Nosepass confronted his fear and pulled it out.
"This is great, Nosepass. We are going to win!" Hickery-o accepted the pocket watch Nosepass handed over to her and raised it upwards.
Countdown to Destruction
If you manage to find a pocket watch, you can put someone on a five minutes timer of inevitable destruction. Beware, this will reveal your location to everyone. If they can't eliminate you during that time, they will be eliminated (Active).
Level 1: One pocket watch will be hidden.
Level 2: Two pocket watches will be hidden.
Level 3: Three pocket watches will be hidden. The timer has been reduced to four minutes and thirty seconds.
"Put Meowth on a timer!" Hickery-o activated.
"Nosepass and Hickery-o are inside the haunted mansion. Eliminate them in five minutes!" Meowth and Nidoking heard this. As of right now, they were inside the haunted forest.
Four minutes remaining…
Meowth and Nidoking made their way through the fog. Nosepass and Hickery-o hid in the plain white room on the second floor.
Three minutes remaining…
Meowth and Nidoking reached the mansion. Nosepass' heart pumped with excitement.
Two minutes remaining…
Meowth and Nidoking spread out to search the first floor. Hickery-o held Nosepass' hand.
A minute remaining…
Meowth and Nidoking searched the second floor. Nosepass heard noises and fretted.
Thirty seconds remaining…
"Boss, I found them." Nidoking shouted.
Fifteen seconds remaining…
Hickery-o blocked Nidoking with everything she got. Meowth managed to get pass her.
10…
"Assist!" Meowth borrowed Nidoking's Poison Tail.
9…
"Eat my Tackle!" Nosepass wouldn't go down without a fight.
8…
Nosepass got knocked away. However, he didn't faint yet.
7…
"This time, I want Eartquake. Assist!" Meowth got Earthquake luckily. He jumped up into the sky…
6…
"No! Nosepass, dodge!" Hickery-o shouted worriedly.
5…
"Go, boss!" Nidoking cheered as he held Hickery-o in place.
4…
Nosepass looked terrified as Meowth shook the ground with a massive earthquake.
3…
"Ah!" Nosepass screamed in pain as he absorbed the impact.
2…
Nosepass saw Hickery-o before he was about to lose consciousness.
1…
Nosepass used his last remaining willpower to endure the agony for just a bit longer.
Nosepass fainted around the same time as the timer hit zero. Nobody could tell the result. They waited for Skarmory to declare the winner.
…
…
…
"After re-watching the footage, it was very close. We need to play it on slow motion. Well, I won't delay it any longer. Nosepass wins immunity!" Skarmory ended the suspense.
Confessional
Nosepass: "What? I… I-I won?! This is the first time in my life that I won something this big. I won individual immunity in a game show with the likes of Lucario. Thank you, Hickery-o."
Meowth: "I lost immunity. This is a huge loss. I might go bankrupt today."
Ariados: "Before I leave, I want to tell you viewers something. Drifblim, she's a girl of very few fears. She fears that her favorite game shows will be canceled. She fears that she will lose the million and get eliminated after making it this far. Last of all, she fears that she won't be accepted by the viewers. Hence, she likes to play a role that isn't really herself. I hope you can understand that and go easy on her if she eliminates your favorites. As her fiancé, this is the very least I can do for her. Fun talking to you all." He waved.
Houndour shared a kiss with Duosion.
Swanna smooched Farfetch'd.
Heracross and Miltank exchanged a hi-five.
Hickery-o gave Nosepass a kiss on the cheek. He blushed madly.
Drifblim and Ariados just hugged, keeping their relationship a secret.
Meowth told Nidoking that he will give him a raise. The assistant smiled delightfully.
All the eight contestants watched as the loved ones departed.
Darmanitan waved at Machoke before giving a thumb up as the technician showed off many techniques.
Florges gave a flying kiss to Aromatisse before raising her eyebrows twice. It must be something about Decidueye as Aromatisse looked a bit embarrassed.
Confessional
Duosion: "I really miss Houndour…"
Farfetch'd: "Swanna is the only one that can remotely stop me from crying about Mr. Stalk. At the very least, I still have you, right? Ms. Stick." He nodded, shaking her a little. "That's reassuring."
Drifblim approached Aromatisse and Duosion, convincing them to get rid of Meowth. She didn't need to do much convincing and it was a little bit boring. Therefore, Skarmory skipped that part. He showed a much more interesting conversation between Meowth and the two girls instead.
"My guests, I do believe that Heracross and Drifblim stole Mr. Stalk." Meowth accused.
"You have no evidence, Meowth. Stop throwing the blame on others, I bet it was you." Duosion didn't believe his word one bit.
"Think about it, what do I have to gain from stealing Mr. Stalk? I'm already pushed into a corner after Lucario's gone. Isn't it too risky of a move for me?" Meowth reasoned.
"You have a point but maybe you just want to steal Mr. Stalk and threaten Farfetch'd to vote with you. That's possible." Aromatisse pointed out. Meowth groaned in frustration.
"While I may look like a dirty businessman to you two. I don't violate the law. At most, I exploit them. If I ever say anything that might suggest otherwise, it's purely for comedic purposes. I respect my customers' right." Meowth sounded a bit sincere. However, it was hard to tell whether he was lying or not.
"Meowth, if you stay it's because we think Heracross is worse than you. Just get out, I have heard enough of your empty words." Duosion opened the door with Psychic for him.
"Fine, you'll regret it when Drifblim wins the million…" Meowth muttered under his breath as he left.
After Meowth was gone, the two girls turned to each other.
"Aromatisse, I want you to make the decision this time." Duosion let her decide.
"Why? You always take charge. Why let me decide now?" Aromatisse questioned.
"It's because I realize that I can biased and opinionated. Because of me, Scolipede and Ledyba got eliminated. You on the other hand, seem to be a bit more level-headed. Aromatisse… I'm sorry for this morning about Farfetch'd and all." Duosion apologized.
"You don't need to apologize, Duosion. You have the right to think that way. I understand where you're coming from." Aromatisse assured.
"No, I still need to apologize. I spoke harshly of Farfetch'd because of personal reasons. After Houndour's gone, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I hate Lucario and Meowth. I feel blinded by revenge. After spending time talking with Houndour, I start to see my mistakes and flaws now." Duosion released her feelings. "Enough about me, who do we eliminate?"
Aromatisse looked deep in thought.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: "Drifblim accused Meowth of stealing Mr. Stalk while Meowth accused Heracross of stealing him. I can't trust any of them. I'll Ms. Stick decide. Aha, I got it. She wants me to eliminate Heracross because she offends my girlfriend."
Heracross: "Bye, Meowth. Before you leave, I'll appreciate it if you give poor me some money as charity."
Darmanitan: "I'll vote for Heracross. She needs to chill out in Loser Island."
Nosepass: "Well, Drifblim is kind of like my ally. I guess I should vote with her. Besides, Meowth can be a jerk to me sometimes."
Meowth: "Before I take down Drifblim, I need to get rid of her employee, Heracross."
Drifblim: "I like it. Meowth is putting up a fight once again. Make this entertaining for the viewers, won't you? I doubt that you'll last beyond three episodes. Prove me wrong."
Duosion: "Personally, I'll vote for Meowth. Not only do I hate him, Drifblim is our ally. We should please her. However, Aromatisse gets to decide this time."
Aromatisse: "I honestly don't know. Meowth and Heracross are equally bad. Just like the roses situation all over again. Heracross is a nasty, mean and rude barbarian that likes to use force and pick fights with others. Meowth is a dirty, backstabbing and sneaky businessman that can lie and manipulate others for profit. Even though he fixed my face, I believe that he only did it for me to vote with him." Aromatisse sighed.
"I know that Duosion and Drifblim want me to vote Meowth out but this is my decision. This is what I think!"
"Get a Leppa Berry and you stay. Don't get one and you're eliminated. I reiterate this fact a million times already." Skarmory exaggerated.
"Oh, the nightmare of hearing your annoying voice for the millionth time." Drifblim mocked. Skarmory rolled his eyes before giving out the berries.
"Nosepass" He got an extra-large Leppa Berry. It symbolized his huge accomplishment today.
"Drifblim" She glanced at Meowth and Heracross.
"Darmanitan" He looked as chill as ever.
"Duosion" She went through many possibilities and the number of outcomes inside her head.
"Farfetch'd" He gave the berry to Ms. Stick. However, she dropped it. Farfetch'd frowned. She was nothing like Mr. Stalk.
"Aromatisse" She had a knowing look.
"Meowth and Heracross, the rich and the poor. The golden spoon and the rusty metal. Will the rich get richer or will the poor start a successful rebellion? We shall see. The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory made a dramatic pause.
…
…
…
…
…
…
"Heracross."
Confessional
Aromatisse: She held a single rose in her hand. "I have made my decision. Heracross is an uncivilized, unbearable brute. I feel much better having Meowth around the camp than her."
Elimination Confessional
Guess everyone hates me more than Meowth. Can't say that it's surprising after the tiebreaker though. Whatever, I hope my girl Drifblim can do this and just give me some spare of cash. Even just a single P. Just give me something, girl. I want to say this to everyone else. *beep* you all! You all suck, especially you, Farfetch'd. You and your stupid girlfriend. I'm done.
Two Pokemon came to see Heracross: Farfetch'd and Drifblim.
"Heracross, did you steal Mr. Stalk?" Farfetch'd only came to ask her this.
"Nope. Get lost, pervert." Heracross gestured for Farfetch'd to leave. He left, disappointed and distressed.
"Girl, take care of my bed. Got it?" Heracross winked.
"Got it." Drifblim went along with it. She looked a bit confused.
Confessional
Farfetch'd: He cried in the confessional, curling in a fetal position. "Will I ever see Mr. Stalk again?"
Nosepass headed down the secret base. Soon, he would free himself of his guilt. Of course, Nosepass wouldn't come clean entirely. He felt like he has the right to avoid the responsibility and blame Drifblim or Meowth for everything instead.
Hickery-o lied before too. This gave him some comfort, knowing that it wasn't him alone that did these dastardly things.
However, the world wouldn't go easy on him. It shall make him suffer and atone for his mistakes.
Nosepass widened his eyes. Mr. Stalk was gone. The only one who knew about the location beside him was… Drifblim.
Nosepass hurried outside. He missed a tiny blue and white blur in the sky.
Guilt burned like the flames of purgatory inside his body.
Nosepass returned to the camp. He was about to wake Drifblim up for some questioning until…
He saw Meowth with a leek stalk. The cat gleamed like a golden sun under the silver moonlight as he rubbed the leek stalk.
"Drifblim, Meowth & Co is back. I'll switch things up with my newest product." Meowth chuckled darkly before entering his own cabin.
Nosepass dropped down to the ground, kneeling in penitence. If Meowth entered the secret base, he would find the blatantly large piece of paper Rhydon gave him. Meowth would know for sure that he did it. Nosepass was screwed.
Hickery-o's words came to mind. "The truth always limps behind the lie, Nosepass." He confessed too late. Now, he didn't have a chance to confess.
Confessional
Nosepass: "What have I done…?"
Farfetch'd: "I couldn't sleep so I asked Ms. Stick to come up with a place where it's likely for Mr. Stalk to be there. She said that I should check the sea out."
Farfetch'd walked to the shallow parts of the sea, trying to find Mr. Stalk. Unfortunately, an angry horde of Carvanha attacked.
"Help!" Farfetch'd screamed as they bit him furiously. He was about to drown.
Luckily, Skarmory landed on the dock for the closing part. He spotted Farfetch'd and ordered Alakazam to teleport him to the infirmary.
"Wow, Farfetch'd is now the true pain magnet. Maybe, Ms. Stick is cursed. Who knows? What I know is that Jumpluff is about to get some competition!" He laughed, clapping to himself. "Sorry, viewers. It's just that Bisharp is the perfect Pokemon to make fun off. Well, see you next time on Total Skarmory Island. One, two, fire!" Skarmory hinted, ducking and covering his head with both wings.
Votes
Nosepass: Meowth
Darmanitan: Heracross
Drifblim: Meowth
Meowth: Heracross
Heracross: Meowth
Farfetch'd: Heracross
Duosion: Heracross
Aromatisse: Heracross
Heracross: 5 (eliminated)
Meowth: 3 (safe)
Here is Farfetch'd and Swanna Ability- Delusional Duplicator
You can duplicate yourself. In reality, you just hire a few helpers (Passive).
Level 1: You get a Wimpod intern.
Level 2: You get an additional Raticate intern.
Level 3: You get an Ursaring intern alongside the other two.
The word 'Valentia' means courage by the way. I learn it from Fire Emblem Echoes: SOV.
This chapter has many references to a popular variety show. If you're bored and have nothing to do, try to find them all.
I see that my viewers got their winner pick already. Let me mess up your elimination lists a bit then.
Nosepass is a smart winner pick. Not only is he a steel type (my favorite type) after evolving, he gets a lot of development and sympathetic edits. He's the underdog. Can he pull off a huge upset?
Drifblim is also a smart winner pick. She plays this game the hardest. Despite being the main antagonist, she gets positive edits and development. She's a gameshow fanatic like me. Arguably the smartest. Can she make her life-long dream come true?
Meowth is another smart winner pick. He's the secondary antagonist turned anti-hero. He plays this game really hard. In addition, his intelligence and business charm is nothing to scoff at either. He's a businessman like me. Can he build his business empire?
Aromatisse is a smart winner pick as well. She gets tons of positive edits. She shows a lot of growth in her character. She got a solid social game despite floater-ish gameplay. Will she get the one thousand roses from Meowth?
Darmanitan is a solid, believable pick. He's the most composed, calm and chill. The least likely to succumb to pressure in the finale. Arguably the strongest physically. Can he activate Zen Mode more often and show them all that he's actually a competitive threat to win this game?
Duosion is a risky pick. She got a mix between positive and negative edits. Despite being one of the most intelligent contestant, she has her struggles.
Farfetch'd is a crazy pick. I mean just look at him right now. Without Mr. Stalk, he's toasted. If he gets Mr. Stalk back then he's a smart pick as well. With Mr. Stalk, he's the most well-rounded player. He also shows a respectable amount of development and he got his code of honor going for him.
Heracross got no chance to win this game. I'm tired of forcing myself to lie and say she has a chance. Bye, bye Heracross.
The final seven won't return in season two. They get enough development. See you all next time and remember to review. It really motivates me.