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)

27. Treasure Island

Announcer: Last time on Total Pokémon: Underdogs, the contestants had lots and lots of digging to do. Amethyst finally evolved thanks to the ice she ate… Somehow that worked. And her newfound power and height caused her to behave very negatively toward her alliance members. Ashton and Sally blabbed about Titan's immunity statue, causing a minor target to be placed on the Galvantula's back. In the reward challenge, thanks to a screw up from Ashton, Holly's team lost the challenge, and Kojo's team went on a spa reward. Back at camp, Amethyst went on a tirade, blaming Aura for their loss, and making herself so unbearable that her alliance members left her. Meanwhile, Taylor began to worry about Connor acting more aggressively on their behalf, which only made him feel worse and worse as the day went on. It was revealed that the second challenge was an automatic elimination that involved finding gems. It took a lot of time, scrambling, and dealing, but in the end, Sola was the one who got eliminated.

Only seventeen players remain, and things are bound to get insane. Who's next to go? Just watch the show. This is Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!

000

*Intro plays*

000

Two days had passed since the last challenge. After everything that had occurred, tensions were high and people were trying to come up with new strategies, while also trying to deal with their own personal issues. To say that things were becoming more stressful would be an understatement.

-000-

Taylor whimpered and trembled in his sleep as he and Connor rested on the beach with a couple of blankets and pillows.

Ever since he started thinking about all of the awful things he had said and done earlier this season, he was plagued by nightmares of him being back in jail and going through the same physical and mental torture he dealt with in those nine months.

He had constantly woken up crying the past couple of days and even wound up wetting himself on one occasion. So, after complaints from the other occupants of the cabin, Connor suggested that they just sleep on the beach going forward. He felt that they would have more space, and that Taylor would feel a bit more at ease.

Sadly, that was not the case, and the Milotic woke up in a harsh sweat, panting heavily as he started sobbing once again. Hearing his soft cries, Connor's eyes slowly opened and he turned to Taylor with a look of concern. He got closer, calling to him softly.

"Tay…" he began.

Instantly, the Milotic coiled around the buffalo and held him close, still sobbing. "I-I don't know if I can do this anymore. I-I just keep seeing myself b-back in that jail with those big guys and they'd just beat me and violate me and I just… I know that when I go back home, it'll start all over again!"

Connor let out a soft sigh. He really hated seeing Taylor like this. The Tender Pokémon really had changed, and he was deeply regretting everything he had done. One could easily argue that it was only because he knew he'd be punished more for his actions, but Connor knew that it was genuine. He had spent enough time with the Milotic to know that.

However, a thought entered the Bouffalant's mind regarding his lover's fears and worries, causing a small smile to form on his face.

Connor nuzzled him as the Milotic continued to sob softly. "Shh… Calm down babe. You're forgetting a few important things."

Taylor sniffled, a bit confused by Connor's statement, "W-What?"

Connor explained, "I was the only one that you attacked, I could easily retaliate if I wanted to, and… Most importantly… If I don't want to press charges, nothing happens."

Taylor sniffled as his eyes widened a bit. He hadn't even thought about that. However, it didn't truly help his nerves, as he knew that would still be lambasted and treated like dirt, regardless of what he did. There was even a chance that someone else could report it and he could end up going to jail anyway!

Seeing that Taylor's look of fear and sadness didn't deter at all, Connor once again grew concerned. "Babe? Did you hear me?"

Taylor responded with a nod. "Y-Yes, but… People these days can do anything… I could probably still go to jail because someone could edit something or make me look like-"

Connor shook his head. "No, no, no! Stop that right now," the Bouffalant demanded. He did not want to hear Taylor's negative assumptions, as it would only make him feel worse. "I promise you, I won't let anything bad happen to you. If anyone is desperate enough to fake shit or get angry for me in order to get you in trouble… then fuck them. You'll be fine, I'll make sure of it," he stated firmly.

Taylor's eyes sparkled with love as he locked lips with the Bouffalant, tears continuing to stroll down his cheeks. He just couldn't believe how lucky he was that Connor was so forgiving. He broke the kiss, still sniffling.

"Come on, now. Let's get back to sleep," Connor insisted softly as Taylor loosened his grip on him in order for him to get free. Connor went back to their blankets, with Taylor slithering over and coiling around him once again. Connor rested his head on the Milotic's side with the two sharing another quick kiss before heading back to sleep.

000

Eventually, night turned to day, with the sun slowly rising over the horizon. As sunlight began peeking through the windows of both cabins, a few of the players started to stir before eventually getting up. Others decided to stay in bed, though, the allure of sleep proving to be difficult to ignore.

Sally, having been sleeping on one of the top bunks in the Loser Cabin, let out a soft groan as she sat up. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced around and saw that the others in the room, Ace, Aura, and Aspen, were still sleeping.

She climbed out of bed and left, leaving the three of them in dreamland. She popped her back as she looked around the campgrounds. Both seeing and hearing nothing, but the faint chirping of various birds, the Ampharos decided to head to the gazebo to see if there was anything there.

A couple of days ago, they had been told that they'd implement an easier way for them to know if they had a challenge or not. If there was a decently sized breakfast, or lunch, at the gazebo, then there was no challenge. If there was a light array of foods, then there was a challenge.

Reaching the gazebo, Sally saw two baskets of mini muffins and multiple medium-sized bottles of Oran Berry Juice. She huffed, "Yep, there's definitely a challenge today…"

She grabbed a few of the muffins as well as a napkin from the pile beside them, along with two bottles of juice. She took a bite out of one of them before heading toward the forest.

-000-

Ever since the previous challenge ended, Amethyst had been residing in Brian's cave. Despite her attempts to apologize and get the others back on her side, Sally was the only one who decided to stay in the alliance with her. She had been told by the others that they were done with the alliance, at least for the time being.

This news left her feeling very disheartened. So, knowing that her constant pleading would get her nowhere, she decided to isolate herself and just leave the others alone. Thus, the only person she's been speaking to lately has been Sally.

The Aurorus let out a soft sigh as she rolled over to face the wall of the cave. She could hear the faint sound of crunching leaves and grass steadily growing closer, a hint of familiarity in the noise.

Eventually, the sound of crunching foliage ceased, being replaced by a familiar voice. "Amy, you up?"

The Aurorus looked over her shoulder and saw Sally standing at the cave entrance with a filled napkin and two bottles of juice. "Yeah…" she replied softly.

The Ampharos approached the Tundra Pokémon, who rolled back over to face her. "Looks like we're having a challenge today," she relayed as she set down her napkin full of muffins. She also took the liberty of taking the cap off of Amethyst's juice bottle, knowing that the Aurorus wouldn't be able to do it herself.

As she set down her bottle, Amethyst leaned down to eat one of the muffins. Sally let out a sigh, "You know, I've told you for the past few days that you don't need to isolate yourself. I don't think anyone's really upset at you anymore… There's nothing to worry about."

After swallowing the muffin she had, Amethyst despondently replied, "It doesn't really matter what I do anymore. The damage is done. You're the only one who's still talking to me after what happened. I'll be voted out sooner or later, so I might as well just… stay here."

"You're just gonna give up?" Sally inquired. "What happened to that newfound confidence?"

"It died along with the alliance…" Amethyst stated matter-of-factly. "No one will want to work with us; they've all got their own groups now. I already know that I'm gonna be a target, and there's nothing that I can really do about it…"

Sally really hated seeing Amethyst like this. She had actually made decent progress getting out of her shell and trying to be more impactful and confident, but then she evolved, took things a bit too far, and now she was essentially back to square one.

As Amethyst picked up her pre-opened bottle and threw her head back to drink some of it, Sally tried to think about who would be most likely to help them out now that they were just a duo. Eventually, she narrowed it down to one person and it made her groan in annoyance.

"Well," Sally began. "Titan probably still has that immunity statue. If we can somehow get him to use it on you. Then we may have a chance to regain a bit of power in the game."

Amethyst rose a brow in confusion, "Why would he use it on me?"

Sally shrugged before countering with her own question, "Why would he use it on Ashton?" She then stood up, explaining, "We don't know what is going on in his mind. So, if we can somehow convince him to use it on you if your name comes up, then we can decide who goes."

"Who would we vote for, then?" the Aurorus inquired.

The Light Pokémon hummed before giving her answer, "Honestly, I'd say that our options should be between Titan himself, Summer, or Morgan. If Titan found this statue, he can find another one, and we don't want that. Summer is still the biggest physical threat, plus she has Kojo and Phill wrapped around her fingers. And Morgan has gone on literally every reward so far, and that just annoys me."

"Okay…" Amethyst replied. "But how are we gonna convince Titan?"

"We'll think of something. Don't worry," Sally replied, patting the side of her face.

000

"I honestly don't know why Amethyst is regressing," Sally began, her arms folded. "I don't think anyone from the alliance actively dislikes her, but she's still just… defeated. Heck, with her like this, she's not even a threat at all. And her isolating herself doesn't give anyone a reason to vote her out!"

"We may not even need Titan's statue…" she reasoned. "If I can convince the others not to vote for her, than we should be just fine. We'd still have to worry about Titan, though, and I don't like that..."

000

A couple of hours passed, with more of the competitors starting to awaken from their slumber and discovering that it was, indeed, a challenge day. With this in mind, a few of them immediately began talking about their game plans, while others simply decided to relax, unwilling to stress just yet.

In their side of the Loser's Cabin, Kojo, Summer, Phill, and Anthony were trying to figure out what they were going to do going forward. Only seventeen players were left, and they just knew that going forward, things were going to be a lot more intense.

As Phill nommed on one of the muffins, Anthony let out a breath. "Okay, who are we thinking of next?" the Blastoise inquired. "I have an idea, but I wanna hear what you guys got, first."

Summer and Kojo turned to each other, with Phill's eyes focusing on the two of them. Eventually, the Mienshao spoke up, "Well, If I had to choose, I'd say that we should go ahead and try to get rid of Shine. She's too damn smart and that's a huge threat."

Summer nodded in agreement, "That sounds good to me. If we have more 'find it' challenges or trivia, she'll make us look like Slowpoke. We need to get rid of her ASAP."

Anthony hadn't really thought about that aspect of the game, having had a different person in mind due to semi-recent events. "I was honestly thinking about Taylor," he revealed.

Kojo and Summer both gave him a look of confusion, while Phill could only stifle a laugh, "Why Taylor? He's not really good at much…"

Summer concurred, adding, "Yeah, and from what we've seen of him, he's gotten a lot softer. Why would we want to go for him?"

The Blastoise explained. "Because he's manipulative and strategic. I mean, look at what he's been doing to Connor. The poor guy is acting out because Taylor's making him think that they're this great couple. Remember what apparently happened with Chlotz last season? He's just doing it again."

The other three were confused by the Shellfish Pokemon's assumption. How did he know that Taylor was just tricking Connor? How was it not real?

"Uh… I really don't think that's the case this time," Kojo explained. "How are you so sure?"

"I just don't really buy it," Anthony explained. "After what happened in the last challenge, and how Taylor managed to get him to stop, I think he's just using the power of pussy… or… ass… to get Connor to do what he wants…"

"Okay… On the one hand, I can see that, but on the other hand… You could say that about any relationship formed in the game," Summer replied.

Anthony let out a sigh, understanding what they were talking about. "Fine... We can go for Shine. But, if she ends up getting immunity, we go for Taylor."

Summer and Kojo exchanged looks, with the Typhlosion shrugging in response. "Fine… Shine or Taylor."

"So…wait. You're targeting Taylor… because you think he's using Connor?" Phill inquired. "Since when do you care about Connor's well-being?"

"I don't," Anthony began, before catching himself. "I mean, I care about certain aspects of people's well-being. But, the main thing is that if we get rid of Taylor, we may be able to control Connor's vote. And that puts us in a somewhat better position."

"Okay, that is a much better explanation," Kojo remarked. "They may or may not be a couple, in your eyes, but they're a pair, nonetheless. Separate that pair, and we have a chance to use one of them."

"So... Are we doing Shine first or Taylor?" Phill inquired.

"I guess it'll depend on the challenge," Summer replied, shrugging her shoulders. "But it's most likely gonna be Shine."

Phill nodded in understanding. "So do you want me to find Klavier and tell him?"

Kojo hummed, "Knowing him, he's probably somewhere with Holly right now. So, it can wait."

The Raticate shrugged in response.

000

Klavier wore a look of irritation on his face as he sat against a tree. Ashton and Holly were conversing about life back at home, what they were going to do once the season was over, and they even mentioned the possibility of Klavier moving in them! At least until he and Holly managed to get their own place, that is.

The conversation was making the Gliscor a bit uncomfortable, as it was reminding him of his and Holly's 'problem' regarding his confidence going forward. At the moment, the conversation was about something that caused Klavier to pale: kids.

"You already know my and Raiden's situation when it comes to kids. You'll be Aunt Holly sooner or later…" Ashton teased. "But, what about you two? I know you said something about Phill bringing it up before."

"Oh…" Holly blushed. "Right… Uh… We actually… Um…"

Klavier decided to chime in, knowing that the conversation was going to become awkward. "We've talked about it, but we haven't talked about it. Um… Maybe we should just shift conversations and try to figure out how we're gonna win this game."

He was honestly a bit annoyed that Ashton had been spending so much time with them lately, becoming a bit of a third wheel. However, he felt that he shouldn't really say anything, as he didn't want to upset the Meganium.

"So…" the Gliscor began. "Do you guys have any ideas? Or are we fine with just going along with the alliance?"

Holly and Ashton exchanged looks. They didn't really have any real "game-breaking" plans, nor did they have any targets. "Yeah, I think we're okay," Holly replied.

Klavier let out a breath. "Okay, so…"

Ashton cut him off, commenting, "Yeah, nobody's really looking at us for anything, so we should be fine as long as we don't rock the boat or anything."

A deadpan visage formed on Klavier's face, as he already knew that, considering that he was the one who brought up how Ashton was hardly targeted. "Why don't we just go back to camp and see if the others came up with any new plans…?" the Gliscor suggested as he started walking away, his annoyed expression still on his face.

"Oh, uh… okay," Holly responded, understanding her boyfriend's problem. Apparently, Ashton did as well.

The Meganium sighed as she stared at the ground, "I'm getting on his nerves, aren't I?"

Holly flew onto her back. "It's okay, Ash. He just doesn't know you too well and I think he just prefers it when it's just the two of us spending time together. You have been spending much more time around us lately."

"I mean, I want to try and get to know him more, but… I just don't know if he'd be open to it," the Meganium explained.

"Of course he would!" Holly insisted. "I can talk to him about it and see what we can do about it so that things aren't tense or anything anymore."

Ashton nodded in response.

000

Klavier wiped his face downwards, "I don't have anything against Ashton, but she is getting annoying. She hasn't left us alone since she decided to leave their alliance."

"I don't know what to do. I can't just tell her to go away because I know that I'll end up hurting her feelings and then Holly will be upset," he explained. "I have to do something, though…"

000

Returning from outside, Titan entered the Winner's Cabin, where he saw Morgan putting buttered bread into the toaster.

"Well, Sheila, looks like today's gonna be a challenge day," the Galvantula commented as he got on the couch. "Have you made up your mind yet? I didn't bother you about it like you asked, but I feel like it shouldn't take that long…"

Morgan internally groaned. She was still debating whether or not it was worth the risk to go along with him. She hadbeen running different options through her mind, but she was only confident in two.

Option one was that she could just play along with him and act like she was completely with him, but in actuality, she would try to get the others to vote for him so that he used his statue. Then, she would just give up on the partnership since he no longer had protection for either of them.

Option two was that she would continue to play both sides, but make sure that Titan didn't know and trust that he actually would use his statue on her if her name came up.

Though, thinking about it, idea two was pretty awful. She couldn't really trust him at all. Self-preservation is key in this game, so he would definitely let her be voted out if it went he was still in.

Going with option one, the Persian let out a groan and rolled her eyes, "Fine… I'll work with you. But if my name comes up for elimination, you had better be willing to give me that immunity statue."

Titan remained silent, giving her a look. He had made a deal with Summer, Kojo, and Phill that they wouldn't vote him out going forward, but he knew that the others would still do it when given the chance. So, he wasn't exactly 'secure' and therefore still needed the statue.

He chuckled sheepishly, "Hold on there, Komala-bear. I don't think that'll work this time."

Morgan rose a brow, "Komala aren't bears… and why not?"

The Galvantula groaned, Because everyone knows that I have the darn statue already!" He continued, "I'm gonna be the main target, regardless, so I have to save it for myself. And if ya think that I'm risking my life in this game… you're crazy."

Morgan gave him a look, "If I'm sticking my neck out to help you, then I expect something in return… Hell, you essentially offered the statue back at the spa since you said it'll be something to give us control of the game!"

Titan sweatdropped, cursing himself in his head. He really shouldn't have said that. Especially now that she was going to be expecting him to use his only source of security on her.

"Now you're taking it back since you know others will try to vote you out?" the Persian continued.

Morgan knew that she was just going to try to get him to use it anyway, but she wanted to see if she could coax him to fess up and actually say that he'll use it on her if something happened. Essentially, she was combining both of her options.

Titan groaned, "Fine. If it's such a big deal, then I'll think about using it for you if something happens, which I doubt it will…"

Morgan nodded, "Glad we understand each other…"

The EleSpider Pokémon just rolled his eyes in annoyance. He just knew that this 'partnership' was going to be a pain.

000

"Women are so damn difficult…" Titan grumbled. "You try to get them to understand your problems, and they don't care. But then they'll expect you to understand and listen to their problems and put them before yours…"

000

Mew was sitting at the table in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal with his head resting on one of his arms. He hadn't really been having any thoughts about the show as of late. He was just gonna keep going until it was over and he didn't have to worry about anything else.

Suddenly, an audible smack to his back caused him to straighten up and start coughing. "How's it going, Mew, Sr.?"

The New Species Pokémon internally growled in annoyance before glaring at the perpetrator. "What do you want, asshole?"

Victini chuckled upon receiving the glare and response from the pink feline. "Oh nothing, just thought I'd check up and see how you're doing with the show."

"Well, it's certainly a lot more tolerable and we're actually giving them incentives and- Wait, don't you fucking watch the show yourself? You know what we're doing…" Mew fumed.

"That's where you're wrong, buddy-boy. I haven't been watching since I left," Victini revealed. "And I guess I was right to jump ship and stop watching, because judging by viewers' responses and posts on the website, this is probably the worst season of the show to them."

Mew faked his surprise with a dramatic gasp. "Y-You mean, the season that you started just to start shit with and torture the players that you thought were boring... Which ended up causing a crap ton of issues and gave an extremely negative and hurtful vibe… is being panned by fans?!"

"Yep," Victini replied matter-of-factly, unaffected by Mew's sarcasm. "There's polls, memes, and a ton of articles and videos talking about how problematic the season is, how boring it's gotten, and how there's such a dramatic shift once the merge hit."

Mew gave him a look; he couldn't care less about what anyone else said about the season. He just wanted it done. And hey, if the season was getting panned, that meant that there was a chance that this could be the last season!

"Not my problem," the New Species Pokémon replied before turning his attention back to his cereal. "You're the one so desperate to keep the series going. The negativity isn't affecting me since I already knew that the season was a crappy idea to begin with."

Victini stifled a laugh, "Don't start acting all holier than thou. You have absolutely nothing going on without this show. Shaymin still isn't interested; Celebi doesn't care about you; the only thing you do when we're not doing a show is stay cooped up in your room like a pathetic hermit."

Mew growled. "Shut the hell up! Why should I give a damn about that when hardly anyone else gives a damn about me?!"

Just then, Virizion and Xerneas entered the kitchen with surprised expressions. They had heard Mew's outburst, but didn't have anything to say that they hadn't already told him.

However, upon seeing Victini there, both of them frowned, knowing that the rabbit was like the cause of Mew's outburst.

"What the hell is going on?" Virizion inquired sternly, seeing the look of frustration on Mew's face.

Mew responded with a faux smile and cheerful tone. "Oh, sir Dictini just informed me that fans of the show absolutely hate this season and that he doesn't even watch it anymore, as if I'm supposed to care. Even though he was the one who wanted to do the damn season in the first place! And apparently without the show, I'm a pathetic hermit."

Victini rolled his eyes, "You are, but whatever. Your two sugar mommies are here, so I'll leave you alone." He pet Mew's head before floating out of the kitchen, with Mew bending his spoon in aggravation.

As Xerneas approached the seething feline, Virizion huffed, "He's the pathetic one. Fucking asshole…"

"You okay, Mew?" the Life Pokémon asked softly.

Mew dropped the spoon on the table before taking a deep breath. "I'm… decent. I-I just don't know why the hell he always has to make others feel like shit, especially when he's the cause of it in the first place. H-He wanted this season and I just got dragged along. Then he decides to just bail on me, and you guys come back to help. All the while, I just want to die inside because I don't even wanna continue, but I have to because I'm not a fucking jackass and I-"

"Mew! Calm down. Breathe," Virizion urged, quickly approaching the table. The New Species Pokémon had been speaking rapidly without a breath and she could hear his voice begin cracking.

Mew took a few breaths, fighting back a few tears in his eyes. He finally took a big one and closed his eyes. Hesitantly, Xerneas began, "Feel a bit better?"

"Move back…" Mew grumbled to himself, causing both girls to exchange looks of confusion.

"What?" Virizion puzzled.

"Move back!" Mew insisted, still holding his head.

Startled, the girls took a few steps back before Mew's cereal bowl flew across the room, shattering against the wall. Stunned, both girls looked back at Mew, who was now massaging his temples in order to calm himself down. The pink feline let out a sigh, "Sorry…"

"Uh… it's alright," Xerneas replied sheepishly as Virizion looked back at the wall with wide eyes.

"Mew, I think you need therapy," Virizion firmly stated. "This obviously isn't good for you and nothing we say is helping you."

"It's fine," he replied. "Let's just get back to the island so we can get the next episode over with…"

Virizion shook her head. "No. You are going to talk to somebody and air out all of your problems."

"I don't need-"

"YOU JUST THREW A CEREAL BOWL AGAINST THE WALL!" the Grassland Pokémon exclaimed. "And it's obvious that Victini is still bugging you and you're practically depressed. Please don't fight me on this. You… need… help…"

Mew looked down, as Xerneas decided to speak up. "Maybe he can talk to Reshi and Zek."

Virizion nodded with a smile. The yin-yang couple was extremely level-headed and understanding, so talking to them would probably be good. "Yeah, that's perfect…"

Mew deadpanned, "Tell me you're not serious…"

"We love you too much to not be serious right now," Virizion stated. "Xerneas and I will handle the challenge and rewards today. You go talk to Reshiram and Zekrom and get everything out there."

"And what if they don't want to listen?" Mew attempted to argue.

Both girls gave him a look, knowing that his question was dumb. Mew seemed to know this as well, as he let out a sigh, "Nevermind…"

"Please be serious about this Mew. We want you to feel better," Xerneas urged.

Despite disliking the idea, Mew took a deep breath. He already knew about his own issues and he had already aired them out before. And yet, he still felt the same way. He didn't know why the girls thought that speaking to Reshiram and Zekrom would change anything, but the fact that they cared so much about him caused him to agree. "Fine…"

"Thank you," Virizion responded with a sigh of relief. "Though, now the question is… How are we gonna get things set up for the challenges without some help?"

Xerneas started to think before noticing Celebi floating by. "Hmm… I think I have an idea…"

000

Shine sat up in bed inside of the jail office. With sweat coating her fur, she stretched. As she sat back down, her head started swimming a bit as she rubbed her eyes. Glancing beside her, she saw Shade lying there, his body drenched in sweat as well.

It could be easily concluded what had gone between the two the night prior. After Shine's acupuncture treatment, as well as the elimination challenge, the Espeon went directly to the jail to try. She had mainly been there for the past few days, not letting anyone else inside out of what she viewed as a necessity.

She was really hoping that the acupuncture had worked in some way. She nudged her snoozing husband, as he needed to get going. He didn't budge, prompting her to stand over him with a slightly serious expression.

"Shade… you need to get up," she softly informed before nudging him once again.

With a tired groan, the Umbreon's eyes slowly began to open. Seeing the Espeon towering over him, he rubbed his eyes before jokingly stating, "The bank is closed…"

Shine gave him a look, responding, "And I'm not looking to make a withdrawal. I'm heading out, so you need to get going…"

Shade chuckled as he sat up with a yawn. "Alright. Enjoy your torture…"

Shine huffed, rolling her eyes as Shade hopped off of the bed and touched the phone, effectively transporting him out of the room.

The Espeon just shook her head. "Still don't fully understand the mechanics behind this, but… whatever," she remarked before beginning to exit the room.

000

"Shade and I have been trying for the past couple of days, but… I don't know if it's working. Maybe we'll see in the coming days or weeks, but…" the Sun Pokémon sighed, her ears drooping, "...I still have my doubts…"

"I really hoped that the acupuncture would help…"

"CONTESTANTS! REPORT TO THE BEACH FOR TODAY'S REWARD CHALLENGE!"

Shine let out a breath. "Well, here we go again…"

000

"Thanks again, Celebi…" Virizion stated as she and Xerneas stood on the beach, in front of two large pirate ships that were sitting in the water. One was a pale green color, and the other one was a dark brown.

The Time Travel Pokémon rolled her eyes. "It's whatever. Just don't try to need me too much," she replied. "Mew really needs to stop being a baby…"

The Grass and Psychic-type teleported away, with the girls exchanging looks as the contestants made their way to them.

"You think that she still likes Mew? In secret?" Xerneas queried.

"Doubt it," Virizion scoffed before focusing her attention to the contestants, all present and accounted for. "Alright, welcome to you guys' next reward challenge!"

"Uh… Where's Mew?" Ace inquired, noticing the New Species Pokemon's absence.

Xerneas and Virizion glanced at each other momentarily before the doe sheepishly giggled, "Um… y'see…"

"Let's just say that he's taking a break today to collect himself, and Victini was a major cause of it, so… make of that what you will," Virizion explained.

Some looks of anger and others of worry formed on a few of the players' faces. Victini was still a plague even when he wasn't even involved in the game.

"Well, let's not dwell on it. Mew will be back next time. So, let's get to the challenge," the Life Pokémon began as she faced the two pirate ships. "Now, you guys will be separated into two teams. Each team will occupy a ship, which has a lot of treasures aboard. Your task is to steal as much treasure from the other team's ship as you can within the allotted time."

She continued, "The team that has the most treasure by the end will win the reward."

"Uh… how exactly is there gonna be a special reward if Mew isn't here?" Aspen inquired.

"Don't worry," Virizion responded. "We have something prepared that may not be too spectacular, but we think that you'll enjoy it nonetheless..."

Xerneas nodded, moving toward a table with two white cloths covering it. She removed the rags with her mouth, revealing the contestants' reward.

"...An assortment of sweets!" the Grassland Pokémon announced.

Underneath one rag was two round cakes, one chocolate and one vanilla, surrounded by cupcakes, pints of ice cream, as well as ice cream sandwiches, and milkshakes. Underneath the other rag was a few bowls of crème brûlée, large lollipops, cinnamon rolls, different types of pies and doughnuts, and cream horns were revealed, causing nearly everyone's mouths to water. While this reward didn't seem as great as the location rewards, it was still rather amazing.

Xerneas placed the heated rag back over the warm desserts, and placed the cooler rag over the cold desserts.

"Now, since there's seventeen of you, we want to be even and fair," Virizion explained. "Therefore, one of you will not be able to participate. However, you will be able to bet on which team will win. If the team you choose wins, you will also participate in the reward. If not, no sweets for you."

"Now, let's get you guys separated and get this started," Xerneas explained.

-000-

The players had been separated and were now standing on either boat in the middle of the water.

"Alright," Virizion began. "On the green ship we have Ace, Aspen, Summer, Titan, Anthony, Amethyst, Klavier, and Sally. And on the other brown ship we have Morgan, Shine, Aura, Kojo, Phill, Ashton, Holly, and Taylor."

"Yep, so Connor will not be participating this time around," Xerneas stated, looking at the Bouffalant who was simply resting on the beach. "Who are you betting on?"

Given that the challenge was about stealing treasure from each other, he would probably have to give the edge to the brown ship, as Shine, Taylor, Ashton, and Holly had aspects that would make it a bit easier. "Brown Team," he stated.

The hostesses nodded. "Alright! You guys will have thirty minutes," Virizion called, turning back to the contestants. "Remember! Try to steal as much treasure from the opposite ship as possible And the treasure must be on your ship to count. The team that has the most treasure remaining will win."

"Any questions?" Xerneas inquired.

Kojo spoke up, "Are we allowed to use our moves to grab and defend our treasure?"

"This is a pirate-based challenge. Do whatever you have to," Virizion answered. "Just don't cause any major harm."

The Mienshao nodded in response.

"Right," Xerneas replied. "If there aren't any more questions, let's get this challenge started. In three… two… one… GO!"

000

The Green Team was trying to develop a reasonable strategy so that they could effectively get as much treasure without risk. "Alright, I think it'll be good for us to have Summer and Anthony be the ones to guard the treasure. They're the strongest players we have," Ace explained.

"Uh… No," Anthony objected. "If we're the strongest ones, we should be the ones going out and trying to grab as much stuff as possible. We have two electric types here. If someone else comes to our ship, we can just-"

"Hey!" Aspen exclaimed, noticing a few white bags of coins floating out of the captain's quarters. She jumped up in an attempt to grab it, but only ended up bumping into Amethyst, who grabbed it in her teeth.

Turning around, they saw that Shine was standing on the bow of the ship, her eyes glowing blue.

"Hey!" Summer exclaimed, blasting a Flamethrower at the Espeon, who quickly dodged the blast by jumping out of the way.

The Espeon's eyes glowed blue once again as a similarly colored aura surrounded Anthony. "Hey! What the hell!?"

As she got onto a higher level, the Shellfish Pokémon was thrown into the water.

000

Anthony growled, water dripping from his body. "Okay… so Shine definitely goes first."

000

While Shine distracted the Green Team, the Brown Team was inside of the captain's quarters attempting to hide their treasure so that it was harder for the Green Team to find it. So far, multiple bags of coins were thrown underneath the bed and hidden within drapes. Two of the chests that they had were pushed against the wall and covered with a tablecloth.

"Okay, so what about all of these random coins, chalices, and the jewelry?" Phill inquired.

"Uh… Who's our best battler here?" Ashton inquired.

"Probably Kojo," Morgan replied, gesturing to the Mienshao. She knew that out of all of them, she and Kojo were the strongest, but she didn't know what Ashton was thinking about. "Why?"

"Because, we could have someone stay in here, maybe wear the jewelry and stuff, and just fight off whoever tries to come in and take stuff," Ashton explained.

"That… actually could work!" Phill acknowledged. "If we're wearing some of the jewelry, then that's less for them to take!"

"Okay, well, Kojo, you start trying to put some of that stuff on and… maybe scatter the coins around or something," Aura insisted, looking out of the door. "We need to get out there and try to get the treasure from the other team. I don't think Shine will be able to distract them much longer."

000

Turns out that Aura was right, as Shine was now caught in an Electroweb, courtesy of Titan. Anthony grumbled as he climbed back onto the ship. Seeing that the Espeon was caught, but also that everyone else was still standing around on their ship, a face of confusion and irritation formed on his face. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Ace began explaining, "Waiting for you to get back up here so you and Summer can-"

"No!" the Blastoise interrupted. "Sally and Titan are staying behind. Do you not see what they can do?" he replied, gesturing to Shine, who was still sitting in Titan's Electroweb.

Ace growled softly, "Fine! Let's just-"

Suddenly, a whistle got their attention. "Hey!"

Turning around, they saw Morgan and Aura standing on the bow of their ship. Morgan rushed forward, aiming to free Shine. Dodging a Hydro Pump from Anthony and a Thunderbolt from Sally, the Persian rushed toward Shine and slashed apart the net.

Now free, Shine quickly leapt off of the ship and into the water. Morgan swiftly made her way into the Green Team's captain's quarters, with Aspen chasing after her.

Growing annoyed by their situation, Sally exclaimed, "For fuck's sake, they're making a move! We need to act now. Klavier, Ace, Summer, Anthony, just go! The rest of us will try to hold them off!"

"Right!" Summer nodded as she blasted another Flamethrower, this time aiming at Aura.

The Glaceon sprang out of the way as Ace, Klavier, and Anthony started heading toward her team's ship. Summer prepared to blast her again, but was interrupted by Titan.

"We got her handled, just go!" The EleSpider Pokémon exclaimed as Aura attempted to slip past, only for Amethyst to block her way.

Summer growled to herself before heading toward the bowsprit in order to hop across. Once the badger was gone, Sally and Titan turned their attention to Aura, who immediately blasted a beam of ice toward them.

The two of them immediately moved out of the way, while Amethyst's tail began glowing a bright white. Aura attempted to run towards the captain's quarters, only for Amethyst to whack her with an Iron Tail, sending her flying off of the ship and into the water.

Sally and Titan both turned to the Tundra Pokémon, surprised by her action. Seeing the looks she was getting, Amethyst sweatdropped. "What?"

-000-

Inside of the captain's quarters, Aspen and Morgan were having a face-off. The Persian had a couple of bags of doubloons in her mouth, while her sister-in-law blocked her way.

"You're not getting out of here, sis," Aspen asserted. "Just drop the bags and get back to your own ship."

Morgan giggled as she sat down, sitting her bags down. "Aspen, you should know by now that I won't give up that easy…"

The Persian picked up the bags once again as Aspen charged toward her at full force, attempting to take her down. The Classy Cat Pokémon swiftly dodged her attempt, with Aspen quickly skidding to a halt as Morgan attempted to make a break for the door, only for the doorway to be blocked by a blue body.

"Are you kidding me?" Morgan growled, stopping in place. Aspen giggled, trotting up as Morgan attempted to push against the blockade, which was obviously Amethyst.

The Furfrou teased as she lied down, "Looks like you're not going anywhere. So, you might as well put down the treasure and get comfortable…"

Morgan groaned.

000

On the Brown Team's ship, Shine, who had made it back after jumping off the other team's ship, was currently sitting on top of a banister on the higher level. Phill was standing beside her, watching the show she was putting on.

Currently, the Espeon was constantly tossing Anthony off of their ship, while Holly and Ashton handled Klavier and Ace, respectively. Ashton had Ace tied up with her vines, while Holly had Klavier immobilized with Psychic.

"Huh… This challenge is a lot easier than I thought," Phill commented. It was then that he realized something. Looking across the way, he didn't see any sign of Summer. "Wait… Where's Summer?"

Shine froze in realization; the Typhlosion wasn't there. However, given who they left as the guardian of the treasure, she immediately had an idea. She sighed in exasperation, "Go check on Kojo…"

Understanding where she was coming from, Phill quickly made his way down the ship's stairs and entered the captain's quarters. A mere moments later, Anthony attempted to climb back onto their ship. "Shine! You are so fucking-"

His rage-filled comment was cut short as the Espeon threw him off of the ship once again via Psychic. The Sun Pokémon just shook her head.

-000-

Entering the captain's quarters, Phill was pretty unsurprised by what he found. He scoffed, "Seriously, you two..?"

Kojo was pinned to the ground by Summer, who wore a triumphant smile on her face. However, upon turning to acknowledge Phill, Kojo regained the upper hand and managed to pin her to the ground.

"Gotcha!" he grunted playfully, with Summer growling in response. He chuckled as he looked to Phill, "Right place and right time, bro."

"Oh, so you two weren't about to screw in here…" Phill realized.

Despite still being pinned on her stomach, Summer scoffed, "Phill, we may be engaged, but we aren't complete horndogs…" She then paused before making a slight addition, "...at least not during challenges."

Phill shrugged. "Well, everyone else is pretty much handled. Holly has Klavier, Ashton has Ace, and Shine is just throwing Anthony around like a ragdoll every time he tries to get back on the boat."

"Aura, Taylor, and Morgan come back yet?" Kojo inquired.

The Raticate shook his head, "Nope, no sign of any of them."

Summer stifled a laugh, "Guess they're stuck over there…"

"Aura and Morgan… Probably…" Phill remarked. "Taylor, though…"

‐000‐

Aura coughed, riding on Taylor's back as he swam back toward the ships. The Milotic had planned on sneaking underwater and getting to the back of the other ship in order to break in and collect treasure that way, but his plan got interrupted when he saw Aura fly off of the Green Team's ship.

Now that he had her, he had a set of paws to help him out if there were any issues. Now, given that he still needed to be hidden, he had Aura pretend to swim while he slowly swam underwater. Once he was close enough to the ship, he lifted his head from under the water to tell her the plan.

"Okay. So, I'm gonna swim toward the back of their ship. We'll break in, you grab as much as you can, and then we'll get back to our own ship the same way," he explained. He then suddenly queried, "How long can you hold your breath?"

"Uh…" Aura droned. "I've never found out."

Taylor sighed, "Well, you're gonna have to learn today. I'm going down, so take a deep breath and just pat me when you need air."

Aura sighed. "Fine…"

000

"Yeesh, Shine is just treating the big fella like a ragdoll," Titan commented, watching as Shine threw the Blastoise off of the other team's ship once again.

As the Galvantula watched what happened on the other ship, Sally passed a knowing look to Amethyst, who rose a brow. This was their chance to chat with Titan about his statue.

With the Aurorus having to continue blocking Morgan's way out, Sally was the one who had to speak with him.

She cleared her throat before approaching him, "Hey Titan… Can we talk?"

The Galvantula was a bit perplexed by this, having a feeling that she wanted something from him. The two of them weren't exactly the best of friends or even close acquaintances, so her talking to him was pretty odd.

"Depends… About what?" Titan replied, glancing at her.

"Well…" the Ampharos began. "I was wondering if you would be willing to help me and Amethyst with your statue."

And there it was. Unsurprisingly, the Light Pokémon just wanted his statue. His decision to tell Ashton and try to help her was now biting him in the butt in a major way. Now these people were only interested in two things: getting rid of him and getting him to use the statue on them.

Giving her a look, Titan replied, "And why would I want to do that when I'm the one you're probably targeting?"

Sally sweatdropped, stammering, "Um… Uh… I…"

She let out a disgruntled sigh, irritated by the fact that the EleSpider Pokémon easily figured her out. "Look, after what happened during the last challenge, Amethyst is paranoid and thinks that she's the one who's gonna be eliminated next," she explained.

Titan blinked, unable to figure out what that had to do with him. He looked to the Tundra Pokémon, who sheepishly smiled upon seeing him looking at her. Noticing that his expression was one of indifference, her smile slowly turned into a disappointed frown.

"Uh huh…" Titan deadpanned.

Sally could easily tell that Titan didn't care. All he was hearing was that she wanted him to use his only source of security to help someone who wanted to eliminate him.

Having a feeling that he'd respond this way,the Ampharos let out a sigh. "If you help me and Amethyst, we won't vote for you…"

Titan wasn't entirely sold by her offer. "Uh… Not too sure if that's true."

Sally glared at him, scoffing, "You realize that you can use the statue after you hear the votes right? As long as you aren't in the damn bottom, you'll be fine."

Titan knew that, but he wasn't really interested in using it on anyone besides himself. He already had to make a false promise to Morgan about using it for her; he wasn't about to bother making another deal with someone else. "Sorry, Shiela. Not interested…"

Just as Sally was about to respond, a loud explosion was heard, getting their attention. "What the hell was that?!"

Amethyst spoke up, getting onto her feet. "I… I think it came from inside the captain's quarters!"

-000-

The sudden blast knocked Morgan and Aspen back a bit, and caused wood and treasure to blow toward them. Groaning, Aspen shook herself off as she looked over and saw a huge hole in the ship. "What the heck was that!?"

Morgan, despite being just as surprised, took this as a chance to escape. "No idea, but it's good for me!" the Persian giggled as she picked up a few coin bags and leapt out of the hole.

Titan and Sally quickly ran into the captain's quarters after hearing the explosion. Seeing the large hole, Sally groaned in anger. "You've gotta be kidding me! We're screwed!"

"Not if we gather all of the big treasures and keep them-" Titan began, shooting an Electroweb at one of their treasure chests.

"No," Sally growled, facepalming. "We take it out there, then Shine will just use telekinesis to steal it. We're better off just defending the treasures here."

"We probably don't have much time left, either," Aspen added, reminding them of their time limit.

Titan's eyes widened. "Aw bugger, I forgot all about the time! But we may still have a chance if-"

Sally immediately interrupted him, "Well, with everyone else down, Shine standing guard for their team, and a huge ass hole that they could easily come back through, I think it's safe to say that we actually have no chance!"

"Why doesn't Titan just use his Electroweb to block the hole?" Amethyst suggested, sticking her neck through the door to inspect the situation.

Sally paused, turning to the Galvantula, "Okay, so there's a temporary solution…"

000

Morgan panted as she started climbing up the side of her team's ship, her fur sopping wet. Climbing back onto the ship, the Persian was impressed that everyone on their ship had someone taken down. Placing her few bags down, she commented, "Really impressive…"

"Thanks," Ashton responded, while Ace was still struggling to get free.

"Have you seen Aura and Taylor?" Shine inquired.

"Uh… yeah, they blew a hole in the back of their ship to get the treasure that way," Morgan explained. "If you're fast, you could go back and use your telekinesis to grab all of the treasure…"

"I would, but-"

Suddenly, Morgan heard heavy panting from behind her. Turning around, she saw Anthony breathing heavily with an annoyed expression. However, he wasn't paying her any attention, his eyes were focused on Shine. "I really hate you…"

Morgan quickly picked up her coin bags and headed into the captain's quarters to add to their collection.

"ONLY SIX MINUTES REMAINING!" they heard Virizion announce from the shore.

Anthony's eyes were focused on Shine, whose eyes were locked on him as well. The Blastoise knew that if he tried to make a break for their captain's quarters, he'd more than likely be launched again. It wasn't really fair. His team didn't have any Psychic-types, and yet theirs had two. It was like they were doomed from the start.

The Blastoise just sat down on the ship, knowing that he couldn't do much of anything. Shine was cautious about this, as she didn't know if he was planning something sneaky. Just to be on the safe side, she listed him up and tossed him into the water once again. They had six minutes left and she wasn't willing to risk a possible sneak attack, whether she was ready for it or not.

With Anthony once again off of the ship, the Espeon called out to Holly. "Holly!"

"Yes?" the Swoobat responded.

"I'll keep Klavier down," Shine stated. "You go and see if you can get more treasure from behind the ship."

"Oh… uh… Alright!" The Courting Pokémon relinquished control over her boyfriend's body, only for Shine to take over and keep him on the ground.

The Gliscor could only groan in annoyance as the Swoobat flew toward the opposing team's ship.

000

"Well, that challenge was pretty one-sided…" Klavier drawled.

000

"So, you really think that you can keep her pinned for another six minutes?" Morgan giggled, seeing that Kojo was still pinning Summer down on her stomach.

The Mienshao chortled, "I definitely could…"

Summer scoffed, "I could easily get up if I wanted~"

Kojo stifled a laugh in response, "Oh, is that so?"

Summer playfully rose a brow before immediately arching her back, lifting her rear. This action caused Kojo's lower half to come off of the ground. Summer then got to her feet, causing Kojo to slide off of her and stumble back. The Typhlosion playfully winked at her fiance.

Phill rose a brow, "Wait, so you've just been willingly lying here with-" Realizing what he was saying, he immediately stopped. "Nevermind, I buy it…"

Summer stretched before casually picking up the bags that Morgan brought in. "Well, I'll be seeing you-"

"Oh no you don't!" Kojo exclaimed as he sprung up and clung to Summer's back, causing her to stumble back. Morgan and Phill joined in on the pile as Summer landed on her butt.

"Goddammit!" Summer growled.

000

Taylor and Aura made themselves seen after Titan created a large Electroweb to block the hole they made.

"Just know that if you try to do something, you're getting a direct shock. And since you're in the water, it'll be much worse," Sally threatened.

"Sure…" Aura replied before using Ice Beam to freeze the web.

Taylor used another Hyper Beam to shatter the ice, only for Titan and Sally to immediately use Thunder.

Having to recharge, Taylor quickly dove back into the water to avoid the attack, with Aura doing the same.

"Quick, make another web before they come back!" Sally instructed.

Taylor resurfaced quickly, floating out of the water and entering through the hole. Titan fired another Electroweb, only for Taylor's body to start glowing white.

Once the web made contact with him, it immediately bounced back toward them, effectively trapping the two Electric-types in the web.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding…" Sally growled as she and Titan sat bound in the net.

Taylor chuckled at the results, "Well… This just got a whole lot easier…" He then noticed Aspen heading toward the door, as Amethyst retracted her head, and rose a brow. "Uh… What? Are you just done?"

The Poodle Pokémon shrugged, "There's no point. There's less than five minutes left and since Morgan's gone and no one else has come back, yeah..."

She left to the front of the ship, leaving Taylor with a surprised expression. Titan and Sally were both irritated by the Furfrou's response, with Sally shouting, "Hey, quitter! You can at least help us out of this damn web!"

Just then, Holly flew around, her eyes widening in surprise upon seeing the large hole and Titan and Sally wrapped up in the Electroweb. "Wow… What did I miss?"

-000-

Aura swam back toward her own team's ship and started climbing up via the rope ladder. Making it back onto the ship, she sniffled as she shook her fur dry.

"Well. That sucked…" she commented.

"You don't know the meaning of that phrase," a voice stated from behind her.

Turning around, the Glaceon was met by a dripping Anthony, who wore a look of pure annoyance.

"Uh…"

"TIME IS UP! THE CHALLENGE IS NOW OVER!"

The Shellfish Pokémon sighed, "Finally…" Merely seconds later, he ended up being 'pushed' off of the ship, causing Aura a bit of confusion.

Shine sighed as she made her way down. "Well, this was pretty boring…"

"Gee, I wonder why…" Ace sarcastically replied as Ashton finally released him.

Shine shrugged in response before hearing Klavier deadpan, "Can you let me up, now?"

000

The contestants returned to the shore, separated into their designated teams, with Connor off to the side.

"Well… Uh… That was quite the showing," Xerneas commented, forcing a smile.

There was a moment of awkward silence, as both hostesses, as well as the contestants themselves, knew that their performances were pretty awful.

"Okay, let's not beat around the bush," Virizion spoke. "That was an awful performance; particularly by the Green Team. It was a completely one-sided challenge."

Anthony argued, "It's not our fault you put both Psychic-types on the same team! It was unevenly matched from the start."

Realizing that they had another possible option, Ashton chimed in, "Couldn't Titan have just kept trying to trap us with Electroweb so that we couldn't move? And Amethyst could've frozen us..."

"Precisely," Virizion responded. "But, shoulda, coulda, woulda. The Brown Team wins the sweets!"

The members of the Brown Team began to cheer, with the other players expressing their displeasure with glares and frowns.

"And Connor, since you bet on them, you get to join them," Xerneas added.

The Bouffalant smiled with a nod, glad that he made the choice that he did.

"Head over to the gazebo for your sweet reward," Xerneas instructed the Brown Team. The eight members, plus Connor, started heading back toward the campgrounds. Once they were a good distance away, Virizion took over.

"The rest of you, just head back to camp. We'll call you down for your next immunity challenge," the Grassland Pokémon replied.

The remaining eight players headed back to the campgrounds as well. They were bummed about the loss, but at the end of the day, it wasn't anything too important, anyway.

000

Sally growled, "And once again, I'm not taking part in a damn reward."

"This is getting really old…" she groused. "Morgan needs to go, big time."

000

The members of the Brown Team all made it to the gazebo, eyeing the delectable desserts displayed on a few of the tables, similar to the way the merge breakfast was set up.

"Mother of Arceus, this is awesome," Phill said as he was the first one in line. He picked up one of the plates and started taking two of each dessert.

Kojo chuckled at his friend's eagerness. "Calm down, Phill. There are eight more of us here…"

"Hey, I'm not stopping you guys. Dig in!" Phill responded as he grabbed a chocolate glazed doughnut and bit into it.

"Wow, this is just...amazing," Ashton commented as she and the others continued to approach and scan the spread.

The nine of them collected their desired desserts and started sitting down to enjoy them. They were still separated by their usual groups, which wasn't much of a surprise.

As some of them engaged in casual conversation, an idea formed in Morgan's head. There were nine people here, which was enough to vote out Titan. If she could convince them to put votes on him, then the statue would be out of play.

After eating another spoonful of ice cream, the Persian cleared her throat. And as the sound of conversation died down, she spoke up. "Guys..."

This call got nearly everyone's attention as they turned to the Classy Cat Pokémon.

"What's up?" Phill inquired, biting into a cinnamon roll.

"So…" she began. "We all know that Titan has the immunity statue, right?"

The others all nodded affirmatively, the news having spread like wildfire. Morgan nodded, "Okay, so… Can we all agree that as long as he has it, he's dangerous?"

"Of course," Kojo replied before eating another spoonful of ice cream.

The others all proceeded to nod in agreement, much to Morgan's satisfaction. "Alright, so… What do you guys say to voting for Titan tonight if he doesn't win immunity? He uses his statue, and we don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Okay… But if we do that, isn't there a chance that one of us gets eliminated instead?" Ashton countered.

"That depends on who the others are voting for. All we have to do is make sure that it's not one of us," Morgan explained. "So…"

As the Persian continued explaining her idea, Taylor leaned down to whisper to Connor. "You know, we could take this as an opportunity to get rid of Amethyst," he suggested.

Connor rose a brow in uncertainty. The two of them, along with Ace, Ashton, and Holly, left the alliance, so it wouldn't make any sense to vote for Amethyst when she had no power. Instead, the Bouffalant thought about a better idea that would benefit them. "Or, we take this chance and vote for Morgan…"

Taylor's eyes widened just as Morgan finished her explanation. "So are we all okay with the others voting for Amethyst?" the Persian asked for assurance.

Holly wasn't entirely opposed to the vote, but she didn't feel good about it, either. She explained, "I mean, we can try, but everyone has their own agenda, so it could still end up being one of us, anyway."

"Well, we're just gonna have the hope that the others stick to the plan when we tell them," Morgan replied.

000

"Morgan is very smart and strategic. She's also pretty damn strong as a physical competitor," Connor explained. "She's trying to get Titan to use his statue to get it out of play, but what if we vote for her and hoist her by a petard… or whatever the phrase is."

"I think it's pretty plausible… though at the same time… she's still somewhat in our alliance," he pondered. "It'll be a tough call."

000

Returning to the Loser Cabin, Anthony huffed as he sat on his bunk, holding his head. "Well that was fucking awful."

"Yep, but there's not much we can do," Summer shrugged as she sat on her and Kojo's bunk. "It's not too important, anyway. It's just desserts."

"It's still fucking annoying," Anthony argued. "Our team sucked. And Shine… Oh-ho-ho, that bitch is so out of here next. She'd better hope she wins immunity."

Summer folded her arms while raising a brow at the Shellfish Pokémon's anger. "Okay… You're really taking this junk personally…"

"Yeah, well sorry if I don't take being relentlessly dogged lightly," he retorted. "That fucking bitch threw me off of their ship so many fucking times! She could have just held me down like she was doing Klavier, but no, she had to be a bitch toward me for some reason…"

Summer could only shrug in response. She understood where he was coming from, but at the same time… did it really matter? "Eh, I can see where you're coming from, but I still don't think it's a big deal. Plus, you're a Water-type… Why are you pissy about getting thrown into the water?"

"The fact that the bitch just sat there all cocky and smug while she flung me around pisses me the hell off!" Anthony snapped. "She knows for a fact that she's a threat and she's just acting like-"

Summer interrupted him with a groan, rolling her eyes. She could tell that the Blastoise wasn't going to let this go. They already had Shine as a possible target, as well as Taylor, so she was not interested in hearing his tirade.

Rubbing her temples, she responded, "I get it, Anthony. You're angry at Shine for dunking you so much, but you really don't need to dwell on it. If she doesn't win immunity, we'll try to get her out. Otherwise, we go for Taylor. Let's just leave it at that."

Still aggravated, but understanding, Anthony huffed, "Whatever." He rolled over in his bunk, "I'm taking a nap."

"Alright…" Summer replied with a smack of her lips as she got up and proceeded to leave the cabin.

000

"Yeah… Anthony's starting to get a bit annoying," Summer replied. "And with him coming up with the plans, we may need to eliminate him soon. I mean, I doubt that the alliance will be 100% stable for the rest of the game, anyway."

000

"I'm not interested in being in the alliance again," Ace deadpanned.

He was currently sitting in Brian's old cave with Sally and Amethyst both sitting in front of him. The Sylveon was the only other person who wasn't on the reward, who was also a part of Amethyst's alliance; emphasis on was.

"Ace please," Amethyst pleaded. "I-"

Sally raised her hand to stop the Tundra Pokémon from continuing, finding the situation ridiculous. "Don't bother, Amethyst. He and the others are deciding to still hold a grudge against you, so you don't need to start begging and apologizing again."

Amethyst looked down, a crestfallen expression on her face. Ace scoffed at Sally's statement, "Nobody's holding a grudge towards anyone, we're just not interested anymore…"

It was now Sally's turn to scoff, in utter disbelief at what she was hearing. She started laughing in a rather mocking fashion, making Ace glower at her in annoyance, while Amethyst simply sat in confusion. "So… So you're telling me… that you're no longer interested in having a majority alliance? You'd rather just work alone with Shine since she's the only ally you have left?"

"Okay, now you're being a bitch…" Ace fumed. "We don't even have a damn majority alliance anymore because of her," he reminded, gesturing to Amethyst. "She upset Holly, Holly left the alliance, then Ashton said that she was leaving, and it all fell apart from there. And with Sola gone, we don't really have a chance, so it's better to just cut our losses!"

The Ampharos folded her arms in annoyance as the Sylveon continued. "So if anything, you're the one without any other allies or options."

Sally giggled to herself. The Sylveon had no clue what the Light Pokémon knew. She wasn't planning on exposing it, initially, as she wanted to possibly discuss with him and the others in private at some point, but then everyone abandoned the alliance, ruining her idea. "Actually, I do have an option…" she turned to Amethyst. "So, Amy… Do you want to know the real reason Connor, Taylor, and Ace left?"

Amethyst's look of confusion never wavered, while Ace's face began turning paler than usual. "You know why they really left?"

"Sally, I swear…"

"The three of them are in a second alliance with Aura and Aspen… and they were planning on voting you out the next chance they got…" Sally revealed.

"W-What?!" Amethyst bellowed, turning to Ace in shock.

Ace growled to himself. How did Sally know about their plan? And if she knew, who else knew? "Look, it wasn't-"

"Y'know, an alliance like that could be seen as a huge threat since it's pretty unsuspecting…" Sally provoked.

Knowing what she was doing, Ace growled, "What do you want?"

Sally smirked. "Include us in your alliance… But do not let anyone else know. We'll work with you in secret. If you refuse… I'll spill the beans and you guys will be targeted."

Ace gaped. She was seriously blackmailing them? He had no idea what to say. Their next move was to take out Amethyst, but if she and Sally joined them, he'd have to convince Aspen, Aura, Connor, and Taylor to change their minds, which would be suspicious.

Sally smirked to herself, proud that she rendered him speechless. "So… What do you say?" she teased.

A visage of disappointment and anger formed on Ace's face, unappreciative of the way Sally was going about this. Through grit teeth, the Sylveon replied, "Okay… fine…"

Amethyst's face brightened up immediately, turning to Sally in shock and excitement. The Ampharos had actually gotten them help, again.

"Good choice…" the Ampharos replied with a smirk as Ace let his ears drop in displeasure. She continued, "So, I figure that we're gonna be needing a new target… And I know just the person."

Ace frowned, groaning internally.

000

"This is gonna be a disaster…" Ace remarked. "We may need to just get rid of Sally instead."

000

Approximately fifteen minutes later, the winners of the reward returned to the cabins or forest to either rest or talk strategy once again.

Connor, Taylor, and Aura made their way back to the beach, where Aspen was waiting for them. The Furfrou had been brainstorming possible scenarios that would get her further in the game, but she was going to have to run her ideas by the others before anything happened.

As they approached, the Furfrou playfully inquired, "So, how was the dessert?"

"Um… It was pretty great," Aura replied as she lay down beside her. "Lots of good stuff. Wish I could've brought something back for you, but a note said that it wasn't allowed unless we wanted to lose our vote."

Aspen let out a sigh, "Well, thanks for the consideration anyway, hon."

"Anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Connor inquired with a grunt as he lay down.

The Poodle Pokémon hummed, "Not really. I did come up with a few ideas, though."

Immediately, Taylor's pupil's shrunk, realizing what Connor's plan could do to Aspen. "Oh, right… uh… Speaking of ideas… Um… How would you feel about Morgan being a target?"

Aspen rose a brow; she honestly didn't know how she felt. She had indeed formed a bond with her, given their newly shared connection to Hex. At the same time, though, this was a competition. So, if she needed to get rid of Morgan to get ahead, she was willing to do so. She doubted that there would be any hard feelings. Heck, she may not even need to vote for her if other people come aboard.

She hummed, "I don't entirely like it, but if that's you guys' plan…"

Understanding her conundrum, Connor hesitated, "Well, what were your ideas?"

"Well, I was actually thinking that we focus on the people who aren't making much of an impact, since they're the ones that'll be easily manipulated. Without Wooloo and Mareep to herd, the threats lose their power…" the Furfrou explained. "So, I just suggest that we get rid of people like Klavier, Ashton, Holly, and Phill. If we can take them out, then we hold most of the power and it'll be an easy path to the finals."

Taylor was surprised by her idea, as it actually made a lot of sense. In fact, it made too much sense, in a way.

000

"Hmm… Aspen's idea really shows that she's smarter than she lets on…" Taylor mused. "That… could prove to be a bit of an issue moving forward."

000

Mew sat inside of Reshiram and Zekrom's room. As expected, the room was very well-kept, with the scent of vanilla lingering in the air.

Currently, the New Species Pokémon was sitting on a sofa chair across from a black leather couch, nearly the same set up as when he talked to them about Shaymin years ago. The pink feline looked exhausted and worn down, his eyes red, presumably from crying. He had been in there talking to the couple for a while in order to get everything out. He honestly didn't think that this 'therapy' was needed, as he had already explained his feelings to Virizion and Xerneas before. However, that wasn't the case.

"Just breathe, Mew," Reshiram urged, standing behind and holding onto the chair he was sitting on. Mew was sniffling and breathing heavily, having once again gone in-depth to how he was feeling about everything. "Zekkie?"

The Zekrom was in the kitchen area of their room. He poured water into a plastic cup before coming back over to the two of them. "Here…" he stated, handing the water to Mew.

Wiping his tears away, Mew accepted the water with a shaky sigh. "Thanks…" he replied softly.

Zekrom nodded in response before walking back over to sit on their couch. Reshiram rubbed the feline's head to smooth his fur back out, with him sniffling in response.

"Mew, I honestly feel that the best thing for you would be to simply step away and let Virizion and Xerneas take over," the dragoness explained with a soft breath. "I know that you don't want to be seen in the same light as Victini, and you feel obligated to see this through, but your mental health is slowly deteriorating. This isn't good for you."

Mew looked down; this was no different than what Virizion and Xerneas told him. He just couldn't do it. "I...I can't… I just can't..." he replied as the white dragoness walked over to join her husband on their couch. "I know it just feels like I'm a broken record or that I'm abusing myself, but I just can't do it. I just need to be involved until this season is over and done."

Zekrom let out a sigh as Reshiram cuddled close to him. "Well, I understand your reasoning, and I admire your dedication. I disagree with your decision, but if you want to continue anyway, then that's your choice."

Reshiram breathed, "I insist that you just take it easy. But, I can't control you or your decisions, so all I can really do is wish you luck."

Mew sighed, "I want to take it easy; it's not that I don't want to. I just…"

"We know," Zekrom interrupted. "Victini has abandoned the show so often that you feel obligated to finish off seasons regardless of your feelings about them."

Mew nodded with a face of depression. He truly felt like he was he in a loop with the amount of times he's had to explain that.

"Is there anything, aside from finishing the season, that would make you feel better?" Reshiram inquired.

"Why not try to get back into the dating scene?" Zekrom suggested. "Maybe having someone who cares about you intimately will brighten your mood a bit."

Mew huffed, taking a sip of water as he wiped his face. "And who here exactly would fit that description? Most of the girls here are either taken, uninterested, or don't like me…"

"We've had a few newcomers finally arrive here, remember?" Zekrom reminded him. "Meltan, Melmetal, Zeraora, Kubfu, the Urshifu twins, and Calyrex are all here now, too."

"There's Zacian and Zamazenta as well," Reshiram added.

Mew sighed, "And out of all of them, only Zeraora, Zamazenta, and one of the Urshifu twins, are girls."

"Why not give one of them a shot?" Reshiram inquired.

Upon asking that, Mew looked down in dejection, "You know how I am when it comes to this stuff…"

"Mew…" the white dragoness urged. "You have to try… See if you feel any kind of connection with any of them and go from there."

"How did this go from my issues with the season to trying to get me a girlfriend?" Mew inquired.

Zekrom chimed in, "If you're gonna force yourself to continue hosting you guys' current season, you need to have something else to distract you so that you don't feel like the world is on your shoulders."

Mew stared at the cup in his hands before taking another sip of water.

"Just go and find one of the ladies and go from there," Reshiram insisted. "If not, then there's nothing else that we can really tell you."

Mew took a breath, his petite fingers tapping on his cup as he thought about the prospect of him diving back into the dating scene. He didn't know if he was mentally ready, given his baggage. Heck, he wouldn't admit it, but he was still a bit hung up about Shaymin. Finally, letting out a sigh, the New Species Pokémon capitulated, "Fine… But I won't like it…"

Zekrom and Reshiram both gave him a small smile, happy that he would be giving it a chance. Now, the new question was… Who was he going to talk to?

000

Back on the island, Zahku walked up to Xerneas and Virizion, who were sunbathing on the beach. Sensing the approaching Hariyama, Xerneas turned in his direction before nudging Virizion. Looking over, Virizion sat up, asking, "Everything taken care of, Zahku?"

The Arm Thrust Pokemon nodded, "Zahku completed task. Challenge can happen now."

"Thanks, hon," Xerneas replied as she began getting to her feet. "Let's hope that the competitors don't throw a fit over it…"

"Hey, it's an immunity challenge. There's no point in them throwing a fit," Virizion responded. "Let's just get them down here so we can get the challenge rolling."

Xerneas nodded in agreement.

-000-

After being called down, the remaining seventeen players made their way to the sandy beach. Upon arrival, they not only saw Virizion and Xerneas, but multiple brown treasure chests as well. The chests were all lined up beside each other in an arch shape behind the two hostesses.

"Welcome to your next challenge," Virizion greeted. "As you can see, there are numerous treasure chests here. Each one has a prize inside, though some are much more desirable than others."

"And the most desirable prize in this case… is immunity," Xerneas revealed.

The players exchanged looks with each other as if to say, 'it's gonna be mine.'

The Grassland Pokémon spoke up, "Now, as you can see, each chest is currently locked. Your goal is to find a key that will unlock a chest."

"Each key is identical and will open any chest, so it will be up to luck when it comes to your prizes," Xerneas explained.

"Okay… and let me guess… You just randomly hid them around the island again and it'll take us a long time…" Summer assumed, folding her arms.

"Actually no," Virizion explained, much to the surprise of Summer. "Each of you will get a specific clue that will lead you to either a key itself, or a mini-obstacle that will allow you to retrieve a key."

Xerneas nodded before stating, "Zahku, if you'd please…"

Zahku, who had been standing behind all of the players clapped his hands, causing a booming sound that startled all of the contestants, who immediately turned around.

"When the hell did he get behind us?!" Aspen exclaimed.

The Hariyama picked up a blue box that was next to his leg and held it outwards, "Choose clue."

Everyone exchanged glances before lining up to retrieve a card that had either a picture or words inscribed on it. Once everyone retrieved a card, they turned back to face the hostesses.

"Alright, now that you all have your clues, get going," Xerneas explained. "The challenge ends when everyone gets their key and returns here."

"Wait, what happens if someone else accidentally comes upon your key?" Aura inquired.

"One key per person," Xerneas answered. "No stealing others' keys. It wouldn't make a difference, anyway. Though, what I will say, is that once you get back here with your own key, you can stand behind the one you want. So, it's a first come, first served situation."

"Yep. So you might want to be fast," Virizion announced. "Now, in three...two...one… GO!"

The contestants all split up into their usual groups, running from the beach.

000

Returning to the cabins, Kojo, Phill, and Summer began going over each others' clues. It was initially going to be an alliance effort, but Anthony went off on his own, and Klavier decided to stick with Holly and Ashton.

"Well, I guess it's just gonna be the three of us in these challenges from now on," Phill reasoned. "The others just wanna go alone or with others not really in the alliance."

Summer shrugged, "Hey, if they wanna do that, that's on them. As long as the three of us are safe and we get further in the game, it doesn't matter."

"What does your clue say?" Kojo inquired, looking at his own card.

Looking at her card, Summer sighed before turning it toward them. "It's a picture of a dumbbell."

Kojo nodded, "Okay, so that probably means that we'll have to make a stop by the gym." He looked down to Phill, "What about yours?"

"Uh… mine says, 'Girl, look at that body…'", Phill read before showing them. "What does that even mean?"

Both Kojo and Summer exchanged looks of confusion before Kojo understood what the card was referencing.

"Oh… 'Sexy and I Know It'…" he realized, holding his head. "That's one of the lyrics to the song."

"Oh, right… Wait, so does that mean I just have to find a speedo and start thrusting and stuff?" Phill inquired. "I don't wanna make people's eyes bleed."

Summer paled at the thought before shuddering. "Uh… no, I don't think that's gonna be the case, Phill. At least I hope not..."

"Well, after that lyric, they say 'I work out'..." the Mienshao mentioned. "But what are the chances that there's another clue that leads to the gym?"

Summer shrugged, "Who knows? There could be two different challenges in the same place. Or one could be for a challenge and the other can just be there for us to find."

"What does yours say?" Phill asked Kojo.

Kojo let out a sigh as he looked at his card, "Mine just says 'Who's the fairest of them all?' I'm not sure if this is a legitimate question or if I have to think about the reference..."

"...A.K.A. 'Magic mirror on the wall…'" Summer reasoned. "The only places with mirrors that I can think of are the gym and the bathrooms."

Phill stifled a laugh, "Come on, seriously. What are the odds of all three of us needing to go to the gym to find our keys?"

Summer scratched her head, "Yeah, the odds are pretty low. There's no way that there's three keys at the gym."

"Probably not, but there probably are at least two of them there," Kojo stated. "So, let's head to the gym and check it out."

Summer and Phill nodded in agreement as the three of them exited the cabin.

000

As Klavier and Holly flew overhead, Ashton looked up at them with a sigh. Holly told her that she would talk to Klavier so that things wouldn't be as tense between them. As far as she knew, she hadn't done that yet, so she was a bit worried that Klavier wouldn't be interested.

"Klavier," Holly began. "I know that you aren't exactly too fond of Ashton being around us as much, but why don't you try to get to know her a bit more? That way you don't feel as bothered about it."

Klavier let out a sigh, "I don't really have anything against Ashton. I'm just… It's weird to have her around so often."

"Which is why I'm suggesting that you guys just talk," Holly explained. "That way it isn't that weird. You may even find out that you have a few things in common."

Klavier sweatdropped, "Well, we're currently in the middle of a challenge, so I don't see that happening just yet. Maybe later?"

"Oh… Um… sure," Holly replied. She wasn't sure if Klavier was serious about it or not, but she wasn't going to pressure him. Plus, he was right; they did have a challenge to do. "Well, we should probably see what our clues all say, now."

The Swoobat flew down to Ashton, prompting a sigh from Klavier. The Gliscor followed suit, landing on his tail in front of the Meganium, his arms folded.

Holly, who was on Ashton's head, inquired, "What does your clue say, Ash?"

Using her vines, Ashton held out her clue in order to inspect it again. "It just says LeGrae," she revealed.

"Mine says 'Flush It Out'," Klavier revealed, looking at his card again. "What about yours, Holly?"

Holly looked at her card, "Mine has a picture of the volcano on it."

"So… We have to check LeGrae, the volcano, and… the bathrooms?" Klavier said, raising a brow. "Um… Where do we go first?"

"LeGrae is the biggest out of the three. Why don't we start there first?" Holly suggested.

-000-

Making it to the abandoned high school, Ashton approached the door, only to discover that the school was locked. This caused a bit of confusion, as she was sure that she'd need to enter the school in order to find her key.

"Okay… So is my key somewhere else around here?" the Meganium questioned as she climbed back down the stairs while looking around.

"Let's split up," Holly suggested. "That way we'll cover more ground."

Klavier wore a look of annoyance. He was honestly more interested in just finding his own key and moving on at this point. He was actually starting to miss Kojo and Phill. He hadn't really been hanging out with them as much lately, and with Ashton around him and Holly now, he was really missing a bit of guy time.

"Um… I think I'm gonna go look for my key somewhere else…" the Gliscor informed. "I'm sure you two have it covered."

Ashton let out a soft sigh of dejection, while Holly looked down, "Um… Klavie… I know-"

"No, it's alright Holly. Let him go," Ashton lamented. "If he doesn't want to be around me, you don't have to make him…"

Hearing that caused Klavier to feel a bit guilty, as he looked down at the dead grass covering the area. He sighed, turning back toward the girls. "Ashton, listen… I have nothing against you. It's just… You've been around me and Holly a lot lately, but I was a lot more comfortable with it just being the two of us…"

Ashton nodded, "I understand…"

"I just want to make that clear," the Gliscor explained. "There's nothing wrong with you or anything. It's just me and my preference."

"So, you're heading to the bathroom?" Holly inquired. She was a bit disappointed by Klavier's decision, though she couldn't entirely fault him for it, either.

Klavier nodded, "Yeah. And if it's not there, then I'm gonna be lost…"

"Alright," Holly replied. "I guess… We'll catch up with you later."

Klavier nodded affirmatively before he flew off, leaving the two girls alone in the pursuit of their keys.

000

Holly let out a sigh, "I really hope that there's no real issue between them. I really want them to be friendly towards each other so that things aren't awkward for anyone. But, it really feels like Klavier is resisting."

"Hopefully something can happen when the challenge is over…"

000

Sitting at the gazebo, Morgan, Aspen, and Aura were going over each others' clues. In the middle of the gazebo was a large slide puzzle, which had a key trapped in the center. So, obviously the gazebo was a significant spot.

"Well, someone's gonna have their work cut out for them when they get here," Aura reasoned, glancing at the puzzle from the corner of her eye.

Morgan chortled, "Honestly, if the challenges are gonna be like that, then I don't mind… But, I still hope that the clue I have doesn't require a challenge."

"What do you guys' clues say, anyway?" Aspen inquired. "Mine just says 'Peak-a-boo', but it's spelled P-E-A-K…"

"Okay, so your key is either at the cliff or around the mountain," Aura reasoned. "That wasn't too hard to figure out. Meanwhile, mine just says 'Sandy Cheeks'. Now, I don't know if that's just a reference and I have to find a Greedent or Pachirisu or something, or if I actually have to go back to the beach."

"Well, we'll have to check when we get there," Morgan responded as she looked down at her card. "Mine just has a picture of a buoy on it…"

"Okay, so water…" Aspen replied. "So, we could check the beach first since you guys' keys may be there. Then, we can check the cliff."

Morgan nodded, "Okay, now let's-"

"Hey guys," a new voice greeted them. Turning to the source, they saw Ace and Shine approaching them.

"Oh, hey guys," Morgan greeted in return. "I'm guessing you two have already figured out your clues…"

The two Eeveelutions exchanged looks before beginning to explain themselves. "Well, mine wasn't that hard to figure out," Ace explained, using one of his ribbons to show them his card. "It's literally just a picture of the stadium or... colosseum... or whatever they're calling it."

Soon after, holding her card with her tail, Shine chimed in. "And mine just said 'Dinner is served'," she explained. "And with the only available places that make sense being the Winner's Cabin and here, it wasn't too hard to piece together."

Aura huffed as she hopped off of the table bench she and Aspen were sitting on, "Well, you have fun with this slide puzzle. Knowing you, you'll probably have it done in under thirty seconds or whatever."

Shine let out her own huff as she watched the shiny Glaceon leave the vicinity, with Aspen following suit. Morgan rolled her eyes before turning back to the pair, "I'll catch up with you guys later."

With that, the Persian followed the Furfrou and Glaceon toward the beach, leaving the two Eeveelutions at the gazebo.

In response to Aura's comment, Ace couldn't help but chuckle softly, "I guess Aura still has a bit of an issue with you after all…"

Approaching the slide puzzle, Shine let out an inaudible murmur regarding the Glaceon before getting on her hind legs to get a complete view of the puzzle she'd be dealing with. With the key embedded in the center sliding piece, and the exit slot at the bottom, the Espeon was going to have to be smart about this.

Sure, there wasn't a time limit, but the Sun Pokémon still didn't want to waste time; she just wanted to quickly retrieve her key. That way, she could have more time to help Ace with his key. Her lack of helpfulness in the last challenge cost her one of her allies, so she wasn't willing to risk anything now.

"Okay, this doesn't seem too difficult, but it's not gonna be easy, either," the Espeon whispered to herself.

"You got this, Shine? I can help if you want," Ace offered.

"I think I'll be fine," Shine replied, scanning the puzzle. "Thank you, though."

Ace nodded. "Okay… Well, I'm here if you need it, anyway."

The Espeon nodded as she began the puzzle, moving the pieces around.

000

Connor and Taylor approached the jail, having figured out their clues rather easily. A feeling of unease washed over the Milotic, making him extremely hesitant to go into the building. He hadn't been in there since the second challenge, when he was still suppressing his true feelings.

Taylor's tail wrapped around Connor's hind leg, trembling slightly. Looking up at him, the Bouffalant saw the fear in his boyfriend's eyes. "You alright, babe?"

With a soft gulp, Taylor responded, "Y-Yeah… Totally."

Connor attempted to move forward, but knew that he couldn't due to Taylor's grip on his leg. He looked back over as Taylor's trembling became a bit more violent.

The Bash Buffalo Pokémon let out a sigh. "Babe, if you don't want to go inside, you can just wait out here."

Calming himself down a bit, Taylor stammered, "N-No, I mean… I-It's my key that's in there. I-I should-"

Looking back at the building, the Milotic's pupil's shrunk as it felt as if the building grew significantly larger before his very eyes.

The Tender Pokémon's rolled to the back of his head as he fainted, falling in the sand.

-000-

Panting softly, Taylor sat up abruptly, waking up in a grungy bed. A tacky, orange jumper adorned his body as he inspected his surroundings, tears welling up in his eyes.

The walls were rocky and moldy, with dark stains and chalk lines decorating it. He was in a jail cell. "N...No… No!" he cried as he shook his head feverishly. "C-Connor!"

Sniffling, he swiftly slithered to the cell bars, crying out for the Bouffalant. "Connor!"

A gruff voice was heard chuckling behind him, "What's the matter, pretty boy? You afraid to get it up with a real man?"

Taylor paled. Slowly turning around, the Milotic saw that a heavily tattooed Electivire was directly behind him, its jumpsuit completely off. "Why don't you make this easy and come get a taste? Wouldn't want to have to force it…"

Completely afraid, Taylor turned back to the bars, tears streaming down his face as he continued to cry out. "C-CONNOR! HELP! PLEASE!"

"Well, I tried being nice about it… I guess it'll have to be the hard way…" Taylor could hear the Electivire say. He turned back and saw the Thunderbolt Pokémon getting closer. "CONNOR! CONNOR! HEEEELP!"

-000-

Taylor let out a gasp as he woke up in an intense sweat. Looking around frantically, he saw that he was once again in a bed, but this time he was in one of the bunks of the Loser Cabin. Feeling himself about to cry again, he cried, "Connor...!"

As he sniffled, he saw the Bouffalant peek into the cabin before entering. Nuzzling him, the buffalo worriedly inquired, "Thank Arceus… Are you okay?"

Taylor trembled before coiling around Connor and bringing him close to him. "I wanna go home," he whimpered.

Connor sighed, rising up to face the Milotic more intimately. Their eyes locked, the Bouffalant stated, "Baby, I know you're much stronger than this. You can't let your fear beat you. I know that you have it in you, but… if you're sure about this… Once the challenge is over, we can talk to Virizion and Xerneas."

Taylor's eyes sparkled as Connor continued, "That way you have a bit more time to think before you make your final decision."

Taylor nuzzled him back, sniveling, "I love you… I love you so much…" The couple shared another kiss, with the Milotic once again apologizing for his awful behavior. "I'm sorry about everything. I just… I just want to be with you…"

Connor smiled, "I love you, too. And… I have a bit of a surprise…"

Taylor raised a brow as Connor got off of him and started shaking his head, eventually causing a key to fall out of his afro.

Taylor gasped. "Is that… my key?"

Connor explained, "When you fainted, I knew that it was gonna be a lot of trouble getting you inside of to jail, so I went in and handled it, myself. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard. I just had to avoid electric tiles."

"Did you get shocked?" Taylor inquired.

"Yeah, a few times, but it wasn't too bad," Connor explained. "The most important thing is that you've got your key, so you don't have to worry."

Taylor picked up his key with his mouth before placing it next to him in the bed. "Thanks, sweetie."

Connor nodded as he turned to head back out, "Now, you just relax for a while. I've gotta go find my own key…"

Taylor grew confused, "Wait… you don't want me to come with you?"

"Oh," the Bouffalant replied. "I mean, you can come if you want. I just thought you'd want to relax and have time to think."

"I… I think I'd rather stay with you," Taylor explained, slithering out of bed.

"Oh, well alright," Connor replied, "We've gotta head to Brian's cave."

Taylor nodded before following Connor out of the door.

000

Taylor sighed softly. "I could actually leave this crappy island and just not worry about this show ever again… but… I need Connor. He's everything I'd ever want in a guy and… he's forgiven me for everything I've done to him."

"I don't want to take the easy way out and leave him alone like that… but I also can't keep dealing with these nightmares and visions of jail and being…" he let out a sigh. "I'll really have to think about this."

000

Venturing through the forest, Anthony grumbled to himself as he reached into the hollow of a tree. After a while of feeling around, he wound up pulling out a pinecone. With a scoff, he threw the cone away with a groan. "Of course, I get the vague clue," he groused.

After reading his clue, he immediately knew that he'd be spending a lot of time in the forest. "Bark up the right tree…" he muttered, taking a few steps away from the tree. "There are hundreds of fucking trees here!"

Approaching another one of the perennial plants, he reached his arm inside of the hole and felt around only to groan in annoyance once again. Nothing was inside. "Arceus, why the hell does this have to be so damn difficult?"

He sighed as he scratched his head. He decided to start walking toward the lake, since there were multiple trees surrounding the area. He was hoping that some of the trees either had holes or that one of them had his key dangling from a branch. In the back of his mind, he knew the latter desire would be too easy, but you could never know with this game.

On his way, he noticed Sally and Amethyst walking in another direction, toward the stadium. He hummed to himself, the thought of following them proving to be very tempting.

With Amethyst and Sally on the outs, there was a big chance that they'd be willing to do anything to keep themselves in the game. He thought about using this to his advantage, as their extra votes would give his alliance control once again.

As much as he wanted to, he knew that he was much better off just continuing to search for his key. He'd be able to catch up with them later; at least he had hoped so.

000

The Aurorus and Ampharos were making their way to a deeper part of the forest, the Light Pokemon's clue mentioning a 'downgraded Cabin in the Woods'.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Amethyst inquired. "A pile of sticks... or a treehouse… or...?"

"No," Sally answered, shaking her head. "My clue said 'downgraded Cabin in the Woods', so it's probably talking about the only other house-like thing in the forest: Colton and Tyson's trailer."

"Oh…" Amethyst replied, feeling a bit slow-witted. "I honestly forgot that they even had a trailer.""

Sally shrugged, "Understandable; I'm pretty sure almost everyone has. I only remember it because of the clue. Although… I hope I'm remembering where it was correctly…"

As they eventually passed by the stadium, Sally nodded to herself. "Okay, so I'm right. It's just a couple of minutes away."

Thinking to herself, Amethyst inquired, "Hmm… Do you really think that Ace will work with us?"

Sally huffed, "If he knows what's good for him and his other alliance, he will. If one of us gets the boot, I'll happily blow their game."

Amethyst nodded in understanding. "I'm just worried about everything now…"

"It's okay, Amy. Everything will be fine," Sally replied as they finally reached the former interns' trailer. "Alright, we're here."

The trailer was pretty standard in size and had a disheveled appearance, having been untouched for nearly a week. Tall grass surrounded the trailer, with assorted vines and stains adorning it.

A lawn chair was still sitting in front of the mobile home, though it appeared to be elevated by the grass that was beneath it.

"Jeez, how long has it been? Almost a week?" Sally commented, surprised by the condition of the trailer. "Why does it look like this thing has been abandoned for years or something?"

"Want me to freeze everything?" Amethyst inquired.

"Nah," Sally responded as she started traipsing through the tall grass in order to get to the trailer. "It'll be fine. Come on."

As they steadily approached, Amethyst let out a sudden shriek of pain, startling Sally, who turned around quickly. "What's wrong?!"

Whimpering in pain, she squeaked out, "T-There's something sharp around my leg!"

The Tundra Pokémon lifted her leg, showing that what looked like a bear trap was clamped on her leg.

"Wha- Is the grass the challenge?!" Sally asked, looking around cautiously. "Why would there be a random bear trap here?!"

The Light Pokémon attempted to remove the trap from the sauropod's leg, but a soft growl was heard, causing both women to freeze and look around the vicinity. The 'bear trap' opened, revealing itself as a Stunfisk as it landed on the ground.

"What the…" Sally gaped.

000

"Whaddya think?" Morgan inquired as she sat on the beach with Aspen and Aura. They were currently in front of a sand sculpture of a Salazzle; it was lying on its stomach with its legs bent towards its back.

"Well… Those are sandy cheeks," Aspen reasoned, eyeing the butt of the sandy structure. She nudged Aura with a giggle, "Maybe you have to dig there…"

The Glaceon sighed, honestly finding that possibility irritating. "Why…?"

"Hey, who cares about what it looks like as long as you get your key?" Morgan stated.

Aura sighed, "Whatever…" She approached the sculpture and started digging around its butt.

As she did this, Morgan started walking toward the water, scanning the blue canvas for any sign of a buoy.

She hummed before commenting, "Nothing…"

A new voice inquired, "Whatcha lookin' for?"

Turning to her left, Morgan jumped at the appearance of Titan. "Where the hell did you just come from?"

"I just got here a few seconds ago…" he answered nonchalantly. "Got my key pretty easily. Climbed the roof of the Winner's Cabin and found it taped there."

Aspen scoffed as she walked up to them, having seen the Galvantula approach the Persian. "Lucky you…"

"Mhmm and uh… Judging by the fact that you all are still here, I'm guessing you have no idea where you're supposed to go…"

"FYI, six-eyes, Aura's digging for her key now," Aspen expounded, gesturing to her friend. "My key is somewhere around the cliff, and Morgan needs to find a buoy to get to her key. So maybe you should keep your mouth shut about what you don't know…"

"Aspen…"

The Furfrou turned to her sister-in-law, who gestured for her to assist Aura. Glaring at the spider once again, Aspen turned back around in order to help Aura dig for her key.

Once she was preoccupied with Aura, Morgan let out a sigh before turning back to Titan. "Listen, I'm gonna need you to not act like a jackass if you don't want people to vote for you. There's only a one-in-seventeen shot of you getting immunity and you need to save that statue."

Titan rolled his eyes. "Right…" He was still annoyed that the Persian expected him to use his only source of safety to protect her when she was hardly a target. However, if she had immunity on her own, then he wouldn't have to worry.

With this in mind, he stated, "Well, if your buoy ain't out there, then it might be at the lake or on another side of the island. There's more than one body of water around here."

Morgan nodded with a sigh, "Right…"

"We got it!" Aspen called out, getting Morgan's attention.

The Furfrou and Glaceon came over, the latter holding the key in her mouth. The Persian nodded, "Okay. That's one down and two more to go." She looked to Aspen, "We should go look for yours next. I may have more ground to cover."

Aspen nodded, "Right. Let's get going…"

As the three ladies began leaving, Titan attempted to make a request, "Mind if I tag alo-"

"No," the Furfrou bluntly interrupted, not even turning back to face him.

Titan huffed in annoyance, "Women…"

000

"I hate my life," Phill droned as he read a sign situated outside of the gym. A sequin speedo was hanging on the back of the sign, causing Kojo to stifle a laugh.

"Unlucky break…" he commented.

"Ugh…" Phill groaned as he looked at the gym and saw there were multiple feminine Pokémon inside of it. "This is gonna be so embarrassing…"

Summer sighed, holding her head as she started reading the sign for herself. "Don the speedo on the back of this sign, and dance your way toward the middle of the ring, where your key is tied to a wooden beam," she read.

"Aw, come on Phill. They aren't that bad," Kojo stated, holding the speedo against his lower half. The sequins covering the speedo were blue in color, and the elastic itself was black.

She started picturing Kojo wearing the briefs instead of Phill and licked her lips. The fact that Virizion and Xerneas didn't say that they couldn't swap clues made it even better, as Kojo could take Phill's clue and go from there.

Phill let out a sigh as he grabbed the speedo from his friend. "I guess this is my life now…"

As Phill started putting on the speedo, Summer interjected, "Oh-ho no." She sauntered over with a small smile as she grabbed the briefs from the Mouse Pokemon.

Kojo rose a brow in confusion, commenting, "Uh... babe, he's gonna need those. I'm sure your eyes won't be affected that badly."

The Typhlosion looked back at the Mienshao with a soft purr and glimmer in her eyes. Recognizing the look, he realized the thought that was going through her head and immediately paled.

-000-

The camera panned up from Kojo's feet, lingering on the glistening blue speedo for a few moments before continuing to pan upwards toward his flushed face.

"Looking good, bro," Phill commented, stifling a laugh as he sat next to Summer.

"Why am I the one doing this? This is Phill's clue!" Kojo exclaimed as he scratched at the speedo. "And this thing is really tight on me."

"Because you look better in them and will be more effective. And they never said that we couldn't switch clues, just that we can't steal keys," Summer explained with half-lidded eyes. "Plus, once you're finished, I get to rip those things off of you~."

Looking back at the gym, Kojo huffed, "You'd better hope that, if they find me attractive, they don't do it first…"

"They try anything; they die," Summer calmly replied with a shrug as she stood up. "Now, go get that key," she said, pecking him on the lips.

Kojo sighed, "And you guys see if there's another sign or whatever around here. That way, we'll know if we can move on or not."

Summer and Phill both nodded as Kojo turned back toward the gym. He let out a sigh, looking down at his crotch. "FML..." he muttered as he started heading toward the gym.

Once the Mienshao entered the gym, Phill sighed in relief. "Thanks Summer…"

"Oh no, don't thank me. Him wearing those is mainly a treat for me," the Typhlosion explained with a smirk.

"So you're not worried about the girls in there trying to tear him apart?" Phill inquired, knowing of the Volcano Pokémon's temper.

"Oh, I am. But I know that he can take care of himself," she explained. "And like I said… if they try anything, they die."

"Noted…" Phill nodded, sweatdropping. He let out a sigh before letting out a grunt and getting back to his feet. "So, you wanna check around the back and see if there's anything there?"

Summer shrugged in response, "Might as well."

The two of them began making their way around the gym, which reverberated with the sound of music, cheers, and whistles.

Phill chuckled, "Sounds like the ladies are loving him."

Summer growled softly, "Ha ha… They'd better watch themselves in there."

Phill stifled another laugh, "Hey, you can't blame them. They don't know that you two are engaged. They just see a hot guy in a glittery speedo."

Summer grumbled to herself, beginning to regret her decision.

Once they were behind the gym, they looked around for anything indicating where another key would be. At first glance, there appeared to be nothing there, but Phill noticed a rather random vine dangling from a nearby tree.

His eyes traced it back up to the treetops, where he saw a treehouse situated in the branches. A look of confusion affixed itself onto his face. "What the… How long has a treehouse been there?!"

Summer looked up and eyed the structure with a raised brow. "Huh… They either just put it there for this challenge, or we've just been completely blind."

"You think there's a key up there?" Phill inquired.

"Well, my clue has nothing to do with a treehouse, and the clue you got from Kojo still deals with mirrors," Summer explained. "So unless you plan on going up there to check-"

The Mouse Pokémon had already started climbing up the vine to reach the treehouse. Seeing this, Summer sighed, "Nevermind…"

000

Still at the gazebo, Ace saw that Shine's face was slowly growing more and more irritated as he lay on one of the tables. "Uh… Are you sure that you're alr-"

"GOT IT!" she shouted suddenly as she pulled out the last piece, retrieving her key. She let out a sigh, "Finally…"

"Nice work," Ace replied, hopping off of the table. "Now we can head to the stadium."

Shine nodded as the Sylveon immediately started walking away from the vicinity. The Espeon let out a soft sigh as she picked up her key with her tail.

She was honestly a bit disappointed by how long it took her to complete the puzzle. She was better than this!

She eventually caught up with Ace, traveling in silence. Feeling the somber vibe the Espeon was giving off, Ace grew somewhat concerned. "You alright Shine?"

Deeming her current feelings insignificant and petty, the Sun Pokémon shook her head. "It's fine. Let's just finish this challenge and go from there."

"Well, you could just float or teleport us there," Ace suggested. "That way, we can finish faster."

Shine shrugged in response, as the Sylveon had a point. Her eyes glowing blue, an aura surrounded the two of them as their feet were lifted off of the ground.

They began hovering toward the stadium at a quick pace. As they traveled in this way, Ace could still feel a bit of despondency from her.

"Shine… Come on. I know that something's wrong. You can talk to me," he pressed.

"Ace, I said it's fine," Shine replied. She found it endearing that he cared so much, but she just didn't want to talk about her issues. "Thanks for the concern, but I'd appreciate it if we could just focus on completing the challenge. Okay?"

Not wanting to annoy her, Ace decided to keep quiet. Eventually, they made it to the stadium.

Entering the stadium, Ace and Shine saw that there was a large, clear tub filled with a red fluid sitting in the center. There appeared to be a pulley system next to it with a key underneath a glass case.

It was an admittedly strange setup, but luckily, there was a sign next to it. "What the heck is this supposed to be?"

As Ace approached the tub and smelled the contents, a fruity aroma assaulted his nostrils, causing him to raise a brow. Shine looked at the sign, reading, "Bobbing for candy apples. Without cheating, dunk your head into the tub and pull out apples in order to put them on the scale. The more apples you pull out and place on the scale, the higher the glass case will rise, eventually allowing you to retrieve your key."

"Doesn't say what the fluid is, though…" Shine replied, turning back around, where she saw Ace drinking from the tub. "Ace!"

The Sylveon lifted his face from the fluid, licking his stained muzzle. "It's Cheri Berry syrup," he explained.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Shine commented, "It's probably not the smartest idea to just start drinking mysterious fluids, even if it looks or smells safe. You never know what else could be inside…"

"Well, Victini isn't here, so I just thought…"

Shine nodded in understanding, "Fair point, but my argument still stands. Now… Go on and start getting those apples."

Ace licked his lips before nodding and dunking his head into the tub of syrup again. He lifted his head back up with an apple in his mouth, which he immediately ran to the scale with. He repeated this action four more times, with the glass case slowly lifting more and more.

"Almost there," Shine commented, watching the case. "Keep it up, Ace."

000

Connor and Taylor reached Brian's cave, where they immediately saw a sign sitting at the entrance with a slab of concrete in front of it. The sign only displayed two pictures: a Belue Berry and a Pecha Berry.

"Uh… Okay, I'm a bit confused by this. Do I have to find those berries? Are they symbolizing something?" Connor inquired.

Immediately recognizing the berries and the sequence they were in, Taylor blushed to himself. He was hoping that what he was thinking wasn't the case, but decided to fill Connor in on the symbolism.

Clearing his throat, the Milotic explained, "Well, if we're not being literal… They symbolize… sex."

Connor rose a brow, "I thought that was a doughnut and a banana… or just… hand gestures…"

"Sweetie, there's a lot of ways to mean sex," Taylor explained. "I don't know what it means here, but I hope that it isn't that. I want you, but… not if it's required for something like this."

"Well, it's Virizion and Xerneas," Connor replied. "I doubt it's 'required sex'. What if somebody else had gotten it and they were alone?"

"So we just have to look for those two individual berries… on this huge island. Great…" Taylor groaned.

"Hey, I told you that you could stay back at the cabin and rest…" Connor reminded him with a chuckle. "You wanted to tag along anyway."

Taylor gave him a look, "Is there anything on the back of the sign? Like an extra picture or just a hint or something?"

Inspecting the back of the janky sign, Connor saw a piece of paper stuck to the back of it. "Oh, there is something here."

Surprised that he was right, the Tender Pokémon asked, "What's it say?"

The Bouffalant read, "1. Treehouse of Horrors. 2. Lakeview Terrace."

"So… We have to find a treehouse and go to the lake?" Taylor reasoned.

"Well… it says 'of Horrors', Connor replied. "Maybe it's near the school."

"What's near the school?"

Turning around, the couple saw that Klavier was hanging upside down, by his tail, from a nearby tree. The Gliscor continued, explaining, "I just came back from there not too long ago."

"Did you see a treehouse around there or something?" Taylor inquired.

"A treehouse?" the Fang Scorpion Pokémon recounted. "No, not that I remember."

"Okay… So it's not there…" Connor reasoned. "So we do have to look around for a treehouse… Great."

Klavier inquired, "Hey, I mean… I'm willing to help you guys if you guys help me."

The pair exchanged looks, with Connor nodding, "Why not? We really just need to find our keys fast. They did say that the chests were first come, first served, and who knows how many are occupied already?"

"I don't think that really matters too much," Klavier opined. "I doubt anyone's truly rushing to finish just to stand behind a chest. Well, maybe Anthony, but I don't know. Besides that, I'm pretty sure people are helping each other before deciding to go back to the beach."

"Fair enough," Connor replied. "What was your clue?"

"Flush it out," Klavier quoted. "So, I'm guessing that it's somewhere around the bathroom."

"I mean… Did you check the confessional first?" Taylor inquired. "It is an outhouse…"

Klavier paled upon hearing that possibility. He actually hadn't thought about that at all. "Um… Be right back."

000

Klavier looked around the confessional before peering into the toilet. He let out an audible gulp, winching in disgust before reaching inside the hole.

He immediately felt something smooth, much to his relief, before pulling out a plastic bag with a key inside. The bag was covered in a brown substance, much to his disgust.

"Ewwww…" the Gliscor shuddered.

000

Returning to the cave, Klavier sighed, "Well, the good news is, I found my key. The bad news is that I had to reach into the hole to get it."

The pair grimaced at the thought before Connor replied, "Well, now you can help us out."

"That's fair, I guess," Klavier shrugged. "So you want me to check around for a treehouse?"

"Yeah, just fly around and see if you spot a treehouse somewhere," Taylor instructed. "Connie and I are gonna go check around the lake."

"Um… Alright, I guess," Klavier replied. "What do I do if I find the treehouse?"

"Come get us," Taylor instructed. "We'll either be back here or at the lake, still."

Klavier nodded before flying off, leaving the pair alone.

"That was a lucky break," Connor opined. "Well, if he's seriously gonna help us, anyway."

"Well, assuming that he's just lying, we might wanna prepare to search for ourselves once we get back from the lake," Taylor opined.

Connor chuckled as he started walking away, "Good to hear that you're back in the game, babe…"

Taylor blushed before following the Bouffalant to the lake.

000

Morgan emerged from the water with a gasp, holding a key in her paws. "Got it," she said to herself as she caught her breath, holding onto the red buoy that was in the middle of the lake.

Aura and Aspen were waiting for her back on the shore. As they did, Aspen let out a sigh. She had really been thinking about the idea of eliminating Morgan. She didn't really want to go through with it, but she felt that that's what they were going for.

"You okay?" Aura inquired. "You look like your mom just died."

"I'm just… thinking," she replied. "Taylor mentioned the idea of eliminating Morgan, and… I'm not sure if I want to do that. I'd rather just go for someone like Holly and-"

Her thought was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Well, well, if it isn't the bitches that messed up our alliance."

Aspen sighed in annoyance, "Anthony…"

The Blastoise, who was now standing behind them, cut her off again, "Nope. I don't wanna hear it. Fuck both of you, and I hope you get what's coming to you."

The shiny Glaceon huffed, "Yeah, fuck you, too. You better hope that it isn't you who gets voted out next."

Anthony flipped them off before proceeding to do what he came there to do: search the tree hollows.

Once he was out of range, Aura scoffed, "He's such a big baby."

"I didn't think that he'd still be so upset," Aspen commented.

"Like I said… he's a big baby," Aura replied. A new idea formed in her mind, a smile growing on her face. "Say… What do you think about eliminating him if he doesn't get immunity?"

Aspen rose a brow in interest as the sound of soft panting, as well as the sound of rushing water, filled their ears. Morgan pulled herself out of the lake and onto shore, still panting softly as water dripped from her fur.

"Alright… now we can go check the cliff," the Persian panted. "I need a break."

The Glaceon and Furfrou exchanged looks, confusing the feline. "What?"

000

"Okay… so the girls wanna eliminate Anthony," Morgan echoed. "I'm… I'm not sure if that's the right move, though. At least… not right now."

She sighed, "This double agent stuff is already getting complicated."

000

"Well, we finally found your key," Holly commented as she and Ashton began distancing themselves from LeGrae. "Now we have to go to the volcano and check around there…"

Noticing the defeated expression on the Meganium's face, Holly grew a bit concerned. "Are you okay, Ash?"

"Oh… Y-Yeah, I'm fine…"

Holly let out a sigh, knowing that the Herb Pokémon was lying. "No you're not. You're still upset about Klavier, aren't you?"

She didn't respond; she only lowered her head, confirming Holly's beliefs. The Swoobat flew up and landed on the Meganium's back. "Well, you heard Klavie. It's not you, it's just him."

Ashton replied, "I know, but… It still bothers me for some reason. Like… I didn't mean to just intrude, but... You're my best friend here."

"Honey, I understand, but again, you've done nothing wrong," Holly replied. "You have to stop blaming yourself for things out of your control and letting things linger."

"I know, but I just-"

Just then, Sally and Amethyst stepped into view, with the Ampharos holding onto a key. Noticing the other two, Amethyst hesitantly greeted, "Oh… H-Hi guys…"

"Hey…" Holly replied. "How's you guys' progress coming?"

"Well, we just had to traverse a field of bear trap Stunfisk in order to get my key," Sally explained, holding up her key. "Now we have to find a nest..."

"Well, we just got Ash's key and now we have to go to the volcano," Holly explained.

"Huh… Interesting. We haven't done anything dealing with the volcano in a while," Sally replied. She quickly decided to switch the subject, asking, "Say, uh… Would you guys wanna-"

"Please don't ask," Holly requested, knowing what she was about to say. She turned to Ashton, "We need to go."

The pair began walking past their former alliance mates, with Sally letting out a huff of annoyance and Amethyst letting out a depressed sigh.

As they walked away, Sally shook her head, "Let's just go."

Amethyst turned her head, watching Holly and Ashton move further away from them. She looked down dejectedly before trailing after Sally, who had already moved on.

000

Sally groaned, "It's so stupid! They act like working with us again is gonna be the end of the world."

"And they're not upset at her or anything, but they're still acting like this!" she exclaimed. "This is so annoying."

000

Phill was holding onto a large Pecha Berry as he stood outside of the washrooms. After managing to retrieve the key out of the gym, Kojo felt like he really needed to take a shower. Understanding this, and knowing that there was also a possibility that there was a key there, they went there immediately.

Phill had discovered the Pecha Berry in the treehouse, but it had a note attached to it reading, 'Do not eat.' So, he decided to carry it with him, assuming that it had something to do with a key. Summer had reminded him that neither his nor her clue said anything about a treehouse or a berry, but the Raticate didn't really care too much and continued to tote it anyway.

The pair had been taking an awfully long while in the washrooms, causing him to assume that they were 'distracting' themselves. He shouted, "Hey you two, this isn't a breeding ground! Come on!"

No less than a minute later, Summer exited the washrooms with a new key, giving the Raticate a look. "You really need to stop assuming that sex is the only thing we do when we're alone…"

"Well sorry for assuming given previous circumstances," Phill replied, still holding the berry. "Where'd you find that key?"

Summer sighed, "Literally one of the mirrors had an 'X' painted on it. So, I smashed it and this key fell down. So now we just need to figure out what my dumbbell means."

"Are we sure that it isn't at the gym?" Phill inquired as Summer handed him the key. "That's the only place that I think makes sense…"

"Well we just came from there and the only thing we got out of it, aside from Adam's key, was that berry, which again, has nothing to do with any of our clues," Summer deadpanned.

"It's a huge berry," the Raticate emphasized. "It has to be a part of something."

"Well, if it does, then it has nothing to do with us…" Summer replied, folding her arms.

Just then, from above, a familiar face landed before them. Waving a claw, Klavier greeted them, "Hey guys. How're things going?"

"Hey Klav," Summer replied. "And… decent. Adam and Phill have their keys, and now I have to find mine…"

"And I have this big berry," Phill input, holding the Pecha Berry up.

Klavier's eyes widened a bit at the size, "Where the heck did you find that?"

Summer answered, "It was in some treehouse that was behind the gym. I told him to leave it alone, but he decided to take it, anyway..."

Putting the pieces together, Klavier realized that Taylor and Connor were probably looking for the treehouse so that they could get that berry. He cleared his throat, "Um… I think I know who that berry goes to…"

"Is it yours?" Phill inquired.

"Wha-? No, no. My key was in the confessional toilet…" Klavier explained, pulling out the stained bag, his key still inside.

"Ew…" Summer reacted with a disgusted face, while Phill's expression didn't budge.

"Yeah… I know," Klavier agreed. "But yeah, if you got that from a treehouse, then that's Connor and Taylor's."

"Oh…" Phill replied, not expecting to hear that.

"Uh… Are you working with them?" Summer inquired, gaining a bit of suspicion. "How do you know that it's theirs?"

"Oh, they helped me figure out that my key was in the confessional, so I decided to help them find theirs," Klavier explained. "They needed to know about a treehouse, so I was looking for one. And if that berry was inside of a treehouse, then I can just take that to them."

Phill looked at berry before handing it to Klavier. He was really hoping that the berry had a significance larger than just belonging to Taylor and Connor, but he left it alone.

"Thanks," the Gliscor replied. "I'll be back to try and help you guys later…"

"Wait, uh… where's Holly?" Summer inquired. "Wouldn't you want to help her, first?"

Klavier droned, "Uhhhhhh…"

He quickly flew away, uttering, "I'll be back later."

"Well, we'll be at the gym, most likely!" Phill called.

Stepping out of the washrooms, Kojo let out a sigh. "Arceus, I still feel a bit unclean…"

"Dude, it couldn't have been that bad," Phill chuckled. "You're an actor. You've dealt with worse things than a bunch of women grabbing at your junk and trying to sex you up."

"That ain't the point," Kojo replied, folding his arms. He then noticed the absence of the large Pecha Berry and rose a brow, "So, did you eat the berry or toss it?"

"Neither," Summer answered, "Klavier came and got it. He said that it went to Taylor and Connor and that he was helping them. Then he said he'd be back."

A bit surprised, but unbothered, Kojo shrugged, "Alright, well… Where are we heading now?"

"We need to go back and check the gym again," Phill answered. "It's the only place that fits Summer's clue."

Kojo groaned in annoyance. "Fuck…"

"I mean, if my key is still inside of the gym, then all you have to do is stay outside, babe," Summer explained, rubbing his shoulders. "You'll be fine."

Kojo sighed, rubbing his temples.

000

Anthony reached into another tree hollow, an expression of irritation on his face as he pulled out another grayish-brown squirrel holding a round, green fruit.

Groaning in annoyance, the Blastoise shoved the Skwovet back into the hollow and started walking to the next tree. That was the sixth Skwovet that he had pulled out since he started searching the trees there. A few yards ahead of him, he saw Connor and Taylor inspecting trees as well, causing him to become a bit suspicious.

"Hey! What the hell are you two up to?" Anthony inquired with a stern glare as he stomped up to them. "There's no way in the Distortion World that you guys had a clue that told you to check trees, too…"

"Anthony, we're looking for a Belue Berry…" Connor explained. "That's literally all we're here for."

"Yeah," Taylor concurred. "As soon as we find it, we'll leave and you can get back to your… tree fisting… in peace."

Anthony narrowed his eyes at the two before letting out a huff. "Well, check for Skwovet. I've been dealing with those damn things for the past twenty minutes and they all were holding berries," he explained before turning back around.

The couple exchanged looks, with Connor letting out a sigh. "Okay," he began. "I guess we have to find-"

Suddenly, a Skwovet was thrown in their direction, holding onto a large bluish-purple eggplant-like fruit. "There it is! Take it and go!" Anthony shouted.

Taylor used Hydro Pump to spray the Skwovet away, leaving the berry behind. He picked it up with his mouth, muttering. "Okay, so now we have to find a treehouse so that we can get the Pecha Berry and-"

Just then, he was interrupted by Klavier landing in front of them. With the Pecha Berry in his claws, the Gliscor greeted them, "Hey, I'm back."

Connor was surprised by the Fang Scorpion's sudden reappearance. "Oh, wait, so you actually found the treehouse?"

Klavier's face twisted into an embarrassed grimace, responding, "Um… technically no… Phill found it and got this out of it."

He placed the large Pecha Berry down before them, "There you guys go. Now, I'm gonna get going. Thanks again for the help…"

The Gliscor flew off, leaving the two of them alone. After he left, Taylor placed the Belue Berry in Connor's hair before commenting, "Huh, I guess he was a man of his word."

The Bouffalant chuckled as Taylor picked up the Pecha Berry and placed it in his hair as well. "Yep, we lucked out," he nodded. "Now, let's get going."

000

Ace and Shine were heading back to the beach, with the Sylveon's upper half completely stained in Cheri Berry syrup.

The Intertwining Pokémon licked his lips as he held his key with one of his ribbons. "I think I need a shower…"

Shine rose a brow, "You think? Your fur is gonna get sticky, and it's not that great of a feeling."

Ace giggled. "Hey, sometimes I like being sticky," he teased with a wink, causing Shine to roll her eyes.

"We have our keys already," the Espeon replied. "Maybe you should wash up just so-"

She was cut off when she suddenly heard their names being called. "Shine! Ace!"

Turning around, the two Eeveelutions saw Morgan, Aspen, and Aura running over in order to catch up with them. The pair stopped in order to let the trio reach them.

"Hey guys," Morgan greeted. Immediately upon seeing Ace's condition, she rose a brow. "Uh… Ace, what the heck happened to your face?"

"Oh, this is just from some Cheri Berry syrup," Ace explained. "Had to bob for some candy apples to get my key."

"And I was telling him that we have enough time for him to get cleaned up," Shine explained.

Aspen asked, "Oh, so you guys were heading to the showers?"

"It's up to him," Shine replied, gesturing to the Sylveon. "I was just telling him that he should."

"Well, we're heading back to the beach to choose our chests," Aura replied, walking past them. "You two… can do whatever you were planning to do. Come on you guys."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with just hanging out for a bit," Morgan replied. "We all have our keys, right?"

"And what exactly are we supposed to do?" Aura inquired with a huff, turning back around. "There's literally nothing to really do here. Especially in the middle of a challenge..."

"We can just talk…" Morgan explained. "It's not that big of a deal. Plus, with the game slowly winding down, some of us are going to need to work together at some point if we want to make it further."

Hearing this, Shine gave the Persian a look, "Uh, are you trying to make another alli-"

"No," Morgan interrupted. "I'm just saying that we're going to need to just work together at some points. So maybe we can use this time to talk and see if any of us know anything that can be used to keep us in the game."

"Sounds like an alliance to me…" Aspen commented.

"Well it's not. This is really just something for us to do right now since we're all here, and then after this is over we can just go back to how we were, but with this new info," the Persian explained.

"So… You basically just want to talk and share information that could help each other, and then just move on later?" Ace inquired.

"Exactly," Morgan replied with a nod.

"Well, I don't have anything to say…" Aura replied with a huff as she sat down. She looked over to Aspen, who wore a face of nervousness, her eyes scanning the sand. "Um… I think... Aspen may, though."

"Hmm?" Morgan responded, raising a brow. She turned to the Furfrou, inquiring, "What's up?"

Aspen cleared her throat, unsure about whether she should tell her or not. She didn't want to potentially mess up her game by bringing it up, which would potentially mess up the alliance she had with Aura, Connor, and Taylor. She also didn't want to eliminate the Persian, though, for personal reasons. "Um… I…"

"Sally threatened to tell everyone else about our alliance if we didn't let her and Amethyst in," Ace suddenly blurted out.

"She what?!" Aura exclaimed.

"Wait, are you talking about the alliance with Connor and Taylor?" Morgan asked for clarification. "How does she even know about that?"

"Apparently she was watching us during the challenge yesterday and saw us talking," Ace explained. "So now she's blackmailing us…"

Aura scoffed, "Okay, so that's not happening. Fuck everything else. We need to focus on getting rid of Sally."

Immediately seeing a problem there, Shine chimed in, "Um… You know that voting either her or Amethyst out will give them a bigger reason to reveal you guys' alliance, right?"

Aura glared at the Espeon, "So what are we supposed to do, then? Huh, Ms. Know-It-All? We don't want those two to be part of our alliance."

"Why not?" Shine inquired. "I mean, I know that they're the least desirable ones, but doesn't having them give you the numbers?"

"Unless you're saying that you're gonna actively vote with us, no. It doesn't," Aura argued. "And how are we supposed to believe that they'll even vote with us? We lose either way!"

Shine gave the Glaceon a look of annoyance. She just wasn't listening at all.

"Hey, let's just calm down, here," Aspen said, standing between the two of them. "Yes, we have an issue, but arguing about it isn't gonna help anything. Now, Sally and Amethyst relying on blackmail is a shitty thing for them to do, but there's not much that we can do without risking the alliance coming up. If the others find out and decide to band together, they'll just pick us off one-by-one…"

Morgan was especially worried about this, as she was still technically a part of Anthony's alliance. If they found out, she'd definitely be on the chopping block. Not only that, but Titan wouldn't trust her as much as he currently does. Having a bit of control over what happens with Titan's statue was a big deal, and she didn't want to lose that power.

"Well," Morgan began. "I guess we're just gonna have to deal with-"

"And Sally wants to target you…" Ace said, turning to Morgan.

Morgan gaped in shock before growling to herself. "And why is that?" she seethed.

"She said that she was tired of you winning so much and going on so many rewards," Ace explained. "She thinks getting rid of you will give them a better chance in the challenges."

Morgan growled, "You've gotta be ki-"

"And… They're not the only ones who think you possibly need to go," Aspen interrupted, looking down. "Taylor asked me how I would feel if you were a target…"

Morgan froze in shock before scoffing and shaking her head, "Am I really that big of a threat to people?!"

"Apparently so," Aura answered.

"Well, all you have to do is just tell them that you'll go along with their idea, but vote somebody else out instead," Shine reasoned. "You don't want them in control, so don't let them have it. And if they get upset about it, tell them to get over it."

"I don't think they even know that Morgan's somewhat a part of the alliance…" Ace added.

"CAN'T WE JUST VOTE THEM OFF?!" Aura shouted in annoyance.

Before anyone could respond, Virizion's voice echoed throughout the island, "Contestants! All keys have been accounted for! Please return to the beach!"

Aspen sighed, "We'll talk more, later…"

The five of them started heading back to the main beach, with Aura grumbling in annoyance.

000

"Why are we so concerned about them?!" Aura exclaimed. "Those bitches are blackmailing us in order to get ahead. At this point, it's better to just tell the others about the alliance ourselves and keep moving forward. Hell, we know about their alliances, so who cares if they know about ours?"

"They need to go!" the Glaceon exclaimed.

000

All of the contestants returned to the beach, where Virizion and Xerneas were waiting. Nobody was standing behind a specific chest aside from Titan, as everyone else was more concerned about helping each other or conversing.

"Alright… I guess most of you didn't really care about choosing your chests beforehand," the Grassland Pokémon commented.

"We were a bit too busy trying to find these nearly impossible keys and trying to help each other figure out clues," Anthony replied. "So, sorry if coming back and just standing here wasn't at the top of our list of things to worry about."

Both hostesses narrowed their eyes at him before exchanging looks with each other. Xerneas let out a sigh, "Alright, all of you come on and choose a chest to open. Let's see who gets the immunity…"

Everyone started heading toward certain chests, though some people wanted to open the same ones. Titan, already being at his chosen chest, unlocked it and opened it up, revealing a bike wheel.

"Seriously?" he deadpanned. "What am I supposed to do with a bloody bike wheel?"

"Hey, we said that some treasures were more desirable than others," Virizion restated.

That statement continued to be very much true, because while people like Ace, Phill, and Ashton got things like a necklace, a bucket of candy, and a signed picture of Meloetta, others like Sally, Klavier, and Connor got a Victini plush, a used razor blade, and an old dirty magazine.

"Ugh… This is fucking..." Sally growled, tearing the head off of the Victini plush.

Kojo opened his chest and sighed upon seeing its contents. He reached inside, pulling out a DVD case with a Mienshao and a Bibarel on the cover, "I… Why is there a copy of one of my movies in here?"

The girls exchanged looks before shrugging. Xerneas explained, "Zahku was in charge of filling the chests…"

Phill stifled a laugh as he walked over, taking the DVD case from him. "Ha! He got Darryl and Stanley!"

Kojo grumbled to himself, folding his arms. Darryl and Stanley was one of the movies he despised working on because his co-star was an asshole and the movie itself was one that's deemed 'so bad, it's good'.

Taylor opened his chest and gained a bit of a blush, his eyes widening. Inside of his chest was a pair of pink, fuzzy handcuffs. "Um… I guess this is kinda kinky…?"

"You don't have hands, though," Aspen commented. "So those would be kinda useless."

Taylor sighed, "I know…"

The Furfrou proceeded to open her chest next. Inside, there was a large bowl of nachos, complete with jalapenos, beef, three different types of cheeses, and Tamato Berry chunks. "Oh wow…" she commented. "I'm… not too into nachos, but I guess I'll take it."

Aura scoffed, "There's food in these things, too?!"

The Glaceon quickly opened her chest, only to be met with disappointment. "Ugh… it's just a damn certificate to- Oh, wait… A spa certificate. Okay, I'm fine with this."

Anthony opened his chest next, only to growl in annoyance, aggressively yanking out a soda can. "A fucking can of Lemonade?! Seriously?"

"You're gonna drink it anyway. Don't start…" Summer stated as she opened her own chest.

With a huff, Anthony opened his beverage and started drinking it begrudgingly.

Summer's chest had a single coupon on the inside. She rose a brow. "What's this?"

She began reading, "This coupon allows you to take part in a reward even if you lose the challenge."

Virizion nodded, "Yep. So if you lose a reward challenge and you want to participate, you can use that coupon and take part anyway."

Summer smirked, "Nice!"

"Surprised that no one has gotten the immunity yet," Xerneas commented, looking around.

The only people who hadn't opened their chests yet were Amethyst, Holly, Morgan, and Shine.

Shine decided to open her chest next. Looking inside, a small smile formed on her lips as she pulled out a flat box. Opening it, she saw that the box was full of s'mores, much to her surprise.

She didn't say anything, only raising her brow. She shrugged before picking one up and taking a bite out of one. "Not bad…"

After hearing that she was apparently a huge target, Morgan was really hoping that her chest was the one with immunity. Taking a breath, the Persian slowly opened her chest, only to sigh in disappointment. Inside of the chest was a liter of soda. She sighed. "Damn it…" she whispered.

Now knowing that there was a fifty-fifty chance for immunity, Holly quickly opened up her chest, while Sally helped Amethyst open hers.

Sally pulled a card out, a smile forming on her face. "Congratulations, you have earned immunity!"

Amethyst's eyes glimmered as she cheered, "YES! I'M SAFE!"

Holly pulled out a can of spray paint, sighing in disappointment. She probably didn't need it, but it would still be nice to have it.

"Alright, Amethyst has immunity. You all can't vote for her, tonight" Xerneas stated. "Congrats."

"Now, enjoy your treasures, if you can…" Virizion said, eyeing Sally, whose Victini plush was in pieces on the ground. "And we'll see you all at elimination tonight…"

"And Amethyst, since you have immunity, you can choose who stays in the Winner's Cabin with you," Xerneas added.

The Tundra Pokémon looked down, smiling at the Ampharos at her side. "Sally…"

"Alright. You two have fun and we'll see you all tonight," Virizion concluded.

000

"This is great!" Sally beamed. "Amy is safe, and I have dirt on Ace's little alliance, so they won't be voting me out anytime soon. This is perfect! And since Morgan didn't get immunity, we can get rid of her!"

000

"Wait, Sally and Amethyst are what?!" Connor exclaimed.

"They know about our alliance and are forcing us to include them in votes," Ace deadpanned. "And if we don't, they'll tell everyone else about the alliance."

Connot and Taylor exchanged looks. With Taylor's mind back in the game, he was no longer thinking about quitting. So, he replied, "Okay, so we can just vote Sally out. Simple."

"If we vote her out, she'll tell everyone about the alliance, remember?" Morgan replied, narrowing her eyes at the two. "And while we're on the subject of votes, what's this about me being a target?!"

Taylor turned to Aspen, who fiddled with her paws, avoiding his gaze. The Milotic let out a sigh, but Connor spoke up instead. "It's just that you're a really strong, strategic player, that's all. You're a threat. It's no secret…"

"And you guys aren't?" the Persian countered with a scoff. "You guys aren't in the foreground and yet you're coming up with all these ideas. If anything, you two are bigger threats than I allegedly am."

"Morgan, it was just a thought," Taylor sighed. "We're not acting. It was just for consideration. Sally is the enemy right now. We need to take her out, regardless of the risk."

"And again, I don't think that's smart," Shine restated. "Right now, this is seven votes, which isn't enough. Including the two of them will give you all the majority…"

"And they want to eliminate me, which won't help anything," Morgan huffed.

"They don't know that you're part of it," Shine replied. "If they know, then we can vote for someone else."

"I still say that we vote Sally out anyway," Aura stated. "Screw her threats. Hell, we thought about the negatives, but who knows? Maybe it'll be good for us and someone else will wanna join us and be in the majority."

"That is a possibility, too," Aspen concurred.

"Okay, okay, I think I have an idea," Connor stated before taking a breath. "So, I think Shine has a bit of a point, but I also think that Sally is gonna cause problems. Now, like Shine said, we have seven votes, but…"

He turned to Morgan. "If you can talk to Titan and get him to vote with us… it won't really matter."

"Um… Titan usually goes to Anthony's alliance for answers, though," Morgan explained.

Connor rolled his eyes, "Just tell him to trust you and to vote with us…"

Morgan was skeptical of this. How was she expected to completely trust them when they were talking about possibly eliminating her?

"Wait, so are we voting for Sally or not!?" Aura exclaimed, growing more and more irritated.

000

Anthony sighed in relief as he lay in his bunk, his arms behind his head. "Well, tonight that bitch Shine goes home…"

"Anyone tell Morgan?" Summer inquired, scratching the back of her head. "We're gonna need her vote if we want it to work."

"There's no way that Morgan's gonna go for that," Phill said, munching on a few gummies from his candy bucket. "She and Shine are pretty close…"

"I don't think it matters," Kojo replied, folding his arms. "We have the majority regardless; I doubt the others are gonna be on the same page…"

"What's goin' on?" Titan inquired as he approached the doorway.

"Perfect timing," Anthony said, sitting up. "We're gonna try and take out Shine, so vote for her, tonight…"

"Oh... Alright, then," Titan replied before deciding to leave. He only ever came around to assist in votes. As long as it wasn't him, he didn't care.

"Well, that was easy…" Phill replied, stuffing his cheeks with more gummies. "This could be an easy vote…"

"Well… Klavier's gone to tell the girls, so I hope that it stays an easy vote," Summer remarked, folding her arms.

000

Soon, night fell and it was time for the ceremony to begin. Virizion, Xerneas, and Zahku stood before them. The Hariyama held a bag of marshmallows in his hands, open and ready for distribution.

Virizion let out a sigh, "Well, another day has passed and it's gonna end with another departure. Today's challenges were…"

"Lame and worthless, respectively," Anthony deadpanned, folding his arms.

"Hey, speak for yourself," Phill stated, still eating from his candy bucket.

"Good to see that there's someone who's actively enjoying their treasure," Xerneas giggled.

"Most of the treasures were lame, Shiela," Titan remarked. "And the ladies who got the food rewards didn't even really try to eat them…"

"Our treasure, our choice," Aspen argued.

"Yeah, but still! You coulda offered it to people who actually would have wanted it," the Galvantula argued.

"Hey! Can we please focus on the vote, please?" Aura interjected. "You're just jealous that you got a shitty treasure despite getting your key so fast. Deal with it…"

Titan grumbled to himself.

"Um… Alright…" Virizion continued, a bit taken aback by the minor argument. "Time to see who's heading home. Amethyst, you got immunity, so you get your marshmallow first…"

Zahku threw the confectionery at the Tundra Pokémon, hitting her in the head with it. "Ow, hey!"

"Not so hard, Zahku…" Xerneas sweatdropped. "Um… Now for the rest of you…"

"Phill… Holly… Ashton… Connor…" Virizion listed, with Zahku throwing marshmallows at each of them.

Phill blocked his marshmallow with his bucket, Holly dodged hers, as did Ashton, and Connor's afro caught it for him, much to his relief.

The Grassland Pokémon continued, "Kojo… Ace… Aura… Aspen… Taylor… Titan…"

The Arm Thrust Pokémon threw a marshmallow at each of them, still a bit too hard, as none of them were able to catch their sweets, or even attempt to.

Xerneas sighed, "Klavier, Anthony, and Morgan… You three are also safe…"

As Morgan let out a soft sigh of relief, Sally gaped in shock. "What?! I swear if-"

"Sally, you are also safe…" Virizion added.

A few seconds later, the Ampharos was beaned in the head with her marshmallow, leaving Shine and Summer as the only ones vulnerable.

Virizion continued, "Shine and Summer… not so surprising to see the two of you in the bottom. You're both pretty threatening mentally and physically respectively. And it seems like your fellow competitors have noticed. It all came down to a one vote difference… So, the unlucky lady heading home is…"

Shine wore a look of indifference, while Summer remained calm. Each of them felt that their allegiances had it in the bag and that the other was going home. Nevertheless, it was very close, so in the back of their minds, each girl was nervous.

Eventually, Virizion ended her pause. "...Summer…"

Summer's flames erupted in surprise as Shine let out a mental sigh and caught her incoming marshmallow with telekinesis. She stood up in anger, "What!?"

Hearing these results, Anthony and Kojo had similar reactions. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" the Blastoise shouted in frustration, holding his head.

Kojo let out a low growl of annoyance, placing his head in his palms, "Goddammit…"

"Hey, you shouldn't really be too surprised. You're a huge threat," Aura commented.

The Typhlosion glared at her in anger, so tempted to blast her. Despite her fury, she took a breath and shook her head. "Whatever…"

"Alright Summer, it's time for you to go," Xerneas stated.

Summer huffed as she started walking toward the dock. Kojo followed her, of course, leaving the other fifteen behind. "The rest of you, head on back to camp. You'll know when we'll be back."

000

"Though Anthony is a decent threat, he's mostly all talk," Connor explained. "Summer was the bigger threat, not only for her power, but because of her relationship with Kojo. With her gone, Kojo will likely become weaker. And with their alliance one person short, it won't matter if Sally snitches or not because we'll still have the numbers…"

000

Summer and Kojo were hugging on the dock, letting their embrace linger for as long as it could. "I love you," Kojo proclaimed, looking up at her eyes.

"I love you, too," Summer replied as she leaned down to plant a kiss on his lips.

"You two are so cute," Virizion commented with a smile. "And congratulations once again on your engagement."

The couple smiled back before their expressions slowly turned into frowns. Summer let out a sigh as she walked forward, heading into the tube. "This is so stupid…"

"We know, we know, but… This is all we have," Xerneas replied.

Summer rolled her eyes before looking at Kojo, who was waving at her with a glum expression. "Try to win for us…"

"I will…" Kojo replied with a nod. He knew that chances were relatively low, given his status and current affiliations, but he knew that he was going to have to try, regardless.

"Well Summer, you played a good game. We'll see you around," Virizion said as she stepped on the button, sending the Typhlosion down the tube.

The Mienshao let out a depressed sigh, "This is gonna be tough…"

As he left, the two hostesses turned to the main camera. "And in a shocking turnout, Summer's the one who was voted out. Who's next on the chopping block? Find out next time on Total… Pokémon… Underdogs!" Virizion concluded.

"Now, let's hurry back to the hall and see if Mew's doing better," Xerneas immediately followed, with Virizion nodding in agreement.

000

See ya guys, BYE!