Total Pokemon: Underdogs

by Dark Arcanine 33

Oh god, they're back AGAIN! This time, 44 Total Pokemon underdogs have been brought back for a chance at 5 MILLION POKE! What will happen this time? Find out here! (Season 6)

26. Gone Diggin'

Announcer: Last time on Total Pokémon: Underdogs… a couple of new legendaries: Zacian and Zamazenta joined the hosts and acted as observers. Connor and Taylor devised a new idea to bring in people from both alliances to form a super alliance, which seemed to work out pretty well despite Ace's initial hesitance. Marie and her alliance targeted Ashton, seeing her as a weak player who could skate by very easily. In the reward challenge, some of the contestants had to keep themselves in tubs of ice for an extended period of time, while Aura and Amethyst fought it out in a shaved ice eating contest. In the end, Aspen and Amethyst each won, and brought Morgan and Ashton, respectively along with them to a restaurant. Back on the island, Titan was devising a few schemes of his own. After failing to cause issues with Taylor and Connor, he decided to try his hand at talking to Sally and see if she wanted to make a big play. However, she declined without hearing the entire plan. This lead to him moving to Ashton, who was on the chopping block. In the elimination challenge, Zacian and Zamazenta acted as models so that the contestants could sculpt them out of ice. Many of the sculptures looked awful, but Kojo and Holly each managed to pull out a victory. After seeing how well Marie had been doing, a target was placed on her back by Connor's new alliance, as well as Amethyst's old alliance. And, after seeing her get pulled aside by Titan, who they rightfully assumed had the immunity statue, Marie's alliance decided to shift the vote to Sally. But, in the end, with Connor's super alliance, as well as votes from Amethyst's group, Marie was sent packing instead.

What will happen this time? Will Morgan, Aura, and Aspen be caught? Will Titan have to use his immunity statue? And most importantly… who's going home tonight? Find out right now on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!

000

*Intro plays*

000

As sunlight beamed through the windows of the Winner's Cabin, a particular ermine began to stir. With his arm draped over Summer, his movements impacted her as well.

The Typhlosion's eyes slowly flickered open, the Mienshao's movements waking her. She let out a tired moan as she sat up, scratching her head. Looking down at her fiance with a playful huff, she rolled her eyes in displeasure about being woken up already.

As she prepared to get out of bed, a devious idea formed in the Volcano Pokemon's mind. Since he woke her up, she felt that it was only fair that she returned the favor. She crawled over so that she was directly over him and turned around before taking a seat on his head.

She folded her arms with a giggle, waiting to see him start to struggle and wonder what was going on. She knew that doing this was extremely risque, but she couldn't care less. She loved him and he loved her, so she knew that he'd find the humor in it.

Eventually, after a minute or two, Kojo's legs started to move again, with Summer having to hold back her laughter. A few moments later, the mustelid attempted to move his head, but found difficulty in doing so. As he slowly came to, he recognized that a familiar scent was much stronger than usual.

He finally opened his eyes completely and saw that his girlfriend was sitting on his head. Using his free arm, he tapped on the Typhlosion's side, which caused her to giggle as she rose off of him and turned to face him.

Kojo was surprised her actions. Admittedly, it was a pretty sexy way to wake up, but he didn't expect that from her, especially with Klavier and Holly in the same cabin.

"I thought that kinda stuff was only supposed to happen during the honeymoon…" he joked as he sat up with a soft groan.

"I mean… it can if you want," she teased with a seductive smirk. She then explained her reasoning behind it, "I only did it here because you woke me up with your moving, and I wanted some revenge~"

Kojo chuckled as he rubbed his eyes, "Well, be lucky that Klav and Holly didn't knock or walk in or else it'd be really awkward."

Summer moved forward and planted a kiss on his lips. "Well, I guess luck was on our side…" she commented as she got out of bed. "So, how about some breakfast?"

Kojo shrugged, "Hmm… sure, why not?" As he got out of bed, he recognized another familiar smell. "Wait, is that… bacon?"

-000-

The sound of sizzling bacon was accompanied by a multitude of other appetizing odors. Another pan, sitting next to the one with bacon, had eggs in it. The toaster was on, with a box of waffles sitting beside it.

Klavier was sitting at the kitchen island, holding a banana as he watched her cook. "You know, you don't have to make us breakfast," he commented, not wanting her to have to do all of this work this early.

The Swoobat shook her head with a smile. "It's fine, sweetie. It's no trouble…"

Klavier scoffed with a smile, "I know y-"

His response was interrupted by Summer, who was walking to the front with Kojo in tow. "What's going on up here?" she inquired. "Something smells great…"

Holly giggled, "Just making breakfast…"

"Oh?" Kojo responded in surprise. "What made you wanna do that? I mean, thanks, but… why?"

Holly shrugged, "Just wanted to do something nice."

Summer smiled as she took a seat at the table. "Well, it's really appreciated. But, you don't have to take care of everyone…"

"I know, but a little hospitality never hurt anyone…" the Swoobat shrugged as she dumped the bacon strips out of the pan and onto a plate with paper towels sitting on it to soak up the grease.

Now that Kojo and Summer were awake, Klavier decided that it was probably the best time for them to discuss what happened the previous night. Holly being there didn't really matter, as he trusted that she wouldn't say anything to her alliance.

"So, uh…" Klavier began, clearing his throat. "Are we gonna talk about last night?"

Summer let out a sigh, resting her chin in her hand. "I'd rather not. It only reminds me that we're probably screwed going forward…"

Klavier scratched his head, "Yeah, I wonder what happened with that. I thought that we would be fine."

Kojo reasoned, "Well, Shine, Sola, and Titan are the swing votes. If Ace got to them, then the votes make sense."

"Yeah, but they said that it was eleven votes to seven," Summer responded. "Amethyst, Ashton, Ace, Taylor, Connor, Sally, and Holly make seven votes. If Sola, Shine, and Titan voted with them, that makes ten."

Klavier's eyes widened in realization, "That means that someone from our alliance voted for Marie, too!"

Kojo hummed in thought, "Well... on the way to the ceremony, Anthony did say something about Morgan being a bit suspicious. But he also said that Titan was on board with voting for Ashton despite talking to her earlier. And there's still one vote unaccounted for…"

"Wait, so if Titan didn't know that we switched the vote and still voted for Ashton…" Klavier reasoned. "That would account for the missing vote."

"Okay… if that's the case, that means that there's two extra votes for Marie…" Summer said, slowly realizing what likely happened. She growled to herself as Holly hesitantly placed a plate of food in front of her.

000

"I knew there was a reason that Anthony was glaring at Aspen and Aura when he came back," Summer started, folding her arms. "And come to think of it, they didn't really look concerned when she got eliminated, either!"

"Those bitches just screwed us!"

000

Anthony was inside of the guys' side of the Loser Cabin, lying on his bed while staring at the ceiling with a visage of irritation on his face.

Sitting across from him, Phill scratched his chin. He didn't really have a bond or anything with the Shellfish Pokémon, so he didn't really know what to say. Plus, the guy just had his girlfriend eliminated, so he likely wasn't up for talking to begin with.

With a hesitant sigh, the Raticate began, "So… Uh… where do we go from here, exactly?"

The Blastoise didn't even turn to face his direction. He just continued staring at the ceiling with the same expression on his face.

The Mouse Pokémon sweatdropped, feeling awkward about the fact that he was right about Anthony not wanting to talk. However, despite this, the Raticate decided to continue trying to get him to speak.

Clearing his throat, he decided to make an assumption in hopes that the tortoise would respond. "Well, I guess the alliance is pretty much on life support now?"

To his surprise, he observed a modicum of movement from the Shellfish Pokémon, as his eyes immediately shifted toward him in a glare. "No," he stated before staring back at the ceiling.

With his response, Phill had something to work with. "Okay, good. Uh… So, if the alliance isn't dead. What are we supposed to do now?" he asked.

Anthony, still peeved about what happened the night prior, had already decided in his mind that Aspen and Aura were out. That left him with only five trustworthy allies, in his mind. He sat up, knowing that Marie wouldn't want him just lazing about and moping.

He had displayed a bit of leadership material the day before, so he decided that it was time for him to step up.

He hopped out of bed with a grunt. "Well, thanks to those lousy bitches, we're the targets now," he explained, folding his arms. "We need to talk to some of the others and see what we can do to shift this back in our favor. If we don't, they'll just pick us off one-by-one."

"Talk to who?" Phill inquired. "If the other alliance has a lot of people in it now and Aura and Aspen joined them-"

Anthony replied, "We have Titan, Shine, and Sola. I'm pretty sure that if we can convince them to vote with us, we could at least force a tie."

Just then, an idea came to Phill's head. "Hey, why don't we just confront Aspen and Aura and see why they voted for Marie instead of Sally? Then, if there's something that we can do to get then back on our-"

"Nope," the Shellfish Pokémon interrupted, shaking his head. "Fuck those bitches. I don't trust them at all anymore."

Phill sweatdropped, smacking his lips, "Alright then… Well… I don't think a tie will do us any good. We're gonna need something like… definitive or however you say it."

Thinking momentarily, the Shellfish Pokémon hummed to himself before an idea struck him. "Klavier still dating Holly, right?" he inquired rhetorically. "Just get him to talk to her and see if she can help us out."

A bit uncertain about the Blastoise's idea, the mouse replied with a bit of hesitation. "Uh…"

Hearing the Raticate's prolonged response, Anthony groaned in annoyance. "What?"

"I just don't think that Holly will be willing to betray her friends like that," Phill explained, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, we don't have any other choice," Anthony replied, folding his arms in a huff. "If she doesn't vote with us, we tie. If she does, then we have control again."

He pointed a finger at the Raticate, instructing, "Get Klavier to talk to his girl and see about getting her on our side."

Phill let out a sigh, feeling that the outcome was going to be obvious. "If you say so…" he drawled as he exited the room, leaving Anthony to sigh to himself.

The Blastoise wasn't sure about how things were going to go at this point, but he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

000

Anthony huffed, "Aspen and Aura had better watch their backs. When the time comes, their asses are donezo…"

"I have bigger fish to fry, right now; Amethyst needs to go," he stated firmly. "An eye for an eye…"

000

Morgan, Aspen, and Aura were inside the jail office, sitting on the couch. Morgan was feeling a bit perplexed about everything, unsure about what to do. On one hand, she didn't want to betray the alliance that willingly took her in, but on the other hand, she wanted to make it further in the game, and working with Connor's group could very well help her succeed.

"Come on, sis," Aspen urged. "It's not really a hard decision. This is a competition, so you're gonna have to lie and change your mind a lot."

"I know…" Morgan replied, giving her a look. "I just don't want to be seen as like a backstabber or anything."

"Morgan, in this competition, everyone's gonna be labeled or seen as a liar, asshole, or cheater at some point," Aura commented. "At this point, it doesn't matter at all. We all want to win; caring about how we see each other should be the last thing on your mind."

Morgan let out a sigh. Aura had a valid point, surprisingly enough. Majority of them have known each other for years now, so how they view each other shouldn't come into question or even be worrying her. However, at the same time, she didn't really know anyone from either alliance that well, which still made things difficult for her.

She knew that she shouldn't care, but she couldn't help but to. She let out a breath, "Look, I know that I was with you guys for Connor and Taylor's group, but I think that I'm just gonna hang with Anthony and his group for a while longer…"

Aspen and Aura exchanged looks before Aspen seamlessly came up with another idea. "I mean, we could just keep dwindling their numbers and you can tell them to you're gonna join us instead. That way, you're not really backstabbing, rather… making the best decision for yourself."

Morgan posed a question to them, "Why are we so keen on joining Connor and Taylor's group in the first place, though? We were fine with Marie and her group…"

"Yeah, we were, but at the same time, look at them," Aura replied. "They're all major threats aside from Beavis and Butthead. We need to get rid of them first, and then we can deal with everything else…"

"We're gonna have to make these decisions if we actually want a chance," Aspen followed. She hopped off of the couch before looking back at Morgan. "You can stay with their group if you want, but I know for a fact that Aura and I aren't going back. It's not like they'd trust us anymore, anyway."

The shiny Glaceon hopped off of the couch as well. "And if you're gonna stick around with them, could you at least keep the new group a secret?" Aura inquired.

Morgan narrowed her eyes at the Fresh Snow Pokémon. "If I didn't tell them when I went back to them yesterday, why would I tell them now? Especially if I may come back later on?"

Aura shrugged as she and Aspen started leaving the room, giving the Persian some time alone. The Classy Cat Pokémon let out a sigh as she proceeded to climb off of the couch and enter the makeshift phone room.

Replacing the sheets on the bed, Morgan blew out a breath before lying on the bed. A Stoutland materialized from the phone and looked around before setting his eyes upon the Persian lying on the bed.

Hex joked, "Hey, maybe they should've just put me on this season instead of the other one…"

Morgan lied her head on the bed with a pleading look on her face. "Baby, I don't know what to do. I want to do what's best for me, but at the same time, I don't want to piss anyone off, either. You know how people can hold grudges over in-game decisions sometimes..."

Hex chuckled as climbed onto the bed and lay down next to her. As she rested her head on his shoulder, he explained, "Hon, you should know by now that in this game, some people are gonna be annoyed at you in one way or another, regardless of what you do. Just do what's best for you and focus, okay? If you do something they don't like, they'll get over it. You're all after the same thing."

Morgan nodded in understanding. Knowing that Hex had likely watched what happened the day prior, she inquired, "So… should I stay with the alliance I'm already with or should I abandon ship and go with Taylor and Connor like Aspen and Aura did?"

Hex shook his head, "That's a decision that you'll have to make for yourself, baby. Just go with your gut. I know you can do it."

Morgan let out another sigh before nuzzling him with a purr. "Thanks. I love you…"

"Love you too, sweetie," Hex responded, kissing her cheek. "Just do your best."

Morgan smiled at him.

000

"I think I'm gonna just play along on both sides and just do whatever sounds the most beneficial to me," the Persian explained. "I already lied to Anthony and the others about what Aspen, Taylor, Aura, and I actually spoke about, so unless they find out, I feel like it'll be fine. And as long as I'm not the one on the chopping block, I think I have a good chance."

000

Still reeling over the fact that she nearly got eliminated the night prior, Sally paced back and forth, with Ashton, Ace, Taylor, and Connor's eyes following her movements.

The Ampharos eventually stopped in place with a growl, raising her arms. "I still don't fucking get it! Why the hell were they targeting me?! I thought they were supposed to be going for you, " she bewailed, pointing at Ashton. "That was apparently Titan's whole plan!"

"Hey, Titan was surprised, too," Ashton countered. "I guess they changed their mind without telling him. Why else would he offer to give me his immunity statue?"

Upon hearing that, Taylor and Connor's eyes widened as they exchanged looks. They hadn't been filled in on this 'plan', so hearing about Titan's discovery of the immunity statue immediately caused a bit of unease.

"Wait, wait…" Ace began, just as surprised as Taylor and Connor. "What do you mean his immunity statue?!"

Sally huffed, "Allegedly, Titan found the damn immunity statue and was going to give it to Ashton since last he heard, Anthony and his group were planning on voting her out."

"And somehow you were the one to get votes," Taylor pieced together, now realizing why she was so disgruntled.

Sally growled, "I want Titan gone. That damn statue of his is just gonna cause trouble!"

Connor chimed in, "Well, the only way to do that is to make him use it on himself, first."

"I don't care!" Sally exclaimed. She then took a deep breath, "I just… want him out. Once he's gone, I'll be at peace again."

Ace was a bit perplexed as to why she was so angry at the Galvantula for what he had no control over. "I mean… why are you so mad at Titan? He wasn't the one who made them change the votes against you."

Immediately, Sally's eyes widened, as a new possible scenario entered her mind, "That fucking bastard. He probably did tell them to vote for me instead!"

"What!?" Taylor inquired, now more convinced that she was becoming paranoid. "Why would he tell Ashton that he has the statue and that he was going to use it on her if he was gonna target you instead?"

Connor agreed, adding, "Yeah, and if it was a plot, why didn't he use his statue on Marie to get rid of you definitively? It doesn't make sense."

"None of us know what goes on inside each other's heads," Sally replied. "He could have this whole crazy plan worked out that no one will expect!"

Ashton sweatdropped, letting out a sigh, "Sally, I sincerely doubt that he's that conniving. I really think you should just let it go…"

"How can I let it go when I'm a possible target now?!" Sally exclaimed. She groaned as she looked around, "Where's Amethyst!? I need her input on this…"

"She said that she had some stomach issues," the Herb Pokémon explained, looking in the direction of the bathrooms.

Ace assumed, "Probably from eating all of that ice from yesterday. Then again, she's already an ice-type, so…"

The sudden sound of footsteps softly echoed through that section of the forest, accompanied by the cacophony of snapping branches and creaking trees. The noise caused a bit of worry among the five that were sitting in the clearing.

A large, blue sauropod stepped out from the trees, causing one of them to tilt a bit to the right. It had a bright blue underside with small crystals running down either side of its body. It had ocean blue eyes, with a V-shaped white marking with a crystal in the middle on her head. Its tail was long and ended with a teardrop-shaped tip. The most defining feature, though, were two large sails running from its head down the length of its long neck. The sails were currently glowing green and white, as it wore a confident expression.

"Hey guys~" it greeted in a rather familiar voice, identifying it as a female.

"Wait… Amethyst!?" Ace inquired, his eyes widening in shock. "You evolved?!"

The now-Aurorus giggled as she lied down with the rest of her group. "Yep," she answered as her sails turned a pale yellow and purple. "I guess all of that ice from yesterday gave me a kick…"

"Well, good for you," Sally replied, patting the Tundra Pokémon's leg. "Now, can you tell these guys that getting rid of Titan will be our next best move? I don't trust him, and with that statue, he's a wildcard."

Amethyst rose a brow at this. She hadn't forgotten about what happened last night, she was still pissed off about it, but Titan could still be a good asset to them. "As much as I'd like to agree, I'd have to say no."

"WHAT!?" the Ampharos bellowed, stunned by her answer.

"As untrustworthy as he is, there's a good chance that we can still use him," Amethyst explained. "If he's willing to give one of us the statue to save us, then that's good for us. Though something else has been on my mind since yesterday's vote."

"What is it?" Ashton inquired.

"How is it that we managed to outnumber the other alliance so easily?" the Tundra Pokémon inquired. "I mean, unless someone here managed to convince people from the other team…"

"Well, Ace has connections with Sola and Shine…" Connor reasoned, becoming a bit worried about Amethyst's suspicions.

"They said that the votes were eleven to seven…" Amethyst added. "There's six of us here, seven if we include Holly, and if Shine and Sola actually did us a favor, then it'd be a nine-nine tie. And if Titan was as clueless as he made himself out to be last night, that means that two people from the other alliance are willing to work with us…"

"Well, the only ones that would fit that category are Aura and Aspen," Ashton reasoned. "I don't think they have any concrete loyalties with anyone."

"Okay, so we're gonna need to talk to them," Amethyst reasoned, as Taylor twitched a bit.

If they inducted Aura and Aspen into the alliance, then they could lose their advantage! Morgan was already on the fence, and if those two are on the outs in the other alliance, it could all fall apart!

Having similar thoughts, Connor immediately rose a possibility, "Um… are we sure that we want them? If they're willing to turn on their leader in the other alliance, how can we trust them to stick with us?"

"C-Connor's right!" Taylor concurred. "For all we know, they could join us, and then go back and work with them again to get you out."

Amethyst hummed in thought, her evolution causing her to become a bit more confident and pensive. "Okay, I suppose you're right about that. There's a chance that they'll screw us over again. So, for now, why don't we just continue down the line and try to take Summer out next?"

"But what about Titan?!" Sally exclaimed. "With that statue-"

"I'm sure that we can handle a few votes without worrying about his dumb statue," Amethyst responded dismissively. "As long as we stick together and Ace has his connections, we can easily take over this game!"

Connor and Taylor exchanged looks.

000

"Okay, so Amethyst evolved and I guess her confidence has grown even more," Connor reasoned. "We can't have her screwing up our alliance, so Tay and I are gonna have to talk to Aspen and Aura and get them to decline."

"And apparently Titan has the statue?!" he exclaimed. "Fuck's sake. We're gonna have to make some executive decisions going forward. But, we know that we want Summer, so that's something, at least."

000

"I'm so happy that I evolved," Amethyst chirped. "I'm stronger both physically and mentally, now, and I'm ready to take complete control of this game. If we can keep picking off the others, we'll be golden."

"Sven, honey… I'm gonna do this…" she said with a fierce smile.

000

Mew was resting on the couch in the living room. The previous night, he was asked by Terrakion to be the judge for a trivia game that he was gonna play with Heatran, Latios, Volcanion, Entei, and Silvally, who was visiting for a change.

The winners got to spend an extended period of time with Zacian, much to the lupine's slight unease as he spectated. Latios, Entei, and Silvally found themselves infatuated by him, while Volcanion, Terrakion and Heatran just wanted to talk to him and get to know him better. It was due to these distinctions that they didn't just all talk to him together, despite it being rather easy to do so.

In the end, Terrakion's team won, and because it took so long, Mew just decided to rest there. He let out a soft yawn as he sat up and looked around. He let out a sigh as he scratched his head. "Just a few more weeks Mew… just a few more weeks…" he said to himself.

He suddenly heard a familiar voice call, "Oh, I found him, V!" He looked over and saw Xerneas approaching him, with Virizion following suit a few moments later. He rose a brow, "You guys were looking for me?"

"No duh," Virizion replied. "We care about you, and you're the main host, so... we kinda have to."

Mew responded, "I mean, I've just been here the whole time since we got back yesterday."

Xerneas shrugged, "Well, we didn't really expect you to still be here. But, alright?" She cleared her throat, "So, are you ready to go?"

Mew let out a sigh as he floated up. "I guess so…"

Virizion gave him a look, growing rather irked by his depressed tone. "Mew…" she said with a tone of suspicion. "Are you feeling up to this or not? There's only a few more weeks of this and I don't want to hear you mope anymore. Your mood has been swinging more than Meloetta's lately."

Mew sweatdropped in response. He just wanted the season to be done, but also didn't want to just cop out. He looked down.

Xerneas gave Virizion a look before looking back at Mew, leaning close to him. "Hon, I think what V is trying to say is… we know that you're upset, but the way you act and feel seems to fluctuate a lot. Yesterday, you sounded like you were back into it and you were getting your groove back, but now you're just back moping and have this defeated demeanor…"

Mew let out another sigh. "I just… I want it to be over already. I'm sorry that I'm just out of it. Like, on one hand, there are still some elements that I enjoy, but on the other hand, I'm just so exhausted and just wish that I wasn't forcing myself to continue…"

"We know that, Mew," Virizion replied, giving him a serious look. "You've made it known multiple times that you feel trapped. But, Xerneas and I are still here and willing to handle things if you're feeling burnt out and just want to stop."

Did they not get it? Yes, he laid his feelings about the situation out on the table multiple times and apparently, they knew how he felt. However, they failed to acknowledge the 'why' behind it all.

"I can't!" the New Species Pokémon exclaimed, startling them. Regaining his composure, he took a breath. "I'm not gonna pull a Victini on them and just give up in the middle of the season. I've thought about it a lot, but… That's just… That's not me. I have to see this through."

As he continued explaining, the girls exchanged looks of empathy, now having a much clearer understanding of what he was going through mentally.

"If I don't stick this out, then I'm no better than Victini," Mew opined, looking down dejectedly. "So, no matter how I feel, I have to at least finish this out…"

The girls looked at each other once again, with Xerneas nodding in affirmation. The pair climbed onto the couch, much to Mew's confusion.

"We get it, Mew," Virizion stated softly. "You don't want to be seen as a quitter like Victini, and you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. But… you're not in this alone."

Xerneas concurred, adding, "Yeah, unlike Victini, we'll never abandon you. We love you…"

Mew's pink face turned a bright crimson as he sheepishly looked to the floor.

"And don't you ever compare yourself to Victini again," Virizion stated sternly. "You're actually very likeable and understanding. And the only reason that you're stressed is because Victini wanted this season and then left you out to dry."

The Life Pokémon added, "Not only that, but before the merge, the contestants' behavior was just… awful! So your becoming more and more stressed and wanting to quit is completely understandable. You shouldn't feel like you're obligated to stay…"

Mew exhaled softly. "Well, I do. And it doesn't really change anything. But… thank you."

Beginning to climb off of the couch, Xerneas reminded, "Well, just know that we've got your back." Virizion nodded as she climbed off as well.

The girls each kissed either of Mew's cheeks, causing a small smile to form on his face.

"Now, let's get going," Virizion insisted as a pink aura surrounded them.

000

Titan, still surprised by last night's vote, was thinking to himself as he sat in a hammock made of his threads. He was sure that Ashton would be the one to get votes, but things ended up working out even better.

Now, one of the biggest threats was out of the running and he still had his statue. That sounded good for him, but there was a bit of danger there, as well.

He had told Ashton about his statue, and her alliance somehow managed to get enough votes to eliminate Marie anyway. So, for all he knew, he could be their next target. They were going to have to flush out his statue somehow. He needed to figure out a way to keep that from happening.

000

"Okay, so if I'm thinking right, Ashton and her alliance now have the majority if they can keep pulling in others like Sola and Shine," the Galvantula reasoned. "So, I'm gonna try to talk to those two and see if they're willing to work with me. I may need to make a special offering, though."

000

As the EleSpider Pokémon began making his way back to the campgrounds, the sound of the loudspeaker reverberated throughout the island.

"CONTESTANTS! MEET US DOWN AT THE BEACH FOR YOUR REWARD CHALLENGE!"

Titan let out a groan, momentarily stopping in place. "Well, hopefully this one ain't too annoying' and I can talk to them girls when we're there. Hopefully, Sola ain't too salty and'll listen…" he commented before continuing toward the beach.

000

"You don't still use Victini's challenge list do you?" Xerneas inquired to Mew.

Mew shook his head with a sigh. "Nah, I tossed it somewhere since the challenges were just getting worse as it went on. Hopefully this one isn't so bad to the contestants…"

"It shouldn't be," Virizion refuted. "If they have a problem, then at this point, they might as well just quit, in all honesty."

The final eighteen contestants eventually made their way down to the beach, where they saw the challenge set up. There was a starting line , followed by two separate rows of large circles made of white were six in each row. At the end of each row, ten feet away from the final circle, was a wooden table with six rectangular slots.

The fact that there were only two rows caused a bit of confusion among the contestants, especially given what the past two reward challenges entailed.

"Alright, welcome to today's reward challenge," Mew greeted. "You guys looking forward to it?"

Sola opined with a shrug, "Depends on what the reward is."

Following a few murmurs and nods of agreement, Mew replied, "Well, you'll learn about it soon enough. But first, the challenge itself..."

With that cue, Virizion immediately began explaining the challenge. "Okay, here's how it'll work…"

"You all will be separated into two teams. Six players will serve as diggers, one will be a runner, and the last two will be the unscramblers," she began.

The contestants, despite their confusion, continued to listen. "In each of the sectioned off areas is a letter tile that is buried in the sand," she continued. "You will be digging one at a time. Once the first person finds their tile, the runner must collect it and take it back to the table for the unscramblers. That's when the next digger begins and it continues like that until you have all six tiles."

The fact that there was a ton of running and digging involved caused a few frowns to slowly form. "After that, it's up to the unscramblers to spell the word in the table."

Xerneas immediately followed, revealing the reward, "The first team to finish wins a trip to the spa!"

Immediately, nearly everyone's eyes widened in surprise as smiles formed on their faces and they exchanged looks with each other.

"Alright," Mew began, getting everyone back on track. "For the teams…"

"Kojo, Holly…" The two of them perked up upon hearing their names called.

"Since you guys won the last immunity challenge, you guys get to pick the teams," Mew explained.

The two of them gained smiles, while visages of jealousy and hopefulness slowly formed on a few of the other contestants.

"Alright, go ahead and make your choices and we'll get this started," Virizion stated.

Going back and forth, the two leaders began choosing their teams. With Holly going first, the Swoobat roped in Klavier, Aspen, Aura, Amethyst, Sally, Connor, Taylor, and Ashton. Kojo managed to get Summer, Anthony, Morgan, Phill, Sola, Shine, Ace, and Titan.

Ace felt a bit betrayed, as Holly chose both Aspen and Aura first over him. She was supposed to be a part of the alliance with him, but she chose those two first? It brought him down a bit.

"Alright, talk amongst yourselves, choose your spots and we can begin the challenge," Virizion instructed.

000

After a few complicated discussions regarding body types and capabilities, all of the contestants took their spots on the beach. Though some looked more irritated than others.

For Holly's team, Aspen, Taylor, Ashton, Aura, Connor, and Amethyst were responsible for digging, with Klavier acting as the runner, or flyer in his case, and Sally and Holly being the unscramblers.

For Kojo's team, the digging roles went to himself, Shine, Morgan, Phill, Ace, and Summer. Sola would act as the runner, and Titan and Anthony would be the unscramblers.

Kojo and Aspen were both at the starting line, ready to begin.

"Alright!" Mew announced. "In three… two… one… GO!"

-000-

Right out of the gate, Aspen and Kojo started running toward their respective digging spots.

Aspen immediately started digging like a machine, kicking up sand as if her life depended on it. She really wanted that spa trip. If she couldn't win any other challenge, she sure as hell was going to win this one!

Kojo, on the other hand, was having trouble digging, as he didn't really have any experience with it. He even unsheathed his claws in an attempt to help himself more, but it didn't make much of a difference.

Another hindrance came at his own hands, as his long, arm fur kept pushing sand back into the hole he was digging. He didn't necessarily care about the spa, but he was sure that the others on his team did, and he didn't want to let them down.

People on each team were cheering for their respective first diggers, wanting to finish quickly so that they can get the lead.

As one could guess, Aspen managed to dig up her letter tile first within minutes, tossing it out of the circle.

"And Aspen has the first tile for her team!" Virizion announced.

With that announcement, Klavier immediately flew over in order to collect it. Once he had it, he quickly flew back across the beach to hand it off to Holly and Sally.

"Taylor, go!" Amethyst shouted to the Milotic, having seen the hand off take place.

The Tender Pokémon nodded and began using his tail in order to dig. It wasn't as practical as he had hoped for, but something was happening and that was all that mattered.

After another minute passed by, Kojo finally managed to pull out a letter tile, much to his chagrin. He was hoping that he'd be faster.

"And Kojo unearths his team's first tile!" Mew announced. The Mienshao's team was noticeably quiet during his long digging session. Things seemed to pick up a bit after Mew's announcement, as Sola immediately sped toward the start in order to retrieve their first tile.

As the Absol did this, Taylor managed to uncover his team's second tile, much to his excitement. "I GOT IT!" he exclaimed gleefully.

"Klavier!" Amethyst immediately shouted to the Gliscor. Startled by her sudden outcry, the Fang Scorpion Pokémon quickly flew across the beach to retrieve the next tile.

"Looks like Holly's team is in the lead so far," Xerneas narrated. "Once they get that tile back to the table, they'll begin their search for their third one."

Sola skidded to a halt as she returned to the tile table. Anthony took the tile from her mouth, allowing her to spit out particles of sand that were still on it.

"Alright, Shine, go!" Summer shouted up front.

The Espeon let out a sigh as she began digging. She was interested in the spa reward, but she felt that she'd have been better at the tile table. However, since she was a quadruped, she was told that her digging would be more practical for them since neither Anthony nor Titan appeared to be the best diggers.

Once Klavier returned to his team's table with the tile, Amethyst once again took charge, directing Ashton, who was next in line, to start digging. With her new evolution, the icy sauropod felt that she had a much bigger role to play.

Ashton began using her legs, as well as her vines, to aid in her digging. Holly's team had a very big disadvantage, as a majority of their diggers were quadrupeds that lacked adequate digging skills. The only ones that would function normally were Aura and Aspen.

000

Holly sweatdropped, "Okay… maybe choosing based on alliance wasn't that great of an idea."

000

Shine managed to unearth her team's next tile after a few more minutes. She tossed it out of the circle.

Summer called, "Sola!"

The Absol immediately ran back toward the group to continue her task at hand. She picked up the second tile and rushed back to the tile table, kicking up a bunch of sand in the process.

Ashton was still having a tough time digging, growing a bit irked at the fact that she was taking so long. She didn't want to be the cause of their possible loss, so she only dug faster, kicking up sand that wound up getting into Aura's circle and face.

Spitting out sand, the shiny Glaceon glared at the Meganium. "Hey, watch it!"

From behind her, Connor commented, "Aura, you're on a beach. Having sand in your face is gonna happen a lot, especially with this type of challenge."

Aura grumbled as she rubbed her now irritated eyes, which only served to irritate them further.

Sola made it back to the tile table, Anthony taking the tile out of her mouth again. As the Disaster Pokémon walked back to her position, Titan stifled a laugh. "Sheila's finally putting her big mouth to good use…"

Anthony gave him a look, still a bit irked about the outcome of the previous vote. He would have replied, but he decided against it since it wouldn't make him feel any better.

Morgan, the next one in line for Kojo's team, immediately started digging after seeing Sola drop off their second tile.

The Persian had no problem with excavation, as she was actually used to digging. Due to her and Hex having a sandbox in their backyard, she learned some techniques while she played out there with Alexa when the Big-Hearted Pokémon was working.

She kicked up sand at a quick pace, digging in different areas of the circle she was in. She was making sure that she covered the area thoroughly, as the tile could be buried anywhere.

Ashton continued to struggle, changing digging spots and still coming up short. She felt an enormous weight on her shoulders, being the one currently hindering her team. Glancing over to the other team, the Meganium saw that Morgan was working hard and fast.

"ASHTON!" the Herb Pokémon was startled by the sudden outcry. The exclamation came from Amethyst, who had been watching the Meganium the whole time. "FOCUS, GIRL!"

Ashton gulped, as beads of sweat began dripping from her face.

"And Morgan collects the third tile for Kojo's team!" Virizion announced.

"Oh, for fuck's sake…" Taylor groaned, holding his head with his tail fin.

"Ashton, come on!" Aura yelled.

The Meganium countered, "I'm doing the best I ca-!"

She suddenly felt something hard under her feet, causing her to stop mid-sentence. She peered down and saw that the next tile was now at her feet. Using a vine, she grabbed the tile and tossed it out of her circle.

"Finally!" Amethyst exclaimed as she turned back around. "Klavier!"

Klavier had already began making his way back over, growing a bit irked by the constant shouting of his name. He was watching them, after all.

He grabbed the tile before zooming back toward the table. Once he handed it off to Sally and Holly, he looked over and saw that Sola was back in her spot and Phill was already digging.

Phill typically hated doing this kind of work, but given that the reward was a spa, he felt obligated to work as hard as he could.

Once he made a single hole, he started digging outwards. Instead of making multiple holes and moving repeatedly, he simply started expanding the first hole, hoping that this method would be easier for him.

Meanwhile, Aura was starting her own digging. After Ashton's abysmal performance, as well as getting sand in her eyes, the Fresh Snow Pokémon knew that she really needed to pick things up so that her team could regain their lead.

"Come on Aura!" Aspen cheered.

The Glaceon panted heavily as she continued to dig, really wanting to win this challenge. She was having difficulty due to her eyes being irritated, but she continued to push through, regardless.

Connor let out a sigh, "This is just gonna get worse… I know it…"

Much to his relief, Phill's different approach actually proved to be beneficial, as he managed to unearth the next tile rather quickly.

He tossed it out of his circle, prompting Sola to speed forward to collect it. The Absol was oozing confidence, as she felt that she was playing the main role in keeping her team ahead.

Virizion narrated, "And Kojo's team keeps the lead!"

"Come on guys! We got this!" Morgan shouted.

They were so close and Aura still hadn't found her team's next tile. Sola was fast, so this was their chance. Having been watching her, Summer turned back around to the others after seeing the mountain lion return to her spot.

Her eyes fell upon the Sylveon in front of her. "Go, Ace!"

The Intertwining Pokémon nodded and immediately started to dig. He was still a bit peeved that he was excluded from Holly's team pick, so he felt that if he managed to beat them, he'd be a bit vindicated.

Meanwhile, Aura was still trying to find the next tile, intermittently rubbing her eyes in order to calm down the burn and irritation she was feeling. However, as one could assume, rubbing her eyes with her sandy paws did not make it any better. It only made it worse.

The Glaceon eventually had to stop digging, as her eyes felt like they were on fire. They began to water, prompting her to rub them again. "FUCK!"

"Oh no…" Ashton whispered to herself, knowing that this was her fault.

"Are you kidding?!" Amethyst exclaimed, apathetic about the Glaceon's condition. "Aura! You have to keep digging!"

"Her eyes are burning, Amethyst," Connor argued, giving her a look. "You can't expect her to do anything with that type of irritation. Heck, when hair gets in my eyes, I wig out a bit."

She huffed, uncaring about his experience. They needed to win this! "If you have experience with it, then fix it!" she shouted, startling the others.

000

Connor took a sharp breath, "Okay, I guess Amethyst's confidence boost has also given her a resounding bitchiness. Great…"

He shook his head, "At least it won't be too hard to convince Aura and Aspen to not join the alliance, if that's even an option after this…"

000

While this was happening, Mew continued to announce the progress of the other team. "And Ace uncovers his team's fifth tile!"

Hearing that, Connor let out a sigh. "Tay, spray Aura!" he called out.

The Milotic nodded before setting his eyes upon the Meganium blocking his view of the Glaceon. "Hey!" he yelled, getting the Herb Pokémon's attention. With a jerk of his head, he gestured for Ashton to move out of the way.

Noticing what was going on, Xerneas commented, "Looks like Holly's team has hit a snag. They're taking a brief break to help out a teammate."

As Taylor sprayed water at Aura's face, Xerneas continued her commentary. "This is giving Kojo's team a chance to extend their lead."

Amethyst growled in annoyance. "Hurry it up!"

A glare started to form on Aspen's face. The Tundra Pokémon seemed to have become noticeably irritable since she evolved, and it was getting on her nerves already. Aura was in a somewhat painful situation, and yet all she cared about was winning. Admittedly, she was like that in the past, but she'd grown since then.

"SHUT UP!" the Furfrou barked back, which effectively silenced the Aurorus.

Taylor stopped spraying Aura, who panted a bit before blinking her now clear eyes. "Thanks…"

Taylor nodded back with a smile. The soaked Glaceon peered down at the wet sand around her and glanced back over to the other team, where she saw Summer digging as if she were a Ground-type, hurling sand out of her circle at an alarming rate.

She turned back around and saw that Amethyst was lying down with a look of pure aggravation on her face. The Glaceon started digging again despite knowing that it was more than likely a pointless endeavor.

Summer grunted softly as she tossed sand out of the hole she made. With the other team having been preoccupied with Aura, she was able to dig deep which, while impressive, wasn't really helping their cause.

"Summer! Spread out a bit! Do like I did!" Phill offered, gesturing to his section.

"Come on, babe! You've got this! We're so close!" Kojo called from his circle.

The Typhlosion took a second to regain her composure, glancing back over to the other team, where they still had both Connor and Amethyst waiting for their turns to dig. They were still two people behind, giving her more than enough time.

However, she knew that comebacks were still possible and she didn't want to risk it. She scoped out the section that she had already dug out, wanting to make sure that she didn't accidentally miss it.

Accepting that it wasn't there, she moved on to a different section of her circle. She started digging again, with the others on her team cheering her on.

Meanwhile, back with Holly's team, Amethyst was getting fed up with how long Aura was taking. "COME ON! THIS IS FUCKING STUPID! HURRY IT UP, AURA!"

With yet another outburst, the others were already growing sick of the Tundra Pokemon's attitude, even her allies. Ashton was very surprised at how insensitive the newly-evolved Aurorus was being; despite being further away, Holly and Sally could still hear her and wore faces of worry.

Connor rolled his eyes before looking ahead and noticing that Taylor was wearing a visage of disdain at well. The two locked eyes, with Taylor letting out a huff and rolling his own eyes. He then made an eye motion toward the Aurorus, as if asking if they were going to do anything about her. In response, Connor winked, with Taylor nodding in response.

Eventually, Aura managed to uncover the next tile, tossing it out of her circle before lying down in defeat.

Klavier flew over to collect the tile, while Summer was still digging for her team's last tile. The Typhlosion didn't want them to lose their lead, so she started digging even faster.

After handing off the next tile, Klavier got back in his position, prompting Connor to start digging. The Bouffalant softly panted, staying focused on the task.

"COME ON BABY!" Taylor cheered.

Aspen just shook her head. It was like they didn't really care about Aura at all, and she didn't like that. Maybe teaming up with them was a bad idea.

000

Aspen growled, "Okay, if Amethyst ever gets truly involved in the new alliance, I'm not working with them. It's not worth the annoyance."

000

"Aura getting sand in her eyes cost us a lot of fucking time and she couldn't dig worth shit! Taylor did better than her and he doesn't even have legs!" Amethyst growled.

"Holly chose an awful team…" the Aurorus shook her head. "And to think I wanted to talk to Aspen and Aura… Those two are definitely dead weight."

000

Summer finally managed to unearth her team's final tile, tossing it out of her circle. Sola immediately ran towards her and took the tile, heading back to Titan and Anthony.

Mew announced, "Kojo's team has all six tiles! The unscramblers can get started on figuring out-"

"GOT IT! You can stop talking now!" Anthony interrupted with an annoyed shout. The constant narration throughout the challenge was really eating away at his nerves.

"The word is 'reward'!" Titan followed, gesturing to their table, which had the word spelled out with the tiles.

Mew floated over to check out their table. Seeing that they had indeed solved the word, he nodded with a rather stoic expression. "Yep…"

Hearing that, Virizion announced, "KOJO'S TEAM WINS!"

The members of his team all cheered, exchanging a few hugs and high-fives with each other.

Connor stopped digging and sighed, having already known what the results would be. The others all looked disappointed, with the main display of anger coming from Amethyst, who was glaring daggers at Aura .It wasn't the Glaceon's fault to begin with, and yet she was the only one receiving this glower. "Nice going…" the Tundra Pokémon scowled.

"Hey!" Aspen defended, stepping forward. "Ashton was the one who kicked sand in Aura's eyes to begin with!"

Ashton looked down, already having known that she was the cause of their loss. Not only was she bad at digging, but she set them back by hitting Aura with the sand. "Yeah…" Ashton softly chimed in. "It was an accident on my part…"

Aura snapped, immediately following Ashton's admission. "Exactly, so don't pin the loss on me just because you don't want to blame your friend!" Aura snapped. "She even blames herself!"

"Guys, it was a team effort!" Holly shouted, flying over with Klavier and Sally in tow. "We failed. It happens. Blaming each other won't solve anything…"

"Says the one who made this piss-poor team…" Amethyst muttered to herself. She felt like the Swoobat had slowly been easing away from the group just to spend time with Klavier, so some resentment towards her was beginning to form.

Holly, and a few of the others could still hear what she said, causing a small frown to form on the Swoobat's face.

"Okay, seriously Amethyst, you need to lay off," Taylor stated with a glare. "Just because you evolved, that doesn't mean you can start acting like some boss bitch. You're just being a regular bitch."

Amethyst glared back, but didn't respond. She looked at the faces of the others and could easily see that they all shared the same feeling. She huffed to herself, looking away from them.

000

The two groups came together once more, still separated by their teams as they stood before their hosts.

"Alright, congratulations to Kojo's team for winning this reward," Mew regarded, with the members of his team all smiling. "Hopefully you all enjoy yourselves. Virizion and Xerneas will both be accompanying you this time, so it may or may not be more fun for you. Who knows?"

"Hey, they're hot. It's fine by me," Phill commented, causing a few of the girls to roll their eyes.

Mew nodded before looking over to the members of the other team. "The rest of you, head on back to the campgrounds. We'll call you down when it's time for the next challenge."

The nine players that weren't going to the spa started heading back toward the campgrounds, looks of jealousy were tossed in the direction of the winning players.

Once they were gone, the hosts turned their attention back to the winners. "Alright, guys," Mew began. "I'm gonna send you on your way. Just please don't flirt with the masseuses or anything."

Immediately, nearly all eyes went to Phill, who could feel all of the eyes on him. "Jeez, I got it! I'm not some kinda pervert."

"Alright, see you guys in about an hour or two," Mew said, surrounding everyone else with a pink aura before teleporting them off of the island.

000

The players had all separated once they were told to return to the campgrounds. Amethyst, Sally, and Ashton all headed back into the forest; Holly and Klavier went into the Loser Cabin, and Connor, Taylor, Aura, and Aspen relocated to another section of the beach, closer to the jail, in order to converse a bit more.

-000-

"Okay, what the hell kind of shit was that?!" Aspen growled. "Amethyst totally acted like Aura was the only one at fault!"

"Yeah!" the Glaceon exclaimed. "Ashton was the one who took so long digging and she was the one who got sand in my eyes in the first place! Why the hell am I taking the blame?"

Connor let out a sigh. "I have no idea, but I'm guessing it's because she's closer to Ashton than she is with you."

Aura scoffed, as Aspen shook her head in disapproval. "That's bullshit. If Ashton fucked us over, then Amethyst should've called her out regardless."

"Hey, hey," Taylor chimed in. "We understand that you guys are annoyed at her, but complaining about it won't do us any good."

"Then can we vote her out?" Aura inquired with a stern visage. "Not only because of this, but the bitch just evolved, making her a bigger threat."

Taylor and Connor exchanged looks of consideration. From what they saw during the challenge, the Aurorus was much harsher and pretty insufferable. Her evolution had indeed caused a pretty dramatic personality shift for her. They didn't know how strong she was now, but her newfound size and confidence alone was something to worry about.

Connor turned back to them, responding, "We may consider it, but for right now, we're still trying to aim for Summer. So, sit tight and just ignore her at all costs."

Aspen huffed, "No problem in that regard. But if that bitch says anything to either of us…"

"Hey, we have no control over that," Taylor replied with a tone of indifference. "Do what you wanna do in that case. Just avoid being an instigator."

It was now that pair's turn to exchange looks, as they weren't looking forward to more interactions with Amethyst.

000

Amethyst, Sally, and Ashton returned to the clearing, with Ashton and Sally both sitting across from the larger sauropod. She was lying there with her head on the ground, an expression of aggravation on her face.

Ashton wore her own look of disappointment, still feeling guilty about their loss. The tension in the air was very thick.

Sally, feeling uncomfortable, rubbed the back of her head. "So… uh… are you guys okay?"

Amethyst glared at her, sardonically responding, "Just peachy… We only lost a good reward because of ice bitch's blunder."

"Amy, I keep telling you that it's my fault," Ashton insisted. "Don't blame her for something that I did by mistake!"

Amethyst rolled her eyes, "First of all, Ash, you're not that well built for digging. You're on four legs, sure, but are you predisposed to digging? No."

Sally sweatdropped, not liking what she was hearing. Ashton was taking responsibility, but Amethyst was determined to pin the blame on someone else. Now, while it was a good thing given that it kept their main alliance safe, she was also ruining any chance they had at a relationship with her and Aspen.

The Aurorus continued with her broken logic, "And even if Aura got sand in her eyes, she could have done something or took initiative to fix herself instead of making it worse. And again, Taylor did better than her! So, she deserves just as much blame as you're putting on yourself."

"Aren't we supposed to be trying to get them on our side?" Sally reminded. "I don't think hammering it in that it's their fault, when they don't see it that way, is gonna help our case."

"If they're that bad at the challenges, then fuck them," Amethyst stated with a huff. "I doubt that we'll truly need their help, anyway. Thinking about it, them voting with us last time didn't even matter that much. Ace had Shine and Sola vote with us, so we had majority regardless. We don't need them."

Sally and Ashton exchanged looks, both knowing that going down the line, there were going to be instances where their assistance was needed. However, hearing how adamant the Aurorus sounded, they decided to keep it to themselves.

However, this silence did not go unnoticed, as Amethyst immediately looked at them with a visage of displeasure. "What?" she asked, knowing that they had something to say.

"Uh… well… Don't you think you're being a bit too rash?" Ashton inquired. "If we last long, we may need some assistance if things go wrong…"

"And what exactly may go wrong?" Amethyst inquired, genuinely curious as to what they thought could mess up her plan.

Sally explained, "All it takes is Shine or Sola deciding not to vote how Ace wants, or even convincing him not to vote with us at all. They have that kind of bond."

And just like that, Amethyst grew worried, a visage of pure dread forming on her face. "W-why would they not want to vote with us going forward?"

Sally rose a brow. Had she really not thought about the negative possibilities? The Ampharos gave her a look, in utter disbelief in her sudden lack of awareness.

"You do know that they're not gonna vote how we want all the time right?" Sally responded. "It's common sense."

"Yeah, but… it'd be a dumb move to ruin what we've got going on!" Amethyst argued.

Sally countered, "A dumb move to you, since having them vote with us is beneficial for you. Having Aspen and Aura in our back pockets would've been good in case that ever happened, but now I doubt they'll want anything to do with you."

Amethyst let out a moan of depression. "Great…"

Ashton chimed in with her own solution. "I mean, you could always try to apologize. Maybe that can set a few things straight."

The Aurorus let out a groan upon hearing the Herb Pokemon's suggestion. She didn't want to apologize for anything, feeling that it would be a fruitless endeavor.

Knowing who they were and what they had done at the previous elimination ceremony, she felt that there was a chance that even if she did apologize, they wouldn't really accept it. They could string her along and then just vote her off. As far as she was concerned, it was a lost cause.

"Not gonna happen," Amethyst stated firmly, shaking her head. "After everything that's happened since last night, up to this point, I don't think I'll be trusting them anytime soon…"

Sally and Ashton were growing increasingly confused by her. Earlier today, the Tundra Pokémon wanted the pair to work with them so that they could keep their numbers, but now she wanted nothing to do with them and couldn't trust them?

"Okay, I think we just need to move on, because you're seriously confusing me right now," Sally stated, folding her arms. "First you want them to join us, but you're blaming Aura for our loss, so now you want nothing to do with them…"

Amethyst huffed, "Look, just know that right now, we're fine without their input. If Shine and Sola decide to go rogue, Ace can tell us, and we can try to vote with them so we can maintain the lead. How about that?"

Sally and Ashton exchanged looks. It wasn't a bad idea, but the issue rose if the two of them were trying to target one of them. Giving up, Sally let out an exasperated sigh, "Sure…"

"Good," the Aurorus chirped.

000

Sally let out a sigh. "What the hell is even going on anymore?"

000

The winners of the challenge, along with Xerneas and Virizion, all stood outside of a large, wooden cabin-like building that had a traditional chimney attached to the side of it.

A stone sign sitting in front of the building had 'Stoney Moansome' engraved on it, immediately causing Kojo to raise a brow. "Uh… exactly what kinda spa is this?"

"While we know that the name is a bit… suggestive, we're sure that this place is fine," Xerneas sheepishly giggled. "So, let's head on inside…"

"And again, no flirting with the masseuses," Virizion replied. "Phill…"

The Raticate let out an annoyed groan. "I get it. Who's to say that I'd want to flirt with them anyway?!"

-000-

Entering the wooden facility, Virizion and Xerneas approached the front desk, which was situated in the middle of the wall, a doorway on either side of it. Behind the desk was a grayish-blue goat-like Pokemon with gray horns that pointed upwards. It had a white face and brown eyes along with two small, blue triangular marks next to its eyes. It was filing its nails while sitting in front of a large desktop computer.

The desk itself had a glass bowl of individually wrapped butterscotch candies, as well as a white mug filled with pens, pencils, and highlighter pens.

"Hi," Virizion greeted, getting the receptionist's attention. "Uh, we have a reservation. It should be under TPU…"

The Indeedee smacked its lips, before responding, "Right, uh… you lot are from that ol' knock off of Steadily Survive…"

The two legendaries exchanged looks, legitimately having no idea what he was talking about. "Uh… I'm sorry?"

The Indeedee, which was identified as a flamboyant male based on his tone of voice and female tendencies, rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it. Blokes have been stealing programming from Galar for years and nobody gives a damn about where it comes from. Just sit down and you'll get called up when they're ready for you."

The hosts nodded hesitantly, unsure of what to make of the receptionist's comments. They turned back around to the others, some of whom were already sitting down in the chairs lined against the wall.

"Okay, so we're just gonna wait for a few minutes," Xerneas explained. "In the meantime, why don't you guys tell us what's been on each of your minds lately?"

"You mean other than 'when the hell is this going to end?'" Sola replied.

Both hostesses gave her a look, finding the comment reasonable, but unnecessary. Virizion deadpanned, "Yes... besides that."

A few of the players were too busy looking around the vicinity and peering into the doorways to respond, and others didn't really seem too interested, so they remained silent.

Seeing that the others weren't going to say much, Morgan decided to speak up. "Just mainly about what the hell I'm gonna do going forward in the game. Otherwise, I've just been thinking about being back at home and relaxing."

"That pretty much sums up what most of us are thinking at this point," Shine chimed in. "Gameplay moves and being back with our families. I don't think much has changed or will change in that regard."

"Yeah, well there's only eighteen of you left, so you all have nearly one more month to go," Xerneas revealed, hoping to invoke a bit more positivity.

"And let's hope that nothing shitty happens during that time," Anthony stated, folding his arms. "Usually when the game is coming to a close, a lot of crazy shit starts happening."

"Well, that all depends on you guys this time around," Virizion replied. "And I hope that none of you decide to lose your minds."

"Well, none of the demon brothers are 'ere anymore, so I think we'll be fine," Titan commented, standing near one of the doorways.

Sola and Shine both rolled their eyes at the Galvantula upon hearing his comment, the mention of their husbands in that way becoming very tired.

Before anyone else could offer input, another Indeedee, this time with downwards facing horns and a more rounded figure, entered the vicinity. "TPU. We're ready for you…"

"Nice!" Phill cheered.

The Indeedee motioned for them to follow her into the next room. In doing so, the hosts, as well as the contestants were immediately hit by a wave of heat, as well as a rush of cool air. They all looked around the larger area and were astonished by what they saw.

The area was much wider than one would expect, with sleek wooden floorboards lining the floor. The entire room was lit by somewhat dim chandeliers filled with candles.

Looking up, they noticed the beige popcorn ceiling with numerous small tags hanging from it. Faint, relaxing music could be heard in the vicinity, adding to the area's calm atmosphere.

There were other Pokémon in the area, as well numerous other sections and visible equipment and 'environments' which the female Indeedee began explaining.

"First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I am Joanna," she began, taking a bow. "I will be your guide in this area. As you can see, our spa is unique in that there are multiple sections that you are free to explore in order to make sure that you feel refreshed, calm, and vivacious."

A few smiles formed on the players' and hosts' faces, Ace commenting, "I like what I'm hearing already."

Joanna giggled as she gestured to her right, beginning to explain each section of the spa. "Over here, we have the standard massage area, where Hugo, Wallace, and Dale will make sure your muscles are relaxed, your nerves are calmed, and everything melts away."

There were three Machamp sitting next to massage benches all wearing pleasant smiles on their faces, as well as light blue robes.

She looked back, gesturing to an area with a stone wall backdrop. "Over here we have the Goo and Mud Pond, where you can just soak in the warm fluid and soothe your skin and open up your pores a bit, while also giving you a bit of a shine."

The Goo and Mud Pond were headed by three Goodra and a Mudsdale, the former all wearing very seductive expressions; one was even twirling one of its horns with its finger.

"Across the way we have the standard manicure and pedicure station," Joanna continued. "If your little piggies or fingies need a better look, then you know where to go."

The mani-pedi station was helmed by a Bisharp, along with four Froslass. The Bisharp held a rather stone-faced expression, while the Froslass all looked relatively friendly.

She finally gestured to her left, "And the last station in this area is the Hot Rock station. It is similar to the regular massage station, only you use hot stones to melt your tension and pain away."

This station was headed by a singular black, stone beast that looked like it had a pile of coal on its back; it was a Coalossal.

Seeing the looks of astonishment on their faces, Joanna smiled to herself. "So far, so good?"

"When can we start?" Summer dreamily inquired, her eyes set on the Hot Rock station.

"In just a few moments," Joanna explained. "Just a few more things to acknowledge. Now, as you may have noticed, there are four more rooms in this area."

The eleven visitors all looked around and noticed that she was correct. Seeing their eyes wander, Joanna continued, "Each of these rooms leads to another room of leisure."

Pointing to the door that was between the Massage and Goo and Mud stations, she explained, "That is the Aromatherapy door. If you want to just feel a sense of relief wash over you and ease some anxiety, maybe even feel a bit… heated for a while, then step through that door."

She gestured to the door to the right of the Goo and Mud station, "That door leads to the Jacuzzi and Sauna area. I'm sure you all know what those are, so I'll just leave it at that."

There was a door directly next to that one, which she explained, "That door leads to an acupuncture specialist. It may sound painful, but there are a lot of benefits that may interest you such as helping to treat nausea, depression, anxiety, and even infertility."

Shine's eyes widened immediately. She had always known about acupuncture, but she was always skeptical about actually trying it out, as she didn't really care for getting stuck with needles. However, given that it may help with infertility, she was very tempted to try it.

"And finally…" the Emotion Pokémon giggled before gesturing to the door between the Mani-Pedi and Hot Rock stations. "That door… is the XXX Hall. Some people come to relax and others come to relax, so we decided to give that option."

"Uh… isn't that prositution?" Anthony inquired, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy.

"Believe it or not, in this specific area, all you need is a permit and you can do whatever you want," Joanna explained. "I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone who may want to check out the room, but I will say that you'll be in for a fun time. And, we have made accommodations for both males and females, so ladies, you will not be left out."

The girls all sweatdropped upon hearing that, some of them wearing fake smiles. "Uh… thank you, Joanna," Xerneas explained. "But, I don't think many of us will be using that room."

Joanna giggled, "All is well. Just have to let visitors what to expect beforehand. But anywho, enjoy your visit, TPU."

The Indeedee bowed once again before walking away… right into the XXX Hall. Titan chortled, "Yep, that there's a freaky one."

Xerneas cleared her throat, "Well, ignoring that, like Miss Joanna said, go ahead and enjoy yourselves."

With that, the contestants began to split up, heading to the station or room of their choosing. Though one of them had to be held back for a bit.

"And Phill…" Virizion began, giving the Raticate a serious look.

The Mouse Pokémon let out a groan of exasperation. "What is it now?" he huffed, his whiskers twitching.

With the new information Joanna gave them, Virizion felt the need to specify further, "No flirting with and no having sex with whoever is in there."

"Why the heck do you guys think I'm a sex freak?!" Phill exclaimed. "I wasn't even going in there, first."

"You're the only single guy we have with us, so we just have to be cautious," Xerneas explained. "We trust you not to be stupid, but we also don't want any incidents in these places."

Phill let out a sigh, "Fine, whatever…" He started walking toward the Goo and Mud station, leaving the two hostesses to exchange smiles.

Virizion hip-checked Xerneas, getting her attention. "You wanna… check it out?" she inquired, gesturing to the XXX Hall.

Xerneas giggled, "I don't see why not…"

The two legendaries strolled toward the room, leaving Phill to scoff as he watched them do so.

000

Phill scoffed, "Jeez, I get that I'm one of the only people in the game who's still single but come on! Do they think I'm gonna become the male Hope or Lila or something?"

"Heck, for all I know, I could've actually found someone I liked and who liked me and it could've been a real connection. But… whatever. I'll just leave it alone. I probably wouldn't have pursued anything anyway."

000

Holly and Klavier were looking for more berries while talking about what transpired during the challenge. Klavier noticed that the Swoobat wore a crestfallen expression, as she picked berries off of trees and placed them in a basket. She looked as if someone had told her that a loved one had passed away.

Suspecting that it stemmed from what Amethyst had said earlier, the Klavier cleared his throat. "Well, Amethyst went off the deep end at the challenge today, didn't she?"

Holly let out a sigh. "Well, she wasn't entirely wrong, I did mess up the team choice. I only chose the people that are in my alliance aside from you, Aspen, and Aura…"

Not wanting her to feel bad, Klavier flew over to her. "Well, admittedly, choosing me, Aura, and Aspen was a good thing, since those two can actually dig well and I'm well… a flying-type," he chuckled.

Holly's expression remained the same, still disappointed. The Fang Scorpion Pokémon let out a sigh. "Holly, you don't have any reason to be upset. It's just a reward challenge. If your friends care more about the reward than how you feel, then… Are they really your friends?"

"Well, it was really just Amy…" Holly explained. "I wasn't there when she evolved, so I don't know if anything happened, but…"

"Whether something happened or not doesn't mean that she should make comments like she did and act like her yelling was justified," Klavier explained.

"I know, but… it's still my fault for choosing-"

"See," Klavier interrupted. "Now you're letting what she said get to you. You already said it during the challenge. It was nobody's fault in specific. It was a group effort. It's fine."

Holly let out a sigh. "I guess…"

Knowing that he wasn't completely getting through to her, the Gliscor rubbing the back of his head. He took a deep breath, "Maybe you should go and talk to her. Just let her know how she's made you feel. Maybe a bit of reconciliation will help."

Holly's expression slowly changed upon hearing that suggestion. Yesterday, she hadn't really spoken to them all that much and she had missed seeing Amethyst's evolution this morning. Maybe that was why Amethyst made the comment under her breath.

Maybe her absence, as minor as it was, was upsetting Amethyst. On the other hand, it could have been just a spur of the moment comment out of anger. It still hurt nonetheless, so… maybe Klavier was right about reconciliation.

"I guess…" Holly sighed, dropping the basket of berries she was holding. "Doing it before the next challenge and before everyone gets back seems like the best thing to do…"

Klavier nodded. "Definitely. I'll hang back and just keep on getting berries."

"You're not gonna come with?" Holly inquired. It was his idea, after all.

"Hey, those are your friends and your alliance. I'm not gonna get in the middle of it," Klavier explained. "You'll be fine. Like you told me. Have some confidence."

Holly scoffed playfully before giving him a peck on the cheek. She started flying toward the clearing where her group normally met up, leaving Klavier alone to pick berries and think to himself.

000

"I've honestly been debating whether I should try to convince Holly to join our alliance, or if I should just join their alliance," Klavier explained. "I don't wanna just jump ship from my friends, but at the same time, I wanna make it further with Holly. If she's still upset when she gets back from her chat, then I'll ask her, because I'm a bit conflicted right now, which sucks."

000

Despite Summer wanting to immediately do the Hot Rock station, she and Kojo decided to head through the Aromatherapy door first, since it was the least 'physical' option aside from probably the XXX hall.

The couple was walking down the hall that led to the true door, thoughts about what may happen going through their minds; well, mainly Summer's.

Her arms folded, the Volcano Pokémon inquired, "So do you really think this'll be as good as she made it out to be?"

Kojo, having experienced a good portion of the treatments offered there throughout his career, chuckled. "Aromatherapy is almost always an experience, so I can attest to what she claimed."

"Even the feeling heated part?" Summer teased, giving him a flirty smile.

Kojo chortled, playfully rolling his eyes, "Yes, even that part. But we aren't gonna be doing anything in there even if we start feeling the effects… right?" He had seen first-hand how some of the luscious scents that were emitted affected certain people, and he just knew that Summer would probably behave the same way that they did.

The Typhlosion pouted. "Fine," she huffed as the reached the door.

Before pushing open the door, Kojo stifled a laugh, "Hey, you already sat on my face this morning. I think that's enough for one day, babe. We still need to focus on the game, too. Especially since we're outnumbered right now."

Summer moaned, rubbing her temples, "Right, right… It's just getting a bit difficult to focus on the game the more time I spend with you."

As the two of them entered the room, with Kojo holding it open for her, his expression turned into one of slight concern. He didn't want Summer to start losing her focus because of their increasingly intimate relationship. "Well… is that a good thing or a bad thing? 'Cause... I don't wanna be a hindrance."

Upon entering, Summer admired the spring green paint that covered the walls of the room, along with the leaf-like marks that covered them. There was a crater-esque area in the middle of the floor that was covered in cushions. There were also numerous purple box-like fixtures stuck to the walls and a few on the ceiling in the shape of a triangle.

Having moved to the cushioned section of the floor before acknowledging his concern, Summer gave him a look, putting a hand on her hip. "Really, babe?" she inquired with a smirk.

"I mean…" Kojo began, following her down. "We both want to win the game, don't we? I don't want our relationship to suddenly take away our focus."

Summer rose a brow before she pushed Kojo onto the cushions. Kojo rubbed the back of his head from the sudden impact before watching as Summer straddled him, folding her arms. She wore a serious look on her face, which confused the Mienshao, as just moments before she had on a smile.

She began, "Adam, our relationship isn't going to take away any focus completely. I was just saying that I've been having a lot of fun with you and it makes it hard to focus at times. And even then, this is a reward challenge and we're supposed to be relaxing, so not thinking about the next big move for us isn't that hard to believe…"

Kojo let out a sigh, "I know, but-"

"-but nothing," Summer interrupted. She took a breath, "Aura and Aspen have screwed us over, and I'm pretty sure Shine and Sola are gonna side with Ace and his group, so… while I hate to say it… there's not much that we can really do about it unless we're able to thoroughly convince them to vote with us."

"Well, we could try to do that now-" Kojo suggested, attempting to rise up, only for Summer to pin him back down.

"I think it'd be better if we just relax and try to have fun. We can worry about the game when we get back in that setting…" Summer explained with a stern look, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Though, we could try that as we're leaving or if we all end up in the same station."

A sweet and spicy scent began to slowly fill the room as the couple continued to speak about the game and the possibilities they had.

Kojo let out a sigh as he sat up, with Summer turning around so she was really sitting in his lap, laying against him. "Well… I don't think we should just give up. But… at the same time, whether either of us win this game or not… we'd have a good living condition. I have the money…"

Summer giggled as she inhaled deeply, taking in the scent. "Yeah, that's true… Winning would make this shitshow feel worthwhile, though. We've been through so much crap..."

"You're not wrong…" Kojo replied, taking a deep breath as he slowly found himself becoming more relaxed. "But... let's just hope that in the end, things don't get worse…" he trailed off.

The Mienshao had closed his eyes, feeling a warm, soothing aura surround him. He felt like he was lying in a lush garden of mint and lavender, with a hint of pine. After a while, though, he started feeling a bit of movement in his lap, slowly bringing him out of his scent-induced coma.

Slowly opening his eyes, he was immediately met with Summer's ruby orbs, filled to the brim with lechery. He let out a breath, having predicted this. The Typhlosion locked lips with him briefly before resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a soft breath. She purred, "I love you…"

Kojo smiled softly, nuzzling her. "I love you, too."

-000-

Morgan, Sola, and surprisingly, Titan, were all lying on separate massage tables, with each Machamp lotioning their backs first.

Morgan let out a relaxed sigh, "Arceus, this is such a great reward."

"Mhmm…" Sola grunted, taking a breath.

"So…" Titan began, feeling that this would be a good time to chat about his idea. Shine had immediately gone into the Acupuncture room, so the situation was already messy, but he felt that Morgan was still a decent substitute. Plus, he was sure that Sola would just snitch to Shine anyway, so it'd be okay. "I'm just gonna come out and ask. Would either of ya be willin' to work with me goin' forward?"

Upon hearing him, both felines exchanged looks of surprise and confusion, with Morgan inquiring. "Uh… what?"

"Ya heard me Sheila…" Titan deadpanned. "I 'ave somethin' that could give us a bit of control if we play our cards right."

Sola, already suspecting what it was, glowered at him. "You have the statue, don't y-OH-hohoho…." she moaned as her masseur started tenderizing and kneading her back.

"Uh… yeah…" Titan responded, taken aback by her sudden reaction to her massage.

With her preoccupied, he decided to focus on Morgan, who was still mainly getting lotion smeared on her back like he was. "I found the statue and if we use it as leverage, we can make it far in the game," he explained.

"Uh huh…" Morgan responded with lidded eyes, not entirely buying into it. There were obvious flaws to his plan, which she immediately made known. "So what happens if we work with you? What if you end up getting votes and one of us ends up getting votes, too? Wouldn't you just save yourself?"

Momentarily breaking away from the pleasure she was feeling from her massage, Sola growled, "Yeah… why should we trust you?"

Titan gave the Absol an annoyed look. "Nah, nah, you two don't get to question me about trust when one o' ya went against the other's alliance," he said, glowering at Sola.

The Absol glared back.

"And the other was part of the group that lied to my face about the vote," Titan continued, passing his glare to Morgan.

The Persian sweatdropped, letting out a sigh.

"So if anything, I should be questioning you about trust," he argued. "But… I'm not gonna do that. So, are you willing to work with me… or am I just wasting my time?"

The Machamp had taken an interest in the conversation and stopped lotioning the three of them momentarily, listening intently.

"Well, I don't know about Morgan, but for me.. you can screw off," Sola replied before lying back down.

Taking that as a cue to continue massaging her, her masseur got back to work, eliciting sharp breaths and moans from her once again.

Titan rolled his eyes, having somewhat expected that response from her. He looked to Morgan, who appeared to be deep in thought.

The Persian was debating whether she should trust the Galvantula or not. She already knew that she was just gonna play both sides, but having another option was always welcome. However, the flaws were right in her face and she wasn't sure if she was willing to risk it.

"I'll… I'll get back to you on that. There's a lot of things going through my head right now," she explained.

Titan nodded in understanding, but was happy that she was at least considering it. Sola was just going to end up dead in the water down the line, and honestly, he was fine with that.

000

"Well, Morgan is gonna consider it. If she decides to come aboard, I have one reliable partner. And, if I'm thinkin' about it, if I use the statue to save someone and force someone else out, they may end up re-hiding it," he reasoned. "And if I can find it again… I'll maintain my control."

"I just need to hope and make sure that my name doesn't come up in the votes, which is gonna be hard since Ashton's squealed to her alliance, I bet."

000

Shine was lying on a cushioned bench inside a dimly-lit room filled with candles. She lay next to a black urchin-like Pokémon, as well as a large, purple scorpion-like Pokémon.

The Drapion inquired, its voice indicating that it was a female, "Alright honey, is this your first time having acupuncture done?"

Shine let out a sigh, "Yes. I never really considered it since I'm not the biggest fan of needles. But, if it helps with infertility, then I'm willing to give it a try."

Hearing this, the Drapion inquired, "Oh, have you and your husband been unsuccessful?"

Shine nodded with downcast eyes. She didn't really like to talk about it that much, as it truly upset her to know that she had a relatively low chance of bearing her own children. She had even gone into a depression over it. Internally, she was truly hoping that this acupuncture truly did something to help her.

"Well, hopefully this helps you out," the Drapion replied as she picked up the Pincurchin beside her.

Shine let out a sigh, bracing herself.

-000-

Anthony and Phill were both sitting in the Goo and Mud Pond, with the Raticate sitting in the goo and the Blastoise sitting in the mud. The fluid was very warm, almost like a hot tub.

Anthony was just trying to relax and calm his nerves, as he was still trying to think about what his next move was going to be. However, he found himself being distracted by the sound of giggling and conversation, of course caused by Phill.

Across from him, the Mouse Pokémon was conversing with the Goodra, talking about his life and joking about how he was making them ooze with his words alone. The Blastoise just shook his head dismissively, but found himself looking back and seeing how casual they all were being. It got him wondering if he should just try to be calm and strike up normal conversations. Maybe he'd get new ideas or just feel a lot calmer, as the mud bath wasn't doing much for him.

He turned to the Mudsdale that was lying close by and cleared his throat, which got the Draft Horse Pokemon's attention. It gave him a side-eye while wearing a small frown, seemingly unenthused by the situation it was in.

Ignoring this visage, the Blastoise made an attempt to start a conversation. "Uh… sup?" he began, not knowing how to really start.

He wasn't always the type to start conversations, especially with strangers, so he was feeling a bit awkward. He was more of a snarky commenter at times and reacted to what he heard.

The Mudsdale huffed, responding in a gruff female voice, "Unless you plan on taking a ride in me, I don't care…"

Anthony immediately turned back around, not only because of the rudeness, but because she was apparently looking for sex. It was completely out of left field and made no sense to him. Was she supposed to be in the XXX Hall or something?

The Blastoise then heard another feminine voice, and noticed that it was one of the Goodra around Phill. She scoffed, "Cassidy. You really need to knock off the attitude. No one is going to have sex with you out of the blue."

Another Goodra chimed in, "Yeah, especially after how you acted toward Al and the prospect of you having a kid."

"Don't mention that fucking retard…" she growled. "And for your information, I'm pretty sure plenty of guys would wanna tap this fat ass. They'd just have to move me to the XXX Hall and find someone to replace me. Plus, not everyone watches these dumb, cheesy reality shows anymore, anyway, so I'd be fine."

"Um… am I missing something here?" Phill chimed in curiously. Anthony wore a bewildered expression, unable to comprehend what was even going on.

"Oh don't worry about it, hon," the final Goodra replied, stroking Phill's head. "Cass was on a show a while back like the one you guys are in and she uh… gained quite the negative reputation because of her attitude and behavior…" she explained.

The first Goodra who had spoken broke it down,"Basically she kept fucking her ex-friend, got pregnant, and when both of them were disqualified for it, went on a rant, about how she was gonna give up her kid since she didn't want it and she wasn't gonna give the dad custody because of his mental issues."

Both Phill and Anthony's eyes widened, looking at Cassidy in complete and utter shock.

"Yeesh… and I thought our show had problems…" Phill commented.

Cassidy scoffed in response, irritated that they thought they had the right to judge her. "Fuck off, ratatouille. I gave the bastard the kid and told him to never talk to or mention me again. Then, I got surgery so that I won't get pregnant anymore, so it's a win for everybody involved."

Hearing the explanation, Anthony couldn't help but think about if Marie was pregnant or not. He knew that he was gonna be in her and the child's lives whether she was or not, and the fact that Cassidy just gave up her child and dropped contact with it and the father really made him thankful for the fact that Marie wasn't like her. It actually made him feel a bit better about his future with the Feraligatr, if they still had one down the line.

"Yep, you get to choke on and get poked by as many dicks as you want, while your child and its father live a life without you...SCORE!" the second Goodra sarcastically commented.

"Shut up, Rebecca. At least I can get laid!" Cassidy shot back.

"Hey, I'd rather be a proud member of the virgin club than be a big slutty, nympho," Rebecca responded.

Cassidy scoffed, "You wanna talk about slutty?!"

Hearing her tone rise, Anthony immediately knew that it was probably time to get out of dodge. He climbed out of the mud pool, grabbing one of the nearby towels.

Seeing this, Phill was prepared to do the same, but was stopped by the other Goodra, who were wearing calm expressions. "It's alright, hon. This won't take long…"

Phill rose a brow as he continued to listen to the argument that unfolded.

000

"Wow, that was a lot of yelling. Then they started fighting! It was… pretty hot, not gonna lie," Phill commented.

000

Connor and Taylor caught up with the rest of their 'alliance' members, getting an earful from Amethyst for going off with Aura and Aspen instead of coming back with them.

"Hey, we're trying to diffuse the situation!" Taylor argued. "You're the one who ruined it since you decided to yell at Aura instead of Ashton!"

Amethyst scoffed, "Figures you'd take her side. You two have a lot in common."

Taylor gave her a look, prepared to shoot back, but Connor beat him to it. "And what do you mean by that?" he asked, getting a bit defensive.

A look of surprise formed on the Milotic's face, as well as the other girls'. Amethyst was the most shocked, as she didn't expect Connor to speak up. She was about to say what she initially thought, anyway, but the look in Connor's eyes actually frightened her. After the talk earlier, she didn't want to upset Taylor and Connor and get them against her.

"I… uh… n-nothing," Amethyst responded, looking down.

With this, Connor huffed, lying down. He turned to Sally, who was still a bit surprised, but relieved. "Now, did we miss anything important?

"Oh… not really," Sally replied, rubbing the back of her head. "Just went over the fact that if Shine or Sola ever decide not to vote with us, we may just have to rely on Ace feeding us information so that we still vote with them and keep the numbers."

Connor rose a brow before turning to Taylor, who shrugged with his eyebrows. "Uh… okay… Any reason why that was brought up?"

"Well-"

It was then that Holly flew into the scene wearing an earnest expression. Ashton was the first one to greet her, though she felt a bit worried given the Swoobat's expression. "Uh… hey Holly. You alright?"

Everyone else looked to the Swoobat, who took a deep breath. She turned to the Aurorus, who threw her a dismissive look before turning away from her. Seeing this only made her feel worse. "Amy, I don't know what I've done that's made you upset at me, but I don't think insulting my choice after we lost was called for. It really hurt me and I just want to know if you're really mad at me or it was just because of the challenge," Holly poured.

Sally chimed in, "Oh, you haven't-"

"You haven't been around lately. You barely contribute to the alliance to begin with. It was your poor choices that just cost us that reward, and you've been hanging with Klavier so much that you might as well be working with his group," Amethyst stated with a glare. "So yes, I'm pissed because you're hardly even part of the alliance anymore. You're just an extra vote for us at this point. And what makes it even worse is that you're the one who said that you wouldn't ditch us because of him, but you have!"

Holly just remained silent, looking down before flying away, causing Ashton to gasp. "Holly, wait!" she shouted as she went after the Swoobat.

"Amethyst, what the hell is wrong with you!?" Taylor exclaimed, shaking his head.

"She asked me what my problem was with her and I was honest!" Amethyst argued. "She's the one who got upset by it."

"You were a total bitch about it!" Taylor corrected. "What the hell is she supposed to do? Not be with her boyfriend just because you're apparently so damn needy!? You act like she's supposed to be here 24-7!"

Sally chimed in with a glare," Amethyst... It's only been five… fucking… days since she's last been in a meeting with us. And she and I were both trying to fucking calm you down in the challenge YESTERDAY!"

Amethyst paled. She had honestly forgotten about all of that, but she had no idea how.

Connor got to his feet, "You know what? I don't know what the fuck your problem is; maybe you think you can treat everyone like shit just because you're bigger than the rest of us; maybe this is how you truly are and your evolution brought it out. All I know is that I'm not dealing with it. Either get your shit together, or I'm out of this fucking alliance…"

The Bouffalant started walking away, with Taylor glaring at the Tundra Pokémon before following him.

Amethyst could feel herself tearing up. She honestly didn't think that she'd upset all of her friends like this. She was just trying to be a lot more serious and focused so that they, well mostly she, could win more and make it further. She saw that Sally was starting to leave as well and gasped, "Wait! Sally, please don't leave."

"Why shouldn't I?" the Ampharos asked, folding her arms with a glare. "Connor's right. You really need to get your shit together, because you've been acting like a grade-A bitch all day."

The Aurorus trembled, "I just… I just wanna be able to win! I'm stronger and smarter now! I've gotten more confidence now that I'm evolved and I just want to go further!"

"And that's fine," Sally replied. "But acting like a whiny baby, shifting the blame, and being an asshole when you don't get your way aren't going to get you further. That's gonna make everyone hate you and get you eliminated. You get that, don't you?"

"I-I do…"

"Then why the hell have you been acting like that?" Sally inquired. "Because if you really think that what you've been saying and doing is just you being bolder and more confident, you're sorely mistaken."

Amethyst couldn't answer. Instead, while sniffling, she whimpered. "I'm sorry!"

Sally sighed, shaking her head, "I'm not the only one you're gonna need to apologize to, Amethyst." She turned around to leave once again, "Like Connor said, get your shit together…"

The Aurorus crumbled onto the ground, tears streaming down her face like waterfalls. She finally evolved and she ended up isolating herself by being too harsh and unreasonable. She was going to try and fix everything or else she'd be the one going next.

000

Amethyst sniffled, "I...I screwed up big. I just wanted to assert myself and be dominant so that I and my alliance can go far in the game…"

She looked down, "But now they're all mad at me for yelling and being so mean and stupid. What is wrong with me!? I need to make it up to them somehow. I don't know how, but I will…"

000

Sally huffed, "Okay, if she mega evolved, I could understand it. Going mega ends up completely fucking up your personality and makes you more aggresive physically and sexually, but that's not the point."

"I have no idea why Amethyst's decided to act so bitchy just because she evolved, but she'd better straighten up really quick," the Ampharos stated. "I'm almost tempted to vote her out of here. But, there's a bug that I want to squish…"

000

Ace was sitting in the sauna alone, with a sleeping Torkoal sitting in the corner supplying the steam. He was happy to have the opportunity to be alone with his own thoughts. He had three separate groups that he was part of. While he was glad that he had options, it was a bit stressful to deal with.

As he simmered in the sauna, he let out a sigh, "Fuck me…"

"Whoa… uh… Don't really swing that way, buddy…" a voice said, startling the Sylveon.

The Intertwining Pokémon blushed with a grumble as Anthony entered the room. He really didn't want to deal with anybody; he just wanted to think to himself.

As Anthony took a seat, luckily away from the Sylveon, a feeling of awkwardness immediately overcame the Eeveelution. "Y-You know I wasn't talking to you," he finally replied. "Just… speaking in general."

Anthony gave him a look, having already known. "Duh…"

"Oh…" Ace replied, clearing his throat. He wasn't really used to Anthony at all; he had hardly ever spoken to the Blastoise.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, with Ace growing increasingly uneasy. He was actually prepared to leave, but Anthony posed a question to him.

"So, are you still part of that other group?"

The Sylveon turned to him, not expecting that question. "Huh?"

"I mean, they didn't choose you to be on their team, so I can only assume…" Anthony said with a shrug. "I mean, Aura and Aspen screwed us over when they were supposed to be on our side. And they got chosen to be on the team with the rest of your 'alliance' members , while you…"

"S-Shut up!" Ace argued. "For your information, I am still part of that alliance. Just because Holly chose them before me doesn't mean I'm less important."

Anthony shrugged. He was really trying to put some doubt in Ace's head in hopes of getting him to turn on that alliance. "All I'm saying is that it's pretty suspicious how all they did was betray us and they automatically get put in with the rest of your little group. It'd probably be better for you to cut your losses and-"

"I'm done talking about this…" Ace cut him off, exiting the sauna with a huff.

Anthony stifled a laugh, feeling accomplished. Ace was getting defensive and his body language spoke more than his actual words. He was uncertain.

000

"Stupid Anthony. I know for a fact that I'm still a good part of that alliance. There's no way they'd just leave me out of stuff on purpose. I'm a bridge."

"If they screw me over, then they lose Shine and Sola, too," the Sylveon continued. "He can try to play his mind games all he wants, but his group is just gonna keep dwindling regardless."

000

Summer and Kojo woke up in the Aromatherapy room, having been so relaxed that they fell asleep.

The sweet and spicy scent had been replaced by a strong, minty one, prompting Summer to rub her nose. She sat up, rubbing her eyes as she playfully scratched underneath Kojo's chin.

He was already waking up from Summer's movements, so the chin scratches were just a bonus. "Ugh…" he groaned, holding his head. "How long were we out?"

"I don't know, but I hope it wasn't long. I still want to try the Hot Rocks…" Summer replied, standing up.

The Mienshao followed suit, holding his head as he had a bit of a headache. "I forgot that I get lightheaded in these places sometimes… Fuck..."

Summer giggled, "Come on, hon. Let's get out of here and hope that we didn't screw up and waste all of our time."

The couple left the room just as Sola was entering from the main area. All of her claws were painted a dark red, which got Summer's attention.

Before she could comment on them, the Absol made a comment of her own.

With a smirk, she remarked, "You two were in there for a long time… I don't have to worry about other scents in there, do I?"

"Oh yeah, we totally went at it. It was great," Summer teased.

Sola could tell she was just joking based on her tone, so she just laughed off the response.

"I see that you went for the mani-pedi…" Summer acknowledged. "It looks good…"

"Thanks," Sola replied, lifting a paw. "I usually don't care about this stuff, but Morgan convinced me."

The conversation seemed like it was going to continue, so Kojo decided to keep walking, nudging Summer to signal that he was gonna keep going to the main area.

She nodded to him, before continuing to chat with Sola, something that she never thought about doing, previously.

-000-

Kojo exited the room and immediately heard the sound of yelling, as well as the sound of sloshing and grunting.

He glanced over to his left and saw that one of the Goodra and the Mudsdale were wrestling in the Goo and Mud Pond. He sweatdropped, not knowing what to make of the scene.

He saw that Phill, Titan, and Anthony were watching the two of them have at it while the other two Goodra, as well as the other workers, just stood at their stations wearing bored expressions, as if this was a common thing.

Approaching the guys, he queried, "Uh… what the hell did I miss?"

"Long story," Phill replied. "But, basically the Mudsdale's a slut, one of the Goodra gals called her out, there was an argument, it died, but then they started fighting out of the blue, again."

Kojo sighed, "How the hell was that even brought up? Did you try to fool around with her or something?"

"Bro… You, out of everyone, should know that I don't seriously have the charisma or confidence to even try that…" the Raticate deadpanned.

Kojo was inclined to agree, but he didn't really like Phill's view of himself. Given his hesitation, Phill chuckled to himself, "Exactly. It only came up because Anthony tried to talk to Cassidy and she told him to screw off unless he wanted to have sex with her."

The Mienshao let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What the hell is even… Why?"

Just then, Rebecca knocked Cassidy down, causing the guys to jump.

"Well," Titan spoke up. "As fun this is to watch, I think I'mma head into that XXX Hall and see what all is in there."

Anthony, who had been enjoying the show, broke his concentration upon hearing that. "Uh… you sure your wife would be alright with that?"

Titan gave him a look. "Mate, it ain't like I'm goin' in there tryin' to root one of 'em."

"Hey, I'm just saying that it's risky," Anthony replied. "You do what you want…"

The Galvantula chuckled, "It'll be fine. Cramad knows that I only got eyes for her."

He proceeded to head toward the door, turning back to the guys upon reaching it. "Any of you gonna join me in 'ere?"

The three guys exchanged looks. Anthony and Kojo both knew that it would be best for them to stay out of there; especially Kojo since Summer was still there. Phill, on the other hand, walked forward without a care. "The joy of being single…"

"Well you two have fun…" Kojo responded as he walked over to the Hot Rocks station, knowing that was where Summer was going once she got done talking with Sola. "Just remember… no touchy-touchy."

The Raticate rolled his eyes as he and Titan entered the hall of promiscuity. Anthony decided to walk over to the massage tables. "So Mr. Big Shot, is the acting life all that it's cracked up to be?" he asked.

Kojo stifled a laugh, "I've never heard anyone praise the 'acting life', but I'll say that it's… decent at best. Good pay, your face is seen more often, you meet a lot of great people… but on the flipside, you may get asked to do parts in movies that bomb, some other actors and actresses are painful to work with, it's extremely tiring, and if you do anything people don't like, you're automatically cancelled. So, it's stressful, but rewarding at the same time."

"I can imagine…" Anthony said as he lied down on one of the tables, with one of the Machamp grabbing a bottle of lotion. "And uh… This stuff with this still other chick you're seeing. That still a big thing on your mind?"

Kojo rolled his eyes, "At this point, fuck her and everyone who ends up sliding with her. We're pretty much done, so I don't care anymore. I love Summer and I'm gonna be with her, and if some huge deal comes out of it even though Floatzelle is a deceitful bitch, then it is what it is. I'm happy and Summer is happy, so screw everyone who may criticize us."

Anthony chortled, "I'll admit, I thought that you were crazy for proposing how you did. Especially since it had only been a few weeks."

Kojo chuckled, "Yeah, I understand. But, what's crazy is that I'm completely sure about this. Like… Summer has shown me more love, care, and personality throughout our time together here than Floatzelle did throughout our entire relationship."

The Blastoise nodded, "Well, both of us are lucky that we found someone that makes us happy, at least."

A smirk formed on the Mienshao's face. "Oh, so Marie does make you happy…" he teased.

Anthony gave him a look, "Hey, we may have started off hating each other, but she really does make me feel happier than I usually am."

Kojo nodded, "Well, now we just have to hope that we get lucky and don't get eliminated."

"Well, there may actually be a crac-OH, fuck," he grunted as his leg was popped.

"Huh?" Kojo inquired, raising a brow. "A crack?"

Anthony groaned in pleasure as the Machamp massaged his legs and arms. Once he could, he explained, "Yeah, I put a seed of doubt in Ace's head. He got really defensive when I said that he was probably being replaced by the two backstabbing bitches…"

Kojo folded his arms, intrigued by what he was hearing. "So, you're saying that there's a chance that Ace may go against his alliance?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Anthony shrugged as the Machamp started massaging his neck. "But h-hopefully things work out in our favor."

‐000‐

"Anthony seriously thinks that he's gotten into my head," Ace chuckled, sitting on one side of Shine's table. "Just because Holly didn't choose me for their team, he thinks that they're replacing me and that they no longer care for me."

Morgan, who was on the other side of Shine's table, rose a brow. "That's…"

"Dumb, right?!" Ace scoffed. "I'm the one who has the connections! Without me-"

"Ace… you know that going along with Taylor and Connor's plan means that we're gonna have to cut ties, right?" Morgan reminded. "And it isn't that crazy that Anthony thinks that you're gonna get phased out. Aspen and Aura helped them once and Holly chose them before you."

"She also chose Klavier even though he's not in the alliance, so I don't think it's too valid," Ace countered.

"He's her boyfriend; that doesn't really count," Morgan responded. "And I don't think that eliminating someone from that big group would be a bad idea. I mean, we got rid of one alliance leader… why not get rid of the other?"

"Wait, you think we should eliminate Amethyst?" Ace inquired.

The Persian shrugged. "I don't see why not. My side is already down in numbers now, and if Anthony's trying to play mind games, that shows that he's desperate. So, why not go after the new threat?"

Ace thought to himself. She made a very good point. However, when it came to challenges, he was more worried about the likes of Summer and Anthony than he was about Amethyst.

The Drapion re-entered the room to check up on Shine, who was asleep. Seeing the two of them there, she glared as she approached them.

"Out!" she whisper-shouted. "She is sleeping and this is very important for her!"

Morgan and Ace exchanged looks of surprise, having known that the Espeon was resting, but thinking that she was still listening to them.

"Oh, we thought she was just being quiet and resting…" Ace explained softly.

The Drapion gave them a look of disbelief. Were they that oblivious? Or just dumb? "Just… leave…"

The two of them obliged, leaving the room quietly so that Shine's treatment could continue.

000

"Okay, so I may just be trying to even the playing field a bit," Morgan explained. "Getting rid of the others in Anthony's alliance is a sound plan, but seriously… Amethyst just evolved and she's essentially the other leader. If you cut the head off of one snake, you might as well go for the other one, too."

000

Virizion and Xerneas were sitting inside of a large club-like setting. There were multicolored lights flashing all around, and funky music playing.

They were currently watching a Lucario dance on a pole while a Sawk and Throh sat down near them with custom 'tray hats' on their heads.

"This is amazing…" Virizion commented, taking a sip from her drink on the Throh's head.

Xerneas hummed, feeling a bit uncomfortable. The sights were great, as were the drinks, but it still just made her feel a bit awkward.

Noticing the look on her face, Virizion rose a brow. "You alright, hon?"

The deer let out a sigh, "It's fine… It just… it kinda makes me want Cobalion more. Like, I don't really want to interact with these guys much."

Virizion giggled, "Yeah, I get ya. Cobalion… he's just… Mmph…" The antelope goat's mouth watered just thinking about him.

"How long have we been here, anyway?" Xerneas inquired.

"Um… about an hour and a half, I wanna say," the Grassland Pokémon said, looking at a clock.

The Life Pokémon let out a sigh. "We should probably start heading back. We don't want to be here for too long."

Virizion paused for a moment before letting out a groan. Xerneas was right; they still had a competition to host. As fun as this was, it was going to have to come to an end.

"Fine…" Virizion sighed, getting to her feet. "Let's collect the players and head back."

Xerneas smiled before doing the same and heading toward the exit. Virizion sighed once again, looking at the guys around them. "Thanks for the good time, boys. Keep up the good work," the Grassland Pokémon commended with a wink.

She followed Xerneas toward the exit, where she noticed her partner was in front of the door directly across from theirs, which led to the room for the males.

Curious, she asked, "What's up?"

"I think I heard Phill in there…" Xerneas explained.

Virizion let out a moan. "Well, we're about to go anyway. Let's get him out."

Xerneas nodded as the two of them entered the room in order to go after the Raticate.

000

Ashton had tried to catch up with Holly in order to try and comfort her. What Amethyst had said was way out of line; Holly hadn't done anything wrong. She still came around, but she also wanted to start spending more time with Klavier. There was nothing wrong with that.

While she didn't truly catch up to her, she eventually found her sitting with Klavier up in a tree. "Holly! Are you okay?"

The Swoobat didn't respond, an expression of sadness still plastered on her face. She simply rested against Klavier, who didn't look too happy, himself.

"What happened?" Klavier asked in a stern tone, much to the surprise of both girls. He usually wasn't like that, but didn't like seeing Holly upset, so he immediately grew a bit protective.

Ashton sighed, "Amethyst just made her out to be a traitor and acted like she didn't contribute anything to the alliance because she's been spending time with you."

The Gliscor grew bewildered. "Wait, what sense does that make? She was still working with you guys regardless of her spending time with me."

"I don't know!" Ashton responded, looking down with a crestfallen expression. "Amy's just been acting really weird today and… I don't like it."

"Ash…" Holly softly called, getting the Meganium's attention again. "I… I think I'm just gonna keep away for a bit."

Ashton was surprised. "W-What?" she stammered softly.

"I think it'll just be best if I just leave the alliance for a while," Holly explained.

"But Amethyst was just overreacting! No one else in the alliance feels that way!" Ashton argued, not wanting her to give up on the allegiance they had. "We need you!"

Holly sighed, "I just think it'd be better for me to have a break for a bit. Then, if I still feel up for it, and if you'll have me back, I'll come back."

"But Holly-"

She was interrupted by a sudden announcement, "THE REWARD WINNERS HAVE RETURNED, EVERYONE REPORT TO THE STADIUM FOR YOUR ELIMINATION CHALLENGE!"

"Welp, I guess it's time to see what they have us doing now…" Klavier commented, standing up on the branch that he and Holly were standing on.

"Holly, can we at least talk after or during the challenge?" Ashton asked desperately.

Holly thought about it for a moment before sighing with a small nod. "Okay…"

Ashton responded with a small smile, nodding back. The three of them started heading toward the stadium, with the Meganium trying to think about what was going to happen now. With Holly out of the alliance, Amethyst messing up their chances with Aura and Aspen, and the possibility of Shine and Sola not wanting to go for their target, she was beginning to get nervous.

000

"Okay, I don't know what's going on, but I feel like the alliance is starting to fall apart," Ashton commented. "Amy's attitude is messing up everything and now I have no idea if I want to still be in the alliance. Holly's leaving and Aspen and Aura won't work with us now, so that just leaves us with six people in the alliance! Eight if Shine and Sola work with us."

She sighed, "We've lost our advantage already and we just got it!" Her eyes went to the confessional floor as she took a deep breath, "I guess I have some important decisions to make going forward."

000

All of the remaining players made it to the stadium, with the rewarded players already being there. There was a rather noticeable divide, with Amethyst standing separate from the rest of her alliance members, which only made her feel worse.

Ace took notice of this pretty quickly, and the fact that the others had pretty annoyed expressions caused him to become a bit curious. However, he was cut off before he could ask Connor what was wrong.

"Welcome to your next challenge," Mew greeted. "Now, this one is probably one of the easiest challenges that you'll have."

He took out a dark pink gem, "All you have to do is find a gem that corresponds to your specific type."

Everyone exchanged looks, surprised by the challenger's simplicity. There had to be a catch.

"That's it? Really?" Aspen inquired.

"Hmm, well, going further..." Mew began. "There are multiples of each gem hidden all around the island. Now, I won't tell you where the gems are, but I will say that a majority of them are buried and the digging spots are marked in some way."

"And this is an automatic elimination challenge," Virizion stated.

This news caused the contestants' eyes to widen in surprise, as they began exchanging wary looks.

"The last player to return with a gem will be eliminated from the competition," Xerneas explained.

"Stakes are becoming significantly higher," Mew commented, tossing his gem aside. "You guys are allowed to work for and against each other, but as soon as you return with your gem, you are not allowed to leave until the challenge is done."

"That's right," Virizion said with a nod. "If you wanna help or hinder somebody, you'd better stay out there, handle your business, and hope that you don't screw yourself over. Any questions?"

Nobody said anything. Some of them were thinking of what they wanted to do and who they wanted to target.

The Life Pokémon nodded, taking their silence as a sign to continue. "Okay, the challenge starts… now!"

The players immediately started heading out quickly, while some took their time and others simply stayed put.

Shine, Sola, and Ace were the three that were still there, which was mainly because of the Espeon. Sola and Ace were both prepared to go, but Shine seemed pretty content where she was.

"Shine? You alright?" Sola inquired. "We need to go."

The Espeon gave her a look before her eyes glowed a light blue. She looked to the ground, her eyes set upon the gem that Mew had tossed aside. She picked it up with telekinesis and brought it in front of her, much to the surprise of Sola and Ace.

"Seriously?" Ace deadpanned, a bit annoyed that she just took the easy way out.

The hosts, who were still in the vicinity, had the same reaction as the Sylveon. Virizion commented, "Really, Shine?"

The Espeon explained, "You said a majority of the gems were hidden underground. Majority does not equal all. And you never said that no one could use the gem you had as an example."

Not wanting to argue, Mew sighed, "Fair enough. I'll admit that it's a smart play. But, I hope you realize that now you can't leave to help these guys…"

"I have confidence in them," Shine responded with a smile. She looked back at the Absol and Sylveon. "Now, you two better run and keep your eyes peeled."

Sola and Ace exchanged looks before running out of the stadium, leaving Shine to rest.

000

Phill ran toward the campgrounds, thinking that there was probably a gem buried there. They had said something about digging spots being marked, so he was keeping his eyes peeled as he walked around with his eyes to the ground.

Other contestants were seen running to the beach, while others immediately when into the forest. The Raticate didn't pay much attention to the others, just wanting to focus on preserving his place in the game.

As he made it around the Loser Cabin, he saw Kojo approaching the campgrounds with Summer in tow.

As they made their way toward the Loser Cabin, Kojo saw the Mouse Pokémon rounding the corner. He inquired, "Oh, you decided to check here, too?"

Phill nodded, "Yeah, why not? It's probably the most obvious spot. So, there's probably one or two buried or just hidden around here."

"Have you checked the insides?" Summer inquired, putting a hand on her hip. "They said majority, but that doesn't mean that we should just focus on the outside."

"Oh," Phill began. "You guys are gonna help me?"

Kojo rose a brow. "I mean, sure. Why not? Searching together is better than going at it alone."

"Yeah, we're still in an alliance," Summer reminded. "Why wouldn't we want to work with you?"

Phill shrugged, "This challenge is basically about self-preservation. Didn't really think anyone would wanna help me."

Kojo let out a sigh, "Bro, you really have to try to gain some self-esteem. Your pessimism towards yourself really isn't healthy."

Phill waved away his concern, "I'm fine. I just hope that nobody tries to sabotage us."

"If someone tries anything, they'll have to deal with me," the Typhlosion growled.

Kojo chuckled, "Calm down, babe. I doubt that some of them will really be concerned with sabotage." He then pat her butt playfully, a small smile forming on her face. "Now, do you mind searching the cabin? Phill and I will look around the gazebo and Winner's Cabin and see if there's anything off."

Summer nodded as she walked toward the cabin. Once she was inside, Phill chuckled, "Wow, you guys are really getting closer. Pretty soon you'll be throwing her onto a table and making her scream."

Kojo rolled his eyes before playfully punching him. "C'mon. Let's check around the gazebo…"

The pair walked toward the area, keeping their eyes peeled for any indications of the dirt being disturbed.

Being that they left the spa only a couple of few moments after Xerneas and Virizion returned with Titan and Phill, Kojo grew curious as to what happened during his limited time in the XXX Hall.

"So… When you were in the sex hall… Did you manage to get a lap dance or something?" Kojo teased.

Phill stifled a laugh. "A lap dance? I think I was close to getting laid in general! Joanna was actually one of the dancers and uh… She was pretty… into me. Like… she kissed my cheek…"

Kojo sweatdropped, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Uh… Are you being serious?"

"Why do you think Xerneas and Virizion looked annoyed when we came back?" he answered. But the thing is, it wouldn't have been my fault if something happened. She came onto me."

"Well, hey. At least you were close," Kojo commented with a smirk.

"Yeah, but that's just because that's probably what they do on the regular," Phill countered. "But, we don't have to talk about it anymore. Let's just focus on looking for these gems."

Kojo nodded in understanding before they got under the gazebo. There, they immediately noticed a huge pile of food in the middle of the floor.

"Uh… What the hell happened here?" Phill inquired with a chuckle. "Are they trying to lure Laxish and M.P.S. here or something?"

Kojo shrugged, "They said that most of the gems were buried. They weren't specific about under where. Maybe this is the type of 'mark' they were talking about."

Phill stifled a laugh, "Well, I really hope it isn't this obvious, because then it's just a race to who can see something weird the fastest."

Kojo doubted that the challenge would be that straightforward, especially with the fact that there's no guarantee that you'll find the right gem right away. "Well, the gems are randomly placed, so even if we find one, they might not be what we need."

"Well, let's see if this is one that we need," Phill responded as he approached the pile of assorted foods. He took a doughnut from the pile before taking a bite of it.

His eyes widened momentarily. "Wow… this stuff is fresh. This is gonna take a while…" he said, taking another bite of it and smacking his lips.

Kojo gave him a look, knowing that they didn't have time to eat all of that food.

-000-

Inside of the Loser Cabin, Summer was lifting the mattress, sheets, and pillows of each individual bed in search of a gem.

The Typhlosion felt on top of the world, but at the same time, she was a bit disappointed. She and Kojo spent most of their time asleep, and she only got a couple of rocks into her massage before they had to leave.

She was glad that she and Kojo had that talk about their relationship and its impact on the game. And, as poor of a choice as it was, just being there alone with him in a completely quiet and relaxed setting made her feel amazing.

She was really hoping that someone from the opposing alliance, or even Aura or Aspen, ended up getting eliminated. Automatic elimination challenges were always doozies, and they were down in numbers. She was actually tempted to try and sabotage one of the other members of Amethyst's alliance, but she knew that she would need to find her own gem before she tried anything.

Finishing her search in the girls' side, she moved over to the guys' side and began tearing apart the beds in there as well, really wanting to come upon a gem.

Sadly for her, there was no gem inside of the cabin. She let out a groan, folding her arms in annoyance. She gave the room one last look around, before making her exit. She commented, "Fuck… Why do I feel like I'm missing something?"

She momentarily sat down on the patio in order to wait for the guys to get back. However, she immediately got back up after an idea came to her head.

Her eyes traveled over to the Winner's Cabin, curious about whether it was locked for the challenge or not. She went toward the large building and tried to open the door, only to let out a huff after realizing that it was still locked. "Damn it…" she swore, her hands going to her hips.

Her eyes scanned the campgrounds as she went down the steps and let out a sigh. She started walking around the cabin, hoping that she would come upon some sort of mark and find a gem.

000

Connor and Taylor were down at the beach looking around for any signs of disturbed sand. This was a very important challenge for them. They needed to make sure that not only did they find their gems, but that their fellow alliance members found their own as well.

Connor scanned the ground on one side of the beach, while Taylor scanned the ground of the other. The Milotic was still thinking about what had happened earlier with Amethyst; how Connor had taken over, stood up for him, and told her to get herself together.

The fact that he got defensive over him made his heart flutter, especially after everything that transpired earlier in the season. Everything he had done still haunted him and made him feel unworthy. It consistently ate at him the more Connor treated him well.

He couldn't help but be a bit worried that the Bouffalant would become too aggressive or protective of him. And his stern expression hadn't really wavered since they walked away from Amethyst.

Taking a break from his scanning, he turned in Connor's direction before floating toward him. Noticing him from the corner of his eye, Connor turned to him, "You find something, babe?"

Taylor shook his head, "No, no… Um… Just checking on you. You still seemed pretty angry over what Amethyst had said and I just wanted to see if everything was okay."

The Bouffalant smiled a bit at the Milotic's concern, before his smile turned into a small frown. He let out a sigh, "I'm just fucking annoyed by her attitude today. The fact that she was about to talk shit to you when she was in the wrong, and the fact that she yelled at Holly… Holly... for not being around 24/7… Fuck her."

Taylor nodded before inquiring, "Um… And... were you serious about leaving the alliance?"

"If I'm being honest… Yeah," Connor responded with a firm nod. "If that's going to be her attitude, then fuck her and fuck helping her. We already have our own backup alliance, and if Ace decided to stay with her, then we wouldn't really lose anything. He'd still be able to feed us info."

Taylor nodded once again, "Okay; and… you're sure that you're alright?"

Connor gave him a warm smile, "Come here…"

Taylor leaned down, allowing Connor to plant a kiss on his lips. Once it was broken, the Milotic immediately nuzzled him with a smile. "I love you…"

"Love you too, babe," the Bouffalant replied, nuzzling him back. "Now, let's find these damn gems."

Taylor retracted his head and looked around. "Hmm… do you think we should try specific places, first? It'd make a lot more sense that way."

Connor nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think that'd be for the best. But, where should we look first? We don't know where anyone else has checked already."

"Well, the challenge just started, so some places shouldn't be thoroughly checked yet," Taylor explained. A thought came to his head. "Hey, maybe we should check around LeGrae. I don't think anyone has gone around there in a while."

Connor nodded. "Couldn't hurt to check. And maybe we'll find something along the way. Who knows?"

The Tender Pokémon nodded before the two of them started heading into the forest toward LeGrae High School.

000

Morgan, Aspen, and Aura were approaching the jail, practically their go-to spot. On their way there, they made sure to keep their eyes peeled for any signs or marks in the sand.

"So, how was the reward?" Aspen inquired, curious about what the spa trip entailed.

Morgan hummed, "It was pretty relaxing… and they had a bunch of options. I mainly got a massage and a mani-pedi, and the jacuzzi was nice, too."

Aura huffed, "What else did they have?"

Morgan giggled, "Like I said, they had a bunch of options. They also had hot rock massages, a mud and goo pit, acupuncture, a sauna, an aromatherapy room, and some kind of sexy room or something where there's an opportunity for you to have sex with someone there."

"What the hell kind of spa was this?!" Aspen exclaimed, completely shocked by what she was hearing. "Acupuncture, saunas, and random sex?"

"It was a bit odd, but it was enjoyable nonetheless," Morgan remarked with a smile as they finally reached the rusty facility. She sighed, looking up at the building. "Now to focus on this challenge."

"Why are we checking the jail? They said that the gems were buried, remember?" Aura reminded, glancing over to the other two.

"Yes, but 'buried' can generally mean 'underneath something'," Morgan expounded. "And there are a ton of things to look under in the jail."

"You mean in each individual cell?" Aura gaped. "That'd take us forever! And it'd end up being a waste of time if the gems we find, if any, aren't the ones that match our types.".

"I mean, all we have to do is do a sweep," Aspen spoke up. "We can check the office first, then each of us can just walk across each floor and just peek into the cells. If we find something, we go for it. If not, we can go check somewhere else."

Morgan concurred, "Yeah. That plan can work great. Come on."

The three of them entered the jail, where they were immediately hit by a chill. As they started heading toward the elevator, a foul odor smacked them in the chops.

They slowly ceased their running as the origin of the smell slowly made itself known. A large pile of stinky socks and other undergarments came into view, prompting the three girls to come to a full stop in order to investigate.

"Oh mother of Arceus, what is this smelly crap doing here?" Aura inquired, covering her nose. "Who even wears clothes here?"

"I think that's the least of our concerns," Aspen nasally responded, plugging her nose with a paw. "I feel like we're gonna have to look through those things…"

"It's likely the case," Morgan said with a sigh, unaffected by the stench. "Why else would a random piles of clothes be here?"

"How are you fine with this smell?" Aspen inquired, noticing Morgan's lack of a reaction.

"I've grown up with worse and I've had a baby. I'm fine," Morgan explained. "It smells awful, but I'm not too bothered."

"Don't know why Aura's covering her nose. She should be used to it, too," the Persian remarked.

"Hey," Aura shot back. "Just because I had the twins doesn't mean I'm gonna be completely accustomed to awful smells like this."

The Classy Cat Pokémon shrugged. "Well..." Morgan began, "... all you have to do is freeze it. Then we can just try to smash it, or move it, and get the gem that way. Plus, it'd get rid of the smell."

Aspen immediately gave the shiny Glaceon a look, expecting her to do it right away. Eventually, the Fresh Snow Pokémon blew a cold breeze at the pile of clothes, slowly freezing it. "There," Aura presented. "A frozen pile of clothes. Now we have to break it or whatever…"

Morgan hummed as she approached the pile and started pushing and moving the frozen clothing apart in order to look through them.

"Hmm… I think I'm gonna go up to the office and see if there's anything up there, too," Aspen explained as she started walking toward the elevator.

Morgan narrowed her eyes at the Poodle Pokémon as Aura silently followed her. "Fine…"

‐000‐

Aura and Aspen made it to the office, where Aspen took a deep breath. "Much better…" She immediately headed toward the couches in order to check the cushions.

Still skeptical of the idea of coming there in the first place, Aura inquired, "Honestly, what're the chances of us finding a gem here, anyway?"

Aspen scoffed, "Well, time for a cliché." She pulled out a pale pink gem from the couch cushions.

"Are you kidding me right now?" the Glaceon deadpanned. "As soon as I said it?"

"As soon as you said it," Aspen confirmed with a nod. "And what's even better is that it looks like it's a Normal Gem!"

Aura sighed, "Well at least you're safe. And if you got one, then that means there's probably nothing else up here."

Aspen understood why she would believe that, but there was always a possibility that another one was hidden nearby. "Fair point, but maybe we should just make sure to check the whole room so that we don't end up missing anything."

Aura shrugged, "I don't see the point, but alright."

"Hey, the faster we find yours, the faster we can secure our safety," Aspen reminded. "Now come on…"

The two of them proceeded to look around the room, with Aura searching rather lackadaisically.

000

Sally was searching around the lake, hoping to find anything that could help her. She was glad that this challenge wasn't a vote out; she just needed to find an Electric Gem and she was safe.

As she made her way around the rim of the lake, she started to glance at the water, wondering if they had hidden one of the gems in the water.

The Ampharos began to hear a few familiar voices coming from the forest. Without thinking, she swiftly dove into the lake. She didn't want to talk to anybody, nor did she want to risk anyone finding a gem in the water before she did.

The Light Pokémon swam down to the bottom of the lake and surveyed her surroundings. She got her footing on the sandy floor and started walking around.

She had a lot of practice in holding her breath for prolonged periods of time thanks to some lessons from Jet, so being down there was no issue.

The tedium came from the fact that the lake was large, so she had a lot of ground to cover if there was actually a gem down there.

-000-

Anthony and Titan came through a few trees, making it to the lake. The Galvantula let out a sigh, "Haven't been here in a minute…"

"Yeah, well it's gonna take more than a minute to search this place for gems," Anthony retorted. "They said that most of them were buried, and with this area being really wet, there has to be one here. This is practically a landmark."

"Well, you can search the water and I'll jus' search around up here," Titan explained. "Cover more ground that way."

Anthony rose a brow, "You think they'd be daring enough to put one at the bottom of the lake?"

"They've done dangerous crap like that before, mate," Titan replied. "Wouldn't put it behind 'em."

Anthony couldn't argue with that reasoning. "Whatever," he replied as he jumped into the lake to start his own search.

Once he was gone, Titan immediately started scuttling around the perimeter of the lake. Like the other contestants, he kept his eyes to the ground in order to ensure that they didn't miss anything.

Eventually, he noticed an unusually large pile of leaves sitting near a tree. He looked around, wanting to make sure that he was the only one currently there. "Hmm… Well, this looks right suspicious…" he remarked, finding it sketchy.

The trees surrounding the pile were decorated with green leaves, while the pile itself was comprised of leaves of red, orange, and brown tones. He started moving through the pile, kicking the leaves around. Ultimately, he uncovered a reddish-orange jewel embedded in the ground, causing his eyes to widen.

He groaned to himself, annoyed that it wasn't the gem that he needed, but still happy that he had found one. It was easily identified as a Fire Gem, and with Summer being the only Fire-type remaining in the game, an idea formed in the Galvantula's head.

000

Titan chuckled, "If I wanted to, I could just keep this gem with me and make it so she gets eliminated, if there's not another one out there, at least…"

"But, I don't think that'd really help me," he opined. "So, I may just try to strike a deal and see what that gets me. Pretty sure most of the others want her gone, so she'd be a Slowpoke to reject it."

000

After noticing Anthony diving into the water, Sally rolled her eyes before going up for air. With him and Titan there, she wasn't going to be able to find a gem without getting their attention.

Once she was out of the lake, she decided to head toward the gym. Passing by Brian's old cave, she rose a brow, wondering if there were any gems in there.

However, before she could go in, she heard a few voices coming from nearby. She looked around before deciding to follow the sounds of the voices. Eventually, after traveling a few yards away from the cave, she spotted Ace, Connor, and Taylor talking with Sola.

Given that half of them were gone on the reward and the other half stayed, she assumed that they were discussing what had happened in Ace and Sola's absence.

-000-

"She did what?!" Ace exclaimed.

"You heard me," Connor replied with a stern look. "She was still blaming Aura for our loss. So that connection is just out of the window now. She was about to snap at Taylor, but I shut her up. And then she yelled at Holly for not being around as much as she wanted her to."

"So now we don't know if Holly is still with us or not," Taylor added. "She looked really upset when she left."

Ace couldn't believe it, his mouth agape. He shook his head in annoyance. "So… So, you're telling me that while we were gone, Amethyst pretty much screwed up our whole alliance dynamic?!"

Connor and Taylor nodded, causing the Sylveon to internally scream. Externally, though, he could only growl to himself before remembering what Morgan had suggested to him. He was still more worried about Summer and Anthony, but now that Amethyst was ruining everything, he was starting to reconsider. "Ugh, so are we thinking about getting rid of her?"

"We were actually considering that option…" Connor explained. "Not only has she been a bitch, but now that she's evolved, she may be a threat going forward."

"Yeah, let's just get rid of her," Sola added. As long as she wasn't the target, she didn't really care. "You guys have your secret little midway alliance with Aura and Aspen, and I'm pretty sure the other guys will be fine with getting rid of her."

"Well, we can't really do anything this time around," Taylor chimed in. "Unless we want to risk ourselves and try to sabotage her, we're just gonna have to wait for the next immunity challenge."

"Well, since the other alliance is getting screwed, I guess I should just tell you guys about Anthony," Ace began, causing both Taylor and Connor to exchange looks of confusion.

"What about him?" Taylor inquired.

-000-

Sally was astonished by this. Taylor, Connor, and Ace had another alliance, and were thinking about eliminating Amethyst? She honestly felt that Amethyst could fix her attitude, but she assumed that Connor still wasn't happy that she was going to insult Taylor for no reason. So, him thinking about eliminating her wasn't all that surprising.

The most surprising thing was that the three of them had a side alliance with Aspen and Aura of all people! So, the three of them could really go either way and make it further in the game that way.

She hummed to herself before retreating back to Brian's cave in order to search for gems.

000

"So, I have a few options with this new info," Sally stated,wearing a thoughtful visage. "I can either expose them and try to get them taken out as threats, I can try to join them, or I can just play dumb and see what happens…"

"I guess that joining them is likely the best option given how things are going," she said to herself. "I'll just have to try and get them alone, though."

"And if they don't let me join, then the first option always works," the Ampharos shrugged. "If I can join you, then it's not happening."

000

"Holly, you're a crucial part of the alliance. Could you please reconsider?" Ashton begged as they walked past LeGrae High School, having found nothing around there.

The Meganium had been pestering the pair about Holly's decision ever since the challenge started. Klavier was getting annoyed by it, since Holly had already made her decision; while Holly remained generally quiet.

Eventually, the Gliscor had had enough. "ASHTON!" he exclaimed, startling both girls once again. Noticing this, Klavier sweatdropped and sighed, "Look, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but can you just stop? Holly already said that she wants a break and that she may come back later on. Why are you still pestering her?"

"Our alliance is going to be do-"

"Ashton, you have barely been in danger," Klavier cut her off. "And if the alliance is gonna be down anyway, why don't you leave, too?"

The Meganium looked down; she had been thinking about it ever since Holly said that she was going to leave for a while. If the alliance was falling apart because of Amethyst's attitude, then why would she start any longer? She wanted to have a bit more faith and hope that the group could come back together, but she didn't even know how the others reacted because she went to catch Holly.

She let out a sigh. "I… I don't know. I guess if it is a sinking ship, then I should hop off," she stated in a despondent tone.

Klavier saw that she was now upset and swore to himself. He wasn't trying to make her sad; he just wanted her to stop begging Holly to come back.

He sighed, "Ash-"

Holly decided to finally speak up. "It's okay Ashton… You could work with us if you want…" she offered.

Ashton's eyes widened slightly. "R-Really?!"

Klavier twitched somewhat, not really wanting Ashton to still be with them. However, thinking further, he came to an important realization.

000

"So..." Klavier began. "If Ashton and Holly are both talking about working with me. Then our alliance actually has a chance again!"

"I just have to hope that we find our gems in time…"

000

Amethyst was staring at the bathroom mirror, trying to think about what she could do to get her friends back on her side. The only thing that she could do was apologize and try to help them find their own gems. She'd just have to make sure that she found hers as well.

She let out a sigh before beginning to hearing voices from outside of the vicinity. She looked over and saw Aspen, Aura, and Morgan passing by. She had been thinking about her actions, and whether or not she should even try to talk to the Glaceon.

The Aurorus frowned, forming an assumption that even if she tried to apologize, Aura and her posse wouldn't forgive her. However, she knew that she'd likely be pestered by it going forward, so she decided to try anyway.

Letting out a soft breath, she started walking out of the bathroom. "H-Hey! Wait up…"

Immediately recognizing the source of the voice, Aura just continued walking, while Morgan and Aspen both stopped to look back.

The Aurorus approached them, a look of dejection on her face. Aspen was still irritated by her, but was curious as to what she could have wanted, as was Morgan, who hadn't really experienced poor treatment from the Tundra Pokémon.

"Aura!" Morgan called out to the still retreating Eeveelution, causing the Glaceon to stop in place and curse to herself.

She reluctantly turned around and started to walk back, a look of intense aggravation plastered on her face. "What the hell do you want now? Here to blame me for you not being able to find your gem?"

A bit guilty, the Aurorus looked to the side before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry," she said, much to the surprise of the Glaceon. She continued, "I don't know what came over me. I just wanted to win and continue to push ahead and I ended up just taking it out on everyone else."

The Fresh Snow Pokémon could understand it, but she still didn't like nor trust it. "Okay," she replied.

A bit surprised by her rather nonchalant response, Amethyst's gaze went to the ground before looking at Glaceon, "So… do you forgive me?"

Aura sighed, rolling her eyes, "Fine, whatever… I forgive you. That doesn't mean that we're gonna work with you, though. I hope you realize."

The large sauropod felt a bit disheartened by that, but she could understand their reason why. She sighed once more before turning and starting to walk away. It sucked that wouldn't help, but at least she got the apology over with.

Watching her leave, Aura shook her head disapprovingly.

"Like I thought…" she huffed. She turned around and proceeded onwards, with Morgan and Aspen in tow.

The trio was accompanied by silence as they made their way back toward the stadium. Eventually, the Persian spoke up.

She acknowledged, "Well, at least she apologized. That's something…"

The Glaceon scoffed in response, having been truly unconvinced by the fossil Pokemon's apology. "Please. She only did that because she thought that we'd help her look for her gem. She left as soon as I told her ass that we weren't helping her…"

"That's true, but you can never know someone's true intentions when it comes to these situations," the Classy Cat Pokémon countered, giving the Aurorus the benefit of the doubt. "Maybe she was plotting, maybe it was genuine. You never know."

"Whatever," Aura replied, rolling her eyes.

"You figure out what you're gonna do with that Psychic Gem you got in the clothes pile?" Aspen asked Morgan, changing the subject.

The pinkish gem was being held in the Persian's tail as she shrugged, "You guys were the ones who told me to take it. I don't know what to do with it."

"Just hide it somewhere else," Aura suggested. "The only Psychic-types here are Shine and Holly, so making things a bit tougher for them couldn't hurt…"

Aspen and Morgan both gave her looks, causing her to groan, already knowing what they were thinking. "Just because Shine and I are on neutral terms doesn't mean that I can't still want her out. It's the game."

"No, I get that. But, wouldn't it make more sense to try to hinder an actual threat?" Aspen inquired. "We know that the final challenge is likely going to be physical, so taking out the bigger players would be better."

Aura countered, "Well, in this case we can't do that, now can we? Unless we want to waste our time looking for more gems and hoarding them or something, we have to work with what we've got."

"I mean, you guys still haven't found your own gems," Aspen reminded. "So, we could very well do that if we come upon a few gems that aren't for us."

The Glaceon opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The Furfrou had a point, but she'd much rather just deal with what they had already and just focus on their own gems. "I guess you're right, but focusing on finding our own gems is still the better option."

"Oh, I'm not saying that it's not," the Poodle Pokémon responded."I'm just saying that while we're looking for you guys' we can also just scoop up the ones we find that are useless to us and maybe just scatter them or put them in places that others wouldn't think to look."

Aura shrugged, "I guess we could try that, but the main objective is to still be safe."

Aspen nodded, while Morgan just remained quiet, having no opinion on the plan. She had a better plan, though.

000

"I have a Psychic Gem, so I could either screw up Holly or screw up Shine," Morgan said. "Obviously I'm not gonna screw over Shine… but I also don't want to screw over Holly."

She hummed in thought, "Maybe if Holly finds a gem that's useful to us, I can trade this one for it! That way, everyone's happy."

000

"Wow, what a totally inconspicuous pile of rocks sitting on the cliff," Kojo deadpanned as he, Summer, and Phill scaled the steep rock face.

Summer had managed to find a Normal Gem behind the Winner's Cabin, buried in a plot with a flag sticking out of it, while Kojo and Phill managed to pull out a Fairy Gem from the pile of sweets.

"Hey," Phill began, his mouth covered in frosting and full of cake. "We're lucky that they actually made it easy to find them. This island is kinda boring."

"You know, you could have at least saved some cake for us, too," Summer commented, her arms folded as she eyed the Raticate beside her.

Phill, who was actually holding a partially eaten miniature cake, held the dessert away from her. "T-There's still more stuff at the gazebo," he defended.

Kojo moved the rocks out of the way, eventually uncovering a light yellowish-green gem. He let out a groan. "Bug Gem…"

"Well… We've guaranteed Ace and now Titan's safety so far…" Summer commented. She then turned to Phill, who took another bite out of his cake. "At least one of us is safe…"

The Mienshao let out a sigh. "Come on, let's go check… I dunno, the gym?"

The three of them turned around to head toward the gym. On their way, they saw that Titan was climbing up, presumably in search of a gem. Noticing them, the Galvantula stopped in place as they continued coming down.

"Just the people I wanted to see," he commented as they all stopped before him. "I think that I have something that you may like…"

The three of them exchanged looks before Summer looked back at him with a raised brow, "Do you now?"

Titan pulled out the Fire Gem, causing their eyes to widen. "Yep. I found this pretty jewel down by the lake. I figured that you may need it…"

"No duh…" Phill commented, his mouth still filled with cake.

Kojo, despite having the Bug Gem in his possession, was interested to hear what the Galvantula was going to try and offer. He let out a false groan, "We all know how these kinds of situations go, so what do you want for it?"

Titan chuckled, "Two things. One, none of ya vote for me goin' forward. And two, Sheila 'ere help me out in challenges when I need 'er to."

Summer scoffed, which turned into a laugh. "Now, you see, the first thing. Sure, that can be arranged, but the second…" She sibilated, "Sorry, but that's not happening. I'm not gonna be your damn slave…"

"No one said anything about a slave," he clarified. "I literally just want ya to help me when I need help in challenges. Otherwise, you can go about your normal business. I don't care."

"Okay, how about this…" Kojo said, stepping forward. "We can accommodate you with the 'no voting' thing, but you have to help us when we need you to. As in, you vote how we tell you to vote."

Titan rose a brow. "And… Am I gettin' else anything out of this? Because it sounds like you're getting two helpful things and I'm getting a bit shafted..."

"Oh, you'll also be getting this," Kojo said, finally revealing that he had the Bug Gem.

Titan's eyes went wide in surprise. "Hold on, you had my gem the whole time, but you're still willing to help me? You didn't just tell me to shut up and accept a trade?"

"Having more help is much better," Kojo explained. "Now, are you gonna be serious and accept the conditions, or not?"

"As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I'll uphold mine…" the EleSpider Pokémon replied.

"Good," Kojo said as Titan handed him the Fire Gem and he handed him the Bug Gem. "Now, if I find out you're screwing us, I'll flatten you…" he threatened, wearing a serious glare.

"Right…" Titan deadpanned before scuttling away.

Kojo handed the Fire Gem to Summer, who giggled. "Well, now we've got a guaranteed extra vote for the next elimination ceremony," she said.

"And now I've just gotta find a Fighting Gem," Kojo sighed, placing his hands on his hips.

Phill swallowed the cake currently in his mouth before making an assumption. "Hey, maybe Ace found one. If he did, we can try to trade with him like we just did with Titan."

The couple exchanged looks, as it sounded like a feasible plan. If Ace did have one, it was an easy trade. If he didn't, then they could just hold it until he did.

With that in mind, they started to look for the Sylveon, hoping that he had, indeed, found the gem Kojo needed.

000

Titan groaned, "Well, at least I've got something going on now…"

000

Having split up from Taylor and Connor, Ace and Sola were finishing their search for gems in the gym. The only one that they managed to find was a Water Gem that was under a pile of jockstraps.

"Well, this was a bust," Sola commented. "There aren't that many places left for us to look…"

"We probably missed a few obvious places. We haven't checked around the bathrooms or anything…" Ace reminded.

"I guess," Sola shrugged.

However, before they could head in that direction, they ran into Sally, who was holding an astounding four gems. Immediately, the two of them rushed toward her to see what she had.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Where did all of those come from?!" the Sylveon inquired in shock.

Sally smacked her lips, "Apparently, they did some kind of special thing in Brian's cave and used it as a reference to how the caves in Unova have these things everywhere."

The pair gaped in shock, with Sola scoffing, "Are you serious?!"

Sally nodded. "Yep. So, I managed to dig up these four," she said, showing them the jewels of yellow, light blue, green, and umber that were in her possession. "A sign said that there were five in there, but I stopped once I got the one that I needed."

"So… Those other three… What are you gonna do with them?" Ace inquired, eyeing them.

The Ampharos sighed, "Well, I'm gonna try to find Ashton and Amethyst so that I can get these to them. I don't know what to do about the Fighting Gem, though. Kojo's the only one who needs it…"

Sola and Ace exchanged looks, apparently having the same idea. "We'll take that one off of your hands, then," Sola said, as Ace used one of his ribbons to take the Fighting Gem from her.

Sally rose a brow at this, a bit confused by what they were doing. "Uh… okay? Don't know why you guys want it, but I won't ask," she remarked.

With that, the Light Pokémon walked away, leaving the twosome alone. Ace chuckled, "Well, now we've got Kojo's lifeline and Anthony's lifeline…"

"Uh… actually, we could give the Water Gem to Taylor, so Kojo's would be the main one we'd have," Sola reasoned.

Ace shrugged, "Yeah, but there's also the chance that they'll find him another one. Remember, they said that there are multiples. And I think they actually made it easy so that they only have the gems for us and not for every type…"

"Then, by that logic, these technically aren't lifelines at all," Sola deadpanned. "Kojo could have already found another one…"

Ace, realizing his mistake, groaned and swatted the two gems away out of frustration. "Come on…" he drawled, getting to his feet. "Let's go check the stupid toilets…"

As he started to walk away, Sola gazed back to where the two gems flew. She was tempted to retrieve them, as they could still be useful, but she decided to just leave them alone and follow the sulking Sylveon.

000

Connor and Taylor were currently fighting with Anthony over a Water Gem that the Blastoise found in the lake.

"Screw off!" Anthony shouted as he knocked the Bouffalant away from him. He had the gem in his possession, so he would risk using it up if he used a Water-type move in retaliation.

"Give up the gem, Anthony!" Connor called, panting heavily, having been fighting for the gem while Taylor watched on with an unenthused expression.

The Blastoise shouted, "Not a chance! Go search for your own gems, asshats!"

He started running away, with Connor ready to charge after him. However, Taylor placed his tail fin over the Bouffalant's back in order to stop him. "Don't…" he statedly. with a stern tone. "Just let him have it," he said with a sigh. "We can just find other ones."

"Yeah, but who knows how long it'll take?" Connor countered. "We don't know who else has already found theirs and I'm not trying to have us be eliminated after all of this. We need to keep looking."

Taylor looked out at the lake, a visage of pain beginning to form as he once again remembered all of the times that he had abused the Bouffalant before him. He had made him feel so hapless and weak.

All it took for things to shift was for Connor to finally stand his ground. It was originally just a dumb crush that didn't make sense to him, but once Connor agreed to give him a chance, everything changed. Now, he was in love with him. He should be happy, and he was, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that plagued his mind from how he treated him before. It only become more and more painful the more Connor acted on his behalf or worked for the both of them.

As he thought more and more about it, tears began to form in his eyes, accompanied by soft sobbing. Noticing this, Connor immediately grew concerned. "Babe… What's wrong?" he asked, nudging him.

"Don't… don't call me that," the Milotic choked out.

Connor rose a brow. "Call you what?"

"I'm not a babe," he sobbed. "I'm a worthless piece of shit!"

Connor shook his head, "Whoa, whoa. Where's this coming from? You're not worthless at all."

"Yes, I am!" Taylor cried out, tears streaming down his face. "I treated you and everyone else like shit and acted like I was better than all of you. I abused you! I put you through hell!"

Connor looked down, beginning to understand his breakdown a bit better.

"I don't deserve you. I don't even think I deserve to be here anymore," Taylor sobbed. "Why are you even still with me? You could've just eliminated me sooner after all the pain I caused you..."

Connor gained a serious face, laying down beside him. "Babe… that's all in the past. I'll admit, I hated your guts for treating me like a slave and acting like I was nothing. And… things did get a bit awkward when you first told me that you liked me…"

Taylor trembled as more tears beginning to form. Connor continued, "...but when I decided to try to use your crush on me to my advantage, I actually saw a completely different side of you. You were actually embracing who you are and opening up instead of just acting like a complete jerk at every turn."

Taylor looked down at him, still sniffling, "That's when it all started becoming a lot more real for me," the Bouffalant continued. "And it's been real ever since…"

Connor looked up at Taylor. "I forgive you for everything you did. Because, honestly, if you hadn't done any of that, I probably wouldn't still be here, I wouldn't have grown to be more bold and confident in myself, and… I wouldn't have figured out who I am. So… Thank you…"

Taylor sniffled as a blush started forming on his face. "I… I just…"

"It's okay, babe," Connor interrupted. "I promise you, it's all okay. Now, come here…"

The Milotic hesitantly leaned down to him, with him planting a kiss on his lips. Taylor kissed back, feeling a bit better now that he knew how Connor felt as well.

Once they broke the kiss, they rested their heads against each other momentarily. "I love you…" Taylor professed.

"Love you too, baby," the buffalo returned. He looked around. "Now, let's go find these gems…"

Wiping his tears away with his fins, Taylor inquired with a sniffle, "You want to see if Anthony's actually made it there yet?"

A smile formed on Connor's face. "Definitely…"

000

Taylor sniffled, "I don't… I just don't deserve him. I know he said that everything was fine and he forgave me, but… I just can't get over it! I'm an awful person!"

"I fell for him because he stood up for himself one time and he even admitted that it was awkward when we first started! He said that it all helped him grow, but… It shouldn't have happened the way it did…"

000000

Back at the stadium, the three hosts were waiting for more contestants to arrive, with Shine and Titan being the only ones there thus far.

The Galvantula got lucky, as he still needed to talk to the Espeon, anyway. While they did that, Virizion posed a question to her fellow hosts. "So, who do you think is gonna be last?"

"Well, given how they performed in the reward challenge, it'll probably be someone from Holly's team going," Xerneas reasoned. "It makes the most sense to me."

"What about you, Mew?"

The New Species Pokémon didn't really have an opinion on it, but he knew that he'd need to give some sort of response. "Uh… I guess Connor," he replied with a shrug. He didn't really think about it and just went off of body shape.

"So, about the same prediction," Virizion generalized. "Okay…"

Eventually, more contestants began to enter the stadium, getting their attention. Klavier, Holly, and Ashton all came in, while Sally stood outside at the entrance.

"Alright, and Klavier, Holly, and Ashton have guaranteed their safety," Mew commented.

Virizion and Xerneas both looked at the entrance, confused by what Sally was doing. "Uh… Sally? What are you doing? Do you have your gem?" the Fairy-type inquired.

"Oh, she does," Holly chimed in. "She's just waiting for Amethyst since she has an Ice Gem, too. You guys said we can't help once we're back in, so she's standing out there."

Virizion remarked, "Huh… That's actually kinda smart."

"So, where'd you guys find your gems?" Xerneas asked curiously, as Mew was the one who had hidden them all.

Klavier shuddered before showing a light brown jewel. "Toilet…"

"Mine was in a Corvisquire nest," Holly revealed, holding a Flying Gem. "Got lucky that they're kinda shiny."

"Sally actually gave me mine," Ashton explained, presenting her Grass Gem with a vine. "She found it in Brian's cave."

"Well, good for you guys," Xerneas commented. "You guys get to stay."

"Still questioning whether or not that's a positive…" Klavier said to himself.

The three of them went over to where Shine and Titan were conversing, with Ashton growing a bit curious as to what the Galvantula was planning to do with his statue now that nearly everyone knows about it.

She walked over to him and Shine, which got their attention immediately. She cleared her throat, asking, "Um… I don't want to interrupt, but…"

"What's up Sheila? Kinda trying to reach a mutual understanding here…" Titan replied, gesturing to Shine, who was wearing a look of indifference.

She leaned down to him, whispering, "What are you gonna do about your statue?"

Titan sighed, "Don't worry about that. It'll be fine."

Ashton rose a brow. "How?"

"Again, don't worry about it," Titan replied. "Just worry about your own game…"

The Meganium was a bit skeptical, but left the two to their conversation.

000

Ashton hummed, "He's talking to Shine now… And he still has the statue. I'm starting to think that Sally was right about him needing to go…"

"He said that he would save me, but I didn't need it. Now, we all know he has it and he's talking to people who could probably influence a few votes."

"I may not be in the alliance anymore, but it's still kinda worrying."

000

Kojo, Summer, and Phill were walking away from the gym, having found the Water Gem and the Fighting Gem that were knocked away by Ace.

"Well, we really lucked out here," Kojo commented. "Now all of us are safe and we can help Anthony if he hasn't found his yet."

They began heading back to the stadium before hearing a voice calling toward them. "Hey!"

Turning to the source, they saw Amethyst heading towards them. Based on how she was acting earlier, they weren't entirely sure that they wanted to talk to her.

Nevertheless, they let her catch up to them. Once she was there, she inquired, "Hey, uh… You guys haven't found an Ice Gem have you?"

Phill, having finished his cake, replied, "Nope, sorry."

Amethyst sighed, looking down. "Great…"

"Have you tried looking around the school?" Summer asked.

"No… Not yet," Amethyst replied. "Hopefully it's there, because I'm not feeling too confident right now…"

"Hey, just keep your head up. You'll be able to find it," Phill remarked.

Amethyst sighed, "Can you guys come with me? I'm kinda alone and I don't know if anyone else will be willing to help me."

Kojo and Summer exchanged looks, not liking the idea of accompanying Amethyst on her search. They just wanted to get back to the stadium and be safe.

"I'll go with you," Phill shrugged.

Kojo and Summer both gave the Raticate a look of shock. "Phill!" Summer exclaimed.

"What? I still have my gem," Phill relied, pulling out his Normal Gem, which he was hiding in his fur. "I'll be fine…"

Kojo let out a sigh, holding his head. "Phill, that's not-"

Summer interrupted him, "Okay, fine… Phill, help her find her gem. But if you try to screw him over, I'll make you regret it. Understood?"

She glared intensely at the Tundra Pokémon, who swallowed out of fear in response. She nodded.

"Good," Summer replied. She let out a sigh once more, looking down at Phill. "Alright, Phill. Be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Phill responded, waving away her concern. "You two lovebirds go be safe. I'll be there later…"

Kojo and Summer were still skeptical, but they decided to let the Mouse Pokémon do what he wanted. They could only hope that he didn't unintentionally get himself eliminated by helping the Aurorus.

"Alright, bro," Kojo replied as he and Summer started walking off.

Phill looked up at Amethyst, "Alright, let's get going…"

The Raticate started walking away, with Amethyst raising a brow in return,"Oh, uh… Okay?" She began following him.

000

Aura, Aspen, and Morgan were back at the stadium. Having stumbled upon a Normal Gem inside of a knot in a tree, both Morgan and Aspen were now safe. Aura was still in trouble, though.

Morgan and Aspen were both inside of the stadium, already. With Aura trying to get Sally to give her the Ice Gem.

"Come on, Sally! Are you seriously gonna save her after everything she said and did?!" Aura argued. "Let her look for her own gem!"

Despite wanting to keep the alliance stable, Sally was actually considering handing the gem to Aura. She had worked hard in the challenge earlier and ended up getting berated for not being faster despite having a disadvantage.

Before she could respond, Anthony came tumbling into the area from the forest. He growled as Connor emerged from the bushes. "Come on Anthony, just give it up…"

"Fuck… off…" Anthony shot back as he got to his feet. "Why do you want mine so damn bad? You could have just found another one!"

"Well… They said that we can work against each other," Connor replied. "And Ace let us know about your little ploy to get him to rethink his options."

Anthony scoffed, "So what? I'm playing the game."

"And so am I," Connor retorted as he charged toward him again. Anthony moved out of the way before running toward the stadium entrance

The Bouffalant quickly sped after him and knocked him to the ground once again. "Taylor! Get it!"

The Milotic emerged from the bushes, and upon seeing Connor standing over Anthony, the Tender Pokémon looked down and remained in his place. He didn't like what Connor was doing at all. "Connor! Get off of him!"

Confused, the Bouffalant retorted. "Babe, come on! Get the gem and I'll get off of him!"

Taylor scoffed, "I don't want the gem if this is how you're gonna get it for me!"

"Taylor!" Connor shouted.

The Milotic stayed put, a serious visage forming on his face. Seeing the look on his face, Connor decided to let Anthony up, keeping his eyes locked on Taylor.

As Anthony got up and dove into the stadium, Connor started walking toward his significant other with a look of bewilderment and irritation on his face. "Tay, seriously, what's going on with you? You were the one who said that we should go for him again…"

"Y-Yeah, but-"

The Milotic had glanced over and saw that Sally and Aura, as well as a few of the players inside of the stadium, were watching them.

Taylor back into the bushes, with Connor immediately doing the same.

Sally and Aura exchanged looks of confusion, before the Glaceon made an attempt to grab the Ice Gem, which promptly failed.

-000-

"I don't like you being like this…" Taylor revealed. "Being aggressive isn't like you… I don't want you doing that kind of stuff for me. I already feel like I'm worthless, I don't want to feel like I'm the reason you're acting out like that."

"Acting out?" Connor inquired, completely perplexed as to what he was getting at. "Babe, they literally said that we can work against each other. And Ace told us that Anthony was trying to put doubt in his mind."

"I just don't like seeing you do that," Taylor replied, looking down. "It just reminds me of what I did to Autumn last season and… What I did to you earlier this season. It makes me feel like that part of me is rubbing off on you and I absolutely hate that feeling…"

Connor's eyes widened. He didn't realize that Taylor thought that he was being too aggressive. Heck, he didn't even think he was being too aggressive; he was just getting more into the game.

"I'm not worth getting serious or aggressive in the game over…" the Milotic continued. "I… I was even thinking about quitting…"

Connor gaped. "No. No way. You're not quitting on me…"

"I just can't fight the guilt that I'm feeling!" Taylor cried. "You've been so good to me, and lately all I can think about is how poorly I've treated you and others in the past and… I just can't deal with it. I already know that I'm probably gonna get hurt even more once I'm out of the game again, but I know that I'll deserve it!"

Connor got closer to him once again, trying to comfort him. "It's okay baby. I understand it…"

Taylor sobbed, "I'm just sorry about everything and I just want the feeling to go away!"

Connor nodded before letting out a sigh. "Well, I'll tell you what, stay with me for this challenge, and by the next challenge, if you still feel terrible… You can go. Deal?"

Taylor sniffled, coiling around him once again. He nodded, "Okay…"

Connor kissed his cheek. "Now, come on, we need to hurry up and find another Water Gem before any more people come back," he said. He had found his Normal Gem early on at LeGrae, so he was only focused on Taylor.

000

Connor sighed, "Fuck me… I don't want our alliance to be screwed, but if Taylor is feeling awful, then I'm not gonna force him to stay."

"I know that everything he's done before is awful, and I'm not saying that he shouldn't feel bad, but I honestly feel like he's changing for the better despite all of that."

000

Kojo and Summer made it back to the stadium, where they saw that Aura and Sally were still arguing about the gem they had, and Taylor and Connor were emerging from the bushes.

Seeing all of them on the outside of the stadium caused Kojo let out a sigh of relief, but also made him feel a bit worried. "I really hope that Phill and Amethyst aren't gonna be the last two," Kojo commented as they started speeding up. "Amethyst better not pull anything…"

"Hey, I already warned her," Summer reminded him. "If she does anything that gets him stuck or anything, she's going to be the next to go."

As the two of them reached the entrance, they saw that Sally was just standing there with an annoyed look, while Aura continued talking at her. Curious about the situation, the fire badger inquired, "Uh… What are you two doing?"

Sally prepared to respond, but Aura answered for her, "She's waiting for Amethyst to come by so that she can just hand her the Ice Gem despite everything she did earlier. And I'm trying to get her to just give it to me since Amethyst doesn't deserve it!"

The couple exchanged looks, finding it ironic that the Glaceon was talking about someone else didn't deserve something based on prior actions. "And… Why do you deserve it, exactly?" Kojo replied, raising a brow. "You're not really that great, considering you screwed us over in the last vote."

"And that's not to mention everything that you've done in the past…" Summer chimed in, folding her arms.

Aura glared at them. "That's different! And none of that has anything to do with what's happening here and now! So, don't try and-"

Just then, Connor approached the group, interrupting her thoughts. "Hey uh, Summer, I just noticed that you guys have a Water Gem on you… You don't mind if I take that for Taylor do you?" he asked sheepishly.

"How the hell did you even see what I had in my hands from over there?" Summer inquired in confusion.

"I mean… you had something blue and shiny in your hand, so I just thought..." Connor trailed off.

Summer gave him a look before deciding to make another deal. "You can have it if you give me your word that you won't vote for me going forward…"

Connor scoffed, "Seriously? That's not fair."

"Well, I guess I can just throw it away, then…" Summer began, preparing to throw it in the direction of the beach.

"Wait!" the Bouffalant exclaimed, getting Summer's attention. "Fine… I won't vote for you."

"Good," Summer replied, placing the Water Gem in the Bouffalant's afro. "I'll hold you to that. I'm sure you know what happens if you don't follow through."

As Taylor floated up behind him, Connor chuckled in response, "And I'm sure you know that even without me voting for you, you could still be voted out with enough people…"

The pair entered the stadium, with Summer growling in annoyance. "Fucking pricks…"

"You should have seen what happened earlier…" Sally mentioned. "Connor was knocking Anthony around trying to get his Water Gem from him until Taylor stopped him."

"Really?" Kojo responded in shock. "Guess Connor's more ballsy than I thought…"

"Uh… HELLO!?" Aura exclaimed, wanting to get things focused back on her. "I don't have time, here!"

Summer groaned, rolling her eyes as she and Kojo started heading into the stadium. She lackadaisically tossed the Fairy Gem behind her, with it landing on the entrance ground. "Amethyst is looking for another gem…"

"Ha!" Aura laughed. "See, she's already looking for her own gem! Now give me that gem!"

Sally gave the Glaceon an irritated look before tossing the Ice Gem away. "You want it, go get it…"

Aura growled as she ran after the jewel, while Sally went over to the Fairy Gem that Summer tossed aside and let out a sigh.

000

Sally huffed, "Amethyst had better hope she gets back before whoever else is out there…"

000

"We've searched everywhere and we still haven't found a damn Fairy Gem or a Dark Gem! What the hell!?" Sola exclaimed.

"Well, we obviously haven't searched everywhere," Ace corrected. "But, this is pretty damn frustrating." He let out a sigh, "I really hope that some of the others are still having trouble…"

Just then, Mew's voice could be heard throughout the island, "ONLY FIVE PLAYERS ARE UNACCOUNTED FOR! YOU'D BETTER HURRY IF YOU WANT YOUR SPOT!"

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me…" Sola swore as they walked by LeGrae High School "We're gonna be screwed…"

They began hearing voices coming from the direction of the school. Turning toward it, they watched as Phill emerged from the doors with Amethyst in tow.

"There, you've got your gem… And right when you need to. Now, we need to hurry. Let's get going!" the Raticate commented before rushing away from the school. Amethyst started running after him, only to be stopped by a call.

The Sylveon called out, "AMY!"

The Aurorus stopped, while Phill continued running, having fulfilled his duty already. The Tundra Pokémon glanced over and saw Ace and Sola approaching.

"Oh, uh… Hey guys…" she replied.

They both wore expressions of annoyance. So, not only did she potentially ruin their own alliance, now she was working with people from the other alliance.

Noticing their expressions, the Tundra Pokémon sighed, "I take it that they told you what happened…"

"Yeah…" Ace replied. "What the hell were you doing?! You're ruining everything!"

"Look, I already know that I screwed up. And I already apologized to Aura," she explained. "I was gonna try to help others find their gems to make up for it, but I couldn't even find my own, first, so that plan fell through."

Sola huffed, "Actually, that's not true. You have your gem now… So you do have a chance to help us out…"

Amethyst rose a brow. The two of them weren't even part of what happened earlier, so the Aurorus didn't feel like she owed them anything. "Uh… why should I do that? I mean, I know that we're working together, but… I haven't done anything to you were gone on the reward. Plus, Sola, you're not even really in the alliance, you're just an add-on vote."

Sola gave her a look before scoffing, "Okay, if you say so…"

Amethyst groaned, "Ugh… You know what I mean. Now, I need to go!"

The Aurorus started heading off, much to the annoyance of the pair.

000

Ace let out a huff, "Okay, I guess getting rid of Amethyst is a much better option…"

000

Phill made it back to the stadium, panting heavily. "I made it!" he exclaimed.

"Congrats Phill," Virizion praised before peering outside of the stadium entrance. "Sally, you know that you may end up getting yourself eliminated by trying to help people…"

The Ampharos sighed, "I'll be fine. As long as I make it inside before the others."

The Grassland Pokémon shrugged, "If you say so…"

Shine had a worried expression on her face, as neither Sola nor Ace had come back yet. She took a breath, beginning to regret her decision to take the easy way out.

A few moments later, Amethyst made her way back, panting heavily. Before she could go in, Sally stopped her, "Have you seen Ace?"

"Yeah, he and Sola are still looking for their gems," she explained. "They tried to get me to help them, but I was practically alone this whole time until Phill helped me. So, I just left..."

Sally looked at the Fairy Gem in her hand, "Well, guess Sola's gonna be the one gone, then. Oh well..."

Just then, Ace and Sola emerged from the foliage and started sprinting toward the stadium, surprising the two of them.

Amethyst's eyes widened. "Well, I'm not risking this," she said as she immediately entered the stadium. Seeing how close they were, Sally immediately stood in front of the entrance, in an attempt to make them slow down.

Seeing the Ampharos in the way, Sola managed to skid to a halt, while Ace ended up knocking into her, sending them flying into the stadium.

Groaning, Ace sat up, "What did you do that for, Sally?!"

"Why were you guys running so damn fast?" the Light Pokémon countered, also sitting up. "I thought you guys didn't have your gems…"

"We didn't, so we were coming back to see if we could get some kind of hint or just… Something," Sola explained, padding inside.

"Well, the challenge is now over," Mew announced as he floated over. "Sally and Ace have claimed the last two spots, so Sola, looks like you're out."

Completely confused, both Sola and Ace exchanged looks. "Wait, what?!" Sola exclaimed. "How?!"

Xerneas explained, "Sally was holding onto the Fairy Gem, as well as her own Electric Gem, so when they came in together, it counted for both of them."

"Oh…" Ace trailed off, looking down. He looked to Sola, who wore a look of disappointment. "Sorry, Sola."

The Absol huffed, "It's fine. I'm done with this crappy game, and that's probably the best thing for me…"

Shine let out a soft sigh, disappointed by the challenge results. She should have just went along with them.

Mew turned to the remaining seventeen players. "Well, the rest of you can head back to camp. And those gems are yours to keep."

"Wait, wait, who gets to be in the Winner's Cabin!?" Phill inquired.

"Oh, right…" Virizion began. "Well, technically Shine was the one who got her gem first, but she never really went outside of the stadium. So, we're going to give it to Titan this time since he was the second one back."

The Galvantula smiled, "GREAT!" Shine huffed in annoyance, but she understood.

"And, as per usual, you may choose one extra person to come with you," Xerneas added.

Titan chuckled, "Well, I guess I'll take Morgan…"

The Persian was shocked by his decision, as were a few others. A few of the players even looked a bit irritated. "Oh… uh… Thanks, Titan," the Classy Cat Pokémon replied.

The EleSpider Pokémon only nodded in response.

000

"I know I'm not the only one getting a bit annoyed that Morgan keeps getting rewards," Sally commented, folding her arms. "She's gone on every one and now she gets to be in the Winner's Cabin, too?"

"We're gonna need to do something about her. As soon as we get rid of Titan…"

000

Sola, Shine, and Ace were on the dock, where Sola was sitting inside of the Suck of Shame.

The Espeon shook her head, "Sorry that I didn't help you guys… I really thought that you guys could handle this on your own."

Sola let out a sigh, "Whatever. As long as I'm out of this place…"

"Well, Sola, we don't have much to say, besides we'll see you around," Mew commented as he pressed the button on his remote, sending the Absol down the tube.

Ace groaned and turned around, heading back to the campgrounds. "Great, now everything's even worse…"

Shine, feeling that he was overreacting, simply rolled her eyes before following him back to camp.

Once they were gone, Virizion commented, "You know, I'm always surprised by who manages to make it far and who doesn't. Like, I would've expected Sola to be gone really early."

Mew shrugged, "That's what happens when you have a relatively decent alliance. People you wouldn't expect to make it that far end up doing it."

Xerneas sighed, "Well, I feel like we're gonna be in for a lot of surprises going forward. It seems that some bonds are breaking and some alliances are crumbling…"

"Yep," Virizion concurred.

Mew turned to the camera, "And we're down to the final seventeen. A lot of things seem to be going on and I'm not entirely sure if we're ready for any of it. So, stay tuned and find out what happens next time on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!"

000

See ya guys, BYE!